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June 13, 2006
More threatening e-mails
(For commentary on President Uribe’s visit tomorrow, see our memo here.)
Here are translations of two more threatening e-mails recently received by human-rights groups and academic departments in Colombia. Messages like these have been arriving in Colombian human-rights activists’ inboxes for over a month now.
The May 20 message below refers to break-ins that were then occurring at human rights groups’ offices and employees’ homes. Knowledge of this makes it less likely that these messages are merely the work of some crackpot at his computer keyboard.
Email sent June 7, 2006
From: Frente Democratico Colombia Libre [mailto:contactodirectofdcl@yahoo.com]
Sent: miércoles, 07 de junio de 2006 20:03
To: 20 NGOs and left-wing news organizations
Cc:salvatoremancuso@salvatoremancuso.com, porcaminosdepaz@yahoo.es, convergencia@intercable.net.co, colombiasincomunistas@yahoo.es
Subject: <blank>
Central Office of National Director’s Office
“Colombia Free of Communists”
Memo to revolutionaries masquerading as NGOs, supposed leaders, “lawyers” and communicators camouflaged in civil society, hidden behind your columns as if we could not find you.
We have taken careful note of all the steps that you have been taking with the community of nations who are friends of the negotiations at Ralito, which is now even more committed to the direction our nation will be taking after reelecting, legitimately and democratically, our president, Álvaro Uribe Vélez.
By the way, did you like the beating we gave you at the ballot box? If you want more, let us know!
We are not surprised by the tantrums you throw about supposed human rights violations you claim we commit daily. Instead, we suggest you stop complaining to other countries that are also busy with their own internal issues. There is no war here, nor conflict, nor anything of the kind. What we have here is a bunch of revolutionary guerrilla members that do nothing but be the cause of the constant violations of the population’s rights. And the only thing you do in this country is lend yourselves to continuing their little game when you aren’t also financing it with the money you get from foreign countries intended to help your fellow citizens.
With the help of the National Army we have been able to take possession of places that were once the free territory of the FARC and the ELN.
From now on, you will have to deal with us. We will be a solid presence in more of half of the Colombian territory, now free from this cancer that is the guerrilla and all of you.
We are on a war footing, and we have been able to enter into very difficult territories, for example the Serranía de Perijá, Guicán, San Lucas, Yarig[u]ies, Montes [de] Maria, Ayapel, San Jerónimo, [Sierra Nevada] De Santa Marta, Baudo, Farayones [Farallones], Los Nevados, San Agustín, and we are about to arrive in Macarena and Sumapaz.
We have begun to give you proof that we are not playing around. We’ve laid our traps for you (les dejamos los tendidos de barranca), that’s where we have started. But soon we will start taking action in departmental capitals like Barranquilla, Medellín, Cali, Bucaramanga, Cúcuta, Manizales, Pasto and Bogotá.
The fake bombs in the Atlantic Coast region are not ours; ours don’t fail. Blame the FARC; theirs do fail.
Speaking of Bogotá, we’re going to run some errands there this week. Let’s see what you do, keep crying?
You are declared military objectives
At war in blood and fire against the Left
Colombia free forever from Communists
Email sent May 20, 2006
From: Grupo Democratico Colombia Libre [mailto:colombiasincomunistas@yahoo.es]
Sent: sábado, 20 de mayo de 2006 13:39
To: 20 NGOs and university departments
Subject: General Communiqué
The “Colombia Free from Communists” group
Central Office of National Director’s Office
We warn all organizations mentioned here that our group has clear proof of the links all of you have with the Colombian insurgency.
We refuse to continue allowing a bunch of masqueraders, like you all are, to continue consuming our country in the mud of Communism, and even less so under the influence of current versions of socialism like Chavism, Castrism, Evomoralism, Lulism, or whatever other version in which you might try to dress yourselves.
We have knowledge of the permanent dialogue that you hold with the National Headquarters of the FARC and the ELN, even helping them to finance their campaigns of fake social coverage. You are to blame for all this history of horror in which the country found itself during the blossoming of the FARC and the ELN, since it was you yourselves who sponsored and supported with your supposed “dialogue tables,” good-for-nothing s**t.
We are warning all of you supposed human rights defenders, as well as those guerrilla members dressed up as university professors who say they are opening spaces to free thought in the sacred public universities. We will for no reason allow those glory days to return.
It is the time to continue with the Democratic Security policies of our legitimate president, Doctor Álvaro Uribe Vélez. You’ll get to know more about us, as we continue in power, helping the president and working hand-in-hand with the legitimate Colombian Armed Forces, ridding our countryside and our cities of spineless people like you.
What credibility could you possibly have before the world if there is nothing going on here? What we have here is a good president and we will keep supporting him.
Abstain from continuing to annoy us with your little themes of human rights and education and inequality and all that which you are always inventing. What we have here is work to do…
Clean our country of unproductive elements like you. You are all warned that we have you in our sights. Or haven’t you noticed that someone took a couple of things, you know what we’re talking about…
Cooperatives, organizations, foundations, departments, research institutes, rights forums, committees… the list is interminable and always the same costume.
You bunch of sons-of-b*****s, your glory days are over.
Long live Colombia free of Communists
Long live the authentic democracy of the Right
Out spineless servants of Leftism
Long live our legitimate president for four, eight … or many more years.
Colombia free from the left, forever!
Posted by isacson at June 13, 2006 6:09 PM
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Comments
I hope this is not a prelude to a new violence wave against the civil society. What is even more dangerous right now is the fact that new paratroop groups have been formed in the South. Is this an issue in the Bush-Uribe's agenda?
Posted by: Colombia Hoy at June 14, 2006 1:47 PM
"The May 20 message below refers to break-ins that were then occurring at human rights groups’ offices and employees’ homes. Knowledge of this makes it less likely that these messages are merely the work of some crackpot at his computer keyboard."
Less likely, but not impossible. Call me a heretic, but I insist: it doesn't need to be either the work of a crackpot or that of an authentic paramilitary. Those aren't the only two options available.
Rather, anyone else with access to the necessary information could be blamed. Which, like it or not, doesn't only have to include either the people directly responsible for those crimes or simply crackpots. There are plenty of other possible candidates. The internet is something that can't be taken at face value.
In fact, knowing what I already know, even somebody like me could try to send similar e-mails (say, out of honest hatred, simply for the heck of it or for other purposes). Doesn't take that much: set up a few new e-mail addresses, take a couple of precautions, keep yourself informed by reading the right sources (the NGO's own webpages, for example) and bingo, that's pretty much it.
I wonder though...can't the targetted NGOs petition Yahoo! (or any other e-mail provider involved) about this, whether directly or through law enforcement? Looks like it could be relatively easy to do some superficial tracking and attempt to gain some useful technical information, at the very least. If they are going to take these e-mails seriously, I imagine that they should indeed try to do that.
"I hope this is not a prelude to a new violence wave against the civil society."
I hope that too. But I also think that such violence has always existed even without these e-mails, so I still wouldn't dare to automatically draw a straight line between both elements (ie: I don't think that "violence continues to happen, ergo it's all coming from whoever wrote these e-mails").
"What is even more dangerous right now is the fact that new paratroop groups have been formed in the South."
If by "paratroops" you mean paramilitary. Yet even that isn't necessarily going to be related to these e-mails.
"Is this an issue in the Bush-Uribe's agenda?"
Could be, hypothetically speaking, but probably isn't.
Posted by: jcg at June 14, 2006 8:23 PM
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