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GREEN LETTER No. 88 27 th April 2007
C ompiled and edited by Jenny James
Postal address: Atlantis Ecological Community, Belen, Huila, Colombia, S. America
New Website: (still being worked on, but viewable) www.atlantiscommunity.thinkhost.net/vibes.html
Contents of Green Letter 88:
Sharing TearsMurder case: the semi-finalsCountry Girl in the City…
Sharing Tears by Louise
At present I am doing an extremely un-me kind of thing. I'm working as a waitress in a busy hotel in West Cork to earn money for projects in Colombia, which hopefully will be a little more inspiring than serving rich people their dinner and afterwards having to throw at least 50% of it in the bin as they never eat all of it. Doing this job, I meet a huge number of people, most very friendly and always wanting to make conversation - in fact they often seem hungrier for a chat than for food.
Among the customers the other night, I got talking to an old couple from England who had roots in this area and had kept on returning to visit during their whole lives. The lady told me sadly that Ireland has changed and is no longer the place she loved visiting. Everyone is so focused on making millions, she said, that all people ever talk about now in Ireland is Money.
We carried on our conversation in between me rushing around the restaurant. I noticed that everyone else was slowly leaving, but that this couple were in no hurry, and soon they were the only people left. So we continued talking about how true values were being lost not only here but in the world in general, and how money is becoming too important to people.
I decided to sing them a few lines from a song Anne Barr wrote about modern Ireland, and they both listened carefully : 'The springs that fed the Holy Wells are choked with plastic now’, ....' ..soon there’ll be nothing wild or green left at all’…’the Celtic Tiger’s claws have turned our hearts stone cold…’
At first, the man began to cry and then the woman too - they had tears in their eyes and rolling down their cheeks. I didn't know whether to stop or continue singing, but decided to sing the song to the end, and when I did, tears started coming out of my eyes too!
'Oh dear,’ I said, I didn't mean to get us all upset!’ The lady could not speak for a minute, but when she did, she said: ‘Don't worry about making us cry, you have made our day! We were feeling so down about what we saw, but now we know there are people who think like we do...'
‘…. The magic has gone, Old Ireland has died ..’
Evidently, not quite all of it, thank goodness!
Semi-finals of our battle for justice for murdered Tris and Javier
We would like to begin this report from Anne Barr with a message from a Green Letter reader, Elaine Gregory of England
I am trying to search for some words that will convey my love to you … You are doing an extra-ordinary amount of time to get any form of closure on these deaths. It is difficult to understand the arrogance and grey grot that surrounds bad people. They make the world most of us come from that much more difficult for us …. They bring a heaviness with them that infects others…. It is always someone's son or daughter when anyone dies.. anywhere, in whatever circumstances.
You certainly have staying power for what you believe in. I guess we all push, in our own way, to build a world fit for us and our children to live in. Many of us probably still carry a memory of what that world was like and are driven to try to recreate it, lifetime after lifetime …I find if I look at it all that way, then it doesn't seem quite so bad because it means the bad folks never win…
Court
Case 30th January
by
Anne Barr I just got back from the court hearing in Melgar. It was not a good day.
I could see he
was driving the judge mad. The judge kept asking him, well what about what you
said before? After much pressuring, the informer said that he had been promised
a reduced sentence for informing but the State Attorney had gone back on his
word, and ‘God forgive him for having lied.’ The bit about God was repeated over
and over again. The only part of his declaration he still insisted was true is
not true at all. After the hearing was over, I asked why the State use people like this as it only gives the law a bad name. A few people nodded in agreement. Everyone, no matter what side they are on, hates this kind of thing, yet the State Attorney’s Office keep shooting themselves in the foot by using these people.
Later on, I
overheard the defence lawyers talk to the judge about when the
appeal
would be, so everyone accepts that at least two of the murderers, the Parra
brothers, will be sentenced.
My news is not good. Today they began to tie up the court case. The Fiscal (State Attorney) and a spokesman from the Public Ministry said that they felt they had to advise the judge to give a not-guilty verdict because the only evidence is circumstantial; that the Seńora Anne Barr had done more than the impossible to find evidence but as this country is ruled by fear and the murderers had used terrorist tactics to shut the population up; that two of the witnesses are dead, presumed suicides although according to the Senora Anne Barr it was murder; and although there was a witness (Alfredo Pacheco Ramos) he strangely retracted his version very suddenly, and Mauricio Rincon, a neighbour of the Irish community known as Atlantis, strangely and suddenly said he didn't know them. ‘All of this leaves the Fiscal no option but to conclude that there is no legal basis to find them guilty’ i.e. he implied very clearly they are guilty but says it has been impossible to prove this technically.
