(y parte dos click aquí)

Desde enero de este año, en Tauramena, donde existe el campo petrolero de Cusiana, se inició una protesta de los trabajadores que se ha extendido rápidamente a todo el municipio, llegando incluso a municipios aledaños.

La inconformidad de los taurameneros con la empresa BP ha empezado por el trato laboral, donde se evidencia una situación de bajos salarios y de ausencia absoluta de derechos sindicales. Asi mismo el tema de la violación de los derechos humanos, la falta de inversión social en el municipio, la marginación de los pequeños emprendedores locales de los negocios inducidos por la extracción petrolera, además del gravísimo impacto de las operaciones petroleras sobre el medio ambiente, en particular sobre los recursos hídricos, ha motivado la protesta generalizada.

Los días 14, 15 y 16 de abril de 2010 se retomará las mesas de trabajo con la empresa BP en el municipio de Tauramena. Esperamos el respaldo y apoyo de todas las organizaciones y sectores sociales en estas jornadas de negociación.

-MOVIMIENTO POR LA DIGNIDAD DEL CASANARE-

Santiago de Cali, 8th April 2010

Eight miners were murdered by armed men travelling in two vehicles and a motor bike. The killings occurred in a place known as “Alto de Ovejas”, a rural zone in the municipality of Suárez, department of Cauca, southern Colombia. The place where the massacre occurred is the upper part of the Ovejas river. It can be reached by a one and a half hour journey on foot.

We, the undersigned organizations, have warned of the serious situation caused by the social and armed conflict which the municipalities in the Northwest of Cauca are experiencing, especially in the Municipalities of Suarez, Morales and Buenos Aires. We urgently demand an explanation from the National Government as to why, despite numerous demands for protection for communities in the zone and despite the large numbers of military and police contingents deployed in the areas, the perpetrators of this massacre were completely free to enter the territory, commit the crime and leave again with impunity.

A fact finding mission, composed of the Process of Black Communities, the Association of Indigenous Cabildos from the North of Cauca and the Association for Research and Social Action, NOMADESC, is in the zone in order to make more information available. Unfortunately, no international organization was able to accompany this commission. Because of this, we call upon you to briefly write to the Colombian state, demanding that it takes immediate preventative action and pays attention to the entire population in northwest Cauca. At the same time, we call on the United Nations system to carry out a fact finding visit to the zone as fast as possible. For our part, we will make the information widely available as soon as the work of the fact finding mission has completed its work in the territory.

Background

All of you remember the numerous denunciations which the afrodescendant, peasant farmer and indigenous communities, together with human rights organizations, have made to the national and international community concerning the barbarity which is being imposed on the zone and the dispossession which the ancestral communities living in the territory have been subjected to. Legal proceedings are currently underway against those responsible, in deed and through neglect, for the crimes committed. There is also an investigation underway concerning the responsibility of the multinationals Unión Fenosa, Anglo Gold Ashanti, Smurfit Kappa Cartón de Colombia and Cosigo Resources.  However, despite the enormous efforts which communities have made to ensure preventative and protective measures are implemented, the inhabitants of the zone are still in imminent danger, and the level of impunity is 100%.

ACTIONS TO PROTECT THE TERRITORY

1.- 5th November 2009 Hearing about the Situation of the Afrocolombian, Indigenous and Peasant Communities in the North of Cauca before the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States in Washington: During the hearing evidence of the serious situation, vulnerability and threats against the communities, miners, peasants and indigenous people was presented. As such, the ongoing violation of the free and informed Consulta Previa (Prior Consultation) was denounced, as was the violation of the application of environmental management plans; Law 70, indigenous legislation and the non-fulfilment of the Constitutional Court’s directives 004 and 005. During the hearing, demands were made that representatives of the Colombian government must undertake immediate preventative and protective actions for the communities in the zone. Result: the government has still not granted the protective mechanisms announced in front of the Commissioners of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the Organization of American States.^[1]

2.- 10^th December 2009, Public Hearing in Defence of Territory, Culture and Dignity of the Indigenous, Afrodescendant, and Peasant Communities of the Northwest of Cauca: In the Hearing Convened by the Human Rights Commission of the Senate of the Republic, at the petition of the communities and the Association NOMADESC, a mapping of the conflict was carried out. Specific cases of human rights violations were detailed, and the findings of the investigations into who may be responsible for the crimes committed were presented. The communities and human rights organizations warned of the presence of armed actors in the zone, namely the self named Águilas Negras [Black Eagles] who seem to be responsible for a wave of threats which was unleashed in the month of October 2009. Additionally, demands were made to revise the legislation which benefits multinationals present in the zone at the expense of the rights of the communities. Result: proceedings are currently underway to request information about the multinationals which have concessions in the zone [and] armed actors, information about the results of the investigations for crimes which have occurred in the zone, and about high level meetings with the state institutions^[2].

