| 1)
"Statement from Panama from the Indigenous Movement
of Panama"
2) Update on the Assassination of 4 Kuna Leaders
in Panama
3) Colombia:
The FTAA Gateway into South America
4) Colombia Mobilization
Arrests - Updated
Statement
from Panama (attached in English
and Spanish
in rtf format) (top)
FOUR INDIGENOUS KUNA LEADERS ASSASINATED BY COLOMBIAN PARAMILITARIES
ON PANAMA BORDER.
Official Statement from
the Indigenous Movement of Panama
Dear brothers and sisters
from various organizations and communities of the world that fight
against violence, against war, and against hunger-today we wish
to mobilize against the War on Indigenous Peoples. On Saturday the
18th of January four Indigenous Kuna leaders, were violently tortured
and assassinated by the Autonomous Defense Units of Colombia (AUC).
These Indigenous spiritual leaders, are medicine men that hold the
principal knowledge of our oral history, poets of truth, knowledgeable
in medicine, the holders of our cultural heritage, the soul of our
community, and are the maximum authority of the Paya and Pucuro
communities. Four pillars of our community have been killed, if
we compare this to western culture it is to say that our library
of congress, our chief justice of magistracy, our minister of culture,
our Nobel Peace Prize winners were killed. In the past years paramilitaries
have assassinated indigenous teachers in Panama and an Embera Indigenous
child Maria Mecha Tocamo. This past Saturday 50 Colombian insurgents
tore apart the Paya Community, closed in the community, asked for
the indigenous authorities to present themselves and then took them
outside the community to torture them, and slash their throats.
Upon hearing the various detonations from the Paya community the
paramilitaries fled leaving the Pucuro community in flames. This
was all confirmed by the only survivor, who followed the paramilitaries
for one hour, his throat slashed and his stomach openly bleeding,
to solicit help from the Pucuro community.
Not stopping at the assassinations of the Indigenous authorities,
the AUC, planted land mines surrounding the community to prevent
the Kuna to leave. They took all of the food from the only food
warehouse that existed in the community and threatened the population
for supposedly collaborating with the guerilla Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Since 1964 through 1998
there was a Cartel of the Armed Forces of Panama that safeguarded
the lives of the Paya and Pucuro residents, but since then, although
the Indigenous authorities have solicited support from the Police
forces of Panama, they have been denied support to defend the borders
in the Darien.
Now there are more than
700 people displaced, of the Paya and Pucuro Communities, the majority
children, they are seeking refuge in Boca Cupe, who and are waiting
for the Panamanian authorities to provide security for the area-
not even one of the community members are prepared to abandon their
ancestral lands.
As Kuna, we have lived
more than 100 years on these lands, and now there is an intention
to destroy the peace of our Indigenous communities, selectively
assassinating Colombian and Panamanian Indigenous leaders. It is
because of this that we are opposed and against the imposition of
the FTAA, the Plan Puebla Panama, Andean Plan, and Plan Colombia
that are policies to exterminate the communities of the Americas,
to expropriate indigenous territories, our collective knowledge,
oil, water, land and our cultural and biological heritage.
Ernesto Ayala, Maximum
Authority; San Pascual Ayala, Secondary Authority; Luis Enrique
Martínez, Spiritual Leader of the Paya and Gilberto Vásquez,
Maximum Authority of Púcuro, now join the list of thousands
of martyrs who have offered their lives for the liberation of the
Indigenous Communities of the World.
Panama, February 22,
2003
Ibe /kuna de Panama
Movimiento Indigena de Panama
TAKE ACTION in March
and April!
Stop the violence in Colombia, by getting involved with the March
23rd/24th Colombia Mobilization (http://www.colombiamobilization.org)
and the April 10th-15th Latin American Solidarity Coalition
(http://lasolidarity.org)
Update
on the Assassination of 4 Kuna Leaders in Panama (top)
(attached English
and Spanish
in PDF) The following articles
appear below in Spanish and English (pardon the translation that
is rushed and imperfect):
All articles are from La Prensa, Panama
De La Prensa, Panama
http://www.prensa.com/
2/6/03
New Horizons 2003 Begins
Comienza 'Nuevos Horizontes 2003'
2/4/03
Bush Requests 9 million for Panamá
Bush pide 9 millones para Panamá
2/3/03
Situación de Darién preocupa a EU
The Situation of the Darien Worries the US
'Bomba
demográfica' amenaza B. de Cupe
"A Demographic Bomb" Threatens Boca de
Cupe
La
crisis de Boca de Cupe
The crisis in Boca de Cupe
1/30/03
The Number of Victims Increase in Paya
Aumenta número de víctimas en Paya
Colombia
y Panamá patrullarán la frontera
Colombia and Panama will Patrol the Border
1/27/03
The Kuna Demand Security in the Darien
Kunas exigen seguridad en Darién
__________________________________________________________________
2/6/03 (in Spanish)
New Horizons 2003 Begins
Of the 400 Reserves, 55 are Already in Panama (top)
The base camp of the program "New Horizons
2003" is located in the region of Santa Cruz, in the district
of San Felix, 5 minutes from the Pan American Highway. Sixty percent
of the team are located in this camp, located on 30 hectares.
