TO ALL DEFENDERS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE LOVING PEOPLE
Peace and Justice for Colombia (PJFC) calls on you to protest recent actions by Australian and Colombian police agencies that violated the human rights and prisoner conventions of labour activist and political prisoner, Liliany Obando. We denounce the attempts by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to obtain information on organizations and individuals that Ms Obando met while touring Australia. This is an attempt to internationalize the so-called FARC-Politics and criminalize international solidarity.
On 2nd September 2009, prison guards told Liliany Obando that social services wanted to interview her. Once at the interview room she was informed the interview would be with personnel from the Colombian General Prosecutor’s office. In the room she found a woman and two men, one of whom appeared to be a foreigner, waiting. Continue reading »
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Hon Brendan O’Connor MP
Minister for Home Affairs
PO Box 6022, Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2601
Fax: (02) 6273 7098
Cc: Tony Negus APM
Commissioner of the AFP
PO Box 401
Canberra City ACT 2601
Dear Minister O’Connor,
We are writing to protest recent actions by Australian Federal Police (AFP) violating international prisoners’ rights conventions and the human rights of labour activist and political prisoner Liliany Obando in Colombia. Continue reading »
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Australian Federal Police harass Colombian political prisoner
On September 2, 2009, Liliany Obando was visited by David Nelson of the Australian Federal Police (AFP),together with Oscar Leonel Ochoa and Diana Marlene Plaza, both employees of Colombian National Intelligence Agency (DAS). Obando was arrested and jailed on August 8, 2008, charged with two counts of rebellion and managing funds for a terrorist organization. Continue reading »
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Comrades, organisers and those attending the Conference in Solidarity with Latin America 2009, Melbourne Australia, August 28-29 2009
I have h ad two opportunities to participate in the conference of solidarity with Latin America and the Asia Pacific organised by yourselves and I can say with an awareness of these matters that it is more than the simple realization and attendance at an event. From my experience I can say that it has been a valuable tool for building bridges for communication, to exchange experiences of resistance, to strengthen ties of fraternity and solidarity and to launch concrete initiatives between the organisers, attendees and the organisations from the countries participating.
In the case of my country, Colombia, the existence of a prolonged internal social and armed conflict, results in it being less attractive for many solidarity activists. In the space of this conference we can make known our reality, our struggle and resistance, our dreams and hopes. We also have the possibility of strengthening our previous relationships between the political, social organisations and unions in your country and ours. And it was also from our participation in the conference that we saw the birth of the solidarity organisations with our country called Peace and Justice for Colombia and the International Network in Solidarity with Colombian Political Prisoners.Furthermore, you are arranging new and important visits of delegates from various organisations from your country to their counterparts in Colombia. And it is through these conferences delegates from social and political movements of countries that are geographically so distant find common struggles and agendas. Continue reading »
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Dear friends and supporters of Peace and Justice for Colombia, PJFC in Australia and the world,
Due to the implications of the attempts to criminalize international solidarity we forward this public denunciation issued by the Permanent Campaign in Solidarity with the Colombian political detainees.
We are concerned about the information received that the Australian Federal Police, appear to have breached the rights of Colombian trade unionist and human rights campaigner Liliany Obando unjustly held at the “El Buen Pastor” women’s prison in Bogota, Colombia.
Yours in solidarity,
Peace & Justice for Colombia, PJFC Continue reading »
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In June 2009, a delegation of 5 parlamentarians from Uribe´s government in Colombia visited Australia. This was a follow up from the visit in March this year of the Colombian Trade Minister.
While this delegation attended a session in the Parliament, Senator Doug Cameron (ALP- NSW) gave a speech in which he refers to the trade and human rights in Colombia. Download full document.
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Senator Piedad Córdoba and Colombians for Peace,
Warm greetings,
We are very happy with the six Colombians that have now returned to their families thanks to the humanitarian effort you all have done. We are also very worried about the declarations made by President Álvaro Uribe against Colombians for Peace, accusing you of being “the intellectual block of FARC”.
We are particularly worried about the death threats that have followed those declarations. Continue reading »
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URGENT CALL FOR ACTION:
President Uribe has said that the group Colombians for Peace are FARC terrorist and is threatening with killing them.
 Today in Villavicencio, the Colombian president Alvaro Uribe Vélez, violently adressed COLOMBIANS FOR PEACE, calling them the “intellectual block of FARC”; this group has now more than 180 thousand members, amongst them intellectuals, academics, students, leaders of social movements, politicians, artists, sportspeople, and outstanding members of the organized civil society. Continue reading »
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PUBLIC STATEMENT
Bogota D.C. Colombia, 27th August 2008
 The National Unitarian Federation of Agrarian Unions, FENSUAGRO – CUT (Colombia), denounces the siege and continued harassment against Alirio Garcia, FENSUAGRO’s attorney.
FACTS
On 16 July 2008 at 10:30 AM when Mr. Arilio, FENSUAGRO’s attorney was leaving his home at Diela suburb, of Armenia City, Quíndio. He noticed that from a parked blue Rodeo Ute with tinted windows and plate number BIB-815 that a man and a woman were filming Arilio’s residence. They remain parked for a few minutes before leaving. Continue reading »
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Peace and Justice for Colombia – a network of people in Australia concerned at the human rights situation in that strife-torn Latin American country – condemns the decision announced in recent days by the government of President Alvaro Uribe to launch legal proceedings against a number of members of parliament and NGOs, journalists and academics.
Colombia’s attorney-general has announced that investigations of the named individuals’ alleged “links” to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) will commence. This underscores the consistent official message that activity in support of social justice and for an end to the armed and social conflict in the country will not be tolerated. Continue reading »
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