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Colombia This Week

Fri 24 – 50 FARC members wanted in the US; Austria to finance alternative development projects

· Following the announcement by the US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that extradition will be requested for 50 members of the FARC accused of drug-trafficking, the Colombian Interior Minister Sabas Pretelt stated that the measure would not be an obstacle to peace, but on the contrary it would favour it. He said that the FARC would be more willing to negotiate with the government in order to get exemptions from extradition, as was the case with the paramilitary chiefs accused of drug-trafficking, AFP reports.

· Austria expressed its wish to financially contribute to alternative development projects in Colombia, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime reports. The director of the Programme against Illicit Crops (PCI), Victoria Eugenia Restrepo Uribe, said the cooperation of countries like Austria is vital for the implementation of projects such as the Familias Guardabosques (forestry protection families), SNE reports.

· Hundreds of trade unionists and university students protested outside the American Embassy to reject the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed with the US. According to Hector Bermudez, president of the Trade Union Confederation (CUT), the FTA would hand the country over to the interests of big international capital, The Daily Journal reports.

· Less than a quarter of the 35,000 demobilised paramilitaries and guerrilla members have found employment after handing over their weapons. The reason for this small percentage lies in the ex-combatants’ lack of training, the employers’ fear of customers’ negative reaction and a general mistrust on the part of society, El Tiempo reports.

· The Regional Indigenous Council of the Cauca (CRIC) decided to break off negotiations with the government, after the latter failed to take measures to hand over 8,000 hectares of land, as agreed on 16 December 2005, CRIC reports.

Sat 25 – 77 Nukak Maku fleeing the FARC; ELN releases hostage

· 77 Nukak Maku arrived in San Jose del Guaviare (Guaviare department), after having walked for two months to escape from the FARC. The Nukak Maku, one of the few nomadic communities still on the planet, have been living in the natural reserve of Tomachipan for more than 200 years, but in recent times several members have been forced to move to the cities under increasing pressure from armed groups. Humberto Ruiz, an anthropologist who has been studying the indigenous group for 14 years, said the Nukak Maku culture is in danger of disappearing, El Tiempo reports.

· The ELN released a soldier who was kidnapped a month ago, in an effort to bring hope to the preliminary talks currently underway with the government. Anderson Mauricio Zapata Rojas was released to a committee headed by the International Red Cross in Santa Rosa (Nariño Department), AP reports.

· The paramilitary chief Martin Llanos denied that the Casanare Peasant Self-defence Forces, which he heads, would demobilise soon. A statement had been released a week ago, according to which the paramilitary block was ready to demobilise, El Tiempo reports.

· 26-year-old Yamile Agudelo Peñaloza, a member of the Colombian NGO Organizacion Femenina Popular (OFP) was tortured, raped and killed in Barrancabermeja (Santander department), OFP reports.

Sun 26 – FARC release two police officers ; more land mines planted

· The FARC released two police officers, who had been taken hostage last year, in the southern department of Putumayo. According to Alfredo Rangel, director of the think-tank Security and Democracy, the move was an electoral, rather than humanitarian act, through which the FARC wanted to show that peace might be possible under a president other than Uribe. Presidential candidate Alvaro Leyva had been negotiating with the rebel group, which requested his presence for the release of the hostages, Reuters and BBC report.

· According to a study by the Mines Observation agency of the Colombian vice presidency, 627 municipalities have been sown with mines by armed groups, 289 more than in 2000. The report suggests that it would take between 10 and 20 years to eradicate them. Since 1990, 1,149 people have died from land mine explosions- 496 of them children- while 3,590 have been injured, EFE reports.

Mon 27 – Controversy over poverty levels in Choco ; Families in Action programme extended

· Fredy Lloreda, Interior Minister of Choco department, criticised the findings of the National Planning Institute and the UNDP, according to which the quality of life index in the department is 58.3%. Lloreda stated that poverty levels in the region are higher than portrayed by official figures and called for the government’s intervention in creating transport infrastructure, health and education facilities and employment opportunities, El Colombiano reports.

· The government decided to extend the anti-poverty programme Families in Action for a further two years. The programme was initially launched in 2001 by the Pastrana administration to alleviate the effects of the 1999 economic crisis and has proved very successful in fighting malnutrition, poor school attendance and poverty, by providing women with monthly subsidies, El Tiempo reports.

· The families of people kidnapped by the FARC asked the guerrilla group to free those hostages who are ill, after the release of two police officers last Saturday. They also asked for the return of the body of the army officer Julian Ernesto Guevara, who died in captivity, EFE reports.

· According to the ex paramilitary chief Ernesto Baez, many former combatants are taking up arms again and creating powerful armies due to a lack of work opportunities. Baez criticised the business community for being selfish and opportunistic, EFE reports.

