Miami, FL – Nidia Quintero, the leader of Colombia’s largest union of agricultural workers (FENSUAGRO), spoke to a crowd of 50 workers and activists at the South Florida AFL-CIO April 8. She came to speak in support of the peace process between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), taking place in Havana, Cuba. Quintero emphasized that a just and lasting peace is crucial for the Colombian labor movement to grow and flourish.

Audience members were visibly shocked when Quintero described the repression of trade unions by the Colombian government and its paramilitaries, “2000 members of FENSUAGRO have been assassinated by right-wing paramilitaries. The paramilitaries attack agricultural workers and drive them off their land so that the big landowners can control those areas.”

According to Quintero, “The root of the conflict in Colombia is that our economy and government is controlled by a tiny group of wealthy landowners and businessmen who violently repress anyone who opposes them.”

Despite the huge challenges they face, FENSUAGRO is a strong and vibrant union. Quintero showed the audience videos and pictures of her union fearlessly protesting in the streets of the capital city Bogota.

Her talk ended with a standing ovation from the room. Then event organizer Carlos Valnera asked about the role of Plan Colombia, the U.S.-funded war plan. Quintero responded, “75% of the money from Plan Colombia goes to the military. So the U.S. is directly funding human rights abuses and crimes against agricultural workers. The U.S. has also been paying for the spraying of herbicide on our lands. This has caused millions of people to be displaced and we are seeing increased rates of cancers amongst our workers.”

People left the talk with new perspectives. David Gibson of Peace Justice Sustainability Florida commented, “There are lots of similarities between the struggles of people in Colombia and the struggles we face here. Listening to Nidia drove home the point that the struggle for freedom and justice that we must wage is a global one.”

Miami was Quintero’s last stop on a speaking tour of the U.S. that saw her speak to labor unionists and immigrant rights activists in Milwaukee and Detroit, as well as at the Labor Notes conference in Chicago. During her talk, Quintero said, “I was moved by the struggles of immigrants and workers in this country and I will take back your solidarity when I return to Colombia.”

After the event, POWIR Organizer Cassia Laham said, “Nidia and the workers of FENSUAGRO are a true inspiration. We have so much to learn from their courage in face of repression and their dedication to fighting for a better world.” Attendees resolved to continue organizing in solidarity with the people of Colombia and to build a stronger labor movement here in the U.S.

People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism and Racism (POWIR), the Alliance for Global Justice and the local labor council organized the event.

#MiamiFL #Labor #Colombia #FENSUAGRO #NidiaQuintero #Americas

Quintero said, “Many past attempts at peace have failed because of right-wing violence. When the right wing feels the eyes of the entire world upon them, we hope this will make a difference.”

Quintero highlighted the importance of women and youth participation in movements for social change. She stated, “Students in Colombia are important in resisting privatization of education and Colombian youth are active in the Patriotic Marches.”

Quintero brought a statement of solidarity with her in support of the Chicago Teacher’s Union’s (CTU) one-day strike. The strike on the day of Quintero’s arrival saw over 25,000 people at the downtown rally and march.

The statement reads in part, “These struggles deserve backing. Therefore, teachers, students, parents and friends of the struggle, receive from Colombia, in the name of the rural communities and agricultural workers who have always strived and continue to strive for better conditions of life with dignity and peace.”

Kait McIntyre worked to bring Nidia Quintero to speak in Chicago. On the day of the Teachers Strike, April 1, McIntyre was the emcee and organizer of a 500-person solidarity rally at University of Illinois-Chicago. She explained, “It is the U.S. government that exacerbated the situation in Colombia. The U.S. trains death squads that target progressive people in Colombia, such as labor unionists, students and teachers. This event was special because it gave those progressive elements a voice.”

McIntyre concluded, “We are hopeful for the Colombian peace process. We must work for and demand that the U.S. stop funding the Colombian military and its death squads. Our movements, including trade unions, must show solidarity, push for peace, and ensure justice for all.”

#ChicagoIL #Labor #Colombia #FENSUAGRO #NidiaQuintero #Americas

El siguiente mensaje es una respuesta a una serie de preguntas enviadas a Huber Ballesteros por James Jordan de la Alianza por la Justicia Global. Ballesteros fue detenido cuando estaba trabajando como negociador para el paro agrario nacional de 2013 en Colombia y es acusado de “rebelión”. Él también sirvió en el comité ejecutivo de Fensuagro (Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria), la federación de trabajadores agropecuarios más grande de Colombia y la Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), la federación laboral más grande del país. Firme la petición para la libertad de Huber Ballesteros, sindicalista colombiano y preso político Haz clic aquí para ver el video de esta entrevista con Huber Ballesteros

Compañero James, es un gusto saludarlo y por su intermedio a los colectivos de solidaridad, al movimiento sindical y de los trabajadores estadounidenses y a todo el pueblo norteamericano.

Nosotros entendemos y sabemos la diferencia que existe entre la posición y la opinión del pueblo norteamericano y las posiciones y actividades reprochables de su gobierno no solamente al interior de los Estados Unidos sino a nivel del mundo entero. Por eso los prisioneros políticos expresamos un abrazo fraternal a todos los trabajadores y a todo el pueblo norteamericano.

Es un gusto para mí poder responder a estas preguntas que me envío el compañero James Jordan, hacerlo desde mi condición de prisionero político, de integrante del Comité Ejecutivo de la Central Unitaria de Trabajadores, de la Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria y del movimiento político Marcha Patriótica.