3.- 17th January  2010 Fact Finding Mission of Acción Permanente por la Paz [Permanent Action for Peace]^[3]: A mission with 10 delegates from the United States travelled to the zone and visited the communities of Suarez, including the afrodescendant communities which are dedicated to artisanal mining in the area of La Toma as well as the Indigenous communities of Cerro Tijeras. This mission heard from the affected population. Result: An intervention in front of the national government demanding protection for the communities and territories affected by serious crimes against humanity.

4.- 27^th January  2010 Delegation from the Spanish State, Fact Finding Mission of the human rights situation in Colombia: This mission did not travel to the territory but held meetings with relevant social sectors in the City of Santiago de Cali. In these meetings participants in the mission had the opportunity to hear the testimonies of the social and armed conflict which people in the territory are experiencing, and the vulnerability which the indigenous, afrodescendant and peasant communities who live in the zone are suffering. Result: The delegation from the Spanish State made a public declaration in which they presented their conclusions and proposals concerning the situation. ^[4]

5.- [1^st – 12^th February 2010] Visit of an independent expert from the United Nations on the Question of Minorities, Commissioned by the United Nations Minorities section, GAY McDOUGALL: visited the district of la Toma in the Municipality of Suarez, covering the whole of the territory, and visited the mines where she heard first hand the denunciations of the afrodescendant communities which live in the zone, through the testimonies of leaders of the community, the representatives of the Communitarian Councils and the Process of Black Communities (PCN). Ms McDOUGALL committed to undertake follow up actions about the serious human rights violations and to demand that the Colombian government complies with national and international human rights law. The independent expert carried out this visit in the company of Mr. DANIEL ATCHEBRO, Coordinator in Cali of the Colombian Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, together with other delegates the organization. Result: At the end of her visit, the independent expert issued a declaration and warned that the authorities needed to put a lot of work into regaining the confidence of these people and ordered the Ministry of Defence to protect these communities.^[5]

These latest killings confirm, yet again, that the national government and the protective bodies completely lack the POLITICAL WILL to comply with national and international human rights law. It is extremely worrying that despite these pronouncements from the international community, the judicial processes, the denunciations, Hearings, demands and requests, etc, that the Colombian state still does not guarantee the lives of the inhabitants of the communities.

Because of this, we demand once again that the National Government gives an immediate response to the communities in the vicinity of where human rights are repeatedly violated, especially in relation to the sad deeds which resulted in the murder of 8 miners.

ASOCIACIÓN PARA LA INVESTIGACIÓN Y ACCIÓN SOCIAL NOMADESC [Association for Investigation and Social Action NOMADESC)

PROCESO DE COMUNIDADES NEGRAS PCN [Process of Black Communities, PCN]

ASOCIACION DE CABILDOS  INDIGENAS DEL NORTE DEL CAUCA ACIN [Association of Indigenous Cabildos from North Cauca, ACIN]

CONCEJO COMUNITARIO  LA TOMA [Comunitarian Council of La Toma]

COORPORACION SERVICIOS PROFESIONALES COMUNITARIOS SEMBRAR [Corporation of Professional Comunitarian Services SEMBRAR]

ASOCIACION DE MUJERES MUNICIPALES DE LA BALSA [Association of Women from the Municipality of La Balsa]

ASOCIACIÓN ECATE [Assocation ECATE]

RED DE HERMANDAD Y SOLIDARIDAD CON COLOMBIA REDHER [Fraternal and Solidarity Network with Colombia, REHER ]

CAMPAÑA PROHIBIDO OLVIDAR [Campaign Never to Forget]

RECOMMENDED ACTION/ ACCIÓN SOLICITADA

Favor dirigir comunicaciones a / Please send letters to:

Send messages demanding that the Colombian state authorities:

a) ensure the well-being of the investigation commission currently visiting the scene of the murders at “Alto de Ovejas” in the municipality of Suárez and

b) take immediate preventative action to protect the entire population in northwest Cauca.

