No published reports on a killing of four persons near a football field in Buenaventura on or around 12 January 1998 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

A correspondent of a Cali newspaper in Buenaventura stated during a 30 July 1999 telephone interview that a murder of four people at a soccer field did occur in or around mid-January 1998. The journalist did not have details of the case readily available but remembered the incident, which received local news coverage. Some authorities had indicated that the four dead might have been killed as a result of their criminal activities, but the families of the victims indicated that they were not criminals. According to the source, some suspected that members of security forces were responsible for the deaths. The crime was not resolved, and no one was charged or convicted for it.

The correspondent was not familiar with the name "Calama," and was unaware of a soccer stadium with that name. No references to a soccer stadium named Calama could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Buenaventura, Colombia. 30 July 1999. Telephone interview with news correspondent.

Additional Sources Consulted

Andean Newsletter [Lima]. 1998.

El Espectador [Bogota]. Internet search engine. 1997-1999.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1998.

Latin American Regional Reports: Andean Group Report [London]. 1998.

NACLA Report on the Americas [Washington, DC]. 1998.

News from Human Rights Watch [New York]. 1998.

Electronic sources: Internet, IRB Databases, Global NewsBank, REFWORLD, WNC.
Note: This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.

No reports on whether military officers can obtain state protection could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, one report indicates that following incidents in which some human rights activists were the recipients of threats, the Colombian Interior Minister's Risk Committee would determine what kind of protection was needed (Inravision Television Canal A Network 24 Apr. 1998). This protection program included "bullet-proof vests, bodyguards, protection to offices, protection to homes, cellular equipment connected with the authorities, and rural communication networks. In addition, emergency travel funds are available for people who suddenly have to move from one part of the country to another for protection" (ibid.).

Two sources indicate that the Colombian security forces are unable to protect their citizens (IPS 28 Apr. 1997; HRW 1999, 110). IPS refers to the case of a human rights activist, Josue Giraldo, who was killed in 1996 after the Inter-American Human Rights Commission had warned the government several times that he needed protection. Human Rights Watch World Report 1999 states that the security forces ignored threats of massacres by paramilitaries as was the case in the town of Puerto Alvira, Meta, on 4 May 1998 when they reportedly killed 21 people (1999, 110).
A Latin American Affairs specialist at the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania provided the following information in a 9 July 1999 telephone interview. The specialist is one of the authors of the SSI's publication entitled

Colombia's Three Wars: U.S. Strategy at the Crossroads.

Given the limited resources and state protection measures available in Colombia, the former military officer's security would not be guaranteed. He added that even in the case where the officer obtains protection from the state, this protection could "dry-up." The protection provided would depend on the connections and rank of the officer.

The former military officer would find himself/herself "at risk" because of the climate of violence raging in Colombia and because assassinations are used as a political tool on all sides of the war. The specialist stated that if the former military officer wanted to denounce publicly military involvement in the drug trade, he/she would be signing his/her "death certificate."

Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted. Attempts to obtain additional information from other oral sources were unsuccessful within time constraints.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Human Rights Watch/Americas. 1999. Human Rights Watch World Report 1999. New York: HRW.

Inravision Television Canal A [Bogotá, in Spanish]. 26 April 1998. "Officials View Measures to Protect Human Rights Activists." (FBIS-LAT-98-116 26 Apr. 1998/WNC)

Inter Press Service (IPS). 28 April 1998. Yadira Ferrer. "Colombia-Human Rights: OAS Cites Paramilitary, Rebel Activity." (NEXIS)

Latin American Affairs specialist, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 9 July 1999. Telephone interview.

Additional Sources Consulted

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. 1999.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1999. 1999.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1994-1999.

Latin American Regional Reports: Andean Group Report [London]. 1994-1999.

NACLA Report of the Americas [New York]. 1998-1999.

Electronic Sources: IRB Databases, REFWORLD, Internet, LEXIS/NEXIS and WNC.