San Jose de Apartadó is a small town in the northwest of Colombia, near the gulf of Uraba. Farmers settled there in the 1960s and 70s and since then the community has participated in cooperative agricultural and communal living. In March of 1997, the Community responded to the escalating violence and extrajudicial killings of community leaders by declaring themselves a Peace Community, with the support of the region's Catholic Bishop, and committing to:
- Farm in cooperative work groups
- Denounce the injustice and impunity of war crimes
- Not participate in the war in direct or indirect form, nor carry weapons
- Not manipulate or give information to any of the parties involved in armed conflict
The Peace Community [1] has a special role among the diverse communities throughout Colombia that nonviolently resist political and physical violence. More than others, the community has staked its survival on the conscience of the international community by being visible and seeking expressions of conscience when threats or attacks occur. Since its founding, the community has suffered over 160 deaths.
On February 21, 2005, a community founder and 7 other San Jose peace community members were brutally massacred, according to witnesses from the community, by army soldiers. Since that time, the presence of both military and paramilitary in the area has risen and the need for international support and attention has become increasingly critical.
Slowly, small Colombian human rights and solidarity organizations have been joined by a growing number of national and international peace and justice groups. For the first seven months of 2005, more than $70 million of military aid for Colombia was put on hold, as the State Department was, due to the February massacre, not prepared to certify that Colombia met the law's human rights conditions. While the aid was eventually released days before Colombia's president met with President Bush, this delay represented growing concern by the State Department and human rights groups regarding cases reportedly involving direct violations by the Colombian Army. This growing attention, coupled with Inter-American Court measures passed in the year 2000 and requiring the Colombian government to take whatever steps necessary to protect the lives and personal integrity of the Peace Community members, contributes to the strength and continued existence of San José de Apartadó.
Learn more [1] about FOR's peace presence in San José.