ALVARO URIBE VELEZ
Presidente de la República
Carrera 8 No. 7 -26 Palacio de Nariño Bogotá
Fax. 5662071

FRANCISCO SANTOS
Vicepresidente de la República
Carrera 8 No.7-57 Bogotá D.C.
fsantos@presidencia.gov.co

General FREDY PADILLA
Ministro de la Defensa (E)
Avenida El dorado con carrera 52 CAN Bogotá D.C.
siden@mindefensa.gov.co
infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co
mdn@cable.net.co

FABIO VALENCIA COSSIO
Ministro del Interior y de Justicia
Avenida El dorado con carrera 52 CAN Bogotá D.C.
Fax. 2221874
ministro@minjusticia.gov.co

GUILLERMO MENDOZA DIAGO
Fiscal General de la Nación
Diagonal 22B No. 52-01 Bogotá D.C.
Fax. 570 20 00
contacto@fiscalia.gov.co
denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co

WOLMAR ANTONIO PEREZ ORTIZ
Defensor del Pueblo
Calle 55 No. 10 – 32 Bogotá D.C.
Fax. 640 04 91
defensoria@defensoria.org.co
secretaria_privada@hotmail.com

ALEJANDRO ORDÓÑEZ
Procurador General de la Nación
Cra. 5 No.15 – 80F Bogotá D.C.

anticorrupción@presidencia.gov.co
reygon@procuraduría.gov.co

Please send copies of your letters to:

ASOCIACION NOMADESC
Accionjuridica.nomadesc@gmail.com
CAMPAÑA PROHIBIDO OLVIDAR
dhprohibidolvidar@yahoo.com

PROCESO DE COMUNIDADES NEGRAS
pcnkol.bogota@renacientes.net

Colombia Solidarity Campaign adds:

1. Send messages to your local Colombian Embassy, in the UK email: elondres@cancilleria.gov.co and mail@colombianembassy.co.uk

2. More information:

A short video report showing community opposition to open pit gold extraction at Suarez Las Multinacionales todo lo quieren llevar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC5_htDPJPM&feature=related

And a workers protest in Bogotá Caravana contra las multinacionales y grupos economicos nacionales http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0o-LjkjRik&feature=related

* * * * *

Español:

S.O.S. MASACRE ANUNCIADA EN ZONA MINERA DEL MUNICIPIO DE EN SUAREZ CAUCA

Santiago de Cali, 8 de Abril de 2010

Ocho mineros fueron asesinados por hombres armados que se trasportaban en dos vehículos y una moto,  los hechos ocurrieron en el sitio conocido como “Alto de Ovejas”  zona rural del municipio de Suárez, en el departamento de Cauca, sur de Colombia. El sitio donde ocurrió la masacre es la parte alta del río Ovejas y se llega por carretera en un recorrido de casi una hora y una  hora a pie.

Las Organizaciones abajo firmantes quienes habíamos advertido la grave situación de conflicto social y armado  que se vive en los municipios del Noroccidente del Cauca, en particular en los Municipios de  Suarez, Morales y Buenos Aires, demandamos de manera perentoria explicación del Gobierno Nacional porque pese a las innumerables solicitudes de protección a las comunidades de la zona  y del numeroso contingente militar y de policía que se encuentra en el área, los autores de esta masacre tuvieron toda la libertad de ingresar en el territorio cometer el hecho y salir impunemente.

Una misión de verificación, compuesta por el Proceso de Comunidades Negras PCN, la Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas del Norte del Cauca y la Asociación para la Investigación y Acción social NOMADESC  se encuentra en la zona con el objetivo de ampliar la información. Lastimosamente ningún organismo internacional pudo acompañar esta comisión por lo cual solicitamos a ustedes pronunciarse por escrito a la mayor brevedad exigiendo al estado colombiano acciones inmediatas de prevención y atención para toda la población del noroccidente del Cauca. A su vez solicitamos al sistema de Naciones Unidas, realizar una visita de verificación a la zona lo más pronto posible. Por nuestra parte ampliaremos la información tan pronto se terminen las labores de la comisión de verificación en el territorio.

