7 January, 2010

We, the organizations signing below, inform the international and national community of the following:

Texted Death Threats to Martha Giraldo and Aida Quilque

At 9.39pm on 30th December 2010, the following text message was received by Martha Giraldo, coordinator of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes Valle del Cauca branch (MOVICE), and Aida Quilcue, ex-leader of the Cauca Regional Indigenous Council (CRIC) and the Minga of Social and Communitarian Resistance:


“guerrilla rats, this is how we wanted to have you, cornered and crying for help all over the place. MOVICE, ECATE, CUT, NOMADESC, death to you communist dogs.

Tonight at midnight we start with Martha Giraldo, Berenice, Luz Marina, Cristina, the Indian Quilcue, Yon, Posso, Wilson and with every one of your children.

Black Eagles cleansing the country of these communist sons of bitches, you won’t see the New Year.”


The message was sent from the same number which has been used to send previous threats to the same organisations.


Telephone Death Threat Made To Human Rights NGO Nomadesc In Their Cali Office

At 1.18pm, 6 January 2011, Maria Yinet Lozano (Nomadesc secretary) received a call on the office landline (local number 893 5308), in which a male voice said:

“Grass sons of bitches, we know where you are, we’re coming for you”

The caller used a constant beep on the line in order to hide their voice. This is the 12th threat that has been made against Nomadesc and other human rights organisations in Valle del Cauca and Cauca departments in the past year. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the Colombian authorities have made no progress in identifying who and where the text messages, calls, threats and harassment are coming from. Nor have they taken measures to protect those working for the defence of human rights in the region.

Human Rights Defender Martha Giraldo followed

The same afternoon, Martha Giraldo, of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE), observed a man in worker’s overalls on a high-powered motor bike, and a white jeep with tinted windows, outside her house for about 3 hours. When the bodyguards who accompany Martha approached the man on the motorbike and the white jeep to find out who the people were and what they wanted, both fled the scene immediately. The bodyguards are part of Martha’s protective security scheme from the Ministry of the Interior; they reported the incident to the homeland security agency DAS (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad).

We are concerned that, although the repeated, frequent death threats against us have all been reported to the Colombian authorities, there has been no progress in identifying those responsible for committing and procuring the crimes.

We demand a full investigation and that those responsible are brought to justice.


REQUESTS
· Please write to the Colombian government as soon as possible to demand a full investigation to establish as soon as possible who is responsible for the threats, and to bring them to justice (see below for contact details)
· Please demand that the Colombian government take immediate action to protect the lives of all those being threatened, and those of their families.
· Please demand that the Colombian government do all in its power to protect the work of human rights defenders in Valle del Cauca and Cauca.
· Please demand that the Colombian government put an end to the human rights violations occurring in this area..


Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible / Sus pronunciamientos los puede enviar a:

To the relevant Colombian Embassy, in the UK this is: MAURICIO RODRIGUEZ Embassy of Colombia at emails:

 mail@colombianembassy.co.uk and  elondres@cancilleria.gov.co
(please send to both and copy to  info@colombiasolidarity.org.uk)

(Signed: )

Asociación para la Investigación y Acción Social –NOMADESC-
MOVICE- Capitulo Valle del Cauca
Fundación Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos- Seccional Valle del Cauca –CSPP-
SINTRAUNICOL Subdirectiva Cali
Red de Hermandad y Solidaridad con Colombia-Nodo Valle del Cauca