archivos de los protestos globales

Colombia: Demand of Support of International Declaration

Impunity for Crimes against Humanity in Bellacruz Farm Case.

Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2002

Dear friends,

Impunity makes again part of the news in Colombia. The ex-embassador before the European Union, Carlos Arturo Marulanda, who was extraditated to Colombia accused for paramilitarism and terrorism crimes, had been liberated the first of november by order of the general national attorney under the argument of not being more valid the juridical terms of this crimes. We, the victims of forced displacement, massacres, tortures, disparitions and exile from the Bellacruz Farm refuse to accept this decision. We have struggled all these years of banishment from our lands for justice to be made, for punishment to be applied to the material and intellectual responsables that have condemned us to live without our loved families.

We come again to you, to the conscience of humanity, to ask you to express, to react, to refuse this form of the most crude impunity. We request you to sign the following declaration that will be sended to colombian authorities. You can send your approval to: misioncol AT skynet.be
Thanks for your solidarity,

EQUIPO INTERNACIONAL ANUC UR
Belen Torres
Ariel Toscano

INTERNATIONAL DECLARATION

THE ABERRANT LIBERATION OF THE EX-EMBASSADOR AND EX-MINISTER, CARLOS ARTURO MARULANDA, OWNER OF " BELLACRUZ "

The last 1 november, the office of the General National Attorney of Colombia ordered the liberation of the ex-embassador of Colombia before the European Union and ex-minister, Carlos Arturo Marulanda, who was extraditated 15 days before from Spain to Colombia. Absent prisioner from the justice of his country for more than two years, Marulanda was finally captured more than one year ago in Madrid, in order of an Interpol request from the last General Attorney, staying after this in a high level security prison. His recourse to refugee in Spain had been rejected by the authorities of this country.

With this aberrant act, the office of the General Attorney, in the head of the actual General Fiscal of Colombia, Mr. Luis Carlos Osorio, -well known by his several decisions that had led high militars, implicated in paramilitaries massacres, escape from justice- destroys the work made along the last years by the same organism who used to have another direction and specially a human rights unity that could work. Besides, cancelling the calification of terrorism for the facts commited against peasants in Bellacruz case, the general attorney office repeals the judge decision of legacy control of the accusation, who have confirmed the establishment of « consent for crime and terrorism » for the points in which ex-embassador Carlos Marulanda as well as his familiars and accomplices were accused.

We consider that this new position of the office of the General Attoney contributes to leave in impunity one of the most hated episodes of the recent history in Colombia that constitues the making, by the means of blood and fire, of Bellacruz latifundio. This occured for more than 40 years, based in violent expropriation of peasant communities by the way of selective murders of the leaders, forced disparitions, tortures, sexual violences, agriculture and housing destructions and hundreds of evacuations. This violents acts returned again with force when in february 14 1996, the administrative justice in Colombia confirmed that peasants families owned their parcels in all legality, against Marulanda familiy interests. Then, a paramilitar group started his actions forcing an indefinite displacement of 10 peasant communities, previously destroying their houses, schools, commons and communitary works.

In the night of february 14 1996, the paramilitaries who said they were acting under the orders of Carlos A. Marulanda and in the presence of militaries from Batallon40 « Heroes de Santiago », executed savagely the definitive displacement of the 10 peasant communities that lived in Bellacruz

The displaced communities asked protection to the Colombian State lodging along 15 months in state buildings; meanwhile the paramilitaries who where in the farm and acting with the support of the army carried out several terror acts avoiding ther return of the communities to their own land; between the victims of hte massacres and the selcetive murders we find: Jesus Toscano, Diosenel Toscano, Dinael Toscano, Jose del Carmen Toscano, Eder Narvaez Corrales, Jaime Laguna Collazos, Eliseo Narvaez Corrales, Edinson Donado, Luis Jose Lemus Sanchez, Segundo Vasquez, Otoniel Cañizares Jacome, Jesus Galvan (dissapeared), Elger Castillo (dissapeared), Alfonso Osquidia (dissapeared), Cesar Diaz (tortured-murdered), Jorge Caceres (tortured-murdered), Daniel Hoyos (tortured-murdered),Ricardo Cagua (prisoner-disspeared), Luis Segundo Torres, Belisario Sumalave,Tulio Angarita, Abdel Sumalave, German Umaña, Jose Antonio Quintero, Jose Guarin, Rafael Baena, Cediel Sanchez, Manuel Tapias, Hernan Contreras, Ciro Botello, Dioselino Quiñonez, Eduardo Prada, Carmen Rosa Arenas and her sister, Francisco Rodriguez, (state worker, tortured threatened), Miriram Contreras (blessed), Edinson Donado (2 years, blessed).

In spite of the enormous risks, a lot of victims decided to go before the colombian justice to denounce this horrible violence, informing precisely against the responsables of this crimes against humanity like FRANCISCO A. MARULANDA, brother of the ex-embassador, actually in prison, and ponting out at CARLOS A. MARULANDA, as the intellectual author of this crimes.

It's in base of this testimonies and solid evidences that some time later the Fiscalia had decided to charge and give an international order of capture against Marulanda. His liberation due to the actual statements of the Fiscalia is not just in total contradiction with the indictment of the last Fiscalia, with the duty of the State of supporting their victims, but as well it constitutes a flagrant violation of the international obligation of Colombian Gouvernement and precisely his duty to put an end to impunity and to violations of humans rights.

We expressed our most deep indignation face up to the shame of the extradition of ex-embassador and his almost inmediat liberation. We consider that the General National Attorney, Mr. Osorio, is directly responsible by the means of the disparition of human rights violations offices inside the Fiscalia, of this new step between the generalized impunity of humans rights violations perpetrated by paramilitar groups.

We refuse at the same time, the unacceptable reaction of the Colombian Gouvernement, in words of Interior Minister, Fernando Londoño, who has led the comprehension that the ex-embassador is inocent because he has been in charge of important functions and that he does not express any preoccupation for justice to be made for the victims.Unfortunately, this declarations take the same line of general politics of the President of the Gouvernement, Alvaro Uribe Velez, that had adopted mesures that favors impunity fo violations of humans rights and as well favors paramilitarism.

The serious mistakes in the fonction of justice in Colombia, more graves in addtion to the actual working of the Gouvernement and the Attorney, confirm the total legitimacy of the victims to go to the international justice, not just denouncing the intellectual and material authors of this crimes against humanity executed for extending more and more, in spite of poor peasants, the big latifundio « Bellacruz », but as well against all those who help to guarantee the impunity for thair authors.

Surely you can count with the support of all of us who signed down below this text and more still, who are horrorized by the facts that touch the conscience of humanity.

Signatures ( name, organisation and address)

first signatories

Noticias sobre Colombia | Plan Colombia | www.agp.org