Report: Three Security Incidents Involving IPO Members in Less than Two Months

23 September 2010

by International Peace Observatory

For the past six years, International Peace Observatory has provided physical, political, and technical accompaniment to social organizations (peasant farmers and victims of state crimes) working to defend human rights in Colombia. These organizations carry out non-violent resistance and their work is completely legal. IPO’s work is also completely legal, transparent, and public. IPO acts with full respect for Colombian and international laws, and works to promote respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.

This report presents three incidents that took place over the past two months, and which are extremely worrying for our organization. The three cases place IPO volunteers’ safety at risk. In two of these cases, IPO’s accompaniment and international observation work in Colombia was hindered.

In the first incident, two IPO members were detained and their personal information was recorded ¹ by soldiers from the Thirtieth Brigade at the La Esmeralda Military Base, in Norte de Santander. The army carried out actions that the the Colombian Constitutional Court has declared illegal ². In addition, by impeding IPO volunteers’ freedom of movement, this detention obstructed IPO’s accompaniment work. It is important to note that all IPO members have a special volunteer visa issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and overseen by the Colombian Administrative Security Department, which allows them to travel in the regions where IPO works. IPO has carried out regular meetings with the Thirtieth Brigade to request support in facilitating IPO’s work in the field.

In the second of the cases, an IPO member in the Bogota city center was searched and forced to hand over a photocopy of his Foreigner I.D. Card to a group of men. One of the men wore a Bogota Metropolitan Police uniform, while another man in civilian clothes gave orders but nonetheless refused to identify himself. In this probably illegal procedure, the IPO volunteer was temporarily detained and his I.D. card was photocopied, without a warrant. Even more disturbing, when the Bogota Metropolitan Police Department was consulted on the case, they responded that the police officer’s name and I.D. number did not correspond to any police officer in active service. This implies that the person in question may have committed the crime of impersonating a police officer. This incident is extremely worrying, both for the safety of the volunteer involved and for IPO itself.

The third case took place in the municipality of El Tarra, Norte de Santander department, during a civil society fact-finding mission. Once again, Thirtieth Brigade soldiers temporarily detained, filmed and made baseless accusations against IPO members and members of the fact-finding mission. Again, IPO’s work was hindered, and the security forces carried out irregular procedures not permitted by the Constitution. IPO is especially concerned by the baseless accusations made, in which IPO members and the human rights defenders that they were accompanying were called “defenders of guerrilla groups.” This kind of baseless accusation was expressly prohibited by Presidential Directive 07 in 1999. Furthermore, by involving Colombian and foreign civilians in the conflict, these statements place those civilians at risk. With these accusations, the Colombian Army endangers the very civilians that it is supposed to protect.

IPO would like to express our concern over the possible repercussions that these cases, presented below, could have for our work in Colombia. We are especially concerned over the possible implications for our volunteers’ safety. IPO requests support in this matter from national and international authorities.

INCIDENT AT THE LA ESMERALDA MILITARY BASE (CONVENCION MUNICIPALITY, NORTE DE SANTANDER)
22- 07 – 10

During the “Patriotic March for the Second Independence of Colombia,” held in Bogota on July 20, 2010, IPO provided physical and political accompaniment to a delegation from the Catatumbo Farmers’ Association (ASCAMCAT). The farmers from the ASCAMCAT delegation traveled to Bogota for the event and returned to Catatumbo in four buses. The return of the delegation was accompanied by two IPO volunteers, Sergio Ramón Aguilar (Spanish nationality) and Tanja Sorensen (Danish nationality).

On July 22, 2010, at approximately 6:15 pm, the four buses were detained at the La Esmeralda Military Base, near Convencion municipality. The soldiers at the checkpoint identified themselves as members of the Thirtieth Brigade’s “Number 10 Energy and Highway” Battalion. All members of the delegation were asked to get out of the buses, identify themselves, and provide their personal information to the soldiers. The two IPO volunteers explained to Corporal Collazos that the farmers’ delegation was returning from the “Patriotic March,” and asked him to inform army checkpoints further ahead that the four buses would be coming through, to avoid searches and list-making of personal information.

When First Corporal Collazos consulted by walkie-talkie with the Colonel in charge of the base, José Bustamente, Colonel Bustamante insisted that the Corporal should ask for the volunteers’ identification and register their information. The volunteers explained to First Corporal Collazos that this kind of list-making was unconstitutional and illegal. First Corporal Collazos then asked the IPO members to enter the military base to speak with the Colonel. The volunteers declined to enter the base, and explained that there was no need for them to discuss a situation that was clearly illegal. Finally, First Corporal Collazos asked the volunteers to wait for the Colonel, who would come down to speak to them.

