By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia-Human rights groups are condemning the attempted kidnapping and murder of Luis Francisco Cuellar, the governor of Caquetá. The Colombian government says that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) murdered the governor in retaliation for his promise of a “safe democracy” and crackdown on rebel groups.

The governor’s son told the press that his father was murdered because he refused to walk with the kidnappers. He had severe knee pain from four previous abductions, dating back to before he was governor and had reportedly told his son that he would not walk if he was abducted again

The FARC have not confirmed or denied responsibility for the murder. Senior FARC leaders reportedly have decreased control over their units since severe government strikes over past years. There is speculation that the recent killing will thwart the scheduled release of two FARC hostages.

Amnesty International condemned the killing of a civilian government official. “Civilians in Colombia should not be forced to be part of this conflict,” said a Colombia researcher for Amnesty International. Human Rights Watch stated that the killings showed that “the FARC is once again showing its ruthlessness and complete disregard for the laws of war and the well-being of civilians”

President Uribe has rejected a political dialogue with FARC, which has been fighting the government for forty-five years. The FARC seek to swap its highest profile prisoners for the 500 guerrillas in government jails.

For more information, please see:

Asia One News-Murdered Colombian Governor “Refused to Walk:” Son-24 December 2009

Amnesty International-Amnesty Condemns Killing of Caquetá Governor-23 December 2009

Relief Web-Caquetá Governor Abducted and Killed

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay-Consumer advocacy groups report that the Paniño aquifer, depended on by forty percent of Paraguay’s population, can no longer be relied on for water that meets quality standards. The National Food and Nutrition Institute issued a press release in late November finding that faecal coliform bacteria was found in samples of eleven aquifers. In response, consumer advocacy groups called on the government to release the names of firms being monitored. The government refused.

Consumer associations have urged the public not to buy mineral water until the government guaranteed the safety of the water. The Inspector General claimed that the contamination findings were blown out of proportion by the press and that there is no threat to water safety.

The Paniño aquifer supplies 360 registered industrial water wells, used by hundreds of water bottling plants, soft drink and dairy companies, cold-storage plants and car wash firms. Only sixty-five percent of households in Paraguay receive piped drinking water from the national grid, while others rely on wells.

Advocates argue that the quality of groundwater is declining due to domestic and industrial waste, lack of controls and monitoring of wells, increased number of companies drilling wells, and a lack of oversight and regulation. Members of the Paraguayan Association of Water Resources, comprised of experts and professors report that since 2000, there has been a significant increase in nitrate levels, indicating contamination by sewage. Thirty-four percent of water samples analyzed by this group had bacteria levels above the acceptable level.

The study highlights the lack of sanitation in the area of the Patiño aquifer, where twenty-three percent of households are connected to the sewage system, and seventy-seven percent use cesspools. Cesspools often leak into groundwater. Aquifers in Paraguay’s Chaco region and the Guaraní Aquifer are also threatened by contamination. The Guaraní aquifer is the third largest subterranean aquifer in the world.

The Environment Ministry says that the public has not been completely aware of the threats to the country’s groundwater. “Today we have more information on the aquifers, but we don’t have the resources to undertake government plans to protect them,” stated one official. He pointed out that the 2007 law on water resources has not been enforced due to lack of resources.

For more information, please see:

IPS-Paraguay: Bottled Water Scare Exposes Threat to Groundwater-24 December 2009

La Ultima Hora-Todas las Aguas Superficiales Están Contaminadas-15 December 2009

ABC Digital-Instituciones Verifican la Calidad del Agua Mineral-14 December 2009

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will announce a proposal for a truth commission on Monday, aimed at answering questions about abuses that occurred during Brazil’s twenty year military dictatorship. Victims’ relatives have pointed out that the commission will only be effective if military archives are opened.

Victims’ relatives have also expressed concern that the draft version of the proposal called the new body a Truth and Reconciliation Commission rather than a Truth and Justice Commission. The draft proposal has to be approves by the Brazilian Congress. A member of the Torture never Again group expressed her concerns at a press conference saying “how can any of the families or anyone from civil society pardon or agree to reconciliation?”

Earlier this year Brazil granted amnesty and reparations to dozens of peasants who were “disappeared” in any army crackdown on a rebel movement in the Amazon. A justice ministry commission also toured Brazil this year and asked victims and their families for forgiveness and provided some compensation.

To date there have been no convictions in Brazil for participating in dictatorship-era murders and torture and has refused to make public the military archives from the period. The families of dictatorship-era victims argue that the opening of military files are key to “the showing of the truth and those responsible.”

The military and its leftists opponents both received amnesty by law in 1979. The Supreme Court is now considering a case that argues that torture is not covered by that law. Victims groups argue that the truth commission must have the power to investigate crimes, including the hiding or destroying archives. These investigations will aid in recommending criminal cases against suspects, and to send documents to courts. Brazil’s armed forces are opposed to further investigations or revisions of the amnesty law.