Sobre el tema de los acuerdos de paz y las posibilidades de que en el marco del acuerdo sobre el punto de víctimas que contempla también el tema de la Justicia Transicional para la Paz debo decir que efectivamente el acuerdo sobre justicia transicional del punto que hace poco se firma entre el gobierno colombiano y la insurgencia de las FARC-EP, este contempla la posibilidad de que una vez se firmen los acuerdos y se implementen los tribunales que aplicarán la justicia especial acordada entre las partes, los prisioneros políticos que en Colombia somos cerca de 10.000 divididos entre prisioneros políticos de conciencia y prisioneros políticos de guerra, tendremos la oportunidad de acceder a beneficios como el indulto para quienes estén en ese momento condenados y el de la amnistía y cesación del procedimiento para quienes a en ese momento nos encontremos aún en la condición de sindicados.

Sobre la segunda pregunta del cuestionario de James, de si fui detenido en el marco de un paro. Efectivamente me encontraba en Bogotá oficiando como parte de la Comisión Nacional de Negociación del Paro Agrario del año 2013 cuando fui detenido acusado de los delitos de rebelión y financiamiento al terrorismo, cargos que se establece a partir de un montaje judicial por personajes pagados por la Fiscalía General y la Policía Nacional para frenar lo que en ese momento empezaba a gestarse como uno de los paros campesinos más importantes de los últimos treinta años; desde ese momento me encuentro recluido en la cárcel La Picota en una detención a todas luces ilegal, donde en el proceso se han violado todos las condiciones establecidas al debido proceso y la necesaria y obligatoria presunción de inocencia que establecen tanto las leyes, la Constitución Nacional y el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos.

Mi detención hace parte entonces de una política de represión y de judicialización de la protesta social en Colombia que se viene aplicando desde muchísimos muchos años atrás y que ha llevado a las cárceles del país a mucha personas, una gran parte de ellas puestas en libertad después de haber pasado dos, tres, o cuatro a hasta más años en la cárcel. Con la firma de los acuerdos de paz esperamos que esa concepción impuesta por el pentágono norteamericano de la concepción del enemigo interno y de la llamada doctrina de Seguridad Nacional con la que se educaron o adoctrinaron los oficiales de policía, del ejército, del DAS, los jueces y fiscales en el comando sur de los Estados Unidos y en la Escuela de las Américas en West Point* cambie, para que la lucha social y popular que necesariamente seguiremos desarrollando puesto que la firma del acuerdo de paz es apenas el comienzo de la construcción de una paz real y duradera con justicia social. Nosotros seguiremos dando porque nuestros derechos como trabajadores y como población colombiana seguiremos exigiéndolos a través de los mecanismos que nos permiten nuestra estructura organizativa sindical como es el paro, la huelga y la movilización.

Otra de las preguntas del cuestionario es ¿Si es posible que posterior a los acuerdos de paz, la izquierda y los sectores democráticos puedan alcanzar la unidad? Pues en ello se viene trabajando desde hace mucho tiempo, han habido diferentes propuestas y en particular en el momento venimos trabajando en el fortalecimiento de lo que hemos denominado el Frente Amplio por la Paz, la Justicia Social y la Democracia. Hemos dado pasos muy importantes en este sentido puesto que el Frente se ha convertido en un garante e impulsor de los Diálogos de Paz además de servir, por solicitud de las FARC-EP como veedor de la tregua unilateral que en varias ocasiones ha decretado la insurgencia y que por parte de ella se mantiene vigente. Ese Frente Amplio por la Paz aspiramos nosotros se convierta en el escenario de la lucha política y de la unidad hacia la disputa del poder a la burguesía en Colombia. ¡No es fácil! Existen obviamente diferencias de carácter político e ideológico como es natural en la izquierda colombiana y con los sectores populares que están organizados en sindicatos, en el movimiento indígena, en el movimiento afrodescendiente y otros sectores sociales, pero venimos trabajando decididamente para que el Frente Amplio sea ese lugar de encuentro de todas las inconformidades de este país y tengamos una fuerza que pueda disputar el poder a ese bloque hegemónico de la oligarquía que ha usufructuado el poder de nuestra patria por cerca de 200 años.

Sobre el tema de la UP, yo soy uno de los sobrevivientes del genocidio de la Unión Patriótica. Ingresé a ella siendo muy joven, he ocupado cargos de elección popular, en su momento elegido como representante de la Unión Patriótica y consideramos que efectivamente podría volver a darse, volver a repetirse después de la firma de los acuerdos, un genocidio. Que consideramos nosotros que puede frenar en determinado momento que eso se dé:

Uno, que el mundo de todas maneras ha cambiado mucho en los últimos 25 años y el tema de los derechos humanos se ha vuelto muy importante y que existen muchas organizaciones y colectivos tanto a nivel nacional como internacional que están pendientes de que se cumplan lo preceptuado en la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, que ningún estado, ningún gobierno ni ninguna estructura de ese gobierno como las fuerzas militares tendrá hoy en día la impunidad frente a los crímenes de lesa humanidad perpetrados por ellos en el marco de la represión a la oposición política. Eso nos alienta a creer que aunque tengan la intención, no les será tan fácil y que obviamente también nuestra experiencia la que hemos ganado en la lucha por la defensa de los derechos humanos nos va a ayudar a que un episodio como ese no se repita. Pero digo de nuevo si sentimos el temor porque el gobierno no quiere discutir en la mesa de diálogos la estructura de las Fuerzas Armadas y de policía, no quiere discutir la doctrina de esas fuerzas armadas y de policía, y obviamente no se ha tocado aún por parte de la doctrina de la seguridad nacional que dio pie a la conformación de organismos paraestatales que nosotros conocemos como el paramilitarismo en Colombia. Es un riesgo, pero la paz merece ese riesgo y estamos dispuestos a asumirlo en aras de construir una nueva sociedad y un nuevo país para los colombianos.

