Community Leader's Death Highlights Danger of ResistingViolence inColombia

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/oneworld/20051101/wl_oneworld/45361214711130808918

Community Leader's Death Highlights Danger of Resisting Violence in Colombia
Abid Aslam, OneWorld US 2 hours, 6 minutes ago

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct 31 (OneWorld) - The murder of a well-known peace activist in Colombia has highlighted endemic violence in the Latin American country, and the vulnerability of people trying to resist it, despite high-profile steps toward ending civil war.

Local authorities reported discovering on Tuesday the body of Orlando Valencia, a leader of the Afro-Colombian peace community of Curvarado. Valencia, who had been ''disappeared'' by gunmen apparently belonging to a right-wing paramilitary on October 15, appeared to have died from gunshot wounds.

Baltimore-based religious charity Lutheran World Relief (LWR) said Valencia's wife confirmed on Wednesday that the body was that of her husband and the father of their seven children.

LWR had invited Valencia to speak at a peace conference last weekend in Chicago but said the U.S. embassy denied him a visa.

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