CHRISTIAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE, PEACE AND NONVIOLENT ACTION

Background
Ricardo Esquivia has recently resigned as Justapaz director. He plans to move from Bogotá to the Atlantic coast to provide leadership in ecumenical peacebuilding efforts. Esquivia and the Mennonite Church have long been involved in sustainable development and conflict mediation work in the region, particularly in the Montes de Maria in the states (departments) of Bolivar and Sucre. This highly conflictive mountainous area was an experimental “Zone of Concentration and Rehabilitation,” one of President Uribe`s highly controversial “security” measures in the war against the guerrilla later struck down by the Constitutional Court.

A second component of the President’s “Democratic Security” plan, still in effect, is to pay informants, which include former guerrilla fighters, for information to increase the state’s intelligence capacity. In an environment of suspicion and with a population in dire economic straits, this policy has contributed to many unfounded charges. In this unstable climate of virtual “witch hunts” come declarations from the President himself implying that almost all persons working for human rights and peace are supporters of the guerrilla and, therefore, are terrorists.

Pieces of the Puzzle
We understand that in early January 2004 the regional Department of Security Administration (Departmento Administrativo de Seguridad—DAS) in Cartagena sent a report to DAS headquarters in Bogotà about Ricardo Esquivia. The report described his work in the Montes de Maria region approximately 15 years ago and stated that, at the time, he was a member of the People`s Liberation Army (Ejercito Popular de Liberación —EPL).

Besides mentioning international trips Ricardo made over the past years, it details the work he has done through Justapaz and the Commission of Life, Restoration and Peace of the Council of Evangelical Churches of Colombia (Cedecol).

Here the report includes the peace work, nonviolence training activities, and highly visible humanitarian talks Ricardo has had with representatives of armed groups on behalf of civilian populations, especially churches. It concludes stating that Ricardo is a member of the 37th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas de Colombia—FARC) guerrilla group and suggests building support for the claim with testimonies from former guerrillas.

Days after learning of the DAS report, a pastor working with displaced people in southern Bogotá urged Ricardo to talk with a leader from the Montes de Maria who, because of threats, had to leave the region. This person continues to return to the area for frequent visits.

This source told us that a captain of the marine infantry was going around the region with Ricardo`s picture, asking former guerrilla combatants if they recognized him and would testify against him. The captain persisted even after a military colleague told him to give up, saying that Ricardo was too visible and had too much international support and that even the paramilitary do not take action against him. According to this person, there are plans to digitally manipulate footage of Ricardo leading a well-attended workshop for church people so that he appears to be leading a meeting of the FARC.

But why would Colombian government and military authorities undertake such an involved and potentially politically costly effort? According to a journalist friend from Cartagena who works closely with local authorities, some from the military establishment are troubled with Esquivia`s plans to move to the Coast to provide leadership in regional ecumenical peacebuilding efforts. According to this source, some military leaders feel threatened by the resources and organizing potential of the recently established ecumenical foundation, led by three bishops and Esquivia.

The military leaders recognize Ricardo as a “man of processes” and believe that he could be key in organizing the impoverished civilian population and strengthening the tattered social fabric. According to this logic, socially strengthening these communities equates with strengthening the guerrilla base. They reportedly fear that Ricardo and the foundation will “destabilize” the zone.

There are many logical fallacies in this fabricated case. We note only these:

 Just last month a young man who formerly worked with Justapaz was kidnapped by the FARC at the farm of the Commission for Life, Restoration and Peace of the Evangelical Council of Churches, CEDECOL. Last year a Justapaz promoter was assassinated by the 37th Front of the FARC, the very group to which Ricardo is accused of belonging.

 Ricardo was accused of being an EPL member while working in the Montes de Maria over a decade ago. He and his family were forced to leave the region and later into exile. Then as now, there was not any factual evidence against him. Yet this spurious allegation is reportedly included as fact in the DAS report.

 Ricardo has traveled widely and worked openly for human rights and peace. His Christian commitment has led him to work with churches within a framework of nonviolence. It is paradoxical that the DAS report itself recognizes the nature of his work, and then accuses him of being a member of the FARC.

Despite naming sustainable development as a crucial component for establishing security in the region, President Uribe`s “Democratic Security” plan focuses on strengthening the military apparatus to the virtual exclusion of all else. It is tragically ironic that someone with the capacity to make headway towards long-term holistic community security is perceived as a threat by authorities with shortsighted vision limited to military "solution."

Arbitrary Detentions on the Rise
Ricardo would not be the first person engaged in this type of work to have a case created against him. In fact, there is a growing trend by the Uribe Administration to use legal means to carry out arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of social leaders. In a case similar to Ricardo`s, paid ex- guerrilla informants provided false testimony against Amaury Padilla, a development worker and the state of Bolivar’s delegate before the United Nations development program. Despite his high profile and the excellent lawyers working on the case, Padilla is still in jail a month after his arrest.

Going public
Why we are pushing hard for preventative measures to forestall Esquivia’s arrest, and not just sitting back to “wait and see”?

If the plan aims to smear Ricardo’s reputation to prevent him from carrying out his work in the region, the authorities need not necessarily prove him guilty on charges of membership in a terrorist organization. They need only discredit him by sowing seeds of doubt within the civilian population. Even if the charges were dropped after he was arrested and prosecuted, he may not be trusted in the areas where he plans to work. This would severely handicap him as a community leader. The government knows this.

The risk of working with a preventative campaign is that if the feared event does not come to pass, it may not be possible to prove that it was actually in the works, and therefore, that the campaign was successful. We do know that Colombian authorities and the U.S. Embassy are already responding to the attention the case has aroused, and we believe that your outpouring of active support and intelligent responses to this situation are having an impact.

This community solidarity may be what allows Ricardo to continue with his difficult but much needed work. We urge you to continue the advocacy and broaden the circles of awareness of this case and the larger issues at stake. Ricardo reflects, “this experience has reaffirmed my belief: our security is found in community.”