Fatigue and despair take over the victims of paramilitary groups. In addition to suffering through death, disappearance, torture and displacement of their families at the hands of the Defense Forces of Colombia-AUC, are now suffering because they have no one represent them before the courts and who defend their interests against the perpetrators.
The ordeal for the victims began on the development of Act 975 of 2005, it was not clear when the power to assign legal representation for victims in the hands of the Ombudsman, as if it was for assign the task of defending the accused, ie the paramilitaries.
This lack of clarity meant that for several months, the victims were in a sort of limbo, until the time Attorney General, Edgardo Maya Villazón, issued a directive ordering the Ombudsman undertake this role. Finally, the Ombudsman, Vólmar Perez, issued a resolution creating the program of legal representation for victims attached to the National Ombudsman in December 2006.
However, the January 10, 2007, Attorney returned to stoke the controversy: "In furtherance of the depositions occurring in Medellín and Cali, the Public Ministry is aware that many victims of these armed groups have been submitted to the Office without legal representation, "said Maya Villazón in a public letter. The defender Vólmar Perez acknowledges that the agency had many trips to take on these tasks, as assigned to the State budget or ordered to create an administrative structure like what happened with the Prosecutor and the Attorney General, who created their own units for Justice and Peace.
The concern was ratified by the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation (NCRR) in its corporate newsletter last August: "Only an estimated 11,000 victims have that service from the Office of the nearly 138,000 registered with the Office of Justice and Peace. " According to Alvaro Cordova, who led a study on the subject at the request of the NCRR, said: "The figures we have is that each defender is responsible for between 500 and 600 branches, which makes their work completely ineffective. "
Stories
In Barranquilla, for example, most of the victims consulted not know what is the role of public advocate and complain about the delay in the allocation of this and the lack of personal contact with him, who only get to know when they coincide in a judicial proceeding. "Do not answer the phone because they say that each of them leads to more than 300 cases and is impossible to know them personally," said a victim consulted.
In Nariño, the victims recognized the work of the Ombudsman in the provision of information, but most still do not have counsel provided. The agency argues that only four public defenders are serving, on average, 200 cases not only of Justice and Peace. One of the most worrying cases of Medellin for the high number of victims involved in the regional.
According to the Justice and Peace Advocacy, to October 2008, the agency had over 13,000 branches and just 25 defenders. From there, our correspondent reports the case of Ophelia, a woman of 45 years. Her husband was assassinated in 1995 for refusing to vaccines paying the AUC and seven years later so was his only son, Ebert, 17.
Ofelia decided to go to Justice and Peace in 2006. "From my husband's case was a response from the Attorney to go to the Ombudsman and assigned me a lawyer. On my son's case did not respond. Two years passed and I called back, I never had contact with my lawyer. Three years ago gave me her cell number, but it is difficult to contact, "he says.
In February 2009 he returned to the Prosecution Unit for Justice and Peace and told again be submitted to the Ombudsman for being assigned a public defender for If your son. As Ofelia, the process is complicated and requires patience. In Putumayo, which accounts for a significant number of victims of Justice and Peace, respondents complained that until two years have their requests processed but not yet assigned defense.
In February 2009 he returned to the Prosecution Unit for Justice and Peace and told again be submitted to the Ombudsman for being assigned a public defender for If your son. As Ofelia, the process is complicated and requires patience. In Putumayo, which accounts for a significant number of victims of Justice and Peace, respondents complained that until two years have their requests processed but not yet assigned defense.
addition to the lack of information, have been made only two days of assistance in Puerto Asis and La Hormiga.
explanations
Alfonso Chamie, National Director of Public Advocacy, said his office had to assume no resources and no staff representation of victims: "Initially we create groups in the cities where they operated the Courts of Justice and Peace and took the same officials who had, who were assigned this task. Then we started recruiting and we have 98 regional champions in the Atlantic, Antioquia and Bogota, as well as 17 lawyers to assist clients in Cesar, Chocó, Bolívar, Caldas, Valle, Magdalena, Caqueta, Magdalena, Sucre and Santander "(figures to December 2008).
The official said the agency just got a budget addition of $ 4,000 million to expand the structure of the Public Defender to hire 32 lawyers to complete 130 legal representatives for victims, to be located preferentially in cities where the updates are transmitted on a satellite.
At this point, Adolfo Salamanca, former deputy attorney general, stressed that all state agencies must turn to the victims, find and protect them because most are people who live far from urban centers, illiterate, poor and live well in displacement conditions. "They do not see newspapers or Internet. The great tragedy is that they took everything, does not reach beyond the state and nobody cares for them. "
The Ombudsman's response
Vólmar The response of the defense against the criticism Perez was succinct: "The task we
not go on sidewalks is collecting powers. We have to wait for the Justice and Peace team requested legal representation to go to fulfill our duties. " Perez explains that the obligation of the Ombudsman in this stage is for guidance and advice because legal representation is made in the incident has not begun repairs. But Maria Consuelo Ramirez, an attorney consulting the UN, contradicts it: "Victims should enter the process from the beginning, must attend the free versions, question assumptions, take tests, participate until sentencing, not only in the event of repair. If the victim has a good defense, is at a disadvantage against the offender, who did have an effective defense all the time. "
victims' complaints
"I got tired of me and keep asking. I started coming to the Office of Popayan in June 2008. First I was told that my case had a Medellin lawyer Giovani Bolaños name, but then he resigned and sent a lawyer in Cali, I do not know who he is. Like I've never spoken with any "Ferney, victim Calima block. Lucila Meanwhile, victims of the paramilitaries in Barrancabermeja, said: "I was assigned a lawyer, but I lasted a month and call and call her cell phone was always off, but since they changed the processes of Medellin to Bucaramanga, then I say that now we will assign a lawyer in Bucaramanga.
* Reporters Colombia is a project of Media for Peace, the Pontifical Javeriana University and the Program for Peace (CINEP). Brings together journalists from various regions of the country committed to responsible coverage of armed conflict and peace building efforts in Colombia
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