CPTnet May 11, 2004 COLOMBIA: Fears and prayers in attack aftermath

By Carol Rose and Duane Ediger

On Friday, April 23, three Colombian army soldiers in civilian dress were
shot, presumably by guerrilla forces, while boating down the Opon River.
CPTers found the bullet-punctured and blood-stained and canoe floating
downstream the following day. The body of 23-year-old Oscar Becerra Gomez
was recovered downstream on April 26. The other two victims are missing and
presumed dead. In the attack's aftermath, CPT Colombia maintained a
prayerful, observant presence with civilians and combatants.

Los Ñeques, where the attack took place, is home to farmers, fishers,
children, great-grandparents, chefs, singers, sharers of mangos, smiles and
practical jokes. Many of them took temporary flight to the
city on the afternoon of the attack out of uncertainty over what might
follow.

In the days immediately following the attack, over 100 soldiers from two
battalions were brought into the area. The day after the attack, some
soldiers hit the dirt and aimed their rifles at CPTers who were walking up a
trail to visit with civilians. They relaxed after they identified the CPTers
as noncombatants.

Days later, when several other Colombian Army units pulled the team's canoe
over, the team explained CPT's history and presence to the soldiers, most of
them teenagers. By the end of the day the team had met and prayed with over
fifty soldiers and had handed out some thirty Spanish CPT fliers.

The team's first commitment is to protect area residents, whose safety and
well-being are often put at risk by the presence of combatants under such
circumstances. Finding groups of soldiers cooking and hanging their hammocks
in the clearings and even on the front porches of civilian houses, the team
reminded military commanders that the Geneva Conventions require combatants
to maintain a sufficient distance from civilian homes and otherwise avoid
involving them in the armed conflict.

Community members have expressed mixed feelings about the military presence.
In a prayer with team members, a farmer on break from working his banana
fields pleaded, "May those armed men go somewhere else and leave us alone to
farm and live in peace. Amen."

However, many who would prefer a permanent absence of all combatants also
look on individual soldiers with compassion. After an operation in March in
which Army personnel reported having unearthed and deactivated several
anti-personnel mines, one woman said, "I offered the young men coffee
and food because they hadn't brought enough to eat and were hungry. I hope
people will offer my son hospitality wherever he is."