Es verdad como lo manifiesta James en su nota de entrevista que el gobierno o los gobiernos de los Estados Unidos, o sea el estado norteamericano es un actor del conflicto colombiano, y un actor de primer orden es el principal auspiciador y, porque no decirlo, uno de los principales beneficiarios de la guerra en Colombia. Nosotros somos conscientes que ese no es el sentir del pueblo norteamericano, pero obviamente sabemos que son los intereses de las compañías transnacionales, que son los intereses económicos de la oligarquía norteamericana la que ha promovido la violencia en Colombia y no solamente en Colombia sino en toda América Latina y el mundo.

Aspiramos a que ese respaldo a la paz de Colombia que ha manifestado el gobierno de los Estados Unidos, se concrete no en ayudas económicas, no en ayudas tecnológicas, sino en un cambio de actitud y de respeto a la soberanía de los pueblos y en especial a la soberanía del pueblo colombiano para decidir sobre su futuro.

Y como lo manifiesta su compañero también en su nota, la solidaridad internacional jugará un papel importantísimo en el mantenimiento de la Paz y en la garantía de que se respete los derechos de los colombianos y en particular de quienes hacemos la oposición en Colombia. El movimiento sindical norteamericano, los colectivos que se han conformado en suelo estadounidense y que apoyan las causas de la paz en Colombia y en el mundo tienen un quehacer muy importante para ejercer veeduría y vigilancia no solamente frente a la intervención de su propio gobierno sino frente al gobierno colombiano para que cumpla con lo acordado, para que la no repetición del conflicto en Colombia devenga precisamente del cumplimiento de los acuerdos y del desarrollo de las transformaciones económicas, políticas y sociales que son necesarias para una paz justa, real, duradera y con justicia social para el nuevo futuro de los colombianos.

Agradezco a James esta oportunidad de esta entrevista, agradezco a todas y todos el haberme escuchado y extiendo desde la prisión de La Picota un fraternal abrazo a todas y todos ustedes, con la esperanza de que en algún momento al recobrar mi libertad pueda encontrarme con sus organizaciones sindicales y con sus dirigentes para agradecer personalmente todo el trabajo en solidaridad que han desplegado en favor de la libertad de los prisioneros políticos y del respeto a los derechos humanos en Colombia.

¡Muchas gracias y un abrazo!

Hubert de Jesús Ballesteros Gómez

#Colombia #Labor #PoliticalPrisoners #FENSUAGRO #HubertoBallesteros #Americas

The following message is a response to a series of questions posed to Hubert Ballesteros by James Jordan of the Alliance for Global Justice. Ballesteros was arrested while negotiating for the National Agrarian Strike of 2013 and charged with Rebellion. He was also serving on the executive committees of Fensuagro, the country's largest federation of farm workers unions and the Unitary Workers Center (CUT), Colombia's largest general labor federation.

Sign the petition to Free Hubert “Huber” Ballesteros, Colombian Unionist and Political Prisoner Click here to watch video of this interview in the original Spanish

Comrade James, it is a pleasure to greet you and through you, the solidarity collectives, labor movement and workers of the United States and all the North American people. We understand and know the difference that exists between the position and opinion of the North American people and the reproachable positions and activities of your government not only in the interior of the United States but at a worldwide level. Therefore we political prisoners offer a fraternal embrace to all the workers and all the people of North America.

It is a pleasure for me to respond to these questions that Comrade James Jordan sent me, to do so in my condition as a political prisoner, member of the Executive Committees of the Workers Unitary Confederation (CUT), the National Unitary Labor Federation of Agricultural Workers (Fensuagro) and the Marcha Patriótica (Patriotic March) political movement.

Let me discuss the theme of the peace accords and the possibilities in the framework of the agreement concerning the point of victims. That also is concerned with the theme of Transitional Justice for the peace. I must say that effectively the agreement over the point of transitional justice recently signed between the Colombian government and the insurgents of the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Peoples Army), contemplates the possibility we [political prisoners] will have the opportunity to access benefits such as pardon for those who may be in this moment sentenced and that of amnesty and cessation of procedures for those whose cases are pending. [This would happen] once they sign the accords and implement the tribunals that will apply the agreed special justice between the parties. In Colombia there are around 10,000 [political prisoners] divided between prisoners of conscience and prisoners of war.

The second of James' questions was whether I was arrested during the activities of a strike. Basically I was found in Bogotá officiating as part of the 2013 National Negotiation Commission of the Agrarian Strike when I was detained. I was accused of the crimes of rebellion and raising funds for terrorism. The charges were established as part of a judicial set-up by characters paid by the Attorney General and the National Police in order to put the brakes to what in that moment was developing into one of the most important farmers strikes in the last 30 years. From that moment I found myself confined in the La Picota jail in a detention that in all lights is illegal. All the established conditions of due process and the necessary and obligatory presumption of innocence that are so established by the law, the National Constitution and International Human Rights Law have been violated within this process.

My detention, then, is part of a policy of repression and criminalization of social protest in Colombia that has been applied for many, many years. It has brought many persons to the country's jails, many put at liberty after having passed two, three or four years or more in jail. We hope the signing of the peace accords might change the conception imposed by the North American Pentagon. By this we mean that of the internal enemy and what is called the Doctrine of National Security through which the Police, the Army, the DAS (Colombian intelligence service), the judges and attorneys are educated and indoctrinated in the Southern Command of the United States and in the School of the Americas. It will be necessary that we keep developing the social and popular struggle, given that the signing of the peace agreement is barely the beginning of the construction of a real and durable peace with social justice. We will continue doing this, will keep demanding our rights as workers and as the Colombian population through the mechanisms that they permit our organizational labor structure, such as the work stoppage, the strike and the mobilization.

