Silencing critics

member of peace guard
Member of peace guard.

Colombia is not a safe place to organize peacefully for change. In fact, it can be argued that Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world to be a union organizer. Seventy-two union leaders and activists were murdered last year and of the 2,100 murdered since 1991, there have been only 30 convictions.[9]

Now the Colombian intelligence service, the Administrative Security Department (DAS), is accused of compiling lists of union members, along with details about their security, and handing them over to a coalition of paramilitary groups. According to the Washington Post, "This validates a widely held belief that the killing of union leaders was part of a systematic effort to silence critics."[10]

This oppression and terror is a part of daily reality for Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities speaking out against the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and Plan Colombia. When leaders from the Nasa indigenous community organized a referendum on the free trade agreement in six mostly indigenous municipalities of the southwestern province of Cauca, the president stated that there were "dark forces of terrorism" organizing these plebiscites and accused Indigenous peoples of knowing nothing about trade. The results were clearly a threat to the president’s plans since organizers mobilized 51,330 voters out of a total of 68,448 registered voters, with 98 percent voting against the FTA.

[9]Forero, Juan. "Unionists' Murdered Cloud Prospects for Colombia Trade Pact," Washington Post, 4/10/07.
[10]Forero, Juan. "Unionists" Murdered Cloud Prospects for Colombia Trade Pact," Washington Post, 4/10/07.