By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

OTAVALO, Ecuador—New goals for social justice and diversity have been set in Ecuador.  A declaration to promote indigenous rights was signed by Latin American leaders at a summit in Otavalo.  The hope is that culturally diverse and environmentally responsible societies will be defended and encouraged.  Efforts were focused on integration and recognition of black and indigenous cultures.

The 10th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) concluded Friday.  About 300 government delegates and representatives from ALBA discussed “plurinational states” and efforts to avoid use of history that “remains written from the European or the Anglo-Saxon point of view.”  Another concern was to ensure that “countries have environmental policies to protect ecosystems.”

The text of the Declaration of Otavalo illustrates the commitment of ALBA member states to fight against racism, xenophobia and intolerance.  It also includes plans to construct an alternative model of economic sovereignty and promotes the concept of a multinational state.  The document has items on climate change and a promotion of a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth within the framework of the United Nations.  Among those signing the final document were the presidents of Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia and the vice-president of Cuba.

The Declaration of Otavalo promises that “the State will guarantee social participation and a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and the management, administration and exploitation of non-renewable natural resources.”

Outside the summit’s venue, Ecuador’s main indigenous organization protested.  Members angrily complained that their views were not being represented.  Indigenous leaders had attempted to enter the summit but were blocked by police.  The leaders had wanted to hand a written statement to Bolivia’s President Morales, who is an indigenous Aymara.

The organization, Conaie (the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), had been an important ally to Ecuador’s President Correa during elections.  Along with other indigenous organizations, Conaie represents about 40% of the country’s population.

The relationship between Correa and Conaie has been strained lately because of concerns over mining, oil development and water rights.  Conaie accuses the president of backing a mining law that would allow foreign companies to open mines on their ancestral territories.  They would like Correa to give indigenous communities in the Andes mountains and Amazon rainforest more control over their own affairs.

The presidents of Ecuador, Venezuela, and Bolivia ended the summit with a call for indigenous unity.

For more information, please see:

BBC-Protests challenge Ecuador indigenous summit-26 June 2010

Radio Cadena Agramonet-The ALBA Summit: New Goals of Social Justice-26 June 2010

El Universal-Chavez, Morales and Correa close 10th ALBA summit-25 June 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – Late last week, Venezuelan officials urged Interpol to arrest Guillermo Zuloaga, president of Globovision.  Globovision is the only Venezuelan television station still openly critical of President Hugo Chavez.  The Venezuelan Government is accusing Zuloaga of illegally storing vehicles with the intent to sell them.

Zuloaga and his son, also named Guillermo, are reported to have left the country and claim that the charges are false.  Rather, the Zuloagas claim that they are being persecuted for political purposes.  The elder Zuloaga owns a car dealership and has stated that the vehicles belong to the business.

Recently, Frank La Rue, a United Nations independent human rights expert, urged Venezuelan authorities to withdraw the warrant against Zuloagas.  La Rue echoed the sentiments of many other human rights activists when he expressed fear that the warrants are a means for the ruling government to silence political decent.  La Rue also expressed fears that the warrant illustrates a broader deterioration of expressive freedom in the country.

La Rue’s message was clear when he stated that “no Government in the world has the right to silence critics or those who oppose the State with criminal proceedings.”

The recent warrants against Zuloagas are not the only acts of intimidation committed against Globovision employees at the hands of the Chavez government.  Starting in 2001, Globovision employees have been privy to threats and harassment because they have freely exercised their expressive rights.  In 2008, the harassment and intimidation led the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to order measures to protect its employees.

The United States has also intervened in the situation out of fear that the warrants are politically motivated.  State Department spokesman Philip Crowley stated that the U.S. is “very concerned” with the warrants and that the warrants are “the latest example of the government of Venezuela’s continuing assault on the freedom of the press.”

Venezuela is a party to Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantees fundamental freedom of expression.  Although the country is bound by the terms of article, the Chavez government has done little to uphold the article’s principles.

