violence

The following was translated to English by La Chiva:

ALERT: CAMPAIGN OF TERROR BEGINS AGAINST INDIGENOUS NASA IN CAUCA, COLOMBIA

11 August 2008

Earlier this afternoon, the Association of Indigenous Authorities of Northern Cauca (ACIN) received the text of a threat by email, which we are attaching below for you to read. This letter of terror, signed by the CEC (Campesinos Embejucados del Cauca, or ‘Furious Peasants of Cauca’), announces that “at approximately 00:00 tonight, you will receive information regarding the murders at the hands of peasants of paHECES [1] and the ex-guerrilla heads of the CRIC, which will be confirmed by phone and a consequences of their disrespect.” In this threat, we are referred to as paHECES, or ‘excrement,’ exposing the racism of the author(s).

The 7-page threat states throughout its hateful and false content the decision to defame the indigenous process and the commencement of a campaign of terror and death. The context in which this letter has been sent is that of the parapolítica [2], with the clear collusion of the Colombian government:

The threats against the indigenous movement made by the President of the Republic, who has ordered the payment of rewards for the arrest of indigenous Senator Jesús Piñacué, who is mentioned in the threat;

The recent confession of the paramilitary member Orlando Villa Zapata, involved in the 1991 massacre in El Nilo [Cauca], that said massacre was planned in the Hacienda La Emperatriz in the presence of the landowners;

Paraguayan news agency Jaku'éke reports today that "death threats to the Alliance Campaign are being followed through."

Alfredo Avalos, a journalist and organizer with the opposition presidential campaign remains in critial condition with gunshot wounds to his head, and his partner Silvana Rodríguez was killed last night in Curuguaty, in the state of Canindeyúby, 250km northeast of the capital, Asunción.

Avalos worked for Tekojoja, a movement which has allied with the opposition presidential campaign, Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC), headed by presidential candidate and former Bishop Fernando Lugo.

This is the second murder of a Tekojoja organizer in the last two months. Local police and officials refute that the killings were politically motivated.

According to Carrillo Iramain, an organizer in Canindeyúby "there are constant telephone messages, indirect messages and direct threats happening in these final days [before the elections]. This is an area where fear rules."

Elections are planned for April 20, 2008 in Paraguay.

The current government of the landlocked South American country is one of the strongest US allies in the region. The government has come under international scrutiny for allowing the setting up of US military bases in the country, near the Bolivian border.

UPDATE: A new article by Ben Dangl and April Howard: Dissecting the Politics of Paraguay's next President.