Cordoba To Finalize FARC Hostage Release

 By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
Five Hostages Captured by the FARC (photo courtesy of Colombia Reports)
Five Hostages Captured by the FARC (photo courtesy of Colombia Reports)

BRASILIA, Brazil – Former Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba is in Brazil to finalize negotiations with the FARC to release five hostages, including three policemen and two politicians. According to Carlos Lozano, director of the communist magazine Voz, and a member of Cordoba’s peace group “Colombians for Peace,” all of the parties involved, including the Colombian Government and the FARC, have approved the final logistics of the release.

While Cordoba has been working on this release for some time, there were several sticking points between the interested parties about the exact protocals to be used. For example, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Brazilian Government could not come to an agreement about which helicopters would be used. Brazil has a history of providing helicopters and flight crews for previous release missions.

The January release makes good on a promise from the FARC, who explicitly pledged to have the hostages home by the end of the month; however, the release was derailed earlier this month due to bad weather. The deal involves the exchange of hostages held by guerrillas with guerrillas held in Colombian and American prisons. The Colombian government has always opposed such a deal, demanding the guerrillas release their hostages unilaterally.

Cordoba’s involvement with the mission was crucial. The FARC announced that it planned to release the five hostages as an expression of support to Cordoba, who was banned from Congress because of ties to the rebels. Cordoba is hopeful for future relations with the FARC, stating that the next step will be a “humanitarian accord” resulting in the release of all hostages held by the guerrillas.

The hostages are expected the be released on five different locations in Colombia in the second half of this month.

For more information, please see:

Colombia Reports – Cordoba in Brazil to Finalize Logistics FARC Hostage Release – 11 January 2011

Colombia Reports – FARC Hostage Release by Bad Weather – 3 January 2011

Colombia Reports – 5 FARC Hostages Home in January – 1 January 2011

 

Kim orders shooting of North Korean refugees

By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, Republic of Korea — North Korean border guards shot five refugees to death and wounded two others after chasing them across the frontier into China last month, according to a South Korean newspaper.

The incident took place near Hyesan, the North’s northeastern city, on December when the refugees crossed the frozen Yalu river which separates the border with China, Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, quoting a source in China.

It said North Korean border guards followed the refugees and opened fire on the Chinese side. After the shooting, the guards dragged the bodies and the wounded back across the border with the acquiescence of Chinese authorities.

According to Chosun Ilbo, such shooting by the North Korean guards after the refugees had already crossed the river has never occurred before.

It is alleged that Kim Jong-Un, son and heir apparent to leader Kim Jong-Il, has given orders to soldiers to shoot anyone who tries to cross the border without permission.

The South’s National Intelligence Service declined to comment on the report.

Open Radio for North Korea, a South Korea based radio station which broadcasts into the North, said Kim Jong-Un on January 3 called for a major crackdown on North Korean escapees currently dwelling in China.

The directive was in response to an official complaint from Chinese security authorities that the refugees are a burden on security, the radio quoted an informed source as saying.

Kim Jong-Un, the new leader of North who is believed to have also ordered an attack on Yeonpyeong Island of South On November 23, 2010, which killed two South Korean soldiers and two civilians, has denounced the refugees for undermining the communist state’s ideological foundations, it added.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans who fled hunger and poverty under the dictatorship are believed to be struggling and suffering in China as illegal immigrants, as a large number of women are sexually trafficked. If these refugees are found in China, they are repatriated to North Korea for probable harsh punishment, many of them forced into concentration camps where they could even face execution.

China, violating the UN treaty, treats North Korean refugees as economic migrants rather than refugees, a policy criticised by rights groups.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Report: N. Korea kills five refugees inside China – 11 January 2011

The Straits Times – N. Korea Kills Five Refugees Inside China – 11 January 2011

International Herald Tribune – Low Profile of an Heir Reinforces a Mystery – 7 January 2011

FARC Vows to Step Up Violence in 2011

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Canos New Years video was released on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Colombia Reports)
Cano's New Year's video was released on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Colombia Reports)

BOGOTA, Colombia—The top-ranking leader of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) has announced that the paramilitary group will become more persistent in the year ahead, increasing its activities.  The FARC is known for guerrilla-style violence throughout Colombia, and many Colombians live in fear of the organization’s notorious operations.

Alfonso Cano, the FARC’s number one man, released a New Year’s video on Friday containing statements about the group’s activities.  The video was uploaded on YouTube and also the website of a Swedish news agency called Anncol.  Anncol has been known as a conduit for FARC messages in the past.

Cano’s video included an ominous promise:  “In 2011, we’ll redouble our activities in every sense, [drawing on] our convictions, the care that comes with experience and the valor of all our fallen fighters.”  In the 12-minute long video, Cano went on to ask legislators to focus on laws that would return land stolen from farmers by paramilitaries and pay reparations to those who have suffered under Colombia’s numerous internal clashes.  Cano is seen in front of the camera reading his words off an out-of-date Macbook Pro laptop.  The FARC leader opined that if issues like these were taken “seriously” by lawmakers, it would be a step towards “solving the conflict” that has been rampant in Colombia.

Cano inherited the top position in 2008 when the FARC’s founder, Manuel “Sureshot” Marulanda, died of natural causes.  In Friday’s video, Cano vowed to “fight for a political solution to the conflict,” but that until such a solution is found, the FARC will “develop the guerrilla war.”

