The Peace Community of San José de Apartadó

San José de Apartadó is a small town in the northwest of Colombia, near the gulf of Urabá. Farmers settled there in the '60s and '70s and have since participated in cooperative agricultural and community living. In March of 1997, with the support of the region's Catholic Bishop, the Community responded to the escalating violence and extrajudicial killings of community leaders by declaring themselves a Peace Community and committing to:

• Farm in cooperative work groups
• Denounce the injustice and impunity of war crimes
• Not participate in the war in direct or indirect form, nor carry weapons
• Not manipulate or give information to any of the armed actors

Since the founding, the community has suffered over 160 deaths of its members, massacres, economic blockades, armed checkpoints along the main access road, displacement and dangerous stigmatization by the Colombian government. One way in which the community has resisted this violence is by staking its survival on the conscience of the international community by making itself visible and seeking the response of the international community when threats or attacks take place.

On February 21st, 2005, a community founder and 7 other San José de Apartadó Peace Community members were brutally massacred, according to community witnesses, by army soldiers. Since that time, the presence of both military and paramilitary forces in the area has risen, making even more critical the need for international attention and support.

The Peace Community was joined in its response to this massacre by Colombian human rights and solidarity organizations in country and the world over. This resulted in a delay of more than $70 million of US military "Plan Colombia" aid to Colombia for the first seven months of 2005 as the US State Department was not prepared to certify that Colombia met the human rights conditions outlined in the legislation. The aid was eventually released days before Colombia's President Uribe met with President Bush, but the delay represented growing State Department concern regarding cases reportedly involving direct violations by the Colombian Army. It was also a testament to the power of international efforts focused on drawing attention the grave human rights violations in Colombia. This growing attention alongside protective measures handed down by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights requiring the Colombian government to take whatever steps necessary to protect the lives and personal integrity of Peace Community members, strengthens the nonviolent resistance of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.

to learn more about the founding, process and recent news of the Peace Community, visit their homepage (it's in spanish!) http://www.cdpsanjose.org