Kath Nygaard (interpretation), Brent Patterson (PBI-Canada), Javier Garate (PBI-Colombia), Paul Manly (MP), Fiona Meyer Cook (PBI-Canada), Danielle Mulima (MP assistant), Karen Hamilton (Above Ground), Ivan Madero (CREDHOS).

On April 27, Peace Brigades International-Canada convened a meeting with Paul Manly (Member of Parliament, Nanaimo-Ladysmith).

Several issues were discussed, most notably:

The dangerous situation for environmental defenders in Colombia

Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world for environmental defenders. Last year, 177 human rights defenders were killed in Colombia. Last month, CREDHOS president Ivan Madero received yet another death threat. He has called on the Colombian state to provide protection and security guarantees for all defenders.

The Canadian companies supporting fracking in Colombia

ExxonMobil was recently authorized by the Colombian National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) to conduct a fracking pilot project in the Magdalena Medio region. The Toronto-based company Sintana Energy owns 30 per cent of that exploration block. Additionally, Calgary-based Canacol Energy has been assessing its potential to frack in Colombia and has recently spoken hopefully about being able to proceed with that.

Concerns about Export Development Canada financing

Export Development Canada has signaled fracking as an investment opportunity for Canadian companies. It has also provided financing to Calgary-based Parex Resources despite concerns expressed by Colombians about the environmental and human rights implications of its Aguas Blancas operations. Above Ground has called on EDC to stop providing financing to Canadian and foreign oil and gas companies (on average $13.8 billion a year).

Later in the week, on April 29, many of these issues were highlighted by Ivan, Karen and other speakers in this webinar.

On April 28, PBI-Colombia tweeted: “Today, PBI accompanies members of the human rights organizations CSPP in Bogota and COSPACC in Yopal within the framework of guarantees for peaceful social protest.”

In this tweet from late in the day, the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP) highlights that there were 14 raids and 7 attacks on human rights defenders in Bogotá; and that 20 people were injured, 24 people were detained, and that there were 49 complaints about police violence.

The Campaña Defender la libertad has tweeted that there was a systematic attack by public forces that targeted the eyes of those protesting, including Leidy Cadena.

Aljazeera further notes: “As rain poured down on protesters and helicopters flew overhead in Bogota’s main public square, riot police fired tear gas at approximately 3pm [local time] to disperse crowds.”

And there is now official confirmation that two people died at the demonstrations.

On November 23, 2019, following the killing of 18-year-old Dilan Cruz by the ESMAD riot police at a national strike at that time, PBI-Colombia commented: “Social and peaceful protest is a human right, above all, disproportionate repressions cannot be justified against the civilian population, we ask for guarantees and respect for life.”

The context of the strike was opposition to “tax reform” (reforma tributaria) as well as other unpopular measures including fracking and glyphosate spraying.

VOA reports: “The strike was a reaction to proposed tax hikes by the administration of embattled Colombian President Iván Duque. The widely unpopular tax reform would add a 19% tax on things like Internet service, gasoline, electricity, water, among other things, and impose income taxes on people who earn more than $700 a month.”

Reuters adds that government measures could also include increasing the retirement age and making it easier to fire workers.

PBI-Colombia has provided accompaniment to the CSPP since 1998 and the Social Corporation for Community Advice and Training (COSPACC) since 2009.

#ParoNacional28A

PBI-Colombia has posted on its Instagram page: “PBI accompanied the Small-Scale Farmer Association of the Cimitarra River Valley (ACVC) which on April 9, the National Day of Memory and Solidarity with the Victims of the Armed Conflict, made the socialization of the report ‘They wanted to kill us’ to the Commission for the Clarification of the Truth, in the village of Puerto Matilde in the municipality of Yondó, Antioquia.”

ACVC-RAN notes on its webpage: “The event was presented by the president of the Truth Commission Father Francisco José de Roux (Father Pacho), the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights (CREDHOS), the Middle Magdalena Development and Peace Program (PDPMM) and the peasant of the Peasant Reserve Zone of the Cimitarra River Valley. It also features international accompaniment from International Action For Peace IAP and Peace Brigades International PBI.”

