(Translated by Deryn Collins- CSN Volunteer Translator, Edited by Shanise Faust)
The families of LUZ ARLEDY MONCADA GUTIERREZ, MARTHA CECILIA PINEROS PENA, HENRY CUBIDES, AVIMELEC MORERA GUTIERREZ, ANGEL LUCIANO REYES VELAZQUES, EUDER EMILIO ARCILA JIMENEZ, SAMUELA CHACON AVILA, LEOVIGILDO RINCON NOVOA, HERMIDES OYOLA BOHORQUEZ, JARO ACEVADOHERNANDEZ, EDUARD LOMBANA NINCO, JORGE ELIECER PANTOJA GOMEZ, ELVER NEY SERRANO RINCON, ALEXANDER ALVARADA ROMERO, Y FABNCY ENID SLVA RUEDA, whose bodies were handed over under the humanitarian framework of the Peace Process, between August and November of this year in Ricaurte-Narino, Neiva-Huila, Villavicencio-Meta and Florencia-Caqueta, we have met to evaluate these handing over of the victims bodies and decide to direct ourselves to public opinion to express that:
- We always hoped to find our loved ones alive, but they were returned to us in coffins and after a wait of 15 to 20 years we are now looking to find out the truth and for justice, with the expectation that other families will also have the return of their disappeared family members and stop the suffering of the search, for which the humanitarian measures to find them must be continued until the Unidad Busqueda del Acuerdo Final de Paz (the Search Unit of the Final Peace Agreement) starts to function.
- We ask that there are no more delays in the search for the disappeared, nor in the identification of the bodies. There must be no more delays in finding out the truth. The State must recognize its responsibility for the crimes and must not hide information about what happened. It is the responsibility of the State to give answers to the families of the disappeared; it is not a favor but the duty of the authorities, without so many procedures and steps to reach the compensation of our rights.
- We ask that the army tell us where the disappeared are, and that the State, the guerrillas and the rest of the armed groups provide information that allows the recovery of the bodies and allow them a dignified burial.
- We ask that the media and the Government publicly broadcast in every corner of the country the faces and the names of those that have been identified so that family members can reclaim the victim’s bodies, as we have achieved using the humanitarian measures in accord with the Peace agreement.
- We first thank the Lord, the work of accompaniment of the Colectivo OFB; the forensic team of the Medicina Legal, who did the exhumations for the Fiscalia; the psychologists of the UARIV; the priests and pastors of DiPAZ; P Henry Ramirez and the Claretianos; Equitas and the AVRE and COPSICO Corporation. Special thanks go to the Negotiation teams for the Peace Process on the side of the Government and the FARC EP Guerrillas.
Villavicencio, Meta, December 3rd, 2016
Source Email from Colectivo Socio-Juridico Orlando Fals Borda