Por el respeto a la vida, los derechos humanos, la cultura y la permanencia en el territorio. 

 This report is the product of what seven delegates from the United States heard as we traveled to Arauca, Colombia, to learn about the true cost of oil. We are grateful to all those who spent time sharing with us the reality of US policy in Colombia, and we strive to speak that reality to all who will listen as we return to the US and engage with the peace and justice struggles at home. The lenses through which we tell these stories are colored with our own privileges and perspectives, some of us students, some of us peace activists.  It can be no other way – we are not objective, and do not pretend to be. This is not a direct accounting of the experiences of Colombian peoples – this is a document produced by folks living in the United States retelling the stories we heard. We will list various websites that may come in handy if you’re looking for more information firsthand, and we encourage you to contact Witness for Peace and join a future delegation to Colombia to gain your own understanding of the impact of US policy and colonization in that land. May what we write, and what you read, further connect social movements across the Americas and around the world. May those from the global North, or one-third world, learn to listen to the voices of those most affected by capitalism and imperialism in the global South, or two-thirds world. May those from the one-third world become better allies. May we struggle together for justice and create a better world for future generations.

In July of 2006, a Witness for Peace – School of the Americas Watch joint delegation to Colombia looking at Labor Rights and Human Rights met with political prisoners Samuel Morales and Raquel Castro. These two individuals were the survivors of the Caño Seco massacre of August 2004, in which three unionists were murdered, and two survivors taken into military custody and eventually transferred to high-security prisons in Bogotá for three years, and held without being charged. Many delegates from that trip were so moved by the testimony we received from Samuel and Raquel that we organized a return trip to the community from which Samuel and Raquel organize: Arauca. Arauca is a department in Colombia on the north-eastern border with Venezuela. It has been an important hub of social organizing since before the Colombian state established a presence there in the 1980’s. Oil was discovered there in the late 1970’s, and since that time there has been much violence associated with the various armed actors (Colombian military and paramilitaries, the FARC guerrillas, and the ELN guerrillas) supporting or resisting multinational corporate interests. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy), a Los Angeles-based multinational oil company has taken over and destroyed indigenous land there since the 1980’s, and today the state-owned oil company, ECOPETROL, is helping Occidental maintain and expand its powers in the region. In order for corporate interests to prevail, the military and paramilitaries of Colombia must exert a violent repression of the strong social movement, specifically targeting the union organizers, indigenous communities, and social organizations that have had such success in weaving together a social tissue capable of surviving ongoing mass arrests, displacement, assassinations, persecution, disappearances, and massacres. In addition, the violent struggle between the two guerilla movements active in the area places civilians in the middle, and according to one priest, people must choose an allegiance with either the FARC or the ELN in order to survive.

The minimum wage in Colombia is 435 thousand pesos, or about US$200 per month. After expected expenses including shelter, transportation, etc., this leaves less than $2US for food per day (and that’s just for those who earn the minimum wage!). The economic situation that today leaves so many in poverty has 500-year-old roots, dating back to the European invasion of the Americas. The first colonizers came to the state of Arauca in the 1670’s. Farmers came from other departments in Colombia, because they did not have land. But many had a social consciousness as they came to find land, and to work, and in the 1960’s and 70’s a strong social network was in place, made up of indigenous groups, trade unionists, farmers and women’s groups working together in the social organizations. Highways and hospitals were built thanks to the work of the people, as the state did not yet have any presence in the communities of Arauca.

In 1972, the first civil strike of 10,000 people demanded state support. Up until this time, there had been no political violence as the state was not involved in the region. Further civil strikes followed, in 1982, 1986, 1987 and 1988. As the social organizations became legal entities in the 1990’s, the state repression began. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, farmers groups formed, with stores and co-ops in each town, separate from the government. People would bring products and buy from one another in a network. In 1991, Arauca formed a chapter of the CUT, or Central Workers Union. In 1997, the youth association ASOJER was formed. ASCATIDAR, a non-governmental organization representing different indigenous groups, such as the U’Wa, the Sikwanee, and the Hiknu, among others, formed in Arauca. A social forum was held in 1998. In 2005, The “Awakening Women of Arauca” was officially convened. There is a rich history of social organizing in Arauca.

