-------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Dec. 19, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
UNIONS VS. COCA-COLA COLOMBIA: WORKERS DEFY DEATH SQUADS [BULLETIN: Tens of thousands of Colombian students and workers marched five miles from the National University to the Simon Bolivar Plaza in downtown Bogotá Dec. 10. The demonstrators were protesting President Alvaro Uribe's plans to reorganize education and privatize Colombian industry for the benefit of transnational corporations. They also carried signs protesting Plan Colombia, Washington's program for military intervention against revolutionary guerrillas in the country.] By Rebeca Toledo Bogotá, Colombia As a 22-member-strong delegation from the International Action Center in the United States approached the Coca-Cola headquarters here on Dec. 5, rousing applause erupted from hundreds of protesters already gathered. Members of the delegation carried a banner that read: "The people of the U.S. demand justice for the people of Colombia. No to Coca-Cola and no to Plan Colombia." The National Union of Food Industry Workers--Sinaltrainal--called the protest, to be held before a Tribunal Against the Violence of Coca-Cola later that same day. The crowd chanted vigorously, "Who is paying for violence in Colombia? Coca-Cola!" and, "Why do they assassinate us when we are the hope of Latin America?" After speeches of solidarity, the protesters moved on to the U.S. Embassy, where they were met by armed guards and riot police. Here the chants turned to: "We don't want to be a colony of the U.S., we want to be a free and sovereign Colombia" and "The workers aren't terrorists, U.S. imperialism is the terrorist." As people headed back to their buses, shouts of "Long live international solidarity" could still be heard. The Colombians explained to the international delegates from the IAC and other parts of the world that without their presence, the protest would have been impossible. The police would have attacked and arrested the participants. The IAC delegation had arrived the night before to attend the Tribunal Against the Violence of Coca-Cola--part of the International Conference on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights--and to meet with labor unionists, students, community leaders and human-rights workers. POWELL IN COLOMBIA SAME WEEK Ironically, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell had just left Bogotá when the delegates arrived. Powell had arrived Dec. 3 at a military airport here amid heavy security. Two military helicopters circled over the city while more than 50 motorcycle police officers and hundreds of soldiers were deployed to guard the route to his hotel. Through Plan Colombia and the Andean Initiative, the U.S. government has provided well over $1 billion in aid to Colombia since 2000--mostly in military goods to stop the strong movement for social justice in Colombia, which includes insurgency groups, labor unionists, students, campesinos, and human-rights and community leaders. During Powell's visit he promised to pour another $200 million into the military and police forces. There are now reportedly more U.S. troops in Colombia than there were in Central America in the 1980s. Powell was also motivated by Washington's search for broader support in the United Nations Security Council for its planned war on Iraq. Colombia currently chairs the Security Council. So the IAC delegation was an important show of defiance against U.S. war plans in Colombia. More than two-thirds of the U.S. delegates were unionists who serve on executive boards, negotiating committees or as shop stewards. Others were students, lawyers and anti-war activists. They were young and older, women and men, Latino, African American and white. The tribunal was the third in a series of hearings that began July 22 in Atlanta. The second hearing was held in Brussels on Oct. 10. The tribunals were called to bring international attention to the plight of the Coca-Cola workers and all Colombians targeted for repression by the Colombian government, the paramilitaries and the transnational corporations. Along with holding the tribunals, Sinaltrainal, the United Steel Workers and the International Labor Fund have filed a lawsuit in U.S. courts accusing Coca-Cola of using paramilitaries to intimidate and assassinate union organizers. The conveners of the tribunal included the United Center of Colombian Workers (CUT), the General Democratic Workers Confederation (CGTD), the Campaign Against Impunity-Colombia Clamors for Justice, Sinaltrainal, the Corporation for Education and the Development and Popular Studies- National Union Institute (Ced-Ins). The opening remarks indicted not only Coca-Cola but the Colombian state for terrorism against workers. The speaker outlined how in the past 12 years eight Coca-Cola workers have been killed, 48 have been displaced and several exiled. In closing he said, "We don't ask for silence, instead we know that like our beloved Che, these heroes live more than ever here in this tribunal." Aprecio Atiz, president of the CGTD, remarked that "capitalist globalization and neoliberalism grows like a stench in the world." He declared that the rulers in Colombia today are assassins. In 2001, 240 unionists were assassinated worldwide. Two hundred of them were in Colombia. In 2002, more than 150, especially members of the CUT, have been assassinated in Colombia. "It is a massacre of union activists," he said. "This is a national crisis." He added that not only unionists but also campesinos and other social forces are being killed. The standing-room-only crowd of about 500 people responded to each speaker with chants such as "Organization, unity and struggle" and "The road of justice is the road to victory." Indigenous leader Volemin Dupre said, "We are also struggling against the transnationals for our survival, against genocide." He thanked the unionists for their support. A Colombian senator spoke as a representative for the seven Colombian members of Congress who have signed a letter calling for the cessation of violence against unionists. He spoke strongly against the labor "reform" law that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez is trying to impose. This law would dismiss 45,000 federal workers, strip away freedoms and rights such as collective bargaining and striking, impose more taxes on workers, and freeze wages, social spending and benefits. "We will vote against this law," the senator vowed. "And we invite all Colombians to boycott the ensuing referendum to be held in March 2003." International delegates who addressed the tribunal said what impressed them most was that although repression is severe in Colombia, the people continue to find new space and ways to struggle. The heroism is palpable. There were eight international delegations. Jana Silverman from the Committee for Social Justice, which brought six people from the United States, delivered greetings from lawyers trying the case against Coca- Cola in the United States. A Mexican delegate announced that 2003 had been declared the year in solidarity with Colombian labor unionists. A representative from the Basque region in Spain called for more international solidarity