The Comunitary Citizen Process for the Life, Justice and Peace of Micoahumado, the Agricultural and mining Federation of the Sur de Bolívar (FEDEAGROMISBOL) and the Sembrar Corporation denounce the following:
AncreToday July 15, 2019, at 2am a Police and National Army operation arrested 9 people (1 woman and 8 men)in the urban center of Micoahumado, jurisdiction of "La Plaza" in the municipality of Morales, Sur de Bolívar.
The people captured in this operation are: KELLY JOHANA GARCIA, FREDY GARCIA BARRAGAN (who is handicapped and requires permanent assistance) ELIODORO VIRGUES ANGARITA, AMIN CURE AGUILAR, YOHAN REYES, ESNEIDER TRUJILLO SERNA, JAIME DAVID COLORADO ROQUEME (Son of a leader of Asopromic, an affiliated organization of Fedeagromisbol), ALIRIO GARCIA CUEVAS and JAINER QUINTERO.
That in the previously mentioned operation, the army and police entered violently, shooting, breaking doors and damaging houses, taking people out of their houses by force, they weren’t allowed to get dressed and put shoes on, all of this in the presence of minors.
That given the seriousness of the events, the community went to the military base, located on public property, a few meters away from the center of the jurisdiction and which has been occupied by state forces since the month of January 2019, violating IHL; to verify the condition of the people detained and to demand answers regarding the detentions and violence. The community was assaulted with physical violence and tear gas, a victim of this aggression being the president of the La Plaza Communal Action Assembly, who is pregnant and was still beaten.
AncreThat in face of this serious and repeated situation of aggression against the population, added to what has been denounced since the beginning of this year, as is: the militarization of the territory with the arrival of 4000 men of the Mars Task Force, violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law, extrajudicial executions, false positives and the permanent persecution of the organizational process and its leadership; the community has decided to move from their territory to demand guarantees for their lives, their freedom and permanence in it.
The communities, which are already located in the urban area of Morales, request the presence of the Governor of Bolívar, the Interior Ministry and Control organisms, as well as the arrival of an Institutional verification Mission with the presence of the United Nations, which they have been asking for since the beginning of the year without a positive response. The communities state that as long as these guarantees do not exist for their life and freedom, they will be forced to remain displaced from their territory indefinitely.
6. We also warn of other capture operations in the Municipality of Norosi .
Finally, we demand the national government to respect the guarantees and due process with those detained and the respect towards their integrity, the immediate formation of a Verification Mission for the Sur de Bolivar, as well as political, humanitarian and protection guarantees for the communities that have suffered this forced displacement.
Ancre Authors: Proceso Ciudadano Comunitario por la Vida, la Justicia y la Paz de Micoahumado, Federación Agrominera del sur de Bolívar and Corporación Sembrar