· Police and army authorities warned of a new strategy by the FARC to infiltrate 15 universities in the country. According to the authorities, this would explain the violent character of the latest student demonstrations, El Tiempo reports.

Tues 28–EU Commission approves €12m grant ; 1,800 detainees claim armed group membership

· The European Commission has approved €12m humanitarian aid to support people who are displaced, blocked in their area or have fled to neighbouring countries as a result of the internal conflict in Colombia. The grant, which is aimed at a total of 169,000 people, will specifically focus on children through provision of informal education, psychosocial and nutritional support. The funding will be administered through the UN system, to enable better coordination, the EU Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) reports.

· 1,800 detainees expressed their wish to be judged under the Justice and Peace Law. The authorities fear that many of them are not members of armed groups, but common criminals who try to take advantage of the law to obtain a reduction in their sentences. 50 members of the Los Calvos criminal gang have claimed they belong to the FARC in order to benefit from the law, El Tiempo reports.

· The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Colombian Congress expressed its concern over the migration law currently under scrutiny in the US Senate. According to the committee, almost 2m undocumented Colombians living in the US could risk imprisonment or deportation if the law is approved, Caracol Radio reports.

· Between 2001 and 2005, Colombia dropped from position 51 to 55 in the list of the most investment-friendly countries provided by The Economist. However, according to the UN Economic Commission on Latin America (CEPAL), in 2006 the Colombian economy will keep growing at 4% , EFE and Colprensa report.

· Colombia and Guatemala agreed to meet in June for the first of six monthly meetings to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, El Colombiano reports.

Weds 29 – Santos reports on trade unionists’ deaths at ILO session; Uribe defends FTA

· Figures provided by Vice President Francisco Santos during the ILO executive council’s current session put the number of trade unionists murdered last year in Colombia at 40, down from 196 in 2002. However, according to the Medellin-based research centre National Trade Union School, 70 members of trade unions were killed in 2005, 260 received death threats, 56 were arbitrarily detained, and seven were injured in bomb attacks. No member of the ILO Governing Body challenged the official statistics; however, a proposal was made to open an ILO office in Colombia, IPS reports.

· President Uribe said that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US would strengthen the Andean Community of Nations, contrary to the positions held by the Venezuelan and Bolivian presidents Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. Chavez and Morales had both criticised Colombia and Peru for signing unilateral agreements with the US, Prensa Latina and El Colombiano report.

· The President of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), Luis Evelis Andrade, said that the assembly of the Interamerican Court of Human Rights would study the case of the indigenous Kankuamos. 213 members of this ethnic group have been killed in the last few years and many more have received death threats, RCN Radio reports.

· President Uribe announced that a new war tax would be introduced to complete the democratic security policy. The government did not specify the amount of the new tax, nor which sectors of society will be subjected to it, Reuters reports.

· Torrential rains have caused the death of 33 people and injured a further 48, plus causing serious damage to houses and infrastructure. The most affected departments are Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Nariño and Cauca, the Colombian Red Cross reports.

Thurs 30 – Elmer Cardenas block to demobilise; 32,000m pesos for second Peace Laboratory

· The High Commissioner for Peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo, denied that demobilised paramilitaries are taking up arms again and insisted that the few isolated cases of ex combatants returning to crime are being investigated. Restrepo also announced that the Elmer Cardenas block, which operates in the Uraba region and which had not participated in the negotiation process started by the government in 2004, will soon demobilise, Caracol Radio and El Espectador report.

· The Colombian government and the European Commission will finance projects for a total of 32,000m pesos (almost US$14 million) as part of the second Peace Laboratory in the regions of Norte de Santander, Oriente Antioqueño and Macizo Colombiano. The projects need to focus on three themes: implementation of a peace culture, democratic governance and sustainable economic development, SNE reports.

· Demobilised paramilitaries have offered to hand over 100,000 hectares of land to the victims of their crimes, in return for the benefits granted by the Justice and Peace Law. However, according to a source from the intelligence services, land appropriated by paramilitaries amounts to more than 1m hectares and Castaño alone is believed to hold about 80,000 hectares, El Tiempo reports.

· The International Committee of the Red Cross has published a new report, according to which forced disappearances in Colombia increased by 13.6% between 2004 and 2005. The report also denounced 1,031 violations of International Humanitarian Law for the year 2005, AFP reports.

Colombia This Week is a news summary produced and distributed by ABColombia Group. Sources include daily Colombian, US, European and Latin American newspapers, and reports from non-governmental organisations and the UN System. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the ABColombia Group.

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By Lionheart on Apr 3, 2006, 08:42 in Politics & the war.