Another of the questions is, is it possible following the peace accords, for the Left and democratic sectors to be able to reach unity? Since we come into this work with much experience, we have had different proposals. In this particular moment we come working to strengthen what we have denominated the Broad Front for Peace, Social Justice and Democracy. In this sense, we have taken very important steps given that the Front has converted into a guarantor and promoter of the Peace Dialogues. Besides this, through the request of the FARC-EP we serve as observers of the unilateral ceasefire that in various occasions has been decreed by the insurgency and that for their part remains in force. We aspire to convert that Broad Front for the Peace into the setting for political struggle and unity toward the dispute for power with the Colombian bourgeoisie. That is not easy! There obviously exist differences of political and ideological characters. This is natural in the Colombian Left and with the popular sectors that are organized into unions, the indigenous movement, the Afro-descendent movement, and other social sectors. But we come working diligently so that the Broad Front might be the place of encounter for all those who question the direction of this country and that we may be a force that can dispute for power with the hegemonic block of the oligarchy that has availed itself to the benefits of power in our country for around 200 years.

Concerning the theme of the UP, I am one of the survivors of the genocide against the Unión Patriótica (Patriotic Union). I entered it being very young. I have occupied popularly-elected positions, at the time elected as a representative of the Unión Patriótica. We consider that effectively the situation of a genocide could return, return to repeat itself after the signing of the accords. We must consider what in this current moment can stop this from happening again.

Number one is that, at any rate, the world has changed a lot in the last 25 years and the theme of Human Rights has come to be very important. There exist many organizations and collectives both at the national as well as the international level that are vigilant that what was specified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be complied with. That is that no state, no government nor structure of this government such as the military forces will in this time have impunity when confronted with the grave crimes against humanity perpetrated by them in repression of the political opposition. This encourages us to believe that although they have the intention; it will not be so easy. Obviously, also, our experience that we have gained in the struggle for the defense of Human Rights is going to help us so that an episode like that may not be repeated. But I say again that, yes, we feel afraid because the government does not want to discuss at the dialogue table the structure of the Armed Forces and the Police, does not want to discuss the doctrine of these armed forces that gives rise to the formation of the para-state organisms that we know as paramilitarism in Colombia. It is a risk, but peace merits that risk and we are disposed to assume it for the sake of building a new society and a new country for the Colombians.

It is true what James expressed in his notes for the interview, that the government or governments of the United States, or, that is, the North American state, is an actor in the Colombian conflict, and an actor of the first order, the principal sponsor and, why not say it, one of the principal beneficiaries of the war in Colombia. We are conscious that this is not the sense of the North American people, but obviously we know that it is in the interest of the transnational companies, in the economic interests of the North American oligarchy that has promoted the violence in Colombia and not only in Colombia but in all Latin America and the world.

We hope that the backing that the United States government has demonstrated for peace in Colombia will not be concentrated in economic aid, nor in technological aid, but in a change in attitude and respect for the People's sovereignty and especially in the sovereignty of the Colombian people to decide their own future.

And as your comrade also stated in his notes, international solidarity will play a supremely important role in maintaining the peace and in guaranteeing respect for the rights of Colombians and in particular for those who form the opposition in Colombia. The North American labor movement, the collectives that have formed on U.S. soil and that support the cause for peace in Colombia and the world have the very important task of exercising watchfulness and vigilance not only towards the intervention of your own government but towards the Colombian government. It must comply with all that it has agreed to so that the Colombian conflict will not be repeated, but will end precisely because the accords are fulfilled. Likewise the development of the economic, political and social transformations that are for a just, durable peace with social justice for the new future of the Colombians.

I thank James for the opportunity for this interview. I thank all who have listened to me and I extend from the La Picota prison a fraternal embrace to all of you. I hope that some day when I regain my liberty I may be able to meet with all your labor organizations and their leaders to personally thank all for the solidarity work that you have shown in favor of freedom for the political prisoners and respect for Human Rights in Colombia.

Many thanks and a hug!

Hubert de Jesús Ballesteros Gómez

#Colombia #Labor #PoliticalPrisoners #FENSUAGRO #HubertoBallesteros #Americas

La diferencia entre la ciudad y el campo en Colombia es dramática. Las comunidades rurales muchas veces carecen de electricidad, sistema de cuidado de salud, escuelas, agua potable y saneamiento. Los campesinos no tienen caminos para trasladar las cosechas al mercado y no pueden competir con los productos agropecuarios de los Estados Unidos, baratos y libres de impuestos. En consecuencia muchos campesinos cultivan coca para mantener a sus familias.

Desgraciadamente, estas no son las únicas dificultades a las que se enfrentan los campesinos. El gobierno colombiano, junto con escuadrones de la muerte paramilitares y el ejército estadounidense, han impuesto el terrorismo de estado en las comunidades campesinas, indígena y afro-colombiana por 40 años. La meta del gobierno colombiano es dar acceso a los recursos naturales colombianos a los Estados Unidos y a las corporaciones multinacionales desalojando a los habitantes rurales de sus tierras de forma violenta.

Uno de los métodos usados para el desalojo es la fumigación. Bajo el “plan Colombia” estadounidense, contratistas militares de dicho país rocían los campos colombianos desde aviones con sustancias tóxicas. La administración del gobierno de Bush afirma que la fumigación detendrá el crecimiento de la coca, materia prima de la cocaína. Hubert Gómez, presidente nacional de FENSUAGRO, tiene otro punto de vista. “En Colombia hemos sufrido por la fumigación por más de 30 años. La fumigación destruye el ecosistema y el sustento de los campesinos.” Cultivos, ganado, y gente son cotidianamente rociados con sustancias químicas. Hay víctimas que reportan enfermedades en la piel y defectos de nacimiento. Al mismo tiempo que es muy efectivo deteniendo el crecimiento de la coca, es exitoso en desplazar a miles de paisanos de sus tierras.