Santa Cruz, Chiriqui-
Under the suffocating sun and a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius,
Panamanian and US workers install, in the western province of Chiriqui,
a base camp that will accommodate about 400 reservists of the US
military assigned to the humanitarian program of New Horizons 2003.
The base camp is located in the Santa Cruz region,
in the district of San Felix, 5 minutes from the Pan American Highway.
Instead of following the road to the Las Lajas beach, you turn off
the road and come to the place where 60% of the team were transferred
to and the site that will be used for the program to help the Kuna
indigenous Conmarca "Ngobe Bugle".
The governor of the province of Chiriqui, Miguel
Fanovich, declared that 55 of the 400 reservists of the National
Guard of Columbus, Ohio have already arrived in conjunction with
the Ministry of Public Works and will conduct work in the communities
of Quebrada de Guabo, Hato Corotu, Cerro Iglesias and Quebrada Hacha.
The personnel has only 3 women for now and the Panamanian
workers installed a fence surrounding the 30 acre base camp. They
are not giving authority to photograph the site from within the
area but did allow photos from outside the fence. For the moment
they will install about 50 tents, portable toilets, a kitchen, dining
hall, washing machines, commissary, infirmary and a helicopter landing
pad for the arrival of Blackhawk helicopters that are in the zone.
New Horizons has a cost of approximately 16 million
dollars and counts on the National Guard to provide their skills
in humanitary actions, of which they are already doing in Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Belize, El Salvador, and other Latin American nations.
The intention, said Fanovich, is to construct health centers, classrooms
and sanitary services, all complemented by medical brigades. The
400 reserves are mostly engineers, doctors, electricians, plumbers
and builders, who will be under the orders of Colonel Scott Evans.
Every two weeks they will be replaced by 400 new
reserves until May 4 when the last group will return to Ohio. These
are roads to regions with difficult access and will benefit thousands
of people in the region who are in need," said Fanovich. In
Cerro Iglesias they are leveling the land for the construction of
a health center and the base camps that will have for Santa Cruz,
in the San Felix district, they are 90% complete.
The next 15 days they are expecting the arrival
of canned goods and medicines.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comienza
'Nuevos Horizontes 2003' (top)
Del grupo de reservistas integrado por 400 personas,
55 ya están en Panamá
Boris Gómez
planas@prensa.com
Vista general del campamento base del programa "Nuevos
Horizontes 2003" en el corregimiento de Santa Cruz, distrito
de San Félix, a cinco minutos de la vía Panamericana.
El 60% de los equipos se encuentra en el campamento, que tiene unas
30 hectáreas.
SANTA CRUZ, Chiriquí. -Bajo un sofocante sol y una temperatura
que alcanza los 35 grados centígrados, trabajadores panameños
y estadounidenses instalan en el oriente de la provincia de Chiriquí
el campamento que acogerá a 400 reservistas del Ejército
de Estados Unidos asignados al programa humanitario Nuevos Horizontes
2003.
El campamento está ubicado en el corregimiento de Santa Cruz,
distrito de San Félix, a cinco minutos de la vía Panamericana.
En lugar de seguir hacia la playa de Las Lajas, se toma un desvío
y se llega al lugar donde ya fue trasladado el 60% de los equipos
que se usarán en el programa de ayuda a la comarca Ngöbe
Buglé.
El gobernador de la provincia de Chiriquí, Miguel Fanovich,
declaró que 55 de los 400 reservistas civiles de la Guardia
Nacional de Columbus, Ohio, ya llegaron y en conjunto con el Ministerio
de Obras Públicas (MOP) llevan a cabo trabajos en los poblados
de Quebrada de Guabo, Hato Corotú, Cerro Iglesias y Quebrada
Hacha.
El personal solo cuenta con tres mujeres por ahora y los trabajadores
panameños instalaron la cerca que rodea las 30 hectáreas
del campamento.
No se dio autorización para fotografiar el lugar desde dentro
del perímetro, pero sí para recorrerlo. Por el momento
se instalaron casi 50 tiendas de campaña, sanitarios portátiles,
cocina y comedor; lavandería, comisariato, enfermería
y un helipuerto para la llegada de los tres Blackhawk que están
en la zona.
Nuevos Horizontes tiene un costo aproximado de 16 millones de dólares
y lo ejecutan elementos de la reserva de la Guardia Nacional para
ejercitar sus destrezas en acciones humanitarias, las cuales ya
han realizado en Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belice, El Salvador y otros
países de América Latina.
La intención, dijo Fanovich, es construir subcentros de salud,
aulas escolares y servicios sanitarios, todo esto complementado
con giras médicas. Los 400 reservistas son en su mayoría
ingenieros, médicos, electricistas, plomeros y albañiles,
quienes estarán bajo el mando del teniente coronel Scott
Evans. Cada dos semanas serán relevados por otro grupo de
400 unidades hasta el 4 de mayo, cuando retorne el último
grupo a Ohio.
"Estos son caminos a regiones de difícil acceso y benefician
a miles de personas en una región muy necesitada", indicó
Fanovich.
