PorColombia Against Forced Displacement

September 8, 2009

By Carlos Macías

Colombia has come a long way from and paid a harsh price for its fight against violence and organized crime. Unfortunately, violence has managed to become so ingrained in our society, that now injustice and intolerance seemingly coexist with brighter realities like passion, beauty, and progress. That’s why it’s sometimes very difficult for Colombians and foreigners alike to understand why the country can be a vibrant hub on biodiversity, culture, and business while at the same time host the second largest number of internally displaced people in the world hovering around 3 million, only behind Sudan.

This abrupt reality has been a constant for Colombian society for decades and it must stop. The PorColombia National Executive Board has decided to focus its philanthropic resources to help end this nightmare.

But how? As a student-run organization in the United States, PorColombia has the capacity to open forums and spaces for dialogue at influential universities. The organization will also bring together experts, policy makers, and human rights advocates to advance in the search of long lasting formulas for peace and social justice. PorColombia recognize the strides made by the Colombian government on security in the last decade, but we also acknowledge that the internal conflict is far from over and that the government and civil society alike share a responsibility to make internal displacement a thing of the past. Unfortunately, bullets keep claiming lives and prompting mass exodus.

On August 26, 12 Colombians from the Awa indigenous community, including children, were assassinated by a death squad in the Southwest state of Nariño, close to the border with Ecuador. The killers were wearing camouflage fatigues and used automatic rifles, a sign that paramilitary or guerrilla groups might be behind the attacks. El Espectador reports that even after one suspect has been arrested by the police in connection to the killings, more than 300 Awas are fleeing their lands with fears of new attacks.

PorColombia calls upon all actors in the internal war taking place in Colombia to look for a negotiated solution to the conflict and stop dragging the civilian population into such a chaotic situation. We will work tirelessly to raise awareness about the reality of millions of people living this tragedy and propose new paths of reconciliation and tolerance for a peaceful country.

For more information about internal displaced persons and the situation in Colombia, visit the following resource guide:

• Definition of internal displaced persons by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, and its coverage of Colombia.
• Website of the Sistema Nacional de Atención Integral a la Poblacíon Desplazada , government agency created to deal with the internal displacement phenomenon.
• Bulletin from the Consultoría para los Derechos Humanos (CODHES) on displacement, human rights, and armed conflict in Colombia in 2008. (PDF file in Spanish)
• Information from the UN Refugee Agency in English and Spanish.
• UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia.
• Amnesty International’s coverage of the refugees in Colombia.

Other intergubernmental organizations that have presence in Colombia and deal with refugees:

• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (OCHA)
• Organización Internacional para las Migraciones. (OIM)
• OEA’s Misión al Proceso de Paz en Colombia. (MAPP/OEA)
• Fundación Panamericana para el Desarrollo. (FUPAD)
• UN’s Development Program For Colombia. (PNUD)

Leave your questions and comments for the editor at cmacias@porcolombia.net.

Photo Credit: Indigenous children from the Embera people, displaced by armed conflict. (UN Photo by Mark Garten)

El Ejemplo Peruano

La mañana del lunes 13 de Julio marcó un hito para las operaciones bursátiles del Perú. Por primera vez en la historia, el ministro de Economía de ese país Luis Carranza le dio el campanazo de apertura a la bolsa de Nueva York e introdujo formalmente un fondo especial donde se cotizarán 25 acciones diferentes de la Bolsa de Valores de Lima en Wall Street. Estas suenan como excelentes noticias para ese país, pero en realidad solo un reducido grupo de la población es el que se está bañando en agua rosada. Mientras tanto, por lo menos un tercio de los Peruanos no ven casi ni un centavo de las ganancias que generan esos grandes negocios.

El Perú ha demostrado en este último decenio un crecimiento económico envidiable en la región y sin importar lo precario de la economía mundial. En el 2008 logró que su Producto Interno Bruto creciera el 9.8 por ciento, de acuerdo al Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI). Con este impresionante resultado, Lima acumula casi ocho años de crecimiento positivo ininterrumpidos. En contraste, el INEI tambien reporta que el índice de pobreza solo disminuyó en un 3.1 por ciento para alcanzar un 36,2 por ciento en el 2008. Esto significa que la pujante actividad económica que vive el país y sus beneficios le llega a cuenta gotas a los mas pobres, que son aproximadamente 10.5 millones de una población que sobrepasa ya los 29 millones.

