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Archived Urgent Action
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KAIROS is deeply concerned over the total lack of progress into the case of the forced "disappearance" of highly respected Colombian indigenous leader Kimy Pernia. Twelve months after Kimy's abduction, threats against Embera Katio communities continue as part of what the Embera have called a campaign of "systematic extermination" of their people. |
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Introduction |
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On June 2, 2001, Kimy Pernia - a highly respected leader of the Embera Katio indigenous people - was abducted at gunpoint in the northern Colombian town of Tierralta by three men. While no one has claimed responsibility for this cowardly act, the manner in which the abduction was carried out suggests the crime was perpetrated by members of a paramilitary group - groups that often count on the direct or indirect support of Colombia's state security forces.
Disturbingly, one year later, there has been no progress in locating Kimy or bringing the perpetrators of this crime to justice. Immediately after Kimy's abduction, senior police officials attempted to deflect attention from the real motives behind his disappearance by making outrageous and completely unfounded accusations that Kimy may have been involved in drug trafficking and this could be the reason for his disappearance. And while more than fifty Canadian members of Parliament wrote a joint letter to President Pastrana, calling for immediate action to secure Kimy's release, Colombia's ambassador to Canada, Fanny Kertzman, voiced concern that so much was being made of this case. The subsequent appointment in Colombia of a new Attorney General with a reputation for blocking investigations into similar cases, has undermined hopes of a serious investigation by the authorities.
Meanwhile, attacks against Embera communities have continued. Since Kimy's disappearance, four more Embera have been killed. And recently, this past April, the Embera announced that they had been subjected to threats both by Colombian military officials who warned that they would let the paramilitary forces attack their communities as well as by FARC insurgents who have increased their presence in the zone following the collapse of the peace talks with the Colombian government.
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Background Information |
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Kimy Pernia is well known to many people in Canada. In November 1999, the Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA), whose work is continued in the new ecumenical partnership KAIROS, had the privilege of hosting Kimy when he came to Canada to testify at parliamentary hearings conducted by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade (SCFAIT) to review legislation governing the investments of the Export Development Corporation (EDC).
In his testimony, Kimy spoke of how the Urra consortium, a multinational investment project, began constructing a dam in northern Colombia, a megaproject to which the EDC contributed $25 million in financing. The dam has had a devastating impact on the Embera Katio nation -- whose people were never consulted before the project was approved, in direct violation of the Colombian constitution and international accords. Since the construction of the dam, fish in the Sinu River have disappeared and the Embera -- robbed of their main source of protein - have suffered an increase in health problems due to malnutrition. The dam's reservoir has flooded Embera homes, land, crops and sacred sites. Flooding to create the reservoir has also brought an increase in mosquitoes, and along with them, an epidemic of dengue and malaria. In his testimony before SCFAIT, Kimy stated: "The dam has brought death to our people, death to the fish, death to the members of our community who have seen their source of protein vanish, and death to our leaders who have protested or challenged the dam". The plight of the Embera is documented in the KAIROS produced film: "Colombia: The Hidden Story".
In 2001, Kimy played a key role once again in Canada as a keynote speaker on Indigenous Rights at the alternative People's Summit, during the Free Trade Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. Chosen by the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) to represent them in Canada, Kimy effectively brought issues of land, indigenous culture and indigenous rights to key policy makers, the media, and those who had come from all over the Americas to protest the implications of the official summit's agenda of creating a hemispheric "free trade" pact - the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
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Recommended Action |
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Please send a message to Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham (125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario. K1A 0G2; Fax: 613-996-3443; E-mail: Graham.B@parl.gc.ca) expressing concern over the total impunity in the case of Kimy Pernia's disappearance. Call on Minister Graham in his capacity as Canada's Foreign Minister, to raise forcefully this case with the Colombian authorities (both President Pastrana and incoming President-elect Alvaro Uribe) and demand that the Colombian government:
- Take immediate action to clarify the whereabouts of Kimy Pernia;
- Follow through with a thorough investigation into Kimy's disappearance and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice in civilian courts;
- Fully comply with the accords it signed with the Embera people in April 2000 with respect to human rights;
- Immediately remove from active duty and launch a thorough investigation of the military officials in the zone who have threatened the Embera and who maintain ties with paramilitary groups, and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice in civilian courts;
- Provide guarantees for the safety of the Embera Katio communities.
Send Copies to:
- Your Member of Parliament, and
- Canada's Ambassador to Colombia, Ambassador Guillermo Rishchynski
(Fax: 011-571-657-9915; E-mail: guill.rishchynski@dfait-maeci.gc.ca)
For more information, please contact Bill Fairbairn, Latin America
Human Rights Researcher/Policy Advocate , KAIROS:
E-mail/Courriel à Bill Fairbairn
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Sample Letter |
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June 2, 2002
Hon. Bill Graham
Minister of Foreign Affairs
125 Sussex Drive,
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2
Dear Mr. Graham,
I am writing to you today on behalf of the member churches of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives to express our deep concern over the total lack of progress by the Colombian authorities into the disappearance, one year ago today, of the highly respected indigenous leader Mr. Kimy Pernia.
As you know, Kimy was forcibly disappeared in the town of Tierralta last June 2, 2001 by three armed men on motorcycles who took him away at gunpoint. While no one has claimed responsibility for this cowardly act, the way in which the abduction was carried out suggests that this crime was carried out by members of a paramilitary group - groups which often count on the direct or indirect support of Colombia's state security forces.
Disturbingly, one year later, there has been no progress in locating Kimy or bringing the perpetrators of this crime to justice. Immediately after Kimy's abduction, senior police officials attempted to deflect attention from the motives of his disappearance by making outrageous and completely unfounded accusations that Kimy may have been involved in drug trafficking and this could be the reason for his disappearance. And while more than fifty Canadian members of Parliament wrote a joint letter to President Pastrana, calling for immediate action to secure Kimy's release, there has been no progress to date in this case. The appointment in Colombia of a new Attorney General with a reputation for blocking investigations into similar cases, has undermined hopes of a serious investigation by the authorities.
Meanwhile, attacks against Embera communities have continued unabated. Since Kimy's disappearance, four more leaders have been killed. And recently, this past April, the Embera denounced that they had been subjected to threats both by Colombian military officials who warned that they would let the paramilitary forces attack their communities as well as by FARC insurgents who have increased their presence in the zone following the collapse of the peace talks with the Colombian government.
Mr. Graham, last year, you personally raised the issue of Kimy in the House of Commons. Today, one year later, we call on you, in your capacity as Foreign Minister, to forcefully raise the case of Kimy with the Colombian authorities and demand that the Colombian government:
- Take immediate action to clarify the whereabouts of Kimy Pernia;
- Follow through with a thorough investigation into Kimy's disappearance and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice in civilian courts;
- Fully comply with the accords it signed with the Embera people in April 2000 with respect to human rights;
- Immediately remove from active duty and launch a thorough investigation of the military officials in the zone who have threatened the Embera and who maintain ties with paramilitary groups and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice in civilian courts;
- Provide guarantees for the safety of the Embera Katio communities.
We anxiously await your response.
Yours sincerely,
Patricia Steenberg
Executive Director
cc. Ambassador Guillermo Rishchynski
Ambassador Fanny Kertzman
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