Although Le Rue has requested a meeting with the Venezuelan government to fully assess the country’s freedom of expression standards, the request remains unanswered.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Venezuela Asks Interpol To Arrest Openly Critical TV Station’s Owner – 18 June 2010

 UN News Centre – UN Expert Urges Venezuela To Cancel Arrest Warrant Against TV Executive – 17 June 2010

Yahoo News – US Concerned By Arrest Warrant For TV Network Owner in Venezuela – 14 June 2010

LIMA, Peru – Human rights groups in Peru are complaining about setbacks in trials and leniency of punishments for security force members responsible for crimes against humanity during the Peruvian Counterinsurgency War.

The court dealing with these trials is the Sala Penal Nacional, the highest-level court dealing with human rights cases against members of the armed forces.  Since 2009, the tribunal has acquitted 65 accused and convicted only 15.  The rate of impunity within these trials is worrying human rights groups all over the country.

“There’s a clear tendency towards impunity on the part of the Sala Penal Nacional in cases of extremely serious human rights violations, that benefits members of the military and police who should be punished for the crimes they committed,” said Ronal Gamarra, executive secretary of the National Human Rights Coordinating Committee.

Many facing the tribunal have committed several crimes against humanity pursuant to orders from former Peruvian president, Alberto Fujimori.  Gamarra, who took part in the trial against Fujimori, said that those defending the accused are, in essence, “paving the way for an amnesty for the members of the criminal commandos that acted under the former president’s orders.”

While support of the military is one of the main causes of delay in judicial proceedings, military supporters allege that the delay is actually caused by human rights groups and the judiciary.  Peruvian Defense Minister and military supporter, Rafael Rey, recently reported that there is no information on the members of the military who were posted at a number of army counterinsurgency bases.  The report noted that “there are no documents because in the counterinsurgency period military personnel were given their orders verbally, using aliases as a security measure.”  Therefore, Rey concludes, military members being accused are victims of “judicial persecution.” But the lack of documents raises the inference that there was an attempt at hiding crimes against humanity.

Legal Defense Institute lawyer, Carlos Rivera, said that “in many cases, the trials drag on because the armed forces refuse to hand over information about the identity of the members of the military, who operated under aliases, or because they resist putting the accused at the disposal of the justice system.”  In lights of these facts, the military nevertheless accuses human rights groups and the judiciary of dragging out the trials, he added.

In a related investigation of several acquittals, Rivera found an “alarming” willingness of the Sala Penal Nacional to acquit defendants based on “questionable arguments.”  He noted that when perpetrators could not be identified for whatever reason, the tribunal would just assume the murders never happened.

Floria Cano, a lawyer with the Association for Human Rights, said that “Rey asks us to be tolerant of the [military].  Our response is that we are, and we will remain, intolerant of impunity.”  She added that the survivors remain eager to find out the truth and to see justice done.

For more information, please see:

Terraviva – Peru Faces Severe Setbacks for Justice in Cases Involving Military – 21 June 2010

Global Issues – Rights-Peru: Severe Setbacks for Justice in Cases Involving Military – 19 June 2010

IPS – Severe Setbacks for Justice in Cases Involving Military – 19 June 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

AMAGA, Colombia—Little hope remains for dozens of workers who are trapped in a coal mine after an explosion.  At least 18 workers were killed and over 50 are still unaccounted for.  Rescue efforts have been stifled by dangerous gases and the fact that rescuers do not have oxygen tanks.

The mine explosion occurred late Wednesday in the San Fernando mine, located in a rural town south of the Antioquia state capital.  The blast happened during a shift change in an access tunnel.  It is believed that a buildup of methane gas was to blame.

“It’s unlikely that there are any survivors given the accumulation of methane gas and carbon monoxide,” Luz Amanda Pulido, Colombia’s National Disaster director, told the Associated Press.  Rescuers have been hindered by intense heat and a collapse in the tunnel.  Officials estimate that the rescue and recovery operation could take two weeks.

