CPTnet
March 30, 2001
COLOMBIA: Negotiation ends threats against pastor

by Duane Ediger

[ NOTE: Check out the Colombian team's Lenten worship materials on
www.cpt.org. CPT Colombia will be heading out to the countryside, where
communication will be difficult, for the next week and a half. They
request prayers, writing, "Please know that your prayers for us, and for all
in our midst, whether they appear as friends or as enemies, are cherished.
Let me say it more strongly. We need them to let love loosen the gordion
knots all around."]

A Colombian Mennonite pastor who reported receiving repeated death threats
earlier this year (see Feb. 9 CPTnet release, "Colombian Pastor Works Under
Threat"), credits a negotiated solution with bringing an end to these
threats.

Rev. Islandes Losada, Pastor of Sinai Mennonite Church in Bogota, told CPT
last Saturday that a meeting with members of one of Colombia's illegal armed
group two weeks ago, arranged at their request, resulted in their acceptance
of his work and a cessation of the threats.

"It was a very tough meeting, but in the end they saw that my work was for
the Gospel," Losada told CPT.

The current round of threats began early last year, Losada said. Among them
was a funeral notice tacked to the door of his home. Losada told CPT that
the threats came as a result of his work with the Colombian Mennonite
Church's Sanctuaries of Peace program, in which ministers provide counsel,
spiritual orientation, and travel assistance when needed, to people who want
to end their participation in an armed group.

Two years ago, this work brought him through a similar episode of threats
and a negotiated resolution with another armed group. Those he met with
earlier this month were wary of his work because it put him into contact
with members of an opposed group, Losada said.

"Please express my deep gratitude to the many brothers and sisters who
responded to my request for letters of support," Losada asked of CPT. "They
were very important to sustain me through some difficult times."

Losada welcomes continued moral support through correspondence (in Spanish
if possible). He may be reached at <islandeslos [at] hotmail [dot] com?Subject=Re:%20COLOMBIA:%20Negotiation%20ends%20threats%20against%20pastor&In-Reply-To=<985985761 [at] MennoLink [dot] org>>.

The current four-member Colombia team will phase out of its three-month
presence in the country during the last half of April. Team members are
Cliff Kindy, North Manchester IN; Christine Forand, Waterloo, ON; Duane
Ediger, Dallas TX; and Janet Shoemaker, Goshen, IN.