Fighting threatens existence of Colombia's indigenous peoples, UN warns (fwd)

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Fighting threatens existence of Colombia's indigenous peoples, UN warns
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=14050&Cr=Colombia&Cr1=#

22 April 2005 – Colombia's indigenous peoples, caught up in the fighting
between the Government, rebels and armed militias, are facing tragedy as
violent attacks and forced displacement increase, with fears that some
smaller and more vulnerable groups and their cultures may actually
disappear, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.

In the past week, fighting between the Colombian Army and leftist rebels
of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) uprooted some 3,500
Nasa people in the south-west, while in the north-west, some 4,000
Embera are at imminent risk of displacement because of fighting between
guerrillas and paramilitary groups, the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) reported.

"The tragedy afflicting the indigenous peoples remains largely
invisible," spokesman Ron Redmond told a news briefing in Geneva. "They
often become displaced within their remote regions of origin as they try
to preserve ties to their ancestral lands, or else they flee into other
remote areas where they cannot be easily detected."

The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), a UNHCR
partner, has reported the murder or disappearance of more than 20
indigenous leaders so far this year.

The Andean country's more than 80 indigenous groups together make up a
population of just under 1 million people. Although they represent only
2 to 3 per cent of the total population, they make up as much as 8 per
cent of the more than 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Virtually all the indigenous groups have been victims of forced
displacement or are at serious risk of being displaced from their
ancestral lands.

Since indigenous identity and culture are closely linked to the land,
these communities suffer irreversible damage when forced to flee. This
can mean loss of traditional and cultural patterns, including language,
and a dramatic deterioration of lifestyle, UNHCR said.

The warning was the latest in a series, focusing most recently on the
north-western province of Choco, where irregular armed groups have
increased their activities since the beginning of this year, imposing
blockades to stop food, medicine, fuel and other vital supplies from
reaching some communities.

But UNHCR and other UN agencies were today visiting the south-western
province of Cauca to evaluate the humanitarian needs and support relief
efforts by civilian authorities following this week's displacement of
the Nasas, which observers on the ground agree could quickly reach as
many as 5,000, if fighting continues.