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Border towns in Ecuador target of assassinations - two community leaders dead
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Leaflets threaten social cleansing of marginalized groups like drug addicts, thieves and prostitutes in communities living in San Lorenzo, Ecuador. San Lorenzo is a port town on the north coast of Ecuador. Along with receiving reports about these leaflets while visiting Esmeraldas, a city south of San Lorenzo, Refugees International has also received several reports of the presence of newly reorganized Colombian paramilitary groups operating in San Lorenzo. They also have received reports that the same type of leaflets are being circulated inside of Colombia by newly organized paramilitary groups who are gradually exercising social control over the communities, while also conducting criminal activities and trafficking narcotics.
On September 28th and 29th, two Ecuadorian community leaders were assassinated. Both Miguel Lapo and Miguel Pinzon were connected to the Colombian violence through their direct assistance to Colombian refugees along the border between Ecuador and Colombia. Lapo was assassinated in Barranca Bermeja and Pinzon was assassinated in the town of San Martin. Both are border towns, both are in the province of Sucumbíos.
Andrea Lari, Senior Advocate of Refugees International released the following statement yesterday,
“Refugees International calls for a thorough investigation by the Ecuadorian authorities into the murder of these leaders, while also calling on the U.S. government and countries neighboring Colombia to pursue a multilateral regional effort to address the humanitarian and protection dimensions of the Colombian refugee crisis. A starting point should be providing resources for expanding the presence of international humanitarian actors in border areas, given the increasing number of Colombian refugees fleeing their country. They should also assure support for basic services and infrastructure expansion which would benefit host communities and refugees alike.”
Representative Jim McGovern of Massachussetts, who visited the community where both Lapo and Pinzon worked in November 2008, recently released the following letter:
It is with deep sorrow that I learned of the recent deaths of two prominent community leaders on the Ecuadorian border with Colombia. Miguel Lapo and Miguel Pinzón were murdered by unknown perpetrators on September 28th and September 29th.
Mr. Lapo was killed in Barrancabermeja, Ecuador – a town just across the river from Colombia that he helped found 20 years ago. Mr. Pinzón was assassinated in the nearby town of San Martín.
I met Mr. Lapo in November 2008, when I traveled to Barranca Bermeja to learn more about the spillover effects of Colombia’s armed conflict into Ecuador. Mr. Lapo had organized a community meeting for my visit, at which I heard heartbreaking testimonies of the challenges faced by Colombian refugees and Ecuadorians living in the border region – the people Mr. Lapo dedicated his life to protect.
Although my visit with Miguel Lapo was brief, it was clear to me that he was a dedicated, intelligent, and caring man who fought for peace and the rights of both Colombian refugees and Ecuadorians living in his community.While we don’t yet know the killers’ identities, I fear that these murders are part of an effort – whether by Colombian armed groups or narco-trafficking organizations – to intimidate all independent social organizations in the region.
I call on the Government of Ecuador to fully investigate the deaths of Miguel Lapo and Miguel Pinzón. The Government of Ecuador has recently taken important steps to provide legal recognition to the hundreds of thousands of Colombians seeking refuge within its borders. Identifying and prosecuting those responsible for the recent murders is essential if Ecuador is to achieve its stated goal of protecting vulnerable refugee communities and encouraging good governance and development in border communities.
At this moment, my thoughts, prayers and most sincere condolences are with the families, friends and colleagues of Mr. Lapo and Mr. Pinzón, and my attention and solidarity are always with the many Ecuadorian border communities that have so generously provided shelter and welcome to so many refugees from Colombia’s violent conflict.
The Report to Members of the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate, delivered on April 28, 2008, “Playing with Fire: Colombia, Ecuador and Venzuela,” maintains that the Ecuadorian government has for years welcomed large numbers of Colombian refugees, but that they have never received compensation for their care or restitution for Ecuadorian properties that have been destroyed by the Colombian military during Colombian operations along the border. The report also maintains that the Colombian government has not conducted impartial investigations when Ecuadorians are killed during these operations. This has not stopped Ecuadorian efforts.
According to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), since 2000, an estimated 40,000 Colombians have sought asylum and 13,000 of them have been granted refugee status in Ecuador.
In 2008, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) awarded cash grants for 16 small business ventures in Ecuador in order to nurture entrepreneurialship among Colombian refugees. Other efforts to provide refugees economic stability include micro loans from Fondo de Desarrollo Microempresarial (FODEMI) which works with the UNHCR. Currently, FODEMI has 80 refugee clients, with a portfolio of around $33,000.
According to the Ecuadorean Foreign Ministry in September, the Ecuadorian government registered about 3,000 new Colombian refugees since the latter part of July. According to a news report in Colombia Reports, Ecuador expects to give refuge to approximately 50,000 Colombians in one year.
According to the UNHCR, in Esmereldas Province, more than 11,000 refugees were registered between March and June of this year.
In August and in March, in an unprecedented move, the Ecuadorian government, with technical and financial assistance from UNHCR, began a large scale program to register refugees. They hope to register around 130,000 people countrywide who have not had access to the asylum system since they have been undocumented.
"The importance of the Enhanced Registration project is twofold: it shortens the waiting period for a government decision on asylum claims from several months to just one day; and it takes the asylum process to the field, where many refugees have been living for years and were unable to access asylum systems in urban areas because they didn’t have the resources or because they feared being detained," said UNHCR’s spokesperson Ron Redmond.
According to the UNHCR, there are 22,000 registered refugees in Ecuador.
Treatment of refugees from Colombia in Ecuador is not always inviting. According to the Christian Science Monitor, one family, who remained anonymous during their interview, fled to Ecuador after guerrillas threatened their lives. The father was a businessman in Colombia. Their 6 year old son has seen a lot of rejection in Ecuador.
"[Our son] was rejected a lot for being Colombian. Here, Colombians are seen as bad, as thieves, as drug traffickers. We really pay for our sinners," said the father.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, many Ecuadorians express resentment toward the refugees due to high unemployment.
Miguel Lapo helped unify the Ecuadorians and the Colombians in his community in Barranca Bermeja (Red Canyon). Both were interested in peace between Ecuadorians and Colombians.
According to the Associated Press, General Hugo Villegas, Commander of the Fourth Army Division, who is in charge of the region, said that the investigation was being continued nine days ago and that the people in the area are feeling reserved. The Army has increased its patrols in the area. They are speculating that the murders were committed on commission.
The Quito office of the UNHCR has condemned the killing of Miguel Lapo and Miguel Pinzon and has also called for an investigation to identify the perpetrators to bring them to justice.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that of the 70 families living in Barranca Bermeja, 50 are from Colombia. The IOM Chief of Mission in Ecuador, Alejandro Guidi, said, that the successful integration of Colombians is a priority of IOM and UNHCR for the stability and development of the region.
According to the Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict – International, Inc. (CEMPROC), Sucumbíos, Esmeraldas, and Carchi have some of the country’s highest homicide rates. Targeted murders by Colombian guerrilla groups in these regions create an environment where Colombian refugees trying to escape from the conflict are targets of continued persecution.
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