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April 1, 2002 Reports from the Theater of Operations On February 20, President Andrés Pastrana ordered the Colombian Armed Forces to retake the former demilitarized zone ceded to the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The initial bombing and troop invasion of the former rebel safe-haven has since expanded to neighboring departments, which have been designated as the "Theater of Operations." There is little reliable data available regarding the humanitarian situation on the ground because the military is restricting access to many areas of the affected departments. Religious organizations that were already present in the region before the military offensive was launched are the only institutions issuing reports from within many areas of the Theater of Operations. Their reports indicate that civilians have suffered from bombings, massacres, forced displacements, and a lack of water and basic foodstuffs. Report from Caquetá Francis McDonagh of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) describes the security situation in the region around San Vicente del Caguan:
There were bodies of peasants lying around the fields as a result of the bombing. The Fiscalía General (Attorney General's Office) were unable to get outside of San Vicente, they were being kept there. This was a clear indication to us that they were cleaning up before allowing them in, that they had something to hide. The military would say it wasn't safe, that there was concern for their safety. McDonagh has reiterated the appeal made to the international community by CAFOD's partners for humanitarian assistance and international human rights monitors and says: We have alerted the British Government about the crisis situation in Colombia in a classified report. According to Ryner Lang, press officer for Action by Churches Together (ACT): Before February 21 the communities of Caquetá were already suffering from displacement. The number of displacements has been rising sharply over the past three months as the violence over the last year has been continually getting worse. This has been largely due to an increase in paramilitary violence. And now, on top of that comes the new level of fighting with the FARC! Report from Putumayo On February 28, Carlos Sanchez, U.S. Coordinator of Catholic Relief Services, obtained the following information from a Padre in Putumayo who requested anonymity for security reasons. According to Sanchez: The Padre is working closely with the community to ration and distribute resources as this region south of the former demilitarized zone is now becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the country. The communities are having difficulties with food shortages. The Padre's team organized a small committee. Yesterday they met with the mayor and the local parish pastor and examined their alternatives. They are attempting to develop a campaign of food rationing and education so that people will reduce water consumption and take maximum advantage of food supplies.
On March 22, Sanchez received another report from the Padre in Putumayo: The Padre reiterated how things have worsened since the February 20 break in negotiations between the government and the FARC. He says that things have become markedly more dangerous in all of Putumayo since March 6. During the congressional elections (two weeks ago) the FARC imposed a blockade of all trail and river traffic in the region, in an attempt to keep the local population from voting. The FARC loosened its control over the area three days after the election and trade commenced to flow into the region once more. Nevertheless, the price of foodstuff has increased 30 percent and fuel costs have surged by 50 percent. The community expects the FARC to impose another blockade to disrupt the presidential elections in May. In mid-March, the FARC abandoned the towns and people in the region when government troops, National Police, and paramilitaries moved into the area in force. Since then, 30 peasants have been disappeared and murdered in the area. Three people that were particularly close to the parish were murdered in the last week. An old man who tended a small river launch and kiosk was brutally tortured and murdered by paramilitaries who proceeded to draw and quarter his remains. The paramilitaries claimed the man had assisted the FARC and that his murder was a warning to those who offer support to the FARC. The community acknowledged there were instances when the old man had supplied his launch to the FARC, but he had no option. Failure to provide the FARC with what they wanted would have led to his death, therefore, the old man was forced into an action that ultimately led to his death. The Padre mentioned that former members of the community are in the ranks of the paramilitaries. Also, former FARC members that have joined the paramilitaries are the ones who have been guiding the "cleansing" of the population. The community has developed methods for reducing the risks of nightly displacements, such as sleeping outside the house, and developing a chain of support with the town government and the parish. Kim Alphandary is a free-lance journalist. This article originally appeared in Colombia Report, an online journal that was published by the Information Network of the Americas (INOTA).
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A
Protestant pastor who was able to get to San Vicente was assassinated
because he told a story that discredited the Colombian military.
I've heard this from two different sources. This pastor reported
heavy fighting around Cartegena del Chairá. It was almost
impossible for anyone to leave the area. The pastor made it to San
Vicente and reported that civilians were dying because the military
were preventing humanitarian relief from entering the zone. People
were suffering from shortages of medical supplies, aggravated by
a military clampdown.
The
Padre's town has run out of money, they had obtained some US$200
in loans to get food supplies, but this has already been used up.
It provided them with a small amount of food and a family has been
placed in charge of distributing it in an emergency. The nearest
town to obtain food supplies is a day's trip away. If the situation
worsens, the option of going there by foot exists, some several
hours over the mountains.