Emotional Aida Quilcue speech in public debate with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe (with subtitles!)

This video is from the televised public debate between President Alvaro Uribe and his government and the Minga of Social and Communitarian Resistance, on 2nd November 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ev5ypoxWL4

Background:

On October 12th 2008, close to 15,000 indigenous protestors gathered in La Maria indigenous reserve, Piendamo municipality, Cauca department in Southern Colombia, demanding a public debate with President Alvaro Uribe. The Indians wanted to discuss the systematic human rights violation and forced displacement which their communities had suffered for years, and which had reached a crescendo under the Uribe administration. When President Uribe refused to meet with the Indians, the protestors blocked the Pan-American highway. The Indian called the mobilisations a 'Minga of Social and Communitarian Resistance', 'minga' being an indigenous word for an action carried out in unity by a group of people. The government's reaction to the protests was to use firearms against the unarmed protestors (see video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxcpRabXwyk), which the government initially denied, but was forced to admit when CNN news broadcast a video which showed masked policemen shooting at the protestors with rifles. One protestor was killed, and 122 were seriously injured, many with gunshot wounds.

The Minga attracted a large amount of national and international attention, and President Uribe eventually agreed to a public debate in La Maria, Piendamo. In his opening address, President Uribe criticised the Minga's participants for sitting down during the national anthem, claiming it showed a lack of respect for a national symbol. This video shows Aida Quilcue's opening address, in response to President Uribe's remarks. At the time Aida was spokesperson for the Minga, and leader of the Cauca Regional Indigenous Council (CRIC).

Just over a month after this debate, Aida's husband Edwin Legarda was murdered by the Colombian army in an attack seemingly meant for Aida. On 16th December 2008 he was driving the official CRIC car when he was ambushed. Seven soldiers are currently on trial for the murder, however all are low-ranking regular soldiers. Aida is convinced that the order for the murder came from the top of the government, and vows to ensure that justice is done and those responsible for ordering her husband's death end up behind bars.

Indigenous Leader Aida Quilcue Loses Out in Senate Elections

Aida Quilcue narrowly missed out on a seat in the Colombian Senate in the national election on Sunday 14th March. Despite winning more votes than any of the other candidates for the two Senate seats reserved for indigenous leaders, Aida lost out because the competition is based on the total number of votes accrued by each party. Aida broke away from the national Social Indigenous Alliance party (Alianza Social Indigena)to start the Social and Indigenous Movement (Movimiento Social e Indigena) because of its support for Sergio Fajardo’s candidacy for the presidency, despite Fajardo’s support for the current government’s militaristic Democratic Security policy which has seen a huge increase in human rights violations and forced displacement in Colombia.



Aida, who visited the UK in September at the invitation of Unison Northern and Northern TUC, and in conjunction with the Colombia Solidarity Campaign, vowed to continue to work for a change in Colombia and to continue her community-oriented work, saying “Not much changes, it just means I will continue the struggle from outside the Senate not from within it”. Aida has campaigned for human rights and social justice in Colombia, and until last year was the spokesperson for the Minga of Social and Communitarian Resistance, a broad-based social process led by Colombia’s indigenous movement.

The elections were dominated by parties which form part of the hard-line right-wing governing coalition of Alvaro Uribe. They were, however, steeped in controversy, with much talk of armed groups interfering with the electoral process in rural areas, and many seats were won by family members and close friends of politicians who are currently in prison for their links to ultra-right wing paramilitary death squads. Colombia’s presidential elections will be held in May.

Two Thousand March After Another Indigenous Leader Murdered in Cauca Department, Colombia

Civilian Population Suffering Consequences of Escalation in Violence

More than two thousand indigenous community members and representatives from national and international social organisations marched on Friday 26th February in protest over the murder of yet another indigenous leader by armed groups in Cauca department. Andres Muelas was killed in mysterious circumstances on Wednesday 24th February when he was returning home on his motorbike on the Pan-American highway. He was shot in the head and died instantly, possibly in cross-fire between armed groups, or possibly deliberately targeted. The army’s official version of events does not match that of witnesses, arousing suspicion within the indigenous community. What is certain is that Andres was a very popular, respected young leader who at 28 years old was already directing literacy projects and had held several positions on the council of his community.

This year has seen an intensification of the armed conflict in Northern Cauca department after the army installed a battalion with 2000 soldiers in the area. The impact on the civil population has been catastrophic, with several indigenous community members killed in cross-fire, dozens injured, and large-scale displacement of people fleeing the violence which has engulfed the area. Neither the army, the FARC guerrilla group, nor ultra-right wing paramilitaries aligned to the government are showing any regard for the safety of the local population, and are instead seeking to involve locals in the conflict by demanding trying to force their co-operation and forcibly recruiting youngsters. All sides regularly violate international humanitarian law and are responsible for systematic human rights violations.

On Saturday 20th February, six houses and the local hospital were destroyed when the army and FARC combatants engaged in heavy fighting in Jambalo village. Instead of ordering the army to respect the local population, President Uribe claimed that the local indigenous population had stopped the army from capturing some drugs traffickers in indigenous territory, and stated in a clear reference to indigenous communities that the government will not permit the existence of ‘mini Republics of delinquents’. This is in line with the Uribe administration’s policy of claiming that indigenous communities are linked to the FARC, a cynical tactic which makes them legitimate targets for army and paramilitary violence and also fails to recognise the indigenous movement’s categorical rejection of all armed groups and its own political process which has been attacked by all sides in the armed conflict. President Uribe’s comments also ignore the fact that FARC guerrillas have murdered several indigenous leaders in Northern Cauca department after the indigenous population dismantled several FARC cocaine laboratories in indigenous territory.




In the public rally which followed Friday’s march, Cauca indigenous leader Jorge Arias angrily called on all armed groups to respect the autonomy of indigenous communities and abandon indigenous territories immediately, and to “open their dark hearts”. Andres Muela’s brother, Ruben Dario, asked ‘how many more brothers and sisters do we have to lose before they realise that they aren’t going to force us to abandon our territory?”.







Please write to the Colombian embassy and demand that the government respect international humanitarian law and the human rights of the civil population in Cauca department, as well as the territorial autonomy of indigenous communities. You can email the Colombian embassy in London at elondres@cancilleria.gov.co and mail@colombianembassy.co.uk

Aida Quilcue registers her candidacy for Senate elections

On 2nd February, Colombian indigenous leader Aida Quilcue registered her name for March’s Senate elections after collecting more than 65,000 signatures in support of her candidacy in just 2 weeks. Aida, who was in Britain at the end of September at the invitation of Unison Northern and Northern TUC and in conjunction with the Colombia Solidarity Campaign, is aiming to be elected to one of two Senate seats which are reserved for indigenous senators.
Aida split from the Alianza Social Indigena (Social Indigenous Alliance) party in late January over political differences, leaving her with very little time to collect the 50,000 signatures needed to run for election as an independent candidate. She has been critical of the national Alianza Social Indigena’s national policies, including its support for presidential candidate Sergio Fajardo, who has proposed the continuity of President Alvaro Uribe’s security policies which have led to systematic human rights violations and (the prosecution service is investigating the murder of up to 2000 citizens by the Colombian army over the past 5 years).
Aida said, “I’d like to thank everybody who has supported my candidacy. My standing for election is the result of decisions by indigenous communities, and not imposed by political parties as is usually the case”. The Senate and Congressional elections will be held on 14th March.