The International Centre for Trade Union Rights

COLOMBIA BULLETIN 21: 8 June 2004

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

During past month ICTUR has received the following reports from Colombia, including serious violations of trade union rights:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

25 April: A group of striking oil workers, including Alirio Rueda, president of the USO section in Barrancabermeja, were violently dispersed by the police. One of them, Edinson Cruzado de la Cruz, was arrested and detained.

28 April: workers and students of the National Service of Apprenticeship- SENA, were violently dispersed while they were staging a pacific protest in Bogotá.

29 April: Jorge Enrique Giraldo Reina and Luis Hernandez Ortiz Bejarano, workers affiliated to the courts and legal services workers' union ASONAL JUDICIAL, were attacked physically and verbally by police officers in Cali.

1 May: marchers at a May Day rally attended by more than 70,000 complained of police violence in Bogotá.

1 May: Jaime Duque Porras, activist of SINTRAEMCALI, was arbitrarily detained in Cali by agents of DAS (Administrative Department of Security) who took him by force and interrogated him. His family was threatened and physically and verbally assaulted.

1 May: Natalia Suleta, Jorge Castrillon, Edilberto Montoya, Diego Agredo, Adriana Castaño, Fabio Edilson Mora Valencia and Estiven Muños Agudelo, all trade unionists, were detained and beaten by the police and national army officers after participating in the May Day demonstrations in Medellin

2 May: two bombs exploded at the headquarters of the mineworkers' union SINTRAMINERCOL, in Bogotá. The explosion happened at a time when the trade unionists are organizing protests against the privatization of the national company Minercol and its sale to transnational corporations.

2 May: Jesus Alexander Hernandez, bodyguard of Edgar Perea, leader of the metal workers' union SINTRAMETAL YUMBO, was assassinated in Cali.
Edgar Perea had been the victim of an attempted murder 18 days earlier, where his brother died.

4 May: René Ospina, worker and member of the oil workers' union USO, was assaulted by the police in Barrancabermeja while he was attending an informative meeting near the Ecopetrol plant.

5 May: the workers of the EMCALI water and sewage plant were victims of a violent action by the ESMAD (anti disturbance squadron) and the military police in Cali. The workers were having an assembly to discuss changes in their collective agreement.

6 May: Wilson Hurtado Valencia, Carlos Andres Restrepo, Cristian Roch, Jose Luis Rodriguez, students at the University of Valle in Cali, were attacked and detained by ESMAD (anti disturbance squadron) while they were taking part in a demonstration. The protest had been called the day before during a public meeting of the university workers' union SINTRAUNICOL.

15 May: Humberto RodrÍguez Rincón, worker in Ecopetrol and member of USO, was detained in Barrancabermeja after publicly denouncing a worker who had abandoned the strike.

21 May: Julio Vega, regional leader of the agricultural workers' trade union, was kidnapped in the department of Arauca. British campaign group Justice for Colombia quotes witnesses who say that paramilitaries and soldiers were responsible for the kidnapping. Julio Vega remains 'disappeared' and is presumed dead.

21 May: 22 people including several trade unionists were arbitrarily detained during the demonstrations against the Free Trade Agreement with the US in Cartagena. Rigoberto Hernández, a leader of the coffee union was beaten and detained by the police, apparently because he was wearing a t-shirt with a slogan against the FTA.

26 May: the strike of USO in Ecopetrol ended with the signing of an agreement with the company 's administration and the government. The trade union was successful in blocking the privatization of the company. Unfortunately more than 252 trade unionists and 6 members of the Executive Committee were dismissed for the only reason of having participated in the strike. It appears that they will not be reinstated to their posts.

26 May: 1600 workers of the Cali Municipal Services Company EMCALI , all members of the public sector workers' union SINTRAEMCALI, occupied the CAM tower, the administration 's building, to protest against the privatisation of the company and corruption within its administration.

26 May: the courts and legal services workers' union ASONAL has denounced the disappearance of Jaime Ibarra, a judge in the municipality of Chiriguaná in the department of Cesar.

26 May: members of the banana workers' union SINTRAINAGRO went on strike in the region of Urabá Antioqueño. They asked for the negotiation of the petitions they had been presenting since February and respect for the rights they have already acquired.

29 May: relatives of the workers protesting in the CAM tower in Cali were assaulted by the police and several women were beaten. The police also prevented access to building, which resulted in the protesters receiving no food or supplies. The same day an agreement was reached between the workers and the local government to revise the privatisation plan. As a result, the workers ended the occupation of the tower.

31 May: Eduardo Camacho Rugeles, trade union leader of the SINTRAUNICOL branch of Tolima, received a letter from a paramilitary group containing death threats. Rugeles had previously received several death threats and for this reason he had been forced to change his address and move to Bogotá.

5 June: Nelson Wellington Cotes López, leader of SINTRADIAN, the trade union for the workers of the Office of National Taxes and Customs, and member of the Independent Democratic Alliance of the Atlantic, was murdered in Barranquilla.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ICTUR has written to the Colombian authorities to protest against the continuing violations of trade union rights. ICTUR calls for an end to the aggression and insists that the authorities implement and ensure full respect for the international legal standards that protect freedom of association.

For more information contact ICTUR: miguel@ictur.org

If you want to take action in support of these cases you can send letters of protest to the Colombian authorities at the following addresses:

President of the Republic of Colombia
Dr. Alvaro Uribe Velez
Palacio de Narino, Carrera 8 No.7-26 Santafe de Bogota, COLOMBIA
Fax: + 57 1 566 2071
E-mail: auribe@presidencia.gov.co;

Vicepresident of the Republic of Colombia
Francisco Santos - Consejeria Presidential de Derechos Humanos
Carrera 8A No. 5-57, Santafe de Bogota, COLOMBIA
Fax: 00 57 1 566 2386
E-mail: fsantos@presedencia.gov.co

Minister of the Interior and Justice
Fernando Londono Hoyos Ministerio del Interior y Justicia
Palacio Echeverry, Carrera 8a, No.8-09, piso 2o., Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Fax:00 57 1 566 3234
E-mail: ministro@minjusticia.gov.co

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

END
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

To receive the ICTUR Colmbia urgent action bulletin by email every fortnight please enter your email address below and click 'submit', or email us directly on ictur@ictur.org.