URGENT ACTION: SINTRAEMCALI MEMBER ORLANDO ARENAS MARIN ASSASSINATED
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THE GENOCIDE AGAINST THE WORKERS OF SINTRAEMCALI CONTINUES AND THE
GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO LISTEN

The Association for Social Research and Action Nomadesc and the other
organizations belonging to the National and International Human Rights
Campaign Against Corruption, Privatisation and the Criminalisation of
Social Protest, denounce to the national and international community the
extra judicial assassination of ORLANDO ARENAS MARIN, member of
SINTRAEMCALI, worker in the Sewage Plant of EMCALI, and who lived in the
Municipality of Florida, Valle de Cauca and who actively participated in
the Occupation of the CAM Tower in defence of public services and the no
privatisation of EMCALI.

During and after the last conflict (which occurred due to threats that
the company EMCALI would be privatised or forced into liquidation and
which ended on the 29th of January with an agreement to neither force
into liquidation nor privatize EMCALI) the trade union, its leaders, the
workers, the spokespeople during the negotiations, and members of the
Human Rights Department have been victims of threats, harassment and
permanent persecution.


THE EVENTS

1. On Saturday the 18th of May 2002 at approximately 11.00pm ORLANDO
ARENAS MARIN was in a public place in the Municipality of Florida when a
Yellow Daewoo Taxi arrived carrying 4 armed men. Two of the men entered
the establishment and attempted to forcibly take Oscar with them. Oscar
attempted to resist and managed to hit one of the men. The man then
assassinated him, and upon seeing this another men got out of the taxi
and shot him again.

BACKGROUND

1. On the 13th of May 2002 two citizens of Florida were assassinated in
similar circumstances by men travelling in a yellow Daewoo Taxi.

2. During the 8th and 9th of May 2002, a mixed commission headed by the
President of SINTRAEMCALI Luis Hernandez and including leaders of the
union, lawyers and human rights organisations went to Bogotá to meet
with representatives of State Organisms such as Prosecutors Office and
State Attorney with the aim of presenting an official document calling
for an Early Warning Alert to prevent any action against the physical
and psychological integrity of Directors of the union, workers,
spokespeople of the union, human rights defenders and the community in
general who participated in the Occupation of the CAM Tower in defence
of public services and to stop the privatisation of EMCALI.

For the above reasons we call on all of you to do the following:

· Demand that the Colombian government carries out an exhaustive
investigation to punish the material and intellectual authors of the
assassination of ORLANDO ARENAS MARIN.

· Make statements to the United Nations, the Organisation of American
States, the diplomatic corps who have a presence in Colombia, the
international Labour Organisation in an attempt to guarantee the human
rights of the threatened people and call on the Colombian government to
carry out an Immediate Preventative Action to prevent any attacks
against the physical or psychological of leaders, activists,
spokespeople, advisers and their families. Likewise any of the community
and social leaders who are at high risk.

· Demand that the Colombian government and the appropriate authorities
provide sufficient and necessary guarantees so that Constitutional
Rights, such as the right to life, security, freedom of opinion,
information, mobilisation, trade union activity and protest are
respected.

· Co-ordinate an International Delegation made up of International
Organisations that can gather information on the situation and the
denouncements, and also carry out a process of overseeing the agreements
signed on the 29th of January between SINTRAEMCALI, the Cali community
and the Colombian Government.

· Lobby national and International authorities through letters,
statements by organisations and members of parliament, but above all,
with the presence of a delegation of Canadian, North American and
British we could organise meetings with government authorities, both
national and regional to demand a peaceful solution to this social
conflict.

Asociación Para la Investigación y Acción Social NOMADESC
Sindicato de Los Trabajadores Universitarios de Colombia SINTRAUNICOL
Sindicato de Trabajadores de Las Empresas Municipales de Cali
SINTRAEMCALI
Central Unitaria De Los Trabajadores CUT - VALLE DEL CAUCA
Corporación Servicios Profesionales Comunitarios SEMBRAR
Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Minería en Colombia SINTRAMINERCOL
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

See also URGENT - PREVENTATIVE ACTION SINTRAEMCALI of 8 May 2002.
















RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
-------------------

PROTEST:
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
+ +
+ EMERGENCY PICKET +
+ ---------------- +
+ On the day of the Presidential Election +
+ +
+ NO VOTE PARA LA GUERRA CONTRA EL PUEBLO +
+ Don't Vote for War Against the People +
+ +
+ 10am - 4pm Sunday 26th May +
+ Colombian Consulate +
+ 15 Great Titchfield Street, London W1 +
+ (near Oxford Circus) +
+ +
+ Called by Latin American Solidarity +
+ Collective, Colombia Refugee Assn +
+ and Colombia Solidarity Campaign +
+ +
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +


SEND MESSAGES / ENVIAR MENSAJES O CARTAS A:

ANDRÉS PASTRANA ARANGO
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
E-Mail:  rdh@presidencia.gov.co

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:  infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co

Dr. Armando Estrada Villa,
Ministro del Interior, Ministerio del Interior,
Palacio Echeverry, Carrera 8a, No.8-09, piso 2o.,
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia
Fax:00 57 1 562 5298
E-mail:  mininterior@myrealbox.com;  minisint@col1.telecom.com.co

Doctor Edgardo Jose Maya Villazon
Procurador General de la Nacion
Carrera 5. 15-80, Santa Fe de Bogota
Fax: (+57 1) 284 0472;(+57 1) 342 97 23;
E-mail:  reygon@procuraduria.gov.co

Doctor Luis Camilo Osorio
Fiscal General de la Nacion
Diagonal 22 B. 52-01, Santa Fe de Bogota.
Fax: (+57 1) 570 20 08 ; (+57 1) 570 20 00;
E-mail:  contacto@fiscalia.gov.com;  denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co;
 webmaster@fiscalia.gov.co

Dr Luis Eduardo Cifuentes
Public Defender
Calle 55 No. 10-32 Santa Fe de Bogotá
Fax: (+57 1) 346 12 25
E-mail:  secretaria_privada@hotmail.com;  ecifuentes@col1.telecom.com.co

Reynaldo Botero
Presidential Programme for Human Rights and International Humanitarian
Law E-mail:  obserdh@presidencia.gov.co

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 40 50
E-Mail:  oacnudh@hchr.org.co

FOR THOSE IN THE UK:
The British Foreign Office E-mails
Jeremy Hobbs:  jeremy.hobbs@fco.gov.uk
Jack McIver:  Jack.McIver@fco.gov.uk

His Excellency Dr Victor G Ricardo, Embassy of Colombia,
3a Hans Crescent, London SW1X OLN. Fax: 020 7581 1829
Email:  mail@colombianembassy.co.uk

FOR THOSE IN CANADA:
Fanny Kertzman Yankelevitch,
Ambassador for Colombia: E-mail:  embajador@embajadacolombia.ca

FOR THOSE IN THE UNITED STATES:
Luis Alberto Moreno, Embajador de Colombia: E-mail:  as@colombiaemb.org

With copies of all correspondence to:
Luis Hernandez
and Colombia Solidarity Campaign