During the dictatorship, as many as 20,000 people were believed to have been tortured, often through the use of electric shocks and chemicals. Over four hundred Brazilians were murdered or disappeared. Victims groups have filed cases against Brazil with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, questioning the army’s role in the search for victims’ bodies in the Amazon and arguing that the Amnesty law impedes investigations of the dictatorship period.

In response to military accusations that victims’ families are seeking revenge, representatives said “we’re not looking for retaliation. What we want is justice. Brazil is the slowest country in Latin America on these issues.”

For more information, please see:

New Tang Dynasty Television-New Brazilian Human Rights Plan to Include Truth Commission-19 December 2009

Reuters-Brazil Torture Victims Want Army to Open Records-16 December 2009

New York Times-Brazil’s Lula to Propose Torture Truth Commission-14 December 2009

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

QUITO, Ecuador-Human Rights Watch is calling for Ecuador’s communications bill to be amended so as not to limit freedom of expression. The proposal includes “vague language” that would limit the content of media programing. The bill is currently being debated in Ecuador’s National Assembly. Members of the Ecuadorian press have publicly protested what they consider to be a “gag bill.”

The proposed law includes provisions stating that the exercise of communication rights will be subject to prior censorship in cases “established in the constitution, in international treaties in force, and in the law.” Another provision states that the media will disseminate “primarily contents of an informative, educational, and cultural nature.”

Those in opposition to these provisions point out that Article 13 of the American Convention of Human Rights explicitly prohibits prior censorship. The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression, adopted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, prohibits “prior censorship, direct or indirect interference in or pressure exerted upon any expression, opinion or information transmitted through any means” of communication.

Rights group are arguing for an amendment rather than that the entire legislation be scrapped because the law includes “positive measures.” These measures include a prohibition on monopolies and oligopolies in the media, subtitles or sign language to provide equal access for people with hearing disabilities, and the requirement that public bodies and private entities that manage public resources or services of this nature disclose information in their possession.

Human Rights Watch America’s Director, Miguel Vivanco argued that “an act of communication should promote rather than limit the free flow of information essential to strengthen an open debate in any democratic society.”

An especially contentious aspect of the law is the creation of the National Communication and Information Council, an eight-person body charged with overseeing the application of the law. The Council would be chaired by a presidential representative with a deciding vote.

A representative of Ecuador’s National Union of Journalists stated that the “government is looking to control every aspect of society.” One journalist argued that the new law would leave the media “subject to an endless number of sanctions.”

The International Press Institute called on Ecuador’s legislators to “exercise extreme caution” while debating the law, to ensure that local media concerns are heard and that “media freedom is not damaged.”

For more information, please see:

La Voz Libre-Human Rights Watch Critica el Proyecto de le Comunicación en Ecuador-16 December 2009

Human Rights Watch-Ecuador:Amend Draft Communications Law-15 December 2009

International Press Institute-Journalists in Ecuador Rally Against Draft Communications Law-25 November 2009

Knight Center for Journalism-Ecuador’s Disputed Media Bill Reaches Law Makers-23 November 2009

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BAGUA, Peru-Human rights groups are calling on the Peruvian government to investigate the deaths of ten indigenous and local people killed in a violent clash at a Peruvian road blockade in June of this year. An inquiry is currently underway into the deaths of twenty-three police officers that occurred on the same day.

The violence took place after 400 police officers confronted a group of indigenous protesters staging a blockade in the town of Bagua, north of Lima. The protesters used tree trunks and boulders to block a highway to express their opposition to the lifting of restrictions on mining, oil drilling, and farming in the Amazon rain forest.

The death toll at what has been described as a peaceful protest is considered to be one of the worst in Peru in over twenty years. Amnesty International reports that in addition to the ten civilian deaths, over 200 people were injured. Amnesty International’s main concern is currently the lack of investigation into the deaths of the protesters. There have been arrests related to the deaths of police officers and indigenous leaders have reported harassment by police since the incident.

Over sixty-five indigenous groups staged a series of protests demanding to be consulted on behalf of more than 1,000 indigenous communities living in the rain forest. As a result two decrees lifting development restrictions were revoked.

Family members of protesters killed in the clash say that the government should acknowledge the protesters’ “defense of the Amazon Territory.” Amnesty International has called for reparations and justice for all of the victims, not just police officers.

James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights called for a committee to investigate the incident and to monitor efforts to find individuals who have gone missing since the rallies against the decrees began. There are reports that since the since the violence, many Indigenous leaders have gone into hiding or fled Peru.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International-Victims of Peru Amazon Violence Deserve Justice Without Discrimination-10 December 2009

Huntington News-Human Rights Groups Condemn Criminal Repression of Indigenous Community in Peru-10 December 2009

National Indigenous Times-Amnesty Calls for Peru to Remember Indigenous Victims-10 December 2009