En Cerro Iglesias se está nivelando el terreno para la construcción
de un centro de salud y los campamentos que tendrán como
sede la zona de Santa Cruz, en el distrito de San Félix,
están construidos en el 90%.
El próximo 15 se esperan contenedores con alimentos enlatados
y medicamentos.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 4, 2003 (in
Spanish)
Bush Requests 9 million for Panama (top)
Washington-President George Bush requested 9 million
dollars in support for Panama of the 731 million dollar proposed
Andean Initiative Against Drugs for the fiscal year of 2004.The
majority of these funds will be sent to Colombia, that will receive
463 million dollars, on top o the 439 million of this year.
As far as supporting Latin Americas military, Bush
proposed another 143.1 million of dollars. Colombia continues to
receive the majority of these funds, with 110 million dollars. The
US will double help to Bolivia (from 2 million to 4 million), Panama
(from 1 to 2.5 million) and Peru (from 1 to 2 million).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 4, 2003
Bush pide 9 millones para Panamá (top)
Servicios internacionales
WASHINGTON. -El presidente estadounidense, George
W. Bush, pidió 9 millones de dólares en ayuda para
Panamá dentro de su propuesta presupuestaria de 731 millones
de dólares para la Iniciativa Andina Antidrogas (IAA) en
el año fiscal 2004. La mayor parte de esa cantidad se destinaría
a Colombia, que recibiría 463 millones, frente a 439 millones
del año anterior.
En cuanto a la ayuda militar a Latinoamérica,
Bush propuso 143.1 millones de dólares.
Colombia sigue acaparando la mayor parte de este capítulo,
con 110 millones de dólares.
Se dobla la ayuda a Bolivia (de 2 millones este año fiscal
a 4 millones), Panamá (de 1 a 2.5 millones) y Perú
(de 1 a 2 millones).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Situación
de Darién preocupa a EU (The Situation
of the Darien Worries the US)
February 3, 2003 (top)
URANIA CECILIA MOLINA
planas@prensa.com
WASHINGTON, EU. -El presidente de Estados Unidos,
George W. Bush, ve con preocupación la incursión de
irregulares colombianos a la provincia de Darién, actividad
que hace tres semanas le costó la vida a cuatro panameños
y un quinto quedó gravemente herido.
La preocupación principal de Estados Unidos es que los irregulares
colombianos (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC; Ejército
de Liberación Nacional, ELN; y las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias
de Colombia, FARC) trasladen sus actividades ilícitas a la
provincia de Darién, dijo en Washington, Alfonso Aguilar,
vocero de prensa para América Latina y el Caribe de la U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID), conocida en Panamá
como Agencia para el Desarrollo del Gobierno de Estados Unidos.
El pasado 18 de enero, un grupo de 150 integrantes de las paramilitares
Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) ingresó a la comunidad
de Paya, en la provincia de Darién y asesinó a Ernesto
Ayala, jefe cacique; San Pascual Ayala, segundo cacique, y Luis
Enrique Martínez, comisario de esta aldea.
Aguilar manifestó que la incursión de irregulares
colombianos señala la dificultad que se tiene para controlar
el narcotráfico y agregó que su gobierno considera
que para combatirlo se necesita destinar dinero para trabajar específicamente
en la zona fronteriza de Darién.
Anunció que para lograrlo, en las próximas semanas
llegará a la zona fronteriza con Colombia un equipo que se
encargará de estudiar el problema y trabajar con el gobierno
de la presidenta, Mireya Moscoso, para buscar una solución.
"Darién se puede convertir fácilmente en un terreno
para las actividades que realizan las FARC; Darién es una
zona de selva difícil de controlar", informó
Aguilar.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Situation of the Darien Worries the US (top)
February 3, 2003
URANIA CECILIA MOLINA
planas@prensa.com
Washington, DC-The US president George W. Bush is
looking at the situation carefully of the incursion of irregular
activity by Colombians in the Province of the Darien, activity that
three weeks ago cost the lives of four Panamanians leaving a fifth
severely wounded. The principal concern of the US is that the Colombian
irregular activity (AUC, ELN, and FARC) are moving their illicit
activity to the province of the Darien, said Alfonso Aguilar, public
relations voice of the US Agency for International Development (USAID),
that is known in Panama as the Agency for the Development of the
United States Government.
On January 18th a group of 150 members of the paramilitaries
from the AUC entered the Paya Community, in the Darien Province,
and assassinated Ernesto Ayala, principal authority, San Pascual
Ayala, second authority, and Luis Martinez commissioner of the village.
Aguilar declared that the incursion of irregular Colombian activity
is a signal of the difficulties that exist in controlling drug trafficking
and added that the US government considers that to combat the problem
the need to send more money to work specifically in the border area
of the Darien.
