Colombia: Another day, another gov't human rights abuse: But this one is big.

The Colombian weekly magazine 'Semana' has today broken another big story. Those Spanish speakers amongst you should stop reading this, go here immediately and read the report, but as a quick resumé of Semana's scoop:

• Colombia's official snoops, the "Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad" (Administrative Department of Security) normally known as DAS has been eavesdropping on anyone and everyone regarded as a 'threat'.

• The list includes opposition leaders, journalists critical of the government, members of the judiciary that have been heading cases against government officials, government functionaries and civil servants.

• Just before a new head of DAS took up his post on January 22nd, mountains of documents were secretly destroyed by DAS. An anonymous whistleblower who works as a detective at DAS (obviously anonymous, as if his identity were revealed he could probably count his life expectancy in minutes) told Semana (via Ottotrans™):

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"We received the order to collect everything we had in several offices in the building and in external centres and take it to the Counterintelligence. For two days we collected portable hard drives, we changed computer hard drives, collected CD-ROMs, voice archives and confidential documents. I alone, not counting my colleagues, took two boxes full of these things.

"Of all the boxes that were taken to Counterintelligence, with documents, recordings and such, only one survived, which was taken out of the 11th floor on Wednesday afternoon. I don't know what was left in it or where it was taken. I just know that everything else was destroyed."

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• But possibly the most damning and chilling aspect of the Semana report is the allegation, backed up by its anonymous sources, that DAS ran a network of information sales and would sell official intelligence to narcotraffickers, paramilitaries and guerrilla groups such as the FARC. In a country with an appalling record of extrajudicial killings, union leader asassinations and attacks on judicial bodies, this is an astonishing revelation (though it has to be said, hardly a surprise for those who have followed the rise and rise of Alvaro Uribe and his pseudo-democratic government).
  

Let's see how much of a fuss is made of this story amongst English language media sources. Colour me cynical, but don't hold your breath up there.......



UPDATE: Good English language site Colombia Reports has its take on the story here.

A Colombian human rights abuse case that can be nipped in the bud...by YOU

Martin Sandoval: You don't know who he is. You'll almost certainly never meet him.
You can help him if you want. Waddya say, dudes?

So let's see if anyone feels like caring out there today. Here's a post from the excellent CAJA blog run by Scott Nicholson, A gringo in Colombia fighting human rights abuses at ground level. Here's Scott's quick CV blurb from the site:

Scott Nicholson: Scott is one of the founders of Community Action for Justice in the Americas. For the past several years, he has been working in Colombia to provide on-the-ground accompaniment to social leaders whose lives have been threatened because of their work to bring peace and basic human rights to their country.

Today, Scott posts that his friend and collaborator Martín Sandoval has been arrested on basically trumped up charges because he's been too vociferous in his protests about extrajudicial killings by the Colombian army (well publicized recently). Here's how Scott's note starts:

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Dear friends,

My friend, Martin Sandoval, was arrested along with 13 other people here in the town of Arauquita on November 4. He began a hunger strike the following day in protest of those arrests.

Martin is the president of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in the state of Arauca. He has consistently spoken out against the human rights violations committed by the Colombian government in the state – including mass arrests and the killing of civilians who are then reported as guerrillas killed in combat. He has also forcefully denounced the abuses committed against the civilian population by the FARC and ELN guerrillas in their fight against each other in Arauca.

Martin was arrested just four days after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, met with human rights activists in Arauca to discuss the difficult situation that they’re confronting in their work. The arrest also occurred just four weeks after the United Nations working group on arbitrary arrests visited Arauca to investigate the mass arrests that have taken place in note continues here

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So, want to do something about it? Why not write a mail to your elected official? Or a quick phone call? Or how about contacting the Colombian embassy in your country? Or just pass on the link to Scott's post to a friend...or two friends...or three (or this post if you like, though it's better from the horse's mouth).

It's all well and good saying "Oh, isn't it terrible what's happening in Colombia", but here's a chance to do something that won't eat into your day. You might even get the satisfaction of knowing that an innocent man was set free thanks to your efforts and the efforts of others.

The small victories of life all add up in the end. Go on...I dare you....take action on this one.

Peru: The country of extrajudicial killings and media silencing they don't tell you about

"What? Peru's army goes around shooting innocent people? What? Peru closes down opposition radio stations? Isn't that supposed to be the hated Chávez and Venezuela? I thought that Peru was our friend and a true democracy?"

