Four directives of the Campesino Association of the Valley of the River Cimitarra arrested

30.09.07

In the vereda of Cagui, a rural municipality of Cantagallo, in the department of Bolivar (southern area) of Colombia, members and directives of the ACVC (Campesino Association of the Valley of the River Cimitarra), Andres Gil, Evaristo Mena and Oscar Duque, were arrested during a meeting with the community by the State police, DAS (Administrative Department of Security). Protests by the community were ignored.

Andres and Oscar are founders of the ACVC and part of the directives. Oscar had been detained on October 5, 2006 but had been released.

At the same time in the city of Barrancabermeja, Santander, the office of the ACVC was raided. Fifty soldiers together with the DAS arbitrarily detained 5 people from the office and adjoining apartment but they were later released. Mario Martinez, another directive of the ACVC, was arrested in his apartment.

Andres Gil, Evaristo Mena,Oscar Duque and Mario Martinez have been taken from Barrancabermeja to the department capital, Bucaramanga and are being detained.

We demand that the legal rights of the directives of the ACVC de respected and fair and that they be able to appear before competent civil authorities.

We reject this new offensive by state authorities against the ACVC which is a legally constituted and legitimate organization. The ACVC negotiated with the government in July of 2007 to overcome the humanitarian crisis of the region.

We call urgently for national as well as international solidarity to intercede with the Colombian Government for the social and community organization of the region of the Magdalena Medio and for the life of the members of the ACVC.

Please contact:

Batallón Nueva Granada

Teniente Coronel Jorge Horacio Romero Pinzón

Mayor Perdomo

Teléfonos: 097 6223238 ó 097 6223205

Presidencia de la República

Dr. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República

Cra 8 # 7-26, Palacio de Nariño, Bogotá D.C.

E-mail: auribe@presidencia.gov.co

Fax: 57 1 566 2071

Vicepresidencia de la República

Dr. Francisco Santos, Vicepresidente de la República

Cra 8ª # 5-57, Bogotá D.C.

E-mail: fsantos@presidencia.gov.co; buzon1@presidencia.gov.co

Programa presidencial de Derechos Humanos y de Derecho Internacional Humanitario.

Dr. Carlos Franco, Director

Cll 7 # 5-54, Bogotá D.C.

Teléfono: 565 97 97 ext. 744

E. mail: cefaro@presidencia.gov.co

Fiscalía General de la Nación

Dr. Mario Hernán Iguarán Arana. Fiscal General de la Nación

Diagonal 22B # 52-01, Bogotá D.C.

E-mail: contacto@fiscalia.gov.co; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co

Defensoría Nacional del Pueblo

Dr. Volmar Pérez Ortiz. Defensor Nacional del Pueblo

Teléfono: 314 73 00

E.mail: defensoria@defensoria.org.co

Procuraduría General de la Nación

Dr. Edgardo José Maya Villazón. Procurador General de la Nación

Teléfono: 336 00 11

E.mail: reygon@procuraduria.gov.co; cap@procuraduria.gov.co; quejas@procuraduria.gov.co

Oficina del Alto Comisionado de Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos en Colombia.

Teléfonos 658 33 00

oacnudh@hchr.org.co

Programa de Derechos Humanos de la Policía Nacional

Coronel Efraín Oswaldo Aragón. Director

Teléfono: 315 94 38

E.mail: efrainaragon@gmail.com

Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Ejército Nacional

Coronel Enrique Garay Saleg. Director

Teléfono: 266 03 16

E.mail: alie@ejercito.gov.co

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

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