In 1975, Shell Oil arrived and discovered oil. After Shell, Oxy came, and since that time has had the greatest multinational company presence in the region. When oil companies came, they brought with them teams and experts, and did not employ local people. This was the first conflict between the multinational companies and the people, and things have only gotten worse. When oil was discovered, the state recognized that the area was of some interest. 1987 saw the first protest against oil exploration. At this time the Laguna di Lipa, or the Lipa Lake or Lagoon, was obliterated by oil exploration: dried up and completely polluted, threatening the indigenous people’s way of life, interdependent, as it is, on the health of the environment. The Sikwanee (also called the Guajibo by colonizers) indigenous people had lived there, and as a people, as a culture, they are now nearing extinction. In the 1990’s, the situation became worse, as Oxy was working hand in hand with the US government. The United States trained and funded troops in the brutal 18th Brigade of the Colombian Armed Forces to protect the oil interests.

The social struggle in Arauca continued strong despite militarization, paramilitary/military takeover of the region since the 1990s. The people held many events and strikes, indigenous peoples working closely with the social organizations despite differences in governance and culture. There is a united goal. Indigenous peoples don’t want the oil taken because the land is sacred, and the oil is part of the Mother Earth, according to their cosmovision. Social organizations have varying perspectives on what is and is not acceptable in terms of oil exploitation: some argue that oil can be taken out of the earth if the profits are invested in the community from which they’re taken, and others believe that the oil can be extracted by Ecopetrol, the state oil company, and none other. Still others agree with the indigenous peoples that no oil should be taken out, that all the multinational corporations should leave, and the land should be left as it is. Among the various perspectives there is agreement, however, that human rights must be respected, that militarization is not a positive solution to these issues and that displacement is unacceptable.

In 1987 the first international campaign to draw attention to Occidental’s genocidal and ecocidal behavior did not do much. In 1997, Oxy was put on an international trial for violating the rights of the U’Wa people, and the environment. Militarization was at this point double what it had been before. With this trial, the government of Colombia finally paid attention, and talked with indigenous communities, and made agreements. But these agreements were never followed through.

Oxy had official (though illegal) drilling rights near San More, in U’Wa territory, and decided that the international outcry made it too high a cost to pursue drilling there. Ecopetrol, however, was recently granted drilling rights here instead, and our delegation visited the Gibraltar 3 site where the exploration is happening. Once Ecopetrol finds oil, they are expected to sell the rights to Oxy, BP or Repsol.

According to Colombian president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, regarding drilling on U’Wa land, “we will extract it, or we will extract it.” Uribe has made Arauca what is referred to as a “Laboratory of War,” using mass detentions, mass displacements and massacres to squash the social movement there; these steps are being replicated throughout many regions in Colombia. Buena Ventura is now a Zone of Rehabilitation like Arauca was in 2000. This means a state of emergency is declared, and there are several unconstitutional happenings. People are not allowed to assemble, to express themselves; individual and collective liberties are cut. Civil society is militarized, and the elected leaders are replaced by military officials. All the candidates for local office were scooped up and detained, a week before the election. State forces put a military commander in the governor and mayor’s offices.  Arauca lost the ability to self-govern. In 2002, Arauca was declared a Zone of Rehabilitation and Consolidation. The military took over everything at this time, including hospitals and schools, taking away the rights and liberties of the people. That year, 2,000 people were detained in a basketball court (in a town of 50,000). Of the 2,000, some informers pointed out 98 social leaders, who were then jailed. Of these, charges were made up against 43, and they were subsequently imprisoned for years. This was presented to the press like, “Look, we did such a good job ridding Saravena of the guerrilla. We caught 2,000!”

In the town of Arauquita, and its surrounding 170 hamlets, the military pounded on doors, killed people, and scooped up others to put in jail. In one town alone, 150 people were detained and eventually charges were made up against only 18. In El Triumfo, state forces scooped up 60 people, creating evidence against 9, at no political cost. The government did not respond, and there was no outcry. It seemed like the state forces did nothing wrong.