Dear friend (probably) sitting up North, prepare to be confused by the truth. What follows under the line is my translation of this quite magnificent post at Susana Villarán's blog today called "When Impunity Reigns" (Spanish language). With all the financial woes going on right now, it's easy (for me at least) to get immersed in the world of stocks and bonds. But this blog is also about LatAm political and social issues and what follows is about as important as it gets.

Peru cannot be allowed to slip back into a state of military terror and authoritarian dictates. Neither from insurgent terrorist groups nor its government who (although Peruvians still have a hard time in admitting it) were also responsible for thousands of extrajudicial murders not so very long ago. Although it's a long post that follows, please take time out and read. Otto

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From El Blog de Susana Villarán

What happens in our regions and provinces doesn't make headlines. The efforts of websites and alternative forms of communication allows us to know what happens at first hand. In this post I want to highlight two acts that should make all Peruvians react:

• The executions and disappearances under the guise of a military operation against Sendero in VRAE (Ottonote; the Shining Path terrorist organization operating in VRAE, the coca/cocaine producing region of Peru) on September 14th which has been shrouded in disinformation by the Ministry of Defence to avoid punishment. Reports of the killings have been made from the zone by human rights organizations such as 'Paz y Esperanza' (in English, "Peace and Hope") via its base in Ayacocho, and APRODEH (Ottonote: Peruvian human rights group). These disappearances and extrajudicial killings must be investigated and their authors severely sanctioned.

• The other issue concerns the closure of Radio Mercurio Huancavelica, a radio station that serves the people of the Huancavelica region and its demands. A few days ago I was told about the threats from the Ministry of Transport and Communication to close 'Radio Uno' in Tacna (South Peru), a station with by far the highest audience ratings in its region and a station that we should feel proud about for its unstoppable fight for people's rights and its excellent information. Does it bother Mrs Aljovín, close ally of Minister Zavala, that Radio Uno easily beats RPP's audience in Tacna?

But its not just Radio Mercurio and Radio Uno: Radio Marañon is also under threat. Father Francisco Muguiro, director of this radio station in the North of the country, has recently been accused by police of inciting indigenous rebellion.

We defend freedom of speech and stand up to be counted against those who wish to silence the voice of the people. Regional, local and community radios are open spaces for public and organizations, and are being clamped down upon by the authorities.

From the INFOREGION network:
Huamanga - Ayacucho (6 October 2008 - 18:09)

The Dead were Not Terrorists; They were Locals that Disappeared After the VRAE Military Incursion

This morning, after waiting several hours, the families of the campesinos (Ottonote: rural dwellers. Literally 'peasants', but the Spanish word does not carry the stigma of the direct translation) that disappeared on September 14th at the annex to Rio Seco, located 1km from the village of Mayobamba, were finally allowed to identify the four bodies recently brought from VRAE and which had been in the installations of the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Minister of Public.

Family members and their lawyers, along with the member of parliament for Ayacucho Elizabeth León Minaya, entered the installations of the Huamanga Institute of Legal Medicine to begin the indentification process of the dead who had been labeled as terrorists in an offical Defence Ministry communique.

Outside the building, Frank Canchanya Rimachi, brother of José Félix Canchaya Rimachi emotionally said that he had indentified his brother even though the body showed signs of decomposure. He asked for human rights organizations to speak out and demanded severe sanctions for those responsible.

Another family member that went into the building was Marcelino Pichardo, who identified his son Maximiliano, his daughter-in-law who was five months pregnant and his young son Alejandro.

The Victims Were from the Village Defence Committee

Alexis Avilés, lawyer of the families, stated that "humble people have been assassinated and they have tried to cover up the crime. First they denied their existence and later they accused them of being terrorists."

The lawyer said that fortunately they could prove the victims' identity, who were mainly members of the Autodefence Committe of Mayobamba, "a fact that proves false any association with terrorist groups."

The mortal remains that were identified belonged to Maximiliano Pichardo Fernández, vicepresident of the Autodefence Committe of Mayobamba, his wife Rosa Chávez, 22 and five months pregnant, José Félix Canchanya Rimachi, husband of Lucy Pichardo, the woman who reported the attack in Huanta, and Alejandro Pichardo Fernández, just 16 years old.

Up to now Moisés Pichardo Pariona and Rosalinda Pichardo Chávez, just one year old, are still missing. To accelerate the investigations, Public Ministry authorities have asked for the use of X-ray equipment.

