Trade Unions Under Threat in Colombia

I suspect this story won't make it on to many right-wing, Bush friendly blogs. As you are aware, I am a great believer in the right to join a union to ensure that the rights of the worker are protected from the state. Unfortunately, many countries take a rather more radical view on trade unions than even the right-wingers in the UK and America. Colombia, a country that is a beneficiary of US and UK arms deals (links contain Adobe files), is one of those countries.

In August 2005, government troops targeted five trade union leaders. Consequently, three were shot and killed and the remaining two (Samuel Morales and Raquel Castro) were arrested and imprisoned. Amnesty International believes that they were attacked for carrying out their legal trade union activities. This is not just an isolated case. According to Amnesty, 164 trade unionists have been killed or 'disappeared' in the last two years, a shocking statistic. Of course, this kind of activity often gets overlooked by the western media (including many 'political' bloggers) because they are an 'important' ally. The US administration has had strong links to the Colombian government for many years, brokering trade agreements as well as providing military support to fight 'left-wing rebels'. The US administration, as well as the mouthpieces that call themselves bloggers, could do more to highlight these problems but, as long as they remain an ally, they will remain silent.

Please give your support to this campaign by visiting the website and adding your voice to the calls for Colombia to observe basic human rights. Samuel Morales and Raquel Castro are relying on you.