By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 QUITO, Ecuador – Delegates from a bilateral commission recently convened to establish a plan to help the tens of thousands of Colombian refugees who are currently living in Ecuador. 

As many as 15,000 additional refugees are expected to flee war-torn Colombia for Ecuador this year alone. 

The talks were chaired by senior officials from both nations and although no solution was reached, the delegates involved agreed to deepen cooperation to lobby governments for aid to the refugees.

Currently, 53,000 Colombians are officially living in Ecuador as refugees, although many experts suspect that there are 135,000 Colombians who have fled to Ecuador.  There are also 80,000 additional refugees still living on Ecuadorian soil who are in need of protection.  Colombians are fleeing their home country in droves to escape rebel violence.

Although the refugee problem has been long-recognized, solutions have been slowed by Colombia’s refusal to accept responsibility.  Alfonso Morales, the head of the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry’s department for refugees, said this week that the country has spent $40 million to attend to the refugees’ needs, while its neighbor to the north has contributed just $625,000 since 2000.  By many accounts, however, this meeting is an important first step towards a resolution.

The delegates’ primary objective for these meetings is to develop a comprehensive strategy to return displaced Colombians back to their home country and to ensure that the rights of the refugees are fully protected.

In addition to the tens of thousands of Colombians that continue to be forced to flee the country due to the ongoing violence, reports claim that the population of internally displaced Colombians has grown from 1 million to more than 4 million since 2004.  The human rights group Codhes says that 2.4 million Colombians were driven from their home country from 2002 to 2009, estimating that the total number of displaced people is now up to 4.9 million.

The delegates said that the next bilateral meeting will be held on Oct. 14 in Bogota and include the participation of representatives from the U.N. Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration.

For more information, please see:

 Inside Costa Rica – Firm Steps Toward Normalization of Ecuador-Colombia Relations – 17 September 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Ecuador, Colombia Begin to Address Refugee Issue – 17 September 2010

Colombia Reports – Ecuador Expects 15,000 more Colombian Refugees this Year – 13 September 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia—The U.S. State Department has given certification to Congress that Colombia meets “statutory criteria related to human rights.”  This disburses the last funds that the U.S. pledged to give the Colombian military, an amount exceeding $30 million.

The U.S. State Department acknowledged that despite issuing the remaining funds, impunity in Colombia remains a concern.  The State Department asked Colombia’s justice system to strengthen the fight against human rights violations.

Colombia’s Prosecutor-General’s office is in need of organization and is noted for slow response times to crimes.  The State Department encouraged the Prosecutor-General’s office to effectively investigate wiretapping and surveillance frequently conducted by Colombia’s Department of Administrative Security (DAS).

Just sworn in on August 7 of this year, Colombia’s new President Juan Manuel Santos has been making strides against criminal groups operating in the country and threatening human rights activists.  The Santos administration has started illustrating a commitment to human rights, creating a labor roundtable, meeting with NGOs and attempting to improve the relationship with the judicial system.

President Santos was pleased with the certification by the State Department and called the decision “just” in a statement posted on the presidential website.  He went on to admit that there is much work to be done for the future:  “This is good news and more than anything just because it recognizes the attempt we’ve been making against a problem that no one denies.  Everyone knows that it existed and still exists, but to lesser extent.”

The State Department released a press statement explaining that Colombia took “positive steps to improve respect for human rights in the country.  Firm direction by the government that extrajudicial killings will not be tolerated has led to a rapid reversal in this disturbing trend.”  The Department also took note, however, that “there continues to be a need for improvement.”

The money will be used to help Colombia combat drug trafficking and widespread guerilla violence.  It will also go towards monitoring human rights abuses by security forces.

Since 2000, Colombia has received over $6 billion in U.S. military and other aid under what is known as Plan Colombia.  This initiative was constructed in hopes of decreasing leftist rebels, far-right militias and the notorious Colombian drug trade.

For more information, please see:

RTT News-US Certification For Colombia’s Human Rights Record-16 September 2010

Colombia Reports-Santos welcomes ‘just’ US certification on human rights-15 September 2010

AP-US OKs $30 million in military aid to Colombia-15 September 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – Jesus Enrique Majano Rodriguez, an engineer working for the state-owned utility company Corpoelec, was arrested for attempting to “incite his followers against the figure of the president of the republic,” via the social networking site Twitter.  Majano Rodriquez allegedly posted photos of President Chavez with wounds on his face and purportedly described how the assassination could be successfully carried out.