“This report talks about the impacts in the context of the armed conflict on the peasant movement of the Middle Magdalene. An effort by the peasant to contribute to the clarification of truth from memory and analysis of facts relating to persecution, stigmatization and forced displacement to the peasant movement between 1990 – 2010. Events and affectations were also presented to peasant women highlighting the important role each of them has played during the struggle and agricultural resistance of the peasant movement.”

It adds: “The ACVC submitted a series of requests to the Commission for the Clarification of Truth and the Colombian State which are placed in the historic claims of the peasant. That the state recognizes its responsibility, that the right of truth is guaranteed, that progress in international jurisprudence is recognized, that the state complies with the legal recognition of the ZRC-VRC and that there are guarantees for life and work.”

PBI-Colombia has previously explained: “For more than twenty years the ACVC has been striving for a dignified life for peasant families affected by Colombia’s internal conflict. It promotes the implementation of the Peace Agreement as a strategy to achieve structural changes in the Colombian countryside. One of its prime initiatives is helping small farmers substitute coca leaf plantations with environmentally sustainable agricultural projects.”

PBI-Colombia has accompanied ACVC since 2007.

On April 9, the @ACVCRAN made the socialization of the report ‘They wanted to finish us’ at the @ComisionVerdadC and @FranciscoDeRoux. Our IAP team was present to accompany the event together with @Credhos_Paz, @PDPMM1 and @PBIColombia.”

The Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission has reported: “On Saturday, April 24, around 12:00 p.m. we received information on new death threats against environmental leader Jani Silva by the criminal structure Command of La Frontera CDF.”

Their article further notes that the PUT 8, PUT 12 and Platanillo blocks located on the Perla Amazónica Peasant Reserve Zone (ZRCPA) in Putumayo are now held by the Chilean owned GeoPark oil and gas company.

It also highlights with concern that the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has entered into agreements with GeoPark for projects in Putumayo.

The link provided in the article quotes a UNDP Colombia official who says: “This strategic alliance will allow us to integrate GeoPark’s experience in the territory with our comprehensive development solutions … making sure that no one is left behind and supporting the private sector to move forward in meeting the 2030 Agenda.”

Last week, Amnesty International launched this video and a campaign to demand that Colombian authorities immediately take effective measures to guarantee the safety of Jani who has experienced multiple threats.

Amnesty International has highlighted: “Jani Silva has dedicated her life to protecting the Amazon and the life that exists in it from efforts by armed groups and multinational companies to take control of her territory.”

She has suffered death threats in retaliation for her work, but the Colombian authorities have not developed a comprehensive and efficient plan to guarantee her safety.

Jani is accompanied by the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission, which in turn has been accompanied by PBI-Colombia since 1994.

The full update from the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission can be read at: Nuevas amenazas contra la integridad de lideresa Jani Silva.

Peace Community video of the roads.

On April 23, the San José de Apartadó Peace Community posted this article that highlights their concerns about road construction.

The Peace Community says: “In recent weeks, an onslaught of illegal road construction has been implemented on the roads of San José de Apartadó. We know that the biggest drivers of these roads are the paramilitaries [using and extorting money for fuel for the] machines [that] belong to the XVII Brigade of the Army.”

The Peace Community further notes concern that the roads are part of a strategy to “exploit the natural resources of our region” and strip people of their land.

They highlight: “Perhaps most perversely, the objectives of this false ‘progress’ or ‘development’ are disguised as directed at the service of transnational mining and energy resource extraction companies that destroy the environment and human health and from an economic transformation from agriculture to livestock, not less destructive, not only of the environment but also of traditional food production, essential for life.”

Last month, PBI field team in Urabá also raised the concern about mining companies and provided this context for the situation:

“A consequence of the Peace Agreement between the former guerrilla group, FARC-EP, and the Colombian government has been a commodification of territories that, due to the armed conflict, were on the periphery of the market system. In the case of the Peace Community, this means defending land from mining companies that have come into the area to exploit the wealth of natural resources.”

An article in Yes! Magazine earlier this year provides the further context of an additional threat to the Peace Community:

“The Peace Community, in addition to suffering [a] new wave of violence [after the Peace Agreement], is also under the threat of losing their communal land from a state project of agrarian reform, according to Germán Romero, a lawyer with dhColombia, a nonprofit organization in charge of representing the community in court to seek justice for the violence they have experienced.”

