Colombia’s National Organization of Indigenous People (ONIC) is reporting that several members of the Awá indigenous community have been massacred by an unidentified armed group in the municipality of Tumaco, near the Pacific coast in the southwestern department of Nariño. The death toll, estimated in the first communique at eight, has been revised upward to 12, five of them children.
On February 4 of this year, over 20 Awá people were massacred in the municipality of Barbacoas, Nariño. The crime was attributed to the FARC, which claimed responsibility for eight of the killings.
ONIC reports:
Today, August 26, 2009, at 5:00 AM a new massacre took place in the Awá indigenous community. The acts occurred in the Gran Rosario indigenous reserve, in Tumaco municipality.
According to information received, men dressed in military uniforms, without insignia and wearing masks, fired indiscriminately at the house of an Awá family. As a consequence of this macabre act, approximately eight members of the Awá people were murdered. According to information received, three children ages 1, 8 and 10 are dead. Mrs. Tulia GarcÃa and her two children were killed. She was a witness to the death of her husband, Mr. Gonzalo RodrÃguez, on May 23, 2009, who it seems was killed by the army.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
The authorities are leaning towards the FARC as the authors…but aren’t they always?
August 27th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
ONIC says it could be the army…
August 27th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
ONIC says it could be the army… but don’t they always?
August 27th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
No, ONIC said earlier this year that the FARC was responsible for the massacre in February…We mustn’t forget that ONIC and the FARC have not gotten along for a long time, even if the ONIC’s politics could be described as leftist…
August 28th, 2009 at 7:26 am
http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/occidente/human-rights-watch-pide-investigacion-de-masacre-de-indigenas-awa-y-apunta-al-ejercito-como-culpable_5954007-1
August 28th, 2009 at 10:23 am
nothing about UNASUR…. typical perfidious behaviour…
the only terrorism and drug trafficking are the ones created by policy of the United States… the evil empire itself…Russia? They were actually the good guys..they lost and south america is stuck with the modern day Nazis
August 28th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
It could have been somone from the Army, but people should at least investigate fully and not just quickly endorse whatever possibility suits their fancy first.
And it’s lovely to see how easy it is to throw around terms like Nazi without even knowing what they mean, but I guess it’s not surprising at this stage.
Though I suppose pointing this out makes me a Nazi, lol.
Regards.
Marcos
August 28th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Wow! They’re going to town over in Unasur regarding the bases…
August 30th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
[...] Colombia and Beyond writes about the report from the National Organization of Indigenous People about another massacre of members of … by an unidentified armed group in the department of Nariño. Cancel this [...]
August 30th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
The situation of the Awa indigenous group in the southwestern province of Nariño is not unique in Colombia today. The civilian population constantly gets caught between different armed groups, and their right to not take part in the conflict is not respected. Irrespective of political opinion, background, and nationality, we all need to take a strong stand against these kinds of atrocities and take a stand in favor of the respect of each individual’s right to a life free of oppression and fear.