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Los Angeles City Council votes to call for suspension of arms sales to the Colombian government

By
Brent Patterson
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Protest at the CANSEC arms show, Ottawa, May 2019.

On June 2, the Los Angeles Daily News reported: “City Council [has] unanimously condemned police violence against protesters in Colombia and called for a suspension of U.S. arms and crowd control equipment aid to the Colombian government.”

That article adds: “Colombia’s national police force is accused of beating, detaining and killing protesters over the last month. President Ivan Duque said he does not believe the violence was systemic, according to the New York Times, which reported based on dozens of interviews with witnesses and victims’ family members that officers have opened fire on peaceful demonstrations.”

Temblores has reported that between April 28 and May 31, there were 3,789 cases of police violence, 1,649 arbitrary detentions and 25 victims of sexual violence committed by the police and military in the context of the ongoing national strike.

Councillor Kevin de Leon says: “This resolution reaffirms that the right to express oneself, especially in the form of a peaceful protest, is a fundamental human right that cannot be taken away or cannot be silenced through violence and brutality.”

CANSEC arms show in Ottawa

In May 2014, the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a federal government owned Crown corporation, stated it toured the exhibition floor at CANSEC arms show in Ottawa with a delegation from Colombia.

Global Affairs Canada later reported that it had exported $44,754,393. in military goods to Colombia that year.

In May 2014, Toronto-based INKAS reported it would supply 4 Huron tactical attack and defense vehicles to the National Police of Colombia.

In April 2015, INKAS reportedly had a tendered order 26 Huron vehicles for the Colombian police. PLANT reported: “The Huron will be outfitted with a cannon to wrangle unruly rioters with foam, tear gas, dyes and water.”

CANSEC grew out of ARMX, a Government of Canada-organized military trade show that was previously held at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa in the 1980s. In 1989, Ottawa Mayor Marion Dewar and City Council passed a resolution that prohibited ARMX from municipal properties, including Lansdowne Park.

CANSEC now takes place at the EY Centre, which is located near the Ottawa International Airport. The next CANSEC arms show is scheduled for June 1-2, 2022.

Webinar

Today, June 3, Peace Brigades International is convening a webinar with three Colombian human rights defenders to discuss the issue of police and military violence against the current national strike. Rachel Small from World Beyond War Canada will also speak to the issue of Canadian military exports to Colombia.

To register for today’s webinar, please click here.

Canada exported $460,000 in “military goods” to Colombia in 2020

By
Brent Patterson
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To hear from Colombian human rights defenders on this issue, sign up for our webinar happening today at 3:30 pm ET by clicking here.

On June 1, Global Affairs Canada reported that Canada had exported $460,338.87 in military goods to Colombia in 2020.

According to their report, 5 permits were issued in 2020 and 4 of those permits were utilized.

Most of those exported goods – $458,318.87 – fall under category 2-6 which Global Affairs defines as “Ground vehicles and components”. Global Affairs further notes that 2-6 includes “Tanks and other military armed vehicles and military vehicles” and “Armoured vehicles” and/or the components specifically designed for armoured vehicles.

While the report doesn’t specify, this may relate to the armoured personnel carriers exported to the Colombian national police or the light armoured vehicles exported to the Colombian army. (We have asked Global Affairs for more details.)

Human rights concerns

On June 2, Temblores reported that between April 28 and May 31, there were 3,789 cases of police violence, 1,649 arbitrary detentions and 25 victims of sexual violence committed by the Public Force in the context of the national strike.

Calls to suspend military sales to Colombia

Amnesty International has called on the United States to suspend weapons sales to Colombia until Colombian security forces fully comply with international law and standards on the use of force, abuses are impartially investigated, and there is full accountability for all human rights violations that have been committed by the Colombian authorities.

In a recent statement on Canadian arms exports to Colombia, the NDP says: “Canadians expect their government to be an active participant in building peace and not permitting companies to profit from human rights abuses in other countries.”

On June 2, the Los Angeles Daily News reported: “City Council [has] unanimously condemned police violence against protesters in Colombia and called for a suspension of U.S. arms and crowd control equipment aid to the Colombian government.”

And last month, representatives from the Regional Corporation in Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) stated at a meeting with Global Affairs: “We call on Canada and other countries to please talk about the violence in Colombia. If there is any sort of military support or technical assistance, please abstain from providing that military aid because they are attacking the civilian population.”

