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The Indigenous People of Colombia Need Our Support

By Rémy M. Beauregard

On December 16, 2008, Colombian soldiers fired 17 bullets into the car of Edgar Legarda as he drove to pick up his wife, Aida Quilcue, from the airport, killing him instantly.

Aida was returning from Geneva, Switzerland, where she testified as part of the UN Human Rights Council review of Colombia's human rights record. Aida, who was head of the Indigenous Regional Council of Cauca, made the long trip from her ancestral homeland to ensure the Council heard first-hand of the human rights violations being committed against Colombia's 102 indigenous groups, some which were being pushed to the brink of extinction.

In the hours following Edgar's murder, the Colombian Ministry of Defence issued a press release acknowledging the army's responsibility for the attack, but without providing details about the circumstances. It is hoped many of those details will emerge in January 2010, when the men accused of killing Edwin Legarda finally go on trial.

The international community is already showing considerable interest in the case. In Colombia, there is hope that the “Legarda Case” will prove an exception to the long list of unpunished human rights atrocities suffered by Colombia's indigenous peoples.  For the country's indigenous movements, this precedent would be vital.

Such a precedent could help break a cycle of violence that has seen 1,244 indigenous people assassinated and another 71,149 forced from their traditional territories in the last seven years. This violence is not carried out by a single armed group but by all the warring factions in Colombia — the official army, FARC guerrillas, and paramilitaries. Most troubling is the fact this violence appears to be increasing: 18,000 indigenous people have been displaced in the past two years, and 103 individuals have been murdered in 2009 alone. Among the indigenous peoples, women are particularly vulnerable, with their leaders, such as Aida, being the primary targets.

I had the privilege of meeting some of Colombia's courageous indigenous women at the recent National Congress of Indigenous Women, held in the Cauca Valley region. These courageous women came from all over Colombia in a united effort to restore peace and to protect their people from the human rights abuses they have suffered in more than 40 years of conflict. In my meetings with them, I assured them of Rights & Democracy support.

Over the past few years, Canada has developed a close relationship with Colombia's government. In light of this relationship, our country is well-placed to further the protection of indigenous peoples' rights by promoting their right to full participation in the democratic life of their country. More specifically, Canada could verify the transparency of the court proceedings around the Legarda case and seek assurances from the Colombian government that the family of Aida and all the other victims of human rights abuses in Colombia will find justice. Canada should also encourage the Colombian government to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict.

If the legal proceedings in the “Legarda Case” take place in a transparent manner, Colombia will have accomplished an important step towards respecting the rule of law. Until then, Aida Quilcue will continue to endure and resist harassment in the form of legal proceedings and threats against her 13-year-old daughter's life.

For now, she is holding firm. "If God so wishes," as Colombians say, she will be a candidate in the legislative elections next spring, determined to protect her loved ones, to participate in the democratization of her country and to work for peace. But the electoral campaign will most likely demand all her courage, courage which already, the Colombian people have paid for dearly.

Rémy M. Beauregard is President of Rights & Democracy

Published in the Embassy Magazine, December 16, 2009