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Amnesty International Press Release
Indigenous Peoples in Colombia are once again paying the price of a seemingly never-ending armed conflict, said Amnesty International today after the killing yesterday, by army troops, of Edwin Legarda, the husband of Indigenous leader Aida Quilcué.
Edwin Legarda was fatally injured after being shot by the security forces while travelling to the city of Popayán in Cauca Department, in the south of the country, to pick up his wife, Aída Quilcué, leader of the Indigenous organization, Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca (CRIC). The vehicle he was travelling in was hit 17 times and Edwin Legarda, who was injured in the shooting, later died in hospital.
Aida Quilcué was returning from Geneva, after attending the Human Rights Council's (HRC) Universal Periodic Review session on Colombia. At the HRC she had publicly raised concerns about human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples, including killings by the security forces. In Colombia, she had also played a prominent role in recent demonstrations by Indigenous people in support of land rights and in protest at human rights violations.
“The killing of Edwin Legarda once again puts a spotlight on growing concerns about the killing of civilians by the security forces and on the precarious security situation of Indigenous Peoples in Colombia. The Colombian authorities must carry out an immediate, exhaustive and impartial investigation into this killing and bring to justice in the civilian courts all those responsible,” said Amnesty International.
Until such investigations are effectively concluded doubts will remain over whether the vehicle in which Edwin Legarda was travelling in was deliberately targeted and over whether Aida Quilqué was in fact the intended target.
The Colombian authorities must also adopt all the necessary measures to protect Indigenous leaders and thereby allow them to carry out their legitimate work of promoting and defending the human rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press(at)amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
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UN strongly condemns the death of an indigenous leader´s husband in Totoró, Cauca
Bogotá, D.C., December 17, 2008
(This press release is adhered to by the group of states constituting the G 24 as well as by the local EU presidency)
The United Nations System in Colombia condemns the death of Edwin Legarda of the Coconuco indigenous people, husband of the Consejera Mayor of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca – CRIC – Aida Quilcué, an indigenous leader who just returned from Geneva (Switzerland) where she denounced the critical situation of indigenous people in Colombia.
According to information gathered by the UN, Mr. Legarda was travelling in a car between the localities of Inzá and Totoró in the department of Cauca.
Without there being sufficient clarity about how the events occurred, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that in the early morning hours of 16 December, troops of the battalion “José
Hilario López” of the 3rd Division of the National Army fired shots at the car which Mr. Legarda was driving.
The UN is concerned about information gathered by its officials from local residents and representatives of the indigenous indicating that at the moment of the events there was no military road block duly identified on the road and that the shots were fired indiscriminately in violation of the established Rules of Engagement of the Colombian Army.
Further, it is worrying that this event forms part of numerous attacks against the life of indigenous persons, as registered by the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia – ONIC – and the Colombian authorities.
The United Nations in Colombia hope that the competent authorities will investigate these events in a timely and comprehensive manner and will try and sanction those found responsible. The United Nations trust that the speedy clarification of the facts will allow continuing the move forward in the dialogue between the Government and the indigenous authorities.
Additionally, the United Nations in Colombia encourage the authorities to urgently implement effective mechanisms to protect the work of indigenous leaders and organizations in the department of Cauca and all over the country.
The UN expresses its solidarity with Aida Quilcué, wife of Mr. Legarda, their family and the whole indigenous community for this deplorable loss.
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