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Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Condemnation of the massacre of eight people
in San José de Apartadó, Colombia
Pierre Pettigrew
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs Canada
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G2
March 18th, 2005
Dear Minister Pettigrew:
As representatives of Canadian Civil Society—including religious,
human rights, and labour organizations—we are writing
to express our strong condemnation of the recent massacre of eight
people in the municipality of San José de Apartadó,
Colombia. We urge the Canadian Government to respond publicly
to this attack.
Those killed during the massacre which took place on February 21
are: Luis Eduardo Guerra, one of the founders of Peace Community
of San José de Apartadó, his 17-year-old wife Bellanira,
and his 11-year-old son Deiner; community leader Alfonso Bolívar
Tuberquia, his wife and their two children aged 6 and 2; and Alejandro
Pérez Cuirez. Reports from witnesses in the field allege
military involvement in the massacre.
This massacre joins a long list of attacks against the Peace Community
of San José de Apartadó, which have left more than
130 members dead since 1997. To date, no one has been prosecuted
for these crimes.
It is especially disturbing that the Peace Community faces ongoing
attacks given that it is the recipient of "Provisional Measures"
from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which require the
Colombian 17th Brigade to take special measures to protect the Community.
Accordingly, the Colombian Constitutional Court ordered the Colombian
Government to implement these Provisional Measures on March 2004
(Decision T-327).
Following the massacre, a governmental commission sent to investigate
was itself attacked, resulting in the death of a police officer.
Police sources allege that FARC guerrillas were responsible. We
also condemn this attack and call for a full investigation.
In light of the Canadian Embassy’s long-standing support
for the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, a
community committed to neutrality in the midst of the armed conflict,
and considering the gravity of this recent massacre, we strongly
recommend that the Canadian Government issue a public statement
calling on the Colombian Government to:
- carry out an exhaustive and impartial investigation of the massacre;
- make known to the international community its plan of action
for implementing the Provisional Measures issued by the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights in accordance with the Constitutional Court’s
decision; and
- publicly recognize the Peace Community’s right to remain
neutral in the face of the armed conflict.
As well, we urge the Canadian government to implement the Resolution
issued by the Canadian parliamentary Sub-Committee on Human Rights
and International Development on February 24, 2005, which offers
concrete suggestions for how the Canadian delegation to the UN Commission
on Human Rights can promote human rights in Colombia.
Eagerly awaiting your response,
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Mary Corkery
Executive Director
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
Alex Neve
Secretary General
Amnesty International Canada
(English-speaking Branch)
Jinny Sims
President
BC Teachers Federation
Sharon O'Regan
Deputy Director
Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL)
Kenneth V. Georgetti
President
Canadian Labour Congress
Deborah Bourque
National President
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Paul Moist, National President
Claude Genereux, National Secretary-Treasurer
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Basil "Buzz" Hargrove
President
CAW-Canada
Viviana Patroni
Director
Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean - CERLAC
Rhonda Spence
President
CoDevelopment Canada
Iliam Burbano
Coordinator
Colombia Action Solidarity Alliance (CASA)
Alain Ambeault, CSV
President
Conférence religieuse canadienne / Canadian Religious
Conference
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Michael Casey
General Director
Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP)
Most Rev. Blaise Morand
Bishop of Prince Albert
Chairman, Episcopal Committee for Human Rights
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
Bill Fairbairn
Fellow
Canadian Consortium on Human Security
Fred Muzin
President
Hospital Employees' Union (BC)
Molly Kane
Executive Director
Inter Pares
Gail Davidson
Executive Director
Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada
Catherine LeGrand
Associate Professor, Dept. of History
McGill University
Cristina Rojas
Associate Professor
The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs
Philippe Dufort
President
Projet Accompagnement et Solidarité Colombie - PASC
Grahame Russel
Coordinator
Rights Action
Razmik Panossian
Interim Director of Policy, Programmes & Planning /
Directeur intérimaire des Politiques, programmes et
de la planification
Rights & Democracy / Droits et Démocratie
Derek MacCuish
Coordinator
The Social Justice Committee
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Cc: Jean-Marc Duval, Canadian Ambassador to Colombia
Cc: Guillermo Rishchynski, VP-Americas, CIDA
Cc: José Herran-Lima, Director, South American Division,
Foreign Affairs Canada
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