A few minutes later, the Colonel arrived at the checkpoint with a defiant and aggressive attitude. After hearing the IPO members’ explanation, the Colonel asked them for not just their Colombian Foreigner I.D. Cards (cédula de extranjería), but also for their passports. Colombian law states that the Colombian Foreigner I.D. Card is the appropriate form of identification for foreigners in Colombia. The volunteers explained that they did not have their passports with them as their Colombian I.D. cards were sufficient legal identification. The Colonel responded, “I am the authority here, and I can ask you to do whatever I want.”

Colonel Bustamente’s justification for making a list of their names and I.D. numbers was that the army needed to know who was going through the area, and that he needed to know if the volunteers were wanted by INTERPOL. Colonel Bustamente also argued that he had to establish whether the volunteers’ I.D. cards were legal or not. In addition, the colonel asserted that they were in a Public Security Area, and that because there was no presence of investigative police in this area, the army was authorized to register the personal information of whoever it wanted.

Colonel Bustamente continued to insist for an hour that IPO members Sergio Ramón Aguilar and Tanja Sorensen could not continue on their way until they handed over their I.D. cards. The volunteers finally handed over their Colombian Foreigner I.D. Cards, and their personal information was recorded in the La Esmeralda Military Bases’ list of people traveling past the base. The volunteers were then able to continue on to the municipality of Convencion.

IPO members are well informed about both national and international human rights and international humanitarian law standards and laws. IPO is fully aware that the law does not allow for making lists of citizens traveling on Colombian roads, and that this practice is thus illegal. The Constitutional Court has repeatedly confirmed that this kind of list-making goes against the Colombian Constitution. By making lists of those traveling by road, the Thirtieth Brigade’s “Number 10 Energy and Highway” Battalion committed illegal and unconstitutional acts on July 22, 2010. However, through legal actions IPO will be able to gain access to the information gathered in this illegal, arbitrary, and abusive action, and eliminate that information from army records.

INCIDENT IN FRONT OF THE ISRAELI EMBASSY (Bogota)
20 – 08 – 10

This incident took place on Friday, August 20, 2010, when IPO member Marc del Jesús i Gallissá was looking for an ATM to take out money near the National Park, on Seventh Avenue. Once inside the the ATM booth, del Jesús i Gallissá saw that a man outside the ATM was repeatedly looking in his direction. The IPO member became worried that he might be robbed, and so turned his back to the ATM booth’s door, so that the man would not see how much money he was taking out.

Upon leaving the ATM booth, del Jesús i Gallissá saw the man speaking with two others, namely: a) a man wearing a uniform, whose vest said “MEBOG” (Bogota Metropolitan Police Department) and had the number 17-13274. This man was approximately 1.65 meters tall with dark skin, and carried a pistol. b) Another man, dressed in civilian clothes, was also present. This man was wearing a short sleeve shirt and pants, and had very broad shoulders and short blond hair. He was approximately 1.8 meters tall and had a foreign (non Colombian) accent. This second civilian, clearly a foreigner, was giving orders to the man in uniform.

Following these orders, the man wearing the MEBOG uniform asked del Jesús i Gallissá for his Colombian I.D. Card and passport, and went on to search him. Del Jesús i Gallissá explained that since he had his Colombian Foreigner I.D. Card, he didn’t carry his passport with him. He introduced himself as a member of the international organization IPO. Nevertheless, the man wearing the MEBOG uniform insisted that he explain why he didn’t have his passport. After taking del Jesús i Gallissá‘s I.D. card, the man in the MEBOG uniform and the foreigner dressed in civilian clothes moved away and talked by walkie-talkie, apparently to verify del Jesús i Gallissá‘s I.D. card. Meanwhile, the Colombian dressed in civilian clothes approached del Jesús i Gallissá and stated that this was a routine procedure in Colombia, and that if he did not agree with it, he could go to the airport and leave the country.

