Impunity Watch: South America

2.4 Million Colombians Displaced

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia-A new report by a non-governmental organization released on Wednesday found that in the last twenty-five years, 2.4 million people were displaced under the presidency of Alvaro Uribe. The report was prepared by the Consultancy on Human Rights and Displacement (Codhes).

According to the report, 2009 saw a twenty four percent drop in displacement relative to 2008. In 2008 there was a record high of 380,863 people forcibly displaced. The head of Codhes stated that "clearly there is progress in some sectors of society, but not for the entire population, which calls into question the entire police of "Democratic Security."

The report found that people are most affected in the regions of Chaco, Nariño Antioquia, Cordoba, Cauca, Arauca, Valle del cauca, Risadalda, Bolívar, Cesar, Meta, and Guajira. Narña, reportedly has experienced the worst displacement, with fifty-six percent of the total amount of displacement events. 

Nariño is located on the border with Ecuador and is home to the majority of Colombian indigenous communities. It has been the sight of constant conflict between the Colombian military and the FARC rebels.

The "Democratic Security" policy went into effect in 2003, and has operated with the objective of widening the territory under the direct control of the central government and denying access of land to illegal armed groups; protecting population centers with the presence of security forces; and fighting the flow of drugs.

The head of Codhes told media that "at the core of the reasons for this forced displacement is the violent appropriation of land, and threats to leave that are issued by paramilitaries and the Revolutionary Armed Forces in Colombia." He also pointed out that, although the number of Colombians leaving the country has declined, "Colombia is still the country with the highest number of refugees in the world after Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan."

The "democratic security" policy has been criticized as ignoring the social costs of its implementation and for the fact that Colombian civilians are exposed to danger and human rights abuses.

For more information, please see:

IPS-COLOMBIA:Who Cares About the Victims of Forced Displacement?-29 January 2010

Morning Star-Violence Forces Out 286,000 Colombians-28 January 2010

Colombia Reports-2.4 Million Colombians Displaced Under Uribe Presidency-27 January 2010

Colombian Soldiers Indicted for Indigenous Death

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

(Photo courtesy of EFE)

BOGOTA, Colombia-Seven soldiers were indicted last week for killing Edwin Legarda, the spouse of Aida Quilcue, an indigenous leader. Aida Quilcue lead indigenous protests of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's policies. Another indigenous leader was found brutally murdered in Northern Colombia this week.

The army initially explained the shooting death as the result of Legarda failing to stop at a checkpoint in the Cuaca village of San Pedro. However, investigators found no sign of a military check point at the location where Legarda was killed. However, sixteen bullets were found in the sides and just three in the back of the pickup truck Legarda was in.

Seven members of the army were arrested in April of 2009 for the shooting and were charged last week with aggravated assault. The death occurred not long after Legarda's wife led a large march for several days along the Pan American Highway to the southwestern city of Cali. Protesters demanded that Uribe provide indigenous communities with land, protection from illegal armed groups, and full respect for indigenous rights.

Protest organizers estimate that more than 1,200 indigenous Colombians have been killed and at least 54,000 displaced from their ancestral lands since Uribe became president in 2002. 

On Sunday a Zenu indigenous leader that had been reported missing in Northern Colombia was found dead. Efrain Antonio Basillo was beheaded and set on fire by unknown individuals. He was a medicine man and received calls for help in treating an ailing man the night he disappeared. 

Tribal leaders believe that both deaths are related to land disputes.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Colombian Troops Indicted for Killing Indian -28 January 2010

Colombia Reports-Soldiers on Trial for the Murder of Indigenous Leader-25 January 2010

EFA-Siete Militares Son Llamados a Jucio Por el Homocidio de un Líder Indígena-26 January 2010

Brazil Extradites "Operation Condor" Suspect

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 

(Photo Courtesy of Democratic Underground)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil-Brazil extradited a former Uruguayan army officer on Saturday to Argentina for the 1976 disappearance of an Argentine citizen. The extradition of Manuel Juan Cordero Piacentini, ordered on Tuesday, was delayed until Saturday because the officer's lawyers argued that he needed to remain hospitalized due to poor health.

Cordero is thought to be involved in the disappearance of Argentine and Uruguayan citizens as a part of Operation Condor. Operation Condor was a collaboration between military dictatorships that ruled many countries in South America in the 1970s and 1980s. South American military regimes secretly cooperated in the torture and disappearances of each others' citizens with CIA assistance.

