Colombia
19.06.02
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: five forced disappearances
Case COL 190602
Forced disappearances
The OMCT International Secretariat urgently demands your immediate intervention in the following situation in Columbia.
Brief description of the situation:
OMCT’s International Secretariat has been informed of various forced disappearances having taken place in La Dorada (Caldas) ; Marinilla (Department of Antioquia), and Popayán (Cauca).
In concurrence with the information received from the Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos de Colombia (ASFADDES) – Association of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees of Columbia - in the past few days the following cases of disappearances in Columbia have been reported to this organisation:
- Mr. Máximo Vargas Cárdenas, 34 years old, born in Facatativá, who worked as a farmer, left his home in Sopó (Cundinamarca), on September 27 1998, along with two friends, Mr. Javier Herrera Aguirre and Mr. Rodrigo (of whom we have no further details), towards La Dorada (Caldas), upon an invitation from Mr. Herrera.
According to the information received, on October 5th 1998 the three friends went fishing in the Guarinocito river, and at around 5:15 p.m. when they left to catch a minibus to return to La Dorada, police from La Victoria appeared, in two motorbikes and a patrol car, firing their rifles. The police detained Mres. Máximo Vargas Cárdenas and Rodrigo, and interrogated them as to who they were, what they were doing in the area, they made them lie face-down on the road until 7 p.m., when another car arrived where they were put in, and with which they were transported from Guarinocito to La Dorada whilst the patrol car went off in the direction of La Victoria.
From that day there has been no news as to Mr. Máximo Vargas Cárdenas’ and Mr. Rodrigo’s whereabouts, nor regarding their physical and/or psychological integrity. In the meanwhile Mr. Javier Herrera had run to hide in a wood at about 20 from the scene. According to the reports, eight days later this incident the Salamina police (Caldas) informed the family that two bodies had been found and at first they thought it was those of the two who had disappeared, but further investigations refuted this. As from October 31st members of the Vargas Cárdenas family started searching them, and they went to various parts of La Victoria searching for Mr. Máximo; in one of the bars of La Dorada a man approached one of Mr. Máximo’s brothers, who stated that Mr. Máximo and Mr. Rodrigo had been taken away by the police and that he knew where they had been taken.
- Mr. José Weimar Toro, aged 30, native from Palmar (Nariño) and Raúl (of whom we have no further details) have been missing since July 21st 2000, when they went to la Vereda de San Carlos, in the municipality of Marinilla (Antioquia), in a motorbike belonging to Mr. José Weimar Toro, looking for a stolen vehicle that had belonged to Mr. Oliver Toro Portilla, Mr. José Weimar Toro’s uncle. Ever since this day their whereabouts have been unknown. According to the reports the abovementioned stolen vehicle was found two months later on a highway near Bogotá. The family reported the disappearance to the Procuration and to Marinilla’s public prosecutor’s office.
- Mr. Angel María Gómez Rodríguez, 35 years old, from Zetaquira (Boyacá) has been missing since December 3rd 2001, at 10:10 a.m., when he left his home for the Barrio la Esmeralda in Popayán (Cauca), with the intention of buying material for his bakery, which is set up in his own house. There have been no news of his whereabouts since this day. His disappearance has been reported to the SIJIN (Technico-Juridical Investigation Police) of Cauca, and to the Public Defence for Popayán.
Our sources add that his disappearance is presumably related to the fact that his partner Ms. Hermencia Majin belongs to the Town Board of Action of the Avelino Ull District. The abovementioned Town Board of Action put itself forward, in 1999, to put a stop to drug selling, and managed to get the police “guardias cívicas” to comply and the eradication of this business was undertaken with police cooperation throughout 2000. All of this provoked the anger of the dealers and consumers.
The OMCT International Secretariat reminds that forced disappearing is considered a crime against humanity and condemns these incidents of violence, of civilian persecution, the apparent impunity of its authors and the lack of effective measures of protection on behalf of municipal, government and national authorites to prevent these occurances.
Action requested
Please write to the Columbian authorities urging them to:
i. Immediately take the necessary measures in order to find the whereabouts of the abovementioned missing people and guarantee their safety and their physical and psychological integrity;
ii. Carry out an independant and impartial investigation regarding the abovementioned events with the aim of identifying the perpetrators, take them to court and apply the penal, civil or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. Immediately comply with International and Regional Organisations’ recommendations, including those of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rightsand the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights;
iv. Guarantee the respect towards human rights and fundamental freedoms in all the country, in accordance with the national laws and international human rights norms.
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 also write to the diplomatic representations of Colombia in your respective countries.
