Riohacha, La Guajira

March 18th, 2008

URGENT UPDATE TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

The Organization Wayúu Munusurat is a group that has been working for the defence of the human rights of displaced peoples and the victims of paramilitary groups operating in La Guajira, Colombia with the accompaniment of national and international organizations.

With this communiqué we want to update everyone of the grave situation that members of our organization are facing including death threats, hostilities, persecution and pressure on behalf of the Northern Bloc of the Autodefence group (paramilitaries) of the Counter Wayúu Insurgency who have not demobilized and continue to operating within our territories.

FACTS

1. On January 20th, 2008, the vehicle in which Debora Barros Fince was travelling in was detained by the National Police who claimed that there were problems with the vehicles documentation. But the documentation of the incident is filled with inaccuracies including a different license plate number then that of the vehicle.

2. March 3rd, the Organization Wayúu Munusrat started the organizing for the March for Victims of State and Paramilitary Violence in Colombia on March 6th. Since then members of the organization start receiving hostile threats and insults on their cellular phones warnings to back off from organizing for the march or face serious consequences. Also members were accused of being guerrillas in efforts to turn them into military targets.

3. The day of the march in the Park Padilla, a suspicious man approached a victim and asked insistently who the organizers of the event were. The police were immediately informed of the man's actions but were unable to identify him before he disappeared.

4. March 7th, at 3pm when leaving her home to a meeting with the Defensoria del Pueblo (government's public defence entity), Debora and her bodyguard noted a suspicious vehicle with four men who had appeared to be from the interior, non coastal region of the country (ie- cachacos).

These threats stem from the paramilitaries victims confronting their fear and for the first time the Organization Wayúu Munusrat taking initiative to participate in the march and after the event in the Plaza of Admiral Padilla a symbolic act was performed as a historical moment on behalf's of La Guajira´s victims of the paramilitary groups.

5. March 13th, leader Debora Barros Fince receives a death threat that the second in command of the Counter Wayúu Insurgency is in Riohacha. The threat was done by a member of the counter insurgency approaching another member of the Organization who accompanies Debora often and was also told that if he did not stop accompanying her, his last days would be near. The individual also showed the group's member a document that had three pages that came from the Defensoria del Pueblo. The same evening coordinator of the National Commission of Reparation and Reconciliation (NCRR) ANTONIO CALVO and MAPP-OAS DANIEL MILLARES were notified of the acts.

6. March 14th, in the morning members of the Organization Wayúu Munusrat met with the representative of the Defesonria del Pueblo FERNANDO LOPEZ, to inquire if a document had been written regarding the security of Barros Fince. Lopez confirmed they had a three paged document that had been copied to the national police and the army. Those present were surprised the Wayúu leader had received death threats.

By the same means the commander of La Guajira´s Police Dept. CARLOS ALBERTO SUSUNAGA, lieutenant Coronal LUIS FERNANDO SALASAR JARAMILLO, the national police's human rights delegate MAPP-OEA DANIEL MILLARES, and CNRR ANTONIO CALVO were all made aware of the acts of persecution against Wayúu leader DEBORA BARROS FINCE. The acts of the days prior when police officers detained her vehicle and falsified documentation regarding the detainment. In reference to this act we met with representatives of the nation's secretary general where we were informed that there was no existing documentation demanding the vehicles detention by any judge of the republic.

Currently DEBORA BARROS remains vulnerable to a variety of acts of attempts against her security and because so has had to take the precautions with her movement.

ORGANIZACION WAYUU MUNSURAT