By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Last Wednesday night, August 1, 2012, the Argentinian foreign ministry sent a letter to the British government repudiating the desecration and vandalism of Argentina’s Falklands war cemetery. The cemetery was found vandalized a few days before and is the final resting place of 649 Argentine soldiers and also holds a glass case protecting Argentina’s patron said, the Virgin Mary. The glass case was found smashed.

The cemetery marks the memory of a war over possession of the islands that claimed the lives of over 600 Argentinians, 255 British soldiers, and three elderly islanders. While Argentina lost the war, the country has not given up its claim to the territory and has accused the British of ignoring UN resolutions encouraging talks over the sovereignty of the islands.

Families of the Argentinian soldiers laid to rest in the cemetery sent letters to the Argentinian foreign minister Hector Timerman and the British ambassador in Buenos Aires demanding an immediate, urgent, and exhaustive investigation.

The vandalism was believed to have happened anytime in the past week or more, said Sebastian Socodo, an Argentinian who takes care of the cemetery. Socodo also noted “It’s basically the glass that covers the Virgin Mary. They just smashed the glass. I don’t know with what or how,” and then said, “I was there a couple of weeks ago and there was no damage.”

Images of the vandalism reveal that the glass was broken by more than twelve forceful blows. The actual statue of the Virgin, whose blue and white colors are the only expression of Argentinian pride that are permitted in the islands, was removed from the cemetery to protect it until repairs can be made to the shrine and to the cemetery.

In response to the vandalism, the Argentine government has called for an “impartial investigation that identifies and punishes those responsible for a grave act that violates the sacredness of the cemetery.” The government has also presented a protest to the International Red Cross as well as the United Nations.

With the controversy over the Falklands, with the Argentine government refusing to recognize the Falklands, blamed Britain for provoking the “barbaric act” with its “hostile attitudes.”

This particular cemetery has been the main focus of attention during this past year’s 30th anniversary of Argentina’s occupation of the islands, but usually the cemetery, atop a hillside about an hour from the capital of Stanley, gets very few visitors.

For further information, please see:

Merco Press – Argentina Presents Official Protest to UK Over Malvinas Cemetery Vandalism – 2 August 2012

The Telegraph – Argentina Sends Britain Letter ‘Repudiating’ Desecration of Falklands War Cemetery – 2 August 2012

The Guardian – Argentina’s Falklands War Cemetery Vandalized – 1 August 2012

The Associated Press – Argentine War Cemetery in Falklands Vandalized – 31 July 2012

By Margaret Janelle Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombia’s second largest insurgent group, the National Liberation Army or ELN released a video today of two women taken hostage last week.  The video depicts Elida Parra Alfonso, a journalist from Radio Sarare, who was kidnapped on 24 July from her home in Saravena Municipality, Arauca Department in northern Colombia and Gina Paola Uribe Villamizar, an environmental engineer, who was kidnapped in the same borough on the same day.

The ELN initially took credit for the kidnappings on Monday in the form of a message sent to the families of the kidnapped women.

Parra and Uribe do community outreach work for contractors on the Bicentennial Pipeline, or OBC, which – once completed – will transport crude from oil fields in Arauca 600 miles to the Caribbean port of Coveñas, making it the longest pipeline in the country.  Once in operation, the pipeline will transport 125,000 barrels per day.

A consortium made up of Colombia’s state-owned Ecopetrol and seven multinationals is building the OBC, including Canadian firms Pacific Rubiales Energy and Petrominerales.

The building of the OBC has been plagued by protests and acts of violence.  In the middle of last month Colombia’s government planned to deploy 5,000 soldiers to protect the Bicentennial Pipeline.

“We’re not going to be intimidated by terrorists who are trying to sabotage (the pipeline) and who are enemies of these projects,” Mines and Energy Minister Mauricio Cardenas said, when he announced the plans for enhanced protection last month. Cardenas was undoubtedly referring to leftist guerrillas who have fought a decades-old armed struggle against a succession of Colombian governments.

In the statement sent to the captives’ families, the ELN also took responsibility for the recent killing of Ricardo Mora, a manager of OBC contractor Sicim, and for a bombing at an oil pumping station.

The ELN vowed to continue its “political-military” action against the oil sector.

“Every megaproject of imperialism, multinationals and the oligarchy are and will be a military objective of the ELN, because they only benefit the capitalist system,” the rebel group said.

The ELN statement did not set forth any demands for the release of Uribe and Parra.

The ELN kidnapped 11 employees of Consorcio Casanare Avanzada, one of the contracting firms on the OBC, for a week earlier this year.

The rebels said in March that they are willing to end their offensive against the oil industry if the government agrees to make some areas off-limits and to levy a $10 per barrel “social tax” on crude production.

Amnesty International is calling for the immediate release of the two women.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – DOCUMENT – COLOMBIA: TWO WOMEN MUST BE RELEASED IMMEDIATELY – 2 August 2012

The Guardian – Colombia’s ELN guerillas release video of kidnapped women – video – 2 August 2012

Latin American Herald – Colombia Insurgents Admit Kidnapping Pipeline Employees – 2 August 2012

Colombia Reports – Female oil pipeline workers kidnapped in northeastern Colombia – 25 July 2012

Fox News Latino – Colombia to deploy 5,000 soldiers to protect new pipeline – 11 July 2012