Peace signer murdered in Cauca

Jorge Canchi Ramos became the 11th peace signer killed in Colombia during 2022. The event that ended the life of former combatants of the former FARC guerrillas occurred in the early hours of this Thursday, March 24. The body was found in the village 20 de Julio, in the rural area of El Tambo (Cuaca).

Residents of the community found the body of the 42-year-old indigenous man, with several gunshots and transferred him to the Community Action Board of Playa Rica. So far, the national authorities have no clue as to the material actors of this new attack on a signatory of peace.

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The president of the Commons Party and representative of the ex-combatants, Rodrigo Londoño, said through his Twitter account: “I deeply regret having to report a new homicide of a peace signatory. My embrace of condolence to his family and loved ones. Despite the pain and indignation they will not be able to stop us in the struggle for peace.”

In addition, he shared a statement from the National Corporation for the Reincorporation of Commons (CNRC) entitled: “Genocide Continues.” In this, the party born out of the Peace Agreement between the Colombian State and the former FARC, warns that “since 2020 the Office of the Ombudsman has been issuing Early Warnings of imminent and structural risk to El Tambo. This murder is in addition to acts of violence against peace signatories that have intensified throughout the country,” he says.

The Early Warning referred to by the CNRC is 047-20. In it, the Office of the Ombudsman calls on the Agency for Reintegration and Normalization (ARN) and the National Protection Unit (UNP), to deal with “individual and collective cases of risk of ex-combatants in the process of reintegration in the municipalities of Algeria and El Tambo, which are to their knowledge”.

Canchi Ramos was in the process of reinstatement in the department of Cauca, when he was attacked by the unknown. In the alert, the entity of the Public Prosecutor's Office requested the two institutions mentioned, “to promote the formulation and adoption of a specific strategy aimed at the collective and individual protection of former FARC-EP combatants who are advancing their reintegration process outside the ETCRs”.

The Commons Party holds the national government responsible for the constant attacks on ex-combatants, in the statement shared by Rodrigo Londoño, it was emphasized, “just a couple of days ago we denounced the murder of Domingo Mancilla in Guapi, which shows the lack of guarantees for life that the community has in the process of reincorporation by the national Government”.

According to Indepaz, 310 signatories have already been killed since the signing of the Peace Agreement and 11 so far in 2022. In Cauca, the Diomer Martínez de la Segunda Marquetalia Front and the José María Becerra del Eln Front are present, who would be responsible for these violent acts. The Secretary of Government of Cauca, Luis Cornelio Angulo, said that “they have been working with different entities and institutions to prevent this type of event from happening again.”

“With this new assassination, we hold the National Government responsible for these crimes that have been growing day by day. Yesterday we had a meeting on security guarantees in the department of Putumayo, when we continued to learn about these facts. This must stop,” said Pastor Alape, delegate of the Commons Party.

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