In August 2003, 31 leaders were detained, and many were just released from prison a few months ago. The people then saw selective assassinations. Paramilitaries were not yet well set up, they were still organizing themselves; which means that in 2002 military snipers were responsible for assassinating social leaders. In January of 2003, union leaders and teachers were assassinated. In February and March of 2003, there were 23 victims, including a journalist. In 2004, the colonel of the 18th Brigade began to harass people. He said, “you’re here to follow the steps of Fr. Perez” (an ELN leader). List after list of selective assassinations took place. State forces created circles around the city, called security belts. Despite these security belts, assassinations took place right in town; one of these is the August 2004 Caño Seco massacre, in which 3 men were killed by the army. Héctor Alirio Martínez was president of the campesino organization (ADUC, the Departmental Peasant Association). Jorge Eduardo Prieto was the president of the health care workers union (ANTHOC in Arauca). Leonel Goyeneche was a teacher, and treasurer of the CUT (the Central Workers Union). These folks were meeting with Samuel and Raquel. Farcical evidence was produced linking them the FARC. They are martyrs of the social movement. The inspector general recognized that the military killed them, placing administrative sanctions on one lieutenant and one general, and transferring them to Bogotá.

In Arauca, there is a very strong social movement, where the leaders are in exile, in prison, or in the cemetery. Two insurgent groups are also present in Arauca, the ELN and the FARC. There are so many geographic and resource interests: oil, and the border with Venezuela. There is a new highway under construction called the Liberator’s Route, from Caracas to Bogotá to Quito. While Venezuela, a neosocialist state, has been supportive of the social movement in Colombia, Chavez and Uribe have hugged and placed the first stones of a natural gas pipeline together. The Colombian state defends the interests of the oil companies, and exerts strong efforts to destroy the power and unity of social organizations. It’s clear that Oxy is the number one beneficiary of the military and paramilitary actions.

In the massacre of Santo Domingo, in 1998, the Colombian air force bombed coordinates specified by an Occidental Skymaster plane working to provide security. It hit the town, killing 17 people including six children and one pregnant woman. The Colombian government now pays the families of the victims, but nothing has happened. Right now Santo Domingo is a hot area in the war between the FARC and the ELN. Every year there is a memorial remembering the 1998 massacre.

Social movement work on a national level in Colombia has been exhausting, so in 2002, there was an international campaign launched at the World Social Forum (Alegre, Brazil) against multinational oil companies like Oxy in Arauca and Boyaca for operating in oil fields on U’Wa land. This campaign is meant to denounce multinational oil companies and to strengthen the social fabric and give hope to the people. The goals of the campaign are:
1.    Stop oil exploitation on U’Wa land. Their territories are protected by the Constitution, and there should be absolutely NO drilling on their land.
2.    Denounce the behavior of Occidental Petroleum, and not only in regards to the direct violence. That is, back in the 1970’s, there was good health care and education. Why are the people of Arauca poorer now that oil has been discovered?

In Spain and in England, Repsol and British Petroleum are also on trial. This campaign can be supported by people from the United States. DynCorps is providing security of Oxy, though it’s very difficult to get evidence regarding their human rights violations. Investigating Oxy is difficult because those who do so in Colombia are exiled, killed, or imprisoned. The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (August 2 – 4, 2007, Bogotá) is another opportunity to hold the multinational oil companies responsible, and we have hope from the peoples’ tribunals on Chiquita Banana and Drummond Coal. The peoples’ tribunals produce good results, and several human rights cases will be presented:
-    the murder of three unionists in Caño Seco
-    the massacre of 17 people in Santo Domingo
-    the detention of 2,000 people in Saravena
-    the massacre of 10 people in Flor Mario (in which the army dressed up as AUC paramilitaries with the AUC armbands, and killed those most outspoken against Oxy).
-    the ecocide at Lipa Lake and the ongoing destruction of water quality in Arauca (four rivers of this region have already dried up, and this also destroys an important food source for the people. Water is used in the oil extraction process, injected into the land to push up the oil, and contaminated water is dumped back into the water system)
-    the ethnocide and human rights violations of the Sikwanee and U’Wa peoples.
 
This is the setting in which the people of Arauca struggle for life, self-determination, and justice. The rest of the report will detail what delegates heard from the following sectors: Women and Youth, Environment, Indigenous, Labor Rights, Free Trade, US Policy, and the Military/Police/US Embassy responses.