He announced that to achieve this, in the coming
weeks a team would arrive to the Colombian border that would be
in charge of studying the problem and working with the Panamanian
President, Mireya Moscoso, to look for a solution. "The Darien
could easily convert into territory to for FARC activity; the Darien
is a jungle zone and difficult to control." Informed Aguilar.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Bomba demográfica' amenaza B. de
Cupe (top)
February 3, 2003
En Boca de Cupe solo se cuenta con un médico
y dos enfermeros para atender los problemas de salud
José Otero
jotero@prensa.com
La población darienita de Boca de Cupe, en
la frontera con Colombia, se ha convertido en una verdadera bomba
demográfica al incrementarse en casi el 50% la totalidad
de sus habitantes en menos de una semana, como resultado de los
acontecimientos ocurridos en las comunidades vecinas de Paya y Púcuru.
Así lo revela un informe de la Defensoría del Pueblo,
que señala que luego del ataque de escuadrones paramilitares
a las dos aldeas indígenas panameñas a finales de
enero de este año, en Boca de Cupe se han refugiado 475 personas
que han abandonado sus viviendas.
Según los últimos datos demográficos de la
Contraloría de la República, hasta noviembre del 2001
en la población de Boca de Cupe, que tiene una extensión
territorial de 782 kilómetros cuadrados, residían
902 personas.
En la actualidad esa población se incrementó a mil
377 residentes, que incluye los 475 refugiados. Aunado a ello, la
Defensoría del Pueblo informó que otros 174 colombianos
en calidad de desplazados han llegado hasta Punusa, una aldea cercana;
muchos de ellos pretenden refugiarse en Boca de Cupe.
Según los datos recogidos por la Defensoría del Pueblo
en una inspección realizada del 29 al 31 de enero pasado,
en Boca de Cupe solo se cuenta con un médico y dos enfermeros
para atender los problemas de salud de esta comunidad y de poblaciones
cercanas.
Otro de los problemas enumerados por este informe es la insuficiencia
de las telecomunicaciones en Boca de Cupe, donde solo hay un teléfono
público que por lo regular está descompuesto. Además
no hay oficinas de correos y telégrafos.
También es notable la falta de servicios públicos
de salud, educación y alimentación.
De igual forma, en el documento se reflejan quejas de indígenas
que manifiestan sus temores de volver a sus comunidades por las
amenazas de los grupos irregulares.
La Defensoría del Pueblo comprobó que una gran cantidad
de pobladores de Paya y Púcuro están indocumentados,
porque han perdido su cédula de identidad personal al abandonar
sus poblados. La Defensoría, en conjunto con el Tribunal
Electoral, realizará una nueva gira de trabajo para hacer
el registro necesario y dotar del documento oficial a los pobladores
indígenas que no cuentan con este.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A Demographic Bomb" Threatens Boca
de Cupe (top)
February 3, 2003
In Boca de Cupe there is only one medic and 2 nurses
to care for health problems.
José Otero
jotero@prensa.com
The Darien population in Boca de Cupe, on the Colombian
border, has converted into a demographic bomb upon increasing the
population by 50% in less than a week as a result of the displacement
that occurred in the neighboring Paya and Pucuro communities. This
was revealed in a report by the Defense of the People, that signaled
that after the attack by the paramilitaries of the two indigenous
Panamanian villages earlier this month, Boca de Cupe has taken 475
refugees that had to flee their homes.
According toe the most recent demographics of the
Census, as of November 2001 the Boca de Cupe population, that has
a territorial area of 782 square kilometers, had 902 residents.
However, in actuality the population has increased
to 1, 377 residents including the 475 refugees. Additionally, the
Defense of the People, informed that another 174 Colombians also
displaced have arrived to Punusa, a nearby village, and many of
them are seeking refuge in Boca de Cupe.
According to the data collected by Defense of the
People in an inspections January 29 through the 31st, Boca Cupe
only has one doctor and 2 nurses to care for the health problems
facing the community and nearby populations.
Another one of the problems that this report suggested
is the insufficient telecommunications in Boca de Cupe, where there
is only one public telephone that normally is out of service. Furthermore,
there are no mail or telegraph offices. Also, the report noted the
lack of health services, education and nutrition.
In addition, the document reflected the concerns of indigenous peoples
that shared their fears of returning to their communities because
of the threats of irregular activity.
The Defense of the People also found that a large
quantity of the Paya and Pucuro residents were undocumented, because
they have lost their official identity documents upon abandoning
their towns.
The Defense of the People, together with the Electoral Tribunal,
will make a new work tour to register the undocumented and give
official documents to those indigenous people that have lost them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
La crisis de Boca de Cupe (top)
February 3, 2003
Mas de 500 personas, entre ellas 200 niños,
abandonaron los poblados de Boca de Paya, Paya, Púcuru y
Punusa, para buscar refugio en la comunidad de Boca de Cupe, huyendo
del cruento ataque a Paya por irregulares colombianos. Al poblado
siguen llegando desplazados y los alimentos escasean, no hay medicinas
y los niños están enfermando.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The crisis in Boca de Cupe (top)
February 3, 2003
More than 500 people, among them 200 children, abandoned
Boca de Paya, Paya, Pucuro and Punoso, to seek refugee in the Boca
de Cupe community, fleeing from the cruel attacks of the communities
by irregular Colombians. Displaced peoples continue arriving to
Boca de Paya finding food scarcity, no medicine and sick children.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/30/03
(in Spanish) (top)
VICTOR D. TORRES
vdagoberto@prensa.com
The Number
of Victims Increase in Paya
After the paramilitary attack on the 18th of January, in which four
authorities of the Paya community were left dead, there has been
a reported disappearance of a fifth indigenous man, Daniel Gutierrez,
whose body has still not been found. The uncle of the victim, who
is the indigenous authority of Paya and Pucuro, Aquileo Olivo, said
that his nephew died in the hands of the military in a trip that
he was made with two friends to Arquia, a Colombian town next to
the Border with Panama.
