Christian
Peacemaker Team Receives Death Threats, then Threatened with
Deportation
Update:
the Deportation
Order has been
Rescinded
This is significant. The human rights
workers of the Christian Peacemaker Team not only help Colombians
directly, they are also a very important part of the network which
gets information up to us in the United States about what is really
going on in Colombia. Below are two mailings from the CPT, the
first about the death threat, the second about the order of
deportation. There is also a list of addresses and fax numbers
of folk to whom we can write about this. If you feel so moved,
please write a letter to the editor about this.
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I. Paramilitaries
Plan to Kill a Member of the
Christian Peacmaker Teams in Colombia
Dear
Friends of the CPT team here in Colombia. We have recently learned that
there may be a plan under way by the paramilitaries to kill a member of
our team. We ask for your prayers and support at this time. Find below
the press release, a statement of conviction and some ideas for
possible actions for you to take at this time.
* * *
William for the team here in Barrancabermeja, Colombia
Monday, August 12, 2002 Contact: Charles (Carlos) Spring +(011)-57-7-621-8777 +57-1-585-7657
http://www.prairienet.org/cpt/colombia.php
POSSIBLE PLAN TO KILL A MEMBER OF CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKER TEAMS (CPT)
Barrancabermeja, Colombia Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has recently
learned that members of an illegal right-wing self-defense
organization, commonly known as the "paramilitary," may have a plan to
kill a member of the CPT team here.
Through a reliable source, CPT members learned late last week that the
paramilitary has been unhappy with public statements that CPT has made
concerning the actions of the paramilitary in this area and is
considering killing a CPT volunteer in response. CPT has denounced
violence and human rights abuses committed by all armed actors
operating in this area
(including the paramilitary, the guerrilla and the state armed forces.)
The possibility of violence being directed against a member of CPT is
discussed here in a spirit of prayer and commitment to the gospel of
life for all Colombian people. The CPT team prays for those who make
such threats. Information about this matter is being shared with
churches around the world, with US and Canadian Embassies, and other
relevant government bodies and organizations which may have an interest
in such events.
CPT's team in Barrancabermeja expects to carry on its work with more
than average precaution in the near future, but it has no plans to
evacuate. CPT's primary focus will continue to be accompaniment of the
civilian families in the Opon Township and in the Cimitarra Valley who
live in constant danger because of the cycle of violence that grips
Colombia. "We will continue to ask all armed actors to lay down their
weapons and enter into the creative effort of searching for nonviolent
solutions to their problems," stated Lisa Martens, as she left to
accompany the rural population outside this Colombian city.
At this time, the CPT team is issuing a "statement of conviction" to
explain the framework for our presence here in Colombia (see attached.)
We are also asking for people to find creative ways to denounce the
violence of the paramilitary and all armed actors here in Colombia,
violence that is generally directed at the most vulnerable. A list of
ideas of possible actions is also attached.
STATEMENT OF CONVICTION:
We would like our wishes, as stated below, to be respected in the event
that members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Colombia are harmed
or killed by any of the armed groups currently targeting civilians.
Whatever happens in the coming days or months, we believe life will
ultimately claim victory over death, and what we are sowing in tears we
will one day reap with songs of joy (Psalm 126.) Should we be caught in
the middle of a conflict situation or taken hostage, we reject the use
of force to save our lives. In the event that we die as a result of
violent action, we reject the use of violence to punish the people who
killed us. We ask that people regard our deaths as no more tragic than
the murders of tens of thousands of Colombians over the past fifty
years and we ask that all legal nonviolent means be taken to ensure
that these deaths do not continue.
All of us who are part of CPT recognize there are certain risks
inherent in this work. We believe that until people committed to
nonviolence are willing to take the same risks for peace that soldiers
are willing to take for war, people will always choose violence as the
most viable solution to their problems.
If we are harmed, we ask that the perpetrators be held accountable for
their actions. At the same time, we ask that people who care about us
look into the root causes of violence found amongst oppressed peoples
struggling for liberation, justice and peace. If more blood is shed on
our account, then our deaths will have been in vain.
