Peace and Justice for Colombia

The President of the packers union, Sintraempaques, who was 58 years old, died at the hands of hired killers in the centre of the capital of the Department of Antioquia.

The denunciation of the CUT (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores) stated that the killing of German Restrepo adds to a long list of fallen union spokespeople in the horrible violent tragedy that exists in Colombia. A total of 547 Colombian unionists have been assassinated in this country in the last 8 years, 32 of them in 2010.

The President of the union organisation Tarsicio Mora said that the majority of these crimes continue without being investigated, and they sought to accelerate the judicial process.

The CUT attributes the majority of the killings to a campaign of extermination against the Colombian union leadership, and in their judgement promotes ultra right paramilitaries in various zones of this Andean country.

Medellin is a city noted for the collapse of the politics of democratic security, the high incidence of urban violence, the continuing presence of of criminal bands, and the actions of paramilitaries in the service of narcotraffickers.

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On August 8^th 2010 Liliany Obando will have been imprisoned by the Colombian Government for two years. Liliany has been brought to court several times, but in most cases the authorities have applied successfully to postpone the hearing, while they seek further “evidence”.

Last Wednesday 4^th August Ronald Coy Ortiz, the police captain, who oversaw the initial investigation against Liliany, admitted in court that he tampered the information contained in computers allegedly belonging to Commandant Raúl Reyes, before he turned it over to the international police agency, INTERPOL. With this confession the evidence against Liliany has been discredited and she cannot be charged based on the illegally obtained and tempered evidence.

Liliany Obando is well known to Australians. She has visited Australia twice as part of her work for the Federation of United National Agricultural workers unions (FENSUAGRO), and while here she met many politicians, unions and social organisations. Liliany spoke of the continuing oppression of workers and their organisations in her country, and the need for international solidarity.

Peace and Justice for Colombia is asking all supporters to write letters of protest to the Colombian authorities, demanding her release and the end to this gross miscarriage of justice. Two years without a proper trial is unacceptable in any country that claims to be democratic. The obvious conclusion is that there is no real evidence, and that the Colombian authorities continue their repressive actions to silence any critics of the regime. Over 80% of the unionists killed worldwide in 2009 were killed in Colombia.

Send your letters of statements to the following authorities (and copy pjfcolombia@gmail.com):

Ministry of Interior and Justice
Fabio Valencia Cossio
Protection Program
Ministry of Interior and Justice
Carrera 8 ª No. 13-31 Piso 4 Bogotá
Phones: 1-3368366, 1-5662477
Email: dhdirgeneral@cable.net.co

Director Presidential Program for Human Rights and IHL
Carlos Franco
Email: cefranco@presidencia.gov.co

Advisor: Fernando Ibarra
Tel: +57.1.5659797 or 5662064 571
Email: fibarra@presidencia.gov.co

Attorney General’s Office
Ordonez Alejandro Maldonado
Carrera 5 #. 15-80, Bogotá
Fax: +57.1.342.97.23; +571.284.79.49. Fax: +57.1.342.97.23;

Email: cap@procuraduria.gov.co, quejas@procuraduria.gov.co andwebmaster@procuraduria.gov.co

National Ombudsman
Volmer Antonio Perez Ortiz
Calle 55 # 10-32, Bogotá
Fax: + 57.1.640.04.91

Email: secretaria_privada@hotmail.com; agenda@agenda.gov.co

National Director INPEC
Carlos Alberto Galindo Barragan
Calle 26 No. 27-48, Bogotá
PBX (57) 2347474 / 2347262

Email: reclamos@inpec.gov.co; Webmaster@inpec.gov.co

Human Rights Coordinating Group INPEC
Lagos Ivonne Diaz
Calle 26 No. 27-48, Bogotá
PBX (57) 2347474 / 2347262 EXT.: 190

Email: @ inpec.gov.co ivonne.lagos

AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS – OAS
Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty
Email: mpulido@oas.org

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia
Tel: (571) 658 3300 (571) 658 3300 – Bogotá, Colombia
Email: oacnudh@hchr.org.co

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ALLIANCE FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE ANNOUNCES:

Eyewitness Investigation–Is the US Funding a War on Colombian Farmers?

August 1 through 11, 2010

Our Hosts:

• FENSUAGRO, Colombia’s largest labor federation of farmers and farm workers
• Traspaso los Muros, an organization of persons both inside and outside Colombian jails advocating for the rights of political prisoners. Continue reading »

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