Impunity for US forces in Colombia (tags)
The Bush Administration has forced Colombia to sign an accord granting immunity to US citizens that commit war crimes in Colombia. Bogotá will now need approval from Washington if they wish to hand US soldiers or other officials over to the International Criminal Court for trial.
Opposition coalition takes shape in Colombia (tags)
A new opposition coalition challenges the hard-line regime of President Alvaro Uribe for its devastating economic policies and systematic violations of freedoms. A general strike has been called for August 12th.
US SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR DAY OF ACTION (tags)
Over 100 progressive organisations in the United States have come together to organise a national day of solidarity with Colombia next month. The main aim of the protest is to call for an end to US military aid to the Colombian security forces.
URIBE TAKES FIRST STEPS TOWARDS OPEN DICTATORSHIP (tags)
Less than a week after being inaugurated as Colombia’s new president, extremist Alvaro Uribe Velez, has enacted a law that vastly curtails the rights of Colombian citizens and appears to legalise certain tactics used by paramilitary death squads. Civil society is bracing itself for the worst and already parts of the union movement are making plans to start operating in secret.
U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE IN COLOMBIA (tags)
As they did in Vietnam 40 years ago the United States is subtly increasing its military intervention in Colombia. Here Alfredo Castro looks at what is known about current US military presence in the Latin American nation.
ELECTRICTY WORKERS’ UNION TARGETED (tags)
A campaign of terror and intimidation has been launched against the Colombian SINTRAELECOL trade union representing workers in the electricity industry. Recently seven leading members of the union were assassinated.
UNION ACCUSES COCA-COLA OF MURDER (tags)
Colombian food industry workers are holding an International Public Hearing into the assassination of 14 of its activists. The union alleges that the Colombian state and the Coca-Cola Corporation are jointly responsible.
WAR AGAINST DISPLACED COMMUNITIES IN COLOMBIA (tags)
In the city of Medellin the paramilitaries have been burning the makeshift shacks and assassinating leaders of the displaced communities. In Bucaramanga and Barranquilla leaders have received death threats and in Neiva the police violently attacked and threatened 50 families.
GROWING CRITICISM OF URIBE'S POLICIES (tags)
Two Washington-based organisations have expressed grave concern at the policies of newly elected Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe Velez. Human Rights Watch has also drawn attention to some of Uribe's criminal friends.
98 UNIONISTS KILLED SO FAR THIS YEAR (tags)
"We do not want expressions of condolence from a government during whose mandate assassinations of trade union leaders have increased astronomically," Colombian unionists say.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: US-BACKED ARMY RESPONSIBLE FOR TORTURE AND KILLINGS (tags)
In their most recent report on human rights in Colombia Amnesty International talks of "strong links between the security forces and the paramilitaries" and blames US military aid for inflaming the situation.
WASHINGTON: AL-QAIDA NOW IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE (tags)
In a desperate ploy to justify increasing Washington's involvement in the Colombian civil war, the US State Department is bizarrely claiming that Al-Qaida and Hizbollah cells are active in the border area between Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
PARAMILITARIES MURDER INDIGENOUS LEADER (tags)
In a March 5th communiqué from the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) - the traditional authority of indigenous communities in the department of Cauca, Colombia - the sad news of the assassination of Indian leader and activist Samuel Fernandez Dizu was announced.