MASS MOBILIZATION RECEIVES SOLIDARITY STATEMENT FROM COLOMBIA

With endorsements topping 100---including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor---the September 29th Justice Mobilization march and rally in Los Angeles continues to build momentum and focus attention on its issues.

Thousands of protesters will say "NO to PLAN COLOMBIA," "NO to the FTAA!." and "YES to WORKERS' AND IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS" in a march which assembles at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 29 at the corner of Olympic and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles and moves to the Roybal Federal Building for a rally and cultural event.

In a stunning boost to organizers today, the large Colombian labor organization CUT (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia) sent a declaration of support to North American organizers and announced their own September 29 mass mobilization in Bogota. The Colombian labor group expressed appreciation to activists here, working to end the violent suffering of the Colombian people resulting from escalating U.S. military aid.

The Los Angeles march and rally is part of an international day of protests with mobilizations in Washington, D.C.---during the World Bank and IMF meetings----and in Peru, Colombia, El Salvador, Brazil, Nicaragua, Seattle, Chicago and scores of other cities.

Endorsers, from labor, human rights, the religious community, solidarity, student and worker groups and other sectors are listed on the S29 web site at

Planning meetings, every Monday night at 7:00 p.m. at CARECEN (Central American Resource Center) are attracting 70 to 80 activists. The exact address of CARECEN is 2845 West 7th Street near Hoover.

An S29 spokesperson pointed out that the Coalition has guidelines against any form of violence and that no civil disobedience is part of the planning.

In addition to protesting against the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) and Plan Colombia, the Coalition is calling for legalization and full rights for immigrants and full rights for workers. The protest will call for the end of Operation Gatekeeper, the repressive INS border operation and an end to the violence and violations of human rights at the border.

An organizer commented, "With only three weeks to go and with so much work yet to be done, we're asking activists to join us and make this historic event really powerful."