Call # 264 (from 24 October 2003 to 12 December 2003)

Colombia holds the sad record of the country in which the most men and women have been murdered for their engagement in trade unions. Since 1985, a total of 4,000 union members have been killed, 188 of them in 2002 alone. While the Alvaro Uribe government continues to pursue its security policy with US support, non-governmental organizations are denouncing repression and the deterioration of the human rights situation, and are calling for better protection for the people. SINTRAINAGRO, active on the banana plantations and elsewhere, is one of the organizations that has suffered the greatest losses in the past ten years(1). Without protection, its leaders cannot go anywhere without risking their lives. SINTRAINAGRO has requested the support of international mobilization to urge the Colombian authorities to take the necessary measures to guarantee union leaders’ security.

On 31 July 2003 armed men burst into the home of Euclides Gómez, a SINTRAINAGRO leader in the banana-growing area of Ciénaga, in Magdalena province. He owes his life to the fact that he was absent at the time.

On 22 August the president of the food industry union SINALTRAINAL, Juan Carlos Galvis, narrowly escaped an attempt on his life when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the car in which he was travelling home.

On 8 September the government suddenly - and without any explanation - withdrew the security measures (driver, bodyguard, etc.) that had been granted to SINTRAINAGRO president Guillermo Rivera. These measures have finally been restored following a campaign by the world-wide federation of trade unions representing workers in agriculture and plantations, food and beverages, hotels, restaurants and catering, and related sectors (UITA)(2). This international organization and Colombian unions are nevertheless maintaining their pressure because of threats to other unionists.

A context of violence and impunity

The deterioration of the situation is general in Colombia, in a context of confrontation between the armed forces using paramilitary groups, on the one hand, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN), on the other. The government is waging an anti-subversion war against the population and especially against labour movements accused of supporting the guerrillas.

In reality this so-called "democratic security" policy is also a mechanism of persecution of civilian opponents, aimed at silencing democratic opposition. Civilian organizations unanimously agree that the state both promotes and maintains a very serious situation of impunity regarding murders and massacres committed in the framework of this policy.

In 2001 the national trade union school of Colombia publicized a report on the situation in which Colombian trade unionists live(3). The vast majority of those responsible for the violence are paramilitaries, followed by the guerrilla and the armed forced. A quarter of them have not been identified. In most of the situations workers had mobilized during a labour conflict or to create a trade union. The report states that things are unlikely to change as long as the state and corporate directors "carry on ignoring the value and importance of the right to freedom of association for a society", and continue "considering unionized workers as the allies of subversion".

Even if the rebel movements do have some responsibility in this persecution, the main culprits remain big business - some, like Coca-Cola, have been directly implicated in acts of violence(4) - and government officials.

Organizing banana plantation workers

In the case of SINTRAINAGRO, the union leaders most threatened are those who organize and support workers to obtain better working conditions in the banana plantations. Through transnational firms like Chiquita and Dole (US) or Fyffes (Ireland), Colombia is one of the world’s leading exporters of this exotic fruit. The stakes are therefore high.

SINTRAINAGRO is affiliated to UITA and is a member of COLSIBA, a Latin American umbrella organization uniting ten groups of affiliated unions in seven countries. The constitution of this type of structure, with the support of international networks, gives the unions more clout in negotiations with multinationals and governments.

But at this stage it is urgent for SINTRAINAGRO and other Colombian unions to be able to actively defend workers’ rights without endangering their lives.

(1) Sindicato Nacional de la Industria Agropecuaria. Since 1989 over 400 of its leaders and members have been murdered.

(2) The secretariat of this organization is based in Switzerland. UITA supports many trade unions in the South in their negotiations and also launches urgent campaigns.

(3) Source: DIAL, D 2476 - Colombia, 1-15 June 2003.

(4) Cf. Call n° 248 du Réseau-Solidarité (May 2002) : "Coca Cola : boisson universelle, droit syndical bafoué".

More information:

A COLSIBA representative at the European Social Forum

As a member of the EUROBAN coordination (network of organizations working towards a sustainable banana economy), the federation Peuples Solidaires has invited Iris Munguia (Honduras), a COLSIBA representative, to participate in a European Social Forum seminar.

The ESF will take place in Paris and surrounding areas from 12 to 15 November (programme on : www.fse.org).

Call in liaison with:

U.I.T.A. (see note n° 2) : www.iuf.org

What to do ?

By letter: copy or download the standard letter below by clicking here.

Don’t forget to date and sign your letter and to add your name and address.

Reaction time: As soon as you receive this call, or until end-November 2003.

Letter to the President of Colombia

Dr. Alvaro Uribe Vélez

Presidente de la República

Palacio de Nariño

Carrera 8 no 7-26

Santafé de Bogotà

Colombia

Fecha (date) :

Asunto: Seguridad para E. Gómez y otros dirigentes de SINTRAINAGRO

Señor Presidente de la República:

Por medio de la Red Solidaridad - Francia (Réseau-Solidarité, 10 quai de Richemont, 35000 Rennes - France) me enteré de que el 31de julio, hombres armados irrumpieron en el hogar de Euclides Gómez, un directivo de SINTRAINAGRO. Pudo salvar su vida debido a que no se encontraba en su casa.

Dado el riesgo que corren las vidas de los dirigentes y miembros de SINTRAINAGRO, le exhorto a actuar inmediatamente para garantizar que se proporcione toda la protección necesaria al Sr. Gómez y a toda la dirigencia del sindicato que así lo solicite.

La protección ha sido restituida al presidente Guillermo Rivera y no puede existir una razón válida para negársela a otros directivos.

Muy Atentamente,

Translation :

(Date)

Dear Sir,

Re: Security measures for Euclides Gómez and other leaders of SINTRAINAGRO

I have been informed by Réseau-Solidarité (10 quai de Richemont, 35000 Rennes, France) that on 31 July 2003, armed men burst into the home of Euclides Gómez, a leader of SINTRAINAGRO. He owes his life to the fact that he was not at home at the time.

Considering the risks that SINTRAINAGRO members and leaders run, I urge you to take immediate measures to ensure that Mr. Gómez and other members of the SINTRAINAGRO leadership receive the protection they need and request.

Protection for the president of the union, Guillermo Rivera, has been restored. Other SINTRAINAGRO leaders should be entitled to the same protection.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours faithfully,

(name)