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News from Colombia
‘I Can Give You the Names of Those Responsible’ – Interview with a Colombian Human Rights Activist
Date: 31 December 2008
- Justice for Colombia recently conducted the following interview with a human rights activist who works closely with the trade union movement in the Colombian department of Meta. The person involved, known here as Jorge, requested that his true identity be not be revealed for fear that he would be targeted as a result of the information that he provided – including the names of local death squad commanders and the military officers that collaborate with them. >>>
Five Killed by Suspected Guerrillas in Christmas Day Massacre
Date: 26 December 2008
- A 15-year-old girl was among five people massacred on Christmas Day in the conflict-ridden Colombian region of Arauca according to local press reports. A pregnant woman was also wounded in the attack which occurred as the victims were driving to a family holiday home near the town of Arauquita. Reports from Colombia say that the deaths occurred when armed men travelling on motorcycles, thought to be members of the ELN guerrilla group, opened fire on the vehicle. >>>
Colombian State Found Guilty of Killing Lawyer
Date: 25 December 2008
- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Colombian State was responsible for the murder of human rights lawyer Jesus Maria Valle Jaramillo – who was investigating the infamous 'El Aro' massacre, in which current Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe Velez, is alleged to have been involved. The Court condemned the Colombian regime for not protecting Mr Valle despite numbers death threats and criticised the fact that the Government had delayed the investigation into his killing. >>>
Ecuador President Calls on Obama to End US Military Aid to Colombia
Date: 24 December 2008
- Ecuador's leftwing President Rafael Correa has called on US President-elect Barack Obama to "put an end to Plan Colombia", the multi-billion dollar US military aid package to Colombia, saying that it has "only turned Colombia into a hotbed of instability in the region". Ecuador has still not restored diplomatic relations with Colombia after breaking them off last March and Correa's most recent comments will not be welcomed in Bogota where there is concern over Obama's plans for US-Colombian relations. >>>
Army Murders Teenager in Colombia
Date: 22 December 2008
- Troops of the Colombia Army have shot and killed 17-year-old Rusber Alexander Castro Lopez in the latest in a series of extra-judicial executions. The murder follows accusations last month by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that the Colombian military are carrying out "widespread and systematic" killings of civilians. Well over a thousand cases have now been documented. >>>
Justice For Colombia News
Launch of JFC North West
Date: 2 January 2009
- Justice for Colombia activists in the North West of England have launched a local branch of JFC and are inviting supporters in the region to get involved. Tony Lloyd MP, a vice-President of JFC who was previously the Foreign Office Minister responsible for relations with Colombia, will be speaking at the launch meeting in Manchester on January 23rd. Other speakers at the meeting, which is being hosted by public sector trade union UNISON, include trade unionists and lawyers who have recently visited Colombia as well as staff from the JFC London office. >>>
JFC President Brendan Barber Message to Colombian Unions
Date: 9 December 2008
- Brendan Barber, the President of Justice for Colombia and General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress (TUC), representing over 6 ˝ million British workers, has sent an end of year message to the CUT trade union federation in Colombia. In it he condemns the continuing abuses against Colombian trade unionists and pledges the ongoing support of British trade unionists in the struggle for "human rights, the right to decent working conditions, peace and social justice". >>>
Union Leaders and MPs Call for Freedom for Colombian Political Prisoners
Date: 1 December 2008
- A letter sent last week to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, calls on his regime to stop imprisoning people for political reasons and to release four named political prisoners. Signed by the leaders of virtually all of Britain's trade unions as well as various Members of Parliament, the letter says that "the ongoing imprisonment of people for political reasons makes a mockery of claims that human rights are respected in Colombia" and that the detentions are "a clear example of state-sponsored harassment of trade unionists, human rights defenders and members of the political opposition." >>>
Futher Condemnation of UK Military Aid to Colombia
Date: 1 December 2008
- An article in today's Guardian by investigative journalist John Pilger cites Justice for Colombia's new report on British military aid. Pilger reports that UK military assistance includes inviting military officers "implicated in murder" to the UK for courses and explains how 90% of the torture carried out in Colombia is carried out by the UK-trained Colombian security forces. To read the article in full click here. >>>
Take Action Against Privatisation of Public Services in Colombia
Date: 5 November 2008
- The global federation of public sector trade unions – Public Services International (PSI) – has created a page on their website where people can protest direct to the Colombian regime about the privatisation of refuse collection services in the Colombian city of Cali, the flouting of collective bargaining agreements and mass redundancies of public sector workers. PSI is asking people around the world to support the SINTRAEMSIRVA trade union who face having 230 of their activists fired. >>>