Cordero was arrested in February of 2007 in Brazil near the border with Uruguay, where authorities believe he had been living since 2004. Since February, Cordero has been living under house arrest at that location, where he has a home. Cordero tried to avoid extradition by arguing that he was protected under a law in Brazil granting amnesty to Brazilian soldiers acting under that country's military government. 

Argentina, however has no amnesty law. Cordero is specifically suspected of being responsible for the disappearance of Adalberto Soba in Argentina. Uruguay unsuccessfully sought extradition, but because the crimes were committed in Argentina, Brazil only agreed to extradite Cordero to Argentina. 

The head of a Brazilian organization called Justice and Human Rights said Cordero was believed to be third in command of a unit charged with "disappearances, torture, and murders."

For more information, please see:

BBC News-Brazil Returns Operation Condor Suspect to Argentina-24 January 2010

AFP-Operation Condor Suspect Extradited to Argentina-24 January 2010

Washington Post-Brazil Extradites Uruguay Officer in Condor Case-23 January 2010

Spain Extradites "Death Flight" Pilot

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 

(Photo Courtesy of AFP)

MADRID, Spain-Spain has agreed to extradite an Argentine pilot accused of taking part in "death flights" in South American countries in 1976-1983. Argentina's military regime disposed of more than 1,000 political prisoners by dumping them into the Atlantic Ocean. The court granted the extradition, with the condition that Julio Alberto Poch, the alleged pilot should not be sentenced to life in prison if he is convicted.

The Spanish judges found that the documentation submitted by Argentina was sufficient to justify Poch's extradition for offenses that constitute crimes against humanity and are not subject to any statute of limitations. Poch was arrested in September in Valencia while working as a commercial pilot. He is a Dutch citizen.

The Spanish government detained him on an international warrant issued by the Argentine government after confirming via Interpol that Poch frequently flew the Amsterdam-Valencia-Amsterdam route for the airline Trasavia. Poch denied any involvement in the death flights. 

Poch was a lieutenant in the Argentine navy during the military junta's "dirty war" against leftists, a campaign that killed up to 30,000 people, mostly civilians. He was a part of the Naval Mechanics School in Buenos Aires, the sight of the most notorious clandestine jails and torture chambers. 

Retired Argentine Vice Adm. Luis Maria Mendia admitted that he approved the creation of a plan for training navy personnel to combat the "terrorist insurgency." This plan led to the death flights, which were operations dropping the drugged mechanics school political prisoners into the Atlantic ocean.

Argentina contacted the Dutch government in 2008, requesting Poch's extradition, citing testimony from one of Poch's colleagues where he told him about the death flights and had even defended the practice. It is unclear why dutch officials did not act in the Argentine request prior to Poch's arrest in Spain.

In 2005, Argentina's Supreme Court reversed an amnesty law protecting alleged human rights abusers from prosecution.  

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Spain to Extradite Argentine Accused in "Death Flights"-20 January 2009

BBC-Spain to Extradite "Dirty War" Pilot to Argentina-18 January 2009

AFP-Argentina "Death Flights" Pilot to Stand Trial-13 January 2009

Indigenous Radio Shut Down in Ecuador

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

(Photo Courtesy of Global Voices)

SUCUA, Ecuador-Radio Voice of Arutam, the primary radio station broadcasting to the Shuar indigenous community in the Amazon region, was taken off the air last week for violating Ecuador's Broadcasting Act. The government contends that the station violated Article 58 of the Act when it allegedly incited violence during protests against the government in October 2009.

International rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch have denounced the government's actions. the Committee to Protect Journalists referred to the government shut down as "nothing but an attempt to intimidate the media into silence."

The community was protesting to protect their "Plan of Life," against government proposals that would allow their territory to be used for mining without their consent. A teacher and community member died during the protest after he was shot.

The Shuar have pledged to continue their legal battle in the courts, arguing that they provide a community service by airing messages in their own language to a poor community where TV and electric power are almost unknown.

The station argues that even though Arutam was issued a commercial frequency license, they acted as a community service station allowing thousands of their people to communicate with others through the use of a simple message. For example, to notify family members that one has arrived safely at a destination after traveling by car, canoe, or by foot. The Shuar use the radio station, known as "the voice of the jungle" to pass along this information.

Thirteen other radio frequencies have been taken off the air. The government also shut down a television broadcasting company for violating a rule prohibiting false information that could lead to social disturbances.