El estado también usa tácticas violentas. Bajo el pretexto de eliminar a los “simpatizantes de la guerrilla,” el ejército colombiano ataca a activistas sociales. Los Estados Unidos ayudan proporcionando consejeros militares, armas, y vehículos. En estas operaciones los militares y paramilitares trabajan los unos con los otros. “Los soldados del ejército colombiano se convierten en paramilitares al atarse en el brazo una cinta de paramilitar,” dijo un activista campesino. “Los paramilitares van a los pueblos, matan gente, se van, se sacan las cintas de los brazos, y retornan como soldados, supuestamente para ayudar. Los comandantes de estas unidades militares son entrenados en la Escuela de las Américas (SOA).” La SOA en Fort Benning, Georgia, entrena a soldados latinoamericanos para torturar, intimidar, y formar guerrillas contra-revolucionarias.

A pesar de la brutal represión, los campesinos resisten. Liderando la lucha está FENSUAGRO, que coordina a las asociaciones campesinas a nivel nacional. Usan diversas tácticas para defender las tierras, vidas y formas de sustento de los campesinos. Para protestar por la falta de caminos e infraestructuras en las zonas rurales, FENSUAGRO moviliza comunidades para bloquear carreteras. En dos provincias del sur-oeste, en el mes de mayo pasado, 150.000 personas se movilizaron y cerraron la carretera panamericana por 8 días. Inmediatamente fueron atacados por los militares y la policía. Su acción forzó al gobierno a entrar en una ronda de negociaciones para discutir la inversión de dinero de los impuestos en el desarrollo rural, “La única forma de salir adelante es por la movilización de la masas, aunque esto signifique que alguna de nuestra gente morirá.”

A cualquier lugar al que viajaba la delegación, los campesinos se mostraban muy agradecidos: sin la ayuda militar de los Estados Unidos, el gobierno colombiano sería incapaz de perseguir violentamente a los colombianos. Katrina Plotz, miembro de la delegación, explicó: “Es tiempo de un cuestionamiento drástico de nuestras prioridades nacionales. Billones de dólares están siendo gastados en el Plan Colombia para la llamada “guerra” a las drogas y al terror. ¿Qué significa esto para los colombianos? Desalojamiento, hambre, amenazas de muerte, tortura, asesinatos. El gobierno estadounidense está emprendiendo una guerra al terror sobre los colombianos. Debemos educar a la gente sobre cómo los dólares de los impuestos de los EEUU están siendo gastados. Si los estadounidenses supieran la verdad sobre la intervención de USA en Colombia, la opondrían de forma aplastante.”

#Colombia #FENSUAGRO #Americas

Alliance for Global Justice volunteer, Raquel Mogollón, was in attendance at the trial of political prisoner Liliany Obando Aug. 4 in Bogotá, Colombia. Based on her eyewitness report, the hearing revealed manipulation of evidence behind the charges being brought against Obando.

Obando is a sociologist, independent film maker and unionist who was arrested the very week she released a report on the assassination of more than 1500 members of FENSUAGRO, the largest organization of farmers and farm workers in Colombia. She was arrested on the basis of evidence the government claims was found in computers belonging to Commander Raúl Reyes, of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP).

Prosecutors maintain that Obando was raising money for the FARC-EP via her position as Director of International Relations for FENSUAGRO. However, money she raised in tours abroad is easily traceable and shown to have gone directly to the union. The other charge Obando faces is ‘rebellion,’ a charge frequently used to intimidate and silence members of the political opposition.

Commander Reyes was killed when the Colombian Air Force bombed his camp, across the border in Ecuador. The camp was working out details for the release of four FARC-EP-held prisoners of war. According to Colombian Senator Píedad Córdoba, this was an attack on the peace process itself.

Córdoba has been the main negotiator securing a series of prisoner releases by the guerrillas. She told Mexico’s La Jornada newspaper: “Almost no knows this. But the reason that Uribe and Santos took the decision to bomb the camp of Raúl Reyes…was to ruin the negotiation that was advancing significantly in the U.S. to free Ingrid Betancourt and the three Americans….What followed is history – the attacks…cost the lives of 26 persons, among them four Mexican civilians. The international community rapidly pardoned Uribe. The hostages were liberated in a military operation a few months later. And the possibility of a political exit to the military conflict went up in smoke once again.”

The Colombian government claims that it recovered two computers belonging to Reyes that somehow survived the bombing. The international police agency INTERPOL has said that the evidence was not handled according to accepted norms and could not be authenticated. INTERPOL received the computers more than a week after they had been in the custody of Colombian authorities. Police Captain Ronald Hayden Coy Ortiz was the first authority to officially access the computers and headed up the initial investigation. In a previous court appearance, Coy admitted that during the time he had the computers, that he saw no emails, only Word files (which are known to be easily manipulated). Charges against Obando have been brought on the basis of alleged emails contained on the computer.

The hearing on August 4 was a chance to hear more from Captain Coy. According to Mogollón, Coy was asked repeatedly about the proper “chain of custody.” Evidence is supposed to be handled according to strict rules, with no gaps regarding its whereabouts or access. However, throughout the initial handling, there were irregularities. For instance, bodies from the scene of the bombing arrived in Bogotá well in advance of the computers, with no explanation of the delay.

