Security fears for peasant farmers' leader, Hernan Henry Diaz

03 May 2012

HE Mr Mauricio Rodriguez
Ambassador
Embassy of Colombia
3 Hans Crescent
London SW1X 0LN

email: mail@colombianembassy.co.uk

Dear Ambassador

Security fears for peasant farmers' leader, Hernán Henry Diaz

On behalf of the TUC, British workers and the 6.1 million members of our affiliated unions I write to express our concern for the safety of FENSUAGRO trade union activist Hernán Henry Diaz, who is suspected to have been subject to enforced disappearance.

Mr Diaz, a spokesperson of the Departmental Roundtable of Social Organisations in Putumayo Department and a member of the National United Trade Union of Agricultural Workers, FENSUAGRO, was last seen on 18 April.

At the time of his disappearance Mr Diaz was coordinating a protest march to take place in Bogotá, of 200 delegates from Valle del Guamuez Municipality, Putumayo Department, on 21, 22 and 23 April.

The last communication from Mr Diaz was received on 18 April when he informed his partner he was in Puerto Vega, but since then nothing has been heard of his whereabouts.

We are aware that in the past, those organising protest marches have been intimidated, threatened and in some cases illegally detained or worse and our concern is heightened by the fact, highlighted by Amnesty International, that senior security forces officers have stated that the march had been infiltrated by guerrilla forces.

We ask that you:

Ensure that your government takes action to establish the whereabouts of Hernán Henry Diaz and urge immediate steps to guarantee his safety;

Call on authorities to order an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into the possible enforced disappearance of Mr Diaz, to publish the results and if the enforced disappearance is confirmed, bring those responsible to justice.

Yours sincerely

BRENDAN BARBER

General Secretary