In the first instance, the station allegedly made a false report that the government's electoral commission had a "clandestine center" where voting results were manipulated. The second offense was an allegedly false report stating that people on the island of Puná would not be able to fish for six months because of proposed exploration for natural gas.

The Arutam plan on taking their case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights if the court decision stands. They have also pledged to broadcast clandestinely.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian-Power Versus the Press-8 January 2009

Global Voices-Ecuador:Radio Voice of Arutam Taken Off the Air-14 January 2010

The Huffington Post-Media Battles in Latin America Not About Free Speech-17 January 2009

Fujimori Conviction Upheld

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 

(Photo Courtesy of AP)

LIMA, Peru-Ex-President Fujimori's appeal to annul his conviction and 25-year prison sentence was turned down by the Peruvian Supreme Court. A law enacted in 2006 prevents a pardon or amnesty from being granted to victims of kidnapping.

Fujimori is seventy-one years old and is serving three concurrent prison sentences. He was convicted in 2007 of voluntary manslaughter, serious injury, and aggravated kidnapping for four events in 1991 and 1992. In 1991 fifteen people were shot and four were seriously injured in a Barrios Altos tenement. In 1992 nine students and a university professor from La Cantuta were tortured, murdered, and dumped in sand dunes outside Lima. Fujimori was also found guilty of kidnapping journalist Gustavo Gorriti and a businessman names Samuel Dyer. 

The Supreme Court ratified the Special Criminal Court's verdict that Fujimori knew and authorized its operations under Vladmiro Montesinos. The fines and damages awarded by the lower court were ratified in addition to the twenty-five year sentence. 

Fujimori's attorney vowed to "continue to fight for the annulment" of the sentence and to take the case to the Constitutional Court. Fujimori's daughter and Congresswoman vowed to present a writ of habeas corpus to the court. However, the president of the Constitutional Court told the press that the Supreme Court's decision cannot be changed by his court.

Fujimori is to serve his sentence until February 10, 2032. While a pardon is not permitted, after three quarters of the sentence have been served, Fujimori will be eligible to shorten his remaining sentence. Fujimori is currently being held in the special operations unit of the National Police in north Lima. 

For more information, please see:

Peruvian Times-Peru's Supreme Court Turns Down Fujimori's Appeal on 25-Year Sentence-5 January 2010

AFP-Peru Confirms 25-year Sentence For Alberto Fujimori-3 January 2010

BBC-Fujimori 25-year Sentence Upheld By Peru Supreme Court-3 January 2010

African Migrants Trafficked Through Colombia to the U.S.

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 

(Photo courtesy of AFP)

BOGOTA, Colombia-Three Colombian citizens and an Ethiopian were arrested and accused of running an international ring for trafficking Africans to the United States and Canada. Traffickers charged between $3,000 and $5,000 to take African citizens to the United States via Colombia. 

The individuals in custody were charged with migrant trafficking, criminal conspiracy, and forgery of public documents.Johenes Elnefue Negussie, an Ethiopian living in Colombia with refugee status, is thought to be the ring leader. Negussie's network allegedly has branches in the Colombian cities of Pasto in the South and Cartagena and San Andres in the North.

Colombia is considered a growing hub for people trafficking to the United States due to links to powerful drug traffickers. Two weeks ago, Marines rescued seventy undocumented Africans from the Caribbean, who later sought refugee status on Colombia's northern coast. A member of the group told local media "we dream of arriving in the United States."

Colombia deported 285 African and Asian citizens in 2009, and expelled forty-one other foreigners. The majority of migrants reaching Colombia are from Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Benin, Zimbabwe, the Ivory Coast, and Liberia. Mobile patrols have been set up at various points along its border with Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil to end the flow of migrants. 

Migrants arrive penniless, often ill, and in debt. The director of the Department of Administrative Security said that the migrants are "victims" that "deserve all the attention, respect and assistance from the Colombian authorities. But behind it lies a very elaborate network that seeks to create links with local drug lords for new routes."

The director of a local rights group told the press that "its ironic that these people seek refuge in Colombia, one of the countries with the highest rate of displacement and asylum requests in other countries."

