Colombia Urgent Action Reports.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Bomb Attack Against Miners Union Headquarters, Bogota.
THE TRADE UNION, HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ORGANISATIONS SIGNED BELOW DENOUNCE BEFORE THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY THIS NEW AGRESIÓN AGAINST SINTRAMINERCOL, WE NEED SOLIDARITY IN ORDER TO AVOID IRREPARABLE HARM.
THE EVENTS:
Sunday 2nd May 2004, at 7.30 pm, two explosive devices were detonated in the building belonging to Minercol, at Calle 32 with Carrera 13 in the cente of Bogota, where the headquarters of Sintraminercol the union of workers for the state mining corporation Minercol is located.
The explosive devices were placed in Carrera 13 on the pavement by the Minercol building, on the third floor of which are located the offices of Sintraminercol, and the Workers Cooperative Coominercol the blast shattered Windows and destroyed equipment, files and part of the offices belonging to the Cooperative. It also destroyed offices belonging to the trades unions Asoproteccion Social and Sindiminintrabajo. Neighbouring offices were also affected by the blast.
In spite of the fact that the press has reported it as an attack against the Ministry of Social Protection all the signs indicate that it was directed against the Minercol building. On the first floor are located the Ministry of Social Protections workers Trade union offices, and some offices rented by Minercol to the Ministry of Social Protection, where they can meet with members of the public. It should be noted that a few metres from this buiding is located the CAI building belonging to the National police on Avda 32 between Carreras 7 & 13.
This attack against Sintraminercol has occurred at the same time as the workers are mounting a fight back against the liquidation of Minercol, and the surrendering of mining and petrol resources to the multinationals, and as denouncements by the union, have demonstrated the responsability of the national government and of the multinationals, in the violations of the human rights of workers, small farming communities, afrocolombian communities and the indigneous peoples that inhabit zones rich in natural resources.
Sintraminercol has also denounced the multinationals the Colombian state and the American government for creating paramilitary groups in order to guarantee mining interests, and shown that their lawyers created mining laws, environmental laws, petroleum and telecommunications laws and introduced articles in laws that they have directly benefited from; including the destruction of trade unions belonging to state enterprises, such as Sintraminercol with the liquidation of the state mining company Minercol Ltda. This was done based on article 317 of Law 685 (New Mining Code 2001) and was planned, advised on and regulated by the company lawyers for Holcim, cemex and la Ladrillera Santafe.
Coincidentally this attack ocurred the day after a televisión special by ACOTV called World Day of Work, was transmited by the Inravision of Colombia, in which Francisco Ramírez President of Sintraminercol and General Secretary of Funtraenergetica, denounced these events, and the activities of the Colombian labour courts who acting with unusual speed, rushed to lift the legal charters held by Sintraminercol, Sintramin and Sintrcarbon – an indispensable requisite in order to start sacking workers.
ANTECEDENTS
On Wednesday 28th April in a public audience convened by the Minister for Mines and Energy, Luis Ernesto Mejia Castro; Trade unionists from USO (oil workers union) and from Sintraminerco protested in order to get their
view point heard about the conflicts in the mining and oil sectors, 2 days later Ramiro Luna President of USO Bogota who was the spokesman at the meeting, was sacked.
On Saturday 1st May 2004, 2 men and a women travelling in a white Renault, number plate CBL- 846 of Santafe de Bogota, were watching the union entrance from 9am to 3pm. 1 of the men – a black man wearing a jacket and
jeans was watching the union members that participated in the march and in particular Francisco Ramírez President of Sintraminercol. His bodyguards asked a member of the police antiriot squad (ESMAD) to identify the
suspects; they established that they were members of ISSPOL, the national police intelligence unit and that they were on an assignment. At approximately 2 pm, 2 taxis arrived each carrying 3 men, and the 3 cars then joined together and waited until the vehicle carrying Francisco Ramírez entered the union
headquarters at the 3pm, they then left for an unknown destination.
Throughout 2004 to date, different people have arrived at the union and tried to find Francisco Ramírez, claiming to be displaced people sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross, Students for the human rights
committee of the Industrial union of Santander UIS, or simply friends of Francisco that have an appointment with him, information that upon verification proved to be false.
It is worth remembering that the door of this building (Minercol) is where in 1996 Marcia Elina Romero and Manuel Zamora Secretary of the trade union Sintramineralco and Treasurer of Fenasintrap at the time, were
held by unidentified organisations and interrogated about the addresses of Francisco Ramírez Cuellar and Jorge Carlos Maria.