Questioning not only by Obando’s attorney, Eduardo Matyas, but also by the judge, revealed that there was a three-day gap during which access was undertaken by Coy and other investigative police, as well as the unaccounted hours during which the computers were supposedly in transit to Bogotá. Coy admitted that he and investigators accessed the files without permission from the proper authorities and that details of the procedures were not documented. Coy defended his decision to independently open the computers on the basis that the evidence was of the “highest national security.” It was not explained how decisions concerning the ‘highest national security’ were to be best made by a police captain using irregular procedures without consulting superiors. When asked by Matyas if he had the expertise to open these computers without authorization, Coy admitted he didn’t.

Global Justice volunteer Mogollón says, “The judge took a very harsh tone with the officer. He asked Coy, why, if he had no expertise, he didn’t document the chain of custody. Coy responded that there was ‘…no room to write the info down – it's a very small space, just a little square.’ The judge responded, ‘I don't want to hear about the very small space! Couldn't you have gotten another piece of paper?' Coy responded, ‘I don't know....we just didn't....I'm sorry.’”

Obando is one of 14 persons originally implicated in what is called the ‘farc-política,’ an effort taken by the outgoing Uribe administration to intimidate political opposition members by tying them to the FARC-EP on the basis of discredited evidence allegedly ‘uncovered’ from the Reyes computers. As former Minister of Defense, it was incoming President Santos who ordered the attacks on the prisoner release negotiation camp. So far, all the initial investigations related to the farc-politica have been thrown out of court – except Obando’s. Based on the evidence of star witness Captain Coy, it is difficult to see on what basis Obando’s case will continue.

On Aug. 8, Obando will have completed two years of incarceration, enduring a long and drawn out court case still in its preliminary stages. Not long after her arrest, Colombian military officers, including the commander of the Colombian army, were implicated in the extrajudicial executions of hundreds of young Colombians. These youths were dressed up in guerrilla clothing after they were murdered and claimed as enemy combatants killed in battle. The implicated officers were let out of jail on a technicality because their trial process was not begun within 90 days of their initial charges. That same technicality alone should qualify Obando for release from jail. But it’s been two years and counting.

If trials are based on the credibility of evidence and witnesses, then many observers are speculating that Coy’s testimony can only add weight to those national and international allies calling for Obando’s release.

On Aug. 6, Mogollón was able to obtain a short visit with Obando at the Buen Pastor National Women’s Penitentiary. Asked for a statement about the hearing, Obando said,

“We feel that the hearing was very positive and that, finally, the public is learning that these files were manipulated illegally and without any authorization. Even INTERPOL agreed that the Ministry of Defense later gave them unauthorized copies, some of which were also improperly released to the public without any verification of their veracity. This is just another example of the witch hunt called the farc-politica.”

#BogotáColombia #Bogotá #Colombia #PoliticalPrisoners #FENSUAGRO #AllianceForGlobalJustice #Americas

A spirited picket line protested outside the Colombian consulate in Chicago Oct. 1. 30 students, solidarity and labor activists chanted in support of political prisoners held by the Colombian government of President Uribe. Passersby stopped to read leaflets and listen to chants of, “Free Lily Obando,” “No to U.S. bases,” and “The people of Colombia are under attack! What do we do? Stand up! Fight back!” Chicagoans were joined on Michigan Avenue by activists from Arizona, Minnesota, Ohio, California, Florida and Washington D.C. for this international day of action.

James Jordan of the Campaign for Labor Rights, which organized the protest, said, “There are more than 7200 political prisoners in Colombia, most arrested on the basis of fabricated evidence. Lily Obando is one of those. Lily is a labor leader, sociologist and video maker about to expose the Colombian government's role in running paramilitary death squads. Death squads have killed hundreds of peasants and farm workers belonging to the largest agricultural union – FENSUAGRO.”

He concluded his speech saying, “Those arrested are union members, farmers, students, teachers and members of the political opposition. Repression in Colombia is paid for and overseen by the U.S. government in service to big corporations. We call on the U.S. government to stop supporting repression and war. We demand dialogue and a just peace.”

Banbose Shango of the National Network on Cuba spoke about U.S. hypocrisy: “Posada Carriles, an internationally known terrorist who bombed a Cuban airplane killing 73 civilians in 1976, is walking the streets freely in Miami, Florida. The U.S. government is protecting this murderer. In the meantime, five Cubans, who monitored the planned activities of these Miami-based terrorist groups, have been languishing unjustly in several U.S. prisons for the past ten years. When there is no justice, there is no peace. We oppose U.S. aggression towards Cuba and Colombia.”

Tom Burke of the Colombia Action Network spoke last, saying, “We protested the outrageous trials in Washington D.C. that imprisoned Ricardo Palmera and Anayibe 'Sonia' Valderrama, members of the FARC. Our protests exposed the Palmera trials as a sham put on by a declining empire. The U.S. is overreaching. Ricardo Palmera is now a political prisoner of the U.S. government held in total isolation in the Florence, Colorado Super Max. Professor Palmera's imprisonment is inhumane.”

Next Burke spoke of the recently announced plan to build seven U.S. bases in Colombia, saying, “The U.S. is losing its control over Latin America. 'Plan Colombia,' the U.S. counter-insurgency war is a failure. While the U.S. increases repression and terror in Colombia, the revolution, led by the FARC and other groups, is spreading and building. The U.S. is forcing dozens of Colombian military officers trained at the School of the Americas in Columbus, Georgia to resign. Some are going to jail for murdering 1300 or more poor workers and dressing them up in FARC uniforms. The U.S. is losing its war and U.S. bases will only bring more suffering to the Colombian people. In solidarity with Colombians, with Venezuelans, Bolivians and Ecuadorians – with all Latin Americans, we need to oppose the U.S. bases in Colombia. We do not benefit from the war and repression in Colombia. Only the rich do. No to U.S. bases!”

