Speech of Alirio Uribe Muñoz, during the reception at Palais des Nations, Geneva, 31 March 2003Today, a few hundreds kilometers from here, a crime of aggression against the Iraqi people is taking place, in a unjust and illegal war in the Middle East where all kind of crimes are being perpetrated, in the fight against terrorism. In Colombia with the same alleged reason, the last remains of the rule of law are being destroyed, cutting down civil liberties, the war worsens with the increasing intervention of the U.S. In Colombia the last 4 years of the previous government, in spite of the dialogue with guerrillas FARC and ELN, has witnessed the most dramatic crimes against humanity, human rights violations and war crimes committed over 40 years. In average there was a massacre (collective killings) per day, 20 political murders per day (5 of the 20 in combat), there were more than 1500 forced disappearances of Colombian citizens, more than 10 thousand people kidnapped, more than million of displaced, more poverty, social exclusion, and unemployment. The disenchantment related to the peace talks, not taking into account the structural causes resulting from violence made possible the access to power of Alvaro Uribe Vélez. The new government has called for a total war and has gone back to the old and ineffective formula of resolving problems using authoritarianism, state terrorism in the framework of the state of exception, stigmatizing and persecuting any kind of social and political opposition. With his phrase "a firm hand and a big heart", the new president received the vote of the quarter of the population being allowed to vote. The firm hand is imposed to the people and the big heart is going the national and foreign capital. During the 8 months since the new government has been in place, the conflict has intensified. There has been a multiplication of terrorist acts and the civil population has been increasingly involved in the war (with the creation of informer networks and armed peasants). The number of internally displaced has increased 100% since last year, more than 50 trade-unionists have been killed. There has been an increase in extrajudicial killings, and fumigation of vast areas of the national territory destroying coca and puppy plantations as well as biodiversity. The working conditions and pension reforms have hindered the economic and social rights of workers and the poorest of the Colombian population. For all these reasons, I perceive the Martin Ennals Award I am
receiving today, more than a personal recognition as a tribute to
the hundreds of human rights defenders killed in Colombia: I receive this award with hope, and as an important contribution for us to continue forging civil and democratic resistance in Colombia, as well as an appeal to Colombian authorities to cease harassing us, persecuting us and stigmatizing us. I cannot help thinking of my colleague Soraya Gutiérrez Arguello, who is living very anguishing days since recently she was the victim of a terrorist attack and whose 4 year old daughter has been threatened. I think about my colleagues of the Colectivo "José Alvear Restrepo", who during the last 25 years have been fighting fear and have overcome it in spite of death, exile, helplessness feelings. In Colombia, every time we learn, as our colleagues from the Organización Femenina Popular say in their daily resistance, that fear can be within us but it will not make us have our heads down before adversity. I receive this award as a recognition to all silent fights carried out by the Colombian social movement, men and women, trade-unionists, peasant leaders, indigenous people, afro-Colombians, who will not accept living in exclusion, who will not forget their utopias and who keep fighting for their rights. We fight so that our country wins over death, that the political solution wins over social and armed conflict allowing the reconstruction of the country, to build peace daily and overcome impunity with the social transformations claimed by our communities to get rid of fear and poverty, as requires the Universal Declaration of Human rights. Today, I wish that the millions of displaced people would be able to return with the necessary conditions of safety and dignity, that people in exile could return to their home-country as the intelligence is needed, that cruelty, political killings, poverty and hunger cease. I wish that our people recover their dignity, truth is revealed and justice exists. I wish all national and international beneficiaries from violence in Colombia to be known. I wish we could recover the social thread and trust. I dream of that day on which I do not wish to be in exile. This award helps us to overcome skepticism before more catastrophic scenarios happen in the future not only in Colombia but for the entire humankind. We could die in this effort but we will never lose hope. You, with this award, are helping us to win the battle of life. Thank you very much. |
