Urgent Action: Protest Bombing and Machine-Gunning of Civilians by Government Troops

Situation

From 6 PM on Sunday January 16, troops of the 45th Batallion, "Heroes of Majagual," with support of the river flotilla of the National Navy are bombing and machine-gunning the river side La Victoria, Coroncoro and Yanacue veredas in the Cimitarra River Valley, in the jurisdiction of the Cantagallo municipality.

This new military operation in the Cimitarra River Valley is being carried out using the pretext of counter-insurgency and anti-narcotic activity according to statements to the Press by the Commander of the 45th Batallion Heroes of Majagual Colonel Jesus Maria Clavijo stating that "Here we are, and here we are going to continue in order to counteract these subversives who have changed thus zone into a bastion of drugs."

Despite the Colonel's statements, the results for the civilian population of this military incursion are: a child of only three years wounded in one leg and more than 400 peasants diplaced from their plots of land. Of those 400 displaced, 35 arrived Monday, January 17, in the city of Barrancabermeja and denounced these acts that openly violate the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law to the regional human rights organization CREDHOS and the PEASANT ASSOCIATION OF THE CIMITARRA RIVER VALLEY (ACNC).

The statements made by the peasants indicate that vessels of the National Navy obstructed the passing of the displaced persons canoes from the Yanacue Ravine to the Cimitarra River and prevented the normal flow of products and food. The peasants homes were machine-gunned directly by these vessels. Tuesday, January 18, another 50 displaced peasants arrived to the Barrancarbermeja port stating that the peasants LUIS MENDEZ, ANDRES MENDEZ, ALBERTO PINO AND EDILMA GRIMALDO were arrested by the military as alleged guerrilla fighters. They also indicated that the peasants Jaime Yepes and his wife were disappeared and that their food shop was plundered by the military. They stated that about another 250 displaced peasants will soon arrive to Barrancabermeja.

In view of these repeated violations of human rights by the Colombian State in our region we denounce the following:

1. That this type of operations and joint action of the Armed Forces and paramilitary groups have been happening in the recent months in this zone and specifically on the earlier mentioned veredas,the latest attack with bombings and machine-gunning against the population, was exposed by the ACVC on last December 15. This zone serves as a displacement corridor to peasants fleeing the paramilitary genocide from the South of Bolivar to the Cimitarra River Valley.
2. That this zone includes the border between the Cimitarra River Valley and the territories under the rule of State paramilitarism, where the State exercises its permanent military and administrative presence. (Municipalities of San Pablo, Simiti and Santa Rosa). As a blatant contradiction in these territories, there are no antinarcotic operations a further proof the of connivance between paramilitaries and the State Armed Forces, narco-traffic and the large land owners. (For further information see the Espectador article, page 2A, of January 9 "Despeje en el Sur de Bolivar" by Alfredo Molano).
3. That therefore these military operations have the aim of guaranteeing the entry of the State paramilitary hordes to the Cimitarra River Valley in order to murder and displace the peasants communities.
4. That following the Exodus of 10000 peasants in 1998 towards Barrancabermeja, the Government headed by Andes Pastrana signed agreements with peasant representatives engaging to erradicate the paramilitaries, punish the guilty and compensate the victims of these crimes. These agreements, however, have been systematically neglected by the government.
5. That the peasant communities formulated in the framework of these agreements a PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE MIDDLE MAGDALENA including the execution of an integral project of substitution of the coca crops and the creation of two Zones of Peasant Reservation with truly alternative products. Despite this, the only answer by the State has been not to fulfill the agreements, but to carry out repressive and military actions.
6. That these crimes against humanity are being committed in the Middle Magdalena with airships donated by the United States, supposedly for the war on drugs.

What you should do

We request that you write or call the individuals named to the right, asking to investigate and clarify the facts indicated to the left that threaten the life and the integrity of the peasants of the Middle Magdalena. Demand the following of the Colombian government:

1. To guarantee the return alive of Edgar Quiroga and Gildardo Fuentes, for whose dispappearance the Colombian State bears the responsibility (see the 1998 agreements).
2. To fulfill the Peasant Exodus Agreements signed by President Pastrana on 4 October 1998 to stop the massacres of peasants, erradicate paramilitarism, punish all the guilty by action or omission violation of human rights, to totally compensate the victims and initiate a process of economic and social participatory development in the Middle Magdalena.
3. To guarantee the life and the honor of the peasants of the Cimitarra River Valley, the existence of ACVC as the organization representing the interests of the peasantry, as well as the integrity and the security of our leaders and spokesmen of the peasant Exodus: GILBERTO GUERRA, ANDRES GIL, LIBARDO TRASLAVIÑA and of MIGUEL CIFUENTES, member of ACVC and of the leadership of CREDHOS.
4. To protect the life and physical integrity of: LIBARDO TASLAVIA, GILBERTO GUERRA HERNANDEZ, ANDRES GIL, FRANCISCO JOSE CAMPO, RAMON RANGEL, JOSE CEDIEL MONDRAGON SANCHEZ, ISIDRO ALARCON BOHORQUEZ, EDGAR QUIROGA and TITO MUÑOZ, spokesmen of the Regional Permanent Work Table for Peace and Human Rights in the Middle Magdlena" and signatories of the October 4 1998 agreements with the National Government.
5. To release immediately our peasant comrades LUIS MENDEZ, ANDRES MENDEZ, ALBERTO PINO and EMILDA GRIMALDO.
6. To investigate and clarify the disappearance of the peasant JAIRO YEPES and his wife and guarantee their safe return home.
7. To investigate these violations of the Human Rights, punish the guilty of these offenses and fully compensate the victims.
8. To decriminalize the coca-growing peasants. They are displaced peasants to whom the state does not offer any economic alternative.
9. To no longer victimize the civilian peasant population using the argument of cross-fire between the guerilla and the Armed Forces. What happens is direct fire of the Armed Forces of the Colombian State against the defenceless civilian population.

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