Bishops decry violence against Afro-Colombians, indigenous people

Catholic bishops in Colombia have expressed concern over the increasing violence against indigenous people and Afro-descendant communities in the South American country.

The plight of Afro-Colombian communities is similar to that “experienced by thousands of people throughout the department of Chocó and in the departments of Cauca, Nariño and Valle,” the bishops of the Pacific coast and south-west of Colombia noted in a statement. 

Both the Church and human rights organizations have criticized the turf war between rival gangs in Colombia’s Pacific coast which is surrounded by Venezuela to the east, Ecuador and Peru to the southwest and Panama to the south.

The active presence of paramilitary, guerrillas, drug traffickers, and illegal mining syndicates have turned the region into a crossfire field.

The atrocities are attributed to state apathy and criminal actions by armed groups against Afro-descendant populations who make up 10.6 percent of the former Spanish colony’s total population.

Though the Colombian government inked a peace pact with former combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) five years ago, the nation is still embroiled in endemic violence brought by a cycle of civil wars that lasted for 50 years. 

"Unfortunately, the cry of the communities has not been heard and, consequently, the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, instead of decreasing, are intensifying,” the bishops were quoted as saying by Fides.

Flanked by two oceans, Colombia houses half of the Andean moorland on the planet and 30 percent of the country’s land area is covered by rainforest. This makes the country of 50 million people one of most biodiverse nations globally.

According to official figures, Colombia lost 171,685 hectares of forest in 2020, an 8 percent increase compared with 2019.

The maximum damage took place in the Amazonía region in the south of the country. Nearly 22 leaders from indigenous communities are among the 67 human rights defenders killed this year, BBC reported.

Despite its natural resources, the Chocó department is a poorest in the country where 15.1 percent of the population live in extreme poverty against the national average of 2.7 percent, according to official figures.

The poor law and order situation has jaded nearly 120,000 inhabitants of the capital of Chocó, which borders Panama.

Its privileged geographical location with coasts on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea makes it a sought-after destination and is fought for by illegal armed groups. 

The fight between security forces, guerrillas and drug traffickers has made Cauca, in the southwest of the country, another troubled region in the country. Cauca is stronghold of guerrilla groups like FARC and the National Liberation Army.

"We ask once again to the Colombian State to undertake relevant and global actions to guarantee the life and dignity of the affected population,” the bishops said.

They also urged the armed groups to "to stop the deplorable actions that have disturbed the traditionally peaceful life of the ethnic communities.” 

Due to the “lamentable implementation” of the peace accord by the government, headed by President Ivan Duque, in many remote areas, paramilitary and criminal groups are vying for an upper hand through violence against rural communities.

Recently killings have taken place over the transition among farmers from cultivation of coca plants, a prime source of funding for illegal groups, to legal crops, which is one of the clauses in the 2016 peace agreement. 

In a recent statement, Bishop Mario de Jesús Álvarez Gómez of Istmina-Tadó in Chocó department drew attention to the rise in violence in Municipality of Medio San Juan for territorial control.

The bishop urged the armed groups to avoid, among other things, “the involvement of the civilian population in situations where people's lives are at risk.” 

In last year October, President Ivan Duque visited Choco to increase his government footprint in the region and unveiled a mega plan against extortion.

Earlier, in a message sent to Bishop Gómez, Archbishop Luis José Rueda of Bogotá and president of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia, expressed solidarity with sufferings of the indigenous communities of Chocó whose lifestyle is intertwined with the unique geography of tropical mountains and the ocean. 

The Colombian bishops’ conference had organized a year of reconciliation this year, inviting rebel groups to disarm and enter into peace.

After the general assembly in July this year, Archbishop Omar Sánchez Cubillos of Popayán, vice president of the conference, warned against the ongoing violence in the country.  

“If we do not resolve the issue of peace, we will be stuck in a lot of pain, with many fractures and, in the end, we will not see the country we deserve,” he said.