SINTRAEMCALI PREVENTATIVE ACTION
During a Security Council meeting of the military in the second
week of April there was a decision made to attempt to try members
of the Board of Directors of SINTRAEMCALI trade union for affecting
negatively the provision of public services and for defaming flags
and patriotic symbols, and also for terrorism.
In the subsequent few weeks two SINTRAEMCALI
leaders, LUIS HERNÁNDEZ
MONROY President and ROBINSÓN MASSO observed suspicious
vehicles and people travelling on high velocity motorbikes permanently
following them, and were forced to move houses.
On 11th April 2002, late at night the porter
in the office of Alexander Lopez Maya, ex-president
of SINTRAEMCALI and now member of Congress, received a telephone
call saying "With bodyguards and everyone we are going
to blow up this building." The following morning the
secretary of the office received a new call saying "Don't
you understand, we are going to put a bomb there."
Due to this the office has remained permanently closed.
On 18th April, the president of NOMADESC
and co-ordinator of the Human Rights Department of SINTRAEMCALI
BERENICE CELEYTA and a student were followed by a four door
White Toyota truck with polarised windows. Several minutes later
a motorbike arrived with two men on it. One man entered the restaurant,
carrying a small rucksack and sat facing them. They immediately
called the Human Rights Co-ordinator of the CUT, and left the premises,
managing to lose the people following them.
On 27th April, 2002, the sister of SINTRAEMCALI
activist DANIEL VALENCIA
VILLEGAS, worker in the EMCALI Water and Sewerage Plant, received
a telephone call where she was asked for Daniel, and when she said
he was not there the caller left the following message: "Tell
him to stop hanging around with members of the board of directors
of the union." Another phone call to his father said
"Tell that son of a bitch to leave the union or if not
buy a coffin".
Military Intelligence Involved
On 1st May during the International Workers
Day march several suspicious people were identified filming and
taking photos. The infiltrators attempted to escape and workers
prevented them, calling on the police to identify and detain them.
The police reaction was violent. Several trade union leaders and
human rights defenders were beaten. The worst injuries were inflicted
on JES=DAS GONZALEZ, who had serious wounds to the back of his head,
a 1.5 cm gash on the top of his head all caused by a wooden police
baton. During these events JHON WEINER GONZÁLEZ, bodyguard
of Jesús González, was given a death threat by one
of the police who said "Remember my face, because you
are going to die you son of a bitch", and he was beaten
with a wooden police baton in different parts of his body.
Assassination
On Saturday 18th May 2002 at approximately
11.00pm ORLANDO ARENAS MARIN
was in a public place in the Municipality of Florida when a Yellow
Daewoo Taxis arrived carrying 4 armed men. Two of the men entered
the establishment and attempted to forcibly take Oscar with them.
Oscar attempted to resist and managed to hit one of the men. The
man then assassinated him, and upon seeing this another men go out
of the taxi and shot him again.
Added to these events are the forced detentions,
telephone threats, the sending of death threat letters (sufragios),
forced disappearance, physical aggression, and assassinations; which
have affected another 50 other workers.
We call on all of you to prevent further
human rights violations:
- Make statements to the United Nations,
the Organisation of American States, the diplomatic corps who
have a presence in Colombia, the International Labour Organisation
in an attempt to guarantee the human rights of the threatened
people and call on the Colombian government to carry out an Immediate
Preventative Action to prevent any further attacks.
- Demand that the Colombian government
and the appropriate authorities provide sufficient and necessary
guarantees so that Constitutional Rights, such as the right to
life, security, freedom of opinion, information, mobilisation,
trade union activity and protest are respected.
- Co-ordinate an International delegation
made up of International Organisations that can gather information
on the situation and the denouncements, and also carry out a process
of overseeing the agreements signed on the 29th of January between
SINTRAEMCALI, the Cali community and the Colombian Government.
- Lobby national and international authorities
through letters, statements by organisations and Members of Parliament,
but above all, with the presence of a delegation of Canadian,
North American and British we could organise meetings with government
authorities, both national and regional to demand a peaceful solution
to this social conflict.
- Demand that the Colombian government
carries out an exhaustive investigation to punish those responsible
both materially and intellectually for the events outlined above.
- Finally, and in line with the evidence
that members of the Public Forces are following our members, photographing,
filming and threatening workers, as was seen during the 1st May
demonstration we hold responsible the Colombian Government for
any attempt against the integrity of leaders, trade unionists
and human right workers.
National and International Human Rights
Campaign Against Corruption, Privatisation and the Criminalisation
of Social Protest
SEND MESSAGES OR LETTERS TO:
ANDRÉS PASTRANA ARANGO
Presidente de la República,
Carrera 8 No. 7-26 Palacio de Nariño,
Santa Fe de Bogotá
Fax +(57)1 - 286 74 34 - 286, 68 42 -284 21 86
Mailto: rdh@presidencia.gov.co
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