The man from the Public Ministry said that the persons who handed in the boys’ bones in the town of Cunday may or may not have been guerrillas, and that the doctor who received the bones from these people would not testify for fear and that therefore there was a lack of solid proof that the FARC were really responsible. I couldn’t stop myself trying to speak up at this point and got told to be quiet by the judge.
The fact that a copybook with a record of the assassinations had been found in the house of one of the murderers was mentioned, but the Fiscal said that although it had been proven that the hand-writing was Arnulfo's, neither Tristan nor Javier were mentioned by name in it, just that a 'gringo' and a Colombian had been ‘executed’ - and that apparently is not enough - even though the dates of their deaths and the entry in the copybook coincide. I tried to protest again at this but again was told sharply to be quiet or leave the room by the judge who has never been friendly to me, though he is very nice to the killers.
I felt extremely bad but forced myself to listen and write things down, until it got to the point where Arnulfo was going to begin to talk. My cell phone rang and I went outside to answer it. I could hear Arnulfo going on about being completely innocent so I went and took a bus as I couldn't stomach the smugness coming off him. It was not the ideal thing to do as I should have talked to the Fiscal and to the man from the Public Ministry, but I'd had enough and the two killers, Arnulfo and Nelson, were obviously set to go on for ages.
There is still a strong possibility that these men will be done for a high-profile kidnap they are also accused of, though I feel somewhat unsure of everything at this minute. No actual judgement was emitted today as the judge has to deliberate and this may take a few weeks at least, but since he has been advised to find them not guilty by the state representatives, I can't imagine that he will go against this advice! And technically I cannot criticise their position as it is factually correct. Ironic that the one time I know of Colombian justice working 'properly', its conclusions are completely wrong! The ‘Colombia Three’ Irishmen were convicted on much less evidence but since there was political pressure….
On my way to the case this morning on the bus, I had the thought that our presence throughout the process means that things are being done more 'correctly', as the judges and Fiscal feel they are 'on show' and that this, ironically, could work against us…..Materially, as long as they get done for the kidnap, it doesn't make that much difference as there was always the possibility that the two sentences would run concurrently anyway. But it is still sickening.
I am going to write to the Irish Embassy about it to see if they will diplomaticaly protest on our behalf.
Anne
Letter to the Irish Embassy
Dear Dermott Brangan,
I am writing to you from Bogota, my name is Anne Barr. You may remember me from your first public meeting in the Jockey Club here in Colombia, I was the woman who didn't get on too well with Williams Woods, the US Ambassador!
I am writing to ask for your support in the court case I have been involved in against the FARC militiamen who killed Tristan James and Javier Nova on the 9 th July 2000, both members of Atlantis Ecological Community.
As you most likely already know, getting justice for any crime here is a long-drawn-out process that results in impunity in 98% of cases. We had some hopes that this case against the militiamen might fall amongst the 2% of crimes that actually get resolved, as there is plenty of evidence to support our accusations. But on 11 th April when I went to the latest of the public hearings, I was shocked to hear that there would most likely be no sentence against the killers.
The list of inefficiencies and 'mistakes' made by the state attorney’s office is very long and I won't bore you with all of it as it would take a small book. However I would be really grateful if you would read the following list of legal atrocities and if it is at all possible, I beg you to present a diplomatic complaint on our behalf, or at least an inquiry:
1) The hearings started on September 7 th 2006, even though two of the murderers were arrested on July 31 st 2001. Between last September and the present, three hearings were cancelled, twice because the prison authorities (INPEC) didn't have the money to bring one of the prisoners to the court-house and once because the defence lawyer didn't show up. As a result of these delays, one of the killers, Joselo Sanabria Guerrera, had to be set free.
2) One of the main pieces of evidence against the men who killed our boys was a copy-book found by the army when they arrested two militiamen, Arnulfo and Nelson Parra Sogamoso in July 2001. In handwriting now legally proven to be that of Arnulfo Parrra, was the statement: '9 julio 2000 ajusticiamos a un gringo y un colombiano'. (On 9 th July 2000, we executed a gringo and a Colombian.’) Astonishingly, this was not considered sufficient evidence by the court.
3) Shortly after our boys were killed, three Colombians were kidnapped by the same group. These people (two of whom had army training) escaped after one year in captivity and managed to identify Arnulfo Parra in an ID parade. They also gave testimony that they had overheard members of this group boast about the killing of Tristan and Javier. This evidence was not even considered.
