Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BOGOTA2619
2005-03-18 20:14:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bogota
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH PEACE COMMUNITY ABOUT URABA

Tags:  PHUM PTER CO 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 002619 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2030
TAGS: PHUM PTER CO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH PEACE COMMUNITY ABOUT URABA
MASSACRE

REF: A. BOGOTA 2348


B. BOGOTA 2156

C. BOGOTA 1999

D. BOGOTA 1918

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reason 1.4 (d).

--------
Summary
--------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 002619

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2030
TAGS: PHUM PTER CO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH PEACE COMMUNITY ABOUT URABA
MASSACRE

REF: A. BOGOTA 2348


B. BOGOTA 2156

C. BOGOTA 1999

D. BOGOTA 1918

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reason 1.4 (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) On March 16, Ambassador met with representatives of
the peace community of San Jose de Apartado, who reiterated
their statements that the February 21-22 massacre of eight
civilians in the area was the work of the Army's 17th
Brigade. Ambassador expressed condolences to the community
and reiterated our public call for a quick, complete, and
transparent investigation of the massacre that identifies and
punishes the perpetrators, whoever they are. He urged
representatives of the peace community to cooperate with
Government civilian investigators, who are in the best
position to determine the truth of what happened. Two days
earlier, Embassy officials met with this group, plus two
additional members of the peace community, including the
mother of Luis Eduardo Guerra. Peace community
representatives told Emboffs the 17th Brigade had detained
Guerra's mother and other family members for two days in her
house and bragged to her that they had murdered her son and
his family. The group reiterated that the peace community
will not speak to Fiscalia investigators. End Summary.

--------------
Embassy Meeting with Peace Community
--------------


2. (C) On March 14, Political officers and Assistant Army
Attache met with three members of the peace community of San
Jose de Apartado, community founder Sister Clara Lagos, and
two members of U.S. NGO Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) to
discuss the February 21-22 massacre of eight individuals in
the Uraba region of Antioquia Department (refs A-D). The
three members of the peace community included the mother of
Luis Eduardo Guerra, a peace community leader killed in the
massacre, and two members of the community's governing body,
or "Internal Council." There are reports that one of the
Council members present, Wilson David, is a member of the
FARC's 5th Front. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Apartado,
Monsignor German Garcia, has told the press that Clara Lagos,
whom he ordered out of the community two years ago, does not
represent the Diocese of Apartado, or, in his opinion, the

Church.


3. (C) During the meeting, David noted that despite Colombian
military claims to the contrary, members of the Army's 17th
Brigade had been in the hamlet of Las Nieves, a 3-4 hour walk
from the peace community, two days before the February 21
massacre. He said the military was in the area searching for
FARC 5th Front militia commander "Macho Rusio," which led to
Rusio's death and injuries to his daughter and two soldiers.
(Our understanding, however, is that the operation against
Macho Rusio occurred two to three weeks before the Uraba
massacre.)


4. (C) "Myriam," a middle-aged woman, who arrived with no
identification documents, introduced as Luis Eduardo Guerra's
mother, told Emboffs, in a brief statement, that on February
21 roughly 20 soldiers from the 17th Brigade's 33rd
Counterguerrilla Battalion arrived at her home and detained
her and ten other family members for two days. Per ref A,
representatives of Peace Brigades International (PBI) earlier
told Emboffs that the soldiers detained the group for a week,
and only released them when a large group from the peace
community arrived at the home on February 27. Myriam said
the soldiers accused her and her family members of being
guerrillas and bragged to her that they had murdered her son
and his family. She said the soldiers excavated a grave-size
hole inside her dirt floor home, on the pretext of searching
for hidden weapons. When asked follow-up questions about the
events she described, however, Myriam was not able to
respond. She said she would not be able to identify any of
the responsible soldiers, even in a confidential photo array
at the Embassy. She did not know who was in command of the
soldiers who confined her, could not remember any of their
names, and was unable to describe details of their uniforms
or equipment. David then added that soldiers scrawled "33rd
Counterguerrilla Battalion: Your Worst Nightmare" on a walls
of the home, which they subsequently tried to erase. He said
the community had taken photographs of the wall, but had not
developed them yet.