When the man in uniform and the foreigner in civilian clothes came back, they continued to search del Jesús i Gallissá. During the search, the foreigner in civilian clothes told the man in the MEBOG uniform what he had to do and what he had to ask for. When they saw that del Jesús i Gallissá had a white and red Palestinian scarf in his bag, the foreigner became visibly angry. The foreigner told the man in the MEBOG uniform to take out the scarf to look at it more closely, and the man in the MEBOG uniform followed these orders. After the scarf was taken out of the backpack, the foreigner spoke through a walkie-talkie that was hidden under his shirt, in a language that was definitely not American or European, in clear contrast with his physical appearance and way of dressing, which were definitely western. Immediately afterwards, the foreigner ordered the man in the MEBOG uniform to make a photocopy of del Jesús i Gallissá‘s I.D. card. The man in the MEBOG uniform obeyed this order as well, and took the I.D. card to a nearby photocopy shop, also on Seventh Avenue. When del Jesús i Gallissá saw this, he asked the foreigner to identify himself, but the foreigner refused.

Subsequently, the foreigner once again communicated del Jesús i Gallissá‘s I.D. information by walkie-talkie. Del Jesús i Gallissá was brought to the front of the photocopy shop and told to wait. Another police officer in uniform then appeared. Without identifying himself, this officer told del Jesús i Gallissá that this was a normal procedure. He asserted that they were in an area where the United States Embassy and ECOPETROL were located, and that foreigners took photos of the very pretty houses across the street, but that this was not allowed for security reasons. Marc del Jesús i Gallissá repeated to this officer that he was not taking photos, but rather taking money out of the ATM. Del Jesús i Gallissá had already explained this to the others, and they had been able to confirm that his camera was in his camera bag inside of his backpack. Del Jesús i Gallissá expressed his concern over the fact of a foreigner giving orders to members of the Colombian security forces, and the fact that this foreigner refused to identify himself and spoke a language that did not correspond to the supposed United States Embassy. The foreigner then began to speak English, and continued to speak English until the end of the conversation.

Finally, the group of men called their office on the foreigner’s walkie-talkie. They asked someone in their office to call IPO to confirm Marc del Jesús i Gallissá‘s identification and that he worked in the organization. Their office responded that the number given by del Jesús i Gallissá did not exist, so the man in the MEBOG uniform called the IPO office from what seemed to be his personal cell phone. He asked the IPO office to “repeat” the name of the organization, and checked del Jesús i Gallissá‘s information. The man identified himself to the IPO office as Officer Alexis Castañeda, with the National Police. The cell phone number that he called from was 313-238-0021.

Subsequently, the IPO members in the office told the man in the MEBOG uniform that there was no problem, and asked to speak to Marc del Jesús i Gallissá. Del Jesús i Gallissá spoke to the IPO office in Catalan, upon which the foreigner approached him and asked in Spanish what language he was speaking. Finally, del Jesús i Gallissá walked away from the two men and left the area.

The IPO office called IPO’s official contact in the Metropolitan Police Department, who informed them that same day that Alexis Castañeda was not a member of the MEBOG, and that the identification number on his vest did not exist.

IPO member Marc del Jesús i Gallissá was subjected to a procedure that was probably illegal, directed by a person who was apparently a foreigner. His I.D. card was taken and photocopied without a warrant. Even more serious, the man who claimed to belong to the Bogota Metropolitan Police Department seemed not to belong to this police force, according to official information from the MEBOG. This implies that a crime may have been committed. In addition, this situation has disturbing implications for Marc del Jesús i Gallissá life and personal safety, in the course of his humanitarian work in Colombia.

INCIDENT IN EL TARRA (NORTE DE SANTANDER)
07 – 09 – 10

A fact-finding mission took place in the El Tarra municipality, Norte de Santander department, on September 7, 2010. The mission, organized by the Catatumbo Peasant Farmers’ Association (ASCAMCAT), aimed to document and reconstruct the events of August 15, 2010. On that date, members of the Twenty-third Mobile Brigade murdered a sixteen-year old youth ³, in a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law’s Principle of Distinction.

In addition, the fact-finding mission received other reports of abuse by the security forces. With this information, the mission wrote a report to support and provide arguments for the community’s request to move the Twenty-third Mobile Brigade out of the El Tarra municipal center. The report also demanded respect for human rights and compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law.

Around 12:00 pm, members of the Thirtieth Brigade suddenly entered a meeting at the Culture House. Residents of El Tarra and nearby villages were meeting with public officials, including the Municipal Human Rights Liaison (Personero), a representative from the Norte de Santander Governor’s Human Rights Office, the El Tarra Secretary of Government, and the Police Inspector, as well as representatives of human rights organizations and members of international organizations.