ANTECEDENTES

Todos ustedes recordaran las diversas denuncias que las comunidades afrodescendientes, Campesinas,  indígenas y organizaciones de derechos humanos hemos  efectuado ante la comunidad nacional e internacional  acerca de la barbarie impuesta en la zona y del despojo al que han sometido a las comunidades que ancestralmente habitan el territorio.   En la actualidad se siguen procesos jurídicos en contra de los responsables por acción y por omisión de los crímenes cometidos así mismo se investiga la responsabilidad de las multinacionales Unión Fenosa, Anglo Gold Ashanti, Smurfit kappa Cartón de Colombia y Cosigo Resources.  Sin embargo pese a los ingentes esfuerzos de las  comunidades para generar mecanismos de prevención y protección la situación de riesgo de los pobladores de la zona es inminente y la impunidad del 100%.

ACCIONES PARA PROTEGER EL TERRITORIO

1.- Noviembre 5 de 2010 Audiencia Situación de las Comunidades Afrocolombianas Indígenas y Campesinas del Norte del Cauca en la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos de la OEA en Washitong: Durante la audiencia se presentaron pruebas de la grave situación, vulnerabilidad y amenaza contra las comunidades mineras, campesinas e indígenas. Así mismo se denuncio la permanente violación a  la Consulta Previa, libre e informada;   la aplicación de los planes de manejo ambiental;   la  ley 70, legislación indígena y los incumplimientos a las directivas 004 y 005 de la Corte Constitucional. En dicha audiencia se solicito a los representantes del  Gobierno Colombiano  emprender acciones inmediatas de prevención y protección a las comunidades de la zona. Resultado: El gobierno a un no ha otorgado los mecanismos de protección anunciados ante los Comisionados de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos humanos de la OEA.  ^[6]

2.- Diciembre 10 de 2010  Audiencia Pública por la Defensa del Territorio, la Cultura y la Dignidad de las Comunidades Indígenas, Afrodescendientes y Campesinas del Noroccidente del Cauca: En la Audiencia Convocada por la Comisión de derechos Humanos del Senado de la República a Petición de las comunidades  y de la Asociación NOMADESC, se efectuó una radiografía del conflicto, se detallaron los casos de violación a los derechos humanos y se presentaron las investigaciones sobre los posibles responsables de los crímenes cometidos. Las comunidades y organizaciones de derechos humanos advirtieron la presencia de actores armados en la zona un grupo autodenominado Águilas Negras al parecer responsable de la ola de amenazas que se desato desde el mes de Octubre de 2010. Adicionalmente se solicito revisar la legislación que beneficia a las multinacionales que hacen presencia en esta zona,  en contra vía de los derechos de las comunidades.  Resultado: Se encuentra en trámite la solicitud de información sobre las multinacionales que tienen concesiones en la zona actores armados, información sobre los resultados de las investigaciones por los crímenes que han ocurrido en la zona y reuniones de alto nivel con las instituciones del Estado.  ^[7]

3.-  Enero 17 de 2010 Misión de Verificación de  Acción Permanente por la Paz^[8]: Una misión con 10 delegados de los Estados Unidos viajo a la zona y visito a las comunidades de Suarez, entre ellos las comunidades Afrodescendientes que se dedican a la minería artesanal  en el corregimiento de La Toma y comunidades indígenas de Cerro Tijeras. Esta misión escucho a la población afectada. Resultado: Incidencia ante gobierno nacional para que proteja las comunidades y el territorio afectado por graves crímenes de lesa humanidad.

4.- Enero 27 de 2010 Delegación del Estado Español Misión de Verificación de la situación de derechos humanos en Colombia: Esta misión no viajo hasta el territorio pero en sus reuniones con los sectores sociales en la Ciudad de Santiago de Cali tuvo la oportunidad de conocer los testimonios del conflicto social y armado que se vive en el territorio, la vulnerabilidad en la que se encuentran las comunidades indígenas, afrodescendientes y campesinas que habitan la zona. Resultado: La delegación del Estado Español efectuó un pronunciamiento público en donde presentan sus conclusiones y propuestas frente a la situación. ^[9]

5.- Visita de la Experta Independiente de Naciones Unidas Sobre Cuestiones de Minorías  comisionada para Minorías de Naciones Unidas GAY MACDOUGALL: Visto el Corregimiento la Toma del Municipio de Suarez, recorrió todo el territorio visito las minas y escucho las denuncias directas de las comunidades afro descendientes que habitan la zona de los líderes de la comunidad,  los representantes de los  Concejos Comunitarios y del Proceso de Comunidades Negras PCN y  se comprometió a efectuar acciones de seguimiento sobre la grave situación de Violación de derechos Humanos  y demandar del gobierno colombiano cumplimiento a las normas nacionales e internacionales de respeto de los derechos humanos. La Experta independiente efectuó la visita  en Compañía del Sr. DANIEL ATCHEBRO, Coordinador en Cali de la Oficina en Colombia del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos y otros delegados de la Organización. Resultado: Al término de su visita la experta independiente emitió una declaración y  advirtió que las autoridades tienen mucho por hacer para recuperar la confianza de estas personas e instó al Ministro de Defensa para que proteja a estas comunidades.^[10]

