20 candidates in Colombia's local elections assassinated so far

[Judi Lynn]

20 candidates in Colombia's local elections assassinated so far
Sunday, 24 July 2011 11:09
Adriaan Alsema

Twenty candidates in the local elections held in Colombia in October have been assassinated so far, the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) announced Sunday.

According to the NGO, another 32 candidates have received threats, four have been kidnapped and seven survived assassination attempts.

~snip~
According to the MOE, the violence takes place because of a variety of motives. In some cases illegal armed groups are trying to influence the elections. In other cases illegal armed groups seek to exercise control over where elections take place. Some violence is related to the national government's policy to return land by illegal armed groups to its original owners.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/17833-20-candidates-in-colombias-local-elections-assassinated-so-far.html

[gbscar]

1. If, as the article says, most of those killed are candidates from openly pro-government parties...

...then that is surely something we should give more than a moment's thought to considering.

It is true that there have been a number of bomb attacks in the recent past and other murders blamed on FARC which the rebel group probably didn't do. It is also true that most political violence in Colombia has been carried out by the right, not the left.

But to assume or imply this means FARC has never assassinated any right-wing candidates or politicians -whether we are talking about the past, present or future- is both highly questionable and very unreasonable. It is, on the contrary, worth discussing.

Particularly when that wouldn't even be a "new" tactic by FARC. In fact, it is a rather old one and it has been publicly acknowledged by human rights organizations, long before the Uribe administration (and its most recent round of "false positives") ever entered the picture.

"Both killings and kidnappings are used against civilians to spread terror, a violation of Article 13 (2), which prohibits "acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population." In the months leading up to October 1997 municipal elections, FARC guerrillas killed, threatened, and kidnapped dozens of mayors, town council members, and candidates, who were told to resign or face death. Among the departments most pressured were Antioquia, Bolívar, Caquetá, Cundinamarca, Guaviare, Huila, Meta, Nariño, Putumayo, and Tolima.

The FARC threat was so determined, in fact, that the group felt obliged to issue a confirmation via the Internet. "The position of the FARC-EP in relation to the upcoming elections continues irrevocably to be the same: complete sabotage," which in practice consisted primarily of killing and threatening civilians who were candidates or outgoing officials."

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,HRW,,COL,,3ae6a7e30,0.html

Even in our particular case, the potential existence of some "false flag" operations by right-wing paramilitaries doesn't automatically eliminate at least the partial involvement of both guerrillas and other armed factions in the current round of political violence.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Colombian gangs eye bigger role in local vote - group

Colombian gangs eye bigger role in local vote - group
By Jack Kimball | Reuters – 16 hours ago

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's criminal gangs are seeking to expand their influence in an upcoming local vote and could reverse a decade-long trend of falling electoral violence, the International Crisis Group think tank said on Monday.

Thousands of candidates will vie for city council, mayoral and provincial posts, including governors in the South American nation's 32 departments, on Oct. 30 in the first electoral test for President Juan Manuel Santos since he took office in August 2010.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a report that the elections mark the first real opportunity for the quickly evolving criminal gangs to distort local politics.

~snip~
The government calls these gangs Colombia's major new security threat. While their exact composition and number is hotly debated, they are seen mainly to be linked to demobilized and former right-wing paramilitary gangs and former drug cartels.

More:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/colombian-gangs-eye-bigger-role-local-vote-group-161854744.html