Organizers are making plans for more events to build for the Nov. 21 School of the Americas protests in Georgia. Similar protests to the Chicago event took place in Colombia, Australia, France, Mexico and Canada.

#ChicagoIL #Colombia #ColombiaActionNetwork #PoliticalPrisoners #LilianyObando #FENSUAGRO #CampaignForLaborRights #Americas

In August, a delegation of U.S. students, trade unionists and anti-war activists traveled to Colombia to meet with leaders in the struggle there. The Colombian Action Network and the Campaign for Labor Rights, two grassroots organizations here in the United States fighting against U.S. intervention in Colombia, hosted the trip.

“I knew what I heard in the U.S. media about the benefits of U.S. tax money and aid to Colombia was true only for the rich. I wanted to see for myself what the reality is for Colombians,” said Jeremy Miller, a member of the Colombian Action Network when explaining his decision to go on the delegation. Members of the Colombian Action Network and the Campaign for Labor Rights arranged meetings with peasant, indigenous and student groups, as well as with political leaders, unions, political prisoners and families of Colombians killed or imprisoned by the government.

The first union the delegation met with was the National Peasant-Farmer Federation, FENSUAGRO. They unite farmers from all over Colombia to struggle for land reform and everyday rights for rural workers. It is the largest rural labor organization in Colombia and is unwavering in its principled defense of workers. Because of the work they do, this union is the most targeted for violence by the wealthy and their pro-government death squads.

During a rural community meeting, a FENSUAGRO leader told the delegation, “75 of our members are currently in jail. We fight for a public policy that favors the peasant farmer and we are always clear about our demands. Because of this the government works daily, looking for ways to finish us off. The government tries to connect us to the FARC [the largest armed rebel group in Colombia], in attempts to discredit us. The Uribe government goes after anyone who defends the working class. They claim that we are not the victims of violence, that we are the aggressors. Farmers have no support from the government. No rights even to housing or health care. The government does not care for the poor and has completely abandoned us to poverty. Human life is worth only the value of a bullet.”

The stories from other groups told much of the same – of being afraid to leave the house in the morning, of being followed, of having family members killed by death squads, of being arrested for implausible charges – all of this because of the fight for the rights of workers and peasants, indigenous people and Afro-Colombians, everyday people. “I was shocked to hear the stories of the university students in Bogotá. They are doing the same kind of activism we are here in the U.S., but because of it, they are facing death threats, they are being imprisoned or assassinated,” said Sarah Buchner of Students for a Democratic Society, another delegate on the trip, speaking one night after a particularly intense day of stories.

During the trip, the theme that repeatedly came up was “what is most important for us as U.S. activists to bring back?” We decided to bring back the stories and pictures but also something more: to drive home the message that the terrible violence in Colombia is directly connected to the United States government. We can do something to change that, to stop it. It is the U.S. government that foots the bill for the war and violence that happens in Colombia. The people of Colombia are very clear on this. The people the delegation met with had all sorts of ideas about ways to build a better Colombia and about ways for peace. But all of them were united in saying U.S. intervention must stop, that the seven proposed U.S. military bases in Colombia would do nothing to end violence in the country and would serve only to increase it, that peace in Colombia would only come with the end of U.S. violations of Colombian sovereignty.

From this trip, members of the delegation have returned to the U.S. with the hopes of continuing to build a movement in the United States against imperialist intervention in Colombia.

Hands off Colombia!

No to the U.S. bases!

#Colombia #ColombiaActionNetwork #FENSUAGRO #CampaignForLaborRights #USMilitaryBases #Americas

La diferencia entre la ciudad y el campo en Colombia es dramática. Las comunidades rurales muchas veces carecen de electricidad, sistema de cuidado de salud, escuelas, agua potable y saneamiento. Los campesinos no tienen caminos para trasladar las cosechas al mercado y no pueden competir con los productos agropecuarios de los Estados Unidos, baratos y libres de impuestos. En consecuencia muchos campesinos cultivan coca para mantener a sus familias.

Desgraciadamente, estas no son las únicas dificultades a las que se enfrentan los campesinos. El gobierno colombiano, juntos con escuadrones de la muerte paramilitares y el ejército estadounidense, ha impuesto el terrorismo de estado a las comunidades campesina, indígena y afro-colombiana por 40 años. La meta del gobierno colombiano es dar acceso a los recursos naturales colombianos a los Estados Unidos y a las corporaciones multinacionales desalojando a los habitantes rurales de sus tierras de forma violenta.

Uno de los métodos usados para el desalojo es la fumigación. Bajo el “plan Colombia” estadounidense, contratistas militares de dicho país rocían los campos colombianos desde aviones con sustancias tóxicas. La administración del gobierno de Bush afirma que la fumigación detendrá el crecimiento de la coca, materia prima de la cocaína. Hubert Gómez, presidente nacional de FENSUAGRO, tiene otro punto de vista. “en Colombia hemos sufrido por la fumigación por más de 30 años. La fumigación destruye el ecosistema y el sustento de los campesinos.”. Cultivos, ganado, y gente son cotidianamente rociados con sustancias químicas. Hay víctimas que reportan enfermedades en la piel y defectos de nacimiento. Al mismo tiempo que es muy efectivo deteniendo el crecimiento de la coca, es exitoso en desplazar a miles de paisanos de sus tierras.

