memorandum of justification concerning human ... - Just the Facts

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Displacement of Embera: In March 2009, fighting over lucrative drug routes in
the area with the ELN‘s Cimarron Block, Los Rastraojos (a drug-trafficking group that
includes some former paramilitaries) forced at least 420 Embera indigenous from their
homes in March 2009 in Chocó. Acción Social (the Colombian government‘s Social
Action Agency), the Colombian Red Cross, and Bienestar Familiar personnel assisted the
victims. Community leader Norberto Guacori said one Embera man was shot in front of
his family, and one woman was raped in the incident.
Attack and Displacement of Awá: On February 4, 2009, the FARC murdered
eight members of the Awá community in Nariño for allegedly collaborating with the
military. Over 500 Awá fled following the attack, and the 1,000 that remained were
confined to their homes because of continued threats from by the FARC. On February
18, 2009, UNHCR commended the Colombian government‘s efficient coordination in
distributing food and shelter to the displaced Awa, saying it should be a model for all
cases of forced displacement.
Displacement of the Wayuú: UNHCR notes that the Wayuú continue to be a
group especially vulnerable to displacement due to pressure from illegal armed groups in
the area. During the last two weeks of January 2009, about 100 members of the
community fled across the border into Venezuela after being attacked on their territory by
armed men, who burned down several of their houses and threatened to kill their leaders.
Grenade Attack on Kankuamo: On December 31, 2008, a grenade from an
unknown actor killed five members of the Kankuamo indigenous community in Atánquez
(César). The press and NGOs speculated that the attack was carried out by new criminal
groups, perhaps Don Mario‘s group, as these organizations were seen as trying to
increase their control in the region.
Homicides of Three Embera Chami: ONIC reported that on October 6, 2008,
three Embera Chami were killed by men in black clothing and armbands from the
criminal band the Black Eagles (―Aguilas Negras‖) in Riosucio (Caldas). ONIC said that
the assailants killed Luz Marina Morales, 21, and Mauricio Largo Bañol, 61, near their
homes. Later, the men killed Cesar Largo Alarcon and wounded his 70-year-old mother,
Maria Angelica Alarcon, in a nearby rural area.
Homicide of Governor Raúl Mendoza: On September 28, 2008, Raúl Mendoza,
governor of indigenous Peñon de Sotará, was murdered by an armed man on a
motorcycle in the neighborhood of ―La Conquista‖ in Popayán (Cauca). The Prosecutor
General‘s Office has interviewed four people in connection with the murder, and on
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