“False positives”, known in International Law as extrajudicial killings, have been part of Colombian reality for more than twenty years. Civilians, normally peasant farmers or young people from the lowest income sectors of society, are killed under official orders and later presented as guerilla killed in combat in order to show them as deaths in the so-called “war against terrorism”. This allows the Colombian military to gain rewards or inflate the statistics of the war. This odious practice was officially recognised in September 2008 when 19 young people were disappeared in Soacha, a poor neighbourhood of Bogotá, and then later found in mass graves in rural areas more than 500km away.

The Coordination Colombia-Europe-United States and the Colombian Platform for Human Rights, has reported more than 1400 of these cases since 2002 when the the democratic security policy of President Uribe began.

Dulcelina Sanabria Sanchez travelled from her farm in Casanare to participate in the mobilisation. Her two sons, aged 14 and 26, were killed in March 2006 by the 16th Brigade of the Army and presented as guerilla. The family reported the killings but have received any news since. A large number of extrajudicial killings in Casanare occur in municipalities where BP, a multinational oil company, has activities and are all carried out by the 16th Brigade, who have been historically contracted by BP.[1]

Colombia lives a bloody war. In the last 11 years there has been 3000 mass graves, more than 30000 disappeared, 4.2 million displaced and 23000 kidnapped, figures that shed light on the victims of this conflict.

The Network of Solidarity and Friendship (La Red) stands in solidarity with the victims of paramilitarism, para politica and State crimes.

We demand from the Colombian government:

The immediate end to the persecution and imprisonment of the members of social organisations, unions, human rights defenders, journalists, students, peasant farmers, indigenous and those who democratically oppose the government.

Truth, justice and reparation and no more repetition of crimes against human dignity.

We call on the national and international community to echo this demand and contribute to the construction of a true democratic society en Colombia, supported by peace, social justice and the comprehensive respect for human rights.

Extrajudicial killings are state crimes

Truth, justice and reparation for the victims of state terrorism in Colombia.

United to recover our memory for a Colombia that does not forget.

No more mass graves.
No more forced displacements.
No more kidnappings
No more state crimes
No more extrajudicial killings.
No more crimes against humanity.


[1] To learn more the grave humanitarium crisis in Casanare the its relation to the oil industry, “Report of the International Solidarity Mission Roque Julio Torres Torres, Casanare, Colombia”
 http://www.espacio.org.uk/bp/Casanare%20Mission%202007%20Report.pdf
“BP in casanare, by Cos-pacc”
 http://www.espacio.org.uk/documents/BPinCasanare.pdf