Public Denunciation from ASOCBAC

5.10.11

October 3, 2011
The Campesino Association of Bajo Cauca (ASOCBAC) is a mass organization made up of families in the sub-region of Bajo Cauca, Ituango, and Sur de Córdoba, legally constituted with Tax Identification Number 900264352-5, with the mission of defending the land, human rights, autonomy and food sovereignty.
We publicly denounce, to the national and international audience, to the public ministry and human rights organizations, the Colombian government’s violent repression of the campesinos displaced by recent fumigations. At 10:00 PM last night, the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) violently burst into the sports arena in Tarazá where the displaced had gathered, using tear gas, concussion grenades, and physical force to eject the arena’s occupants. Among those injured was Jairo Garcia, the president of the Communal Action Committee from Oco Alto. The ESMAD also stole pots, utensils and food supplies from the displaced encampment. These affronts provoked riots on the main highway to the coast, which runs through Tarazá.
Additionally we know that the state intelligence services have begun searching for the leaders of the Communal Action Committees as well those of ASOCBAC in order to bring them to trial. We hold the administrations of Antioquia and Tarazá responsible for the deeds that the campesinos and their leaders have suffered. It is due to their arrogance and authoritarianism that they have refused to negotiate with the campesinos, thus creating this grave humanitarian crisis marked by repression and the violation of human rights.
We request the presence of the Public Ministry and the national Defensoría and Procuraduría (the Colombian government’s human rights offices) in order to guarantee our human rights. We insist on negotiations with high-level officials, including the Vice president, the Minster of the Interior, and the Governor of Antioquia, so that we may find a long term solution to the problem of illegal crops in Bajo Cauca, Antoquia. We demand that the ESMAD’s repressive and provocative acts cease immediately, as well as attempts to criminalize ASOCBAC and its leaders.
-ASOCBAC

PRESIDENTE DE LA REPUBLICA DE COLOMBIA.
fsantos@presidencia.gov.co
VICE PRESIDENCIA DE LA REPUBLICA DE COLOMBIA.
ppdh@presidencia.gov.co
MINISTERIO DE INTERIOR Y DE JUSTICIA.
ministro@minjusticia.gov.c
DEFENSORIA DEL PUEBLO.
defensoria@defensoria.org.co
DR VOLMAR PEREZ DEFENSOR DEL PUEBLO COLOMBIA.
secretaria_privada@hotmail.com
PROCURADURIA GENERAL DE LA NACIÓN
quejas@procuraduria.gov.co

Read more Denuncias

International Peace Observatory  |  Observatorio Internacional de la Paz  |  Bogotá, Colombia  |  NIT: 900.013.419-3

www.peaceobservatory.org  |  info@peaceobservatory.org  |  Telefax: (+57) 1 232 10 06   |  Móvil: (+57) 314 296 47 69