Category: Colombia War

There was a bombing attack on the Colombian mining worker’s union office in Bogota on May 2, 2004, according to a communique distributed by the union and translated by the UK Colombia Solidarity Campaign. The union, SINTRAMINERCOL, has its offices in the the building belonging to MINERCOL, the state mining company.

Continue reading “Colombian Miners…”

El Tiempo reports that one of FARC’s pipe-bomb attacks in Toribio (which is occupied by the Colombian police, who really do act like an occupying Army) seriously wounded a woman, Yolanda Yulucue, and two children. I was in Toribio earlier this year, and plan to publish a photo essay on Northern Cauca soon.

Some news from Colombia’s indigenous.

In Cali, 5 days ago a member of the indigenous reserve of San Francisco, in Northern Cauca, Colombia named Aparicio Nuscue Nuscue died of wounds in a hospital in Cali. The wounds were taken courtesy of the Colombian Army, who shot him while he was performing a traditional ceremony at a sacred site on April 5 of this year. Northern Cauca is being steadily militarized, occupied by the National Police and Army, who commit a regular grind of abuses against the remarkable indigenous movement of the Nasa in that region.

Still worse is what the Colombian Army and paramilitaries, and therefore US backers, have done to the Wayuu indigenous community in La Guajira. This is a preliminary communique, from the community itself. More thorough investigations may follow, but only if a human rights organization takes it up.

Starting on April 18, the paramilitaries came to their community, “raping our daughters, torturing our children to get information on where their parents were… they didn’t believe them so they killed them or left them…”

“They killed women, youth, and elders (tortured and raped) and we are worried because our children are disappeared and we don’t know if they are alive or dead…”

“We were 580… who abandoned with pain in our souls our territory, our animals, our ancetral belongings, there in the territory there is no one, everyone has fled to different parts, to look for security and protection of our lives… neither the Mayor of Uribia nor the Governor of la Guajira said a word.”

12 were killed and 30 disappeared. And the point of the operation: 580 were displaced from their lands.

The communique I received (spanish) includes some of the names of those killed who the community could identify, which I reproduce below.

1-NICOLAS BARROS BALLESTEROS.
2-ARTURO EPIAYU
3-ALBERTO EVERTS FINCE
4-ROLAN EVERTS FINCE
5-ROSA FINCE URIANA
6-DIANA FINCE URIANA (Desaparecida sin saber el lugar donde tiraron su cuerpo)
7-REINA FINCE PUSHAINA (Desaparecida sin saber el lugar donde tiraron su cuerpo, menor de edad 13 años).
8-MARGARITA EPIANAYU
9-RUBEN EPINAYU (Menor de edad 16 años).
10-Niños que fueron asesinados y comos señala le cortaban miembros de su cuerpo para que fueran reconocidos).
11-Una joven del Clan Epinayu, la sacaron de su casa y aún no ha sido encontrado su cuerpo.
12- Además de todas estad personas, hay muchas mas que estan enterradas en las diferentes zonas de Portete.

… The US and Colombia want more of them in Colombia, in addition to the hundreds that are there now (openly) and however many ‘contractors’ and covert forces are there now (there are reports that there are plenty). See these little briefs.

———–

KIM HOUSEGO

Thu Apr 29, 9:11 PM

BOGOTA, Colombia – U.S. troops advising Colombia in its war against rebels and paramilitary forces are hampered by Congress’ cap on the number of American soldiers, a senior U.S. military commander asserted Thursday.

Continue reading “And, because US troops are doing such good elsewhere…”

Following up on an earlier post — the Colombian oil workers of the Union Sindical Obrera, USO, are on strike trying to prevent the further privatization of the state oil company, ECOPETROL. The UK-Colombia Solidarity Campaign sent around this communique which they translated: it has some useful background on the strike situation.

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIQUE

THE OIL WORKERS UNION STRIKE HAS STARTED

USO, the United Workers Union, the union of the Colombian oil workers has voted to start a general strike in all the industrial installations of the state company ECOPETROL from 22nd April 2004. The strike came as a last resource in view of the submissive policies of the Uribe government to the United States and the IMF; its arrogance towards the workers and our country, which have resulted in the dangerous situation, this Colombian company finds itself in.

