A Catholic monk and priest have become the latest victims of the armed conflict in Colombia. Father Alcides Jimenez was gunned down whilst giving mass in his parish church. In another area of the country a week later the Marian Monk, Miguel Angel Quiroga Gaona was assassinated by paramilitaries whilst making a pastoral visit.

Father Jimenez was shot dead on 11th September in the southern town of Puerto Caicedo, near the border with Ecuador. A well known advocate of social justice, Father Jimenez had just taken part in a nation wide initiative called One Week for Peace. The assassins have yet to be formally identified, although Army intelligence are blaming the guerrilla group FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) for the murder.

In contrast Father Quiroga was travelling by boat with the local priest, parish workers and farm workers to make a pastoral visit to the village of El Llano. A few minutes after boarding the boat the group was detained by members of a paramilitary organisation, ACCU (Peasant Self-Defense of Cordoba and Uraba) who demanded to see their ID papers. When one of the farmworkers realised that he had forgotten his papers, Father Quiroga leapt to his defence. The paramilitaries responded by shooting Father Quiroga in the chest, killing him. The rest of the group were detained for several hours before help arrived, however no arrests have been reported. This incident took place in Lloro municipality on 18th September.

Colombia is one of the most violent countries in the world. The Colombian Commission of Jurists estimate that 10 political killings are committed every day and someone disappears every 2 days. On 16th September Evelio Majore, Nemecio Majore Domico, Enrique Majore Domico and Horacio Majore all from the village of Abejero, disappeared whist on their way to pick up some roofing materials from a site known as El 18. The paramilitary group ACCU are also being held responsible for their disappearance.

The roots of the conflict between the guerrilla groups and the paramilitary organisations, covertly supported by the army, are to be found in the deep social and economic divisions of the country but drug rivalries now fuel many of the current conflicts. The countrys new President Andres Pastrana has opened unprecedented lines of communication with guerrilla leaders but Colombians remain cautious in their optimism.

CSW has previously lobbied the Colombian Government with regard to the 3 New Tribes Missionaries taken hostage by the guerrilla group, FARC, over 5 years ago on the Panama border. This month, the campaign for the missionaries gained the support of the US House of Representatives.

CSWs Tina Lambert adds, The deaths of Father Jimenez and Father Quiroga are a further tragedy in a nation beset by violence. Those responsible for their deaths must be brought to justice.

CSW will be briefing Parliamentarians about these incidents and urges all those concerned to write letters to the new President Andres Pastrana Arango, Presidente de la Republica, Kra 8 n7- 26, Sante Fe de Bogota, Colombia.