Gutierrez was traveling with two friends, Roger
Echevarria and Osvaldo Pizarro, when they were intercepted near
the community of Tugon by the paramilitaries that were advancing
towards Paya.
Echevarria and Pizarro escaped from the shots fired
by the paramilitaries, and ran for the mountains. Olivio, the general
Kuna authority, said that the corpse of his nephew still has not
appeared since he was hit by a burst of machine gun fire.
The senior fiscal, Cristobal Arboleda, said that
the death of Gutierrez occurred 4 days before the attacks on the
Paya Community and was treating them as two separate incidents.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aumenta
número de víctimas en Paya (top)
1/30/03
VICTOR D. TORRES
vdagoberto@prensa.com
Tras el ataque paramilitar del 18 de enero pasado,
en el que resultaron muertos cuatro autoridades de la comunidad
de Paya, se reportó la desaparición de un quinto indígena,
Daniel Gutiérrez, cuyo cuerpo no ha sido recuperado.
El tío de la víctima, quien es el cacique general
de Paya y Púcuru, Aquileo Olivo, dijo que su sobrino murió
a manos de los militares en un viaje que realizaba juntos con otros
dos compañeros hacia Arquía, un pueblo colombiano
próximo a la frontera oriental de Panamá.
Gutiérrez viajaba junto con otros dos compañeros,
Roger Echevarría y Osvaldo Pizarro, cuando cerca de la comunidad
de Tugón fueron interceptados por la columna de paramilitares
que avanzaba hacia Paya.
Echevarría y Pizarro escaparon de los disparos de los paramilitares,
luego de tirarse al monte.
El cacique Olivo dijo que el cadáver de su sobrino Gutiérrez
no ha aparecido desde que fue impactado por una ráfaga de
ametralladora.
El fiscal superior especial, Cristóbal Arboleda, dijo que
la muerte de Gutiérrez ocurrió cuatro días
antes del ataque a Paya, por lo que se trata de dos hechos diferentes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colombia
y Panamá patrullarán la frontera (top)
1/30/03
Jefe militar
reconoció que la frontera con Panamá siempre ha sido
problemática para Colombia
VICTOR D. TORRES
vdagoberto@prensa.com
Un miembro de la Policía Nacional de Panamá monta
guardia junto al hito fronterizo de la comunidad de La Miel, en
Kuna Yala, y que marca el límite fronterizo en el sector
Atlántico. Del otro lado está la población
colombiana de Zapzurro, donde el Ejército colombiano realiza
patrullajes esporádicos.
Los 15 puestos policiales para patrullar la frontera entre Colombia
y Panamá estarán ubicados a lo largo de la frontera,
en el departamento del Chocó, desde la zona de Urabá,
en el Atlántico, hasta Juradó, en el Pacífico.
El comandante general de las Fuerzas Militares de Colombia, Jorge
Mora Rangel, dijo, en declaraciones ofrecidas en Bogotá,
que los patrullajes serán mixtos, entre militares colombianos
y policías panameños.
Mora aseguró que los patrullajes comenzarán entre
abril y agosto de 2003.
Cada puesto tendrá 46 hombres con mandos de oficiales, capitanes
y tenientes.
La Brigada 17 del Ejército, destacada en el Golfo de Urabá,
en la localidad de Carepa -compuesta por 300 hombres-, será
la encargada por Colombia de los patrullajes fronterizos conjuntos.
"Esa sería la unidad más cercana a Panamá
para el intercambio de información", añadió
el comandante militar.
La brigada representa un dispositivo del Ejército colombiano
en el sector fronterizo, que abarca desde Zapzurro, Cabo Tiburón
hasta Palo de Letras, en el centro de la zona fronteriza.
Mora Rangel expresó que la frontera colombo-panameña
es compleja y montañosa y desde hace años es usada
para el comercio ilegal de armas en la región.
El destacamento de los efectivos militares se hará en dos
fases y cubrirá el 50% de los municipios que carecen del
servicio de policía, apuntó el comandante.
El jefe militar reconoció que la frontera con Panamá
siempre ha sido problemática para Colombia.
"Es una frontera utilizada por los grupos para el comercio
ilegal de armas", señaló Rangel.
Anotó que en los últimos meses el ejército
ha decomisado más de mil armas entre fusiles, carabinas,
subametralladoras, municiones, lanzagranadas y explosivos.
Este martes, autoridades panameñas y colombianas acordaron
en Bogotá reforzar la seguridad en la zona fronteriza.
