Feeds2Read: RSS FEED .: IPS Inter Press Service Colombia - A Nation Torn :. As Colombia's nearly five-decade civil war simmers on, the country remains the world's third-largest recipient of U.S. military aid, and has the second-largest displaced population in the world. The cocaine trade continues to fuel the armed conflict; there are abundant reports indicating that the supposedly demobilised paramilitaries, blamed for the lion's share of the atrocities committed in the civil war and led by drug lords, have regrouped; and nearly half of the population lives in poverty. The scandal over ties with paramilitary groups dogs the Álvaro Uribe government. Small farmers and indigenous and black communities are often caught in the crossfire between the rebels, the paramilitaries and the security forces. The conflict's victims are the civilian population, human rights and truth., RSS Feeds Aggregator and RSS Directory

As Colombia's nearly five-decade civil war simmers on, the country remains the world's third-largest recipient of U.S. military aid, and has the second-largest displaced population in the world. The cocaine trade continues to fuel the armed conflict; there are abundant reports indicating that the supposedly demobilised paramilitaries, blamed for the lion's share of the atrocities committed in the civil war and led by drug lords, have regrouped; and nearly half of the population lives in poverty. The scandal over ties with paramilitary groups dogs the Álvaro Uribe government. Small farmers and indigenous and black communities are often caught in the crossfire between the rebels, the paramilitaries and the security forces. The conflict's victims are the civilian population, human rights and truth.

.::COLOMBIA: Sugar Workers Strike for Basic Rights::.

BOGOTA, Oct 7 (IPS) - "We sugar cane cutters are neither delinquents nor terrorists; we are honest workers demanding respect for our rights," say Colombia’s cane harvesters, who have been on strike since Sept. 15, demanding basic rights.

.::POLITICS-US: Bush Seen as Out of Touch on Latin America::.

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (IPS) - The policies of the George W. Bush administration lag behind public opinion on a host of issues relating to Latin America, according to a new poll of likely voters across the U.S.

.::COLOMBIA: Oil Palms, Right Abuses Hand in Hand in Northwest::.

BOGOTA, , Sep 5 (IPS) - As of this week, there is one less human rights defender in the northwestern Colombian region of Bajo Atrato. Jimmy Jansasoy of the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission was forced to flee the area, where oil palm plantations have encroached on the collectively-owned jungle territories of traditional black communities.

.::COLOMBIA: Justice on Strike::.

BOGOTA, Sep 3 (IPS) - Some 34,000 judicial sector employees in Colombia began an indefinite strike Wednesday, demanding labour stability, the enforcement of a new salary scheme, and guarantees of independence for the courts.

.::COLOMBIA: International Criminal Court Scrutinises Paramilitary Crimes::.

BOGOTA, Aug 27 (IPS) - The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor ended a three-day visit to Colombia Wednesday, where he has been investigating who is ultimately responsible for the human rights crimes committed in this civil war-torn country.

.::COLOMBIA: Video Raises Numerous Questions About Rescue Mission::.

BOGOTA, Aug 6 (IPS) - "It is a serious matter that members of the armed forces clandestinely leaked news without coordination with their superiors," says a presidential communiqué issued in Colombia after a local TV station broadcast a video on the operation in which Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages held by the FARC guerrillas were rescued last month.

.::COLOMBIA: Women Working Abroad Keep Provincial Economy Alive::.

PEREIRA, Colombia, Jul 30 (IPS) - The so-called Coffee Belt region accounts for 60 percent of Colombians who leave the country, and the majority of those leaving are female. Once they are abroad, these women become the breadwinners of their families, with the resulting impact on household income extending to the provincial economy.

.::COLOMBIA: Indigenous Groups in Danger of Disappearing::.

BOGOTA, Jul 28 (IPS) - The Permanent People’s Tribunal warned in its final statement on Colombia of "the imminent danger of physical and cultural extinction faced by 28 indigenous groups," adding that 18 of the communities have less than 100 members, "and are suspended between life and death."

.::RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: US-Based Lawyers to Defend Victims of Paramilitaries::.

BOGOTA, Jul 25 (IPS) - Two human rights lawyers from the United States announced in the Colombian capital that they will defend the victims of paramilitary chiefs who were recently extradited to the United States.

.::COLOMBIA: Torture as a ‘Side Effect’ of Forced Disappearance, Killings ::.

BOGOTA, Jul 22 (IPS) - The body of trade unionist Guillermo Rivera, who was missing since April, was finally found after 84 days of desperate searching by his family and friends.

.::COLOMBIA: Hostage Rescue, According to Captured Guerrilla Leader::.

BOGOTA, Jul 16 (IPS) - "Occupation: Guerrilla. Address: Colombian mountains. Distinguishing marks: Combat scars." That is how Gerardo Aguilar, alias "César" and Alexander Farfán, "Enrique Gafas," answered questions on forms for their extradition to the United States.

.::COLOMBIA: Did the Army 'Steal' FARC's Hostage Release? ::.

QUITO, Ecuador, Jul 8 (IPS) - A source close to the insurgent Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) told IPS that the Jul. 2 rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages by the Colombian military "intercepted their liberation, planned for this weekend (Jul. 5-6) or the next," by the FARC rebels.

.::COLOMBIA: Questions Surround Foreign Role in Hostage Rescue::.

BOGOTA, Jul 7 (IPS) - Among the many questions raised by Operation Check, which ended with the Jul. 2 release of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) hostages Ingrid Betancourt, three U.S. contractors and 11 members of the Colombian army and police, is the role played by the United States, France and Switzerland.

.::COLOMBIA: The General Ingrid Hugged::.

MONTEVIDEO, Jul 6 (IPS) - General Mario Montoya Uribe, the national commander of the Colombian army, whom Ingrid Betancourt thanked on Wednesday for rescuing her from captivity, has a controversial service record.

.::COLOMBIA: Uribe's 2006 Reelection "Flawed" - Supreme Court::.

BOGOTA, Jul 5 (IPS) - At the same time that Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was welcoming U.S. Republican presidential hopeful John McCain in the north of the country, the Supreme Court issued a communiqué calling on the government to "respect and obey the decisions" of the courts.