Colombia
08.07.02
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: disappearance of two persons, including a 16 year-old
Case COL 080702
Forced disappearances
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed about two cases of forced disappearance in Popayán (Departament of Cauca), and in San Juan de Arama (Meta).
According to the information received from the Colombian Association of the Families of the Detainees and the Disappeared (ASFADDES), reports of the following cases of disappearance have been denounced in Colombia:
- José Ever Urrutia Carreño, a 16 year-old, entered the guerrillas in the year 2000 (the reports do not specify to which of the guerrilla organizations the minor adhered) in the municipality of Castillo (Meta). Later he was transferred to Cauca, where he stayed for three months, and then escaped.
According to the information, on April 15th, 2000, José Ever Urrutia Carreño surrended to agents of the Police of Tourism in Popayán, the lieutenant Faber Manzana Mera and the agent José Cano Segovia. The information was obtained from a person who escaped with Urrutia Carreño. From this date there is no knowledge of his whereabouts. According to the reports Mr. Urrutia Carreño’s family denounced his disappearance to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Popayán, to the office of Family Welfare, and to the minor’s reclusion centre, Torio Maya.
- Pedro Octavio Franco Bernal, a 36 year-old from Bogotá, disappeared on May 11th 2002, apparently on his way to Vistahermosa (Meta) in a bus that belonged to the company Macarena, with number plates 820. According to the information, two men and two women, who claimed to be members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), forced Mr. Pedro Octavio Franco Bernal, to leave the bus in Bonaire, jurisdiction of San Juan de Arama, Meta. Since then, nobody knows of his whereabouts. The reports state that on May 9th 2002, Mr. Pedro Octavio Franco Bernal, was in the Colombian capital, Bogotá, together with the major of Vistahermosa, and an adviser for the major’s office, presenting a project to Fondopaz, of which he was participant. His family denounced his disappearance (filed under number RL3061) to the International Committee of the Red Cross, to the People’s Defence office, and to the general prosecutor’s office.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT reminds that forced disappearance is considered as a crime, and manifests its condemnation of such acts of violence, of the persecution of the civil population, of the apparent impunity that the authors of such crimes enjoy, and of the lack of preventive and effective measures from the local and national authorities.
Action required:
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. Take immediately the necessary measures to find the whereabouts of the persons, above mentioned, and guarantee their security and physical and psychological integrity;
ii. Carry out an independent and thorough investigation concerning the disappearances, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial, and apply the necessary civil and/or administrative sanctions as stated by the law;
iii. Ensure the implementation of the recommendations given by the international and regional human rights organisations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights;
iv. Guarantee the respect for the human rights and the fundamental liberties throughout the country, in conformity with the national law and the international norms on human rights.
Addresses:
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n°.7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71 e-mail : apastra@presidencia.gov.co
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 Santa Fe de Bogotá, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25 ; e-mail: mininterior@myrealbox.com ; minisint@col1.telecom.com.co
· Doctor Edgardo José Maya Villazón, Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80,Santa Fe de Bogotá.Fax: (+57 1) 342 97 23;(+57 1) 281 75 31 ; e-mail : reygon@procuraduria.gov.co ; anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 00 ; contacto@fiscalia.gov.co ; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+ 57 1) 640 04 91 e-mail : secretaria_privada@hotmail.com
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
Please write also to the diplomatic representations in your respective countries.
Geneva, July 8th 2002
Kindly inform us of any actions undertaken in this case quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Forced disappearances
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Colombia.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed about two cases of forced disappearance in Popayán (Departament of Cauca), and in San Juan de Arama (Meta).
According to the information received from the Colombian Association of the Families of the Detainees and the Disappeared (ASFADDES), reports of the following cases of disappearance have been denounced in Colombia:
- José Ever Urrutia Carreño, a 16 year-old, entered the guerrillas in the year 2000 (the reports do not specify to which of the guerrilla organizations the minor adhered) in the municipality of Castillo (Meta). Later he was transferred to Cauca, where he stayed for three months, and then escaped.
According to the information, on April 15th, 2000, José Ever Urrutia Carreño surrended to agents of the Police of Tourism in Popayán, the lieutenant Faber Manzana Mera and the agent José Cano Segovia. The information was obtained from a person who escaped with Urrutia Carreño. From this date there is no knowledge of his whereabouts. According to the reports Mr. Urrutia Carreño’s family denounced his disappearance to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Popayán, to the office of Family Welfare, and to the minor’s reclusion centre, Torio Maya.
- Pedro Octavio Franco Bernal, a 36 year-old from Bogotá, disappeared on May 11th 2002, apparently on his way to Vistahermosa (Meta) in a bus that belonged to the company Macarena, with number plates 820. According to the information, two men and two women, who claimed to be members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), forced Mr. Pedro Octavio Franco Bernal, to leave the bus in Bonaire, jurisdiction of San Juan de Arama, Meta. Since then, nobody knows of his whereabouts. The reports state that on May 9th 2002, Mr. Pedro Octavio Franco Bernal, was in the Colombian capital, Bogotá, together with the major of Vistahermosa, and an adviser for the major’s office, presenting a project to Fondopaz, of which he was participant. His family denounced his disappearance (filed under number RL3061) to the International Committee of the Red Cross, to the People’s Defence office, and to the general prosecutor’s office.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT reminds that forced disappearance is considered as a crime, and manifests its condemnation of such acts of violence, of the persecution of the civil population, of the apparent impunity that the authors of such crimes enjoy, and of the lack of preventive and effective measures from the local and national authorities.
Action required:
Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to:
i. Take immediately the necessary measures to find the whereabouts of the persons, above mentioned, and guarantee their security and physical and psychological integrity;
ii. Carry out an independent and thorough investigation concerning the disappearances, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial, and apply the necessary civil and/or administrative sanctions as stated by the law;
iii. Ensure the implementation of the recommendations given by the international and regional human rights organisations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights;
iv. Guarantee the respect for the human rights and the fundamental liberties throughout the country, in conformity with the national law and the international norms on human rights.
Addresses:
· S.E. Andrés Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n°.7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566 20 71 e-mail : apastra@presidencia.gov.co
· Consejería Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, Calle 7 n°. 6-54 Piso 3, Santafé de Bogotá, D. C. Fax: (+57 1) 337 13 51
· Doctor Gustavo Bell Lemus, Ministro de la Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 18 74 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co
· Doctor Armando Estrada Villa, Ministro del Interior, Cra. 8 n°. 8-09 Santa Fe de Bogotá, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 286 80 25 ; e-mail: mininterior@myrealbox.com ; minisint@col1.telecom.com.co
· Doctor Edgardo José Maya Villazón, Procurador General de la Nación, Carrera 5 n°. 15-80,Santa Fe de Bogotá.Fax: (+57 1) 342 97 23;(+57 1) 281 75 31 ; e-mail : reygon@procuraduria.gov.co ; anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co
· Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio, Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22 B n°. 52-01, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 00 ; contacto@fiscalia.gov.co ; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co
· Doctor Eduardo Cifuentes, Defensor del Pueblo, Calle 55 n°. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+ 57 1) 640 04 91 e-mail : secretaria_privada@hotmail.com
· General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida el Dorado con Cra. 52, Santafé de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 222 29 35 ; e-mail : siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; pilaque@cgm.mil.co
Please write also to the diplomatic representations in your respective countries.
Geneva, July 8th 2002
Kindly inform us of any actions undertaken in this case quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.