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International

Bogota Terror

The assassination of a Colombian unionist has prompted international outrage.

	Colombia

*********

Human rights and social organisations, trade unions, members of the National and International Human Rights Campaign Against Privatisation and the Criminalisation of Social Protest repudiate and condemn the vile assassination committed on our comrade and friend AURY SAR� MARRUGO and

We urge the national Colombian and international community to demand that the Colombian government puts an end to the genocide that is being committed against trade union leaders in Colombia.

The facts:

1. On Friday 30th November 2001 AURY SAR� MARRUGO, President of the Cartagena Branch of the oilworkers union USO was at 8.35am travelling from his home to the USO office in Cartagena, accompanied by his bodyguard ENRIQUE AREYANO, in their car registration number CGS 897. He

was stopped by several armed men from three vehicles (blue and grey cars and a red van) who forced him to get out of his vehicle and took him off to an unknown destination.

2. On 3rd December 2001 the self named Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) [lit. United Self Defence of Colmbia] admitted having trade union leader AURY SAR� MARRUGO in their power and they demanded the presence of Camilo G�mez, High Commissioner for Peace. According to this group

which communicated with the Commissioner through the internet, the union leader "... has been found guilty of multiple crimes by the tribunal, including kidnapping, cattle robbery, extortion and terrorism". They

assured that "We are only disposed to hand him over to you in person in one of our camps in the jungle and then you will explain to us what you are really doing as Commissioner".

3. At about 10.30am today, 5th December 2001, as humanitarian actions were being taken by USO to liberate the comrade, AURY SAR� MARRUGO was found dead along with his bodyguard.

4. This vile assassination of our comrade adds to the detention by order of the Special Attorney 241 in Bogot� on 16th October, one day before the national stoppage that USO had prepared to protest against the violation of the human rights of their members, the following USO leaders:

* LUIS VIANA ex-president of the USO refinery section, who is now retired, in Santa Marta;

* EDGAR MOJICA president of USO Bogot�, in Bogot�

* RAMON RANGEL Human Rights and Peace Commission of USO;

* JAIRO CALDERON ex-leader of USO Barranca currently in the

administration of state oil corporation Ecopetrol;

* FERNANDO ACU�A ex-presodent of Fedepetrol and sacked by Ecopetrol;

* ALONSO MARTINEZ worker at Ecopetrol who was displaced due to death threats, an activist also detained in Bogot�.

5. Previously there were the assassinations of ARTURO ESCALANTE MOROS in the town of Tib� in Northe Santander Department. That same day FERNANDO LERMA a temporary worker at the oil refinery in Barrancabermeja, Santander Department, was assassinated.

6. Moreover there have been constant death threats and murder attempts on HERNANDO HERNANDEZ, who is the National President of USO. Several other leaders of the union have been followed. In May 2001, EDGAR MOJICA, President of the Bogot� Branch of USO and DANIEL RICO,Vice-President of FUNTRAENERG�TICA and Press and Publicity Secretary of

USO's National Executive Committee received threatening telephone calls at the office of USO's negotiating commission and at the Bogot� USO headquarters, where it was announced that there would be attempts on their lives if they continued with trade union activity. The suspects

who made the calls identified themselves as members of the "Capital Block" of the self styled AUC.

7. In June and July 2001 USO leaders in Bogot� reported to the authorities that they were permanently being followed by individuals on high capacity motorcycles, and that this surveillance continued in the immediate vicinity of the trade union office and the Ecopetrol headquarters from several vehicles, particularly by men in a grey Toyota

van without number plates who carried hand guns and rifles.

8. Then the report of death threats on the USO leaders lead the Bogot� police and the special security unit SIJIN to carry out a risk study, which concluded that it was urgently necessary to set up a security scheme for the threatened leaders. This consisted of a vehicle to move around in, two bodyguards that they trusted, arms, bullet proof vests, communications, and walky-talkies linked into the system used by trade unionists and human rights defenders. However nether Ecopetrol nor the Interior Ministry provided the necessary guarantees for the security of the threatened leaders. On the contrary the persecution grew worse and has reached the dramatic point of these two terribly sad murders.

WE DEMAND:

a. That the Colombian state suspends whatever order of execution or assassination, arbitrary detention, forced disappearance that its officials are intending to carry out against the lives and security of leaders of the Uni�n Sindical Obrera - United Workers Union and other

trade unionists and human rights defenders in Colombia.

b. That investigations are set in motion to identify and punish in exemplary fashion the intellectual and material authors of the assassination of AURY SAR� MARRUGO and his bodyguard ENRIQUE AREYANO as well as the other assassinations and forced disappearances against trade

union and social leaders in the country.

c. That all necessary operations are carried out to arrest members of the Autdefensas Unidas de Colombia who admitted publicly that they had AURY SAR� MARRUGO and ENRIQUE AREYANO in their power.

d. We demand that the Colombian state guarantees the free exercise of trade union activity, and the promotion and defence of human rights by the different social, union and human rights organisations, in which USO is included.

e. That the results are given publicly of the investigations into those responsible for the genocide against the working class, the trade union, social and human rights activists and leaders.

Colombia, 5th December 2001

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