Webinar

Today, June 3, Peace Brigades International is convening a webinar with three Colombian human rights defenders to discuss the issue of state violence against the ongoing national strike. Rachel Small from World Beyond War Canada will also speak to the issue of Canadian military exports to Colombia.

To register for today’s webinar, please click here.

PBI-Honduras calls for investigation of all the masterminds of the murder of Berta Cáceres

By
Brent Patterson
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“You have the bullet, I have the word. The bullet dies when it is detonated, the word lives when spread.” – Berta Cáceres

On June 2, PBI-Honduras tweeted: “63 months after the murder of Berta Cáceres for defending the Indigenous and territorial rights in Honduras, a thorough investigation of all the masterminds of the crime is urgently needed.”

Cáceres is the Indigenous Lenca co-founder of the Civil Council of Grassroots and Indigenous Organizations in Honduras (COPINH).

PBI-Honduras has been accompanying COPINH during the trial of former DESA hydroelectric dam executive David Castillo who is accused of being an intellectual author in the murder of Cáceres on March 2, 2016.

Castillo is alleged to have coordinated with, and provided funds to, the men who were the material authors of the murder of Cáceres.

Cáceres opposed the Agua Zarca dam that DESA was building on the Gualcarque River without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous Lenca people. The Intercept has reported that DESA executives had become angry when Cáceres’ protests disrupted their investment in the hydroelectric dam.

In December 2019, when four hitmen were sentenced for this crime, Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres stated: “These sentences are a start in breaking the impunity, but we’re going to make every effort to ensure that all those responsible – the company executives and state officials identified in the trial – are prosecuted.”

She had also commented: “There is only one case open – which has also been extremely delayed – and that is of David Castillo, the president of the company. However, for us, David Castillo is a minor and in fact, the weakest representative of the powerful people that took the decision and economically lent support to this crime.”

PBI-Honduras has accompanied COPINH since May 2016.

#JusticiaParaBerta

PBI-Mexico at meeting with human rights defenders, the EU delegation and the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Relations

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo by the European Union delegation in Mexico.

On June 2, PBI-Mexico tweeted: “Defenders from Mexico and Europe participated in the Trialogue of Human Rights together with representatives of the European Union delegation in Mexico and the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of Mexico.”

PBI-Mexico adds: “In the exchange of opinions we addressed concerns regarding the rule of law, the Attorney for the Defense of Human Rights (PDDH), companies and human rights, gender violence, the Policy on Indigenous Peoples and Interculturality (PPII) and migration.”

The virtual meeting included Emilie DeWolf from Consorcio Oaxaca.

PBI-Mexico has previously explained the work of the Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity Oaxaca (Consorcio Oaxaca).

They noted: “Consorcio Oaxaca was founded in 2003, with the objective of promoting a state-level legislative framework that supports women’s rights. From the beginning, the organization has focused on gender-based violence and women’s rights. In Oaxaca, and especially in municipalities which are majority indigenous, women’s political participation in decision-making spaces is marginal and severely limited.”

PBI-Mexico began having periodic meetings with Consorcio Oaxaca in 2008 and started providing them with accompaniment in March 2016.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies Human Rights Law Firm at second day of the #DiarioMilitar crimes against humanity trial

By
Brent Patterson
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On June 2, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted: “PBI accompanies the Human Rights Law Firm (Bufete Jurídico de Derechos Humanos) in the continuation of the first statement hearing. The Public Ministry will present the charges to the 11 detainees in the case of the Military Journal.”

Ruda explains: “The Diario Militar keeps a record of the names, photographs, addresses and addresses of men and women who have been arrested, detained, disappeared and murdered. The list includes students, university professors, trade unionists, and members of social organizations that the Army identified as allies of the guerrillas.”

The eleven retired soldiers and police officers are on trial for their alleged participation in the kidnapping, forced disappearance and extrajudicial executions of at least 183 people between 1983 and 1985.

The eleven include retired General Marco Antonio Gonzalez Taracena, former members of the Military Intelligence Directorate, the former commander of the military zone of the department (province) of Chimaltenango, and the former head of the Special Operations Brigade of the National Police. They are accused of crimes against humanity, murder, attempted murder and enforced disappearance.

PBI-Guatemala also accompanied the law firm yesterday, June 1, the first day of the trial.

PBI-Guatemala has also posted on their Facebook page the live feed by Famdegua of the hearing. Famdegua is the Association of Family Members of the Detained and Disappeared of Guatemala.

