Colombia labor applauds convictions

From the November 13, 2007 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1113/p07s02-woam.html

Colombia labor applauds convictions
Leaders say government is only taking action against organizers' to secure US trade deal.

By Sibylla Brodzinsky | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Bogotá, Colombia

Friends and family of Aury Sara, the former head of the northern branch of Colombia's oil workers' union, had little doubt about who ordered his 2001 kidnapping, torture, and murder, but they had little hope of ever seeing those men convicted of the crimes.

The case, like hundreds of similar cases in the world's most violent country for union workers, had become mired in Colombia's labyrinthine legal system.

But last month a special court sentenced three top leaders of the now-demobilized paramilitary forces – one of whom is dead – to 40 years each and fines of about $160,000 for ordering Sara's murder.

The sentence is one of nine convictions handed down by three specially designated judges whose sole responsibility as of July is to resolve cases involving violence against union members going as far back as 1986.

The sudden surge in convictions is a victory for Colombia's workers' rights movement, one brought on, labor leaders say, by the government's strong desire to pass a key free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. While the US Congress approved a similar deal with neighboring Peru last week, Colombia's trade pact is stalled over concern among some Democrats about the high level of impunity in human rights cases, especially involving trade union members.

"Without that pressure from the US the Colombian government would not be acting to clear up these cases and seek convictions," says Jose Luciano Sanin, director of the Escuela Nacional Sindical, a labor rights group that tracks violence against Colombia's labor movement. "All of a sudden, with this external pressure, impunity in union cases has become a priority because it is a condition for approval of the FTA," he says.

Pressure builds to act on human rights

Pressure began building late last fall after the Democrats swept a majority of seats in the House and the US and Colombian labor movements saw their chance to act.

Just last week, presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) of New York joined election rival Sen. John Edwards (D) of North Carolina in opposing the pact.

The AFL-CIO, which had been denouncing the dismal labor rights situation in Colombia for years, used its influence in Washington to bog down the approval of the trade deal.

"We have a bit more leverage because of the FTA," says Jeff Vogt a global economy policy specialist with the AFL-CIO. "Our pressure has pushed them [the Colombian government] to put more resources into union member cases."

Early this year, the general prosecutors' office established a special unit of 13 prosecutors for crimes against union members. They have given priority to 187 high-profile cases. Then, in July, the special "decongestion" courts were created.

Judge María Judith Durán, coordinator of the special labor violence courts, says the international demands were key to their creation. "All that pressure works," she says.

High level Colombian government officials alternate in flying to Washington to convince lawmakers in Washington that Colombia is taking steps in the right direction with a reduction of murders and increased convictions.

Despite progress, union murders continue

But it's a hard sell. Even as he made the rounds in Washington last week with statistics on how violence against labor leaders had dropped dramtically, Leonidas Silva, a member of a teachers union, was shot dead in his home in eastern Santander Province. And as the vice president returned from his lobby trip to Washington, Jairo Giraldo of the national fruit-workers union was gunned down in western Valle del Cauca province.

The killings bring to 23 the number of union members killed so far this year, which is down dramatically from the peak in 1996 of 275 murders.

More than 2,534 union members have been killed between 1986, when records began to be kept, according to the ENS. About 98 percent of those cases are unsolved.

The government recognizes the dismal record and says it is working hard to improve it. But Vice President Francisco Santos said it is not about getting the US to approve the pact.

"The Colombian government's policies regarding guaranteeing the rights of workers … is not simply a product of the FTA," said Santos on Tuesday while he inaugurated a series of workshops for prosecutors on how to accelerate processing cases of labor violence.

But Mr. Sanin believes that whatever the reason behind it, Colombia's labor movement needs to take advantage of the leverage it now has.

A steady stream of US congressional delegations has been coming to Colombia in the past few months, led by Bush administration officials hoping to convince US lawmakers that Colombia, Washington's strongest ally in South America, deserves free trade with the US.