4) The mother, grandmother and young aunts of Tristan James had many meetings with the higher echelons of the FARC, after which the FARC commanders accepted responsibility for the murders and promised to have the remains of Tristan and Javier returned to us. All of this we reported to the state attorney’s office in great detail. As a result of these meetings, a year after the boys were ‘disappeared’ and killed, two guerrillas arrived at a local hospital near to where the boys were murdered, with two black plastic bags of bones to be delivered to the 'gringos'. Some of the bones proved to be Tristan’s and Javier’s after DNA testing. Yet the State Attorney said last Wednesday that it is not clearly proven that the FARC were involved in the crime. It is difficult to imagine how he drew this conclusion which, according to him, helps exonerate the killers because they have already been proven to be FARC militiamen as they were found with guns and uniforms, and as the FARC didn't do it...this is enough to give one brain damage, not an unusual complaint when dealing with Colombian institutions.
5) Tragically, two old friends and neighbours of ours, Baudelina and Julio Cesar Peńa, were the only local people brave enough to testify against the murderers. Julio’s statement was taken by what is known here as a 'policia judicial', sent by the Fiscalia to do this job. Shortly afterwards, Julio and Baudelina were murdered, made to drink rat poison. Their deaths were classified as suicide though absolutely everyone who knows them knows this is nonsense. However, anyone who would dare to testify to the contrary would obviously risk the same fate that Julio and Baudelina suffered. The rat poison packet was conspicuously left on top of the appointment slip from the Fiscalia, near the bodies. Then last Wednesday, the State Attorney said that statements taken by the 'Policia Judicial' are not valid in a murder case. The question is: Why did the Fiscalia, knowing full well that these people were risking their lives by testifying, then send a 'policia judicial' to take their statement given that any statement taken by this person was not going to be useful as evidence?
We have not had a lawyer to argue these points in court because, with two witnesses already murdered and many others too terrified to testify, only a lawyer with a very good security system would be willing to take on such a case. The fees required by this kind of lawyer are way beyond our budget.
Last Wednesday at the hearing, the state attorney and the representative from the Public Ministry both advised the judge not to find the men guilty on the basis of lack of proof. (It is interesting to note here that the three Irishmen who were accused of training the FARC, were sentenced to 17 years in absentia recently on the basis of much less evidence – but much more political pressure!) The judge has not made his decision known yet but it is very likely that he will follow the advice of the state prosecutor (Fiscal). I am categorically not implying any kind of corruption on the part of the state representatives, as I really don't believe this to be the case. Fear, inefficiency and apathy are more likely to be at the roots of this decision. However, such legal malfunctions are a big part of the reason that disputes here are settled privately and violently, simply because the state doesn't work.
As you probably know better than I do, international perception about whether Colombian state institutions are getting stronger or not is very important here, so even a polite enquiry from yourself could really help focus attention on the inconsistencies that are being allowed to go unchallenged in this case. These men are serial killers, having killed at least 14 innocent campesinos before killing our boys, so our own safety will be compromised if they are set free.
Constructive foreign interest in the legal system here is extremely important for other reasons too. I left the court house last week thinking that if a group of foreigners can't get justice in a case against the FARC, what hope is there for the thousands of poor country people who have legitimate and extremely serious complaints against the army and the paramilitaries who have displaced and massacred so many of them?
Sincerely, Anne Barr
Country Girl in the City by Katie
Recently I spent three months working at weekends in the hot and speedy city of Cali singing with my boyfriend in a very posh restaurant where all the rich people of Cali go.
Having been brought up in remote countryside, I can't help feeling shocked at many things I see, like the prices of food and wine… one bottle of wine: 250,000 pesos - in an even posher place, it can cost 800,000 pesos. Where we live in the mountains, a man earns 160,000 a month working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week...
I often wonder how rich Colombians justify spending money like that as everyone here knows the terrible conditions so many people in Colombia live in. They must feel they 'deserve' it more than 'poor campesinos ', but who is to say the rich work harder than the peasants? Their answer is to say they have studied so therefore their work is more valuable, but who can say that growing food for the country isn't more important?
The people I sing for all wear extremely expensive clothes and drive the best cars and for some reason they've decided that women's bodies were wrongly designed, so about 70% of the women have exaggeratedly huge silicon breasts and bums and they all get liposuction done on their stomachs, they are all 'blonde’ and they just look so unnatural. And of course they all compete with each other as to who can wear the most fashionable clothes.
I look around and wonder what it's all about and who's it really for and are they all really happy? The owner of the restaurant we sing in owns two more restaurants and says it is very stressful to have so much responsibility and although he is supposed to be his own boss, it doesn't feel like that because his customers become his boss….
And then I come home to our farm and feel the silence, the peace, the fresh air and water and all the beauty surrounding me and, wearing my simple but comfortable gardening clothes, no money in my pockets and with my healthy natural body, I put my hands in the earth and think ‘Who's to say I'm not happier? ’
Katie
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