PBI-Honduras marks Pride Month by remembering the need for comprehensive protection strategies against hate attacks

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Honduras accompanied Arcoiris at a Pride march prior to the pandemic in August 2019.

On June 1, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project tweeted: “June, month of #OrgulloLGTB [LGTB Pride], we make visible the demands of the collective and we remember the need for a comprehensive, preventive and differential approach in the protection against hate attacks due to gender identity, expression or sexual orientation.”

In their tweet, PBI-Honduras included the link to this 8-page report.

That report notes:

“In recent years, the pattern of discrimination and inequality towards LGTBIQ + population in Honduras has continued, which is reflected in a systemic violence that generates a worrying increase in attacks and murders.

Thus, between 2015 and 2020, at least 183 crimes against gay, lesbian and trans people. With these figures, the LGTBIQ + community in Honduras becomes the most punished of Central America.

In 2016, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Human Rights (IACHR) indicated that in Honduras 50% of the crimes against the LGTBIQ+ community, the National Police, Military Police and the Army continue topping the list of those responsible for violations of rights against the collective, especially against trans women.”

The Arcoíris [Rainbow] LGTB Association of Honduras was founded in 2003 with the aim of empowering the LGTB+ community in Honduras.

Arcoiris coordinator Donny Reyes has stated: “The biggest problem that we face is the violence of the state security forces towards the LGBT+ community: the armed forces, the police, the criminal investigation police, military police, municipal police.”

Reyes adds: “The research studies that Arcoiris and other organizations have done reflect the same pattern — more than 60 per cent of hate crimes have been committed against us by those forces who should be guaranteeing our safety.”

PBI-Honduras began accompanying Arcoiris in July 2015.

PBI-Colombia accompanies Nomadesc in Cali at march marking the one-month anniversary of the national strike

By
Brent Patterson
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On May 28, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project tweeted: “PBI accompanied Nomadesc in Cali. They demand guarantees for the exercise of the right to social protest and freedom of expression and justice for the thousands of cases of violations of human rights registered during the national strike.”

Between April 28 (the first day of the national strike) and May 27, Temblores recorded 3,405 cases of police violence, 1,445 cases of arbitrary detention, and 22 victims of sexual violence committed by the Public Force (police and military).

On May 30, the Financial Times reported: “Of the 66 people killed nationwide, 38 were in Cali and a further 11 in the region, according to Indepaz.”

Sebastián Lanz of Temblores says: “Cali has become the epicentre of the discontent. We’ve seen members of the security forces armed to the teeth attacking civilians who are exercising their legitimate right to demonstrate.”

The Financial Times article further provides the context: “The south-west also has a big and vocal indigenous population. On the first day of the protests, indigenous activists in Cali ripped down a statue of Sebastían Benalcázar, the Spaniard who led the 16th century conquest of this part of Colombia.”

WOLA has also noted: “Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city with a high number of residents of African descent, has suffered as many as 46 homicides, in addition to an obviously racist attack on a Nasa indigenous caravan that entered the city in early May to peacefully support protesters.”

Webinar on June 3

On Thursday June 3, Berenice Celeita, the president of Nomadesc, will be speaking on a PBI convened webinar about the urgent situation in Colombia.

To register for that webinar, click here.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies law firm at hearing for 11 ex-military and police officers accused of crimes against humanity

By
Brent Patterson
-

On June 1, PBI-Guatemala posted: “Today, PBI accompanied the lawyers of the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) to the first-ever hearing of 11 people accused of enforced disappearances, torture and murder in the #DiarioMilitar [Military Journal] case. The BDH represents relatives of the people mentioned in the document.”

Ruda explains: “The Diario Militar keeps a record of the names, photographs, addresses and addresses of men and women who have been arrested, detained, disappeared and murdered. The list includes students, university professors, trade unionists, and members of social organizations that the Army identified as allies of the guerrillas.”

Telesur reports: “Eleven ex-military and police officers are accused of crimes against humanity for serious human rights violations in the 1980s. The hearing against 11 Guatemalan soldiers, accused of crimes against humanity in the ‘Diario Militar’ case, began this Tuesday [June 1] in the Mayor Riesgo B court, after they were captured last week.”

The 11 retired soldiers and police offers are on trial “for their alleged participation in kidnapping, forced disappearance, extrajudicial execution and other crimes against at least 183 people considered political opponents between 1983 and 1985.”

