September 8, 2008
Threats Mount Against the Indigenous Social Movement in Colombia
by Mario A. Murillo
Rafael Coicué may be soft spoken, but when it is his turn to talk in meetings and indigenous assemblies, the people listen carefully for his deliberate insight and precise analysis. Today, he is one of the most respected young leaders of the contemporary indigenous movement in northern Cauca. This is why there was universal condemnation of the actions taken by state security forces on July 3, 2008 during an indigenous mobilization in his native Corinto, where he was shot, losing all the functions of his left eye in the process. The incident occurred on the road just outside of Corinto, where he was confronted by heavily armed, special-forces commandoes, dispatched to disperse a land recuperation effort by local indigenous activists. Coicué is convinced it was not a random act that almost killed him, but a direct attempt on his life because of the work he’s involved in.
A few weeks earlier in Corinto, the Army had killed two young, indigenous activists during another land recuperation effort. Community leaders say the victims were then dressed up as guerrillas to cover up the action, a tactic apparently being used increasingly by government forces to demonstrate progress in their war against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The use of so-called “false positives” was documented in recent studies by Amnesty International and the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and reported in the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post.
“This part of northern Cauca is being disputed heavily right now. The territory of Corinto is extremely fertile, and there are a lot of interests trying to gain control of the area by pushing us out,” Coicué said. “They had been accusing us of being drug-traffickers, as being linked with the guerrillas, as a way to de-legitimize our struggle, and the situation was becoming increasingly tense.”
These developments were among the issues to be discussed in the assembly Coicué was putting together with his cabildo in early July. “As a representative of the cabildo, (indigenous council), and as part of the indigenous authority, I was charged with setting up the logistics for an emergency public assembly that we were scheduling for July 4 in Corinto, where we were going to denounce the recent actions taken against the communities by local landowners, the army and the national police,” he said. Unfortunately Coicué never made it to the assembly, forced instead to recover in an emergency room from the wounds to his eye.
More:
http://www.colombiajournal.org/colombia293.htm
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