Colombia Solidarity Campaign
PICKET OF 10 DOWNING STREET
6-8pm 16th July 2002
on the eve of the visit by President elect Álvaro Uribe Vélez
to London, for discussions with Tony Blair

JUST SAY NO

NO to Narco Trafficking
NO to Paramilitary Deathsquads
NO to State Terror
NO to Human Rights Violations
NO to meeting Álvaro Uribe Vélez

The Colombian people suffer the worst human rights violations in the
western hemisphere. Army backed AUC paramilitary death squads have
unleashed a dirty war against the Colombian people, massacring about
7,000 unarmed civilians every year. There are over 2 million internal
refugees, displaced by state sponsored violence. All sections of the
community are at risk; trade unionists, students, teachers, health
workers, indigenous and black leaders, women's groups, human rights
defenders and peasant farmer communities have all been declared
legitimate military targets of this state sponsored terrorism.
Colombians know that this terrifying situation will deteriorate
following the election of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, candidate of the ultra
right, to the Presidency.

Carlos Castaño, leader of the AUC describes Uribe as "the man closest to
our philosophy". No wonder, Uribe's policies include:

· Opening negotiations with the paramilitaries as a first step to their
legalisation
· Restrictions on democratic opposition and possible abolition of
Congress
· The creation of a 1 million strong armed vigilante group
· The doubling of the size of the army
· Refusing to negotiate a peaceful solution with the guerrilla movements
· Cutting already decimated health and education spending in favour of
spending on war and internal repression.

Uribe's election victory was described as a landslide, but taking into
account that 55% of registered voters abstained, the million spoilt
votes, and the millions more disenfranchised through forced
displacement, no more than one in five Colombians actually voted for
Uribe. Governments in North America and Europe say that they must deal
with him, as the democratically elected President of Colombia, but can
the Colombian system really claim to be democratic? Recent history shows
us that candidates and even entire parties who truly represent the
aspirations of the majority are systematically assassinated. Right or
wrong, the vast majority of Colombians choose to abstain, because they
see voting as giving a legitimacy to elections which they regard as
wholly illegitimate and undemocratic.

For these reasons, is the name of democracy and peace, we call on Tony
Blair to just say no to Álvaro Uribe Vélez. When Uribe comes to Europe
looking for funds and co-operation supposedly to fight drugs and terror,
we urge them to look at his past and his well documented links with drug
trafficking and paramilitary terrorism.

CV of Álvaro Uribe Vélez
------------------------
1952: Born in Medellin, Antioquia. His father is a close friend and
business associate of Fabio Ochoa, one of the leaders of the Medellin
cocaine cartel. Uribe Vélez's father was the subject of unsuccessful
extradition proceedings to face charges of drug trafficking in the USA.

1980-2: Appointed Director of Civil Aviation. Instrumental in the
consolidation of the Medellin cartel, issuing over 500 pilots licenses
and permission for 95 private airstrips to individuals with links to
drug trafficking. Lines his pockets to the tune of $550,000 through
phantom consulting contracts.

1982: Named as Mayor of Medellin, after his father donates $300,000 to
the election campaign of President Betancourt. He collaborates closely
with Pablo Escobar whose social projects front the Medellin cartel's
money laundering operations and allows Escobar to develop his public
image which leads to his election to Congress. Uribe is removed from the
position after only 4 months, following a scourge of officials linked to
drug trafficking, after he is spotted at a high level strategy meeting
of the Medellin cartel.

1986-94: As Senator of the Republic, he uses his position to sabotage
legislation that allows for the extradition of drug traffickers to the
USA. While a senator, his helicopter is found by the army waiting to
take off from a 500 hectare cocaine processing compound in the Amazon.
He claims that he sold the helicopter, but that the paperwork has not
come through. His farm "Guacharacas" becomes a paramilitary base, and
international human rights organisations claim it is the epicentre of
state wide violence. It is later torched by the ELN. He suffers further
embarrassment when he is caught borrowing Pablo Escobar's helicopter. He
claims he did not know who it belonged to. Uribe is an active
neoliberal, introducing an anti-union labour law, and social security
changes that have left the majority of Colombians without state support.

1995-97: As Governor of Antioquia, Uribe is an instrumental public
supporter of the CONVIVIR private security groups that he helped to set
up. These groups are universally recognised as legalised forms of
paramilitarism. Despite his denials, groups under his control are
responsible for numerous massacres and selected assassinations, forced
displacement and torture. Government reports speak of close
collaboration between CONVIVIR, paramilitaries and the army. He publicly
praises army officials accused of involvement in paramilitary massacres.

Uribe's personal secretary and long time political ally, Pedro Juan
Moreno Villa is investigated after 50 tonnes of potassium permanganate
(essential in the production of cocaine) is impounded by the DEA. Moreno
Villa has no license for these shipments. It emerges that he has sold at
least 20 tonnes of the chemical in Colombia to people with false names
and addresses. Nothing is done, but the DEA conclude that those who
control the potassium permanganate industry in Colombia, control the
global cocaine trade.

Coca Cola Day of Action
-----------------------
Picket 4.30pm Monday 22nd July
Colombian Embassy, 3 Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge (back of Harrods),
London SW1

NO MORE COCA COLA DEATH SQUADS!
END STATE IMPUNITY FOR PARAMILITARY TERROR!

Electronic Protest please send messages on 22nd July to World President
of Coca Cola Email:  mail@na.cokecce.com and
the Embassy Email:  mail@colombianembassy.co