GENOCIDE CONTINUES AGAINST THE COLOMBIAN UNITED WORKERS FEDERATION - CUT


ASSASSINATIONS

· On 7th April 2002, teacher FREDY ARMANDO GIRON BURBANO was
assassinated on the Pan American highway running past the town of El
Patía, in Cauaca Departament. He was taken off a public bus at a place
known as el Estanquillo, which is5 kilometres out of town. Armed men
belonging to the paramilitary groups that operate in the region took
him down and executed him with firearms. The comrade was an activist in
the Cauca Teachers Association ASOINCA-CUT.


· On 16th April 2002, TITO LIBIO HERNÁNDEZ ORDÓÑEZ was assassinated in
the city of Pasto, Nariño Departament at his place of work (Nariño
University). He was tackled by two armed hooded men who shot him
several times. He was taken to San Pedro Hospital where he died a few
minutes after his arrival.

Comrade TITO was President of the Pasto Branch of University Empoyees
and Workers Union of Colombia SINTRAUNICOL - CUT, and a social leader of
the Freedom District in Pasto and a member of the work group for the
Social and Political Front. He was outstanding in his constant struggle
to defend economic, social and cultural rights in his region.

In rejection of this political murder SINTRAUNICOL's national leadership
has to call a national stoppage on Thursday 18th April, stopping all
work in the country's public universities. Beside TITO's assassination,
GILBERTO AGUDELO MARTINEZ, the union's National President, was
disappeared in April 2000. The work stoppage is for this barbarity
against trade union leasders to stop, and that GILBERTO AGUDELO reappear
safe and sound, and that those intellectually and materially responsible
for his disappearance be captured and put on trial for their crimes in
violation of fundamental rights.


ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

· On 16th April 2002 in the city of Cartagena, Bolívar Department the
Electricity Workers Union of Colombia SINTRAELECOL - CUT carried out a
peaceful protest in front of the headquarters building of the Bolívar
Electricity Corporation. The guards used their firearms, leaving wounded
our comrades GASPAR GUZMÁN, a member of the National Claims Commission
and RUBEN CASTRO QUINTANA, President of the union's Bolívar branch.

Note that incidents of this nature against the physical well being of
the workers are in clear violation of the freedom to protest, and gave
rise to an even more serious situation for the comrades' security, given
that they are now being threatened by the AUC paramilitary groups in the
region, and they do not have state protection measures. Hence, there are
no guarantees for them in the exercise of their trade union activity.

KIDNAPPING

· On 6th April 2002, MIGUEL ANGEL RENDÓN GRACIANO was kidnaped on the
way from the town of Itsmina to the city of Quibdo, in Choco
Departament. The comrade is the Vice-President of the Choco Branch of
the Sena Public Workers Union SINDESENA-CUT.

We call for URGENT ACTION to save the life of our comrade, that he be
returned as soon as possible safe and sound to his family and trade
union.

With all due respect, we consider that Doctor Juan Somaviva, the
governments, employers and workers with representation and
responsibility at the International Labour Organisation - ILO - must now
take careful note of this GENOCIDE that is being carried out against the
United Workers federation of Colombia - the CUT.

Since the Colombian Government with President Pastrana at its head does
NOT implement the policies necessary for us to carry out our union
activity, then a COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY must be agreed at the June 2002
meeting of the ILO Council of Administration. This would be a mechanism
to call the attention of the Colombian State and Government to halt this
genocide against our federation, and the systematic, massive and serious
violation of human rights. This has so far this year left 52
assassinated, 8 attempted assassinations, 4 kidnappings and 6
disappearances.

JESÚS ANTONIO GONZALEZ LUNA
Director Human Rights Departament

Bogotá, D.C. 17th April 2002



URGENT ACTION TITO LIBIO HERNÁNDEZ LEADER OF SINTRAUNICOL ASSASSINATED

PARMILITARY TERRORISM CONTINUES AGAINST COLOMBIAN TRADE UNIONISTS


The organizations below, members of the National and International Human
Rights Campaign Against Corruption, Privatisation and the
Criminalisation of Social Protest, denounce the vile assassination of
TITO LIBIO HERNÁNDEZ, trade union leader and head of the Education
Department of the Colombian National University Workers Union
(SINTRAUNICOL) in Nariño.

The Events:

1.- At 4.28pm, today the 16th of April 2002 in the city of Pasta,
capital of the Department of Nariño, Tito Libio Hernández, member of the
board of directors of SINTRAUNICOL Nariño was assassinated.

2. Tito Libio Hernández was near the main entrance to the university of
Nariño when two unidentified men on a high velocity motorbike repeatedly
shot him. The trade union leader was taken to the Clinic of San Pedro in
Pasto, where he was pronounced dead at 5.00pm.

