US "Certifies" Colombian Military

Human Rights groups say Colombian government failed to meet congressional conditions

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) issued a joint statement blasting the certification, saying the Colombian government has failed "to take even minimal steps to meet" the congressional conditions. Congress required Powell to certify progress in three areas: suspension of armed forces members credibly alleged to have committed gross violations of human rights, or to have aided or abetted paramilitary groups; armed forces cooperation with civilian judicial authorities in prosecuting and punishing such members in civilian courts; and effective measures taken to sever military links with paramilitary forces.

General accused of paramilitary connections not punished

As evidence of progress, a senior administration official told reporters that the second-highest ranking officer in the Colombian Navy, Gen. Rodrigo Quinones, has been transferred to administrative duties because of allegations of complicity in two of the largest massacres committed by the rightwing paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) in recent years. Human rights groups have linked Quinones to the January 2001 paramilitary massacre of at least 24 people in Chengue, Sucre department [see Update #575]; and to the February 2000 massacre of at least 60 people in Ovejas municipality, Bolivar department [see Updates #525, 546]; as well as to the murder of 57 trade unionists, human rights workers, and community leaders. Despite these credible allegations, the organizations note that Quinones has not been suspended from the military nor turned over to civilian jurisdiction. In April he was appointed military attache to the Colombian Embassy in Israel. [Washington Post 5/2/02; HRW/WOLA/AI Statement 5/1/02]

Allegation of army murders and disappearances

Not only is the Colombian military accused of maintaining links to the notoriously brutal paramilitary groups, but new allegations have emerged against the armed forces themselves. The REINICIAR Corporation for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights charges that on Apr. 30, members of the National Army shot to death three adult campesinos and two children after entering three homes in an area known as La Despensa, Vista Hermosa municipality, in Meta department. The soldiers also took away several other civilians who remain missing. [Equipo Nizkor- Derechos Human Rights-Serpaj Europa Solidaridad Urgente 5/3/02]

Sierra Nevada campesions ask for stop to bombing

Meanwhile, indigenous campesinos in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region in northern Colombia are asking the government to stop its indiscriminate bombing of the area. Manuela Martinez, a resident of Pueblo Bello, said the bombs have destroyed homes and crops and killed livestock, leaving campesinos homeless and without food. Paramilitary groups have set up a roadblock in the area and are stopping food from getting through. [Caracol Noticias 5/4/02] 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.