HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AGAINST COLOMBIAN TRADE UNIONISTS
By Liam Craig-Best, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
As with last year, when 121 unionists were murdered in Colombia and many others
'disappeared', the attacks against trade unionists continue. The Colombian Government
refuses to intervene and turns a blind eye to the fact that the Colombian military is
heavily involved, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly, in these crimes.
The international media and foreign governments rarely comment on the grave situation
faced by Colombian trade union members and as long as this remains the case the
killings will continue. With the recent US Government decision to ignore the human
rights performance of the Colombian armed forces the Colombian military has no
incentive whatsoever to cease their attacks.
Note: All the abuses listed below were perpetrated by paramilitaries backed by the
Colombian army. As usual nobody has been arrested for any of these crimes.
On January 17th 2001 CUT activist and vice-president of the Magdalena lottery workers
union (Sindicato de Loteros del Magdalena), Tello Barragan Aldona, was assassinated in
the city of Santa Marta, Magdalena department.
On January 17th 2001 trade unionist Miguel Antonio Medina Bohorquez was assassinated
in the Altagracia area near the city of Pereira, Risaralda department. Miguel was an
active member of the education workers union (SINTRENAL).
On January 15th 2001 an attempt was made to kill Gustavo Alejandro Castro Londono in
the city of Villavicencio, Meta department. He was seriously injured in the attack and
is still in hospital recovering. Gustavo is a member of his local health workers union
and also an elected member of the executive committee of the Meta regional branch of
the CUT where he held the post of secretary for state workers affairs.
On January 14th 2001 in the neighbourhood of Porvenir in the city if Cali, German
Medina Gaviria, an active member of the municipal workers of Cali trade union
(SINTRAEMCALI), was forcibly disappeared. German, who left his house at 6am to go to
work was taken away by an armed group of paramilitaries and has not been seen since.
On January 12th 2001 an attempt was made to kill Ricardo Navarro Bruges in the city of
Santa Marta, Magdalena department. Ricardo who is the president of the Santa Marta
university workers union (SINTRAUNICOL SECCIONAL SANTA MARTA) worked at the Magdalena
University of Technology but has now had to flee the area to protect his life.
On January 11th 2001 a bomb exploded in the town of Yumbo, Valle de Cauca department,
in front of the house of Ezequiel Antonio Palma Jimenez seriously damaging his house
and destroying his brothers car. Ezequiel is a senior leader of the municipal workers
of Yumbo trade union (Sindicato de Trabajadores del Municipio de Yumbo).
To denounce any of these attacks please send a fax to the offices of the Central
Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia (CUT) marked for the attention of Jesus Gonzalez,
Director del Departamento de Derechos Humanos de la CUT. Jesus will then forward the
fax to the relevant people in Colombia. His fax number is: (international code from
your country) (1) 288 8577.