Durante un asalto, el pasado 18 de enero, un escuadrón de
paramilitares asesinó a cuatro autoridades indígenas
de los poblados darienitas de Paya y Púcuru.
La Cruz Roja informó en un comunicado que proporcionó
a asistencia a cientos de desplazados panameños y 635 colombianos,
ubicados en la escuela de Boca de Cupe, Darién, que huyeron
tras los hechos violentos ocurridos en las comunidades de Púcuro
y Paya el 18 de enero pasado.
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Colombia and Panama will Patrol the Border
(top)
1/30/03
The head of the military recognized that the border
with Panama has always been problematic for Colombia
VICTOR D. TORRES
vdagoberto@prensa.com
A member of the National Police of Panama will send
the guard to target the border of the Kuna Yala community La Miel
that marks the border with the Atlantic sector. On the other side
of the border is the Colombian community of Zapzurro, where the
Colombian Military carries out sporadic patrols. The 15 police posts
to patrol the border between Colombia and Panama are located along
the border in the department of Choco, beginning in the zone of
Uraba in the Atlantic reaching into Jurado on the Pacific Coast
of Colombia.
The general commander of the Military Forces of
Colombia, Jorge Mora Rangel, said, in declarations offered in Bogota,
that the partols would be mixed between the Colombian Military and
the Panamanian police. Mora assured that the patrols would start
in between April and August of 2003. Each post would have 46 men
with lead officials, captains and lieutenants. The 17th Brigade
of the Colombian Army, stationed in the Golf of Uraba, near Carepa-comprised
of 300 men-would take charge of the coordinated border patrols.
"This would be the unit closest to Panama for the exchange
of information." Added the Commanding officer.
The brigade represents a device for the Colombian
military in the border sector, that comprises Zapurro, Cabo Tiburon
through Palo de Letras, in the center of the border zone. Mora Rangel
expressed that the Panama-Colombia border is complex and mountainous
and that for years it has been used for the illegal arms trade in
the region. The initiative of the military would be done in two
phases and would cover 50% of the municipalities that lack police
service, noted the commander. The military general recognized that
the border with Panama has always been problematic for Colombia.
"It's a border utilized for groups for the illegal arms trade."
Said Rangel.
He noted that in the last few months the military
has found more than 1,000 arms including rifles, sub-machine guns,
ammunition, granade launchers and explosives.
This Tuesday Panamanian and Colombian authorities agreed, in Bogota,
to strengthen the security on the border zone.
During and assault, on 18 January, a paramilitary
squad assassinated 4 indigenous leaders from the Darien communities
of Paya and Pucuro.
The Red Cross informed, in a message that it was supplying assistance
to a crowd of hundreds of displaced Panamanians and 635 Colombians,
seeking refuge in the school in Boca Cupe, Darien, that had fled
from the violent attacks that occurred in the Pucuro and Paya communities
on 18 January.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Kuna Demand Security in the Darien (top)
1/27/03
The General
Congress of Kuna Yala, the maximum authority of the Kuna, condemned
the attacks by the paramilitaries, last week, against the border
towns of Paya and Pucuro.
At the same time they deplored the presence of other armed groups
in the area, which they say, is being used as a pretext for the
attacks, provoking the anxiety of the Darien communities. Addressing
the situation, the General Congress of Kuna Yala made a call to
the population at large to maintain alert about these denouncements.
The attack left four indigenous authorities dead. Paya is located
less than 10 kilometers from the Colombian border and according
to the 2000 census, they had 533 inhabitants.
They added that with the recent violence that is occurring, the
objectives are to break the political, spiritual, cultural and social
structures of the Darien community, decapitating their authorities.
"It is also no secret that there are powerful interests in
the international community pushing the so called Plan Colombia,
that is a plan almost exclusively for the military, as a "solution"
to the armed conflict in this country, and that it intends to include
the neighboring Countries of Colombia," said their official
statement.
___________________________________________________________
Kunas exigen seguridad en Darién (top)
1/27/03
SADY TAPIA G.
stapia@prensa.com
El Congreso General de Kuna Yala, la máxima autoridad kuna,
condenó ayer el ataque de los paramilitares, la semana pasada,
contra los poblados fronterizos de Paya y Púcuru.
De igual forma deploró la presencia de otros grupos armados
en el área, lo cual, dijo, se está usando como pretexto
para los ataques, provocando la zozobra en las comunidades darienitas.
Ante esta situación, el Congreso General de Kuna Yala hizo
también un llamado a la población para que se mantenga
alerta ante los hechos denunciados.
En el ataque resultaron asesinadas cuatro autoridades indígenas.
Paya está ubicado a menos de 10 kilómetros de la frontera
con Colombia y, según el censo del 2000, cuenta con 533 habitantes.
Agrega el comunicado que con los recientes hechos violentos que
se registraron, los objetivos que se persiguen son romper la estructura
política, espiritual, cultural y social de las comunidades
darienitas, descabezando sus autoridades.
"Tampoco es secreto que hay intereses poderosos en la arena
internacional que impulsan el llamado Plan Colombia, que es un plan
casi exclusivamente militar, como 'solución' al conflicto
armado en ese país, y se pretende involucrar en él
a los países vecinos a Colombia", señala el comunicado.
