The Horror, the Death and the Shameless Behavior are Intensufying

(Translated by Steve Cagan, a CSN volunteer translator )
 
Sadly the facts show what we have been saying so often; the increase in deaths, the worst with the shamelessness of the State and with no actions to stem the flow of blood and the paramilitary advances. The national and local governments and the armed forces just call us liars, psychological terrorists, since everything is tranquil. According to their logic of death, tranquility is the peace of the grave, fear and silence. We oppose this, so we are attesting once again to the following facts:
 
–       On November 14, 2009, at around 3 PM, in the rural settlement of Mulatos, Gilberto Graciano, a member of our community was the victim of a mine. He was looking for some pigs, and at the end of the road, where he was walking, he was the victim of a mine, in the same place where Aido Luz was a victim on August 3.
 
–       Every week the person with the alias of Zamir continues lying and stigmatizing the community on the radio stations of the area. This is undoubtedly orchestrated by the XVII Brigade, and no structure of the State does anything in the face of such arbitrary behavior by and impunity for a person who has committed crimes against humanity.
 
–       On November 16, at about 10 AM, in Caracoli (a spot on the highway, 10 minutes from San José in the direction of Apartadó) Wilmer Tuberquia was approached by Wilfer Higuita with another man in civilian clothes. They had weapons and were on a motorcycle. They told Wimbur Tuberquia that they had a list of people to be murdered and that on that list was Reynaldo Areyza. Then they told him to leave immediately. Wilfer Higuita has patrolled with the army os the one who, together with Coronel Rojas proposed to Reynaldo Areyza that he work with them with the goal of destroying the community.
 
–       On November 21 and 22, the paramilitaries held meetings. On the 21st, at 11 AM in Batata and on the 22 around 1 PM in Murillo (a rural community of Batata). There they said that everyone had to get an identity card issues by them, that the deadline for getting this identity card was December of this year, that whoever did not have ne would be murdered. The Batata meeting was held in the center of the settlement, where police and military were seen arriving; there is a paramilitary base there.
 
–       On November 23, at about 10 PM, Dairo de Jesús Rodríguez, known as Lalo, was murdered. He was in the billiards business he had in San José; there his throat was slashed.
 
–       On November 24, at 10 AM, the paramilitaries conducted a meeting in Nueva Antioquia with the people there; they said that had attempted to reach an agreement with the guerrillas but it did not happen. Now they would kill whoever was with the guerrillas. They were also going to issue i.d. cards to the people, for which everyone would have to fill out a form with the movements, where they lived, family members; whoever did not have the card, they would kill. They added that the main goal at this time was to get rid of the son-of-a-bitch Peace Community. There is a paramilitary base in Nueva Antioquia, about which we have been giving evidence for many years; the army and the police are also there.
 
–       On November 25, at about 1 PM, Elkin Tuberquia called Rodrigo Rodríguez. He offered him 400,000 pesos [about $200USD—SC] to inform about what the community was doing, and especially what Eduar was doing in order to annihilate him, that it was a easy job and that they already had a network that was connected with the army. Elkin Tuberquia served to lie about and distort the massacre of February 21, 2005. When he was accused of slander the prosecutor’s office said that they do not know where he is and it seems he is dead according to the XVII Brigade.
 
–       On November 29, at 3 PM, Luis Arnelio Zapata Montoya, who lived in Antena, was murdered. Early that day, two armed men arrived at San José on a motorcycle from Apartado, and asked for various people. Luis was on the way from San José to Apartado en a bus; the motorcycle with the two men went after the bus. In the plantain plantation in Mangolo, at the exit from Apartado, there was another motorcycle with two men dressed in civilian clothing, armed with hand guns. They stopped the bus and the two men on the motorcycle got down, they tried to take Luis off the bus; he resisted and they murdered him on the bus.
 
The foregoing only demonstrates their desperation to be rid of us, but the worst of it is the number of lethal actions to which we have been submitted without absolutely anything being done about it. We know that they want to exterminate us, but these efforts will be in vain, as we believe in life, in the principles of peace, in non-violence, in a different world, and that cannot be exterminated by any means. We ask for domestic and international solidarity in the face of the horror we re suffereing.
 
The Peace Community of San José de Apartadó
December 3, 2009
 
 

Colombia Support Network
P.O. Box 1505
Madison, WI  53701-1505
phone:  (608) 257-8753
fax:  (608) 255-6621
e-mail:  csn@igc.org
http://www.colombiasupport.net

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