The European Parliament must decide between investments or extermination http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=17071
We denounce the extermination of more than 1,000 indigenous people by the Colombian army and illegal armed groups. More than 30 ethnic groups are at risk of disappearing. ONIC Secretary General has denounced the European Parliament and warned that "Spain lies in its latest report on human rights in Colombia,and only wants to sign the FTA as soon as possible."
The Indian extermination is not a thing of the past. Thousands of them are still being killed and those who have better luck are displaced off their land as punishment and become 'nomadic'. In Colombia the situation is particularly serious. Since 2002 (the year that Álvaro Uribe came to power) there have been killed more than 1,000 indigenous people, 164 of them in 2009. Of the 102 indigenous groups that exist in the Andean country, 62 of them are endangered, and 34 at imminent risk of extinction.
Secretary General of ONIC (National Organization of Indigenous Colombians)Fernando Arias that represents 1,350,000, indigenous people , complained to the European Parliament responsible for the genocide: "There were several massacres committed by the right-wing paramilitaries and the Colombian army. "
Arias acknowledged that the Government has a "perfect excuse": "The fight against terrorism of the FARC is used to justify it , but in fact they are attacking civilians. Bombarding our areas and then say it was a military error ". According to the secretary general of ONIC of indigenous leaders are "targeted by blanket attacks in order to terrorize the local population or in retaliation for their refusal to engage in war or to get them to abandon their campaign for their rights."
This speech was heard in Parliament through the campaign 'Word fresh air of life', the ONIC is present in different European countries, and which seeks to create a global solidarity network and claims that the current model of economic development and transnational corporations on indigenous territories are involved,in increase the risk of extinction of our people. So far they have been heard in Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Sweden and Brussels. But his words took more force to MEPs, whom Arias explained how hundreds of women "were constantly raped by Colombian military forces and members of illegal armed groups".
SPAIN LIES ABOUT COLOMBIA Secretary General of ONIC described the dramatic situation and continues to make a request that has already been heard on numerous occasions by other human rights groups. The representative of the Indians asked the EU not to sign the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with Colombia: "How is it possible that the supposed Mecca of human rights negotiates with a government wich is a gross human rights violator?".
Fernando Arias warned that even if you change the president "the policy against indigenous peoples will remain the same." He also wanted to warn the House that ignored the assessment on the state of human rights which will be delivered by the Spanish government "is flatly false, and the information is favorable to the Colombian government for signing the FTA as soon as possible."
Juvenal Arrieta, Embera community of northwestern Colombia,states the EU asked that "before signing the FTA it wuld send a mission to integrate the various parties that form the European Parliament, to verify the situation of the plight of our people" . Arrieta reported that in Colombia, the rulers and the media stigmatize them, arguing that "we engage in political opposition and we are archaic peoples and are opposed to development. "We are not against development, but to raze economic projects with our people," he said. "If they want to take our water, we share it, but do not kill us to take away the water."
ALL THE SUPPORT OF NGOS Various NGOs and human rights groups spent nearly a decade and learned about the situation of indigenous Colombians. According to Amnesty International the helplessness of the total indigenous peoples is to be found amid the legal and illegal armed groups. "All parties to the conflict," said a representative of AI, "are responsible for human rights abuses. "A third of Indians," he said, "are living on land over which they dont hold titles, and that makes it easier for government to move them and implement large scale projects. And the prior established by the UN on indigenous rights are not respected. "
For his part, Fidel Mignorance, representing HREW (Human Rigths EveryHere) presented the imminent threat of extermination. "There are some towns with fewer than 500 inhabitants where oilfields are developed. "It has been shown that instead of benefiting the population, these projects threaten to end the ancestral cultures and lead to extinction of their people."
Belgian Coordination Colombia (CBC), which groups the Belgian NGO working for human rights in Colombia, asked the EU to protect indigenous Colombians against its imminent demise, and asks you not to sign the FTA with Colombia because this does not guarantee the rights of these ancient races. The CBC asks: "Signing the FTA as it is, does that mean that the EU would be willing to sacrifice the existence of indigenous peoples in Colombia to protect the interests of its own investors and exporters?