For 17 months USO made efforts to reach an agreement to save ECOPETROL and for the rights of its workers to be respected. However, the proposals for talks presented by the union were answered with repressive measures such as the taking over of the plants by the armed forces, the refusal to let the union leaders into the plants, legal actions were started, union leaders and workers were fired and the government threatened to declare the strike illegal if it was started.

At the same time the government has implemented new policies that lead to the privatisation of the company. It decided to extend the association contracts of gas in the Guajira, of oil in Sabana de Torres y Cano Limon, to the benefit of the multinationals CHEVRON TEXACO and OXY. It also reactivated the Concesion Moderna contract by which the multinationals get 100% of the oil production making strategic alliances with OXY, SCHULEMBERGER and BP among others. Besides, it announced the sale of the Cartagena refinery and has intentionally abandoned the maintenance of the Barrancabermeja Complex in order to facilitate its dismantling and later privatisation.

The truth of the matter is that the national company ECOPETTROL is being privatised obeying the interests of the United States government. They have decided to take control of the world’s oil as we have seen in their invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq, Venezuela, Bolivia and Mexico with different methods, but all with the same aim in mind: to ensure the appropriation of oil.

In the past days the management have decided to impose a veto against the union leaders and to expel the workers for the Barrancabermeja and Cartagena refineries, a measure that they have vowed to apply to all other production centres. While it threatens to declare the strike illegal, it is actually stopping production because of supposed sabotage; using this also to apply repressive measures.

In view of this, the Uribe government and the ECOPETROL management have obliged the workers to start a STRIKE MOVEMENT to defend ECOPETROL, the workers’ rights and the existence of the Oil Workers Union. At the same time the leaders of the union in a brave attitude have declared a Hunger Strike supporting the workers’ fair demands.

The Workers Central Union is strongly committed in this fight, as well as the rest of the Colombian union movement. The unions have declared their support to this movement that seeks to defend our national patrimony.

As a result, we call on the national and international union movement, all social and popular organisations, and all democratic forces and in general to all those citizens that care about the fate of our nation to accompany and support us in our fight.

22nd April 2004

Please send messages to the following address:

Álvaro Uribe: auribe@presidencia.gov.co

with copies and solidarity messages to:

Comisión Paz USO usopaz@tutopia.com

Departamento de Derechos Humanos CUT derechoshumanos@cut.org.co

Uso Nacional usocol@col1.telecom.com.co

International Commission United Workers Union (USO)

I’ve got an article from April 25’s ‘El Tiempo’, Colombia’s national newspaper, in front of me. Apparently Uribe, Colombia’s President, has a bright new plan: he’s going to — escalate the war!

The plan is to send 14-15000 soldiers into the south of the country. There have been dozens of meetings with the State Department and the Southern Command of the US to this end.

The article ends with a few questions. How will all this be financed? If forces are transferred into guerrilla territories, how will the rest of the country be controlled? What if the guerrillas just hide?

One could add a few more. How could this be anything other than a disaster for the population? Will paramilitaries follow the army, as they always do? Will this result in more massacres, as it inevitably does? Is this a pretext for an increase of US troops in the region? Is there anything suspicious in the timing of a major operation and a buildup for one around the same time as Colombia has made threatening noises towards Venezuela?

For a preview of what Plan Patriota will look like on the ground, take a look at this report on what they’ve been doing in Arauca, that comes via the Colombia Support Network.

URGENT ACTION:

The Arauca Regional Foundation Committee of Human Rights ‘Joel Sierra’ denounces, repudiates and repels before the national and international public opinion, by way of the Arauca Network and national and international, non-governmental defenders of Human Rights. Also before the organizations of justice and control of the Colombian State the following acts which fills the Araucan community with mourning, pain and anxiety:

1.) On Thursday April 14, 2004 Senor Jose Alfonso Preciado Cruz was assassinated in the city of Arauca. Senor Preciado Cruz was employed as a driver of a public service taxi affiliated with Radiotax. Unknown persons committed this act.

2.) On the same day, April 14, 2004, Senor Carlos Silva Chovo was also killed in the village of LaPaz of the municipality of Arauquita. At this time nothing is known of the motives or the persons who committed this crime.

