THE AWA ARE PLEASED WITH RESPONSE TO MASSACRE, WELCOME USG

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 003073

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/09/25
TAGS: PHUM PREF PGOV PTER KJUS MOPS CO
SUBJECT: THE AWA ARE PLEASED WITH RESPONSE TO MASSACRE, WELCOME USG
HELP

REF: BOGOTA 2839

CLASSIFIED BY: Brian A. Nichols, DCM; REASON: 1.4B, D

SUMMARY

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1. (C) On September 15 the DCM and several USG officials met with
the president of the Awa Indigenous People's Unity Association
(UNIPA),Gabriel Bisbicus, and several representatives of the Awa
community. Bisbicus said the Prosecutor General's investigation
into the killing of 12 Awa by unknown assailants on August 26 is
proceeding well. The assailants likely included local Awa involved
in criminal activities, according to Bisbicus. He did not rule out
involvement of some military with links to illegal armed groups.
President Uribe offered to provide additional security to the Awa,
but they declined citing the associated risks of the military
presence. The UNIPA representatives lamented the deteriorating
social conditions and territorial encroachment resulting from
illegal armed groups' increased violence and narco-trafficking
activities in the region. Awa communities also perceive aerial
eradication efforts as having a negative effect on their crops.
Bisbicus responded positively to our offers of assistance and the
Embassy will follow-up to arrange consultative meetings to explore
opportunities. End Summary.



MURDER INVESTIGATION PROCEEDING WELL

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2. (C) Awa Indigenous People's Unity Association (UNIPA) president
Gabriel Bisbicus told the DCM -- accompanied by INL/LP Director
Francisco Palmieri, Embassy Regional Refugee Coordinator and USAID
staff -- that he believes the Colombian National Police (CNP) would
soon make arrests in the August 26 murders of 12 Awa indigenous in
Tumaco, Narino (reftel). Bisbicus said that CNP and Prosecutor
General investigators (CTI) have made substantial progress, and
want to build a complete case before arresting the suspects all at
once.




3. (C) In a somewhat elliptical manner, Bisbicus said that the
assailants likely included local Awa involved with criminal
activities. He added that those responsible should receive the
most severe punishment, whether Awa or not. Bisbicus would not
rule out that some soldiers with links to criminal groups and
acting on their own, and not as part of the military institution,
may have been involved as well. Bisbicus noted that two of the
victims had been pregnant at the time of their murders, increasing
the number of victims. Six eye-witnesses survived the attack
rather than three as has been reported in the press. The witnesses
were able to provide the CNP and CTI with solid leads. Bisbicus
appeared fully satisfied with the investigation.




4. (C) In a separate conversation in Tumaco that same day, CNP Lt.
Col. Ordonez confirmed to NAS officers that the CNP has made
substantial progress in the investigation and expects to make
arrests within a month. Ordonez said he is sure that it was a
local criminal killing, possibly motivated by revenge. He also
repeated that there may be a link to the murder of two Ecuadorian
traders in this community two months ago. (A family member of one
of the victims of this massacre reportedly witnessed the earlier
killings.) Ordonez noted that there is a lot of extortion and
illegal economic activity in the community where the massacre took
place.



AWA REJECT URIBE'S OFFER OF MILITARY SECURITY


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5. (C) Referring to his meeting with President Uribe soon after the
massacre, Bisbicus said that he rejected Uribe's offer to station
troops in and around the Awa reservation. Bisbicus suggested that
soldiers would cause more problems than they would solve, as they
would attract reprisals from illegal armed groups, need to be fed,
romantically pursue the Awa's "daughters," and could not guarantee
security due to the wide geographic dispersal of Awa homes.
Bisbicus added that Uribe had declined to build more roads in the
area, as it would facilitate the movement of illegal groups.




6. (C) The Awa have suffered five massacres, many killings and
frequent displacements due to violence in the last three years.
Bisbicus said his tribe did not trust outsiders to keep them safe.
The Awa prefer to create an Awa security/ self-defense force. El
Tiempo, a leading daily newspaper in Bogota, reported on September
19 that three more Awa had been between killed in Narino between
September 13 and 17.



BAD INFLUENCES RUN AMOK

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7. (C) The UNIPA representatives laid out in some detail the
various threats their community faces: paramilitaries (Bisbicus
believes that these groups are direct descendants of the former
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) and rejects the
government's term "new emerging criminal bands"); the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC); the National Liberation Army
(ELN); and common criminals. These groups compete for land and
resources to support their illicit activities, and increasingly use
threats and violence to intimidate and manipulate civilian
populations -- especially the indigenous and Afro-Colombian
communities. Confinement of entire villages and the widespread use
of landmines and improvised explosive devices restrict the Awa's
ability to provide food and security.




8. (SBU) Bisbicus also said that his community faces poverty and
problems gaining access to education and health care. The Awa seek
to maintain their own culture, language and traditions and do not
want the presence of any armed group whether illegal or Colombian
security forces. Bisbicus lamented that the Awa communities do not
have basic infrastructure and this makes it difficult for them to
travel and engage in legitimate commerce. For example, it requires
hours to walk from some homes to the main road. The poor
infrastructure makes it difficult for the Awa to establish and
maintain links to other tribes, including Awa who have migrated to
Ecuador.



COCA COMPLAINTS

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9. (C) Bisbicus complained that aerial coca eradication had damaged
Awa crops and the environment. The DCM explained the complaints
process to him and said that an environmental officer would brief
the Awa on how to document and file complaints for damage to
legitimate crops. Bisbicus said that his community did not want
coca (Awa leaders have issued a decree banning its cultivation on
their territories) and would be willing to accept voluntary
eradication help from the Embassy and GOC. While denying that his


community grew coca, Bisbicus said that the spray of legitimate
sylvan and farmed crops had spurred resentment that prompted some
in the community to grow coca as their only way to survive. Two
other Awa present complained about the broader environmental impact
of spray, and said that eradication was a futile exercise given
U.S. demand drove the supply.



GRATEFUL FOR USG HELP

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10. (SBU) Bisbicus thanked the DCM for U.S.-funded International
Organization of Migration (IOM) projects to train 40 Awa in first
aid and asked for additional USG assistance in building clinics,
schools, and improving infrastructure such as roads. He also said
the Awa community needs ambulances and income generation projects.
The DCM said that the Embassy wants to support the Awa and that the
U.S. Congress has made providing assistance to indigenous and
Afro-Colombian communities a priority. Bisbicus said that
infrastructure projects that involve the U.S. military are not
welcome. The DCM offered to provide some concrete suggestions for
cooperation to Bisbicus in the near future with regard to
education, health care and income generation.




11. (SBU) Bisbicus added that the Awa are pleased with the response
of the government and international organizations to the mass
displacement following the most recent massacre. Post's Refugee
Coordinator offered to explore prepositioning emergency supplies
for Awa and building a community center that could be used as a
shelter during temporary displacements.
BROWNFIELD