Nonviolence Marchers Kidnapped in Antioquia
On Apr. 21, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) detained Guillermo Gaviria Correa, governor of Antioquia department, along with Antioquia peace adviser Gilberto Echeverri Mejia, a former defense minister, as the two were accompanying church leaders and some 1,000 other people in a march to promote nonviolence and reconciliation. The marchers left the departmental capital, Medellin, on Apr. 17; Gaviria and Echeverri were abducted by the rebels just three kilometers short of the march's final destination in the municipality of Caicedo, about 70 kilometers northwest of Medellin. Gaviria had said the purpose of the march was to protest all forms of violence.
Conference on Nonviolence in Medellin
US citizen Bernard Lafayette, who heads the International Center for the Study of Nonviolence at the University of Rhode Island, was also participating in the march and was briefly detained by the rebels but was not held. [La Jornada (Mexico) 4/23/02 from Reuters, DPA, AFP; BBC News 4/23/02; Hoy (NY) 4/23/02 from AFP; El Nuevo Herald 4/23/02 from Reuters; La Republica (Lima) 4/24/02 from EFE] Lafayette was in Colombia to attend a weeklong conference on nonviolence in Medellin, along with Rev. C.T. Vivian, president of the University of Rhode Island; 1976 Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan; UN human rights commissioner for Colombia Anders Kompass; and some 2,000 other people from around Colombia and the world. [Hoy 4/23/02 from AFP]
Pastrana criticizes Gaviria and Rejects Prisoner Exchange
President Pastrana condemned the kidnapping but criticized Gaviria for ignoring the Colombian army's warnings about security in the zone. The press released an Apr. 16 letter in which Gaviria said that if he were kidnapped, the state should "not accept any type of concession with my captors for my release." [LJ 4/23/02 from Reuters, DPA, AFP; BBC News 4/23/02] On Apr. 21 Interior Minister Armando Estrada reiterated the Pastrana administration's rejection of a FARC proposal to exchange hostage politicians and soldiers for imprisoned rebels, saying the matter would be left for the next president; Pastrana's term ends in August. [LR 4/27/02 from EFE]
From the
Weekly News Update on the Americas (ISSN 1084-922X), published by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York, 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012, 212-674-9499,
wnu@igc.org.
Rebels Kill Peace Activists
El conflicto entre el Pueblo Embera Katío y la hidroeléctrica Urrá S.A.