Colombia:
The FTAA Gateway into South America (top)
download
this document in MS word form
The war in Colombia is being called the next Viet Nam.
The war in Colombia has nothing to do with stopping drugs.
To understand the importance of Colombia to the FTAA, you must look
at it in terms of location, size and natural resources.
Geographically, it is the crucial gateway into South America. With
almost 440,000 square miles of land Colombia is as large in area
as all of Central America and almost one third of Mexico combined.
It is rich in natural resources including oil, gold, iron, emeralds
and timber. It is one of the largest exporters of coffee globally
and is rated second in the world for biodiversity, with ecosystems
ranging from coastal plains to high Andes peaks to Amazonian jungle.
These facts go a long way in explaining why this year Colombia received
the third highest amount of U.S. aid (primarily in the form of helicopter
gunships, weapons and military training) after only Israel and Egypt.
It also helps explain why there has been a massive military build-up
in Colombia¹s neighbors: Central America, Ecuador and Peru, and
the Carribbean.
Plan Colombia, the $7.5 billion regional plan for Colombia and its
neighbors, though touted as being aid in the War on Drugs, is not
really concerned with stopping the flow of drugs north. The Rand
Corp. study found that money spent on drug treatment and education
in the U.S. would be 23 times more cost effective in reducing drug
consumption than the present policy of militarization of the region
and eradication of coca and poppy crops by herbicide spraying. Furthermore,
decades of drug wars have shown that when drug production is rubbed
out in one country, it inevitably resurfaces elsewhere.
Plan Colombia is about making South America safe for capitalism
and the unimpeded expansion of multinational corporations and ³free
trade.² Colombia is the gateway for the FTAA in South America, which
in turn is the gateway for globalization in the western hemisphere.
There are a number of elements that make Colombia of critical importance
to all of Latin America at this point in time:
1) The pacification of Colombia is essential for the Free Trade
Area of the Americas. Colombia must be ³stablized² for trade to
flow freely through Central and South America. In addition, its
oil and other natural resources are highly coveted by multinational
corporations.
2) All the elements are present in Colombia for an escalating, protracted
and unwinnable war on a scale with the war in Viet Nam--this time
in our own hemisphere.
3) Indigenous peoples are targeted and removed from their traditional
lands to increase the holdings of wealthy landowners. The U¹wa people
have fought Occidental Petroleum for seven years and have taken
a life or death stand by threatening mass suicide if drilling for
oil proceeds on their ancestral land. There could be no clearer
example of what is wrong with Plan Colombia, and the Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA), than this life or death struggle by
the U¹wa. Many other tribes have already been annihilated or dispersed
to cities.
4) Colombia¹s incredibly rich ecosystem has been the target of massive
toxic herbicide spraying since 1995. The herbicide is indiscriminant,
killing whatever it comes in contact with. It also causes serious
health problems for the people living in the targeted areas and
poisons the water. The assault on the population is matched by an
assault on the environment.
5) A proposed site for an inter-oceanic ³dry canal², or ³corridor
of investment² goes across the NW corner of the country. Such dry
canals are critical to the expansion of inter-oceanic trade.
6) Colombia is the focus of a military build-up throughout the Caribbean
and Central and South America.
There is a long tradition of political violence in Colombia. Along
with the Spanish legacy which left a great majority of wealth and
land concentrated in a handful of families, there have been rebellions
and suppression. In 1949, the assassination of Jorgé Galtan, an
indigenous leader about to become president, began what is referred
to as La Violencia (the violence). The FARC rebel group was formed
in the 50s, with other smaller rebel groups forming later, and the
country has been embroiled in a civil war for going on 40 years.
At one point, the rebel armies agreed to lay down their arms and
form a political party. Consequently over 1600 members of their
party were assassinated so the rebels abandoned the political process
and took up arms again. The rebels currently control about 40% of
the country.
As another legacy of Spanish rule, there is widespread corruption
in the government and military, which are also widely acknowledged
to be involved in the drug trade. The military has close ties to
strong paramilitary groups, which often work for the wealthiest
families, and which regularly carry out massacres of peasants living
on desirable land or who are suspected of being rebel sympathizers.
Judges, labor organizers, human rights workers and journalists are
also frequent assassination targets of the paramilitaries. In 1999,
half of the 120 labor leaders killed worldwide were killed in Colombia.
Colombia is a violent, virtually lawless society where the wealthy
rule with impunity and an assassin can be hired for about US$20.
In order to pass the aid package, Clinton had to waive restrictions
on military aid to countries with poor human rights records contained
in the Leahy Amendment, because Colombia has the worst human rights
record in the western hemisphere. Over 35,000 people have died in
the violence there in the last ten years. It is called a genocidal
democracy. A portion of the weapons being given to the Colombian
military will undoubtedly end up in the hands of paramilitaries.
The U.S. is largely alone in its promotion of a military solution
to this complex situation. Most European countries oppose Plan Colombia
and have held back non-military aid which is part of the $7.5 billion
regional plan, showing that it is mainly a U.S., not an international
plan.
