INDIGENOUS AND URIBE FAIL TO MEET

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 003928

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2008
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL ECON SOCI CO
SUBJECT: INDIGENOUS AND URIBE FAIL TO MEET

REF: BOGOTA 3829

Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer
For Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) President Uribe and indigenous protesters exchanged
accusations of bad faith after they failed to meet in Cali to
address indigenous concerns. The meeting was scheduled after
30,000 indigenous protesters marched from northern Cauca to
Cali to press their demands for land, investigations into the
deaths of indigenous members, and GOC concessions on a range
of issues including the Colombia-U.S. Trade Promotion
Agreement. The sides are now discussing a possible
Uribe-indigenous meeting on November 2 in Cauca, but the site
and format remain in dispute. Meanwhile, the indigenous
leaders continue to denounce alleged brutality by GOC
security forces. Colombian National Police (CNP) Commander
Naranjo told us he was surprised by the level of violence and
logistical capacity of the protesters. End Summary.

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DEMANDS INCREASE
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2. (U) On October 20, National Indigenous Organization
(ONIC) President Luis Fernando Arias convoked over 12,000
indigenous from Cauca to participate in an eight-day march
from Popayan to Cali. The march gained steam as more
supporters joined in and the list of demands grew beyond the
initial land complaints of northern Cauca. ONIC demanded a
meeting with President Uribe--not ministers--and outlined a
five-point agenda. They called for the GOC to comply with
land restitution agreements, reject the U.S.-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement, repeal the mining and water laws, sign
the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous, and put
an end to Plan Colombia and the GOC's democratic security
policy. The protesters numbered over 30,000 by the time they
reached Cali on October 25.

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STILL NO URIBE MEETING
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3. (C) Despite Uribe's decision to travel to Cali to meet
with the protesters, the two sides did not, in fact, meet on
October 26. ONIC officials said President Uribe arrived "too
late" for their scheduled meeting in downtown Cali, so they
left. GOC MOIJ Indigenous Directorate head Pedro Posada told
us the President waited for indigenous leaders at an
agreed-upon television studio, citing security concerns
downtown. After waiting for hours and dealing with the
FARC-hostage escape of former Colombian Congressman Oscar
Lizcano, Uribe was informed the indigenous would not come to
the studio. He then went to the downtown site, where he
engaged in an acrimonious exchange with the few indigenous
remaining. Presidential Communications Director Jorge
Eastman told us the meeting site issue became a "political
power struggle" between the GOC and the indigenous.


4. (U) ONIC leaders told us the indigenous would march to
Bogota if the President did not meet with them on their
terms. Still, at a contentious, eight-hour long, general
assembly at a Cali stadium on October 27, the indigenous
decided to return to Cauca and offered to meet Uribe at La
Maria indigenous reservation, the location of the initial
protests near the Pan-American Highway. Uribe requested the
meeting be held in Popayan, and has not yet decided whether
to accept the La Maria site.

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VIOLENT CLASHES, FARC INFILTRATION REMAIN CONCERNS
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5. (C) UNHCHR Representative Javier Hernandez told us the
Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squad of the National Police (ESMAD)
has used excessive force against the indigenous, noting CNN
footage that shows a masked police officer firing shots into
the crowd during a protest near La Maria indigenous reserve.
ONIC International Representative Joann Washington claimed
over half of the injured indigenous suffered bullet wounds.
Hernandez also noted evidence of police wielding machetes.
Hernandez added that the indigenous have also used improvised
explosive devices, rocks, and machetes. Human rights group
Witness for Peace told us the most violent attacks by the
indigenous were coordinated by infiltrated FARC members,
noting the majority of the protesters do not support the
FARC.


6. (C) CNP Commander General Naranjo said he was
"embarrassed" by the CNN footage, but claimed medical
examiner reports prove three dead indigenous died from
shrapnel from their own explosives, not from gunshot wounds.
He told us the CNP has found large quantities of explosive
material as well as homemade mortars in the communities. One
CNP official lost his hands when explosive materials he
picked up from the indigenous exploded. Naranjo noted radio
intercepts that show the FARC's 6th Front has tried to incite
violence, and said the DAS is looking into reports of foreign
"agitators." Calderas indigenous reserve governor Daniel
Pinacue--who demobilized from the M-19 and indigenous
terrorist group Quintin Lame in 1991--noted he was under
investigation but denied any involvement in inciting
indigenous violence.
BROWNFIELD