A 14-Year-Old Girl and her Two Younger Brothers were Assassinated in Arauca

A 14-Year-Old Girl and her Two Younger Brothers were Assassinated in Arauca
SOURCE :Humanidad Vigente


(Translated by Emily Hansen, CSN’s Assistant Program Director)
 
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 9:07 p.m.
 
Tame, Arauca
On Thursday, October 14, 2010, three siblings, ages 14, 9 and 6, disappeared from their house where their father had left them while he went to work on a nearby farm. Three days later, their bodies were found by peasants of the region who were responding to the call for search help sent out by the family and the authorities.
 
The bodies were found in a pit 300 meters from their house in the rural area of the municipality of Caño Temblador where peasant José Álvaro Terres had reported the disappearance of his children to the local authorities and the People’s Defender’s Office Signs of torture, strangulation and knife wounds were found on the bodies.
 
The victims were identified as Jenny Torres, age 14, Jimmy, 9, and Jeferson, 6.
 
According to the father of the children, he left his daughter and sons on their farm to go work on another farm nearby, and at two in the afternoon, after various attempts at contacting them via cell phone but not receiving any answer, he returned immediately, but his daughter and sons were not there.
 
Investigating the Presumed Responsibility of the Military Men
 
Representatives of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CPDH), teachers at the siblings’ school, Tame social leaders and Deputy Ferney Tique, president of the Assembly Commission of Peace and Human Rights, made a verification visit to the pit and gathered testimonies from peasants that link the military men with the incident.
 
According to an announcement made by Deputy Piqué on a local radio station, it seems that the military men who were camped nearby raped the girl and, upon realizing that the younger brothers were aware of what had happened, assassinated and buried the three children.
 
In response to the announcement made by the deputy, General Neira, commander of the 18th Brigade that operates in the area, called upon the speaker to classify as the “game of the guerrilla” the denouncements made by the Humanitarian Mission that works for the clarification of what happened.
 
Other members of the Humanitarian Mission that visited the pit told Humanidad Vigente that the hypothesis of rape is very believable since the body of the girl was found half naked with knife wounds on her back.
 
Martin Sandoval of CPDH pointed out that in the last twenty days the community of Tame and neighboring rural areas have denounced two cases of rape and the appearance of intimidating graffiti signed by the Black Eagles.
 
In a communiqué emitted on October 17, CDPH points out that “on October 8 and during the following days a patrol of the National Army, of the 45th Batallion of the 5th Mobile Brigade pertaining to the Eighth Division of the National Army stationed themselves in the sector visiting on two occasions the children, asking them for their father. The site where the military patrol camped for various days was approximately 100 meters from the mass grave.”
 
Approximately 6,000 people organized themselves in the main streets of Tame on Tuesday, October 19 in solidarity with the affected family and in condemnation of what happened. The general feeling was fear in the presence of armed actors, including the National Army.
 
The large march that took place during the morning stretched from the entrance of the town to the main park where a peaceful protest took place. The march then went to a church where a mass was held in honor of Jenny, Jimmy and Jeferson.
 
The community is grateful for the presence of the International Red Cross Committee (CICR) and calls to the international community and human rights organizations to demand that the investigation be carried out quickly and overtly, keeping in mind the presumed responsibility of the members of the Armed Forces.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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