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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
--------------------------------------------------- 
10 November 1998
UA 293/98 Possible 'disappearance'/ Fear for safety

COLOMBIA
Maria Victoria Perez Quintero and other members of her family


Maria Victoria Perez Quintero has not been seen since 25 October
1998 when she was taken away by two men from Urada village,
municipality of Mutata in Antioquia Department. Amnesty International
believes she may be a victim of 'disappearance' and fears for her
safety.

The two men, dressed in military uniform, reportedly told Maria
Victoria Perez Quintero that she was needed at the nearby military
camp in Cambuches. However, witnesses saw her being taken to a
known paramilitary base at La Secreta farm in the same municipality.

In December 1997, Maria Victoria Perez Quintero's son, Luis Emilio
Agudelo Perez, was killed by a paramilitary group during an attack on
Urada village. The family buried his body after the attack. Maria
Victoria Perez Quintero later requested that a local Attorney (Fiscal),
exhume her son's body to clarify the circumstances of his death. She
is reported to have been present at the recent exhumation. In the
past, relatives of the 'disappeared' or extrajudicially executed have
themselves become victims of human rights violations as a result of
their efforts to bring those responsible to justice.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Political violence in the Uraba region between the Colombian armed
forces, their paramilitary allies and armed opposition groups has
claimed the lives of many civilians and has led much of the rural
population to flee the areas of conflict. Of the hundreds of victims of
political killings in the last year, the vast majority have been civilians,

pressured by rival armed groups to support them.

Members of the Colombian army and security forces and their
paramilitary allies continue to commit serious human rights violations
with virtual impunity. The Colombian Government suspended the 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 operate with the support of the security
forces in many areas of the country. No effective steps have, as yet,
been taken 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. Colombia's new President,
Andres Pastrana, took office on 8 August 1998. So far, he and his
government have not taken  effective steps to tackle the country's long
running human rights crisis.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send
telegrams/faxes/express/airmail letters:
- expressing concern for the safety of Maria Victoria Perez Quintero
after she was last seen being taken away by armed men in Urada,
municipality of Mutata, Antioquia Department, on 25 October 1998;
- calling for her family to be informed of her whereabouts and, if she is
in detention, for her to be charged with a recognizable crime or
released;
- calling for a prompt, full and impartial investigation into her
'disappearance' and for the results to be made public;
- 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:
Presidente Andres Pastrana
Presidente de la Republica
Palacio de Narino, Carrera 8, No. 7-26
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia

Dear President Pastrana:

Telegrams: President Pastrana, Bogota, Colombia
Tx: 396 44281 PALP CO
Faxes: 011 571 289 3377 / 284 2186 / 286 7434

Attorney General:
Dr.Alfonso Gomez Mendez,
Fiscal General de la Nacion
Fiscalia General de la Nacion,
Diagonal 22B 5201
Apartado Aereo 29855
Santafe de Bogota,Colombia

Dear Dr.Mendez:

Telegrams: Fiscal General, Fiscalia General, Bogota, Colombia
Faxes:    011 571 570 2000 (when ansaphone picks up dial 2022 for
fax)


Minister of the Interior:
Dr. Nestor Humberto Martinez
Ministro del Interior
Ministerio del Interior
Carrera 8, No.8-09, Piso 2
Santafe de Bogota, COLOMBIA

Dear Minister:

Telegrams:  Ministro del Interior, Bogota, Colombia
Telexes: 396  45406 MINGO CO
Faxes:    011 57 1 341 9739/286 0053


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

Dear Governor:

Telegrams: Gobernador de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Fax:  011 574 381 1342


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 December 22, 1998.


'Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.'
Article 3, Universal Declaration of Human Rights