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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Part 1

Part 2

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By James Petras

Juan Manuel Santos, notorious Defense Minister in the regime of outgoing President Alvaro Uribe and closely identified with high crimes against humanity “won” the recent Presidential elections in Colombia, June 2010. The major electronic and print media CNN, FOX News, Washington Post, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the once liberal Financial Times (FT) hailed Santos election, as a great victory for democracy. According to the FT, “Colombia not Venezuela is (the) best model for Latin America” (FT 6/23/2010 p. 8). Citing Santos “overwhelming” margin – he garnered 69% of the vote, the FT claimed he won a “strong mandate” (FT 6/22/2010). In what has to be one of the most flagrant cover-ups in recent history, the media accounts exclude the most egregious facts about the elections and the profoundly authoritarian policies pursued by Santos over the past decade. Continue reading »

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por Andrew Willis/Euobserver

A group of MEPs is calling for action as further details of an alleged covert operation conducted by the Colombian intelligence agency (DAS) continue to emerge, with one of its reported aims being to undermine the authority of the European Parliament.

Recently released documents that were confiscated from the DAS by the Colombian Attorney General’s office highlight the nature of “Operation Europe.”

Its objective was to “neutralise the influence of the European judicial system, the European Parliament’s human rights sub-committee, and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,” reads one text seen by this website. Continue reading »

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PERSECUTION IN COLOMBIA OF WELL-MEANING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS WHICH DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE

On April 13 of this year, the Attorney General’s Office of Colombia attacked Senator Piedad Córdoba with absurd and unfounded accusations while she was out of the country. She was in Europe for the European Tour for Peace in Colombia and the Humanitarian Agreement (EUROPAZ2010), seeking support to promote peace in her country and a non-military solution to the armed conflict. This happened just a few weeks after she served as a mediator, securing the freedom of soldiers being held by the belligerent forces of the FARC. Continue reading »

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(mensaje en español y francés)

http//www.apoyoapiedadcordoba.net

Enviar adhesiones a: firma@apoyoapiedadcordoba.com o europa@f-hijosdelmaiz.org.

La Procuradoría General de la Nación de Colombia, arremetió el pasado día 13 de abril contra la senadora Piedad Córdoba, con unas acusaciones absurdas y sin fundamentos, mientras ésta se encontraba fuera de su país, en Europa realizando la Gira Europea por la Paz en Colombia y al Acuerdo Humanitario (EUROPAZ2010), en busca de apoyos para promover la paz en su país y una salida no militar al conflicto armado; todo ello muy pocas semanas después de haber liderado como mediadora la liberación de nuevos uniformados en poder de las FARC. Continue reading »

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The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) of Australia have expressed support for Dr. Miguel Ángel Beltran’s case. See the letter from NTEU to President Uribe. Please circulate. Continue reading »

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By DANIEL KOVALIK

CounterPunch, April 26, 2010

In his book, Colombia: the Genocidal Democracy, Father Javier Girardo, a Jesuit priest and long-time human rights activist in Colombia, estimated that, between 1988 and 1995, more than 60,000 Colombians lost their lives to the internal conflict in Colombia – most of them at the hands of the state, either in the form of the official Colombian military or the paramilitary forces supported by the state. Continue reading »

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