Swiss cooperation organizations reject accusation of vice president of Colombia

BERN, Suiza, April 27, 2006

 Cooperation organizations Bread for All (BFA) and Fastenopfer (FO) rejected statements from Colombian Vice president Taxi Heathrow Airport Francisco Santos who last week said that they support the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) with state money.

According to a communique from the nongovernmental organizations, Santos subsequently retracted the statements in a meeting he held with the Swiss Minister of Foreign Relations and the Swiss Ambassador to Colombia.

BFA, a Protestant Church agency and FO, a Catholic Church body said that they were grateful for the explicit rectification which they consider very important for the “human rights work we support in Colombia” and clarified that they do not collaborate “in any manner with armed groups.”

Fastenopfer and Bread for All indicated that for the past several years they have been collaborating with women’s associations and other civil society organizations in conflict zones, defending the rights of people affected by violence in search of a political solution.

The work of these organizations is in danger if they are linked to the guerrillas. They frequently receive death threats on the part of paramilitary groups for their valuable commitment.

Francisco Santos had told journalists that both organizations were part of a campaign against Colombia launched in Switzerland. He alluded to the ecumenical work of Bread for All and Fastenopfer, whose slogan this year is “We believe. Human rights require commitment.”

“Our campaign is not against the population or against the government of Colombia,” said BFA and FO, after explaining that the goal is to “raise the awareness of the Swiss population about the issue of human rights, using as examples projects in different countries that we support and to raise funds for the respective programs.”

They said that for this type of campaign they did not receive any state funding. “We are convinced that violence is an attack on human dignity. Each violation of human rights, no matter which side it comes from, is intolerable,” it stated.

However, the vice president of Colombia reiterated his denouncement of an “aggressive campaign” against Colombia on the part of Swiss NGOs. He said that graffiti has appeared on the walls of buildings, including on Colombian diplomatic offices with “inadmissible” phrases against the government.

Santos said in a radio interview that Colombia will request that the Swiss government provide protection for Colombian diplomats in Switzerland.