INDIGENOUS PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 003794 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KJUS CO SUBJECT: INDIGENOUS PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT REF: A. BOGOTA 3553 ¶B. BOGOTA 3601 Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer. Reason: 1.4(b,d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) Two days of protests by indigenous groups in Valle de Cauca and Cauca led to violent clashes between security forces and protesters, leaving at least 150 injured and one dead. The protests, organized by the National Organization of Indigenous in Colombia (ONIC),were prompted by indigenous frustration over the GOC's alleged failure to respond to indigenous demands for the return of ancestral lands and investigations into indigenous deaths. On October 15, President Uribe said the GOC is open to dialogue, but conditioned talks on an end to violence. The GOC will not allow protesters to shut down the Pan American Highway. The United Nations has sent a commission to investigate the situation. END SUMMARY. -------------- PROTESTS SPARK CLASHES -------------- ¶2. (U) On October 14, the National Organization of Indigenous in Colombia (ONIC) led indigenous protests throughout the country against what it calls the "genocide of the indigenous population." Protesters demanded the return of ancestral lands, and investigations into indigenous deaths. In Valle de Cauca and Cauca departments, nearly 7000 protesters blocked access to the Pan American Highway--the main north-south artery in Colombia--with roadblocks, trees, burning tires, and trash piles. Protests also occurred in 15 of Colombia's 32 departments, including La Guajira, Cordoba, Sucre, Atlantico, Choco, Meta, Casanare, Norte de Santander, Caldas, Valle de Cauca, Cauca, Tolima, Huila, Boyaca, and Risaralda. The indigenous population represents 2-3% of Colombia's population; the GOC has designated over 30 million hectares of land, approximately a third of its land surface, for indigenous reserves (Ref A). ¶3. (C) ONIC and the human rights group Minga claim GOC security forces have used excessive force in handling the Cauca protests, adding that so far over 60 people have been injured. ONIC also reports that at least one protester died from caused by security forces. Minga President Gloria Florez told us on October 15 that security forces violently entered La Maria indigenous reserve (resguardo) adjacent to the protests, and voiced concern about additional civilian casualties. She said twelve indigenous leaders have been murdered in Cauca over the last three weeks. The UN High Commissioner's office on Human Rights (UNHCHR) representative Javier Hernandez told us he spoke with Colombian National Police Commander Oscar Naranjo about Minga's allegations, but added that indigenous protesters have also used violence. We raised the excessive force issue with Armed Forces Commander General Padilla on October 15. The CNP reports 70 police injured in Cauca, including one who lost a hand due to a machete wound. -------------- -------------- GOC COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY OPEN -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) Police and military forces under the command of CNP General Orlando Paez have cleared the Pan American Highway in Cauca, but portions remain closed at night to avoid further violence. The GOC confirmed the police, led by the Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squad of the National Police (ESMAD),used water cannons and rubber bullets against the protesters. The CNP action was supported by elements from the 3th and 29th Army Brigades. Paez reiterated that the GOC will not allow the indigenous to close the highway, and said protesters threw stones and small explosive devices at the security forces. He stated publicly that the CNP believes the FARC had supplied the indigenous with the explosives and were attempting to exploit the situation against the GOC. Numerous indigenous protests have occurred in Cauca over the last three years due to the GOC's failure to meet its commitments to provide them with more land (Ref B). -------------- -------------- URIBE: DIALOGUE YES BUT ONLY AFTER VIOLENCE STOPS -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) ONIC President Luis Andrade said only direct negotiations with President Uribe or Interior Minister Valencia Cossio could end the protests. He stated that in addition to discussions over land, the GOC must investigate the murders of 57 indigenous, including 22 this year. President Uribe said the GOC is willing to talk with the protesters, but conditioned dialogue on the end of violence. He reiterated that the GOC could not allow the protesters to block the Pan American Highway, and claimed the protests are aimed at derailing the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. Uribe said the GOC has largely fulfilled its 1995 commitment to acquire additional land for the indigenous in Cauca, and noted that the GOC is working to buy the remaining territory. The Ministry of Interior and Justice said the GOC has met 17 times over the last three years with indigenous groups in Cauca on land issues. Presidency Secretary Bernardo Moreno acknowledged the indigenous grievances to us on October 16, but claimed the protests were part of a broader leftist effort to undermine the GOC. -------------- UN AND EMBASSIES OFFER MEDIATION -------------- ¶6. (C) The UNHCHR, the UN High Council on Refugees (UNHCR), and UN Office on the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) agreed to a request by human rights groups to send a commission to Cauca on October 15 to investigate the situation. The UN has asked the GOC to send a formal letter requesting its assistance before the commission takes any mediation action. The UN system, as well as a group of local embassies, including Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, and Canada, have offered to help mediate the dispute, but are awaiting a formal request from the GOC that they play such a role. National Conciliation Commission Secretary Father Dario Echeverri told us the situation in Cauca is complex, and that the Commission is maintaining a "prudent distance" from the mediation effort for the time being. BROWNFIELD