Recent News
& Reports
(Links
to action alerts and updates)
2008
2006
- President
Uribe re-elected in landslide, May 28, 2006
Articles from:
The
New York Times
The
Washington Post
El
Tiempo (Colombia)
- "Colombia's
Peace and Justice Law"
A New York Times editorial critiquing Colombia's paramilitary demobilization
law, May 26, 2006
- Colombia's
Constitutional Court hands down limitations to "Justice and Peace"
law. A public statement from the National Victims' Movement/
- Peaceful
Protestors Met with Violence in Cauca, Colombia: On Monday May 15, the
Social Summit in Colombia (la Gran Cumbre Social), organized and led by Colombia's
indigenous peoples, mobilized in peaceful protest for an end to violence in
Colombia and against the Free Trade Agreement. The more than 15,000 peaceful
protestors exercising freedom of expression guaranteed under Colombian law
were met with violence from Colombian Armed Forces, the local police and more
than 500 police from an anti-riot squad. The protestors have been attacked,
leaving one dead, 36 wounded and 6 detained. Days later, the protestors are
still being physically abused by the armed forces and are not being allowed
to leave the area.
- Presidential
Elections in Colombia: Colombia will face presidential elections on May
28, 2006. The current president, Alvaro Uribe, is highly favored to win reelection
according to most polls, yet political violence has been on the rise in Colombia
in recent months. Last month’s congressional elections were plagued with
the use of extortion by paramilitaries – current and former – to
illegitimately gain power in Colombia’s congress. Follow the links below
for more information on these events in Colombia:
- Colombian
Soldiers Tortured by Superiors: Semana, a Colombian newsmagazine,
broke the story that Colombian soldiers – most from poor rural backgrounds
– were subjected to extremely cruel treatment: burned with hot irons,
forced to eat animal excrement, and sexually abused, February 2006.
http://www.ciponline.org/colombia/blog/archives/000223.htm
- Coca Cultivation
on the Rise in 2005: Despite the most massive spraying campaigns ever
in 2004 and 2005, coca cultivation has risen instead of fallen. The Office
of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) recently
reported that coca cultivation in Colombia reached 144,000 hectares in
2005, a level not seen since 2002. Read more on this issue on Adam Isacson's
blog, of the Center for International Policy at www.ciponline.org/colombia/blog/archives/000243.htm
- UN Human
Rights Report: A
summary of the 2005 human rights report by the United Nations Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights (ONHCHR) in Colombia. Prepared by the Washington
Office on Latin America and the US Office on Colombia, March 2006.
http://wola.org/Colombia/ohchr_hilldrop_030106.pdf
- Congressional
letter on human rights in Colombia: Representatives Sam Farr and James
McGovern sent a letter signed by 59 members of Congress to Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice on March 1, 2006, urging the Secretary to withhold certification
that Colombia is meeting the human rights conditions established in law. The
letter demanded progress on specific cases - including the case of the February
2004 massacre in San José de Apartadó - and improvements in
the human rights record of the 17th Brigade of the Colombian army. See the
letter at www.lawg.org/docs/RiceCertification03-06.pdf.