Queda una vez más comprobado que no existe VOLUNTAD POLITICA  del Gobierno nacional y de los organismos de protección para cumplir con las normas nacionales e internacionales de respeto a los derechos humanos. Es absolutamente preocupante que pese a los pronunciamientos de la comunidad internacional, las judicializaciones, denuncias, Audiencias, demandas, solicitudes etc.,   el Estado colombiano no haya brindado garantías para la vida de las comunidades.

Por lo anterior demandamos una vez más del Gobierno Nacional  respuestas inmediatas  a las comunidades acerca de  la reiterada violación a los derechos humanos en particular sobre los lamentables hechos en los que perdieron la vida 8 mineros.

^[2] Further information can be found at: http://www.prensarural.org/spip/spip.php?article3544, ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKhdh_-Lxzs

^[3] For more information see: http://www.nuestraamerica.info/leer.hlvs/1283

^[4] The full report can be found here: http://www.pazcondignidad.org/spip.php?article346

^[5] The report can be found here: http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=9821&LangID=e

^[6] Escuchar audiencia http://www.oas.org/es/

^[7] Amplíe información en:   http://www.prensarural.org/spip/spip.php?article3544,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKhdh_-Lxzs

^[8] Más información   http://www.nuestraamerica.info/leer.hlvs/1283

^[9] Ver informe completo  http://www.pazcondignidad.org/spip.php?article346

^[10] Ver informe www2.ohchr.org/english/…/expert/…/Colombia_Statement_12022010_sp.doc

Part of Uribe’s international campaign to criminalise solidarity, is a violent cultural campaign of deceit, led by the corporate media. Censorship and right-wing propaganda from the Colombian government is aired in main news outlets and targeting also new media such as the internet, You Tube and weblogs. Uribe’s latest event has been via the the Colombian Foreign Ministry to intensify their propaganda war against FARC Marxist guerrillas and what the Uribe government terms the FARC’s “parallel diplomacy.” Colombian Foreign Ministry Jaime Bermúdez, called home 29 Colombian ambassadors (plus 12 other that were connected via video conference) to draft an agenda of combating this “diplomacy” and prevent the screening of a recently released Argentinean production titles “La insurgencia del siglo XXI” (The insurgency of the 21st Century). The documentary that depicts the rebel group as an organization made up of peasants, indigenous, afro-Colombian men and women, their work with the land and hold revolutionary points of view about Colombian society. The screening of the film has been banned, and the Ambassadors and their collaborators have the task of prevent the film of being distributed.  Despites Uribe´s efforts, a number of countries including Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, Ecuador, Spain, Italy, France, Denmark, Turkey, and possibly others have already seen the film. In Argentina and Cuba the documentary premiered in nationa  Film festivals.

According to the Colombian Foreign Ministry, to screen or watch this video is considered “a statement in defence of crime”. What is dangerous from such declarations are the actions taken by some countries in response to these initiatives. This happens at a time when Uribe has accepted seven US military bases that include the use of air and navy forces, contractors and security forces which threaten not only the Colombian people, but the entire region.

The delegitimization and defamation campaign is also a major component of Uribe´s propaganda war, sometimes with judicial consequences. Colombian intellectuals have been jailed. On August 2008, film-maker and human rights defender Liliany Obando (who toured Australia in two occasions) was detained, being the first victim of Uribe´s so-called “FARC-politica” in response to ongoing political scandals in Colombia linking Uribe with paramilitary death squads, drug trafficking, and other damning activities. Liliany is yet to be tried in court and she remains in a high security prison to date. On May 2009, Professor Miguel Ángel Beltrán was illegally extradited from México to Colombia, accused of being a “FARC-Intellectual” for his criticism of the Colombian government. Beltrán  was jailed with no trial and has now been reported as disappeared. These cases add to the over 7,500 political prisoners languishing in Colombian prisons.

