Hey Everyone,
You may recall from my blog that I was in La Esperanza a few weeks ago, accompanying the Peace Community there. This was part of the three international accompaniment organizations that work with the Peace Community (PBI of England, Palomas of Italy and FOR of the USA) rotating through the village in response to hightened threats from illegal armed paramilitary groups.
U.S. CITIZENS: FOR released an Urgent Action Letter this week, in response to what is happening in La Esperanza. Please take a few moments to politically support the Peace Community, which has been under severe paramilitary threat since mid-November, by signing this letter. It only takes a few seconds and the letter was written, in part, by yours truly. Click here to sign the letter to the U.S. Ambassador in Colombia and support the Peace Community in their resistance to militant oppression.
NOT A U.S. CITIZEN, BUT STILL LOVE GINA, HER WORK and the FOR COLOMBIA PROGRAM? Below is a copy of the letter to U.S. Ambassador Michael McKinley, for all you amazing friends of mine who are not US citizens, but would be willing to send a similar letter via e-mail to your ambassador in Colombia.
Thanks for supporting me and my work, thanks on behalf of FOR's Colombia program team, and thank you for supporting the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado in their peaceful struggle this holiday season,
Gina
Dear Ambassador McKinley,
I am writing to express my concern about recent paramilitary threats and actions against the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó in northwest Colombia.
On two separate occasions in the final weeks of November, armed men self-identified as paramilitaries entered the village of La Esperanza, where several Peace Community members live. These illegal armed groups met with village members, demanded future collaboration, ordered the closure of the village’s two stores and began limiting the amount of food residents can bring up to their families from town. In addition to being inside village limits, many paramilitaries are present in the surrounding area, operating checkpoints along the paths. On November 22, paramilitary and guerrilla gunmen reportedly engaged in intensive combat nearby.
The recent incursion of paramilitary groups is only the latest example of the violence the Peace Community has suffered over the past year. Since March 2011, paramilitary and other illegal armed groups have killed 12 civilians from the San José area and continue to threaten the Peace Community with target lists of those to be murdered next, despite heavy military and police presence.
Paramilitaries, collaborating with the Colombian military, have been involved in the majority of the 195 deaths the Peace Community has suffered since its founding in 1997. In response to such violence, only a few low-ranking army men and paramilitaries have been tried and convicted. Given the history of paramilitary and state-sponsored violence, ongoing impunity and U.S. financial support to the Colombian army, this recent surge in presence is certain to put the civilians of La Esperanza in danger of violence.
I respectfully urge you to:
* Contact Colombian government officials about the paramilitary groups' continued operations, contrary to the assertion that they effectively demobilized in 2006. It is the state’s responsibility to dismantle all paramilitary structures.
* Contact the 17th Brigade to reiterate your concern for the safety of Peace Community members and other civilians living in La Esperanza. Remind the brigade of their responsibility to protect the Peace Community in accordance with the community’s principles of nonviolence and non-involvement in the armed conflict, and the protective measures issued by the Inter-American Human Rights Court.
I look forward to hearing back from you on your actions to protect the Peace Community and other civilians affected by the armed conflict. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
