From: Vladimir =?iso-8859-1?Q?T=E1mara?= To: tematicosfarcep@hotmail.com, texcal1@hotmail.com, elbarcino@laneta.apc.org, info@movimientobolivariano.org Subject: Por favor liberar secuestrados Recibí la información anexa de a acuerdo a la cual, un frente de las FARC ha secuestrado a monseñor Jorge Enrique Jiménez. Cómo un colombiano más, uno que cree en Dios, les solicito humildemente dejar en libertad a todas las personas que tiene secuestradas. La libertad es regalo de Dios, por favor no la arrebaten. También les solicito buscar y aplicar soluciones no violentas. De que sirve un ídeal, si el camino para alcanzarlo está manchado de sangre? Dificil para mi convencer a alguien de creer en Dios (pero Él puede), ojala pudieramos entender o considerar que las palabras de Jesús están vivas hoy, en particular amarnos los unos a los otros como Él nos ama, en particular no matar. Con amor, humildad, repseto y sin excusas, un colombiano que quiere la paz de Dios Vladimir Támara Patiño ----- Forwarded message from fip ----- Envelope-to: vtamara@localhost Delivery-date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 17:08:35 +0100 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft Exchange V6.0.5762.3 To: tamara@gateway1-nehmer.informatik.uni-kl.de MMDF-Warning: Parse error in original version of preceding line at okarina.informatik.uni-kl.de Subject: PRENSA INTERNACIONAL COLOMBIA 12-11-02 Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 11:01:18 -0500 X-MS-Has-Attach: yes X-MS-TNEF-Correlator: Thread-Topic: PRENSA INTERNACIONAL COLOMBIA 12-11-02 Thread-Index: AcKKZJQmc1YHvMvGQ6WZ6sRsCxxJdgAAAq9Q From: fip X-OriginalArrivalTime: 12 Nov 2002 16:01:21.0581 (UTC) FILETIME=[BE6A85D0:01C28A64] X-UIDL: 1286147734b5c95c80c6b2abfd8b480e 12 de noviembre de 2002 ÍNDICE DE ARTÍCULOS SECUESTRAN A OBISPO DE ZIPAQUIRÁ Y PÁRROCO DE PACHO EL NUEVO HERALD: Rebeldes colombianos secuestran a un obispo (Texto completo) GONZALO GUILLEN Tue, Nov. 12, 2002 Monseñor Jorge Enrique Jiménez, presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal Latinoamericana y obispo de la ciudad colonial de Zipaquirá (situada a 40 kilómetros al norte de Bogotá), fue secuestrado ayer por un frente de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) cuando estaba en una gira pastoral por una serie de aldeas rurales de su jurisdicción, según informaron a El Nuevo Herald fuentes militares. El pastor, de más de 60 años de edad, cayó en poder del frente 42 de las FARC, junto con el sacerdote Desiderio Orjuela, párroco del municipio de Pacho, en el departamento de Cundinamarca; así como de un chofer que luego fue dejado en libertad. BBC NEWS: Pope appeals to Colombia kidnappers Tuesday, 12 November, 2002 Pope John Paul II has appealed for the release one of Latin America's most prominent clerics who was abducted by gunmen near Bogota on Monday. Jorge Enrique Jimenez, the bishop of Zipaquira and head of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (Celam), was seized along with another priest. The pontiff urged the kidnappers to free the two clergymen unharmed and "abandon all forms of violence". HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH LANZA FUERTES CRÍTICAS AL FISCAL GENERAL THE NEW YORK TIMES: Report Criticizes Colombia on Militias (Texto completo) JUAN FORERO November 9, 2002 A new report by Human Rights Watch asserts that Colombia's attorney general has undermined investigations of right-wing paramilitary groups by firing or transferring prosecutors, particularly those working on cases in which military officers were believed to have assisted the groups in mass killings or assassinations. The report was released yesterday in Bogotá, the capital, by the human rights monitoring group, which is based in New York. It contends that the attorney general, Luis Camilo Osorio, has hamstrung investigations since his appointment in July of last year. @ @ The accusations could taint the new law-and-order government of President Álvaro Uribe, which insists that it is battling the paramilitary forces as aggressively as it is fighting the country's Marxist rebels. FINACIAL TIMES: More pressure on Colombia's top lawyer James Wilson in Bogotá November 10 2002 Colombia's attorney-general is facing new criticism of his record in prosecuting human rights abuses, adding to the pressure on the country's judicial system after a leading cocaine trafficker was freed from prison after only seven years. Human Rights Watch, a US-based group, said investigations of human rights abuses - many involving senior military officers - had "deteriorated significantly" since Luis Camilo Osorio became attorney-general last year. Publishing a report into ways in which human rights investigations had been set back, the group said Mr Osorio's record could send a message "that human rights abuses are an acceptable form of warfare". INTENSIFICACIÓN DEL CONFLICTO PREOCUPA A LA ONU: CIENTOS DE DESPLAZADOS PIDEN ASILO EN PAÍSES VECINOS THE PALESTINE CHRONICLE: Intensified Fighting in Colombia Worries UN Refugee Agency Lisa Schlein