Outside Colombia, several human rights advocates and solidarity activists had also been interrogated or harassed. In Spain on July 2008, pacifist activist María Remedios García Albert was temporarily jailed for alleged links to the rebel organization. At the time, Gen. Oscar Naranjo, chief of the Colombian Police declared that “that capture was the first in a series of detentions that will be carried out in Europe, of people linked to the FARC”; following that first detention, houses of Colombian activists in Switzerland were raided. To date, the Colombian Government have failed in providing evidence of such connections. During 2008 and 2009, solidarity activists in Chile, México and Peru were harassed with their pictures constantly appearing in the national media without any incriminatory evidence. On January this year, American writer and Colombia solidarity activist James Jordan was escorted out of a plane while returning home from Haiti. US Homeland Security officials interrogated him about solidarity work with Colombia. On February this year, an Australian activist was also  interrogated by the Australian Federal Police on request of the Colombian National Police. This is not the first time that an Australian activist has been interrogated for solidarity work with Colombia as it has been the main focus for the interrogators.

This Uribe campaign, carried out on a global scale, is unprecedented for the current “post-military junta period” in Latin America as it resembles  ‘Operation Condor’ throughout the 1970s and 1980s which involved the clandestine work of US sponsored state-terror carried out by military and secret services of several Southern Cone regimes. In the 1970s and 1980s the pretext of the Cold War was used to carry out repressive and horrific crimes against humanity that involved the deportation, incarceration, torture, “disappearance,” and murder of both common people and revolutionaries for their alleged support of  “terrorism.” Today, in the context of an asymmetrical global US ”War on Terror” where there is “no clear” enemy, it has become very easy for some police and intelligence agencies to declare anyone a “criminal” or a “terrorist.” Without evidence and with only suspicion, this intelligence work has been carried out by local security and police forces and violates the basic civil liberties of freedom of speech and freedom of organisation. Put simply, it threatens the rights of people to demand much needed social justice.

March 6 marks the day to protest against State Terror in Colombia, called by the Movement of Victims of State Crimes (Colombia). On the first week of March, there would be a number of different activities campaigning against extrajudicial executions of young people (who are killed, dressed up and presented as guerrilla fighters, in an attempt of showing with “numbers” the success of Uribe′s counter-insurgent efforts) , and against the criminalisation of international solidarity and critical thinking.

© Peace & Justice for Colombia (copy left)

This article can be posted in other sites, but please quote the reference

Mr Brendan O’Connor MHR
Minister for Home Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Mr. O´Connor,

Minister for Home Affairs,

We are writing to protest against the interrogation of Mr. Alejandro Rodriguez by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on February 3^rd. Mr. Rodriguez is a member of our organisation, Peace and Justice for Colombia, and he is a well known advocate for workers´ rights and solidarity.

It is of our knowledge that during the interrogation Mr. Rodriguez was asked about individuals, the work of Peace & Justice for Colombia and about the Agricultural Workers Unions Federation of Colombia (FENSUAGRO). FENSUAGRO is a legitimate Colombian organisation that is formed by several affiliated unions, peasants and farmers´ organisations, with a total of 80,000 members nation-wide, with presence in 22 out of the 32 federated entities of the Colombian State. In a country where land distribution continues to be a major motive of inequality and injustice, FENSUAGRO is also the union that has been more brutally targeted by the Colombian state, its official forces and the paramilitaries. According to the International Trade Union Confederation, 49 union leaders were killed in 2008 alone, and 838 between 2000 and 2008; 95 per cent of the cases are reported as ’unsolved ’, many of these crimes have been committed against FENSUAGRO organizers and activists. We consider it to be a trust-worthy union.

It has been well documented that key members of the Colombian government have been historically linked to leading drug trafficking organisations and far right extremist groups. In 1991, the US Defense Intelligence Agency listed Uribe among ‘important Colombian narco-traffickers’ as well as a ‘close personal friend’ of Pablo Escobar Gaviria. Uribe’s Colombia is also responsible for arguably the largest internally displaced population in the world; 4 million Colombians are internally displaced rivalling only the Sudan.

We are also aware that the government of Alvaro Uribe has launched a campaign to censor and delegitimize solidarity initiatives internationally. We can only consider this interrogation as part of the mentioned campaign and it is completely disgraceful that the AFP is being used for the systematic persecution of human rights defenders, journalists, labour leaders and any other organisation or individuals who raises their voices in support of the Colombian people in their demands of democracy and social justice, and denounce the atrocities committed by Uribe´s government. Mr. Rodriguez has the support of professionals, trade unionists, academics and human rights organisations in Australia and internationally. For his work and commitment to the people of Colombia and Latin America, he too deserves the support of the Australian government.