5. (C) David described the scene when the peace community
arrived at the mass grave site outside the home of the late
Bolivar family on February 25. Arriving before the military
and the staff from the Prosecutor General's Office
("Fiscalia"),they observed that the house had been ransacked
and was stained with blood. David complained that when the
military arrived, soldiers aggressively pointed their guns at
community members until told to cease and desist by their
commanding officer. He also reported that soldiers were
taking video and photographs of peace community members.

--------------
More Allegations Against 17th Brigade
--------------


6. (C) Sister Clara and the two peace community leaders also
told Emboffs that Wilmar Durango (alias "Pico de Loro"),an
alleged paramilitary, is an active member of the 17th Brigade
and has been seen working with the police in the area. David
added that he has two signed threat letters from Wilmar who
has made threats against other members of the community as
well.

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Community Wants GOC Protection
--------------


7. (C) Despite their demand that the security forces not
enter the peace community, representatives told Emboffs the
military is obliged to protect them, without "militarizing"
their communities, consistent with special measures mandated
by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Members added
that they had been in discussions with Vice-President Santos
regarding the establishment of a police station, located
outside the peace community on the way to Apartado. They
noted that the community would also like the permanent
presence of civilian authorities in the community, such as
representatives of the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office
("Defensoria") and the Inspector General's Office
("Procuraduria").

--------------
Ambassador Meets with Representatives
--------------


8. (C) On March 16, Ambassador met with Lagos, Internal
Council member Reynaldo David, and FOR representatives.
Ambassador expressed the USG's condolences for the
community's loss and reiterated our call for a quick,
complete, and transparent investigation that identifies and
punishes the perpetrators of this heinous crime. He urged
the community to cooperate with Government investigators,
since they, unlike the Embassy, the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights and other non-investigative organizations
they were talking to, are in a position to gather evidence
and reach a definitive conclusion about the facts in the
case. He offered the Embassy's assistance in working with
government investigators. The Ambassador said the community
should work to overcome past problems with the Fiscalia and
focus on doing all it can to find the truth and help resolve
this crime as quickly and completely as possible.


9. (C) Peace community representatives repeated much of what
they had shared with Embassy officials on March 14. However,
Reynaldo David added new information about potential
witnesses. He said, for example, an unnamed peasant had seen
Army troops in the company of masked informants in the region
immediately prior to the massacre. These masked informants
allegedly said the Army should only kill with machetes in
order to avoid alerting residents in the area. Reynaldo also
said that the brother of Luis Eduardo Guerra had seen the
military seize him and later listened from the woods as
soldiers ransacked the Bolivar family's residence and
massacred the family of five. Both of these witnesses are
allegedly in hiding, and are unwilling to testify to anyone
other than residents of the peace community or
representatives of the community's accompanying NGOs. PBI
representatives had told the Embassy about an alleged witness
to the Bolivar family's murder, but the witness was described
at that time as an unrelated worker whose whereabouts were
unknown. Lagos insisted the military is obligated to protect
the community, but the military has always treated the
community as hostile. She added that no matter who actually
committed the massacre, the Army was responsible for the
deaths, whether by "action" or "omission."

--------------
Comment
--------------


10. (C) A quick, complete, transparent investigation is
needed to uncover the real truth. A successful effort,
however, will need cooperation from the peace community and
the eyewitnesses it has identified. Thus far, the peace
community, perhaps out of fear, has refused to cooperate. We
will continue to urge the Government to make the
investigation of this case a top priority, as we
simultaneously encourage the peace community to cooperate
with the GOC. The peace community is holding an 8th
anniversary celebration in San Jose de Apartado on March 23
and has invited the international community to attend.
WOOD