Saturday, November 21, 2009   23:10 GMT    
IPS Direct to Your Inbox!
 - Africa
 - Asia-Pacific
     Afghanistan
     Iran
 - Caribbean
      Haiti
 - Europe
      Union in Diversity
 - Latin America
 - Mideast &
   Mediterranean
      Iraq
      Israel/Palestine
 - North America
      Neo-Cons
      Bush's Legacy
Agencia de Noticias Inter Press Service
Agencia de Noticias Inter Press Service
Subscribe
Agencia de Noticias Inter Press Service
Agencia de Noticias Inter Press Service
 - Development
      MDGs
      City Voices
      Corruption
 - Civil Society
 - Globalisation
 - Environment
      Energy Crunch
      Climate Change
      Tierramérica
 - Human Rights
 - Health
      HIV/AIDS
 - Indigenous Peoples
 - Economy & Trade
 - Labour
 - Population
     Reproductive Rights
     Migration&Refugees
 - Arts &
          Entertainment
 - Education
 - In Focus
Languages
   ENGLISH
   ESPAÑOL
   FRANÇAIS
   ARABIC
   DEUTSCH
   ITALIANO
   JAPANESE
   NEDERLANDS
   PORTUGUÊS
   SUOMI
   SVENSKA
   SWAHILI
   TÜRKÇE
IPS Inter Press Service News Agency

See picture details
Q&A: "If You Find Yourself in a Minefield, Shout for Help"
Constanza Vieira interviews ANDRÉS, a teenager in a war zone
CALOTO, Colombia - Putting on a white t-shirt or wearing olive-green pants can be life-or-death decisions in the conflict zone in the steep Andes mountains in western Colombia where 14-year-old Andrés lives and attends eighth grade.
MORE >>
 

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Less Torture, More Impunity
By Helda Martínez
BOGOTÁ - The number of cases of torture attributed to the armed forces in Colombia increased 80 percent from 2003 to 2008, in a context of near total impunity for such crimes. However, the number of documented torture cases overall fell 43.5 percent, compared to the 1998-2003 period.
MORE >>
 

COLOMBIA-VENEZUELA: Border Killings Heat Up Tension
By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS - The activities of Colombian armed groups across the border in western Venezuela are aggravating the diplomatic conflict between the two governments, which are ideological opposites, and some analysts have begun to wonder just how far the tension will escalate.
MORE >>
 

See picture details
COLOMBIA: Sexual Violence as Weapon of War
By Helda Martínez
BOGOTA - Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war in Colombia by all parties in the country’s longstanding armed conflict, and its main victims are women and girls, states a report recently released by Intermón Oxfam, backing up claims made repeatedly by national and international human rights groups.
MORE >>
 

COLOMBIA: U.S. Aid Must Leverage Reforms, Rights Groups Urge
By Matthew Berger
WASHINGTON - Defending human rights in Colombia – never an especially safe endeavour – has become even more dangerous lately, several NGO leaders and Colombian human rights defenders testified on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
MORE >>
 

COLOMBIA: US Should Open Its Files on Palace of Justice Massacre
By Constanza Vieira
BOGOTA - A declassified U.S. State Department cable dated January 1999 blames Colombian soldiers for the killings of civilians rescued by the military operation to retake the Palace of Justice from guerrillas who had seized the building in November 1985.
MORE >>
 

See picture details
COLOMBIA: Talking About Peace in the Middle of War
By Helda Martínez *
BOGOTA - Organisations representing sectors of the Colombian population that have suffered from four decades of armed conflict, like indigenous and black communities, shared their experiences over the weekend in the "World Peace Summit", which also drew prominent international experts on Latin America.
MORE >>
 

COLOMBIA: Neutrality Impossible for Indigenous Groups
Analysis by Javier Darío Restrepo
BOGOTA - The latest killings of Awá Indians in southern Colombia – 12 members of a family, including four children and three teenagers –, the forced displacement of hundreds of native villagers, and death threats against indigenous leaders and teachers are signs indicating that their demand to be considered neutral in the armed conflict is still being ignored.
MORE >>
 

SOUTH AMERICA: Uribe Defends US Base Deal from Neighbours
By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES - At a special summit Friday in Argentina, the presidents of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) questioned the agreement under which Colombia will allow the United States to use seven military bases in its territory.
MORE >>
 

See picture details
RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Justice for Indigenous Leader's Murder - 21 Years On
By Nicole Karsin*
JAMBALÓ, Colombia - One night in February 1988 in the native Nasa territory of Jambaló, in southwest Colombia, soldiers barged into Etelvina Zapata's home and snatched her 21-year-old son, barefoot and clad only in shorts, accusing him of working with the leftwing guerrillas.
MORE >>
 

See picture details
COLOMBIA: From Espionage to Sabotage – and the Dirty War (Part 3)
Analysis by Constanza Vieira*
BOGOTÁ - For decades now, privacy in personal electronic communications has existed only on paper. But the most serious aspect of the espionage scandal that broke this year in Colombia lies in the use given to the information that was gathered.
MORE >>
 

FILM-COLOMBIA: A Priest's Passion for Justice
By Helda Martínez
BOGOTÁ - The latest film out of Colombia is based on the true story of a priest in a rural town whose passions include a search for justice in an area that, like so many in this civil war-torn country, is hemmed in by armed groups, whether far-right paramilitaries, leftist guerrillas or state security forces.
MORE >>
 

COLOMBIA: "Proof-of-Life" Videos Feed Hostages' Families' Hopes
By Constanza Vieira
BOGOTÁ - "You look as good as ever," was the radio message that Olga Valderrama sent over the airwaves to her son, army corporal Antonio Sanmiguel, who is being held captive somewhere in the jungles of Colombia by the FARC guerrillas.
MORE >>
 

 

Next >>

 
RSS News Feeds RSS/XML
Make as home Make IPS News your homepage!
Free Newsletters Free Email Newsletters
IPS Mobile IPS Mobile
Text Only Text Only

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
Special Report from Colombia - The Unusual Wealth of the Chocó
News in RSS
US-INDIA: State Visit by Singh Could Smooth Bumpy Relations
PERU: Fighting Hunger with Native Crops
RIGHTS-CHAGOS: 'My Navel is Buried There'
GENDER-AFRICA: Some Progress Amidst Continuing Challenges
AFGHANISTAN: Insurgents Infiltrate Security Forces
LEBANON: Migrant Women Dying on the Job
POLITICS: U.N. in Final Push for 2015 Development Goals
CLIMATE CHANGE: Health at Risk
RIGHTS-MEXICO: State Held Responsible for Three Juárez Killings
POLITICS-BOTSWANA: I Lost the Election, But I Am a Winner
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

IPS is not responsible for the content of external sites