CPTnet
27 April 2013
COLOMBIA: Shots fired in Las Pavas
 |
|
On Wednesday 24 April, armed security
guards from palm oil company Aportes San Isidro fired shots and blew out a tire of the Las Pavas
community tractor. The community was transporting building materials to repair
homes previously damaged by the palm company. In March they violently prevented
the community from sowing rice. These actions threaten the communities‘
livelihood and security and compromise their ability to move without fear on
their own land.
CPT condemns these violent acts against a community that for four years has
patiently and nonviolently awaited appropriate action from Colombian State
authorities to guarantee their safety. No investigations or legal actions have
been taken against Aportes San Isidro’s armed security guards who on multiple
occasions have fired shots at community members. The guards’ repeated theft and
destruction of community property have also not prompted a response by the
authorities. The inaction of the Colombian Police has created a climate of
impunity.
 |
|
| Mario Marmol, Aportes San Isidro head of security (center) |
In 2011, Colombia’s Constitutional Court ordered the Colombian Institute for
Rural development (INCODER) to continue the process of eminent domain and
granted the families from Las Pavas the right to return to the farm from which
they had been evicted in 2009. Aportes San Isidro appealed INCODER’s November
2012 eminent domain determination.
A 24 April communique from INCODER,
after describing the recent acts of aggression by “unknown men”,
called on the national police, the Mayor of El Peñón Municipality and other
authorities to “prevent the continued occurrence of these threats”. The communique reiterated its November 2012 decision and made no mention of the
Aportes San Isidro appeal.
Spanish language press reports
La violencia vuelve a Las Pavas
Denuncian hostigamientos a campesinos que esperan su titulación en
Las Pavas
INCODER statement (Spanish)
Ante nuevos hechos de violencia en Las Pavas, INCODER llama la
atención de las autoridades
