In Colombia, human rights are violated every day: political murders. 'disappearANALYSIS ances', mass executions, military involvement in every aspect of daily life, death squads etc. Since 1978, 235,236 people have been killed.
Since 1956 the Liberals and Christian Democrats have taken turns to have the presidency operating this arrangement to stay The present Liberal governfollows the instructions of the IMF and the World Bank as did his predecessor Virgilic® Barco who admitted himself that 50 per Con the populate ve sl absolute poverty as a consequence.
Some sectors have benefited enormously. In the 93-94 budget the army received increased funding and personnel. tional owned horticultural industry thousands of women and young people are forced to work on very low wages, often in inhuman conditions.
Short contracts
The majority are taken on with renewable three month conmercy of their employers. Those diately dismissed.
When workers try to fight back the governments' reaction is swift and brutal. The workers dustry declared a strike against government privatisation attempts and were immediately arrested and jailed.
Officially they were accused of disrupting production, a charge which with terrorism. 14 workers from ATT Telecom have now been locked up for 160 days in the "El Modalo" prison in Bogota.
Their families are in serious financial trouble as they no longer have any income and Columbia has no unemployment insurance or social security system.
The Gaviria government has adopted an anti-terrorist decree to cornual crug tramicking and everyday street violence and recently it has become obvious that this new law is being used to prevent any form of social COLDMBIA NO LOLOMSLANE DEFIENDE TU. NACION Social struggles are classified as terrorist activity and criminalised. It is an attempt to destroy the whole of the Labour Movement.
Assassinations The consequences of these policies are clear: many trade union leaders have been atrested or assassinated. Addispectacular fall in the level of unionisation - 9 per cent today as against 23 percent in 1982.
A committee representing the families of the imorisoned workColombian telecom workers will visit Britain later this month ers and the unions nications industry are demanding the immediate release of the telecom workers. They have appudied for unions internationally to put pressure on the Colombian government.
This appeal - condemns the criminalisation of social protest; sion of the Labour Movement; demands freedom of speech and freedom to organise; denounces human rights violations and condemns the right wing regimes of Latin America and demands an end to their suppor Copies of the appeal are available from Socialist Outlook, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU
WANT YOUR event included? Happening?, P.O. Box 1109, London N4 2UU. Feminists Against Censorship meeting 7.30pm Conway Hall Red Lion Square WC1 Thursday 16 Send details by September 24 to What's Troops Out Movement/ Friends of Brighton LP disco at the Concorde ARA fringe meeting 7pm Bedford Hotel Kings Road Tuesday 28 Troops Out Movement Tories arrives 11.30am Bonny St Blackpool Saturday 9 SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 49. 18 September 1993, Page 15 Workers' walk-out at Hammersmith Town Hall in protest at compulsory redundancies opens Hastings Saturday 23 Mass demonstration HarChesterfield, freephone 0800 581611 NOVEMBER