At the beginning of the New Year in 2019, there were concerns about the situation of defenders in Colombia. 2018 had been a particularly violent year, in which figures related to violence increased Continue reading The high tides and low tides of 2019
Category Archives: Current affairs
“We believe in true reconciliation”
Under the blue chapel roof and under the gaze of their dead, on Sunday 24 February, the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó met for the first time with the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Co-Existence and Non-Repetition. After a minute’s silence Continue reading “We believe in true reconciliation”
Operation Dragon, 14 Years Later: A historic ruling and starting the path to achieve justice and truth
In August 2004, the Attorney General’s Office and the Technical Investigation Unit (CTI, in Spanish) discovered a series of official documents that detailed aspects of Operation Dragon, an illegal surveillance plan carried out against 170 people, with the alleged aim to assassinate human rights defenders, union leaders, and members of the political opposition in Colombia who opposed the privatization of the Empresas Públicas de Cali, EmCali[1]. After a long court case, on 22 January, 2019, the Fourth Specialized Court of Cali convicted three retired military members of simple and aggravated criminal conspiracy in the framework of this Operation[2]. Continue reading Operation Dragon, 14 Years Later: A historic ruling and starting the path to achieve justice and truth
“We don’t do this work because of an ideology, we do it out of love, a love that is politicised and has a social conscience”: Yanette Bautista
It was a Saturday morning when the first person arrived at the office of the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation (Fundación Nydia Erika Bautista – FNEB) and found the glass from the windows smashed into pieces all over the floor. That morning, Continue reading “We don’t do this work because of an ideology, we do it out of love, a love that is politicised and has a social conscience”: Yanette Bautista
Between hope and disappointment: a summary of 2018
Two years since the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla, the long process has begun towards the agreement’s implementation. Continue reading Between hope and disappointment: a summary of 2018