Despite Murders By US Backed Government, Colombian Workers Resist Privatization

Hi Peoples Bark News Readers;
This looked good - so i thought i would share it with you right away.

johnalino


From: steve argue <steveorchid [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Despite Murders By US Backed Government, Colombian Workers Resist Privatization
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002 09:21:55 -0800 (PST)


COLOMBIA SINTRAEMCALI OCCUPATION ONE MONTH OLD
Colombia Solidarity Campaign

Exactly one month ago on Christmas Day, the occupation of the CAM Tower began, and today this anniversary is being marked inside the tower with a mass-cleaning session, and a competition to determine which of the teams on each of the 16 floors of the building can sing the Internationale, and the SINTRAEMCALI anthem the best.

Outside the building, food continues to be prepared in Thatcher's Kitchen, the streets are still patrolled by groups of workers, family and friends continue to gather to shout messages to loved ones inside, and loudspeakers continue to blast out messages of support and protest music.

The infrastructure of resistance both inside and outside the tower remains intact, and in many ways has become normalized: a remarkable tribute to the adaptability of all those who have had their lives turned upside down in the last month. This is not to say that there are not problems, of course there are, but there still remains a solid
determination to see this thing through.

After the road blocks of yesterday morning, the strong show of support by local communities, and the continued preparations for further actions on Monday, there are signs that the government may be yielding to public pressure, and reconsidering its position on the crucial issue of funding for the PTAR, water treatment plant.

While nothing can be confirmed, an article in EL OCCIDENTE this morning stated that sources inside the government suggested that it was now prepared to pay the 80% of funding promised in an earlier agreement. If this is true, then the government and union/community alliance may
be getting closer to a peaceful negotiated settlement.


True to form, the majority of the mass media did their best to discredit the blockades of yesterday, describing them as an abuse of power by the union and focusing on the inconvenience that was caused to the public. El Tiempo, one of the most popular papers in Cali, even made reference to unproven allegations that during a prior conflict trade unionists had threatened the life of the then Mayor Ricardo
Cobo.

They neglected to mention that he is a known paramilitary sympathiser, and that in the same period 6 SINTRAEMCALI leaders and activists were
assassinated, two were forcibly disappeared, and three were put on trial for terrorism (the trial collapsed). The article also failed to mention the death threats received over the last weeks from the
Paramilitaries who threatened to blow up the building, the union headquarters, and kill Alexander Lopez, the president. However, there
was at least one good piece of news: an RCN radio poll showed that over 90% of those questioned said that they supported the actions of the union. Proof that even with the disinformation circulating in the
media, people are beginning to make sense of the main issues involved in
this conflict.

Tomorrow afternoon there is a popular assembly to agree on plans for Monday's day of action, and members of the negotiating team are in a
meeting inside the CAM Tower in preparation for the negotiations in Bogotá.
Meanwhile, here in SINTRAEMCALI's Human Rights Department, we eagerly await information on a meeting in Bogota between SINTRAEMCALI representatives and national trade union leaders, the picket of the Colombian Embassy in London, and the meeting between the Colombian
ambassador and British trade union leaders.
Hopefully, all of these things will contribute towards a just and peaceful resolution to the occupation.

E-MAIL PROTEST THIS WEEKEND
-------------------------------
E-mail your support for the SINTRAEMCALI occupation and its demands to Andres Pastrana, the Colombian President in time for the negotiations
on Monday.

Your message should include:

* support for SINTRAEMCALI and community demand for water, electricity andtelecommunications to stay in the public sector
* demand that charges against Alexander Lopez are dropped, and that all members of the union's executive are given guarantees to conduct
union business during the negotiations
* concern for the human rights of the occupiers and that the paramilitary threats and actions are condemned by the Colombian authorities.

ANDRÉS PASTRANA ARANGO
Presidente de la República, Presidencia de la República
Carrera 8 No. 7-26 Palacio de Nariño, Santa Fe de Bogotá
Teléfono. +57.1.5629300 ext. 3550 (571) 284 33 00
Fax +(57)1 - 286 74 34 - 286, 68 42 -284 21 86
Mailto: rdh [at] presidencia.gov.co
with copies to colombia_sc [at] hotmail.com and
dhintegralsuroc [at] yahoo.com

For more information on the campaign contact
colombia_sc [at] hotmail.com, or PO Box 8446,
London N17 6NZ, or tel (07950) 923 448.


no peace without justice,

john vance, editor/publisher/coordinator
Peoples Bark News Berkeley
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeoplesBarkNewsBerkeley/messages

A First Amendment Center
http://www.freezepeach.cjb.net
Berkeley, Ca