COLOMBIAN PARTNER ORGANIZATION
RECEIVES DEATH THREATS
Dear friends of peace in Colombia,
Thank you for your hard work on the Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia and the recently introduced House resolution recognizing the work of Peace Sanctuary Churches and other communities courageously building peace in Colombia. (More details on these efforts can be found in LWR’s Action Alert archive: http://www.lwr.org/colombia/alert/archive/index.asp).
Your help is needed again, this time in responding to threats made against one of our partner organizations in Colombia.
We are profoundly worried about the recent intensification of threats and attacks against organizations and people who work for a negotiated solution to the armed conflict in Colombia. Of special concern to us at LWR is a threat against the Consultoria para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento (Council on Human Rights and Displacement, or CODHES) with whom we partner. This is an opportunity to show our Colombian brothers and sisters that we stand with them in their time of trial.
We share this action alert with you knowing that when we join our individual voices together, we are stronger. We hope that this strong voice of international concern will lead Colombian authorities to take the measures necessary to assure the safety of our partners on the ground. We also hope that this pressure will help establish an atmosphere in which death threats against those who speak out for peace in Colombia are not tolerated.
BACKGROUND:
In recent weeks, individuals and groups who work for peace in Colombia have received an increasing number of threats. The general atmosphere in the lead-up to Colombia’s May 28 presidential election -- in which current President Alvaro Uribe won reelection -- seems to be one of increasing danger for our partners. (More information about President Uribe’s reelection may be found at the end of this email.)
On May 20, 2006, CODHES received a threatening e-mail from a group calling itself the “Democratic Group for a Free Colombia” which stated that their organization, and others like them, “would not be allowed to continue” their work. Part of the e-mail reads:
“We are not willing to continue allowing a bunch of disguised people like all of you to continue dragging our country through the mud of communism, and especially not under the influence of the current socialist versions of Chavismo, Castrismo, Evomoralismo, Lulismo or any other version in which you try to disguise yourselves. We are warning all of you supposed defenders of human rights (as well as these guerrillas described as professors who say they are opening spaces of free thought in the sacred state universities) that we are watching you. We are not going to allow your glory days to return”.
The note also references the fact that computers were stolen from the CODHES office several weeks ago.
In hopes that international attention might bring them some safety, our Colombian partners have asked for our support in the face of this dangerous situation.
TAKE ACTION
Lutheran World Relief invites you to join us in contacting the highest levels of government and call for a clear and precise statement that threats are unacceptable. A flood of faxes sent quickly to Colombian and US authorities could make a major difference in assuring the safety of these people who work for justice in Colombia.
We ask that you contact the following US and Colombian government officials. Your message can be quite brief. The important thing is that they see how many people are aware of these threats and care what happens to those at CODHES and other organizations working for peace and human rights in Colombia:
1. Ask US officials to:
Ensure that the Colombian authorities 1) investigate the source of the threats against the staff of CODHES and other organizations working for peace and human rights and 2) take action to assure the safety of those who work for CODHES.
Contact Information:
- U.S. Ambassador William Wood: AmbassadorB@state.gov
Fax: 011-571-315-2197
- US Department of State, Director of the Office of Andean Affairs, Phillip C. French, Fax: 202-647-2628
SAMPLE MESSAGE
Remember, your fax will be more effective if you put this message in your own words. Also, be certain to thank the reader for his/her time and end with your full address and email or fax (as applicable).
Address your faxes to:
The Honorable William Wood; Ambassador of the United States; American Embassy
OR
Mr. Phillip C. French, Director of the Office of Andean Affairs, US Department of State
Dear Mr. Ambassador (or, Dear Mr. French)
I am writing because I am concerned about recent threats against the staff of the Consultoria para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento (CODHES). Please strongly encourage Colombian authorities to investigate the source of these threats and to take action to assure the safety of those who work for CODHES.
2. Ask the Colombian Government to:
- Make a clear pronouncement regarding the threats against those who work for CODHES and other organizations working for peace and human rights.
- Investigate the source of the threats, and take action to assure the safety of those working for peace and human rights, including staff members of LWR’s partner CODHES.
Contact Information:
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Vélez: auribe@presidencia.gov.co, dh@presidencia.gov.co Fax 011-57-1-566-2071
SAMPLE MESSAGE: (Please note that President Uribe is fluent in English)
Dear Mr. President:
I urge you to publicly condemn the death threats against those who work with the Consultoria para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento (CODHES). Additionally, please investigate the source of the threats, and take action to assure the safety of those working for peace and human rights in Colombia, especially staff members of CODHES. Threats such as these are a barrier to true peace in Colombia.
Please contact Lutheran World Relief with suggestions or feedback you receive from the governmental officials you contact.
PRAYER REQUEST
Please hold the staff members of CODHES in your prayers over these next weeks. Also ask your faith communities to pray for their safety and pray that they are able to continue their important work.
PRESIDENT URIBE’S REELECTION
On Sunday May 28 Colombians went to the polls, electing current president Alvaro Uribe Vélez to a second term with a decisive 62% of the vote. Last year, Uribe and his supporters amended the Colombian constitution to allow presidents to serve consecutive terms, which had been prohibited. Uribe’s victory in Sunday’s election was long predicted.
The only surprise of the campaign was that Carlos Gaviria, a former chief justice of Colombia’s Constitutional Court and the presidential candidate of the recently formed Independent Democratic Pole (PDI) party, vaulted from single digits in the polls two months ago to a second place finish with 22% of the vote. It was the first time a candidate for a left-of-center political party has survived a presidential campaign in Colombia.
President Uribe is a firm supporter of the U.S. military aid program known as “Plan Colombia” and of the Andean Free Trade Agreement (which both countries’ Congresses will vote on this year or next). The fact that most other South American governments have taken issue with U.S. economic and military policies over the last couple years makes continued, and perhaps expanded, U.S. military aid to Colombia likely during Uribe’s second four-year term, which will begin in August.
Thank you for your important work on behalf of our partners in Colombia.
Colombia Team
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
700 Light Street
Baltimore MD 21230
www.lwr.org/colombia
WHO IS LWR? Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world's most impoverished communities to help themselves. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945.
Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), individuals and parish groups in international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility.