3.) Sunday, April 18, 2004 in the downtown section of Tame, at approximately 2:00 p.m. Moises Mojica Cerenza and Yolanda Duarte, 30 years old, were executed. The authors of the crime are unknown.

4.) On Sunday April 18, 2004 Senora Anadelina Lizcano Fonteilio was killed by gunfire on the road to Tame from Arauca.

5.) On April 19, 2004 in downtown Arauquita, Nelson Mogollon was killed by unknown assailants.

6.) Senor Pablo Antonio Lemus Sepeda, 45, and his son Javier Andres Lemus, 23, who had been illegally detained because they were presumed to be members of AUC,( a paramilitary group known as the Autodefensas of Colombia) were left free, and the other person detained with them Maria Elena Giraldo Herrera, was disappeared.

7.) In the municipality of Saravena on the top of the bridge located in the Hamlet Bajo Pescado on the way to Saravena-Pamplona, Alicio Aveldano Castro was assassinated on April 20.

8.) The community of Saravena is terrorized and in this state they have received various phone calls which tell of masked persons carrying heavy arms who are patrolling various barrios of the municipality. They were informed on Sunday that these persons were seen on the edges of the barrio Pablo Antonio.

9.) All of these acts which have left more than 15 dead in one month, illegal retentions, civil patrols, arbitrary detentions, etc. are occurring in the moment since the military and civil authorities are questioning the recent report of Amnesty International over Arauca and they only confirm that this report on Human Rights Violations in Arauca is well founded.

10.) We demand that the organizations of justice and control of the Colombian State investigate and sanction those responsible for these acts, which are being presented on repeated occasions and which increase the index of violations of Human Rights and impunity in our department of Arauca.

11.) We call upon the Defender of Human Rights Organizations, both national and international, the Colombian Office of the High Commission of Human Rights of the United Nations that a continuation and evaluation of the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Rights be realized for that which is happening in our region.

FOR THE DEFENSE OF LIFE, THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND PERMANENCE IN THE TERRITORY

REGIONAL FOUNDATION COMMITTEE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ‘JOEL SIERRA’

Our social action is legal and legitimate.

Please send this action to the following people:

DIRECCIONES

S.E. Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Presidente de la República, Cra. 8 n°.7-26,
Palacio de Nariño, Santa fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1) 566.20.71 e-mail:
auribe@presidencia.gov.co ;

· Doctor Jorge Alberto Uribe Ministro de la Defensa,Avenida El Dorado con
Cra. 52 CAN, Santa fe de Bogotá. Fax: (+57 1)222.18.74; E-mail :
siden@mindefensa.gov.co ;infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co

· Dr. Carlos Franco, Director del Programa Presidencial de DerechosHumanos
y de Derecho Internacional Humanitario. E-mail :cefranco@presidencia.gov.co

-Your representative and senators

–
COLOMBIA DESK STATE DEPARTMENT
Tel (202)647 3360
200 Constitution Ave N.w.
Washington d.C. 20210
barclaycg@state.gov

Colombia Support Network
P.O. Box 1505
Madison, WI 53701-1505
phone: (608) 257-8753
fax: (608) 255-6621
e-mail: csn@igc.org
http://www.colombiasupport.net

The Union Sindical Obrera, the union of workers in Colombia’s state oil company ECOPETROL, is on strike, trying to prevent further privatizations of the oil company. They are risking a lot. USO’s strength has been in the oil regions around Barrancabermeja, and several years ago that city was taken over by paramilitaries by block-by-block, house-to-house slaughter. Some very terrible massacres took place, and much of the social movement in that city was destroyed. The USO remained, as did the Popular Women’s Organization, the OFP, but both have suffered severe repression.

They went out on strike again on April 22 (the same day the family of the Coca-Cola bottler’s unionist was gunned down in their home) and the strike was immediately declared illegal by the government. In some ways the future of the Colombian oil sector depends on this strike.

About a year ago, Hector Mondragon discussed USO’s problems when they were planning a strike, and compared the situation with that of the Venezuelan oil sector. Both groups of oil workers had the problem of management and engineers controlling the high-tech aspects of the business and being able to run the business (or stop it from running) without the worker’s participation. In Colombia, however, the military and the repression will be against the workers, on behalf of the privatizers, unlike in Venezuela, where the national guard intervened to stop the management-led ‘strike’. This makes things far more difficult for the workers of USO.

