Colombia - S.O.S: SUGAR CANE CUTTERS IN GRAVE DANGER

Amongst the most serious injuries are, from the INCAUCA sugar plant:

1. Gildardo Nieves, seriously injured in the abdomen with a tear gas bomb which compromised his vital organs.

PROVIDENCIA sugar plant:

2. Faustino Cuero, who has deep, open wounds on his face and body.

3. Willington Obregon- injuries on his lower lip and face.

4. Bonifacio Sinisterra- injured on his left eye, sent to the eye clinic in Cali.

5. Jose Ovidio Rosero- injuries on his cheekbone, nose and torso, and has been told by medics he will be off work for 3 days.

Foto de don JOSE OVIDIO

Motivation of Permanent Assembly

Close to 18,000 workers belonging to 16 sugar processing plants including the INCAUCA, MANUELITA, CENTRAL CASTILLA, and PROVIDENCIA, started a Permanent Assembley at 3am this morning, 15 September, marking the beginning of a strike on sowing, harvesting, and factory activities in the sugar companies of Valle del Cauca.

The assembly has been motivated by the systematic violation of the sugar cane workers’ labour rights. Working conditions are sub-human, and are permanently in breach of the most basic human rights.

These conditions saw the sugar cane workers forced to carry out this just protest by the actions of ASOCANA, the sugar cane cultivators’ association, which has repeatedly refused to negotiate with the workers or respond to the list of demands presented by the workers on 14 July 2008. ASOCANA has also paid for radio and televisión adverts persuading the population not to participate in the strike and intimidating the community over the consequences for those who do participate. Amongst the messages broadcast on several radio and televisión channels: ‘amigo cortero (sugar cane cutter), don’t let yourself be cheated, the strike doesn’t bring solutions, it brings unemployment’; ‘amigo cortero, the strike of 2005 left only sackings’; ‘don’t let your husband participate’. This clearly violates the most elemental rights to association and unionization.

We want to point out that the brutal attacks against the workers took place despite calls from the president of the Senate’s Human Rights Commission, Alexander Lopez, and the President of the House of Representatives Human Rights Commission German Reyes, for the civil and military authorities to respect the legitímate protest of the sugar cane workers.

Demands:

1. That the state organisms of control- Fiscalia General de la Nacion (public prosecutor), the Procuraduria General de la Nacion (Attorney General), and the Defensoria del Pueblo (People’s Ombudsman) start investigations immediately into those responsible for the physical aggressions against the workers.

2. That the Ministry of Work and ASOCANA respect the labour rights of the sugar iundustry workers.

3. The elimination of the system of contracts of association and co-operatives, which are subjecting the workers to working days of more than 14 hours and salaries of less than 400,000 pesos a month (100 pounds), violating labour rights contained in both domestic law and international agreements signed and ratified by the Colombian state, including with the International Labour Organization.

4. That labour guarantees are given to the workers, and work contracts with social security benefits, and the guarantee of the rights to free association and unionization.

5. We demand that the national government, and in particular President of the Republic ALVARO URIBE VELEZ, complies with his constitutional duty to defend and protect the rights of Colombian workers and citizens, and immediately orders the state forces to halt their aggression against the workers who legitimately maintain their protest motivated by hunger and the exploitation to which they are being subjected.

Movimiento de Trabajadores de la Industria de la Caña de Azúcar, Secretaría de Derechos Humanos de la Central Unitaria de Trabajadores CUT – Valle del Cauca, Asociación Nomadesc, Corporación Jurídica Utopía, Corporación Sembrar

Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, 15 September 2008

RECOMMENDED ACTION / ACCIÓN SOLICITADA

We ask the international community to send your protestations to the following authorities / Les solicitamos enviar sus pronunciamientos ante las siguientes autoridades:

ALVARO URIBE VELEZ, Presidente de la República,

Carrera 8 No. 7 -26 Palacio de Nariño, Bogotá

Fax. 5662071 Email: auribe@presidencia.gov.co

FRANCISCO SANTOS, Vicepresidente de la República

Carrera 8 No.7-57 Bogotá D.C.

Email: fsantos@presidencia.gov.co

JUAN MANUEL SANTOS, Ministro de la Defensa

Avenida El dorado con carrera 52 CAN Bogotá D.C.

Emails: siden@mindefensa.gov.co ; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co

CARLOS HOLGUIN SARDI, Ministro del Interior y de Justicia

Avenida El dorado con carrera 52 CAN Bogotá D.C.

Fax. 2221874 Email : ministro@minjusticia.gov.co

MARIO IGUARAN, Fiscal General de la Nación

Diagonal 22B No. 52-01 Bogotá D.C.

Fax. 570 20 00 Email: contacto@fiscalia.gov.co ; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co

WOLMAR ANTONIO PEREZ ORTIZ, Defensor del Pueblo

Calle 55 No. 10 – 32 Bogotá D.C.

Fax. 640 04 91 Emails: defensoria@defensoria.org.co ; secretaria_privada@hotmail.com

EDGARDO JOSE MAYA VILLAZÒN, Procurador General de la Nación

Cra. 5 No.15 – 80F Bogotá D.C.

Emails: anticorrupción@presidencia.gov.co ; reygon@procuraduría.gov.com

CARLOS FRANCO Programa Presidencial De Derechos Humanos Y De Derecho Internacional Humanitario.

Clle 7 N° 5 – 54 Bogotá D.C.

Fax. 337 46 67 Emails: cefranco@presidencia.gov.co ; fibarra@presidencia.gov.co

DIEGO PALACIO BETANCOURT Ministro de Protección Social

Carrera 13 No. 32-76 Bogotá

Tel. (571) 3305000 Ext. 2304 Fax: (571) 3305050

ASOCAÑA

Luis Fernando Londoño Capurro

Calle 58N # 3N-15 Cali - Colombia. A.A. 4448.

Teléfono: 57 (2) 6647902.

Fax: 57 (2) 6645888

Sede Bogotá: Edificio Colpatria - Carrera 7 No. 24-89 - Oficina 4203.

Teléfonos: 57 (1) 2410556 - 2410557 – 2410559

Email: contactenos@asocana.org

NOTE: Please copy any actions/protestations which you make regarding this urgent action to the following addresses / NOTA: FAVOR REMITIR AL SIGUIENTE CORREO LOS OFICIOS Y ACCIONES QUE ADELANTEN CON BASE EN ESTA INFORMACIÓN a:

dhprohibidolvidar@yahoo.com, accionjuridica.nomadesc@gmail.com

[Colombia Solidarity Campaign adds: we regret that there are an annoying lot of bounce backs on the email messages you send to the Colombian authorities. In every case please also include the Colombian embassy in your country. In the UK to mail@colombianembassy.co.uk ]