COLOMBIAN GUNMEN KILL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

October 17, 2003 - (Reuters) - Colombian far-right paramilitary gunmen shot and killed a human rights activist after kidnapping her from her home, in a new breach of a cease-fire declared by the militias, officials and colleagues said on Friday.

Esperanza Amaris Miranda, 40, who worked for the Popular Feminine Organization, an outspoken women's group known by its Spanish acronym OFP, was pulled into a taxi on Thursday by three men who later shot her in the northern port city of Barrancabermeja, Jackeline Rojas, an OFP activist said.

Miranda's 21-year old daughter, who was home at the time of the 7:30 p.m. kidnapping, pursued the gunmen out to the street and clung to the taxi as it sped away. The men stopped the vehicle and kicked her until she relinquished her grasp, Rojas told Reuters.

The attackers identified themselves as members of the Central Bolivar Block -- an outlaw paramilitary gang holding peace talks with President Alvaro Uribe, Rojas said. She said Miranda had received death threats from the same group.

Paramilitaries, which target leftist rebels and suspected sympathizers in Colombia's four-decade war, declared a cease-fire in December 2002 in order to open talks with Uribe. The group has breached the cease-fire several times, according to army reports, but the government has not commented publicly on the violations.

OFP has openly criticized paramilitary activity in the violent city of Barrancabermeja, including selective killings of trade unionists and public punishments of women -- in some cases forcing them to sweep streets for alleged adultery.

Miranda's killing came one month after Uribe, whose father was killed by rebels some 20 years ago, accused small human rights groups critical of his law-and-order policies of being rebel propagandists and ``terrorists.''

Human rights groups had warned that Uribe's harsh words had turned them into moving targets of paramilitaries, who have a record of collaborating with the armed forces. The U.N. office in Bogota condemned Miranda's killing and called on the government to conduct a full investigation.

Critics of the talks say Uribe is making too many concessions to the ``paras.'' The Colombian president faces criticism over his attempts to secure an amnesty which would enable paramilitaries and other rights abusers to skip jail.

From http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-rights-colombia-killing.html