If we are killed, we hope that our deaths will promote the sort of
soul-searching that leads to a rejection of armed conflict
characteristic of the violence here. Following the central tenet of our
faith, we refuse to hate the people who harm us (Matthew 5). We believe
that those best able to love their enemies will ultimately emerge as
victors in this bloody conflict.
Scott Kerr (Downers Grove, Illinois, U. S. A.) Lisa Martens (Winnipeg,
Manitoba, CANADA) William Payne (Toronto, Ontario, CANADA) Matt Schaaf
(Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA) Carol Spring (Palo Alto, California, U. S.
A.) Charles Spring (Palo Alto, California, U. S. A.)
August 12, 2002
CPT is an international initiative of the Mennonite Church, the Church
of the Brethren, Quakers (Society of Friends) and other followers of
Jesus Christ, Catholic and Protestant who share the goal of reducing
violence in situations of war or conflict. CPT is founded on the
principle of "love of enemy." The membership of CPT believes that all
conflicts can be resolved without the possession or use of weapons or
of any form of violence or coercion, including and especially lethal
violence. CPT invites all armed actors to lay down their weapons and
engage in the creative process of searching for nonviolent ways of
attaining their goals.
POSSIBLE ACTION IDEAS FOR PEOPLE IN NORTH AMERICA WHO WISH TO SUPPORT
THE CPT TEAM AT THIS TIME: Monday, August 12, 2002
In recent weeks, armed conflict involving legal and illegal armed
groups in the area around Barrancabermeja has caused new displacements
of civilians. Also, last week, Christian Peacemaker Teams' Colombian
team was informed of a possible plan to kill a member of the team here.
CPT calls for actions to draw attention to and reduce violence against
national and international civilians in the area. Actions may include
prayers, phone calls and letters to officials, as well as public
witness actions. We believe it is important to remind the Colombian
government that it is their role to make sure that nationals and
internationals do not become victims of violence perpetrated by illegal
armed groups. Actions done collectively by church communities are
especially encouraged.
Possible actions:
Phone or write one or more people (Congressperson, member of
parliament, your embassy in Colombia, Colombia's embassy or consulate
closest to you, the Colombian president, etc.) and call for nonviolent
measures to make life safer for the civilian population in the Opon
township and the Cimitarra Valley in the Magdalena Medio region of
Colombia, and for internationals working in these areas.
Contact U. S. government representatives and ask for the closing of the
U. S. Army School of the Americas (now called the Western Hemisphere
Institute for Security Cooperation or WHISC), the school where many
Colombian soldiers have been trained in methods that continue to harm
the Colombian civilian population.
Contact your embassy in Colombia and ask them what they are doing to
call on the Colombian government to protect nationals and
internationals in the area of Barrancabermeja.
Gather together with other concerned people in some public place (in
front of the Colombian consulate or embassy or some other symbolic
place) for a time of prayer. Read the CPT team's statement of
conviction. Invite the local media.
Join an upcoming CPT delegation to Colombia (the next delegation is in October, 2002.)
Pray!
Some contact information to get you started:
U. S. Congress: Tel. 202-224-3121 (ask for your Representative or Senator by name)
U. S. Embassy in Bogotá: Tel. 011-57-1-315-0811 Fax 011-57-1-315-2163 Ambassador Anne Patterson
Colombian Ambassador to the United States: Luis Alberto Moreno Fax:
202-232-8643 Embassy of Colombia, 2118 Leroy Pl. NW, Washington DC 20008
President of Colombia: Álvaro Uribe, Palacio de Narino, Carrera 8 No. 7-26 Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
auribe@presidencia.gov.co
Barrancabermeja City Hall: Julio Cesar Ardilla Torres (mayor)
011-57-7-621-4809
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II. Christian
Peacemaker Teams in
Colombia Receive Order of Deportation
August 26, 2002 COLOMBIA: CPTers ORDERED DEPORTED
On Friday evening, August 23, CPTers Duane Ediger (Dallas, TX) and
Scott Kerr (Downers Grove, IL) were issued deportation orders after
brief interviews at a government office in Barrancabermeja. More CPTers
have been called for interviews this week, with similar outcomes
expected. The Colombian government's "administrative" action claims
that CPTers violated the terms of their tourist visas.