Already in the new year, the FARC is thought to have been responsible for three attacks in Neiva, the capital of Huila province.  At least one person has been injured in these events; homes have sustained damages and electricity has been suspended in some areas.

On Friday, members of the FARC descended on San Vicente del Caguan, a town in the south of the country, planning to capture and occupy a police station.  Five guerrillas, three soldiers and one bystander, an 11-year-old girl, died in the incident.

The FARC has been waging war against the Colombian government since 1964 and includes between 7,000 and 11,000 paramilitary soldiers in its ranks.  At least 19 soldiers and police officers are currently being held hostage by the FARC.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Colombia’s FARC to Step Up Activities in 2011-8 January 2011

Colombia Reports-FARC to ‘redouble actions’ in 2011-8 January 2011

AFP-Colombia rebel attack leaves nine dead-7 January 2011

Two Tongan candidates question November election results

By Joseph Juhn
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – After the historic November 2010 general elections in Tonga, which marked a transition away from the 165-year rule of the monarchy, two unsuccessful candidates are alleging fraud in the election results.

According to the Tongan Supreme Court, a candidate of the Vava’u 14 constituency, Siale Fifita alleges that the winner overspent the permitted amount on the campaign, carried out election propaganda beyond the cut-off date and used bribery.

According to Mr Tuita, supreme court registrar, says a businessman, Siosaia Moehau who was just four votes behind the winner of the Tongatapu 6 constituency is convinced he won the seat as he thinks there were a number of irregularities.

“Some of the grounds stated are: voting twice, which is false impersonation; another one was lack of police control; and the other grounds is voting after declaration of the ballots; and the last but not least is voting after 4pm, that was when the voting was supposed to have ceased.”

In November 2010, general elections under a new electoral law were held in Tonga, which determined the composition of the 2010 Tongan Legislative Assembly – a first popularly-elected parliament. For the first time in the nation’s history, a party formed by a pro-democracy movement emerged as the biggest winner in the election.

Four years prior to the election, anger over government’s forced political reforms led to riots in the Capital, Nuku’alofa. During the riots, gangs targeted businesses run by ethnic Chinese people. Hundreds were injured and eight people were killed as much of the town was burned down. Tonga suffers high unemployment and a quarter of its population live below the poverty line.

The November election drew 89% of the 42,000 registered voters to cast ballots, according to election officials. King George Tupou V called the election “the greatest and most historic day of our kingdom”.

Amid expectations and concerns for this new democratic nation, this election petitions came to light.

However, the Supervisor of Elections in Tonga, Pita Vuki, says it is common for one or two unsuccessful candidates to file petitions after an election as the Electoral Act permits.

“It’s quite normal for any candidates to file a petition if they feel there was something wrong in the conduct of elections or any behavior of any other candidates.”

For more information, please see:

Radio New Zealand – Tonga Supreme Court receives election petitions – 10 January 2011

BBC News – Strong showing for Tonga democrats in election – 26 November 2010

Radio New Zealand – Two failed Tongan candidates question election results – 10 January 2011

POPULAR RESORT ROCKED BY MURDERS: 15 HEADLESS BODIES FOUND IN ACAPULCO

By Erica Laster                                                                                                                      Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

ACAPULCO, Mexico – Acapulco, a popular resort city in Mexico, has been able to boast a number of tourists in previous years.  However, a statement by Guerrero State Public Security office has confirmed the discovery of 15 headless bodies on a highway next to a popular shopping center in the city.   Police were alerted to their presence after following a trail of burning vehicles to the corpses.  The victims ranged in age from 25-30 and were all male.

An Acapulco Police Officer confronts armed gunman in attack on Saturday, January 8. Photo courtesy of CNN.
An Acapulco Police Officer confronts armed gunman in attack on Saturday, January 8. Photo courtesy of CNN.

Authorities believe the slayings to be drug related after discovering a number of hand written notes with the bodies.  Handwritten signs bore the signatures of “El Chapo’s People.”  Director of Investigative Police for Guerrero State, Fernando Monreal Levya confirmed the belief that this is a reference used by the Sinaloa Cartel, headed by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Saturday’s discovery is the largest decapitation group found in recent years.

Violence has increased in the resort city of Acapulco in recent years due to the high prevalence of drug trafficking. 

This past Saturday, two police officers and ten civilians were also killed in the city.  The police officers were a casualty of an armed attack on a police post in the Emiliano Zapata district of Acapulco.  Six of those civilians were discovered shot with their feet and hands bound inside of a local taxi.  The body of a town mayor was also discovered in northern Mexico on Saturday.

“We are coordinating with federal forces and local police to reinforce security in Acapulco and investigating to try to establish the motive and perpetrators of these incidents,” stated Director Monreal.  Over 30,196 people have lost their lives in drug related violence since 2006 offensive began against Mexican cartels to stem the flow of drugs and murders.

Associated Press – 27 Deaths, Including 14 Decapitated, Rock Acapulco – 9 January 2011

New York Times –Bodies Found Beheaded In Assaults In Acapulco, Mexico – 8 January 2011

CBS News – 14 Headless Bodies Found In Mexico Resort City – 8 January 2011

CNN – 15 Headless Bodies Found In Acapulco – 8 January 2011