El estado también usa tácticas violentas. Bajo el pretexto de eliminar a los “simpatizantes con la guerrilla”, el ejército colombiano ataca a activistas sociales. Los Estados Unidos ayudan proporcionando consejeros militares, armas, y vehículos. En estas operaciones los militares y paramilitares trabajan los unos con los otros. “Los soldados del ejército colombiano se convierten en paramilitares al atarse en el brazo una cinta de paramilitar.”, dijo un activista campesino. “Los paramilitares van a los pueblos, matan gente, se van, se sacan las cintas de los bazos, y retornan como soldados, supuestamente para ayudar. Los comandantes de estas unidades militares son entrenados en la Escuela de las Américas (SOA).”. La SOA en Fort Benning, Georgia, entrena a soldados latinoamericanos para torturar, intimidar, y formar guerrillas contra-revolucionarias.

A pesar de la brutal represión, los campesinos resisten. Liderando la lucha está FENSUAGRO, que coordina a las asociaciones campesinas a nivel nacional. Usan diversas tácticas para defender las tierras, vidas y formas de sustento de los campesinos. Para protestar por la falta de caminos e infraestructuras en las zonas rurales, FENSUAGRO moviliza comunidades para bloquear carreteras. En dos provincias del sur-oeste, en el mes de Mayo pasado, 150.000 personas se movilizaron y cerraron la carretera panamericana por 8 días. Inmediatamente fueron atacados por los militares y la policía. Su acción forzó al gobierno a entrar en una ronda de negociaciones para discutir la inversión de dinero de los impuestos en el desarrollo rural, “la única forma de salir adelante es por la movilización de la masas, aunque esto signifique que alguna de nuestra gente morirá.”.

A cualquier lugar al que viajaba la delegación, los campesinos se mostraban muy agradecidos: sin la ayuda militar de los Estados Unidos, el gobierno colombiano sería incapaz de perseguir violentamente a los colombianos. Katrina Plotz, miembro de la delegación, explicó: “es tiempo de un cuestionamiento drástico de nuestras prioridades nacionales. Billones de dólares están siendo gastados en el Plan Colombia para la llamada “guerra” a las drogas y al terror. ¿Que significa esto para los colombianos? Dislocación, hambre, amenazas de muerte, tortura, asesinatos. El gobierno estadounidense está emprendiendo una guerra al terror sobre los colombianos. Debemos educar a la gente sobre cómo los dólares de los impuestos de los EEUU están siendo gastados. Si los estadounidenses supieran la verdad sobre la intervención de USA en Colombia, la opondrían de forma aplastante.”

#BogotáColombia #Bogotá #AntiwarMovement #News #Colombia #FENSUAGRO #RedDeAcciónDeColombia #Americas

The difference between the city and countryside in Colombia is dramatic. Rural communities often lack electricity, health care, schools, drinkable water and sanitation. Peasant farmers don’t have roads to transport their crops to market and cannot compete with cheap, free-trade goods from American agribusinesses. As a result, many peasants must grow coca to feed their families.

Unfortunately, these are not the only hardships that peasants face. The Colombian government, working with paramilitary death squads and the U.S. military, has employed state terrorism against peasant, indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities for 40 years. The Colombian government’s goal is to open Colombia’s natural resources to U.S. and multinational corporations by violently forcing rural inhabitants from their land.

One method of displacement is fumigation. Under the U.S. government’s Plan Colombia, U.S. military contractors spray toxic chemicals from planes across the Colombian countryside. The Bush administration claims that fumigation will stop the growth of coca, the raw material for cocaine. Hubert Gomez, national vice-president of FENSUAGRO, has another view. “In Colombia we have suffered from fumigation for over 30 years. Fumigation destroys the ecosystem and the livelihood of campesinos.” Food crops, livestock and people are routinely sprayed with chemicals. Victims report skin diseases and birth defects. While its record for reducing coca production is abysmal, aerial fumigation succeeds in displacing thousands of peasants.

The state also uses violence. Under the pretext of eliminating ‘guerrilla sympathizers,’ the Colombian military attacks social activists. The U.S. helps by supplying military advisers, weapons and vehicles. In these operations the military and paramilitaries work side by side. “The soldiers in the Colombian military become paramilitaries by putting on a paramilitary armband,” said one peasant activist. “The paramilitary go into town, kill people, leave, remove their armbands and return as soldiers to the scene, supposedly to help. Commanders of these military units are trained at the School of the Americas.” The School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia trains Latin American soldiers in torture, intimidation and counter-insurgency warfare.

In spite of the brutal repression, peasants resist. Leading the struggle is FENSUAGRO, which coordinates peasant associations nationwide. They use a number of tactics to defend the land, lives and livelihood of peasants. To protest the lack of roads and infrastructure in rural regions, FENSUAGRO mobilizes communities to blockade highways. In two southwest provinces in May, 150,000 people mobilized and shut down the Pan-American Highway for eight days. They were immediately attacked by the military and police. Their action forced the government into a round of negotiations over tax spending on rural development. “Under the current regime,” said Eberto Diaz, FENSUAGRO’s national president, “we can only move forward through mass mobilizations, even though this means some of our people will die.”

Everywhere the delegation traveled, peasants agreed: Without U.S. military aid, the Colombian government would be unable to violently persecute the Colombian people. Katrina Plotz, delegation member, explained, “It’s time for a drastic reassessment of our national priorities. Billions of dollars are being spent on Plan Colombia for the so-called wars on drugs and terror. What does this mean for Colombians? Displacement, starvation, death threats, torture, murder. The U.S. government is waging a war of terror on Colombians. We must educate people about how U.S. tax dollars are being spent. If Americans knew the truth about U.S. intervention in Colombia, they would overwhelmingly oppose it.”

#BogotáColombia #Bogotá #AntiwarMovement #News #Colombia #ColombiaActionNetwork #FENSUAGRO #Americas