Colombia: Threats to Mennonite Church The Human Rights Actions Network - Derechos Human Rights http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/actions/ Mennonite Church of Colombia COMMUNIQUE - APRIL 15 1997 THE COLOMBIAN STATE VIOLATES FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION THE MENNONITE CHURCH OF COLOMBIA and its ministries, the MENNONITE BIBILICAL SEMINARY OF COLOMBIA and the CHRISTIAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE, PEACE AND NONVIOLENT ACTION - JUSTAPAZ, wish to inform that: 1. The Colombian state, through its armed forces, army and police, have been engaged in discriminatory persecution of the Mennonite Church in Colombia; 2. Articles 18 and 19 of the Colombian Constitution guarantee the human rights to freedom of conscience and freedom of worship and religion; 3. Article 19 of the Colombian Constitution not only guarantees the human right to freedom of worship and religion, but also establishes equality among all faiths, such that the Catholic Church is no longer the official church of the State, as it had been in the past; 4. Freedom of worship and equality before the law of all religious traditions are stipulated in law 133 issued in 1994, known as "the law of religious freedom". This law expressly states, in article 7, that churches or religious confessions may freely and autonomously establish and operate seminaries and centers for religious formation and that the State will not intervene in such matters; 5. Law 48, issued in 1993, known as "the law of compulsory military service", in its article 29, section d, in keeping with and respectful of the human rights recognized and guaranteed in Article 19 of the Constitution, specifically states that young men enrolled in a seminary providing formation for religious life shall be deferred from compulsory military service as long as they remain students in the seminary; 6. The only additional requirement stipulated in law 48 of 1993 is that in order to have the benefit of the right to deferment, the seminary in which the young man is enrolled must be duly authorized by the church of which it is a part; 7. The Mennonite Biblical Seminary of Colombia includes among its programs the Program for the Formation of Peacemakers (Programa para la Formacion de Hacedores de Paz), in which the majority of the students are young men of military age. Currently and in the majority of cases, district army recruitment officials are refusing to receive the documentation being presented by these young men as part of the process of requesting a deferment, and are, verbally denying them their right to the deferment. There have been cases in which students have been verbally mistreated by officers of the Colombian Army, who not only deny them the right to a deferment but tear up their documents, threaten them with prison, and tell them that only the Catholic seminaries are valid; 8. When the request for deferment of the young men enrolled in the Menonite Biblical Seminary has been made directly to the Recruitment Headquarters of the Army, the military has made requirements not specified by law, demanding that the Mennonite Church and its Biblical Seminary be registered with the Department of Education (Secretaria de Educacion)--as if matters of faith were part of public educational services, which is what the State should regulate-- thus violating Article 19 of the Constitution, Law 133 of 1994, and Law 48 of 1993, that is, denying the human right to freedom of worship; 9. The Armed Forces, through the Office of Terrorism and Impact Crime of the division of Military Intelligence (Oficina de Terrorismo y Delito de Impacto de la Inteligencia Militar), requested that the Department of Education of Santafe de Bogota order the closing of the Mennonite Church, the Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and the Christian Center for Justice, Peace and Nonviolent Action--Justapaz; 10. On the 12th of December, 1996, the Mennonite Church, the Biblical Seminary, and Justapaz were informed of the order that they be closed. This order had been issued by the Department of Education, insisting on registration with that department; 11. The Department of Education took the step of ordering the closing without following the procedures required by law. When questioned about the irregularity of their procedures, the implementation of the order was suspended, but to date the order has not been rescinded; 12. Suits have been filed in court to obtain judicial enforcement of the right to freedom of religion and worship, and, therefore, of the right of seminary students to deferment from military service. To date, these have been turned down on procedural grounds, but without denying the underlying constitutional arguments; 13. The Armed Forces insist on not granting deferment to young men from the Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and, by so doing, ignoring not only the right to freedom of religion and worship but also the right to freedom of conscience; We request the solidarity of persons, churches, and institutions that are concerned and defend Human Rights and the freedom of religion and worship, asking support in ways which include the following: A) Meeting with ambassadors and consuls of the Colombian State in your respective countries or cities, respectfully requesting explanation and guarantees of the rights of the Mennonite Church B) Carrying out in a respectful manner public acts in front of the offices of the consulates or embassies of the Colombian State in your respective countries C) Sending respectfully worded telegrams, letters, and faxes to officials of the Colombian government requesting the following: * That the Colombian government pronounce itself clearly and unequivocally in support of the freedom of conscience and the freedom of worship and religion of the Mennonite Church and of the students of the Mennonite Biblical Seminary; * That the Ministry of Education of Colombia give a clear interpretation of the law to ensure the unambiguous protection of the right of religious confessions to establish and direct their centers of religious formation without interference of the State; * That the Minister of Defense require of the Armed Forces their recognition of the right to deferment from compulsory military service of all students enrolled in a seminary or center of formation for religious life, of whatever religious confession. These communications can be directed to the following: ERNESTO SAMPER PIZANO President of the Republic of Colombia Casa de Narino Calle 7 No. 6-54 Santafe de Bogota, Colombia, South America Phone: 284-3300 JAIME BERNAL CUELLAR Procurador General de la Nacion Carrera 5 No. 15-80 Santafe de Bogota, Colombia, South America Phone: 283-8609 JOSE FERNANDO CASTRO CAICEDO Defensor del Pueblo Calle 55 No. 10-46 Apartado Aereo 56-490 Santafe de Bogota, Colombia, South America Phone: 235-6666 FAX: 346-1225 GILBERTO ECHEVERRI MEJIA Ministro de Defensa CAN Avenida El Dorado con Calle 52 Santafe de Bogota, Colombia, South America Phone: 222-2445, 222-0499 FAX: 222-1874 JAIME NINO DIAZ Ministro de Educacion CAN Santafe de Bogota, Colombia, South America Phone: 222-2800, 222-4918 FAX: 222-4578 If possible send copies of correspondence to the following address: Iglesia Menonita - Centro Justapaz Apartado Aereo 20982 Santafe de Bogota, D. C., Colombia, South America Phone/Fax 287-3968 MENNONITE CHURCH OF COLOMBIA MENNONITE BIBLICAL SEMINARY OF COLOMBIA CHRISTIAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE, PEACE AND NONVIOLENT ACTION - JUSTAPAZ