Protest against continuing assassinations of Colombian trade unionists

Dear Ambassador

Continuing Assassinations of Colombian Trade Unionists

I am writing on behalf of the 6.5 million workers belonging to unions affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to protest in the strongest possible terms the assassinations of four trade unionists in Colombia in recent weeks.

the 20 February assassination of Leoncio Gurierrez of the SUTEV trade union who was killed in the town of Toro in Valle del Cauca department;

the 15 February assassination of Guillermo Antonio Ramirez of the SER trade union who was shot dead whilst sitting in a cafe in the town of Belen de Umbria in Risaralda department, he had been an active trade unionist for 20 years;

the 12 February assassination of Luis Alberto Arango Crespo, president of the Fishing and Agricultural Workers' Association and leader of the Small-Scale Fishing Association of Magdalena Medio who was murdered in the city of Barrancabermeja; and

the 28 January assassinations of Leovigildo Mejia of the ASOGRAS trade union who was killed in the town of Sabana de Torres in Santander department.

In addition to the four murders, I understand that regional trade union leader Jose Jair Valencia Agudelo, a member of the EDUCAL trade union, is in intensive care in hospital after having been shot six times as he was on his way to work on 26 February in the town of Filadelfia in Caldas department.

As I understand it nobody has been arrested in any of the above cases, adding these to the thousands of others in which trade unionists have been assassinated and the perpetrators allowed to escape with impunity.

I was particularly concerned to hear from colleagues in the CUT trade union federation that Mr Valencia and his trade union had for some time been denouncing the death threats made against him but that the authorities had not provided him with any sort of protection. I understand that the same week that he was shot he had asked for a transfer to another region in order to safeguard his life but that this had been denied.

The ongoing killings - which so far this year are running at the rate of one each week - indicate that contrary to the assurances given by your Government to the international community, little or nothing is in fact being done to safeguard the lives of trade union members and activists in Colombia.

Until this situation is rectified, the British trade union movement and our friends and allies in the British Parliament will continue to urge our own Government to end their political and military support for the Colombian Government.

I look forward to hearing from you and would appreciate some sort of explanation as to why the assassinations are continuing unabated.

Yours sincerely

Frances O'Grady

Deputy General Secretary