This is not the first time that the Venezuelan Government has arrested citizens for making comments on Twitter.  In July, two individuals were arrested for starting false rumors and criticizing the Venezuelan banking system.

While assassination attempts have long been speculated against the Venezuelan President, Chavez himself generally denounces them, pointing the finger at foreign and domestic political rivals rather than at the Venezuelan citizens themselves.  President Chavez’s political foes have steadfastly denied any assassination attempt, and say the accusations are a way for the Venezuelan leader to divert attention away from his own government’s shortcomings.

No charges have been officially filed against Majano Rodriquez to this point, and he was released from jail on parole shortly after being detained.  Rodriguez is; however, obligated to appear in court every 15 days as the case moves forward.  Time will tell if the Government’s assertions are legitimate.

The alleged assassination plot comes only a few months after a 29-year old man was arrested in April for allegedly plotting a separate plan to harm President Chavez.  Public unrest continues to grow as Venezuela experiences a shortfall in basic goods, including food, and a seemingly ever-increasing crime rate.

The recent explosion of social networking websites creates a problem for a country that appears to keep a firm grasp on its media.  Social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, may pose a threat to the Venezuelan Government’s ability to control the information that reaches the masses.

For more information, please see:

Wire Update – Venezuelan engineer released after being arrested for alleged twitter death threats against President Chavez – 11 September 2010

Caribbean 360 – Venezuelan Twitters President Assassination Plot – 10 September 2010

ABC News – Man Used Twitter to Try to Kill Chavez – 9 September 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Venezuelan Charged with Chavez Assassination on Twitter – 9 September 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – Several Chilean lawmakers have joined the indigenous Mapuche-lead hunger strike against dictatorship-era terror laws. Tucapel Jimenez, Hugo Gutierrez, Sergio Aguilo and Manuel Monsalve, who belong to a human rights commission in the lower house of the Chilean Congress, have demanded that President Sebastian Piñera begin negotiations with the inmates.

The Chilean government has been critical of the congressmen’s actions, calling them “irresponsible and populist.”  During a recent visit to the Arica-Parinacota region of Chile, President Piñera added that he expected the lawmakers’ behavior to be “as deputies of the Republic, with responsibility” and to take measures to solve the problem instead of making it worse.

The four congressmen involved in the hunger-strike visited several Mapuche prisoners in Temuco jail. When they refused to leave, the prison guards apparently removed the legislators forcefully. 

Commenting on the removal, Congressman Aguilo said that“[w]e left a meeting we were having with the (Mapuches); we were tricked, they told us that it was to talk about a practical matter and there they told us that we would be forced to leave. They didn’t beat us, but in the scuffle my glasses were broken.”

Congressman Gutierrez said that “[t]his is the new government’s way and I think it’s a clear sign that there’s no form of dialogue here. What we experienced in one brief moment, the Mapuches have experienced historically, and I hope the government stops repressing people.”

After being removed from the facility for trying to grab onto some of the prison’s bars, the congressmen traveled to the building of the Unitary Workers’ Central and continued to vocalize the strike.

This sort of internal pressure appears to be effective to a small extent. 

Piñera recently proposed legislation that would effectively end the portion of the disputed law that allows civilians and minors to be tried by military commission.  While Piñera has taken this small step, his government has not engaged in negotiation with the Mapuche prisoners, nor does it appear that the government is willing to consider that option.

Piñera has, however, called on the Roman Catholic Church to mediate the dispute between the Mapuche and the Chilean government.

For more information, please see:

People Daily – Chilean President Criticizes Lawmakers on Strike Supporting Indigenous Mapuche – 11 September 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Politicians who Joined Inmates’ Hunger Strike Ejected from Chile Prison – 10 September 2010

BBC – Chilean MPs Join Hunger Protest by Indigenous Detainees – 9 September 2010

Reuters – Chilean Lawmakers Join Indigenous Hunger Strike – 9 September 2010