[KFCF Friends] KFCF sponsored Event:

Wed Apr 30 10:52:01 2003

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Representative from Colombia Peace Community to speak at College =
Community Church Mennonite Brethren (2529 Willow Ave., Clovis)

On May 2 at 7:00pm, Colombian Elkin de Jesus Ramirez Jaramillo will =
speak about the extraordinary stand against violence the San Jos=E9 de =
Apartad=F3 community has taken, refusing to support any armed group in =
the very center of a war zone.

According to a recent report submitted by United Nations High Commission =
on Human Rights, the human rights situation in Colombia has worsened =
since president Alvaro Uribe took office last August. The report cites a =
"significant increase of denunciations of human rights violations =
directly attributed to the public security forces" since a "state of =
internal commotion", a virtual state of martial law was declared in =
August.

But while violence and war seem to be spiraling and the Bush =
administration has committed to an even deeper military involvement, =
important peace initiatives continue to propose alternatives and work =
for peaceful solutions to the underlying causes of Colombia's =
decades-old civil war.

San Jos=E9 de Apartad=F3 in the Urab=E1 region of northern Colombia is =
one of more than 50 Peace Communities that have publicly declared =
themselves neutral in the war, committing to nonviolently demand their =
right to justice and peace. The community has suffered terribly from =
political violence, mostly by paramilitary groups. According to human =
rights organizations, these paramilitary groups are often supported by =
the Colombian Army. In the effort to force civilians to take sides, =
military forces and civilian authorities have increasingly tried to =
discredit the community as guerrilla supporters in spite of the =
international recognition it has gained as a nonviolent community of =
civilians.

Elkin is a cofounder of the ten year old human rights organization =
Corporaci=F3n Jur=EDdica Libertad. Among his responsibilities are the =
defense of political=20
prisoners and advising the Asociaci=F3n de Institutores de Antioquia =
ADIDA, a 30.000 member  teachers union, on Human Rights. Currently he is =
part of the team accompanying the Peace Community San Jos=E9 de =
Apartad=F3 in human rights questions.

Aside from his important work as human rights defender he is a professor =
at the faculty of Cnstitutional Theory at the University of Antioquia.

Elkin's speaking tour in the US is sponsored by the Fellowship of  =
Reconciliation (FOR),
which has provided protective accompaniment to the community. Two =
volunteers served
as witnesses and human rights observers in San Jos=E9 de Apartad=F3 for =
most of last year.

The Fresno event is sponsored by Fresno Free College Foundation/KFCF, =
Fresno Center for Nonviolence, Comite NO NOS VAMOS, and Peace Fresno.

For more information on the event in Fresno, please contact Kenley =
Neufeld: 559 486
1574, kenley@neuhouse.com
For more information on the Peace Communities in Colombia please contact =

Jutta
Meier-Wiedenbach at the FOR office in San Francisco: 415 495 6334,
forcolombia@igc.org
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<DIV>Representative from Colombia Peace Community to speak at College =
Community=20
Church Mennonite Brethren (2529 Willow Ave., Clovis) On May 2 at =
7:00pm,=20
Colombian Elkin de Jesus Ramirez Jaramillo will speak about the =
extraordinary=20
stand against violence the San Jos=E9 de Apartad=F3 community has taken, =
refusing to=20
support any armed group in the very center of a war =
zone. According to a=20
recent report submitted by United Nations High Commission on Human =
Rights, the=20
human rights situation in Colombia has worsened since president Alvaro =
Uribe=20
took office last August. The report cites a "significant increase of=20
denunciations of human rights violations directly attributed to the =
public=20
security forces" since a "state of internal commotion", a virtual state =
of=20
martial law was declared in August. But while violence and war =
seem to be=20
spiraling and the Bush administration has committed to an even deeper =
military=20
involvement, important peace initiatives continue to propose =
alternatives and=20
work for peaceful solutions to the underlying causes of Colombia's =
decades-old=20
civil war. San Jos=E9 de Apartad=F3 in the Urab=E1 region of =
northern Colombia=20
is one of more than 50 Peace Communities that have publicly declared =
themselves=20
neutral in the war, committing to nonviolently demand their right to =
justice and=20
peace. The community has suffered terribly from political violence, =
mostly by=20
paramilitary groups. According to human rights organizations, these =
paramilitary=20
groups are often supported by the Colombian Army. In the effort to force =

civilians to take sides, military forces and civilian authorities have=20
increasingly tried to discredit the community as guerrilla supporters in =
spite=20
of the international recognition it has gained as a nonviolent community =
of=20
civilians. Elkin is a cofounder of the ten year old human rights=20
organization Corporaci=F3n Jur=EDdica Libertad. Among his =
responsibilities are the=20
defense of political prisoners and advising the Asociaci=F3n de =
Institutores=20
de Antioquia ADIDA, a 30.000 member&nbsp; teachers union, on Human =
Rights.=20
Currently he is part of the team accompanying the Peace Community San =
Jos=E9 de=20
Apartad=F3 in human rights questions. Aside from his important =
work as=20
human rights defender he is a professor at the faculty of Cnstitutional =
Theory=20
at the University of Antioquia. Elkin's speaking tour in the US =
is=20
sponsored by the Fellowship of&nbsp; Reconciliation (FOR), which has =
provided=20
protective accompaniment to the community. Two volunteers served as =
witnesses=20
and human rights observers in San Jos=E9 de Apartad=F3 for most of last=20
year. The Fresno event is sponsored by Fresno Free College=20
Foundation/KFCF, Fresno Center for Nonviolence, Comite NO NOS VAMOS, and =
Peace=20
Fresno. For more information on the event in Fresno, please =
contact=20
Kenley Neufeld: 559 486 1574, <A=20
href=3D"mailto:kenley@neuhouse.com">kenley@neuhouse.com</A> For more=20
information on the Peace Communities in Colombia please contact=20
 Jutta Meier-Wiedenbach at the FOR office in San Francisco: 415 =
495=20
6334, <A=20
href=3D"mailto:forcolombia@igc.org">forcolombia@igc.org</A></DIV></BODY><=
/HTML>

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