Near the Culture House, behind the schoolyard, two soldiers were filming the mission’s participants and the community members who were present. When IPO spoke to the soldiers to urge them to comply with article 15 of the Colombian Constitution, Soldier Luis Carlos Caicedo called Second Lieutenant Andrés Fernando Osorio Acosta. Osorio argued that the filming was carried out for security reasons, under orders from Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Andrade.

IPO subsequently asked Andrade to clarify the soldiers’ actions, given that they were not authorized to film community members in this way. Andrade assured IPO that the video camera was on because they were looking for anti-personnel mines in the street. As Humanidad Vigente’s and ASCAMCAT’s press release explains, “it is worth highlighting the fact that in the municipality of El Tarra, the streets are paved, unlike in rural areas.”

Following the press conference, members of the fact-finding mission, together with a group of Colombian and foreign journalists, went to take photographs and film at the site of some of the August 15 incidents, in order to gather more information for their investigation. The site was where several cars and a backhoe were burned, in the context of the popular protest sparked by the young person’s death.

Members of the fact-finding mission report that just minutes after arriving to the site, near the Twenty-third Mobile Brigade barracks, the mission was surrounded by a group of approximately 30 soldiers. The soldiers accused the mission members of taking photographs and filming the army and the military base, which is located within the El Tarra municipal center. The soldiers demanded to check the cameras, and were able to see that there were not any photos of them or of the military base.

Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Andrade thereupon asked a Spanish journalist and the two International Peace Observatory members for their IDs. Lieutenant Colonel Andrade also asked them where they had come from, where they were planning to go next, and about their activities in Colombia. The Lieutenant Colonel wrote down information from their IDs and other personal information. In addition, Lieutenant Colonel Andrade warned them that foreigners were not allowed to travel through the area, since it had been declared a special public safety zone and a special permit was required.

IPO has accompanied ASCAMCAT in the Catatumbo region since 2004. IPO has periodically met with the human rights coordinators of the different Brigades operating in the region, as well as the Ombdusman’s Office and Inspector General’s Office, to explain IPO’s work in the different municipalities.

ASCAMCAT and Humanidad Vigente assert that the fact-finding mission was a legitimate civil society activity, with the goal of documenting the human rights situation in the region.

However, Lieutenant Salcedo, from the Twenty-third Mobile Brigade, criticized International Peace Observatory’s work, asserting that “you defend guerrillas.” In addition, he stated that “your work is to frighten my troops with human rights.”

The soldiers insisted that the volunteers and the fact-finding mission were taking photos and filming the soldiers. The number of soldiers increased to 50 and the soldiers continued to surround and detain the fact-finding mission, preventing the fifteen people present from leaving.

When Lieutenant Colonel Adrade arrived, he stated that he would contact the DAS to verify the foreigners’ ID documents (referring to IPO and the independent photographer). When asked for the name of the DAS official who took their information, Lieutenant Colonel Adrade refused. He also contacted Captain Calderón, human rights coordinator with the Thirtieth Brigade in Cucuta. IPO had previously held meetings with Captain Calderón to explain their international accompaniment work in the region. The fact-finding mission asked to speak directly to Captain Calderón, but this request was also refused. At the same time, IPO’s Bogota office was trying to contact Captain Calderón. Although Captain Calderón was fully aware of what was taking place, he did not even answer his telephone.

Finally, the El Tarra Municipal Human Rights Liaison (Personero), Luis Alejandro Collante Miranda, and the SIJIN arrived. At this point, two hours after the detention began, the IPO volunteers and other members of the fact-finding mission were able to leave.

During this incident, soldiers were taking photos and filming members of the fact-finding mission and the international observers from the military base trenches. The IPO volunteers’ assertions were consistently ignored, hampering their efforts to dialogue with the security forces. IPO was constrained in its publicly acknowledged role of observing and documenting the human rights situation. The security forces harassed this group of human rights advocates, assumed an excessively aggressive attitude, and made baseless accusations against the fact-finding mission’s work.

<sup>1. “Empadronamiento”: Making lists of civilians’ personal information to monitor and control their movements. This activity is outside the Army’s jurisdiction; only the Police is allowed to carry out this practice.
2. Four Constitutional Court sentences in 2004 declared that list-making of personal information (“empadronamientos”) by the Army was illegal.
3. Humanidad Vigente, Ejército dispara contra cuatro jóvenes en el Catatumbo, http://www.humanidadvigente.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115:ejercito-dispara-contra-cuatro-jovenes-en-el-catatumbo-&catid=7:ddhh&Itemid=10</sup>

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