US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA3361

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BOGOTA 003361 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2020 
TAGS: PHUM, PTER, CO, Massacre, Human Rts 
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION VISITS SAN JOSE DE 
APARTADO 
 
REF: A. BOGOTA 3224 
     B. BOGOTA 2674 
     C. BOGOTA 2619 
     D. BOGOTA 2348 
     E. BOGOTA 2156 
     F. BOGOTA 1999 
     G. BOGOTA 1918 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
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Summary 
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1.(C) On April 6, representatives of the Embassies of the 
United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Holland, 
Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden along with a representative of 
the European Commission, and the Deputy Directors of the 
Bogota offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for 
Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) traveled to Apartado for 
meetings with the peace community, local police officials and 
the 17th Brigade.  Peace community leaders reiterated to 
international representatives that they would not speak to 
GOC civilian investigators about the February 21 massacre 
until previous cases of human rights violations against the 
peace community had been solved.  Local police officials and 
the 17th Brigade told representatives that they wanted to 
work with the peace community and hoped a dialogue could 
begin.  End summary. 
 
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"La Holandita" 
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2. (U) On April 6, representatives of the Embassies of the 
United States (DCM and PolOff), United Kingdom, Canada, 
France, Holland, Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden along with a 
representative of the European Commission, and the Deputy 
Directors of the Bogota offices of the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) traveled to Apartado 
for meetings with peace community members, local police 
officials and the 17th Brigade.  The trip was organized by a 
group of international NGOs that included Peace Brigades 
International (PBI), the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) 
and the Project Counseling Service (PCS). 
 
3. (SBU) Upon arrival in Apartado, the delegation, with 
considerable security support from both the 17th Brigade and 
the local police, drove first to "La Holandita" or "San 
Josecito", the area peace community families displaced to 
when the police entered San Jose de Apartado on April 2.  "La 
Holandita" is located 10 minutes south (walking distance) of 
the peace community of San Jose de Apartado and just a few 
feet from the main road.  The peace community representatives 
claimed 80 families were living there.  The members of the 
peace community are in the process of building rudimentary 
shelters, five completed so far, with materials they were 
given by a Dutch NGO (most likely Pax Christi) approximately 
16 years ago.  The two communal shelters, which house the 
kitchens and a meeting room, consist only of a tin roof held 
up by wooden beams.  They have kitchen appliances, such as 
liquid propane gas (LPG) stoves.  There are no bathrooms 
built, so residents use a nearby river.  Peace community 
members told us the water source is an underground spring. 
The community uses a hose to retrieve the water from this 
spring.  The remaining three shelters, assumed to be the 
sleeping quarters, have walls which rise three quarters of 
the way up to the roof.  The community has one cell phone, 
which is wired to an antenna for reception.  Livestock and 
dogs wander throughout the settlement. 
 
4. (C) Upon arrival to "La Holandita", delegates were led to 
one of the communal areas, where they were joined by about 50 
members of the peace community, representatives of FOR and 
PBI, and the regional Human Rights Ombudsman ("Defensor del 
Pueblo") for a nearly three hour meeting.  Four members of 
the "Internal Council", the governing body of the community, 
addressed the international representatives.  The Internal 
Council members reiterated that, although they had all the 
evidence and witnesses to prove the military committed the 
February 21 massacre, they would not talk to any government 
investigators until the previous 156 cases of grave human 
rights violations committed against the community were 
solved.  When asked specifically what conditions the 
community would accept to present evidence, community leaders 
avoided the question and instead described cases where the 
military allegedly stole money, chickens and other foodstuffs 
and mistreated community members.  The representative from 
the French Embassy said the community had to testify if this 
case was to be solved.  He noted that he did not believe the 
military would commit a crime of this gravity particularly 
after all the training the international community had 
provided it.  He added that, if the witnesses never 
testified, this case would join the dozens of others that 
remain unresolved. 
 
5. (C) The representative from UNHCR, Fabio Varelli, observed 
that the shelters constructed in the new community looked 
very temporary.  The leaders responded that they want to 
return to San Jose de Apartado, but would not do so until the 
police presence was removed.  They considered themselves 
"internally displaced," as a result of government actions. 
However, they said they had no plans to register as 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) with the Red de 
Solidaridad (RSS) to receive assistance.  The leaders added 
that they had spoken with the Vice President's office about a 
police presence previously, but had wanted it on the road 
halfway between Apartado and San Jose de Apartado, which the 
community leaders felt would have been adequate protection, 
particularly from paramilitaries coming up from Apartado. 
The road, however, is a steep gravel road and it is unlikely 
a police station in that location would have any impact. 
 
6. (U) Community leaders said they would continue their 
dialogue with the Defensoria and the Inspector General's 
Office ("Procuraduria").  In response to a question on their 
relationship with the Procuraduria, leaders said they did not 
have a lot of contact with the office, but had met with 
representatives a few weeks prior in Bogota.  The regional 
Defensor del Pueblo, Daniel Sastoque, said the Defensoria 
would continue its presence in the community and would work 
to increase the number of visits.  The community leaders said 
FARC presence in the area was "fairly strong" but they did 
not have any contact with the group.  They also noted the 
importance of remembering that 20 of the over 150 grave 
violations that have occurred against the community were 
committed by the FARC. 
 
7. (C) Peace community leaders concluded the meeting with a 
number of proposals.  They asked the international community 
to pressure the GOC to remove the police presence from San 
Jose de Apartado.  The British DCM, on behalf of the 
delegation, said it was not the place of the international 
community to issue that request.  The community also asked 
the United Nations to write a report on the massacre, similar 
to the one written on the 2002 massacre in Bojaya, Choco 
Department.  The leaders then requested the international 
community ask the GOC to request that the UN issue such a 
report.  The community's final proposal was that the GOC's 
investigative commission, formed in 2001 with representatives 
of the Prosecutor General's Office ("Fiscalia"), 
Procuraduria, Defensoria, Vice President,s Office and a UN 
representative, be re-formed.  This request came after the 
community leaders complained about the failure of the 
investigative commission to come to any results in previous 
cases before it disbanded in 2002. 
 
