CPTnet
23 June 2005
COLOMBIA UPDATE: May 2005
The communities of the Opon have continued working on their joint
development process, closing the first phase of the project with Programa de
Desarrollo y Paz (Peace and Development Program). The Opon River flooded
the communities on several days, ruining crops. Local people observed
irregular presence of the two paramilitary groups (Bloque Central Bolivar,
BCB, and the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia-Middle Magdelena,
AUC-MM) during the month, as well as the presence of the armed guerrilla
group, FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.)The residents fear
armed encounters between these groups. The gasoline cartel of the Colorada
River, controlled by the BCB
Paramilitary group, continued intense work. No one reported the presence
of the Colombian Military in that region during May.
1 May
Two men, possibly intoxicated by the gasoline fumes and appearing to be part
of the gasoline cartel, drowned while trying to bring stolen gasoline up the
Colorada River. A third member of the cartel was rescued.
The team accompanied the annual International Labor Day March, that started
with a mass at the port of Barrancabermeja. Father Jaime Prieto, Bishop of
Barrancabermeja, preached about his solidarity with local workers, and
expressed his disagreement with neoliberalism and the international free
trade agreements. Approximately 1,500 people
attended.
6-7 May
Paramilitaries of the BCB took control of fishing on the Opon Cienaga. Now
they are the ones who decide on which days civilians may fish, who will
benefit, and what the punishments are for disobeying their decrees. The
paramilitary rules go against regulations put in place by government bodies
and confuse the regional fishing committee's coordination with the
government.
The participating families in the Opon Community Process received from
Programa de Desarrollo y Paz nearly 550 cacao seeds for planting. The seed
distribution represents one of the organization's productivity development
projects in that zone. Days after, a number of both egg-laying and meat
chickens were delivered to each family to help create a system of
nutritional and economic security for the community. The community is now
facing two problems: the cacao plants are sick, and the chickens are dying
from illness.
11 May
The team saw gasoline canisters stored on the Opon river in the Colorada
community.
14 May
After several months of displacement as a result of threats from the Middle
Magdelena paramilitaries, a farmer returned to his home on the Opon,
bringing happiness to his friends and family, and bringing new hope to the
community.
15 May
Assembly of the Espacio Humanitario del Opon (Opon Humanitarian Space).
Seven townships that compose the Espacio Humanitario gathered in Ñeques
and closed the first phase of the project. Participants prepared a
development plan to provide direction to the activities of the townships and
Programa over the next three and a half years. Its five principal points
include increasing the standard of living, building a rural clinic, bringing
electricity to the region, developing nutritional security, and increasing
understanding of basic healthcare.
Week of 16 May Paramilitaries from the Bloque Central Bolivar stopped a
member of the community at a checkpoint in Candelaria while s/he was going
down to Barrancabermeja via canoe.
16 May
Members of the team attended a commemorative mass for a massacre perpetrated
by paramilitaries that occurred seven years ago in the Maria Eugenia
neighborhood in the midst of a Mothers' Day celebration. Paramilitaries
killed seven participants and "disappeared" twenty-five. (See 26 May CPTnet
release, "I remember September 11.")
19 May
The Opon flooded for the third time in a year. Families lost many crops,
suffering economic hardship. The municipality responded by giving a pound
of coffee and two cans of fish to each family.
21 May
During a Mothers Day celebration in the Colorada township, a group of
paramilitaries from the Bloque Central Bolivar arrived. They had been
staying in a nearby township. The Colombia team observed discomfort and
worry among the farmers that attended the event.
24 May
Three community members, each eighteen years of age, presented themselves
for military service. The military accepted two of them and they began 22
months of military work. The family and friends of these youth expressed
sadness because they do not want their children to take up arms. They are
anxious to know where their sons will be stationed and hope that they will
not go to high-conflict areas.
20-26 May
A CPT team visited Micoahumado (South Bolivar). This community, comprising
nine townships has been developing a community peace process for a number of
years. They have a strong focus on civil resistance and continuously
request that both the legal and illegal armed actors quit the conflict. The
team found out that some members of the community have received threats by
these armed groups. CPT will continue visiting these communities.
28 May- 3 June
An International Delegation visited both the city
and the Opon communities. The community met with them one afternoon to
share reflections and create banners with messages of peace. The delegation
prayed publicly in Barrancabermeja thanking the community, social
organizations and churches for bringing light to the world.
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