“Local politicians and entrepreneurs who are against the community accuse them of having stolen the lands they cultivate, a claim Romero dismisses.”

That article adds: “[Romero] says the community has survived physical extermination but might not survive the state’s project of redistribution of land.”

The PBI team also quotes Jesús Emilio, a member of the Peace Community’s Internal Council, who echoes this profound existential concern for the community: “It is possible that we will lose the fight against multinationals and the State. But at least we will provide humanity with the story of our struggle.”

The full article by the Peace Community can be read here.

PBI-Colombia, which has accompanied the Peace Community since 1999, was present at the community’s 24^th anniversary gathering on March 23^rd this year.

20-year-old Yuvelis Natalia Morales is a member of AguaWil.

On April 26, Colombian Senator Antonio Sanguino tweeted: “Given the difficult human rights situation that leaders and environmental leaders are going through in Puerto Wilches, we have approved in [the Senate of Colombia’s Peace Commission] a public hearing to listen to the communities that have received threats and demand actions that protect the lives of environmental defenders.”

The Peace Commission is a body that includes legislators from diverse political parties engaged in the search for peace and security.

In response, environmental defender Carlos Andrés Santiago tweeted: “Many thanks to [the Peace Commission] for approving this hearing requested by [the Alliance for a Colombia Free of Fracking] to learn about the threats against environmental defenders who oppose fracking in Magdalena Medio. That defending the water does not cost your life.”

The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) has recently authorized two fracking pilot projects in the vicinity of Puerto Wilches.

This past February, the Alliance for a Colombia Free of Fracking reported on threats suffered by several young people from the Committee for the Defence of Water, Life and Territory of Puerto Wilches (AguaWil) due to their opposition to fracking.

20-year-old Yuvelis Natalia Morales was one of the AguaWil activists threatened.

Following that, 34 members of the Colombian Congress wrote to President Ivan Duque stating: “We have been informed of serious threatening acts against several young women from Aguawil, which occurred in recent weeks. The harassments have coincided with public debates around questioning the [fracking pilot projects] and have been directly executed by armed individuals who conceal their identification and who openly justified their threats due to the social activism carried out by the young people of Aguawil.”

That letter also highlighted: “Members of the Police have removed posters ‘No to Fracking in Puerto Wilches’ posted by members of this committee, in a clear persecution of their work as environmental defenders.”

PBI continues to follow this situation.

Colombian environmental defender Yuli Velasquez opposes fracking.

The Colombian business information portal Portfolio reports: “A new hydrocarbon company began to appear on the radar for fracking tasks for the development of unconventional deposits (YNC) in the national territory.”

“This is the Canadian multinational Canacol, which announced in recent days the first exploratory results of an independent prospective evaluation of shale oil in two of its blocks (VMM-2 and VMM-3), in the Magdalena Medio basin.”

The article further notes that Canacol’s development partner for the VMM-2 block is ExxonMobil, while in the VMM-3 block it is ConocoPhillips and Shell.

Canacol vice-president Mark Teare says: “Canacol has moved quickly to secure partners such as ConocoPhillips Colombia, ExxonMobil and Shell to undertake de-risking the potential of these resources in the three blocks [VMM-2, VMM-3 and Santa Isabel].”

Last week, Canacol CEO Charle Gamba stated: “[The] independent assessment of the prospective unconventional resources reaffirms the materiality and significant potential of Canacol’s unconventional shale oil blocks.”

Gamba further commented that the approval of the ExxonMobil Platero and Ecopetrol Kale fracking pilot projects are “positive steps towards realizing the commercial potential of the unconventional shale oil field in Colombia and specifically for the resources prospects that we have through our position in the Middle Magdalena Valley basin.”

Notably, the ExxonMobil Platero fracking pilot project is located on the VMM-37 block in which another Canadian transnational corporation – Toronto-based Sintana Energy Inc. – has a 30 per cent interest.

There is also the concern that other Canadian companies could become involved in fracking in Colombia, notably Parex Resources.

In 2017, Oscar Sampayo noted: “What worries us is that in 2014 Parex directly entered Magdalena Medio in block VMM9. This block is located in the municipality of Simitarra in Santander. That block is destined for the development of a nonconventional deposit using fracking.”

PBI-Canada continues to follow this situation closely.