3. This union leader had previously been threatened by a paramilitary
group that operates in the city, and which has been responsible for the
attacks and threats against professors and students in the University.

4. Tito Libio Hernández had worked for 28 years in the University and
for the Trade Union. He was well known as an activist in his local
neighbourhood Barrio la Libertad in Pasto and for being an important
human rights defender in the city. More recently he had become a member
of the Social and Political Front.

So far this year 52 trade union leaders and activists have been
assassinated, 4 have been kidnapped, 8 have suffered attempts against
their lives, and 6 have been forcibly disappeared. Once again we condemn
and reject the genocide against unionised workers and members affiliated
to the CUT (Central Unified Workers Union)

The policy being implemented against workers in Colombia has as its aim
the extermination of organised sectors who are struggling against
impunity, privatization and the criminalisation of social protest.

In Colombia workers who struggle for the integral defence of human
rights continue to be repressed, threatened, tortured, disappeared and
assassinated, and for this reason we call on the International Community
to act against these crimes against the human rights of Colombians and
of humanity in general.

Actions:

1. Demand that the Colombian government give immediate orders to all
authorities to detain those responsible both materially and
intellectually for these crimes against trade unionists in Colombia, and
for this crime against TITO LIBIO HERNÁNDEZ.

2. Demand that the appropriate government bodies begin immediately an
impartial investigation against the material authors of tthis crime, and
if appropriate investigate the activities of the forces of law and order
for their action or inaction in relation to this vile assassination.

3. Call on the ILO to name a Commission of Inquiry and if appropriate
sanction the Colombian government for its negligence in relation to the
situation of trade unionists in Colombia.

Sindicato De Los Trabajadores Universitarios De Colombia - SINTRAUNICOL
Asociación Para la Investigación y Acción Social - NOMADESC
Sindicato de Trabajadores de Las Empresas Municipales de Cali -
SINTRAEMCALI
Corporación Servicios Profesionales Comunitarios - SEMBRAR
Central Unitaria De Los Trabajadores CUT - VALLE DEL CAUCA
Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Minería en Colombia - SINTRAMINERCOL
La Unión Sindical Obrera - USO
Movimiento Estudiantil del Valle del Cauca y Nariño
Fundación Comité De Solidaridad Con Presos Políticos Seccional Valle del
Cauca
Sintramunicipio Bugalagrande
Sintramunicipio Yumbo
Sintramunicipio Dagua
Sintrametal Yumbo
Sutev
Asonal Judicial Valle del Cauca
Sintrahospiclínicas
Sinaltrainal Bugalagrande

National and International Human Rights Campaign Against Corruption,
Privatisation and the Criminalisation of Social Protest

SEND MESSAGES TO/ ENVIAR MENSAJES O CARTAS A:

ANDRÉS PASTRANA ARANGO
Presidente de la República,
Presidencia de la República
Carrera 8 No. 7-26 Palacio de Nariño,
Santa Fe de Bogotá
Teléfono. +57.1.5629300 ext. 3550 (571) 284 33 00
Fax +(57)1 - 286 74 34 - 286, 68 42 -284 21 86
Mailto:  pastrana@presidencia.gov.co, o  rdh@presidencia.gov.co

ARMANDO ESTRADA VILLA
Ministro del Interior
Carrera 8 # 8-09 - Bogotá
Fax: +57-1-286.80.25

GUSTAVO BELL
Ministro de la Defensa,
Ministerio de Defensa Nacional
Avenida El Dorado con carrera 52 CAN Santa Fe de Bogotá
Tel-fax: +57.1.222.1874
E-mail de la Secretaría General:  infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co

EDGARDO JOSÉ MAYA VILLAZÓN
Procuraduría General de la Nación
Carrera 5 No. 15-80 Santa Fe de Bogotá
Tel-fax: +57.1.342.9723, +57.1.281.7531

LUIS CAMILO OSORIO
Fiscal General de la Nación
Diagonal 22 B No. 52-01 Santa Fe de Bogotá.
Tel fax: +57.1.570.2022

EDUARDO CIFUENTES
Defensoría del Pueblo
Calle 55 No. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá
Fax: +57.1.346.1225

LUIS ERNESTO GILIBERT
Director General Policía Nacional
Santafé de Bogotá
Fax: +57.1.428.7634 - +57.1.315.9527

FERNANDO TAPIAS STAHELIN
Comandante de las Fuerzas Militares
Avenida el Dorado con Carrera 52
Santa Fe de Bogotá
Telefax. 57-1-2222935

CAMILO GÓMEZ
Comisionado para la Paz Fax: +57.1.560.9946
Oficina en Colombia del Alto Comisionado de la ONU para
los Derechos Humanos
Fax: +57.1.313.4050
Mailto:  oacnudh@hchr.org.co