The eleven include retired General Marco Antonio Gonzalez Taracena, former members of the Military Intelligence Directorate, the former commander of the military zone of the department (province) of Chimaltenango, and the former head of the Special Operations Brigade of the National Police, They are accused of crimes against humanity, murder, attempted murder and enforced disappearance.

Telesur adds: “Relatives of victims of the case in Guatemala have asked the international community for support in their demand for justice and clarification of the facts.”

Their statement says: “Be attentive to what is happening in our country, since we are on the verge of returning openly to the years of the 1980s. Clarifying the facts and condemning those responsible will allow us to achieve the justice yearned for decades and will bring the State of Guatemala closer to taking that step towards the advancement and guarantee of human rights and, above all, non-repetition.”

PBI-Guatemala began to accompany BDH lawyer Édgar Pérez Archila in August 2010 due to several security incidents he had faced in relation to the high profile judicial processes he was working on. At the end of 2013, PBI-Guatemala extended the accompaniment to the other lawyers of the BDH who work in high-profile trials to fight against impunity and in defending criminalized human rights defenders.

Ruda reports 27 of those disappeared and executed were women. It published this photograph and a list of their names here.

PBI-Colombia highlights calls for investigation of links between police and armed civilians attacking national strike protests

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo from Contagio Radio.

On May 31, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project tweeted: “While Colombia responds with militarization of protests, the international community @ONU_es, @mbachelet, @CIDH and @UEenColombia request results of investigations of serious crimes, including links between armed civilians and police.”

This refers to the @ONU_es (United Nations), @mbachelet (the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet), @CIDH (the Inter-American Human Rights Commission) and @UEenColombia (the European Union delegation in Colombia).

The PBI-Colombia tweet highlights this article from Contagio Radio that reports:

“Both the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed their concern over the events of May 28 in the city of Cali, in which 14 people were killed and nearly 100 injured.

They also agreed that they received information that civilians were found shooting at members of the security forces who did not prevent or arrest the armed men.

The UN’s request stresses that it is essential that those who caused injuries or deaths including state officials ‘are subject to effective and independent prompt investigations’ and that those responsible are brought to justice.”

The IACHR has previously stated: “The IACHR learned of groups of armed civilians who fired indiscriminately at a demonstration composed of indigenous people on May 9 in the city of Cali. The IACHR finds the participation of civilians in acts of repression and attacks with firearms against demonstrators extremely serious.”

PBI webinar this Thursday

On Thursday June 3, Peace Brigades International is convening a webinar with three Colombian human rights defenders to discuss this situation.

To register for the webinar, that will provide simultaneous translation in English and Spanish, please click here.

PBI-Canada shares update on violence at Canadian-owned oil field in Putumayo, Colombia

By
Brent Patterson
-

Danilo Rueda from Justice and Peace will speak on a PBI convened webinar this Thursday. To register for that, please click here.

On May 31, Justice and Peace Colombia issued this statement that documents the killing of a campesino and the wounding of an Indigenous Nasa leader during a protest against the Canadian company Gran Tierra in Putumayo.

Their May 31 statement notes:

“Today at 5:30 a.m. in the municipality of Villagarzon, Putumayo department, protesters tried to enter the Costayaco field owned by the oil company Gran Tierra Energy, in order to block its operation.

For two hours there was a confrontation between the demonstrators and the military who protect the camp, in these events Nasa leader Victor Campo was wounded with a firearm and was taken to the hospital in Villagarzon.

At approximately 9:00 a.m. and amid the tension, protesters and human rights organizations met with civil authorities led by Álvaro Arturo Granja Buchelli as governor of Putumayo, in order to seek a way out of the situation.

At approximately 10:20 a.m. while in the Costayaco field the dialogue was taking place between the demonstrators and the governor of the department, the anti-narcotics police attacked peasants and Indigenous peoples, who were approximately 300 meters from the place where the meeting was taking place. Police carried out this attack using tear gas and gunfire.

Around 3:15 p.m. near the Costayaco camp, counter-narcotics police resumed attacks on protesters, with tear gas and gunfire. After 10 minutes of confrontation, peasant Yordan Rosero Estrella was wounded by gunfire and taken to Villagarzon hospital. At 3:34 p.m. Yordan arrived at the hospital without vital signs because of the severity of his injuries.”

The full statement can be read here.

Webinar this Thursday

On Thursday June 3, Danilo Rueda from Justice and Peace will be speaking on a Peace Brigades International convened webinar about the urgent situation in Colombia, including what happened in Putumayo yesterday.

To register for that webinar, please click here.

 

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