CPTnet

29 July 2008
COLOMBIA UPDATE: June 2008

In June, a national delegation of Colombian Catholic and Mennonite church members visited Barrancabermeja and the Opón. Northeast Barrancabermeja and the neighborhood of Versailles, where CPT has its office, were shocked by violence that took one life and left several people wounded.

1 June 2008
An armed paramilitary group, presumably the Black Eagles, entered southeast and northeast Barrancabermeja. Members threatened to kill young people they encountered talking in the street, accusing the youth of laziness and using drugs.

3 June
At the request of the survivor of an attempted assassination, the team did follow-up work regarding the attack, which team members witnessed in 2006. At the time of the shooting, many people said the paramilitary wanted to kill the survivor, a teacher, because he had refused to join a network of paramilitary informants. The case has not advanced because the the teacher had not wanted to file a complaint against the assailants.
 

8-11 June
Stewart Vriesinga and Julian Gutierrez accompanied a gathering marking the fifth anniversary of the Citizen's Process of Tiquisio (a grassroots organizing effort for the human rights of the community.) The Human Rights Ombudsperson presented a workshop about human rights and international humanitarian law. The attendees celebrated the anniversary with a march, Catholic mass and cultural activities.

11 June
A member of ASODESAMUBA(a displaced person's organization), an organization CPT accompanies, received a death threat because of her work.

9-16 June
A national delegation visited Barrancabermeja and the Opon. The delegation comprised pastors from the Mennonite church and priests and students from the Catholic Order of St. Basil. The national delegation created a public action in the Magdalena River port in Barranca. The delegates purified the water of Colombia´s largest river, where armed groups have discarded the bodies of many victims. (see photos of the action at http://cpt.org/gallery/album249 and 16 July CPTnet release, “COLOMBIA REFLECTION: Bridging a Divided Church,” http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2008/07/16/colombia-reflection-bridging-divided-church.)

18 June
Paramilitaries attempted to assassinate a resident of the Versailles neighborhood, where CPT has its office and houses, hitting him with two bullets. The intended victim has a long history of participating in illegal activities with the paramilitaries and of crimes against residents of Barrancabermeja. The shooting also wounded a teenager working at a nearby carpentry shop. CPT and Sisters from the Catholic Order of St. John the Evangelist, along with residents of the neighborhood, held a vigil to call for peace and a change of hearts for those bringing violence into the neighborhood.

19 June
Bob Holmes and Pierre Shantz visited striking palm oil workers in Yarima, municipality of San Vicente de Chucuri, Santander province. The workers are demanding recognition of labor rights, a just salary and increased social development in the area. The strike has the support of the community and local and provincial government (See 2 July CPTnet release, “COLOMBIA REFLECTION: "Uncooperative"-Yarima palm oil workers and community members make demands on their legislators, http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2008/07/02/colombia-reflection-quotuncooperativequot-yarima-palm-oil-workers-and-community-me).

Shantz and Sandra Rincon attended a community meeting organized by leaders of the area to talk about the rise in violence and to organize a march for peace on 3 July. During the meeting, the group learned that another person was assassinated in the neighborhood called "August 20", in the same zone where CPT has its office and houses. ( See 14 July CPTnet release, “COLOMBIA: CPTers march with neighbors to call attention to increase in violence,” http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2008/07/14/colombia-cpters-march-neighbors-call-attention-increase-violence.”)

20 June
In response to the assassination in "August 20," Catholic sisters from the Order of St. John the Evangelist led a vigil in which CPT, the Women's Popular Organization (OFP), SINALTRAINAL (the food and beverage workers union), Peace Brigades International, Human Rights Workers Forum, and residents of the sector participated. The vigil was similar to the one held in the Versailles neighborhood two days earlier and the organizations involved resolved to hold a vigil to reclaim the right to life each time a violent act occurs in the area.

22 June
Shantz and Holmes accompanied the OFP to observe elections of the Community Action Council in the municipality of Cantagallo, southern Bolivar province. The day passed without incident.

23-25 June
Michele Braley and Holmes accompanied a meeting of the Humanitarian Space: Integrated Development Zone in the village of Sicue, municipality of San Pablo. Participants discussed the entrance of the mining company Kedahda S.A.--subsidiary of the multinational Anglo Gold Ashanti--into the zone. The Integrated Development Zone is supported by the Program for Development and Peace in the Middle Magdalena and the Campesino Association of the Cimitarra Valley.