• Peace & Justice for Colombia is an Australia-based solidarity organization that aims to build solidarity amongst Australians with the Colombian people and workers, and all the work we do is public and open.
• Peace & Justice for Colombia strongly condemns any attempt by the AFP, ASIO or any other intelligence agencies in Australia to persecute, detain or harass Mr. Rodriguez or any other solidarity activists. We consider this is a serious abuse of power under the Australian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2005.
• We protest against the AFP cooperation with the Uribe administration.
• We condemn any attempts of Uribe to criminalise international solidarity with Colombia.
• We demand that the Australian Government suspends its involvement with the Uribe regime while human and labour rights are not respected in that country.

Yours sincerely,

Peace and Justice for Colombia

(IPS) – Women in the small Andean town of Cajamarca and the nearby city of Ibagué, in the central-west Colombian province of Tolima, are leading the struggle against a major gold mining venture that threatens to alter their way of life. Despite differences in social and economic conditions, one thing that unites women from these two Tolima communities – separated by only a few kilometres on the Pan-American Highway but otherwise worlds apart – is their wariness over a mining project that promises prosperity for a few while posing a threat to the natural environment and rural livelihoods.

It all began in 2006, when the South Africa-based mining giant AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) – which had prospecting permits from the Ministry of Mines to explore 27 areas in the province, including 15 in the municipality – discovered gold in a field near Cajamarca.

The quiet life of Cajamarca, a farming town of 25,000 people who mostly live off agriculture and cattle raising activities, was disrupted as soon as exploration began in a mine called La Colosa, less than six km from the town’s limits.

Following the initial euphoria spurred by the mirage of possibilities conjured by newfound gold, excitement among the locals died down as they realised the consequences that mining would have on their soil and their water resources, prompting them to begin organising in opposition to an activity that also threatened to have a negative social impact.

The gold deposit found by the mining company is located in a forest reserve created by a 1959 law. The area also holds significant water resources that are critical for the protected forestland, the region’s ecosystems and agricultural production.

According to critics, the intensive, open-pit mining activities that would be required to extract the gold would take a heavy toll on water resources and severely affect crops. Furthermore, the use of cyanide and other chemicals in the leaching process necessary to separate the gold metal from the rest of the minerals would pollute the groundwater.

Thirty-five kilometres from Cajamarca, in the provincial capital of Ibagué – a cultural centre of over half a million people, with nine universities – women students are playing a leading role in the mobilisation against the mining project.

According to Ministry of Education figures, women outnumber men by two percentage points in the universities of the Tolima capital, whose economy is based on agriculture-related commerce and activities and tourism.

Cajamarca has no centres of higher education, but there are still more women than men from that small town pursuing university studies. Of the 463 residents who in 2005 were enrolled in universities, more than 58 percent were women, according to that year’s national census.

But discrimination in the region has no consideration for education, and when it comes to the labour market, it is the women of Ibagué and, especially, those of Cajamarca who have a harder time finding employment. Poverty also hits these women the hardest, says Diana Ávila, an economics student at the University of Tolima who is writing her thesis on these issues.

“Many women can only find work as domestics, and the conditions they are employed under are usually unfavourable,” Ávila told IPS. Journalist María Alexandra Herrán added that the social and economic conditions in Cajamarca are also forcing “girls and young women into prostitution, in some cases even pushed by members of their own family.”

“Cajamarca is a place where outsiders are permanently passing through – operating as a truck stop, for example – and this makes it vulnerable to prostitution, resulting in a high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases,” she told IPS.

United against La Colosa

Opposition against La Colosa gathered strength in December 2007 when AGA announced that its prospecting operations had confirmed that the site held one of the world’s ten largest gold deposits.

Anti-mining activism spurred a social mobilisation that currently involves 28 non-governmental organisations, most of them formed over the past year. What all of these groups have in common is prominent participation by women.

“We have an even number of men and women, but the women have a more active participation,” said Ávila, an activist with Conciencia Ambiental (Environmental Awareness), one of the NGOs mobilising against the mining project.

Cristian Frasser, another economics undergraduate who studies with Ávila, told IPS that women, both university students and peasants, “are contributing enormously to resistance efforts.”

