NEW FARC ATROCITIES DRAW INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM.

UNCLAS BOGOTA 005116 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL KJUS CO SUBJECT: NEW FARC ATROCITIES DRAW INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM. ¶1. On Friday July 6, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) executed Blanca Ines Marin Osorio, the mayor of San Jose del Palmar, on the road connecting Valle de Cauca and Choco, near the Pacific coast. Marin was a vocal supporter of the Uribe administration, and had won numerous awards for her local government's progress and efficiency. Marin's car was stopped on the highway, she was pulled from the vehicle, and shot at close range in front of her driver and his 12 year old grandson. FARC attackers threw her body into a deep ravine nearby. For years, the FARC and other illegal armed groups have attempted to control the area around San Jose del Palmar, which is near prime drug trafficking territory. ¶2. The FARC also murdered two town councilmen and one civilian in El Doncello, Caqueta on July 10, and attempted to murder six other councilmen who, luckily, were not home at the time of the attack. The attack in Doncello followed the assassination of six other Caqueta councilmen during the first half of 2007. Additionally, on July 9, the FARC killed one police officer in a sniper attack against a local police station in San Jose de Apartado, Antioquia. A second police officer was injured. ¶3. In his weekly televised community forum on July 7, President Alvaro Uribe praised former-Mayor Marin, and said that the country had been damaged by the murder of such a hard-working and well respected community leader. He criticized the FARC for her brutal murder. Interior and Justice Minister Carlos Holguin attended Marin's funeral. Uribe said Colombian National Police Commander Oscar Naranjo would reinforce protection for local officials, and the GOC has offered a reward of 200 million pesos (about USD 100,000) for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the crime. ¶4. The UN Bogota office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) issued a statement on July 11 strongly condemning the FARC atrocities. UNHCHR expressed its condolences and demanded the FARC respect civilian populations as obliged under Article 3 of the Geneva conventions. UNHCHR called the FARC murders "a serious human rights infraction." Drucker