In a March 5th communiqué from the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) - the traditional authority of indigenous communities in the department of Cauca, Colombia - the sad news of the assassination of Indian leader and activist Samuel Fernandez Dizu was announced.
09.03.2002 (By Alfredo Castro, ANNCOL Colombia) The ex governor of the Las Delicias indigenous reserve in the municipality of Buenos Aires was murdered on March 4th in the small town of Santander de Quilichao by a paramilitary death squad that operates in the zone. According to the communiqué he was shot in broad daylight and the security forces that were present in the place did absolutely nothing to either prevent the killing or apprehend the perpetrators, suggesting, according to the CRIC, some degree of complicity in the crime.
Samuel Fernandez Dizu was married and had five children and was an outstanding leader not just in the Las Delicias reserve but also in the whole process of organising indigenous communities in the north of the department of Cauca. As well as being the governor of the reserve in 2001 he had also coordinated small-scale local economic projects that benefited many communities in the region.
In their communiqué the CRIC called on the Colombian government to fulfil their constitutional responsibilities to defend the civilian population as well as to urgently offer protection to the family of Samuel Fernandez who are believed to be in great danger of paramilitary attack
The communiqué ended by the CRIC publicly denouncing the armed forces for "omission and ineptitude in the control of northern Cauca and for not offering security to the inhabitants of the region".
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Original: PARAMILITARIES MURDER INDIGENOUS LEADER