PBI-Colombia accompanies Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation on verification mission after Ecuadorian army incursion into Indigenous reserve

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PBI-Colombia has posted on Instagram:

We accompanied @fundacionnydiaerikabautista [the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation] on the verification mission to the San Marcelino reserve in Putumayo following the incursion of the Ecuadorian army into the reserve in 2023. The Foundation reiterated the need to respect and safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples.

Photos: communication team of Fundación Nydia Erika Bautista.

A year ago, on July 29, 2023, El Pais reported:

An unusual event that has outraged the nation was known. It is the incursion of members of the Ecuadorian Army into Colombian territory. According to the information that is known, they detained the governor of the San Marcelino reservation, his spouse and four other members of the indigenous guard.

This event occurred in Putumayo around noon on Saturday, July 29. The National Protection Unit (UNP) and the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation for Human Rights denounced this incursion by members of the Ecuadorian Army.

According to the UNP, the mayor of San Miguel, Putumayo, confirmed the news and requested the presence of Colombian authorities in the Yarinal de San Marcelino reservation, where the Ecuadorian military held the Colombian indigenous people.

For its part, the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation for Human Rights denounced this fact. “Violent military incursion by the Ecuadorian army puts indigenous people of the San Marcelino Indigenous Reservation in La Dorada, Putumayo, at high risk. We warn about possible arbitrary detentions and violations of human rights and the rights of the Kichwa people and their authorities.”

And they added: “We ask for support from the Ombudsman’s Office and UNP under Collective Protection Measures.”

The full article can be read in El Pais at Lo último: Ejército de Ecuador invadió territorio colombiano y retuvo al gobernador del resguardo San Marcelino (El Pais, July 29, 2023).

On July 30, 2023, the Spanish news agency EFE added: In a statement, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry did not confirm or deny that the incursion into Colombian territory had taken place and limited itself to pointing out that a dialogue [between the countries] is being maintained “regarding any situation that may exist regarding this operation.” …According to information from the Ecuadorian authorities cited by the Foreign Ministry, 20 kilos of cocaine hydrochloride were seized in the operation.

That article can be read at Ecuador mantiene diálogo con Colombia tras denuncia de incursión de militares ecuatorianos (EFE, July 30, 2023).

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation since 2007.


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