Death threats, isolation and displacements by paramilitaries in Bajo Calima

Bogotá, D.C. September 13, 2010

Juan Manuel Santos President of Colombia

Volmar Pérez National Ombudsman

Illegal military operations began in July 2010 in the Bajo Calima and San Juan region of the Pacific coast, in the midst of a significant state military presence.

 On Monday, July 19th, around 5:00 p.m. the headquarters of Inter-Ecclesial Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJyP) was informed by inhabitants of the Calima region of 30 paramilitaries in Cabeceras, El Coco and Palestina along the San Juan river.

When the armed men arrived, wearing military camouflage, along the San Juan River, they offered $800.000 (USD 400) to young men to join their ranks. From July 12th until July 19th, the paramilitary forces have been there drinking liquor and using drugs. Due to their abuses, the intimidation and the pressure upon the young men to join their armed group, the civilians started to displace one by one from the village of El Coco to the town of Palestina.

 On Friday July 23rd, families from the town of Palestina, 20 minutes from the Bajo Calima region, decided to flee from the paramilitary operations. But this was only an option for a few people. According to witnesses, the entire community could not displace because the marines, as well as the paramilitaries, prevented them from leaving the area.

The crimes and repeated threats have presented a clear message to the whole community. The paramilitaries announced that from October the San Juan and El Calima region will be under their control.

 On Friday July 30th, around 9:30 a.m., the CIJyP received information about the murder of EDWIN PEDROZA, a young man assassinated by the paramilitaries in the community of El Coco, within the municipality of Litoral de San Juan. A non-corroborated source states that the young man was assassinated by paramilitary forces in front of members of the Marine Core N° 4 River Battalion N° 3.

 On Sunday August 22nd around 8:00 p.m., the CIJyP was informed of a new threat, this time against the youth organization “Young People United for the Benefit of Calima”, JUBCA. One paramilitary said JUBCA is a group of researchers, and “we do not want to know anything about that organization”. They ordered JUBCA to stop denouncing them as well as to stop all relationships with CIJyP, which has been declared a military target.

 On Monday August 23rd in the afternoon, CIJyP was informed that at approximately 2:30 a.m. the community of La Colonia (the last village in the road and port to the Calima and San Juan rivers) was raided by a group of approximately 80 paramilitary members, who dispersed throughout the town.

That same day, CIJyP corroborated the existence of a leaflet threatening the life of a priest of the Dioceses and against CIJyP itself, in relation to their work in the defense and promotion of the rights of the Afro-Colombian inhabitants of the Calima region.

The message declared the priest and members of CIJyP to be military targets and ordered them to leave the Calima region immediately. The priest is accused of being a “puppet” of CIJyP. And again, the paramilitary stated that the work of CIJyP with young people cannot continue.

 On Tuesday August 31st around 9:30 a.m., CIJyP was informed at its Bogotá HQ that, in the area between the San Juan and Calima rivers, the paramilitary forces had warned the people against denouncing them. They added that they ought to be quiet and avoid providing CIJyP with information, participating in CIJyP’s human rights education activities, or in the legal activities and judicial procedures conducted by the organization. They added that if their warnings were not respected, the people would pay with their lives.

We condemn the criminal operations in the edges of the Calima region along the San Juan River and in the collective territory of Calima, in the midst of a very significant military presence. The pretext is military action against FARC/EP guerrillas that had a presence in the area until about 11 months ago, or the excuse of fighting drug trafficking. It is evident that this is just a pretext to repress the people, to avoid any expression of community or social organization that affirms and claims their rights to life and land.

Our condemnation is against this perverse use of military activities, which is intended to protect economic interests and hide the faces of the real beneficiaries of the armed actors.

Accordingly to Article 23 of the National Constitution, we request your factual, early and timely response, in accordance to your institutional responsibilities:

• 1. What are the concrete measures, in accordance with the Democratic Prosperity policy, that will be adopted to avoid displacement of the majority of the population and to promote the return of the people who were forced to displace?
• 2. What concrete humanitarian measures are there regarding care for displaced persons from the Calima region who currently are in Buenaventura
• 3. What are the results of the military operations during the past eight weeks when the paramilitaries have been fighting in Bajo Calima?
• 4. What natural-resources extraction infrastructure projects have been authorized by the government in the collective territory? Has there been consultation, about which projects, and with whom?
• 5. What political measures will be adopted to permit the communities to exercise their civil and political rights?

With deep concern,
Inter-Ecclesial Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJyP)

More information in Spanish: www.justiciaypazcolombia.com