Por eso no es de sorprenderse los recientes disturbios en la zona Amazónica de Bagua. Cuando el gobierno del Presidente Peruano Alan García pretendió implementar unos decretos de reforma agraria que agilizaban la expropiación de tierras sin cultivar por mas de dos años y entregarlas a inversionistas privados, se le prendió un polvorín de marca mayor. Primero, el gobierno nunca consultó con los dueños de esas tierras que por herencia cultural siempre han sido las comunidades indígenas. Segundo, los niveles de pobreza en las zonas rurales del Perú sobrepasan el 64 por ciento y con el gobierno amenazando en quitarles sus tierras era de esperarse una respuesta tan violenta. El saldo de campesinos muertos sobrepasa los 30 y agentes de policía llegan a los 22. Por último, el conflicto desencadenó una crisis ministerial que cobró la curul del ahora ex Primer Ministro Yehude Simon, quien fue reemplazado por Javier Velásquez Quesquén y la derogación de los controversiales decretos. Así mismo, García vio desplomarse su ya débil popularidad al obtener solo un 21 por ciento de aprobación de su mandato en las últimas encuestas.

Además, el renacimiento de el grupo guerrillero Sendero Luminoso que ahora opera como un cartel cocainero en una extensa zona selvática al sur de ese país tambien tiene a muchos en vilo. Cabe recordar que después de la captura de su jefe máximo Abimael Guzmán en 1992 por el gobierno del ahora infame ex presidente Alberto Fujimori, el movimiento se vino a pique. Desde la cárcel, Guzmán propuso una desmovilización que no todos sus secuaces aceptaron. La mano dura de Fujimori alentada por las mejoras económicas que vivió el Perú al principio de los años noventa terminó por debilitar al grupo.

Programas de interdicción y fumigación fomentadas por los Estados Unidos a finales del siglo pasado en la región y políticas como la de seguridad democrática del Presidente Colombiano Álvaro Uribe a principios de esta década, hizo que muchos de los negocios con narcóticos de la guerrilla de las FARC, se trastearan mas al sur. Precisamente hacia las selvas del Perú (además de las selvas en Brasil y Ecuador) donde se encontraban los pocos elementos del Sendero Luminoso que nunca se desmovilizaron. Ahora el tráfico de coca le ha inyectado fondos y nueva vida a ese grupo. Es triste ver como la población campesina de esas regiones quedan de nuevo atrapada entre la espada y la pared, y a merced del fuego cruzado entre los forajidos y el ejército. Esta es una realidad tambien muy familiar para millones de campesinos Colombianos.

Algunas conclusiones prácticas para nuestros hermanos Peruanos, para el gobierno Colombiano, y porqué no, para el creciente sonajero de precandidatos presidenciales. No importa que tan bien le vaya al gobierno en sus metas macroeconómicas si ese manojo de cifras no se traducen en oportunidades tangibles de trabajo y bienestar para la gente pobre de campos y ciudades. Si no se comprometen recursos serios para programas de reinserción y desmovilización, es casi fijo que excombatientes y raspachines vuelven al monte a plantar coca y a alquilarse al mejor postor. Por último, y desafortunadamente, un campanazo en Wall Street todavía significa lo mismo para millones que todavía viven en la pobreza en muchos países Latinoamericanos: prácticamente nada.

Bogotá-Quito Ties Still Run Cold AS/COA Online 03/05/09

Ecuadorian soldiers fly over a border area close to Colombia. (AP Photo)

Diplomatic relations between Bogota and Quito remain broken a year after a border standoff. A March 2008 raid by Colombian authorities on a guerilla camp took out the second of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in command and more than 20 others. The attack, made on Ecuadorian territory, also spurred a military buildup by Quito and Caracas on their Colombian borders. Within weeks, the threat of conflict was defused. Still, squabbles continue between Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, even with mediation by the Organization of American States (OAS).

In recent remarks, Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos justified the raid as an act of legitimate defense, sparking controversy in both Quito and Bogota. President Álvaro Uribe responded by reprimanding the minister. Santos’ strong statements led some to wonder if they serve as an indicator of his intention to run in next year’s presidential election.

Yet Santos’ remarks did little to curry favor in Ecuador. In an interview with RCN Radio, Ecuadorian Vice President Lenín Moreno said that “it is very difficult” to normalize bilateral relations given Santos’ declarations. The comments drew the ire of Caracas as well; the Venezuelan government issued a statement about the remarks, saying that they threaten the stability and sovereignty of countries in the region.

Meanwhile, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Fander Falconí criticized Uribe’s government for failing to handle the question of displaced people seeking refuge in and near Ecuador. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) oversees a refugee registration project launched by Quito in December. The UNHCR estimates that some 20,000 refugees live in Ecuador but that as many as 130,00 could need international protection. Additionally, the government of President Rafael Correa has stepped up operations along Ecuador’s northern border by dismantling more than 200 guerrilla camps in the last two years, Colombia’s El Pais reports.

But Colombia has its own grievances with Ecuador’s government. Data obtained from a FARC laptop during the raid raised concerns about links between the guerilla group and Ecuadorian officials. Former official José Ignacio Chauvin, a close aide to former Minister of State Gustavo Larrea, admitted that he met with FARC’s late second-in-command Raúl Reyes seven times, reports El Universo. An editorial in Ecuador’s Hoy proposes the creation of an independent commission to steer Ecuadorian politics away from the dark waters of drug-trafficking influence.

