CPTnet
June 17, 2003
COLOMBIA UPDATE: June 16-30, 2003
CPT continued its primary work of accompanying the rural communities of Los
Ñeques, La Florida, and Ciénaga del Opón, south of the oil-refining
city of Barrancabermeja. While the team witnessed only one brief sighting
of the paramilitaries during this period, the presence of the armed groups
continue to threaten these rural communities.
The last weeks of June were also marked by conflict in the city over the
future of Ecopetrol, the state-owned oil company. The national government
was proposing privatization, to which the union and other social
organizations objected. CPT observed public demonstrations in favour of
keeping public ownership of Ecopetrol.
June 16
CPT members encountered a group of paramilitary members at the junction of
the Colorado and Opón rivers, who left about five minutes after CPT's
arrival. Later in the afternoon, the team returned to the area and found
that a CPT banner had been torn into pieces. The banner, created by the
delegation of North Americans in February, read "Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk
Humbly with your God, Micah 6:8."
In March another banner was spray painted with "AUC BCB" graffiti,
signifying the presence of the Central Bolivar bloc of the United
Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, the paramilitary army.
June 19
In the morning, team members accompanied a representative of the
Defensoría del Pueblo, the government human rights watchdog agency, on an
excursion accompanying a man back to his home, about an hour's boat ride
north of Barrancabermaja. The man had been arrested during an army
operation earlier that week, but then cleared of any suspicion of
involvement with an illegal armed group.
In the afternoon, CPTers accompanied and observed a march against the
privatization of Telecom and Ecopetrol (the state-owned telephone and oil
companies, respectively.) The approximately 4000 protesters were peaceful,
and visible security presence was light.
The campo (countryside) team reported that paramilitaries threatened a
person in the Opón River area, who was extremely agitated. The city team
agreed to phone the person's family in a nearby city. The next day team
members met the family members and ensured that they had means to visit the
threatened person in the Opón.
June 23
Team members hung a new banner at the location where the previous one had
been destroyed. The new banner reads: "The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5.)"
June 25-27
Each morning the team prayed for peace in the current conflict involving
Ecopetrol and the union. Unionized workers were being prevented from
entering the refinery by lines of soldiers with riot shields behind
temporary barriers of barbed wire. CPT vigiled in front of the city hall,
which represents the government, the entrance to the Ecopetrol offices, and
in front of the USO (Petroleum workers union) offices, singing and praying
for a just settlement to the conflict.
In the afternoon of June 25, team members again accompanied a march against
the privatization of Ecopetrol, which was larger than the previous one, and
still peaceful.
On June 27 the newspapers reported that Ecopetrol had been transformed
from a state corporation into a private company, with shares that are
currently all owned by the national government.
June 27
The team learned that a man from the Ciénaga del Opón had been missing
for three days. The team inquired about his whereabouts in the city of
Barrancabermeja. Later the team learned that a second man from the
Ciénaga had also disappeared.
_______________
To stop receiving messages from CPTNET on MennoLink, send a message with
only the word, "suspend," in the body to server@MennoLink.org.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among
Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations and
Friends Meetings that supports violence reduction
efforts around the world. Contact CPT, POB 6508
Chicago, IL 60680; Telephone: 773-277-0253
Fax: 773-277-0291.
To receive news or discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the form
found on our WEB page at http://www.cpt.org/subscribe.php
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Aug 02 2003 - 22:28:35 EDT