Sunday, November 10 2002 GENEVA - The U.N. refugee agency says it is concerned that intensified fighting in Colombia among government, rebel, and right-wing paramilitary groups could cause thousands of people to flee to neighboring countries. Recent figures show a significant increase in the numbers of Colombians crossing borders seeking asylum. A PARTIR DE ENERO TROPAS ESTADOUNIDENSES ENTRENARÁN EJÉRCITO PARA PROTEGER OLEODUCTO CAÑO LIMÓN - COVEÑAS THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Imperiled pipeline gets U.S. troops in Colombia Gary Marx November 12, 2002 SARAVENA, Colombia -- On the edge of the war-torn city of Saravena, U.S. military advisers are preparing for a major escalation of American involvement in Colombia's 38-year-old civil war. Until now, U.S. military and economic assistance to Colombia has gone largely to fight the drug war. But in January, between 60 and 100 U.S. Special Forces soldiers will arrive in Saravena and the surrounding area to train thousands of Colombian troops to protect a 500-mile pipeline owned in part by Occidental Petroleum Corp. of Los Angeles. EE.UU. IMPIDE COMPRA DE AVIONES BRASILEROS LAS VEGAS SUN -AP: U.S. Said to Advise Colombia Sale ASSOCIATED PRESS November 10, 2002 RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil- The United States has advised Colombia to cancel the purchase of 40 Brazilian fighter planes, a newspaper reported Sunday. The O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper cited a letter from the commander of U.S. military forces in Latin America, Gen. James T. Hill, to the commander of Colombia's military forces, Jorge Mora Rangel, asking Colombia to reconsider the sale. ARTÍCULOS SECUESTRAN A OBISPO DE ZIPAQUIRÁ Y PÁRROCO DE PACHO EL NUEVO HERALD Rebeldes colombianos secuestran a un obispo GONZALO GUILLEN Tue, Nov. 12, 2002 Monseñor Jorge Enrique Jiménez, presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal Latinoamericana y obispo de la ciudad colonial de Zipaquirá (situada a 40 kilómetros al norte de Bogotá), fue secuestrado ayer por un frente de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) cuando estaba en una gira pastoral por una serie de aldeas rurales de su jurisdicción, según informaron a El Nuevo Herald fuentes militares. El pastor, de más de 60 años de edad, cayó en poder del frente 42 de las FARC, junto con el sacerdote Desiderio Orjuela, párroco del municipio de Pacho, en el departamento de Cundinamarca; así como de un chofer que luego fue dejado en libertad. El secuestro ocurrió en una vereda rural del municipio de Topaipí, situado a una hora de la sede obispal de Zipaquirá, precisaron las fuentes. El comandante el Ejército, general Carlos Alfonso Ospina, declaró en la noche de ayer que fue dispuesta una recompensa de $50,000 para quienes suministren información que permita localizar al frente que tiene en su poder al obispo y al sacerdote. ''Este es un crimen contra la humanidad. No solamente contra la religión Católica sino contra toda Colombia y no podemos permanecer indiferentes'', apuntó el general Ospina, quien asumió la dirección de las operaciones militares desplegadas en busca del obispo. Topaipí es una región infestada de guerrillas y paramilitares, que se disputan un corredor estratégico apropiado para a movilización de amas, secuestrados y drogas ilícitas. No obstante, monseñor Jiménez solía visitar la zona en funciones pastorales y no había sido hostigado por los insurrectos. En la zona del secuestro el Ejército ha detectado la presencia de tres frentes de las FARC y uno de los paramilitares. El obispo Jiménez fue interceptado por sus captores cuando se dirigía a una vereda rural para impartirle el sacramento de la Confirmación a un grupo de niños campesinos. De acuerdo con versiones de radio difundidas ayer, el chofer del prelado dijo que los guerrilleros bajaron a Monseñor Jiménez y al párroco Orjuela del automóvil en que se movilizaban y los obligaron a internarse en una zona selvática. Una fuente de inteligencia militar explicó a El Nuevo Herald que el obispo pudo haber sido secuestrado para engrosar el número de personas que las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia mantienen en su poder para tratar de canjearlas por los miembros de esa organización que se encuentran en las prisiones colombianas. Entre los secuestrados figuran medio centenar de oficiales de la Policía y del Ejército, el gobernador del departamento de Antioquia, la ex candidata presidencial Ingrid Betancourt, siete congresistas y doce diputados de la Asamblea legislativa del departamento del Valle del Cauca. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH LANZA FUERTES CRÍTICAS AL FISCAL GENERAL THE NEW YORK TIMES Report Criticizes Colombia on Militias JUAN FORERO November 9, 2002 A new report by Human Rights Watch asserts that Colombia's attorney general has undermined investigations of right-wing paramilitary groups by firing or transferring prosecutors, particularly those working on cases in which military officers were believed to have assisted the groups in mass killings or assassinations. The report was released yesterday in Bogotá, the capital, by the human rights monitoring group, which is based in New York. It contends that the attorney general, Luis Camilo Osorio, has hamstrung investigations since his appointment in July of last year. The accusations could taint the new law-and-order government of President Álvaro Uribe, which insists that it is battling the paramilitary forces as aggressively as it is fighting the country's Marxist rebels. The report says that in the last 15 months, at least nine prosecutors or investigators working on paramilitary cases - most of whom have received specialized training from the United States - have been fired and 15 others have been forced to resign. Five prosecutors and investigators looking at ties between the paramilitary groups and military units have been killed. Several high-profile cases have stalled. They include a massacre in January 2001 in which paramilitary forces working with naval officers left 26 villagers dead, and an investigation into the ties a top military officer, Gen. Rito Alejo del Río, had with paramilitary forces in northwestern Colombia. The allegations made by Human Rights Watch have caused concern in Washington, where Mr. Osorio has come under fire for months from some members of Congress and human rights groups. The attorney general's office did not respond to the specific allegations and documentation presented by Human Rights Watch. In a statement, the office said it was committed to "the fight against those who violate human rights." The statement also said the office would "not investigate anyone without basis, despite the criticisms that may be generated." In its dealings with Colombia, the United States has often emphasized the importance of developing an independent, effective attorney general's office. The United States has provided $25 million to the office in the last two years and may give another $10 million next year. Many of the prosecutors and investigators who work on human rights cases in Colombia have received training offered by the Justice Department in the United States. The United States has also helped set up 11 satellite offices around Colombia so prosecutors can respond more effectively to war crimes cases. But prosecutors told Human Rights Watch that the main office had not provided those offices with necessary resources or staff. "Whenever we see this kind of movement of prosecutors off of these cases, or the transfer of resources, it gets our attention," said a Bush administration official who is involved in shaping policy toward Colombia. "Obviously we want to see more resources and we want to see more prosecutors, and we want to see a more aggressive policy." Mr. Osorio is in the second year of a four-year term. Human rights groups had long expressed concerns about him because his appointment was seen as an effort to mend relations between the government and military officers upset by the aggressive investigations of the previous attorney general, Alfonso Gómez Méndez. Mr. Osorio, who was appointed by the Supreme Court after being nominated by Mr. Uribe's predecessor, cannot be removed from office by Mr. Uribe. Human Rights Watch, which interviewed 16 prosecutors and investigators who gave details of transfers and firings, said it hoped to prod Mr. Uribe's government into pressuring Mr. Osorio's office into more aggressively investigating cases involving paramilitary groups and the armed forces. "Colombia cannot pretend it is carrying out a credible fight for human rights if the attorney general's office is putting up obstacles," José Miguel Vivanco, director of the Latin America division of Human Rights Watch, said today in Bogotá. Internal memos and intelligence reports obtained by Gustavo Petro, a Colombian congressman who is compiling evidence against Mr. Osorio's office, underscore the difficulties prosecutors and investigators face daily. According to one intelligence document, the paramilitary chieftain, Carlos Castaño, and other paramilitary leaders debated whether to assassinate prosecutors working on paramilitary cases. In one memo, a veteran prosecutor, Martha Cecilia Camacho, contended that the paramilitaries had identified her as a target for assassination. "It is sad for me to distance myself from my work because I am a military target," wrote Ms. Camacho, who later resigned and is now living in Canada. A former computer expert in the attorney general's office, Richard Maok, said in an interview that he had been transferred from his job after compiling data documenting that phone calls from inside the attorney general's office had been made to the phones of presumed paramilitary members in northeast Colombia. Though the data Mr. Maok compiled were preliminary, he said, he should have been encouraged to proceed with his investigation. "When they found out I was doing the work, they stopped the investigation, and they took punitive actions against me," said Mr. Maok, who was dismissed in August and is now in exile in Canada.