Santafe de Bogota
July 10 1998


DECLARATION BEFORE PUBLIC OPINION

The Conference of Colombian Priests and the Intercongregational 
Commission on Peace and Justice wishes to bring to the attention of the 
national and international public, diplomatic delegations and the press that:

1.  After the military operation ("raid") on the seat of the Intercongregational 
Commission on Peace and Justice, on the thirteenth of May last, threats have 
continued against members of the Commission who are helping in the 
process of civilian resettlement and in the affirmation of their rights in the 
midst of the conflict, as well as participating in the struggle against 
condemnation and stigmatization to which the Commission has been 
subjected in its 10 years of existence.
 
2.  We have received confidential information that we consider trustworthy, 
from people in the religious community, from the press, diplomatic 
organizations and even government bodies, according to which the executive 
secretary of Peace and Justice, Fr. Javier Giraldo, S.J. has been declared a 
military target, and that there is even a plan in effect to make an attempt on 
his life.  We also have learned that high military authorities have openly 
expressed their intense enmity towards Father Giraldo.

3.  In spite of knowing the aforementioned facts and being sure of their 
accuracy, for the first time in the ten year existence of the Commission, we 
find ourselves handcuffed by the apparent lack of objective organizations that 
might denounce such criminal plans and take legal, penal or disciplinary 
action--however sterile they may have been up to now--in order to protect the 
Commission against any other crime against humanity decided, planned and 
executed by agents of the State or with the State's acquiescence.

4.  Once again we remark with horror and grief on the refinement the dirty 
war methods and the mechanisms of repression, which widen their scope to 
greater sectors of society, the refinement of the mechanisms designed to 
ensure that the crimes go unpunished--since before they are even performed-
-and to make it impossible that the truth about these crimes be known and 
pave the way for justice and reparation and, obviously, guarantee that no 
further crimes are committed.

5.  We are convinced that the assault against the defenders of Human Rights 
is part of a larger strategy intended to prevent their active participation in any 
process of negotiation of the conflict, and to thus guarantee that the 
thousands of crimes against humanity committed up to now  will be 
forgotten, as if the victims had never even existed, and that, on the other 
hand, that the perpetrators enjoy complete impunity.

6.  The recent murders of Jesus Maria Valle and Eduardo Umana Mendoza 
allow us to see clearly the intention to destroy people who because of their 
past history and ethical/political position have stood up to ensure that all that 
has occurred until now does not go unpunished.  For that reason, a possible 
attempt against the life of Father Javier Giraldo would be another deed which 
fits into this logic of destruction.  Not just people are being attacked, but also 
what they represent: the struggle to lay bare the impunity of these crimes, the 
denunciation of the forces that sponsor them, and the demand for serious 
guarantees from the army concerning human rights, fully understood.

7. From all the above, Father Giraldo has been obliged to take measures to 
protect his life, seeing his daily work with the victims impeded.  Neither was 
he able to participate personally in the meeting that since the 12th we present 
have held in Maguncia, Germany, where he was invited, despite his valuing 
this important event.  It is a historic opportunity to visualize--from a human 
rights perspective--the challenges involved in a serious process of political 
negotiations around the internal armed conflict which has continued for 
thirty years in Columbia, in which the murder for political reasons of almost 
26,000 Columbians, almost 2,500 forced disappearances under the auspices of 
the military, the rise of paramilitaries and the structural injustice of the legal 
system have been justified.  This means the silencing of the victims cries, and 
those of their families, communities and organizations. 



As religious and lay people committed to the defence of life and dignity:

We convey, not a formal denunciation, but the historical proof of the 
situation we are enduring.  We do not request an investigation from the state 
and governmental authorities.  Nor do we request means of protection.  Our 
experience of these ten years has shown us that these measures have not 
prevented the committing of the aforementioned crimes.

We reaffirm our commitment to defence of life and dignity, and so we 
reiterate that any process of political negotiation of the armed conflict should 
be based on the historic truth concerning the crimes against humanity 
committed in our country, such as political murders, genocide, detention--
forced disappearance, torture and forced displacement.   Furthermore, the 
right to justice should be guaranteed, understood as the bringing to justice of 
those responsible for crimes and their punishment, and complete reparation 
in relation to the crimes committed by state agents either by commission or 
omission, and for those committed under the sponsorship or tolerance of the 
state; that is, justice for the ethnic, regional or local communities, the political 
or union organizations, the families and the victims themselves, whenever 
possible.

In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the victims and their families, of the 
hidden truth, of the justice that heaven claims, and the possibility of a future 
with true peace, we say to the victimizers and their instigators "Shame on 
you who change the laws into something so bitter tasting and cast justice 
aside, you who hate whomever defends righteousness and detest whoever 
tells the truth"  Amos 5,10.

We call upon society not to be an accomplice in this possible crime and others 
that may be being planned, since "the Lord loves me because  I give my life 
and I will take it back again.  No-one has been able to take my life away 
because I myself am going to surrender it.  Freely I give it up, and freely again 
I shall recover it:  So did the Lord arrange it."  John 10, 17-18

For the Conference of Colombian Religious Leaders
Hna. Silvia Vallejo V.  O.D.N.  Presidente.

For the Intercongregational Committee on Justice and Peace,

Hna. Libia Duque A.C.I.                  Hna. Nohemy Palencia O.P.
Clemencia Correa,                        Hna. Isabel Gutierrez, S.A.C
Hna. Maritze Trigos O.P.                Danilo Rueda
Ivan Forero                                      Mauricio Llanten, s.j.