Demands:
To the National Government
* Take the necessary measures to guarantee the life and physical integrity
of Francisco Ramírez Cuellar
* Revoke the liquidation of Minercol
* Stop the persecution of the trade union Sintraminercol
* Order that any action against the life, liberty or integrity of
Francisco Ramírez Cuellar be stopped.
* Make a public pronouncement about the need to respect the labour rights
and guarantees of the workers and trade unionists in Colombia and the
fulfilment of Colombian laws and international norms.
To the Public Prosecutor
* To conduct an exhaustive investigation to the identify, and exemplary
charge, those materially and intellectually responsible for the threats,
harassment and attacks against Sintraminercol
To the Attorney General
* To investigate the actions of the public employees belonging to the
National Police force, the Army and members of the state security
organisation whether by action or omission. In regards to the persecution,
harassment and attacks against Sintraminercol and its President Francisco
Eladio Ramírez Cuellar
* Watch over the penal investigations established by Sintraminercol and to
take forward with due speed and respect the procedural guarantees necessary
to obtain justice.
SINTRAMINERCOL SINTRAMIN SINTRACARBÓN CENTRAL
UNITARIA DE TRABAJADORES
FUNTRAENERGÉTICA FENASINTRAP FENALTRASE
ASOCIACIÓN PARA EL DESARROLLO SOCIAL INTEGRAL
"ECATE"
ASOCIACIÓN PARA LA INVESTIGACIÓN Y ACCION SOCIAL "NOMADESC"
LA CAMPAÑA NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS CONTRA LA PRIVATIZACION, LA CORRUPCIÓN Y LA PENALIZACION DE LA PROTESTA SOCIAL "PROHIBIDO OLVIDAR"
ASOPROTECCION SOCIAL
SINDIMININTRABAJO
CORPORACIÓN SIEMPREVIVA
OBSERVATORIO SOCIAL DE EMPRESAS TRANSNACIONALES MEGAPROYECTOS Y DERECHOS HUMANOS
JESÚS ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ Assassinated
2nd May 2004, Cali, Colombia.
URGENT ACTION: Cali Union Bodyguard Assassinated
We denounce the assassination of security escort JESÚS ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ assigned to protect union leader EDGAR PEREA, of the Metal Workers Union, Yumbo, Colombia (Sintrametal Yumbo).
We appeal to the International Community for an immediate end to the brutal
wave of violence sweeping through the city of Cali and demand the necessary
and sufficient mechanisms to guarantee the security and integrity of union
leaders and their families.
The Events
JESÚS ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ, had only just been contracted as a department of Security Administration (DAS) escort and was recognised as a natural community leader in the San Luis neighbourhood. He left EDGAR PEREA at his residence around six in the evening and left on foot towards his home half a block away. The two men had just returned from a social activity in the San Luis neighbourhood in which EDGAR PEREA had been named president of the Committee of Communal Action.
This attack occurs just eighteen days after the attempted assassination of EDGAR PEREA in which his brother RAÚL PEREA ZUÑIGA was killed (14.04.04) and nineteen days after the assassination of CARLOS ALBERTO CHICAIZA (15.04.04) Union leader in EMSIRVA which handles municipal cleaning services. It occurs one just day after the strong show of strength and solidarity by civil society for the labour movement which ended in police brutality injuring twenty during May Demonstrations in Cali.
Of serious concern is that the residence of EDGAR PEREA was under constant
surveillance by a yellow public taxi (Chevitaxi) with number plate VBQ 147
which was reported to the Metropolitan police by telephone who responded
that the numbers corresponded to no such vehicle. In light of the this and this
assasination attempt we demand the reinforcement of the security program
protecting EDGAR PEREA to include the provision of a vehicle with darkened
glass windows and three escorts, one to replace JESÚS ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ and two more to be allocated with light personal firearms. This application has been brought before the National Authorities responsible for the security and protection of the Union Leader.
We Urgently demand:
A rapid and thorough investigation to bring to justice the material and
intellectual authors of the human rights abuses against participant in the May
Day demonstrations
That the Colombian Government and appropriate authorities provides sufficient
guarantees for the respect of constitutional human rights such as the right to life, security, freedom of opinion, information, assembly, protest and the right to form trade unions.
That the Colombian Government explain the reasons for the ongoing and systematic persecution of trade union leaders in Colombia.