Sanin has met with most of them. "We tell them that even if the FTA is approved, they have to keep up the pressure on the government," he says. "Otherwise, we'll go back to where we were before."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1113/p07s02-woam.html

By juancegomez on Nov 12, 2007, 16:54 in Politics & the war.

miamimike says on Nov 12, 2007, 19:04:

Encouraging to hear Colombia acting on this Shortcoming, Sad it took as long as it did! With hold that FTA until the desired result is achieved!

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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cali373 says on Nov 13, 2007, 16:38:

"Leonidas Silva, a member of a teachers union, was shot dead in his home in eastern Santander Province. And as the vice president returned from his lobby trip to Washington, Jairo Giraldo of the national fruit-workers union was gunned down in western Valle del Cauca province."

End of paramilitarism in Colombia, My ARCE!

Smile if you are a thinker!

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cali373 says on Nov 13, 2007, 16:59:

However i don't think that it is the United States should be involved the labor practices of Colombia when they turn a blind eye to the horrendous slave labor practices of China. I also think that it is up to the state of Colombia to improve labor practises. A trade deal should just be between commerce.

the hypocracy of the USA though, We provide billions in military support to the Colombian army, which supports the Paramilitary terrorists that kill union members.

Smile if you are a thinker!

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miamimike says on Nov 13, 2007, 22:25:

Cali373--Bingo to your above post!

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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juancegomez says on Nov 14, 2007, 08:29:

cali373: Though it should be considered that union members have been killed for several reasons and by several forces, not just the paramilitaries. The ENS (Escuela Nacional Sindical) reports that the identity of the killers remains unknown in many or actually even most union murders, though paramilitaries do seem to be responsible for most cases in which a culprit could be identified, but other participants include guerrillas, security forces and employers, for example.

As for the "billions in military support", a lot of them go towards efforts that can't really be described as "military support", except perhaps in the most nominal sense of the term. Doesn't mean those are "good" efforts either, but that's that.

You might be surprised to hear this, but Mr. Jairo Giraldo was apparently an open supporter of the FTA and had reportedly been threatened for that position. Make of that what you will.

See below:

Colombia: New Killings of Labor Leaders

7 Nov 2007 17:33:12 GMT
Source: Human Rights Watch
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.

(Washington, DC, November 7, 2007) � The killings last week of two labor leaders in Colombia underscore the need for the government to prosecute anti-union violence, Human Rights Watch said today. Jairo Giraldo, of the national fruit-workers union, and Leonidas Silva Castro, of a teachers union, were murdered in separate incidents. The killers have not been caught and their motives are unknown.

"Colombia has a long and ugly history of killing trade unionists, and a dismal record when it comes to bringing their killers to justice," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "To make the country safe for unions, the authorities must ensure these cases are vigorously investigated and prosecuted."

Twenty-six trade unionists, including five union leaders, have been killed in Colombia this year, according to Colombia's largest labor federation, the Unitary Headquarters for Workers (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores). The National Labor School (Escuela Nacional Sindical), a prominent labor rights group in Colombia, has recorded more than 2,500 killings of trade unionists since 1986. Approximately 98 percent of these killings have never been solved.

Human Rights Watch noted that the killings are often attributed to paramilitary death squads, whose leaders have acknowledged targeting trade unionists. Left-wing guerrillas and the military have also been known to kill trade unionists. Some killings are probably due to common crime.

Giraldo, one of the two killed last week, was a leader of Sinaltraifrut, a union of fruit workers who work on farms that are reported to have been seized from their owners pursuant to drug-trafficking investigations. He broke with a broader union federation to support a free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States. Colombian Vice-President Francisco Santos has attributed his killing to extreme left-wing groups who disliked his views.

Castro, the other recent victim, was the president of the Villacaro Municipality branch of the Teachers Union of Norte de Santander. He was killed at home on November 2, 2007 after attending a union-related event.

"Murders like these have a chilling effect on union members in Colombia," said Vivanco. "Workers in Colombia should be able to push for their rights and assert their views without fearing for their lives."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/a419845556149539929e62dfd...

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