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The Police in San Jose de Apartado 
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8. (C) The delegation then traveled the short distance north 
to San Jose de Apartado.  Many of the buildings, previously 
used by the peace community, are boarded and locked up, 
although at least three small "bodegas" selling drinks and 
snacks have opened since the last time Poloffs visited.  Half 
of the original population of the town reportedly remains in 
San Jose, although there were not many townspeople on the 
streets.  The police presence in San Jose de Apartado is 
noticeable, with officers walking around the community.  The 
delegation was told the force consists of 55 officers (in 
Colombia, the Police use the formulation of 1 officer for 
every 50 inhabitants), many of them from Medellin and other 
surrounding areas.  There is not yet a building dedicated as 
the police station. 
 
9. (C) The delegation met with Captain Milton Lopez, the 
commander of the recently installed police station, and 
Lieutenant Colonel Ruben Dario Clavijo, based in Apartado. 
LTC Clavijo noted that, before the permanent police presence 
arrived in San Jose, a team from Bogota, made up of a 
sociologist, psychologist, social worker, and the 
sub-director of the Colombian National Police, came to San 
Jose to open communication channels with the community. 
Captain Lopez said the community has endured a great deal of 
violence in its eight years and the fear of its members was 
understandable.  However, the police wanted to show the 
community that they were there to help, protect and guarantee 
the rights of the people in the town.  He noted that the FARC 
and the paramilitaries, both equally illegal, operate in the 
area and it is the obligation and the duty of the police to 
pursue and capture them.  Captain Lopez added that the work 
of the police force in San Jose would be to cover the entire 
area surrounding the town and that they would begin to expand 
their presence, most likely in the next couple of months, 
although the timing would depend on various factors, 
including the community.  Captain Lopez also described 
briefly the improvements officials hoped to bring to the 
town.  For example, the mayor of Apartado was in San Jose the 
day the police arrived and promised remaining residents he 
would put in new phone lines (the peace community had allowed 
only one phone line which they controlled in the town) and 
send a registered nurse for the hospital. 
 
10. (C) Captain Lopez said he wanted to work with the peace 
community and hoped they would return to San Jose.  He added 
that the "doors were always open" to begin a dialogue.  The 
representative from the European Commission was concerned 
that the government had not reached an agreement with the 
community on the police presence before they arrived on April 
2, which is part of the resolution adopted by the 
Inter-American Court.  Local police reiterated that 
discussions with high level members of the GOC and the 
community had occurred, but they were not privy to the 
discussions. 
 
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Meeting with 17th Brigade 
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11. (C) In its final meeting, the delegation met with 
Brigadier General Fandino, Commander of the 17th Brigade, 
Colonel Moreno, head of the police in the region, and various 
members of their staffs.  BG Fandino said the job of his 
brigade is to protect civilians and the military is fully 
collaborating with the Fiscalia in its investigation of the 
February 21 massacre.  He added that the peace community has 
not formally accused the Brigade of this crime in the 
Fiscalia, but based on the unofficial information that has 
circulated, the Brigade also conducted its own internal 
investigation.  Based on this, he reiterated that there were 
no troops in the area the day of the massacre.  BG Fandino 
also noted the military has issued its own formal accusation 
against Gloria Cuartas, former mayor of Apartado, Father 
Javier Giraldo, the "Corporacion Juridica Libertad" (the 
community's NGO based in Medellin), and the leaders of the 
community to the Fiscalia for slander committed against the 
Brigade.  If the Fiscalia follows up on the charge, this 
might force the peace community to deal with the police or 
Fiscalia or force a confrontation with undesirable 
consequences. 
 
12. (C) BG Fandino said both the paramilitaries and FARC 
operate in the area around San Jose de Apartado and this 
activity led to the death of two soldiers in 2004 and 13 
wounded by landmines.  In 2003, the 17th Brigade suffered the 
loss of 11 men, three sub-officials and eight soldiers.  BG 
Fandino alluded to the fact the military has been portrayed 
by the peace community as the enemy, but he stressed that 
that is not true: the Brigade wants to work with the 
community.  However, he added that only select members of the 
community are allowed to speak to the Brigade, so the Brigade 
does not know the views of the majority of the community.  He 
noted the support the army has from the general public (83 
percent) and said in 2004, as an example of this, 16 
individuals turned themselves over to the 17th Brigade to 
join the reinsertion program.  In fact, Fandino said, other 
communities in the Uraba region have requested the presence 
of soldiers in their area. 
 
13. (C) Police Captain Moreno said the military and police 
are actively pursuing all illegal groups in the area.  He 
noted the importance of remembering the police officer killed 
protecting the investigative commission and the many others 
who have died protecting civilians.  On the issue of the 
community agreeing to the police presence, Moreno said the 
community had been in discussions with Colonel Novoa, 
director of the human rights office of the National Police, 
for seven months prior discussing security measures for the 
community.  Moreno reiterated the security forces wanted to 
be part of the solution. 
 
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Comment 
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14. (C) The continued refusal of the peace community to speak 
with government investigators is causing frustration among 
the diplomatic community who want to work with both sides on 
the case.  There is a clear recognition, that without the 
testimony of witnesses the peace community says they have, 
the investigation will stall.  However, the willingness 
expressed by both officials from the local police and the 
17th Brigade to work with the community is a positive sign. 
WOOD