05124
March 3, 2005

Displaced concern

Colombian churchmen say alleged link to guerrilla group is government ruse

by Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE — Human rights workers in northern Colombia are increasingly concerned about government efforts to portray advocates for poor and displaced Colombians as allies of the FARC, the country’s oldest and largest guerrilla group.

     Fears were heightened on Feb. 15 when federal agents in Barranquilla accosted the treasurer of the National Association for Displaced People (ANDESCOL), alleging that the group is full of “guerrilleros” representing the FARC.

     The incident was described by a number of sources in Barranquilla, including officials of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (PCC).

     ANDESCOL is a national organization that defends the rights of the more than three million Colombians who have been forcibly displaced from their land. It is part of a coalition of Colombian groups that work on behalf of the poor — the Barranquilla Human Rights Coordination (BHRC). The PCC also is a coalition member.

     BHRC’s bullet-proof office is on the PCC campus.

     “When they threaten ANDESCOL, they indirectly threaten us,” said the Rev. Milton Mejia, executive secretary of the PCC, whose headquarters is in Barranquilla, a sweltering port city on the northern coast. “There is pressure against all these organizations. When they threaten other groups, they threaten us.”

     Mejia, who is scheduled to visit the offices of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, Switzerland, later this month, said he will urge the WCC to send international accompaniers to Colombia.

     The Presbyterian Church (USA), which launched an accompaniment program in December, has stationed U.S. Presbyterians in Barranquilla full-time to observe and keep the international church community informed about the situation.

     After the threats were made against ANDESCOL, the two PC(USA) accompaniers, Patricia Forner of Reston, VA, and Dick Junkin of Muscle Shoals, AL, divided their time between denominational offices and those of ANDESCOL.

     Two other PC(USA) accompaniers arrived in Barranquilla recently — Erik Mason of Santa Fe, NM, and Ted Collins of Concordia, KN.

     Churches have often used accompaniment to deter violence in conflict zones, reasoning that aggressors are less likely to strike when international observers are on hand. Accompaniers also circulate eyewitness reports to the international church community and human rights organizations so that intimidation and violence do not occur without some international response.

     During the on-street encounter last month, agents apparently named ANDESCOL’s directors by name and asked, “If they didn’t have links with FARC, why then (did) Mauricio (Avilez) work with them?”

     The question was followed by a threat to arrest the entire board, according to a statement issued by the BHRC.

     Avilez, 24, is a law student who volunteered with the PCC to help displaced people sign up for government assistance and to collect data about human rights abuses by guerrillas, paramilitaries and government agents — groups that have forced people off their land and into shanty towns on the outskirts of cities.

     Avilez did some legal work for ANDESCOL when it was chartered, but is not a member of the organization. He was accused of terrorist activities last spring and spent more than four months in jail while the government decided whether to press formal charges. Although he was released, the government has neither filed charges against him nor dropped the case.

     Avilez is now in hiding, fearful of paramilitary “death squads” that execute civilians with relative impunity.

     Another human rights worker, Guillermo Larios, was arrested in December and is now in custody. He also did occasional contract work for the PCC.

     “It’s much worse here,” said a spokesperson for CEDERHNOS, a volunteer organization Avilez founded as part of the PCC’s human rights ministry. “It has gotten very intense at CEDERHNOS.”

     CEDERHNOS shares space with the BHRC on the PCC campus.

     The CEDERHNOS spokesperson, who asked that his name not be published, said the law-student volunteers who work with CEDERHNOS usually stay away from the organization’s office, for security reasons.

     He said three union leaders had just left Barranquilla after being threatened.

     Unions, student groups and human rights organizations — including churches with human rights ministries — are under the most intense pressure. Organizations that work with displaced families are highly controversial because such “internal refugees” are considered a burden on cities already overwhelmed by high rates of crime and unemployment.

     Displaced communities also provoke anxiety among officials concerned about possible infiltration by guerrilla or paramilitary groups.

     Mejia, the PCC executive director, has long maintained that efforts to link human rights groups and the FARC are intended to terrorize and discredit the rights organizations.

     Although the work of the BHRC and the church is clearly legal, both are under increasing duress.

     Last year the PCC learned that its offices were under video surveillance by an unknown entity. Mejia said he isn’t sure whether the surveillance is continuing. He also has received death threats because of his work with displaced people.

     The BHRC argues that ANDESCOL, which operates in Atlantico Province, has a legal right to do its work, and that the government is obliged to ensure “free development” of its activities among the displaced. It is asking international churches and other rights groups to write letters to regional and national Colombian officials demanding that the government protect the lives of ANDESCOL’s board of directors and other human rights workers.

     Letters should be sent to Francisco Santos, vice president of Colombia (email: fsantos@presidencia.gov.co); and Michael Frulin, director of the Colombia Commission on Human Rights (oacnudh@hchr.org.co).

     “We need to continue international pressure in Colombia,” said the Rev. Israel Batista, president of the Latin America Council of Churches (CLAI) in Quito, Ecuador. “This is the reality of life in this region. But Colombia is the worst.”

     Batista told the Presbyterian News Service that increasing the visibility of international church representatives in Barranquilla is necessary to protect the lives of Colombians. Even CLAI’s regional secretary, the Rev. Jairo Barriga, has received telephone threats, he said.

     Barriga is a Presbyterian minister whose office is on the PCC campus.

     Batista said Presbyterians have taken a prophetic stand that has provoked opposition from some sectors of Colombian society.