actions. Delegates from Germany, Italy and England also addressed the crowd, as did a representative from the IAC delegation. Sinaltrainal President Javier Correa explained that Dec. 5 had been chosen for the event because six years ago on that date Isidro Segundo Gil Gil was assassinated at his work post inside the Coca-Cola plant in Carepa del Uraba, Antioquia. Gil was a union leader in the northwestern banana region. BLOODY REPRESSION OF COCA-COLA WORKERS Correa went over Coca-Cola's bloody history in Guatemala and India, and more recently in Venezuela. He also cited the company's discriminatory practices in Atlanta, Ga. He recounted how the Sinaltrainal union, as a result of systematic repression, has been reduced from 5,400 to 2,300 members. Unionists' family members have been killed. Attempts have been made to kidnap the children. Paramilitary forces have left graffiti in the plants threatening unionists. "Coca-Cola has done nothing to curb this repression. This is the situation for all trade unionists in Colombia," he said. He explained that Coca-Cola, like other transnationals, has done much damage and contributed to the pauperization of the Colombian people by taking money out of the country over the last 100 years. The case against Coca-Cola was then presented. Survivors of its repression spoke. One union leader was arrested along with two others in a Coca-Cola plant and accused of terrorism. The three were held for six months; no charges were ever filed against them. The wife of one of the three testified that after her husband's arrest, her family was stripped of all benefits, such as health care. Her daughter was harassed at school. She was allowed to see her husband only once a week; her children could see their father once a month. "The overriding fear was that they would kill or disappear him," she said. Another survivor told of being tortured eight years ago by paramilitaries. He said he is still unable to sleep through the night. One of the final speakers said, "The goal of the Uribe Velez government is to open up the country to the imperialists, wipe away trade unions so that it will be easy for them to enact the Free Trade Areas of the Americas." The tribunal closed with the adoption of a plan of action and a political declaration. Among the demands of Coca-Cola were that July 22 be declared a day against transnationals and violence, that the corporation publicize its crimes on its soft drink bottles, pay reparations for family victims, clean up the environment and demilitarize the work place. The International Conference on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights was held over the next two days. There were panels on globalization, neoliberalism, public services, health and education, Indigenous rights, finance, mineral and energy, human-rights violations and, finally resistance and plans of action. One of the key speakers was Jose Fernando Ramirez from the Commission for Peace and Human Rights of the Trade Union of Workers (USO). IAC Co-Director Teresa Gutierrez told the conference, "It is exactly for the benefit of corporations such as Coca-Cola that the U.S. aggressively intervenes in Colombia's internal affairs with Plan Colombia, the military wing of the FTAA." She commended the labor unionists for their courage, for being on the front lines of the struggle. She said that they gave the delegates strength and inspiration to go back to the United States to fight against Pentagon intervention in Colombia. Sinaltrainal hosted an important meeting for the IAC delegation at its union headquarters. The hours-long meeting inspired all those attending. It began with a presentation from a student group called Focus, based at the National University in Bogotá. The three representatives, full of energy and optimism, warmly greeted the delegates. One of the students recounted how after the murder of Jaime Alfor Acosta Campos, a student at the University of Santander, students stepped up their protests. The students at the National University set up an encampment in the university to protect themselves against riot police and university officials. The officials responded by closing down the university on Nov. 28. After heavy protests from the students, the university reopened on Dec. 5. The students remain steadfast against privatization plans and will be carrying out more actions on Dec. 10. Another student impressed upon the delegation that all the money used to repress the movement in Colombia came from the United States. He said that Colombians do not want U.S. intervention and that it is a crime that arms are being bought while people are dying of hunger. The three pledged to never stop fighting for justice, no matter what it takes. 'WE ARE NOT ALONE' Javier Correa summarized the meaning of the tribunals: "At first these tribunals were just a dream. What they have proved is the resistance of the national unions, the unconditional support from social groups in Colombia and international solidarity. Coca-Cola and the government had us down for dead. But we have shown that we are not alone." This is what really worries them, Correa continued. International support especially worries them because the crimes they get away with now will become international scandals in the future. Correa said that the tribunal helped increase consciousness because it challenged the Colombian state, demonstrating that the movement does not accept the level of terror waged with impunity against the people. He said the most difficult struggles against the government and Coca- Cola lie ahead. "That is why we are so grateful for companeros like you. Your solidarity makes our struggle possible." He added that next they would like to confront Nestlé--like Coca-Cola, a big enemy of the workers. Another Sinaltrainal leader told the delegates: "We must find a different road for Colombia, because capitalism and neoliberalism are no good for Colombia or the world. Our struggle against capitalism is for the development of communities where the people decide their own futures, where the power is with the people." He made it explicit: "For every glass of Coca-Cola that we buy, we are buying a bullet to assassinate a Colombian. We do not believe in consultation with the transnational corporations. Imperialism doesn't just want a little piece of Colombia, it wants the whole country. And it doesn't just want Colombia, it wants all of Latin America. It wants us all to kneel and continue to be exploited." He said he is grateful to Coca-Cola in one way: It brought the delegation to Colombia. He concluded, "You have strengthened our work and helped us to continue our struggle." Half the delegates stayed in Bogotá for several more days to meet with more activists from different sectors of the social movement. The other half returned to the United States. They vowed to step up the struggle for the people of Colombia. The IAC in New York City will hold a full report on Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at 39 W.14 Street, Suite 206. For more information, call (212) 633-6646. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe wwnews- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. 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