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COLOMBIA-U.S.
Trade Deal "Throws Country into Jaws of Multinationals," Critics Say
By Helda Martínez*
BOGOTÁ - The entry into force of Colombia’s free trade agreement with the United States was met by student protests and opposition from a segment of the business community, small farmers, and trade unionists.
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COLOMBIA
Saving the River Basin, One Schoolchild at a Time
By Constanza Vieira
NEIVA, Colombia - "Out of love for the river, we reforest, recycle, and make this place beautiful," says a sign welcoming visitors to the Floragaita school, where a balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) tree with enormous white flowers guards the entrance to the lush green grounds on a hill in the heart of Colombia’s Andes mountains.
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COLOMBIA
Missing French Reporter’s Journalistic Mission
By Constanza Vieira
BOGOTÁ - Romeo Langlois, a French reporter in Colombia, removed his helmet and bullet-proof vest and ran towards the guerrillas during fighting between them and Colombian army troops on Saturday, Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón reported.
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Last Summit of the Americas Without Cuba
By Constanza Vieira
CARTAGENA DE INDIAS, Colombia - "What matters at this summit is not what is on the official agenda," said Uruguayan analyst Laura Gil, echoing the conventional wisdom in this Colombian port city, where the Sixth Summit of the Americas ended Sunday without a final declaration.
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Abya Yala Speaks
By Camilo Segura Álvarez*
CARTAGENA DE INDIAS, Colombia - During the closing session of the Social Forum of the Sixth Summit of the Americas, the broadcast signal was cut off, triggering protests from participating indigenous leaders. But that did not stop the voice of Abya Yala - the ancestral name of the continent - from being heard.
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At Summit of Americas, Governments "Are Listening" to the People
By Constanza Vieira
CARTAGENA DE INDIAS, Colombia - In preparation for the Sixth Summit of the Americas, the gathering’s Social Forum has held 25 meetings since September, as well as dozens of online working sessions, with the participation of some 7,000 people.
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Messages of Peace in Colombia
By Constanza Vieira and Helda Martínez
BOGOTÁ - Analysts in Colombia have varied in their degree of optimism, but they generally agree that the release of the last 10 police and military hostages held by the FARC guerrillas, some since 1998, was a peace signal.
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Emerald Energy Exploits Colombian Andes
By Elias Cabrera*
GARZÓN, Huila, Colombia - A thick fog flows over the eastern range of the Colombian Andes. Here and there, the constant wind lifts the clouds to reveal lagoons, cloud forests, and páramo, an Andean alpine ecosystem known as a "mountaintop sponge" for its massive water-holding capacity.
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Illegal Wiretapping Continues in Colombia, U.N. Says
By Constanza Vieira
BOGOTÁ - Illegal spying on human rights activists and journalists is still happening in Colombia, according to a new report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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Community Radios in Colombia Tune In for Peace
By Helda Martínez *
BOGOTA - Cleaning up a stream that used to be a garbage dump and restocking it with fish, or helping demobilised far-right paramilitaries reintegrate into society by returning to school, are some of the early outcomes of a project involving community radio stations in a remote area of northwest Colombia.
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Colombia Finds Swiss Hostage Mediator Innocent
By Constanza Vieira
BOGOTA - The dismissal of charges in Colombia against Swiss mediator Jean-Pierre Gontard, who helped negotiate the release of numerous hostages held by guerrillas in this country between 1998 and 2008, is "magnificent news, for bilateral relations as well as at a purely human level," Colombia’s ambassador to Switzerland, Claudia Turbay, told IPS.
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Mines Test Colombia's Commitment to Sustainable Development
By Helda Martínez
IBAGUÉ, Colombia - "In the Andes, and all over the world, mining on mountains should be banned. Distinguished scientists and papers in the most prestigious journals are saying this," a regional planning expert in Colombia told IPS.
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COLOMBIA
Of Blackmail and Fake Guerrillas
By Constanza Vieira
BOGOTA - After Colombia's attorney general announced that she was bringing charges against a former government peace commissioner for his role in a staged surrender of a fake guerrilla unit, he called for an investigation of her husband – which she promptly ordered.
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Q&A
"Opposition to Restitution of Land Not Surprising"
Constanza Vieira interviews ANDERS KOMPASS, former director of the UNHCHR office in Colombia
BOGOTA - "I find it extremely painful to see that there are people in Colombia trying once again to deceive" people displaced from their land, just when "they have hope of being recognised and compensated," said Swedish diplomat Anders Kompass on a visit to this country to support rural victims of the civil war.
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RIGHTS-COLOMBIA
Int'l Mission Says Dire Situation Getting Worse
By Helda Martínez
BOGOTA - The human rights situation in Colombia is extremely serious, and getting worse, reported an International Verification Mission made up of 40 delegates from 15 countries who visited the country this week.
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Colombia - A Nation Torn in RSS As Colombia's nearly five-decade civil war simmers on, the country remains the world's third-largest recipient of U.S. military aid, and has the second-largest displaced population in the world. The cocaine trade continues to fuel the armed conflict; there are abundant reports indicating that the supposedly demobilised paramilitaries, blamed for the lion's share of the atrocities committed in the civil war and led by drug lords, have regrouped; and nearly half of the population lives in poverty. The scandal over ties with paramilitary groups dogs the Álvaro Uribe government. Small farmers and indigenous and black communities are often caught in the crossfire between the guerrillas, the paramilitaries and the security forces. The conflict's victims are the civilian population, human rights and truth.

Heavy Metal Colombia - El Blog de  Constanza Vieira
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Maternal Deaths Drop By Nearly Half
COLOMBIA-U.S.: Trade Deal "Throws Country into Jaws of Multinationals," Critics Say
OP-ED: Arab Autocrats Aiding Resurgence of Terrorism
Colombian River Basin Passes the Test of El Niño and La Niña
Manila and Moscow Inch Closer to Labour Agreement
EU Feels Force of Israeli Demolitions
Public Funds Could Help Provide Water and Electricity, Researchers Say
More >>

  UNDP Colombia
  UN Refugee Agency - Colombia
  Consultancy on Human Rights and Displacement
  Colombian Commission of Jurists
  Millennium Campaign - MDGs and Colombia
  Amnesty International - Colombia
  Human Rights Watch - Colombia
  Acción Andina
  World Rainforest Movement

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