Today, 2 November at approximately 11 am, comrade LUIS EDUARDO GARCIA and JORGE CONTRERAS BENIAN carried out a workshop in the Universidad Pontificia on the theme of ‘Water Campaigns: A Right for All’ and against the policies of Coca-Cola.

Urgent Action: Attack and Threat on Women’s Leader Yolanda Becerra
by O.F.P., Human Rights Colombia and others Sunday, Nov. 04, 2007 at 1:44 PM

‘When the men knocked at the door, Yolanda Becerra Vega thought it was the women who had returned and opened it. The men pushed the door and started to hit Yolanda, pinning here against the wall. One of them pointed a gun at her, and they told her “son of a bitch, your story is over. You have 48 hours to leave, if not we’ll wipe out your family. You won’t escape us”.’

COLOMBIA

Javier Correa (m), the National Union of Food Industry Workers (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Industria de Alimentos, SINALTRAINAL)

José Domingo Flores (m), leader of the Santander branch of SINALTRAINAL,

Members of their families

Other members of SINALTRAINAL 

According to Álvaro Uribe, the paramilitary groups have demobilised, however the truth is that they are more active than ever.

Each time the government and the management of Ecopetrol implement programmes of privatisation of the the Colombian peoples’ state oil corporation, or hand over our natural resources, the threats against the union increase. This is what is happening now as we, the workers, are against the sale of ECOPETROL shares.

At about 4pm on 27th September 2007, ANDRES DAMIAN FLOREZ RODRIGUEZ (son of JOSE DOMINGO FLOREZ, a worker at a Coca-Cola bottling plant and a leader of the trade union SINALTRAINAL) was returning from college to his home at No 204-102, 38th Avenue in the Andes barrio of Floridablanca in Santander when he was accosted by three individuals from a black van, they were carrying arms, communications radios and were wearing balaclavas. The three men took Andres in the van by force, threw him on the vehicle floor and started hitting him.

3 September 2007

In Colombia, according Alvaro Uribe, the paramilitary groups have demobilised but the reality is that they are even more active from either inside or outside jail.

Our union, Unión Sindical Obrera, (the Oilworkers Union of Colombia) has been the object of written and telephoned death threats against leaders. These are attributed to “Águilas Negras” [the Black Eagles].

Each time the government and state oil corporation Ecopetrol’s management implement privatisation programmes (or give away our resources), the threats increase against the union – as now when the workers reject the decision to sell shares that started on 27 August.

13 September 2007

ESPAÑOL / ENGLISH

In his ‘free testimony’ given to an Attorney under the Justice and Peace law, Pérez accused oilworkers union USO, regional human rights organisation Credhos, the Corporación Desarrollo y Paz del Magdalena Medio [Magdalena Medio Development and Peace Corporation], the OFP Popular Women’s Organisation and ACVC, the Campesino Association of the Cimitarra River Valley of "criminal activities in the service of armed marxism”

Cali, 23 May 2007, ENGLISH / ESPA?OL

The Foundation Committee of Solidarity with Political Prisoners (Valle de Cauca Section), bring to the attention of unions, social organizations and of national and international human rights organizations the presence of two infiltrating functionaries of the police