Unknown men assassinated an indigenous governor of the Embera ethnic
group in Cordoba, the Indigenous Association of Northern Cauca (ACIN)
reported Thursday.
The ACIN denounced and rejected the killing of Hector Betancourth Domico, governor of the Embera Changarra, the population of Tierralta in the Cordoba department.
“We reject the threats and persecutions that all armed groups in the area carry out against Embera leaders and the community in general,” ACIN said on their homepage.
“We fight everyday to survive in this war that is not ours. We denounce publicly and openly that we are in serious danger of extermination and vulnerable to all armed actors (military, paramilitaries, criminal gangs, guerrillas, etc.).
“We call on the Colombian government, human right organizations, environmentalists … to help us and to take action,” ACIN added.
At the end of June, the ACIN reported the last murder of an indigenous leader in the Cauca department. Marino Mestizo was tortured and killed by three hooded men. So far in 2009, seven indigenous leaders have been killed in Colombia.