After the machine-gunning of a unionist’s family in Colombia (the union, SINALTRAINAL being one that is trying to negotiate with Coca Cola, and one that has seen quite a few of its unionists murdered by paramilitaries in the employ of Coca Cola’s bottlers over the past few years), some activists took things to the shareholder’s meeting yesterday. The full story below…

Coca-Cola faces down shareholder revolt and ejects protester

The Guardian David Teather in New York Thursday April 22, 2004

Coca-Cola yesterday faced down a shareholder rebellion at its annual meeting as well as protests from human rights activists which led to one being forcibly removed…

Reports from the annual meeting in Wilmington, Delaware, said shareholders looked stunned as security guards wrestled the human rights activist, Ray Rogers, to the ground. He had been shouting and swearing at Coke chairman and chief executive Douglas Daft. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said the force used looked excessive.

Mr Rogers had been accusing Coke of violating human rights in Colombia. Legal filings in US courts have claimed that the company and its Colombian bottlers have hired rightwing death squads to intimidate unions at the plants. They claim nine union organisers have been killed in the past decade. Mr Daft said yesterday that the charges “are false and outrageous”.

Other protesters alleged that the company’s bottling plants in India are depleting water supplies in local communities and causing pollution with discharged materials…

full article here

Campaign to Stop Killer Coke – www.killercoke.org adds

Dear Campaign Supporters:

1. Yesterday, the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke successfully demonstrated at Coke’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Wilmington, Delaware. The protest generated extensive media coverage – a few samples are linked below. A highlight of the Washington Post article describes that Coke CEO Douglas Daft suppressed an independent investigation of the charges regarding Coke’s abuses in Colombia (if you do not get a “hot” link, copy and past the web addresses below):

Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32875-2004Apr21.html

Atlanta Journal Constitution: www.ajc.com/business/content/business/coke/0404/21speaker.html

Atlanta Business Chronicle: atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2004/04/19/daily30.html?jst=b_ln_hl

2. In addition, the following link will bring you to a radio piece produced by Workers Independent News Service. This requires an MP3 player and is best heard on a high-speed internet connection: www.laborradio.org/audio/features/mp3/winsfeat042304.mp3

3. We have added several photos of the demonstration to our Protest Pics section.

*****************************************************

Campaign to Stop Killer Coke

http://www.killercoke.org
stopkillercoke@aol.com
(212) 979-8320

The CSN asks you to sign this petition on US Colombia Policy.

Speaking of the US and Colombia, a certain famous US corporation’s bottlers employ paramilitaries to kill unionists in Colombia. There was recently a hunger strike by unionists whose desperate action result in negotiations with Coca Cola. The reprisals against those unionists have officially begun, with the slaughter of a unionist’s family in their home by machine gunners today. Here is the full note, translated and circulated by the UK Colombia Solidarity Campaign.

————

At 7 am on April 20, 2004, various armed men with machine guns entered the home of the brother of Coca-Cola union leader Efrain Guerrero’s wife in Bucaramanga, and fired indiscriminately at the family, killing Efrain’s brother-in-law, Gabriel Remolina, his wife Fanny and wounding three of their children. One of these children, Robinson Remolina, is in grave condition in the hospital.

This is not the first time that the families of Sinaltrainal union leaders have been the victims of such violence. This happened in the context of the labor conflict against Coca Cola, where we are trying to avoid the firing of workers due to closing production lines. The union is also negotiating a new convention with the company which was presented in March of this year. On April 18, we held the workers’ assemblies where we approved the petitions that we would present to the Coca Cola bottlers in Bucaramanga, Cucuta and Barrancabermeja. We also just had a meeting with the Vice President of the Coca Cola bottlers where we expressed our concern for the security problems. In addition, the lawyers who filed the case against Coca-Cola in the United States, for acts of anti-union violence, just announced they had filed a new brief to reinstate Coca-Cola as a defendant.

We demand an end to the aggression against Sinaltrainal affiliates and our families, and we demand that the authorities investigate and find the material and intellectual authors of these crimes.

Enough already of so much injustice!

Yours,

LUIS JAVIER CORREA SUAREZ

President SINALTRAINAL

20th April, 2004