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During January, More than 2,300 workers of city of Barranquilla were dismissed by their employer, more than the 70 percent of the dismissed workers were members of the trade unions, and 86 of them should have been legally protected against dismissal due to their status as elected officials of the union (fuero sindical). The dismissals were a clear violation of the Constitution, Colombian labour law, and the ILO conventions ratified by Colombia.
28 January: Leovigildo Mejia, a member of farm workers’ association of Santander ASOGRAS, was assassinated in Sabana de Torres in the Department of Santander.
12 February: Luis Alberto Arango Crespo, president of the fishing and farm workers’ association of Barrancabermeja, was assassinated in Barrancabermeja in the Department of Santander.
15 February: Guillermo Antonio Ramirez, a member of a local teachers’ union of Belen de Umbria, was assassinated in Belen de Umbria, in the Department of Risaralda.
18 February: The secretary of the Valle del Cauca region of the CUT federation received an anonymous phone call in which threats were made against local CUT leaders Álvaro Vega and Wilson Sáenz.
20 February: Leoncio Gutierrez, a member of the teachers’ union of Valle del Cauca, SUTEV, was assassinated in El Toro,in the Department of Cauca.
20 February: Ángela Bonilla, the wife of John Charles Henao Bonilla, a member of the Executive Committee of the municipal workers’ union of Cali Sintramunicipio, was followed by a car when she was driving to her home. Ángela Bonilla was forced to divert and drive to a police station for protection.
22 February: Hernando Montoya, president of the Cartago municipal workers’ union Sintramunicipio, discovered death threats written in graffiti’s on his house door.
2 March: Lina Paola Malagon Díaz, a lawyer with the Colombian Commission of Jurists, received death threats signed by the Black Eagles paramilitary group. The letter also threatened other members of the Commission. Malagón Díaz had earlier been involved with the production of a report about impunity and trade union rights violations in Colombia, which had been presented to a hearing of the US Congress.
2 March: Gabriel Henao, Narciso Beleno and Víctor Acuna, members of the miners and agricultural workers’ union of the South of Bolivar Department FEDEAGROMISBOL, were arbitrarily arrested for many hours by the police, in Bucaramanga, in the Department of Santander.
7 March: Darley Moreno Torres, a lawyer and former president of the public sector workers’ union SINTRADIAN, was forced into a vehicle by two men, but he managed to escape by shouting and saved himself. After this incident he has been followed by unknown people.
21 March: The body of unionist Walter Escobar Marion, a leader of the Valle del Cauca section of the teachers’ trade union SUTEV, was found with evidence of torture in Palmira, in the Department of Valle del Cauca.
24 March: Ramiro Cuadros Robayo, a member of the Valle del Cauca section of the teachers’ trade union SUTEV, was assassinated in Tulua,in the Department of Valle del Cauca.
2 April: a letter was delivered to the offices of the Santander region of the CUT trade union federation containing threats against local trade unionists and their families.
4 April: Hernán Polo, a member of the public sector workers’ union SINTRENAL-CGT, was assassinated in Monteria, in the Department of Córdoba.
5 April: David Martínez, vice-president of the local farm workers’ union SINTRAGRIM and also a member of the national executive committee of the farmworkers’ union FENSUAGRO, received death treats by phone calls.
9 April: Cesar Tamayo, President of the local farm workers’ organisation ASOGRAS, was threatened with death by four men who were riding motorbikes on his farm in Sabana de Torres, in the Department of Santander.
18 April: Asdrúbal Sánchez Pérez, a leader of the local section of the prison officers’ union, ASEINPEC–CGT, was assassinated in Montería, in the Department of Córdoba. From January 2008 to April 2009, more than nine members and leaders of this union, have been assassinated.
22 de April: Edgar Martínez, a member of the miners and agricultural workers’ union of the South of Bolivar Department FEDEAGROMISBOL, was assassinated by paramilitary groups in San Pablo, in the Department of Bolivar.
