AMR 23/031/2006
UA 177/06
Fear for Safety
COLOMBIA : Gloria Amparo SUAREZ (f)
Other members of Organizacion Femenina Popular, (OFP), Popular Women’s Organization
22 June 2006
Gloria Amparo Suarez, a member of the non-governmental human rights organization Organizacion Femenina Popular, (OFP), Popular Women’s Organization, has reportedly been threatened by army-backed paramilitary groups operating in Barrancabermeja, department of Santander. Amnesty International is seriously concerned for her safety.
On 12 June 2006 at about 3:00pm, an unidentified man reportedly approached Gloria Amparo Suarez’s husband and said to him : « DÌgale a su mujer que tiene un mes de plazo para irse de Barrancabermeja o sino la lleva, y no digan nada, ni denuncien, ni hagan escandalo porque sino el muerto sera· usted » « Tell your wife that she has a month to leave Barrancabermeja or if not she will be taken, don’t say anything, don’t denounce, don’t make a scandal or else you will be the dead person ».
Gloria Amparo Suarez has been a member of the OFP for 15 years and is a leader of the organization. In recent years the OFP has repeatedly been threatened by army-backed paramilitary groups that operate in the area as a result of the human rights work the organization undertakes.
The latest threat follows the appearance of a written death threat which has reportedly been circulating in Barrancabermeja (commonly abbreviated to Barranca) since 5 June 2006. The threat says :
« La revolucion solo debe estar en los libros de historia no en las calles del pais. Del 1 al 15 de junio limpieza de sapos revolucionarios : (Movimientos, asociaciones, corporaciones, sindicatos, organizaciones) asÌ que vayan alistando 2 cajones 1 para la lengua y otro para usted. Muerte a sapos hijueputas de barranca, guerrilleros malparidos. Grupos organizados de limpieza social por una Barranca limpia de guerrilleros ».
« The revolution should only be in the pages of history books not in the streets of the country. From 1 to 15 June cleansing of revolutionary informers : (Movements, associations, corporations, trade unions, organizations) so start getting ready 2 boxes 1 for the tongue and the other for yourself. Death to son-of-bitch informers in Barranca, bastard guerrillas. Organized social cleansing groups for a Barranca clean of guerrillas ».
This threat followed an emailed death threat sent to several human rights organizations, including the OFP, from a group calling itself Colombia Libre de Comunistas, Colombia Free of Communists. « Colombia Libre » is the name given by the paramilitary umbrella organization Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, (AUC), United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, on its website.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Colombia’s army-backed paramilitary groups have officially been demobilising, in a government-sponsored process that was supposed to be completed this year. Despite this, Amnesty International has continued to receive reports of human rights violations committed by paramilitary groups operating in coordination with the security forces. It appears that many paramilitary groups have not demobilized at all, but are continuing to operate under new names.
Human rights organizations are frequently labelled as guerrilla collaborators or supporters by the security forces and their paramilitary allies. As a result they often suffer « disappearance », killings or torture at the hands of army-backed paramilitary groups, or members of the security forces. Armed opposition groups have also threatened or killed human rights defenders they consider to be siding with the enemy.
RECOMMENDED ACTION :
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language :
expressing concern at the death threat against Gloria Amparo Suarez on 12 June 2006, and at the recent threats made against other human rights and social activists, which were allegedly made by army-backed paramilitary groups ;
expressing concern for the safety of Gloria Amparo, her family and other OFP activists ;
urging the authorities to take effective action, deemed appropriate by Gloria Amparo, her family and other OFP members, to protect them and ensure that OFP can continue its legitimate and important work in the defence of human rights in safety ;
calling on the government to investigate all threats against human rights defenders and to bring those responsible to justice ;
calling for full and impartial investigations into the links between the security forces and paramilitary groups, for the results to be made public and for those responsible for supporting and participating in such groups to be brought to justice, in line with the human rights recommendations of the United Nations (UN) ;
calling on the authorities to produce policy and plans, in conjunction with human rights defenders, to guarantee their safety according to the principles of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and to make these plans public.
APPEALS TO :
President of the Republic
Senor Presidente Alvaro Uribe Velez,
Presidente de la Rep˙blica,
Palacio de Narioo, Carrera 8 No.7-26, Bogot·,
Colombia
Fax : +57 1 337 5890
Salutation : Excmo. Sr. Presidente Uribe/ Dear President Uribe
Minister of the Interior and Justice
Sr. Sabas Pretelt de la Vega,
Ministro del Interior y de Justicia,
Ministerio del Interior,
Av. JimÈnez No 8-89, Bogot·,
Colombia
Fax : +57 1 560 4630 ,
Salutation : Dear Sir / Sr. Ministro
Attorney General
Dr. Mario Iguar·n,
Fiscal General de la NaciÛn, FiscalÌa General de la NaciÛn, Diagonal 22B 52-01, Edificio C Piso 4, Bogot·,
Colombia
Fax : +57 1 414 9108,
Salutation : Dear Dr Iguar·n / Estimado Dr. Iguar·n
COPIES TO :
Human Rights NGO
OrganizaciÛn Femenina Popular, Cra 22 No 52B - 36, Barrancabermeja, Santander,
Colombia
Ambassade de la République de Colombie :
Avenue F.D.Roosevelt 96A,
1050 Bruxelles
Fax : 02.646.54.91
Email : colombia emcolbru.be
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 3 August 2006.
Communication au réseau Actions Urgentes d’AIBF Juin 2006
La première action urgente lancée par Amnesty date du 19 mars 1973 suite à l’arrestation d’un professeur d’économie au Brésil, Luiz Rossi. Le bureau de la sécurité et de l’ordre public à San Paolo, fut submergé par une avalanche de lettres de membres d’Amnesty. « J’ai eu l’impression que le chef du bureau de la sécurité et de l’ordre public se sentait mal à l’aise et sous pression du fait de cette soudaine attention internationale à son égard » dira sa femme en 1996. À l’origine de cette action urgente, Scott Harrison et Ellen Moore, un couple établi à San Francisco qui redistribuait les fax et télégrammes reçus de Londres. À l’époque, il s’agit du seul bureau chargé de faire écho aux actions produites par le Secrétariat International à Londres. Pour en savoir plus sur leur histoire et les tous débuts des Actions Urgentes : http://www.amnestyinternational.be/...
Le bureau des actions urgentes d’Amnesty Belgique, grâce à vous, grâce à ses milliers de participants, continue ce travail crucial et important. Nous vous en remercions.