He also described the actions taken by Carmen Sofía Bonilla, director of the province’s top environmental authority, Corporación Autónoma Regional de Tolima (CORTOLIMA), as “brave.”

Bonilla’s refusal to give in to pressures has made her a hero to La Colosa opponents. She applied environmental protection regulations to the letter and put forward technical arguments to first reduce the area that AGA could explore and then push for a freeze on such activities.

Another Tolima woman, Liberal Party legislator Rossmery Martínez, called for a debate in the national House of Representatives, questioning the legality of gold prospecting in a protected forest area, and won leftist Senator Gloria Inés Ramírez over to the cause.

Bonilla’s actions, the legislative debate, and subsequent public hearings in Ibagué and Bogotá convinced the Ministry of the Environment to suspend activities in La Colosa in February 2008, pending the outcome of an environmental feasibility study that will determine if the mining project is authorised under the current legislation that protects and limits the use of the area’s forestlands and water resources.

Since then, more and more women university students, in particular those in forestry engineering and economics programmes, have become involved in the campaign against the gold mine, as they are aware that the freeze on activities is only temporary.

Activists are drawing inspiration from Ataco, another town in Tolima province, where 27 years ago a grassroots mobilisation headed by local women succeeded in blocking another gold mine project. That action was directed against a Colombian company.

La Colosa opponents are also organising discussion meetings, or workshops, to encourage women – in particular peasant farmers – who will be directly affected by the mine to join the cause.

“We support awareness-raising and communication efforts with actions aimed at informing on the impacts that mining will have, like water shortages and widespread pollution, which will particularly affect the health of children, seniors and pregnant women,” Herrán told IPS at one of these meetings.

“As women, our messages reach out to other women,” she added, explaining that the workshops are held in Ibagué, Cajamarca and municipalities in the Tolima lowlands, where there are extensive rice, cotton and sorghum crops.

In addition to the workshops, activists launched an online campaign that has received numerous supporters. “I’m with you because my son drinks water, not gold” – that, said Ávila, is just one of the messages left by these supporters. “This message hit me because it clearly summarises what would happen if the mining project is allowed to continue,” Ávila said.

The messages of support also stimulate the women of Cajamarca to continue mobilising.

One of these women, Aura María Díaz, told IPS that most women in the region have few job opportunities, other than working in the fields.

“I had my doubts about the benefits the mine would bring, but now I’m starting to believe that it would not only mean the end of agriculture, but would also disrupt the peace. Already it’s brought thieves and muggers into town, and now we’re afraid to go out at night,” she said.

She also added that when the mining company began the now-suspended works, the number of prostitutes went up considerably.

Four hundred workers had initially been hired, and that brought in a lot of outsiders and created a false sense of bonanza that tripled the cost of property rentals and sales.

Some women were hired to work at the mine, but not many, according to Ávila, “because mining is hard work and, other than cooking, there are few tasks for women.”

“The drills used are heavy equipment, and you have to climb up a mountain with slopes of up to 45 degrees. There could be some women in administrative posts, but we don’t know that for sure,” Frasser added.

It was also reported that working conditions for women “were not the best, though it’s not possible to get accurate data because AGA won’t reveal that information,” Evelio Campos, a native of Cajamarca who heads the NGO Ecotierra, told IPS.

“We’re in the process of gathering information and we know that several women were given the opportunity of working in the mine, some even as drilling supervisors, but were fired when they got pregnant,” he added.

“The history of the mining industry confirms that prostitution, drugs and alcohol spread wherever this activity develops,” Frasser noted.

Olivia Gil, also a native of Cajamarca and actively opposed to the mine, is convinced that if La Colosa opened that’s what would happen there. “I’ve always heard that even if a mining project brings an initial bonanza, when it ends, it leaves the town in ruins,” she told IPS.

There’s no wealth here now, but we live peacefully, which is what I want for my granddaughters,” she said.

She’s still hopeful that when her granddaughters – who are now little girls – grow up they’ll have more options than are now available in Cajamarca.

“I want something different than the absurd fantasies some people dream of today. I want them to get something more out of life than having a little fun dancing and drinking, to later end up pregnant. I don’t want that for my granddaughters,” she added.

That is why her daughter lives in Ibagué, where there are more opportunities for women, and where “my granddaughters have a chance for a better future than her mother and I had,” she concluded.