Please read the monthly Urgent Action Network Newsletter posted 
on the web at: http://www.amnesty-USA.org/urgact/newslett.html 

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: sharriso@aiusa.org
http://www.amnesty-usa.org/urgact/
Phone: 303 440 0913
Fax:303 258 7881
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UA 219/98      'DISAPPEARANCES'/FEAR FOR SAFETY
              
10 August 1998

COLOMBIA: 'Disappeared':Juan Manuel CIRO VALENCIA
               Alberto GIRALDO (male)
               Liliana HENAO (female)
               Leonel GARCIA (male)
               Carlos Arturo ARIAS SOTO (male)
               Argiro MORALES SOTO (male)

Amnesty International is seriously concerned for the safety of the
civilian population of the municipalities of San Francisco and
Granada, department of Antioquia, and neighbouring municipalities,
following an incursion, on 2 August 1998, by armed men identifying
themselves as members of a paramilitary group. During the attack the
six people named above were forcibly abducted.

At 8pm on 2 August, heavily armed men reportedly entered the
municipality of San Francisco. They were dressed in military issue
uniforms and arm-bands with the initials of a paramilitary group,  the
Autodefensas Campesinas Magdalena Medio (ACMM), Peasant
Farmer Self-Defence Groups of the Magdalena Medio.

The armed men identified themselves to the National Police posted in
San Francisco as members of a paramilitary group and asked the
police not to confront them. Paramilitary groups often operate with the
support and acquiescence of the security forces.

The paramilitary group members were reportedly in possession of a
'lista negra', 'black list'. 'Black lists' include the names of civilians
considered by paramilitary forces to be guerrilla sympathizers or
collaborators. Those whose names appear on such lists are
frequently killed. The paramilitary forcibly abducted six people, who
have not been seen since. Clothes belonging to the six were found
by relatives in the nearby hamlet of Los Guacales between 3 and 4
August.

The paramilitary group threatened to carry out further incursions in
the municipality of San Francisco, and the village of Santa Ana,
municipality of Granada. This threat has resulted in approximately
100 people abandoning their homes in San Francisco, and 1000
inhabitants of the municipality of Granada leaving their homes and
seeking protection in the municipal capital, Granada.

Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action in June 1998
denouncing paramilitary activity in the municipality of Granada and
neighbouring municipalities. The latest incursions underline the failure
of the authorities to ensure that decisive action is undertaken to
dismantle paramilitary groups operating in the region (UA 183/98
issued 24 June 1998).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Members of the Colombian army and security forces and their
paramilitary allies continue to commit serious human rights violations
with virtual impunity. Over the past five years several thousand
civilians have been killed by paramilitary groups throughout the
country. The Colombian Government suspended the constitutional
legal base for the formation of paramilitary organizations and issued
directives to the armed forces to combat and disband such groups in
1989,yet they continue to work with the support of the security forces
in many areas of the country. No effective steps have been taken as
yet by the authorities to control their actions and to hold members
accountable for serious and widespread human rights violations. The
Attorney General recently stated that more than 200 outstanding
arrest warrants issued against alleged paramilitary members
responsible for widespread human rights violations have still not been
acted upon by the security forces.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send
telegrams/telexes/faxes/express/airmail letters:
- expressing concern for the safety of inhabitants of the municipalities
of San Francisco, Granada and neighbouring municipalities in the
department of Antioquia;
- urging for full and impartial investigations into the reported forced
disappearance of six civilians, that the results be made public and
that those responsible be brought to justice;
- calling for a full and impartial investigation into links between the
security forces and paramilitary groups operating in the area and
urging that those found responsible for supporting and participating in
such groups be brought to justice;
- urging that the authorities take immediate action to dismantle
paramilitary groups, in line with stated government commitments;
- reminding Colombia's new government of the country's commitment
to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular Article 3:
'Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.'

APPEALS TO:
President of Colombia:
Senor Presidente Senor Presidente
Dr. Andres Pastrana Arango
Presidente de la Republica
Palacio de Narino
carrera 8 No. 7-26
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia

Dear President Pastrana:


Telegrams: President Samper Pizano, Bogot degrees, Colombia
Telexes: 396 44281 PALP CO
Faxes:    011 57 1 284 2186 / 289 3377 / 286 7434


Governor of the Department of Antioquia:
Dr. Alberto Builes Ortega,
Gobernador del Departamento de Antioquia
Gobernacion de Antioquia
Calle 42B, #52-106
Medell!n, Antioquia, Colombia

Dear Governor:

Telegrams: Gobernador de Antioquia, Medell!n, Colombia
Fax: 011 574 381 1342


Minister of Defence:
Dr. Rodrigo Lloreda Caicedo
Ministro de Defensa Nacional
Ministerio de Defensa Nacional
Avenida Eldorado CAN - Carrera 52
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia

Dear Minister:

Telegrams:     Ministro de Defensa, Bogot degrees, Colombia
Telexes: 396   42411 INPRE CO / 396 44561 CFAC CO
Faxes:    011 57 1 222 1874


COPIES TO:
Association for Relatives of the 'Disappeared':
Senores
ASFADDES
AA 011446
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia


Ambassador Juan Carlos Esguerra
Embassy of Colombia
2118 Leroy Pl. NW
Washington DC 20008


Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office
between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if
sending appeals after September 21, 1998.

'Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.'