Social unrest, political upheaval, a huge refugee population (2
million people), a booming drug trade involving many sectors of
Colombian society, a corrupt government and military, gross human
rights abuses and strong, well-armed rebel groups on the left and
paramilitary groups on the right, topped off by struggling economies
add up to a highly unstable situation. Onto this powder keg, the
U.S. is throwing almost a billion dollars of weapons, with some
members of Congress already looking to increase the military aid
further.
In the first three weeks of 2001 there have already been at least
two assassinations of indigenous leaders as well as other assassinations
and several large massacres. Now that Bush is in office and we have
a general for secretary of state, snowballing escalation of the
conflict is in the forecast.
ACERCA organizes on the Colombia issue, working to prevent the toxic
herbicide spraying of communities and the rainforest, repression
of indigenous peoples and continuing build-up of US military aid,
in an attempt to stop yet another Viet Nam War from becoming reality.
Contact us to get involved. (802) 863-0571; acerca@sover.net
ASEJ
UPDATE - Tue, March 25, 2003 10:17 am (top)
The latest word we have from Jason Ford from ASEJ and Doyle
Canning in Hartford, CT is that everyone is released who was
arrested yesterday in the Colombia mobilization and anti-war
actions!
It appears a deal was struck with the court and people are
getting one day Connecticut community service, plus time served.
A far better deal than the $5000 bail set yesterday.
Some of the arrested addressed the court about the situation
in Colombia and Iraq.
|
Photo by: Katie Knight
General Montoya in helicopter over Colombia.
Montoya, a graduate of the School of the Americas in Fort
Benning, Georgia, has been implicated in paramilitary massacares. |
Colombia
Mobilization Arrests (top)
Drawing by Colombian child.
ACERCA, a project of Action for Social and
Ecological Justice (ASEJ), is a Coordinating Committee member
of the National Colombia Mobilization.
At this moment we have
3 people in jail from
our organization plus many close friends. We are currently
helping with support on-site and in our office for those arrested.
We released the following to the national media:
For Immediate Media Release March 24, 2003
Contact: Anne Petermann: (802) 863-0571
Mobile on-site: Doyle Canning: (802) 279-0985
Eleven Arrests in Sikorsky Protest Against War in
Colombia and Iraq. Approximately 80 More Arrested in front
of Hartford, CT Federal Building
Hartford, CT--Eleven activists were arrested this morning
in an anti-war protest targeting the makers of the Blackhawk
attack helicopters that are being used in Iraq and Colombia.
They are currently being held on charges of criminal trespass
and disorderly conduct. Bail was set at $5000.
After the Sikorsky arrests two busses were used by authorities
to transport dozens arrested at the Hartford Federal Building
in a related action. Both actions occurred on the heels of
an anti-war march that drew over three thousand people in
Hartford yesterday.
At 8 a.m. today dozens of activists dressed as blood-soaked
peasants staged a "die-in" at the corporate headquarters
of United Technologies Corporation (UTC)/Sikorsky in Hartford,
CT, demanding an "end to corporate terror in Colombia"
as part of the National Mobilization on Colombia.
On the street outside UTC headquarters, Jason Ford from Action
for Social and Ecological Justice (ASEJ) said, "The U.S.
Congress is doing it's best to make sure UTC's profits soar
while the people and land of Colombia and Iraq are destroyed
by Blawkhawks. Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we
stand for peace in Colombia, Iraq and all parts of the world.
We must point towards the true causes of war--an utterly insane
attempt at empire building, corporate greed and U.S. leaders
willing to compromise democracy for the sake of profit while
endangering all life on Earth."
According to the Center for Public Integrity, UTC, of which
Sikorsky is a subsidiary, spent a total of $8,431,443 lobbying
Congress and the administration on Colombian issues. UTC has
received over $400 million to provide Blackhawk helicopters
to be used as a part of the escalating violence suffered by
the Colombian people and are at this moment being used in
the U.S. administration's 'blitzkrieg' attack on Iraq.
Since Colombia became the third largest recipient of US foreign
aid in the world, political murders and displacement have
doubled. The Colombian security forces and paramilitaries
together are responsible for 84% of all political killings
and forced disappearances, according to Human Rights Watch.
The Colombia Mobilization is a national coalition of over
one hundred organizations and individuals working to transform
U.S. policy toward Colombia and the Andean region. The Colombia
Mobilization is committed to peace and justice in Colombia
and argues that the U.S. economic and military policy towards
Colombia has increased violence there.
At least three persons with Action for Social and Ecological
Justice and ACERCA were arrested in the Sikorsky action.
Sponsors include: Witness for Peace/New England, New Hampshire
Peace Action, Colombia Action/CT, Solidaridad Colombia, Hartford
Catholic Worker, ACERCA, School of the Americas Watch/RI,
CT Conference of the United Church of Christ, Witness for
Peace/Mid Atlantic, Efficacy, Cuba Coalition/Hartford and
others.
ASEJ
Action for Social and Ecological Justice
P.O. Box 57, Burlington, VT 05402 USA
(802) 863-0571 Mobile: (802) 598-8374
(802) 864-8203 Fax
http://www.asej.org
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