Some 1,200 indigenous Colombians have been murdered in the last six years with "absolute impunity," charges an NGO that works for aboriginal rights.
The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, which did not release precise information of its count, came in response to the Sunday killing of Raúl Mendoza, indigenous governor of the Peñón reservation.
These are “crimes that typify the genocide that we, Colombian indigenous people, are subjected to,” he said, according to Spanish news agency EFE. “Not even one criminal has been charged with these crimes.”
The news agency did not include a government response.
Some recent victims include two residents of a small community near the Ecuadorian border—which the army said were killed ‘accidentally’ during a nighttime pursuit—and six people massacred in the Chocó department.
- 09/30/2008 14:52 - Number of displaced in Colombia grows dramatically
- 09/30/2008 14:06 - Eleven-month-old baby found dead
- 09/30/2008 12:52 - US slaps sanctions on FARC envoys
- 09/30/2008 10:47 - Disappearances cuadruple in past year, up 14 times over three years ago in Colombia
- 09/30/2008 09:37 - Court reviews case against retired general
- 09/30/2008 08:05 - Witness blames army for kidnappings