24 April: Eulises Porras, president of the local farm workers’ union of the town of San Pablo, together with other farm workers, was arbitrarily detained by the police in San Pablo, in the Department of Bolivar.
25 April; Over Dorado Cardona, a member of the Association of Teachers of Antioquia ADIDA, received phone calls and email death threats signed by the paramilitary groups. The message informed him that he was considered to be a military target and would be killed.
26 April: workers at the Nestlé factory in the town of Bugalagrande have complained that they were being filmed and followed in their workplace.
1st May: Pedro Blanco, Javier Chacon, Javier Celis and José García, all students of the Santander Industrial University UIS, were arbitrarily detained by the police in Bucaramanga, in the Department of Santander, while participating in May Day demonstrations.
1st May: Diego Rodriguez, president of, the Cali section of the foodworkers’ union SINALTRAINAL Cali, and his two children (Diego, 16 and Laura, 15), were injured and arbitrarily detained by the police while participating in May Day demonstrations..
5 May: Martha Cecilia Diaz, president of the Santander public sector workers’ union ASTDEMP received death treats that were sent to the union office by letter.
18 May: William Pareja, a leader of the banking workers’ union UNEB, was the victim of an attempted kidnapping, by peoples who tried but failed to force him into a car.
28 May: A letter was sent to the offices of the Atlántico containing death threats against the following union leaders: Adolfo Quintín Martínez and Manuel Castro, leaders of the Atlántico teachers’ union ADEA; Edgar Púa, a member of the health workers’ union ANTHOC; Rubén Darío Arroyo, a member of the university teachers’ union ASPU; Julio Ojito Palma, a member of the court staff and judicial workers’ union Asonal Judicial; Tomas Ramos, a member of the health workers’ union ANTHOC; José Rodríguez, a leader of the university workers’ union SINTRAUNICOL; Carmen Meza Consuegra, a member of the SINTRAMUCOL trade union; Carlos Palma of university workers’ union SINTRAUNICOL; Gustavo López, a member of the pensioners’ union ASOJUA; Jesús Tovar Castro, vice-president of the Atlántico region of the trade union centre CUT; Walter Cabarcas, of the regional health workers’ union ANTHOC; Domingo Tovar, General Secretary of national trade union centre CUT. The list also contained a threat against José Humberto Torres, a human rights lawyer. The letter was signed by the paramilitary groups.
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ICTUR has written to the Colombian authorities to protest against the continuing violations of trade union rights. ICTUR insists that the authorities must implement and ensure full respect for the international legal standards that protect freedom of association.
President of the Republic of
Dr. Alvaro Uribe Velez
Palacio de Narino, Carrera 8 No.7-26 Santafe de Bogota,
Fax: + 57 1 337 5890
E-mail: auribe@presidencia.gov.co
Vicepresident of the
Francisco Santos
Carrera 8A No. 5-57,
Fax: +57 1 334 4507 / 772 0130
E-mail: fsantos@presidencia.gov.co
Minister of the Interior and Justice
Fabio Valencia Cossio
Palacio Echeverry, Carrera 8a, No.8-09, piso 2o.,
Fax: +57 1 560 4630
E-mail: ministro@minjusticia.gov.co
Programa Presidencial de Derechos Humanos y de Derecho Internacional Humanitario.
Dr. Carlos Franco
Calle 7 N° 5-54
TEL: (+571) 336.03.11
FAX: (+57 1) 337.46.67
E- mail: cefranco@presidencia.gov.co
Representante Permanente de la OIT en
Dr. Marcelo Castro Fox
Dirección: Av. 82. No. 12-18 Oficina: 504.
Teléfono: 623 75 86.
Dr
Carrera 5 No. 15-80
Santa Fe de Bogotá.
Fax: (+57 1)342.97.23
E-mail: reygon@procuraduria.gov.co
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