CPTnet
January 12, 2002
COLOMBIA UPDATE: December 17 - December 25, 2001

Introduction:

The primary commitment of the CPT Colombia team is an accompaniment of
several villages in a township called the Cienaga del Opon (known as "the
Opon.") Thes communities lie along the Opon river and the Opon lake, about
twenty km south of the city of Barrancabermeja. The township asked CPT for
international accompaniment in May 2001 because of the presence of armed
groups in the area. Recently, most of the violence against civilians has
been ascribed to members of the
United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC is the Spanish acronym),
although
CPT has also denounced violent acts by left-wing guerrilla forces and the
Colombian Armed forces in this zone in recent months.

Monday, December 17
CPTer Scott Kerr and Intern Jacobus Vroon maintained an international
presence in the Opon. They met a group of outside fisherman from an city
neighborhood controlled by the paramilitary forces (AUC).

CPTer Erin Kindy was asked by displaced people from the Opon who are
presently living in a shelter in the city if CPT will accompany them when
they begin fixing their homes and cleaning their land. This group of
refugees, living in a abandoned school, are preparing to return to their
homes in the coming months and will do so with CPT's presence. They were
displaced a year ago due to paramilitary (AUC) violence. The same
community members have fled their homes on three other occasions because of
guerrilla and Colombian military violence.

Tuesday December 18th
It was reported in the local paper, Vanguardia (www.vanguardia.com), that
last
year there were 98 deaths in the neighborhood where CPT maintains a house
and office. This is the highest murder rate of any neighbourhood in the
city of Barrancabermeja where the overall rate was one murder for every 500
citizens. The AUC was named as responsible for 165 of 203 murders when
the perpetrator was identified. No perpetrator was identified for half of
the murders in this city in 2001.

Thursday December 20th
Schaaf, Kindy and Lisa Martens conducted prayer service in
Barrancabermeja's port, the site of much violence. After the prayer they
traveled up the Opon river and visited local families in the area of the
accompaniment.

Friday December 21st.
CPTer William Payne and Kerr traveled to Los Neques for a team meeting and
an
early Christmas celebration with community members in the Opon.

Saturday December 22nd
Team members remembered the 1997 massacre in Acteal (Chiapas) during their
worship.

Returning to the city by the community's public transportation canoe, Kerr
and Payne heard gunfire as they approached a paramilitary checkpoint
located where the Colorada river joins the Opon river. AUC members, some
masked and all armed, searched bags and questioned civilians before the
community canoe continued down the river.

Sunday December 23rd
Kerr maintained a presence in the city port during the time of departure of
the Opon's public transit canoe back to the rural township.

Kindy, Martens and Schaaf traveled down river to the community of Colorada,
the area of the paramilitary checkpoint. At 2:30 pm the CPTers met a dozen
AUC members and engaged the armed paramilitaries in a time of prayer and
dialogue. While the CPTers were in the area, several civilian canoes,
including the public transit canoe, passed by without being stopped by the
paramilitaries (as often happens).

Monday December 24th

Kindy, Martens and Schaaf travelled to the city to pick up Payne and Kerr so
that the entire team could spend Christmas eve in the Opon. Holidays are
often a time of heightened violence in Colombia.

On the Opon river the team again encountered paramilitaries at the fork of
the Colorada, about thirty minutes from the city. The CPT team disembarked
from their canoe and engaged the paramilitaries in dialogue and
prayer. After an hour, Kindy and Schaaf continued up river to fulfill other
commitments while Kerr, Martens and Payne stayed at the checkpoint.

Payne passed out maple syrup to paramilitary members, offering to trade
syrup for guns.

The paramilitary members did not stop several civilian canoes that passed
through the area. After about a half hour the AUC members left. Kindy and
Schaaf returned to pick up the remaining CPTers and all
proceeded to join local Christmas eve celebrations.

Tuesday December 25th
The whole team returned to Barrancabermeja. Kerr and Schaaf returned to the
Opon in the afternoon without further contact with the paramilitaries.