Geneva, June 19 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Forced disappearances
The OMCT International Secretariat urgently demands your immediate intervention in the following situation in Columbia.
Brief description of the situation:
OMCT’s International Secretariat has been informed of various forced disappearances having taken place in La Dorada (Caldas) ; Marinilla (Department of Antioquia), and Popayán (Cauca).
In concurrence with the information received from the Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos de Colombia (ASFADDES) – Association of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees of Columbia - in the past few days the following cases of disappearances in Columbia have been reported to this organisation:
- Mr. Máximo Vargas Cárdenas, 34 years old, born in Facatativá, who worked as a farmer, left his home in Sopó (Cundinamarca), on September 27 1998, along with two friends, Mr. Javier Herrera Aguirre and Mr. Rodrigo (of whom we have no further details), towards La Dorada (Caldas), upon an invitation from Mr. Herrera.
According to the information received, on October 5th 1998 the three friends went fishing in the Guarinocito river, and at around 5:15 p.m. when they left to catch a minibus to return to La Dorada, police from La Victoria appeared, in two motorbikes and a patrol car, firing their rifles. The police detained Mres. Máximo Vargas Cárdenas and Rodrigo, and interrogated them as to who they were, what they were doing in the area, they made them lie face-down on the road until 7 p.m., when another car arrived where they were put in, and with which they were transported from Guarinocito to La Dorada whilst the patrol car went off in the direction of La Victoria.
From that day there has been no news as to Mr. Máximo Vargas Cárdenas’ and Mr. Rodrigo’s whereabouts, nor regarding their physical and/or psychological integrity. In the meanwhile Mr. Javier Herrera had run to hide in a wood at about 20 from the scene. According to the reports, eight days later this incident the Salamina police (Caldas) informed the family that two bodies had been found and at first they thought it was those of the two who had disappeared, but further investigations refuted this. As from October 31st members of the Vargas Cárdenas family started searching them, and they went to various parts of La Victoria searching for Mr. Máximo; in one of the bars of La Dorada a man approached one of Mr. Máximo’s brothers, who stated that Mr. Máximo and Mr. Rodrigo had been taken away by the police and that he knew where they had been taken.
- Mr. José Weimar Toro, aged 30, native from Palmar (Nariño) and Raúl (of whom we have no further details) have been missing since July 21st 2000, when they went to la Vereda de San Carlos, in the municipality of Marinilla (Antioquia), in a motorbike belonging to Mr. José Weimar Toro, looking for a stolen vehicle that had belonged to Mr. Oliver Toro Portilla, Mr. José Weimar Toro’s uncle. Ever since this day their whereabouts have been unknown. According to the reports the abovementioned stolen vehicle was found two months later on a highway near Bogotá. The family reported the disappearance to the Procuration and to Marinilla’s public prosecutor’s office.
- Mr. Angel María Gómez Rodríguez, 35 years old, from Zetaquira (Boyacá) has been missing since December 3rd 2001, at 10:10 a.m., when he left his home for the Barrio la Esmeralda in Popayán (Cauca), with the intention of buying material for his bakery, which is set up in his own house. There have been no news of his whereabouts since this day. His disappearance has been reported to the SIJIN (Technico-Juridical Investigation Police) of Cauca, and to the Public Defence for Popayán.
Our sources add that his disappearance is presumably related to the fact that his partner Ms. Hermencia Majin belongs to the Town Board of Action of the Avelino Ull District. The abovementioned Town Board of Action put itself forward, in 1999, to put a stop to drug selling, and managed to get the police “guardias cívicas” to comply and the eradication of this business was undertaken with police cooperation throughout 2000. All of this provoked the anger of the dealers and consumers.
The OMCT International Secretariat reminds that forced disappearing is considered a crime against humanity and condemns these incidents of violence, of civilian persecution, the apparent impunity of its authors and the lack of effective measures of protection on behalf of municipal, government and national authorites to prevent these occurances.
Action requested
Please write to the Columbian authorities urging them to:
i. Immediately take the necessary measures in order to find the whereabouts of the abovementioned missing people and guarantee their safety and their physical and psychological integrity;
ii. Carry out an independant and impartial investigation regarding the abovementioned events with the aim of identifying the perpetrators, take them to court and apply the penal, civil or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. Immediately comply with International and Regional Organisations’ recommendations, including those of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rightsand the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights;
iv. Guarantee the respect towards human rights and fundamental freedoms in all the country, in accordance with the national laws and international human rights norms.
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 also write to the diplomatic representations of Colombia in your respective countries.
Geneva, June 19 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.