OCTOBER HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 004012 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KJUS CO SUBJECT: OCTOBER HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE REF: BOGOTA 3553 Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer. Reason: 1.4(b,d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) Murders in Medellin through September 30 this year increased 35.6% over the comparable period last year. President Uribe met with the indigenous from Cauca in La Maria reserve on November 2, stating he would consider removing the military presence in La Maria reserve if the indigenous agreed to stop blocking the Pan-American highway. Uribe also offered to continue dialogue; the indigenous accepted the offer but also plan to march on Bogota. The sugar cane cutter (cortero) strike that started on September 15 continues, but one mill has settled with the workers. The union-affiliated Escuela Nacional Sindical (ENS) believes the strike may end by November 7. Three community leaders working with the GOC were killed in Cordoba over the last three months by illegal armed groups. The MOD hosted a conference on October 16 at the Jose Maria Cordoba Military Cadet School for generals and admirals to stress the importance of human rights and the role of soldiers in the application of human rights. End Summary. -------------- GANG MURDERS ON THE RISE IN MEDELLIN -------------- ¶2. (U) Medellin Government Secretary Jesus Ramirez and Colombian National Police (CNP) Commander Dagoberto Garcia said a consolidated, interagency review involving the Medical Examiner's Office, Technical Investigative Corps (CTI),CNP, and the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia) revealed that murders in Medellin increased 35.6% through September 30 compared with the same period last year Slightly over 60% of the victims had prior criminal records, with most involved in narcotrafficking. Despite the increase, Garcia said polls show most citizens feel safe because they recognize the murders are largely limited to gang warfare. Polls also show people have confidence in local institutions and the CNP. ¶3. (C) Ramirez said Medellin's local government is committed to fighting the increased trend in murders. The local government has set up seven interagency crime task forces led by prosecutors and supported by the Sijin (Police intelligence units). The task forces target gangs, contraband, homicides, and crime dens (casas de vicio). Ramirez noted that Medellin has also purchased communications interception equipment which will be operated by the Sijin. He said this would free the city from its dependence on Bogota-based interception equipment. ¶4. (C) Ramirez voiced confidence in CNP Medellin Commander Garcia, but complained about the CNP's lack of transparency. He said it is not clear what happened with 14 police detained for criminal activity, as well as why CNP National Commander General Oscar Naranjo had replaced every member of the Antioquia CNP Antikidnapping unit (GAULA). (Naranjo told us separately he replaced the men because an investigation revealed the commander tried to cover-up the fact that two of his men who were murdered in Uraba in April by narcotrafficker "Don Mario" were working for "Los Paisas," a rival drug group. Naranjo plans to replace eight CNP Lieutenant Colonels and two Captains in Medellin over the next month to clean up the local CNP). Ramirez said elements of the military (Regional Military Intelligence 7 (RIME), Army GAULAS, and the 4th Brigade) also remain engaged in crime. -------------- INDIGENOUS PROTESTS UPDATE -------------- ¶5. (U) President Uribe met with the indigenous from Cauca in La Maria reserve for six hours on November 2, but failed to reach agreement on land disputes and other issues. Uribe offered to remove the military presence in La Maria reserve if the indigenous agreed to stop blocking the Pan-American highway. He also noted that the GOC would accept the United Nations Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, except for provisions related to ownership of subsoil resources and the need to obtain permission from the indigenous before starting projects near the communities. Uribe said the GOC would consult with the indigenous, but would not accede to their demand that they have a veto right over such projects. ¶6. (U) The President of the High Council of the Indigenous Community of Cauca Aida Quilcue said they would continue to "invade" the contested lands until their demands were met (ref). The local Paez claim the GOC has failed to fulfill a 1995 agreement--signed after the 1991 massacre of 20 Paez--which committed the GOC to buy 15,663 hectares of land for the Paez communities. To date, the GOC has turned over 10,082 hectares, with plans to buy 2,790 more over the next two years. Quilcue also reiterated their commitment to march on Bogota starting November 4. ONIC expects the march to reach Cali on November 10 and believes it will take another three weeks to arrive in Bogota. ¶7. (U) Cauca remains a special case because the indigenous represent 20% of the department's population--the second highest in the nation--and are primarily from one ethnic group--the Nasa (also known as the Paez). Although the indigenous of Cauca have 700,000 hectares of land, 46% are forests and highlands, and are not arable. The scarcity of highly arable land in Cauca contributes to the complaints by agribusiness owners of the expansion of the unproductive indigenous reserves. Half of Colombia's indigenous live in three departments--Cauca, La Guajira, and Narino. Indigenous make up slightly more than 3% of Colombia's total population, but reserves account for over 30% of Colombia's national territory. -------------- CORTEROS STRIKE CONTINUES -------------- ¶8. (U) The sugar cane cutter (cortero) strike that started on September 15 continues in all but one of the eight sugar mills involved. Social Protection Minister Diego Palacio announced that the Ingenio Central Tumaco sugar mill in Palmira reached an agreement with workers to adjust salaries, noting that 240 workers would return to work. The ingenio agreed to ensure that workers' cooperatives met the legal requirements related to benefits and salaries. The Cortero Union Sinalcorteros, together with the representatives from Colombia's largest labor confederation the CUT, pulled out of the labor discussions stating that "the agreement does not meet our demands." A Cali judge released two arrested Polo Senator Alexander Lopez staffers, together with four cortero strike leaders, ruling that supporting worker rights was not a crime. They had been accused of inciting violence. The Escuela Nacional Sindical (ENS) believes the strike may end in the remaining sugar bills by November 7. -------------- -------------- THREE COMMUNITY LEADERS KILLED IN TIERRALTA, CORDOBA -------------- -------------- ¶9. (U) Three community leaders were killed in Tierralta, Cordoba over the last three months by illegal armed groups due to their participation in the GOC's "Familias Guardabosques" Program, a program that works with local agricultural groups to replace illicit crops. Julio Antonio Martinez Polo was killed on October 21, and Azael Hernandez Bedoya and Antonio Jaramillo were murdered in July and mid-October respectively. Cordoba CNP Commander Oscar Atehortua Duque said the murders are under investigation, but little specific information has been uncovered at this point. Niria Brito, Human Rights Secretary of the National Confederation of Community Action, said that from 2002 to 2008, 300 community leaders have been assassinated in Colombia. The groups have called for additional protection for those working with GOC programs to substitute illicit crops. -------------- HUMAN RIGHTS REINFORCED AT MOD CONFERENCE -------------- ¶10. (U) The Ministry of Defense (MOD) hosted a conference on October 16 at the Jose Maria Cordoba Military Cadet School for generals and admirals to stress the importance of human rights in military operations and the role of soldiers in the application of human rights. The Ambassador, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights representative Javier Hernandez, Human Rights Ombudsman Volmar Perez, Prosecutor General Mario Iguaran, Presidential Advisor Jose Obdulia Gaviria, National Commission of Reconciliation and Reparation President Eduardo Pizarro, and El Tiempo General Editor Roberto Pombo, all participated, along with Armed Forces Commander General Freddy Padilla. Padilla told the assembled command staff present that "every day we must perfect our actions and our operations so they will be effective and at the same time, absolutely transparent." BROWNFIELD