Huamanga - Ayacucho, 6 October 2008 The Mayobamba Dead Received Weapons from the Army the Help Fight Against Terrorism. Documents Prove that the Missing People in VRAE were Members of the Autodefence Committee

Family members and lawyers showed a community agreement that demostrates that the people who disappeared during the VRAE military operations against terrorism were members of the Autodefence Committee of Mayobamba and had been recognized as such by the army, an entity that had given various weapons to the group to help fight against the remnants of Sendero Luminoso.

This confirms the existence of the people and proves they they not part of any terrorist group. On September 14th, according to testimoies from locals at the Rio Seco annex, approximately 125 were at the National Pavilion when about shots and explosions were heard coming from one kilometre away.

Immediately members of the Autodefence Committee of Mayobamba sent their leader Carlos Gutarra Ayala to find out what had happened. However he was detained by army troops and tortured.

Gutarra Ayala was released several hours later and found by locals in the community of Jésus María with evident signs of mistreatment. Because of this, dozens of Mayobamba locals decided to leave their land and go to other communities in VRAE.

According to the head of the Myobamba locals, the following people are still missing: José Félix Canchanya Rimachi, Maximiliano Pichardo Fernández, Moisés Pichardo Pariona, Alejandro Pichardo Fernández, Rosalinda Pichardo Chávez y Rosa Chávez, 22 years old and five months pregnant.

The multisectoral committee visited the zone

Last weekend representatives of public institutions traveled to VRAE to investigate the occurances. The Commission for Peace and Development of Ayacucho, representatives of PRONAA and FONCODES were part of the group along with lawyers and human rights defence organizations such as the Peace and Hope Association and APRODEH.

This working party collected testimonies and confirmed that the army troops violated human rights. Alexis Avilés, one of the defence lawyers of local woman Lucy Pichardo Fernández who managed to survive the armed forces attack, stated that there was sufficient evidence to demonstrate presumed forced disappearances, as there are testimonial declarations from a person who was witness to the occurances.

"General EP Raymundo Flores has admitted the existence of a military operaton in the zone by orders of his command and we therefore request that the State hand over the bodies of the people still missing", he said.

In Huancavelica, the Closure of Radio Mercurio

Press Release

Faced with the arbitrary intervention and confiscation of the transmission equipment of Radio "Majestad SAC" by the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the city of Lima, Fiscal for the Prevention of Crimes and the Peruvian National Police last Tuesday September 30th 2008, the following needs to be said:

First: That freedom of expression and freedom of the press are inalienable rights recognized by the Political Constitution of Peru, the Convention of Human Rights and other national and international laws, as well as their full use in any form such as free opinion, reporting of injustice and irregularities, the demand for change etc. They also constitute a basic element for a country's democratic life.

Second: Part of the work of the Centre for Andean Development (SISAY) is the strengthening of citizens' organizations in Huancavelica, allowing room to govern and promoting the exercise, defence and compliance of respective human rights. Therefore the radio programs directed by our institution as well as other organizations (Frente de Defensa de Huancavelica, Bio Ritmo Periodismo Escolar directed by the student of the Francisca Diez Canseco College in Castilla, amongst others) have been using this to report the actions of regional governors and reporting irregularies including the control in the use of natural resources, which has obviously become a problem to the current authorities.

Third: Because of this it is easy to deduce that said authorities have asked the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the city of Lima to interrupt this station's broadcasts under the pretext that it is a "pirate" radio station with the name "Maxima", that is to say without licence to operate. This is not true, as the radio station was broadcasting at frequency 95.5FM under the name Radio Majestad, something that can be verified by the authors of the intervention, and that this frequency and radio station is correctly authorized via a contractual agreement. Therefore the station is clearly compliant with the law.

Fourth: Accordingly, the behaviour of the functionaries of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Lima is both abusive and arbitrary, because even though they had a resolution with the authorization of closure, this was against Radio Máxima and not against Radio Mercurio that at the time of closure was broadcasting at frequency 95.5FM; respective legal action will therefore proceed.

Fifth: The right to free speech is generally violated in dictatorial and oppressive states, and in the present context we have been witness to an APRA government that has used this mechanism to silence the voice of the people. Apparently the regional government are supporting these acts in order to be able to govern without any type of opposition or accountability from social organizations.

BECAUSE OF THESE CONSIDERATIONS

1. We reject the arbitrary acts of the funactionaries of the Ministry of Transport and Communication
2. We reject the non-transparent attitude of local authorities.
3. We reaffirm our service to organizations and the people by broadcasting true and objective information in our information spaces

Down with Authoritarianism! Long Live Freedom of Speech!
For a free and independent press