Sign on, Colombia Human Rights: University under Attack Request for Signatures: Sign on Letter, to defend Students and Professors at the National University of Colombia in Bogota, where Death Squads from Countryside now threatening FROM: Pilar Hernandez, University of Massachusetts. email pilarh@educ.umass.edu I am writing this letter to request your support for professors and students in the National University of Colombia at Bogota, who are under threat from right wing squads. At the end of this letter is a petition. I request you sign the sample and send it back to me (pilarh@educ.umass.edu) as soon as possible, so that I can forward it to the concerned authorities. I am also enclosing the addresses of relevant persons to whom I would request you to contact directly as well. Colombia's ongoing civil war is at one of its worse stages since last year. Since the formation of paramilitary groups (death squads who work for land owners, narcotraffickers, and generally the extreme right) by the military in 1985, the country has suffered a tremendous wave of violence against anyone who expresses an opinion. Many public figures have been killed and many towns have been massacred. Last year, there was a horrible massacre in the town of Mapiripan, and another one this year. Some weeks ago, a lawyer and human rights activist was assassinated, last week there was a trmendous massacre in the city of Barrancabermeja. Civilians were accused of being guerrilla supporters, taken out of their homes and killed. Others remain as hostages. Anyone can be suspected of being a leftist and therefore, be killed. The list of atrocities has no end. Now, the public univerisities are under threat and an attack is imminent. These paramilitary groups attack towns and people following a process of intimidation which starts with their sending messages, leaving death animal bodies and several signals to announce their intentions. When they attack, they make sure that people see how their family members are killed and tortured and destroy their bodies in horrible ways and leave them in public view. Their intimidation tactics are public and horrific, and they do go to the places the announce. Most massacres have been announced. However, the government does not follow any preventive measures and the military becomes blind until actions are finished. This is yet another case of an announced massacre by these groups. Colombia is in war and the government does not take action. We need a strong support from the international community. -----This is the letter sent by students at the National University, Bogota-----(my translation) "URGENT ACTION FOR THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBIA" The students of the National University at Bogota, express to the national and international community our concern because there are serious indicators pointing at the paramilitary groups taking action against the university students which have actively participated in the student movement. Our preocupation is founded in the following: 1) On May 13th, the self defense groups -or paramilitary groups-, sent a communique to a radio station, Radio NET, expressing their INCREASED interest in strengthening their actions in urban areas of the country, especially for "cleaning the public universities from subversives", markedly the National University of Colombia. 2) The news paper EL TIEMPOfrom May 22nd, published that during the second main reunion of the United Self Defense groups of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia -AUC), meton May 15-17, they created three new paramilitary fronts that will have action in the Santander, Casanare and Cundinamarca regions. According to a document exclusively known by EL TIEMPO, the paramilitary has made great effort to strengthen in the last two regions mentioned above. 3) In the last 3 days, activists from different student organizations have been victims of death threats by phone calls. 4) On May 21st a person who is close to the paramilitary groups communicated that in the next days, they are preapring an incursion at the National University of Colombia at Bogota, in order to intimidate the university community in general and attempt against the lives of activists and leaders. Because of these facts and taking into account the acute state of the dirty war from the extreme right, expressed in the assassination of social leaders and Human Rights activists, in massacres against civilians not involved in the armed conflict, and in the criminalization of any social protest, we ask the intervention of civilian authorities to PREVENT attempts against the life and integrity of activists and student leaders, who are part of the cultural, artistic and discussion and publication spaces. We ask the national and international Human Rights non-governmental organizations, and the media to demand from the Colomiban governmental and state instances, the following: a) to immediately adopt the necessary actions to protect the life and integrity of students, professors and staff at the National University. b) to immediately stop the repressive actions against human rights activists, organizations and social movements. "STUDENTS NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, BOGOTA" Santa Fe de Bogota, May 22, 1998. Addresses to send letters: S.E. Doctor Ernesto Samper Pizano, Presidente de la Republica de Colombia, palacio de Narino, Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia. Fax: 011-571-2842186 Mail to esamper@presidencia.gov.co Doctor Alfonso Gomez Mendez, Fiscal General de la Nacion, Diagonal 22-B, No. 52-01, Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia fax; 011-571-3203783 Doctor Gustavo castro Caidedo, Defensor del Pueblo, Calle 55 No. 10-32, Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia fax: 011-571-3461225 Mail to: dpueblo@colnodo.apc.org Doctor Gilberto Echeverri Mejia, Ministro de Defensa, Avenida El Dorado con carrera 52, CAN, Santa Fe de Bogota, CAN, Colombia Fax: 011-571-2213653 General Mario Hugo Galan Rodriguez, Comandante del Ejercito, Avenida El Dorado con carrera 52 CAN, Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia. Fax: 011-571-2218941 General Luis Enrique Montenegro R., Director Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad DAS. Carrera 28 No. 17A-00 Paloquemao, Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia General jose Manuel Bonett Lorcano, Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares, Avenida El Dorado con carrera 52 CAN, Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia Fax: 011-571-2218941 --------------------------------------------------------------- The following is the text for a letter, the Spanish version of which I will circulate to the above addresses in the Colombian government. This is the letter I am requesting you to endorse: S.E. Doctor Ernesto Samper Pizano, President of the Republic of Colombia, We the undersigned, are writing to express our extreme outrage at the current threat to the students and professors of the National University of Colombia by paramilitary death squads. The regime of intimidation and assassination by the paramilitary squads has been left unchecked by your government, and we feel that it not only points toward the ineffectivenes of the government in protecting its civilians, but also underscores a suspicious lack of governmet will to tackle this menace. Social change and progress can only be possible when the intellectuals and the students are able to peak out and against oppression, and by not protecting the intellectuals and sutdents of Colombia from intimidation and death, the government is silently condoning the end of freedom of thought and expression. Our younger generations do not deserve to continue inheriting the violence and state repression that we have inherited since the fifities. Today the threat is against public universities and tomorow anyone in any university who dares to express an opinion will be targeted by the paramilitary squads. We request that the government demonstrates genuine political will to protect the life and integrity of professors, students and staff at the National University, and to stop pressive actions agaisnt human rights activists and social movements. Sincerely, Pilar Hernandez,doctoral candidate, University of Massachusetts --your name here-- SIGN and return to Pilar Hernandez, University of Massachusetts. email pilarh@educ.umass.edu
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