CPTnet
May 19, 2004

COLOMBIA: A Complex Conflict

By Sandra Rincón

Translated by Robin Buyers

[Note: The state of Bolivar borders the northwestern edge of the state of
Santander in the north-central part of Colombia. The area of Bolivar
mentioned in this report lies approximately 150 kilometers northwest of
Barrancabermeja, the city in Santander where the Colombia team has its
headquarters.]

>From April 27 to 30, 2004 CPT accompanied a commission composed of several
human rights organizations to Bolivar in northern Colombia. The commission
came prepared to listen to the testimonies of campesinos about their
situation and to celebrate with them the Day of the Children.

The trip gave CPTers a little window through which they could view the
complexity of the conflict in Colombia. Campesinos in the villages of Upper
Crañabraval and Upper San Juan in rural Bolivar are living in difficult
times indeed.

Team members appreciated the beauty of the countryside, and of two villages
in the middle of the mountains where the green of the trees and the blue of
the sky dominate. Nevertheless, this beauty contains features that feed the
conflict: coca plantations, the largest goldmine in the Americas, and a
richly varied terrain.

Plan Colombia, funded by the United States, calls for aerial spraying of
coca plantations with herbicides. But coca fumigation has not been effective
in eradicating coca crops, although it has eliminated food crops, such as
corn, plantain, and yucca. Farmers can recover fumigated coca crops by
pruning the bush immediately and can plant a variety of coca more resistant
to chemicals.

Paramilitaries and guerrillas in the zone buy coca paste, increasing the
market for other items needed for cocaine processing, such as cement and
chalk. This dynamic gives weight to arguments by the authorities that they
must control goods moving through the region.

The discovery of the goldmine has attracted foreign companies interested in
its exploitation. However, illegal armed groups, fighting for control around
the mine do not permit entry into the zone, because, according to one
inhabitant, "they might encounter things that maybe no one wants to see."

The varied terrain makes it easy for armed groups to move to and from the
villages, permitting the control of the population and the implementation of
check points to verify the movements of goods and food supplies.

Given these complexities, one might think that there are no options. But
civilians may be able to make a difference in the zone. Everyone spoke to us
about the burden of the conflict: the threats, blockades, assassinations,
disappearances, oversights, and stigmatization. Nevertheless, they are
interested in living freely and want their situation known before Colombia
and the world. They are aware that they sow illegal crops, but know too that
they have human rights that should not be violated by any armed group.

For this reason, when those living in the zone heard that a Human Rights
Commission had come to learn about their experiences, they didn't hesitate
for a moment: even though they had to walk two or more hours over difficult
paths, they did it, since it was worth the trouble just to talk about this
complex conflict.