Recent changes in Colombia's immigration regulations mean CPTers no
longer qualify for the type of long-term visas they used to receive.
Though other visa arrangements are being developed, these regulation
changes have left many team members with no immediate, practical form
of entry into the country other than on tourist visas.
Today (Monday), Ediger and Kerr will meet with high-level government
officials in Bogotá and take other actions toward a solution that will
allow CPT both to continue its presence protecting the human rights of
Colombian civilians and to respect the legitimate demands of government
authorities.
For over a year, CPT's team of six to twelve trained peacemakers has
provided an international presence protective of civilians. The
presence has deterred human rights violations by armed groups and has
played a key role in allowing over eighty war-displaced families to
return to their homes in the rural areas around this city. Until the
present, CPT Colombia has been able to maintain its presence in the
regions where campesinos say their ability to stay depends on it.
CPT Colombia has implored members of all of the armed groups -- those
legally constituted as well as the leftist guerrilla and rightist
paramilitary groups "in the margin of law" -- to throw their guns in
one of the region's abundant rivers and find non-lethal ways of
pursuing justice and peace.
Three weeks ago the team received its first death threat from
paramilitaries, apparently upset by eyewitness reports the team had
written. The team issued a statement of conviction, stating their
refusal to value their own lives above those of Colombian civilians
under threat.
CPT-Colombia invites your prayers
as the team faces this new threat of deportation. If the orders are
carried out, those deported may not be allowed to re-enter Colombia for
eighteen months.
* * *
Christian
Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Mennonite and Church of the
Brethren congregations and Friends Meetings that supports violence
reduction efforts around the world. Contact CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL
60680, TEL. 312-455-1199 FAX 312-432-1213 / To receive news or
discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the form found on our WEB
page at http://www.prairienet.org/cpt/
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U. S. Embassy in Bogotá:
Tel. 011-57-1-315-0811
Fax 011-57-1-315-2163
Ambassador Anne Patterson
Colombian Ambassador to the United States:
Luis Alberto Moreno
Fax: 202-232-8643
Embassy of Colombia
2118 Leroy Pl. NW
Washington DC 20008
President of Colombia:
Álvaro Uribe,
Palacio de Narino,
Carrera 8 No. 7-26 Santafe de Bogota,
Colombia
auribe@presidencia.gov.co
Ohio Senator DeWine's fax: 202-224-6519
Ohio Senator Voinovich's fax: 202-228-1382
U. S. Congress: (ask for your Representative or Senator by name)
Tel. 202-224-3121
COLOMBIA: DEPORTATION UPDATE
On
Friday, August 30, Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) received word that
the Colombian government intends to reverse the deportation orders
given to two or all four CPTers during the prior week.
CPTers Duane Ediger (Dallas, TX) and Scott Kerr (Downers Grove, IL)
were issued deportation orders Friday, August 23; and Ben Horst
(Evanston, IL) and Chris Schweitzer (Siler City, NC) received orders on
Thursday, August 29. Kerr and Ediger left the country August 26 and 27,
on their original schedules. All orders included an 18-month ban on
re-entry. Conversations between Colombian supporters of CPT and
high-level government officials led to the decision to revoke the
deportation orders. In addition, Colombian authorities have indicated
that they will facilitate perhaps with some as yet undetermined
restrictions the granting of appropriate visas to CPT members. Further
negotiations are scheduled for Monday, September 2. CPT understands
that this visa emergency may be one expression of an overall policy to
constrict the eyes and ears of Colombians and international persons or
organizations at a time when military elements including 600 US
trainers are preparing for major assaults on disputed communities and
regions.
Many
thanks to all who have offered prayers, messages of support, and
expressions of concern to policy makers during these difficult days.
Please continue to pray for a positive outcome as discussions with the
Colombian government regarding CPT's presence in the country proceed in
the coming days.
Current team members in
Colombia are: Scott Albrecht (Waterloo, ON), Penn Garvin (Miflinburg,
PA), Ben Horst (Evanston, IL), Lisa Martens (Winnipeg, MB), Doug
Orbaker (Miflinburg, PA), William Payne (Toronto, ON), and Chris
Schweitzer (Siler City, NC).