from Gloria Cuartas Mayor of Apartadó, Colombia
I appeal to the international community for its support. Since August 12, paramilitary groups under the leadership of Carlos Castaño have been selecting and murdering community activists, particularly those from the Union Patriotica. There is an obvious plan to exterminate the Union Patriotica by Carlos Castaño.
These paramilitary groups exist and act with the complicity of the Colombian army and police, and with the help of drug cartels and of some sectors of the banana growers who also finance these groups.
These armed groups are operating throughout the region of Uraba, and are also causing the displacement of many peasant families who have attempted to flee the violence.
The Colombian legal system has not reacted to these activities of the paramilitaries.
The Colombian legal system is carrying out no investigations into the violence and turmoil caused by these paramilitaries.
The Colombian security forces have carried out no actions against these groups.
I appeal, locally, to both the guerrilla movement and to the "self-defense" paramilitary groups, especially in the town of Apartadó, to respect international humanitarian law and respect for the civilian population. None of these groups, guerrilla or paramilitary, should use the civilian population as a shield.
I appeal to the Colombian civil and military authorities to respect and protect the civilian population, their lives and their economic well-being.
I appeal to the international community for assistance, specifically:
Thank you.
--Gloria Isabel Cuartas
Mayor, Apartadó, Antioquia, Colombia
For more information about what you can do, contact:
Colombia Support Network
608 257-8753
csn@igc.org.
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