Narino human rights groups receive death threats by telephone

Some of the local Narino groups the delegation visited in August were the subject of these threats. Here is the groups' response:

The undersigned social movements, indigenous, afrodescendant and human rights (HR) organisations report to the international community that we have again been subject to threats.

The threats were made by phone to the offices of Humanidad Vigente, Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CPDH Nariño, Cabildo Mayor Awá de Ricaurte - CAMAWARI, Unidad Indígena del Pueblo Awá - UNIPA, Corporación Dignidad, Pastoral Social de Tumaco, el Capítulo Nariño del Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado, - MOVICENAR, Fundación Desarrollo y Paz – FUNDEPAZ, and a few leaders from the Pacific coast in Narino who have been doing human rights work.

The call, which seems to be a recording, says: "this is our territory, we want you far from here, we'll give you a month to leave you guerilla scum".

In recent months Narino human rights groups have been repeatedly threatened with being killed if they don't leave the region within a month. This is a clear attempt to disrupt the reporting, accompaniment and organisation by communities involved in defending human rights.

These phone calls are the latest in a series of threats by email, regular mail and fax received by Narino HR groups. What is also worrying is that some organisations that have been threatened in other regions have been found in Bogota through their new email addresses.

These threats have been signed by paramilitary groups like the Aguilas Negras, Autodefensas Campesinas Nueva Generación and Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, who are continuing their policies of terror against the civilian population and human rights defenders (HRD) despite having supposedly demobilised (Bloque Libertadores del Sur).

Background:

1. From July 2007 the Defensoría del Pueblo has issued early warnings (alertas tempranas) about the lack of state intervention and the escalation of the threats. In July 2008 the Defensoría del Pueblo sent a follow-up note on the threats to the governmental Comité de Alertas Tempranas but there has till now been no official reply.

2. On October 23rd a threat from the Aguilas Negras appeared on the internet. This threat was sent to dozens of Colombian organisations, including embassies, trade unions and student groups, in which they are given an ultimatum to be silent, and stating that intelligence gathering has been carried out on "guerillas" for years abroad.

3. Among the organisations threatened in October can be found Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CPDH Nariño, Cabildo Mayor Awá de Ricaurte - CAMAWARI, Unidad Indígena del Pueblo Awá - UNIPA, Corporación Dignidad, Corporación AVRE, Pastoral Social de Tumaco, Humanidad Vigente, el Capítulo Nariño del Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado, - MOVICENAR, Fundación Desarrollo y Paz – FUNDEPAZ as well as some leaders from the Pacific Coast of Narino.