Q&A: Killing of Native Leader’s Husband “Was a Planned Operation”

At 5.30 AM the fog was just starting to lift in the freezing cold mountains of eastern Cauca, in southwest Colombia, when indigenous leader Darío Tote came across the red pickup truck riddled with bullet holes. At the wheel was Edwin Legarda, who was critically wounded.

COLOMBIA: "There Was No Checkpoint" Where Army Shooting Took Place

Colombian soldiers killed the husband of a leading indigenous activist Tuesday when they opened fire on the pickup truck he was driving.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Activists Celebrate Being Heard at UN

Activists from more than 1,000 human rights groups and other civil society organisations who followed the live Internet transmission of this week’s United Nations Human Rights Council’s review of the situation in this country at a university auditorium in the Colombian capital shared the sensation that their voices had finally been heard.

Q&A: “We Need a Popular Movement, to Win the Elections”

Wherever there are minorities or marginalised groups in Colombia, or the rights of women are violated, you will find Senator Piedad Córdoba.

COLOMBIA: Financial Scandal a Hurdle to Uribe’s Re-election

Five thousand people chanting anti-government slogans in the Colombian capital’s central Bolívar Square reflected the sharp fall in popularity of right-wing President Álvaro Uribe, whose bid to reform the constitution to allow him to run for a third term in 2010 has suffered serious setbacks in Congress.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: When Terror Wears a Uniform

Herminia Lizarazo did not know what to respond when her seven-year-old grandson told her "Grandma, I want to know what the army is for." The boy, whose two uncles belong to the army in Colombia, wanted to wear a military costume for Halloween.

Q&A: The Truth Is Slowly Coming Out

At 11:40 AM on Nov. 6, 1985 there were more than 300 people in the Palace of Justice, which lines one side of Bolívar square in the Colombian capital, when 35 guerrillas belonging to the 19 de Abril Movement (M-19) seized the building.

COLOMBIA: Rights Groups Want "Body Count" General Investigated

Human rights groups are insisting that the resignation of Colombia’s army chief must not stand in the way of an in-depth investigation of the numerous human rights abuses in which he is implicated.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Army Chief Steps Down

General Mario Montoya stepped down as Colombia’s army chief, putting an end to his career Tuesday. The general is under investigation by the attorney general’s office, although he has not yet been charged.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: UN Warns of Civilian Killings by Military

The extrajudicial executions that are being committed by government forces in Colombia constitute crimes against humanity, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said at the end of her six-day fact-finding tour of this South American country.

COLOMBIA: Native Protest Continues Despite Talks with Uribe

In his meeting with indigenous protesters Sunday, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe did not give in to any of the movement’s main demands, and the demonstrators decided to continue their protest, which is in its fourth week.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Extrajudicial Killings Under Scrutiny

The dismissal of 20 officers and seven noncommissioned officers for extrajudicial executions of civilians presented as battlefield casualties "is a triumph for human rights organisations and for Colombian society as a whole," said Reynaldo Villalba of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective.

COLOMBIA: Where Dialogue Seems Impossible

Dialogue - or, more accurately, the lack thereof - was the common denominator in two high-profile events Sunday in the western Colombian city of Cali, demonstrating to what extent this vehicle of mutual understanding is missing in this civil war-torn South American country.

COLOMBIA: Uribe Agrees to Talks with Indigenous Protesters

"The police did fire" on indigenous protesters, said Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, who yielded to pressure to meet next Sunday with the leaders of a two-week-long demonstration by native groups.

COLOMBIA: Court Workers’ Strike Continues Despite Ultimatum

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has invoked emergency powers to break up a 42-day strike by the country’s court workers, announcing that as of Tuesday, any judge, prosecutor or other judicial employee who does not show up at work may be dismissed.

COLOMBIA: Sugar Workers Strike for Basic Rights

"We sugar cane cutters are neither delinquents nor terrorists; we are honest workers demanding respect for our rights," say Colombia’s cane harvesters, who have been on strike since Sept. 15, demanding basic rights.

COLOMBIA: Oil Palms, Right Abuses Hand in Hand in Northwest

As of this week, there is one less human rights defender in the northwestern Colombian region of Bajo Atrato. Jimmy Jansasoy of the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission was forced to flee the area, where oil palm plantations have encroached on the collectively-owned jungle territories of traditional black communities.

COLOMBIA: Justice on Strike

Some 34,000 judicial sector employees in Colombia began an indefinite strike Wednesday, demanding labour stability, the enforcement of a new salary scheme, and guarantees of independence for the courts.

COLOMBIA: International Criminal Court Scrutinises Paramilitary Crimes

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor ended a three-day visit to Colombia Wednesday, where he has been investigating who is ultimately responsible for the human rights crimes committed in this civil war-torn country.

COLOMBIA: Video Raises Numerous Questions About Rescue Mission

"It is a serious matter that members of the armed forces clandestinely leaked news without coordination with their superiors," says a presidential communiqué issued in Colombia after a local TV station broadcast a video on the operation in which Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages held by the FARC guerrillas were rescued last month.

COLOMBIA: Indigenous Groups in Danger of Disappearing

The Permanent People’s Tribunal warned in its final statement on Colombia of "the imminent danger of physical and cultural extinction faced by 28 indigenous groups," adding that 18 of the communities have less than 100 members, "and are suspended between life and death."