President Uribe, who met with miners’ relatives, admitted he felt “helpless” given the dire situation.  “They are now bringing in some fans that were unfortunately not in place before,” he explained, referring to gas extractor fans that were missing in the mine.

Mining Minister Hernan Martinez said the mine lacked basic safety features common to the mining industry, such as a methane ventilation pipe or gas detector. Relatives of the trapped miners said temperatures inside the mine often ranged from 104 to 113 degrees.

A school near the mine was set up as a makeshift morgue.  Coroners said most of the victims died from burns caused by the explosion.  Several bodies were burned beyond recognition.  Survivor Walter Restrepo, who escaped the mine in time, recalled: “A rain of fire fell on top of me.”

The San Fernando mine has about 600 workers and is one of Colombia’s 3,000 underground mines that produce 6 million metric tons of coal each year.  Mine disasters seem increasingly common.  A similar incident occurred a year and a half ago, trapping five miners, one of whom died.  Last year, at a nearby mine, nine miners were killed by an explosion.  No new safety regulations were instituted.

Colombia’s Institute for Geology and Mining will conduct an investigation into the inadequate safety regulations in the mine.  According to Martinez, the mine will not reopen until the investigation is complete.

Half of Colombia’s population lives beneath the official poverty line and working conditions are notoriously inadequate.  High levels of unemployment force youth to risk their lives in dangerous mines that lack safe conditions.  Often the pay in these mines is very low, especially when compared to the hazards involved.

For more information, please see:

Colombia Reports-Government to take care of families of deceased miners-19 June 2010

Axis of Logic-Over 50 miners trapped in a Colombian coal mine-19 June 2010

LA Times-Little hope for 53 missing miners in Colombia-19 June 2010

AP-Little hope for trapped Colombian miners-18 June 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – The Colombian Judicial System handed down one of its most severe punishments against a member of the country’s security forces.  A retired army colonel was found guilty in the disappearance of 11 people in 1985 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.  The disappearances occurred when soldiers stormed the Palace of Justice to retake it from leftist guerrillas.

This judicial victory is due in large part to Rev. Javier Giraldo, a Colombian Catholic Priest.  Rev. Giraldo, who worked tirelessly to uncover previously unknown evidence, assured that the victims’ relatives were heard by journalists and prosecutors.  This case is a prime example of the type of work Rev. Giraldo has been pursuing for most of his life.

For the last 30 years, Rev. Giraldo has investigated some of the most egregious human rights violations and has publicly accused who he believes is responsible.  In recent years, Rev. Giraldo has been faced with increasing hostility from pro-government activists for his stance on human rights issues.  Even Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has criticized the man many call the “Marxist Priest.”

Colombia’s Government, as well as pro-government activists, have been quick to label Rev. Giraldo anti-government and a pawn for the largest guerrilla army.  Some have gone as far as to spray-paint death threats on the walls of the Colombian Capitol Building

Despite criticism from pro-government types, many view Rev. Giraldo as a blessing and as an individual who is trying to hold responsible those who committed human rights violations.  Gimena Sanchez, a Colombia specialist at the Washington Office on Latin America, described Giraldo as an “incredibly moral figure who is not linked to any armed groups.”

Giraldo, sitting in his office, surrounded by photographs of other priests who were killed for being outspoken, stated that Colombian Government tries to “denounce and delegitimize whoever helps the victims.”  The recent victory for the families of those 11 victims is a small success in an ongoing war against human rights violations.

Although the battle is not easy, Giraldo is not prepared to give up the fight because of the criticism he is taking.  “I break with a justice system that is absolutely rotten,” Giraldo said. “But I am not saying that I will stop denouncing crimes.”

For more information, please see:

The Washington Post – Priest Faces Criticism For Shining Light on Human Rights Abuses in Colombia – 12 June 2010

Minneapolis Star Tribune – Colombian retired colonel gets 30 years for disappearances in 1985 Palace of Justice takeover – 09 June 2010

IPS – “Death Threats Have Become Routine,” Says Jesuit Priest – 14 May 2010