Campesino leaders from various organisations (CUC, CNOC, Waquib Aquib Kei, CLOC and Via Campesina), in a press conference in the offices of the Committee of Campesino Unity of Coatepeque, strongly denounced the murder of the lawyer and defender of street traders, Armando Donaldo Sanchez.
For Afro-Colombians evicted from their land in north-western Colombia and along the Pacific coast, the loss of familiar surroundings of lush jungle and rugged mountains can be devastating.
Take Yajaira, a slender 18-year-old, one of four children whose family was displaced from a settlement in the Cacarica river basin just south of Colombia's border with Panama.
Amnesty International today called on the Colombian Congress not to approve the draft “Victims’ Law”. This draft followed the government’s watering down of the original bill, which would have gone some way towards guaranteeing reparation to the victims of the country’s 40-year internal armed conflict.
"Amnesty International is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Raúl Hernández, Manuel Cruz, Orlando Manzanarez, Natalio Ortega and Romualdo Santiago, who have been in detention for more than six months in Ayutla, Guerrero state. After closely scrutinising their case, Amnesty International has concluded that all five are innocent of the murder charges and their detention and prosecution is politically motivated.
BOGOTA, Colombia -- The commander of Colombia's army resigned abruptly Tuesday in a widening scandal over the killing of scores of civilians, allegedly spurred by promotion-seeking officers to inflate rebel body counts.
Gen. Mario Montoya, who won wide acclaim for the bloodless hostage rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military contractors on July 2, did not mention the scandal as a factor in his retirement after 39 years of service.
