Colombia
12.06.01
Urgent Interventions
Colombia: Turning point in the paramilitary groups' strategies
PRESS RELEASE
Geneva, 5 December 2001
COLOMBIA : Turning point in paramilitary groups’ strategies
Abduction of a trade union leader by paramilitary groups signals a new phase in their strategy, presenting themselves as the guardians of justice in zones under their control
On 3 December 2001, the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) have claimed responsibility for the disappearance of Mr. Aury Sara Marrugo, president of the Workers’ Union (USO) in Cartagena in a letter addressed to the guerrilla movement and to Camilo Gomez Alzate, Colombian High Commissioner for Peace (see appeal OBS COL 021/0112/OBS 100 of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, joint OMCT and FIDH programme).
This letter, signed by the leadership of AUC, is more than a mere statement of power by the paramilitaries and signals a new phenomenon which is of deep concern to OMCT.
The paramilitaries have not only positioned themselves once again as a fully fledged party to the conflict by claiming responsibility for the disappearance of the trade union leader, they have also stated, and this is an essential point, that they are prepared to hand Mr. Aury Sara Marrugo over to the Colombian authorities to be judged. The AUC claim that Mr. Sara Marrugo belongs to the guerrilla movement and accuse him, amongst other things, of cattle theft, extortion and terrorism. They have proposed a meeting with the High Commissioner in a place of their choice to hand over Mr. Sara Marrugo.
The paramilitaries, who have been responsible for over forty percent of the massacres that have taken place in Colombia, are now trying by this gesture, to carry out a real judicial coup d’état to which the international community must react firmly to prevent their action from acquiring any legitimacy.
The International Secretariat of OMCT calls on the members of the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights, who will be visiting Colombia as of 7 December, to evaluate questions of forced displacement, administration of justice, anti-terrorist measures and the paramilitarisation of the country, to ensure that this case is investigated. This is essential to prevent paramilitary groups from winning ground from the State authority.
Geneva, 5 December 2001
COLOMBIA : Turning point in paramilitary groups’ strategies
Abduction of a trade union leader by paramilitary groups signals a new phase in their strategy, presenting themselves as the guardians of justice in zones under their control
On 3 December 2001, the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) have claimed responsibility for the disappearance of Mr. Aury Sara Marrugo, president of the Workers’ Union (USO) in Cartagena in a letter addressed to the guerrilla movement and to Camilo Gomez Alzate, Colombian High Commissioner for Peace (see appeal OBS COL 021/0112/OBS 100 of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, joint OMCT and FIDH programme).
This letter, signed by the leadership of AUC, is more than a mere statement of power by the paramilitaries and signals a new phenomenon which is of deep concern to OMCT.
The paramilitaries have not only positioned themselves once again as a fully fledged party to the conflict by claiming responsibility for the disappearance of the trade union leader, they have also stated, and this is an essential point, that they are prepared to hand Mr. Aury Sara Marrugo over to the Colombian authorities to be judged. The AUC claim that Mr. Sara Marrugo belongs to the guerrilla movement and accuse him, amongst other things, of cattle theft, extortion and terrorism. They have proposed a meeting with the High Commissioner in a place of their choice to hand over Mr. Sara Marrugo.
The paramilitaries, who have been responsible for over forty percent of the massacres that have taken place in Colombia, are now trying by this gesture, to carry out a real judicial coup d’état to which the international community must react firmly to prevent their action from acquiring any legitimacy.
The International Secretariat of OMCT calls on the members of the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights, who will be visiting Colombia as of 7 December, to evaluate questions of forced displacement, administration of justice, anti-terrorist measures and the paramilitarisation of the country, to ensure that this case is investigated. This is essential to prevent paramilitary groups from winning ground from the State authority.