URGENT ACTION

URGENT ACTION

 

YET ANOTHER DEATH THREAT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS AND INDIGENOUS LEADERS IN VALLE DEL CAUCA AND CAUCA DEPARTMENTS, COLOMBIA

 30 December, 2010

We, the signatory organizations below, inform the international and national community that at 9.39pm on 30th December 2010, the following text message was received by Martha Giraldo, coordinator of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes Valle del Cauca branch (MOVICE), and Aida Quilcue, ex-leader of the Cauca Regional Indigenous Council (CRIC) and the Minga of Social and Communitarian Resistance:

“guerrilla rats, this is how we wanted to have you, cornered and crying for help all over the place. MOVICE, ECATE, CUT, NOMADESC, death to you communist dogs. Tonight at midnight we start with Martha Giraldo, Berenice, Luz Marina, Cristina, the Indian Quilcue, Yon, Posso, Wilson and with every one of your children. Black Eagles cleansing the country of these communist sons of bitches, you won’t see the New Year.”


The message was sent from the same number which has been used to send previous threats to the same organisations.

We are concerned that, although the repeated, frequent death threats against us have all been reported to the Colombian authorities, there has been no progress in identifying those responsible for committing and procuring the crimes.


We demand a full investigation and that those responsible are brought to justice.



REQUESTS

• that the Colombian government take appropriate measures to protect the life of those threatened - we will do the paperwork necessary to start investigations and sanctions against those responsible.

• that UK friends demand that the Colombian state make a clear response to prevent future attempts against the members of the threatened organizations, and human rights violations in this area.

• We request respect for the right to life and guarantees for exercising the defence of human rights; those which the threatened colleagues fundamentally respect and which are contained within the Colombian Constitution.
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible

Please send your urgent actions to the relevant Colombian Embassy, in the UK this is: MAURICIO RODRIGUEZ Embassy of Colombia at email: elondres@cancilleria.gov.co


Asociación para la Investigación y Acción Social –NOMADESC-

MOVICE- Capitulo Valle del Cauca

Fundación Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos- Seccional Valle del Cauca –CSPP-

SINTRAUNICOL Subdirectiva Cali

Red de Hermandad y Solidaridad con Colombia-Nodo Valle del Cauca