World Politics Review explains that after a year, “[B]oth sides’ failure to make progress on reconciliation may be politically motivated.” The article explains that, while Correa gains support by defending Ecuador’s sovereignty at all costs, Uribe has other matters to deal with; restoring diplomatic ties with his neighbor may not stand as a top priority.

Still, despite the controversy, economic ties appear to stand strong between the neighbors. Colombian exports to Ecuador increased 16.1 percent and Ecuadorian exports to Colombia rose 10.5 percent last year, totaling more than $2 billion in 2008, according to Colombia’s Commerce Ministry.

Tensions between the two Andean nations involved OAS mediation over the past year. In an interview with AS/COA Online, OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza likened his OAS role in Latin America as that of a bombero (firefighter) putting out fires across the region. As recently as February 26, Insulza visited Correa and urged reconcilation, to no avail.

A new article by the Economist looks back at raid and calls it a success in terms of inflicting permanent damage to the FARC, saying Colombia paid a small price. Colombia’s Defense Ministry reports on the massive defections facing the guerilla group. Read more about he FARC’s growing weakness and signs—such as hostage releases—that it may be changing course.

Read the article as published on the AS/COA website.

FARC Changing Course? AS/COA Online 02/05/09

Former hostage Sigifredo Lopez embraces his sons after gaining release. (AP Photo)

Colombia’s biggest guerilla group appears to be taking contradictory steps. On one hand, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) released several high-profile hostages in the past week. On the other hand, they’ve staged at least one new bomb attack. Starting last week, they began a wave of unilateral hostage releases, sending home three policemen, an army soldier, and two politicians held for more than six years. During the same period, a bomb attributed by the government to the FARC partially destroyed police headquarters in Cali. The divergent moves have been catalogued as ways for the group to regain lost credibility while demonstrating their capacity to carry out military operations. Some reports suggest that the FARC appears to be pushing the matter of the humanitarian exchange of hostages for imprisoned rebels and possible peace negotiations in the lead-up to Colombia’s 2010 presidential race.

On February 5, the FARC freed the last of six hostages it had pledged to release—Sigifredo López, a former legislator from the Valle del Cauca department and the only survivor of 12 lawmakers who were kidnapped at one time. The rebels handed him over to a team led by Senator Piedad Córdoba and the Red Cross. Córdoba remains the top mediator between the FARC and the government. She also faces heavy criticism for her insistence on direct, peaceful negotiations rather than a military solution to the conflict, which spans more than four decades.

Cambio magazine reports that, at the same time as the hostage releases, military intelligence has intercepted communications among FARC members indicating intentions to conduct attacks as a means to show they can still inflict damage at will. Cali’s police force is investigating if the recent bombing at the police command center was in fact carried out by urban FARC commandos or by an organized crime gang that wants to destroy evidence, El Pais reports. Authorities are also investigating a bombing at a Bogota-based Blockbuster that claimed two lives to determine whether the guerilla group carried out the attack.

After a year that left the group devastated, the FARC may be hoping to gain sympathy at home and abroad. A Los Angeles Times editorial describes the release of hostages as “a stunt intended to revive public support for an unworthy cause.” Over the course of 2008, massive protests around the world demanded the release of all FARC captives as well as an end to terrorist activities. Some hostages freed along with Ingrid Betancourt in the Hollywoodesque “Operación Jaque” confirmed that low-ranking guerrillas feel abandoned by their superiors. Another sign of low morale among FARC troops is the high desertion rate; more than 18,000 insurgents  have turned themselves in since President Álvaro Uribe took office in 2002. In a new interview with Al Jazeera’s Riz Khan, Uribe said that at the same time that “we are winning the war,”  the government remains “totally open and generous” to receiving defectors.

The FARC continues to hold 23 “exchangeable” hostages who could be traded for rebels in prison. It remains to be seen whether the insurgents will stage releases while presidential hopefuls warm their engines for the upcoming electoral race. As a Semana magazine article explains, “The FARC believes that with the liberations they are weakening the policy of democratic security and that if [FARC commander-in-chief] Alfonso Cano extends his arm, negotiation will become a fundamental issue in the 2010 campaign. Obviously, the guerrillas would prefer to negotiate with a president who is not Uribe.”

On January 30, El Colombiano reported that Uribe will not seek a second reelection as president, ending months of speculation. Some voiced concern that a third time in office would damage Colombia’s democratic institutions by focusing power in the figure of just one man.

Read an AS/COA analysis about the FARC’s dwindling numbers.

Read the article as published at the AS/COA website.

Download a PDF file here.

The Americas 2008: A Year in Retrospective AS/COA Online 12/23/08

View a slideshow of the most compelling events in the hemisphere. Also, read an article by AS/COA Online Managing Editor Carin Zissis on the most riveting events affecting the Americas in 2008.

Click the image to watch the photo gallery.