Murillo was a legal representative of the Pacific Integral Foundation of Narino (FIPAN), an organization of the Afro-Colombian population recently displaced, who had been threatened by the paramilitary group Central Bloc of the Black Eagles.

In a press release issued by the Inter-Ecclesiastic Commission of Justice and Peace of Colombia, the Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES) rejected the crime against Murillo, which has repercussions in the whole Afro-Colombian community.

The press release read “Jair’s murder is a hard blow for the families, communities and organizations of the displaced Afro-Colombian population, who have lawfully and within the rule of law, made an effort to contribute to the restitution and protection of our rights, which have been violated”. The release also said that in the recent days, Murillo had been coordinating the participation of the displaced population of Buenaventura in the national mobilization “Displaced by the Dignity and Effective Enjoyment of their Rights”, held after Jair’s murder in the Colombian capital, Bogota.

Also, AFRODES says that this is not just one isolated violent incident, because another 16 organizations of Afro-Colombian displaced population had received threats by the Black Eagles paramilitary group. When they received the threats last May 14, AFRODES had asked the Colombian government to express its public rejection to them and to support the work of the Afro-Colombian organizations, while they demanded the adoption of a special mechanism of criminal investigation into the situation and the amendment of the protection policies in force.

However, the demands have not been answered by the government, not even after the brutal murder of Murillo.

The press release says “AFRODES repeats that the government’s competence in addressing this calls is crucial for the protection of our lives, since it has been painfully proven with the murder of our brother Jair Murillo.

We hope that this incident will lead to immediate actions, both to investigate Jair’s death and to avoid new murders of leaders of the displaced Afro-Colombian population”

Photo: www.afrodes.org