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Colombia Arrests Four for Human Trafficking-10 January 2009

AFP-Colombia Police Arrest Ethiopian for Human Trafficking-9 January 2009

AFP-Colombia, Neva etapa en el periplo de inmigrantes africanos hacia EEUU-8 January 2009

Indigenous Autonomy in Bolivia

By Sovereign Hager 

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 

On December 6, the twelve Bolivian municipalities voted for indigenous self-government. A process of land seizure and redistribution is underway despite opposition. (Photo courtesy of The Christian Science Monitor) 

LAGUNILLAS, Bolivia-The government of Bolivia has begun seizing ranches, totaling in over sixty square miles, in efforts to end a system of indigenous servitude. The changes came in the new constitution, establishing Bolivia as a pluri-national republic giving the thirty-six ethnic groups that make up over sixty percent of the population the right to self determination at the municipal level. 

The land seizures are a part of the process of redistribution where 77,000 square miles of underused or disputed land will be turned over to indigenous communities nationwide by 2013. Eventually there will be autonomous territories. The government claims that all land seized thus far was obtained by fraud and was serving no social or economic purpose. The government also claims that indigenous people were living in servitude on ranches on the land.

The ranchers deny the government's charges and are challenging the seizures in the courts. Other occupants who have had land seized by the government claim that it was an act of "vengeance." Large land owners have been some of President Morales' strongest opponents.

Morales was reelected on December 6, when twelve of Bolivia's 327 municipalities voted in favor of indigenous self-government. This gives the indigenous communities control over natural resources on their land and more agency in deciding how to use funds transferred from the central state, as well as how they are dispersed. 

Local government structure will be determined by each group. Some concerns are that there will be a shortage of farmland. In one area there are 16,000 people who will potentially be assigned plots of only 200 square meters, an insufficient amount to sustain agriculture. Other clans are seeking a redistribution of the 1.7 million dollars a year in funds that come from the central government, because they now only receive half of the total. Groups are also seeking an increase in local taxes and leasing charges on "fair terms" for companies exploiting minerals, limestone, water, and other natural resources.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Bolivia Announces Large Land Seizure From Private Company-7 January 2010

AP-Bolivia's New Leader Seeks Justice for Exploited Indians-3 January 2010

Upside Down World-Bolivia:Native People Take First Step Toward Self Government-23 December 2009

Brazilian Military Reject Truth Commission

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 

Human Rights Minister Paolo Vannuchi, pictured above, told reporters that Brazil's Truth and Reconciliation Commission would benefit the armed forces and had nothing to do with revenge. (Photo courtesy of the Latin American Herald Tribune)

BRASILIA, Brazil-President Lula da Silva's Truth Commission proposal was rejected by the military last week, reportedly resulting in the resignation of Brazil's Defense Minister and commanders of three military services. However, Justice Minister Tarso Genro denied that there have been any resignations and insisted that differences were not "irreconcilable." 

Human Rights Minister, Paolo Vannuchi told the press this week that "there is no vengeful intent." Vannuchi drafted he text of the bill that would create the commission and stated that the purpose was "to rescue information of all that happened during the long period of dictatorial repression in recent Brazilian History." 

Vannuchi left open the possibility for human rights violators to be tried if Brazil's Supreme Court accepts the his argument that international law and treaties trump the 1970 Amnesty law approved during the rule of Brazil's last military leader, Gen. Joao Figueiredo. The treaties referenced by Vannuchi were passed by Brazil's Congress during civilian rule. President da Silva's proposal includes a reference to possibly repealing the amnesty laws.

Brazil's military called the agenda "revengeful" because it does not include investigations of the left-wing armed groups that also committed human rights abuses against the military. A retired General named individuals in President Lula da Silva's cabinet as former left-wing fighters who should be brought to justice.

Brazilian press reports that President Lula da Silva rejected the resignations of the military officials and promised a "political" solution. He also reportedly assured the Defense minister that the Lula da Silva administration would not be the "spokesperson of measures that revoke the 1979 Amnesty Law." 

Human Rights groups are arguing for a direct and clear approach that allows for trials of former military leaders, as has taken place in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. Victims groups insists that the truth commission must have the power to investigate crimes, including the destruction of archives, to recommend criminal cases, and to send documents to courts. Following this view, they argue that the commission is best called a Truth and Justice Commission, rather than a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

Brazil has never convicted anyone for involvement in dictatorship-era murders and torture and continues to refuse to make the military archives from that period public.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Brazil: Planned Probe into Military Abuses Not About Vengeance-4 January 2009

Santiago Times-Tensions Grow in Brazil: Military Rejects Truth Commission to Investigate HR Crimes-4 January 2009

Inside Costa Rica-Lula de Silva Ends 2009 With a Military Crisis Over Reviewing the Past-3 January 2009