The North Shore Colombia Solidarity Committee Blog
See our home page.(Our old blog on tripod.com is still active, but it is now also appended to the archives of this blog.)
Sunday, April 29, 2007
from: Pat Gozemba
Drummond Coal of Alabama, a family owned corporation
worth billions, is going on trial in Birmingham, AL May
14, 2007 in federal court, for the murder of union
organizers. For years, the Bush nominated federal
judge, Karen Bowdre, clamped a silence order on the
plaintiff attorneys, which led to a news blackout on
the case. However, a 3 judge panel of the 11th Circuit
Court lifted the gag and now stories are coming out.
Drummond closed most of its mines in Alabama,
abandoning its union workers here, to move its primary
operations to Colombia, where they have two strip mines
they value at $2 Billion dollars. They have a private
army protecting them from the Colombian people and from
union organizers. Colombian witnesses say they have
witnessed Drummond Execs pay right-wing paramilitaries,
connected with the Colombian armed forces and right-
wing government of President Uribe, to murder union
organizers.
In case people don't know, Colombia is the third
highest recipient of US aid, after Israel and Egypt.
The nation is deeply repressive and is the primary
source of cocaine coming to the US (I believe that the
battles with the Medillin and Cali cartels was in fact
a turf battle, and the CIA and US military won and took
over the trafficking of cocaine into our country).
Colombia is, of course, a potential launching ground
for an invasion of Venezuela, something being planned
by the Bush/Cheney/Rove cabal.
This trial is of greatest importance and should gain
national and international attention. Please contact
you local media to focus on it next month. Below is a
B'ham News article in today's business section. There
is another AP article I can't find on the net about a
Colombian senator who has announced that Drummond
conspired to assassinate him (Sen. Gustavo Petro).
Please focus on this trial. Drummond is, in my
opinion, a terrorist corporation, one of the US
terrorist organizations. And its offices are just a
few blocks from my home!
Rev. Jack Zylman 1321 16th Avenue South Birmingham, AL
35205-6020 phone: 205-933-7678 cell: 205-821-0650
-------------------------------------------------------
------
Plaintiffs want surprise witness
Would testify he saw company supply outlaws
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
RUSSELL HUBBARD News staff writer
Birmingham News
http://www.al.com/business/birminghamnews/index.ssf? /base/business/1177488950215900 .xml&coll=2
Lawyers suing Drummond Co. for the slaying of Colombian
union activists said in legal documents Tuesday they
have found a new witness who plans to say in court the
company supported armed outlaw groups in the South
American nation.
Edwin Manuel Guzman was a sergeant in the Colombian
Army and is now in that country's witness protection
program, according to a motion filed in U.S. District
Court in Birmingham.
Guzman, the filings said, served in a Colombian army
unit that helped guard Drummond's coal mine and rail
lines. He is prepared to testify that he saw the
Birmingham-based company supply a right-wing armed
outlaw group and direct its military activities.
Attempts to reach lawyers for Drummond, who have
vigorously denied any wrongdoing by the company, were
unsuccessful. Last month, Drummond released a statement
saying it has never gotten involved with outlaw groups
and will not settle the union-death case out of court.
The dispute is centered in northwest Colombia, where
Drummond stands accused of hiring the still-unknown
killers of three union activists in 2001. The Colombian
energy workers union and the families of the three
slain labor leaders sued Drummond for the deaths in
Birmingham federal court in 2002. They used a federal
law passed in the 1700s that allows U.S. companies to
be sued in America for civil injuries committed abroad.
Special permission:
Though the union and the family sued, they never
specified who did the killing, only that Drummond
directed it. The trial is scheduled to begin July 9.
Because the trial is so close, the judge in the case
will have to give special permission for surprise
witness Guzman to testify. According to Monday's
filing, Guzman's testimony would consist of eyewitness
and second-hand information that attempts to connect
Drummond to specific armed groups.
The filing says Guzman plans to testify that between
1999 and 2002 he saw Drummond supply members of the
armed group AUC with food and vehicles. AUC - the
Spanish acronym for United Self-Defense Forces of
Colombia - was in the area at Drummond's request to
resist the simultaneous presence of left-wing
guerrillas, the filing says.
AUC is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.
State Department and has stated its money comes from
drug trafficking and donations from sponsors seeking
protection from other armed groups. Drummond's senior
Colombian corporate security official, retired
Colombian Army Col. Luis Carlos Rodriguez, coordinated
relations between the company and the militia, Guzman
says in the filing.
Guzman goes on to say in a deposition attached to the
filing that Rodriguez told him his Colombian Army unit
"had no business" interfering with AUC's military
activities. Guzman says in the deposition he planned to
"ambush" AUC units on his turf, but that Rodriguez
approached him in a black sport-utility vehicle and
told him to lay off.
Guzman goes on to say he was then relieved of his
position as platoon commander and placed in a macabre
new position.
"It was at this time that I personally began to work in
`legalizing' civilian victims of the paramilitaries ...
meaning we would plant guerrilla uniforms on and
weapons in civilians that AUC killed in order to make
the killings appear legitimate," Guzman says in the
deposition.
Cites motorcycles:
The former sergeant, according to the filing, is also
prepared to give testimony about events that were
related to him by other people. His deposition says a
member of an armed outlaw group told him Drummond hired
a militia leader called "Cebolla" to stop guerrilla
attacks on its rail lines. Drummond then equipped the
Cebolla group with motorcycles for the task, the filing
says. Guzman also plans to testify that he was told by
another party that Cebolla was responsible for killing
the three labor leaders who worked at the Drummond
mine, the motion says.
Drummond, started in Walker County in the 1930s, began
developing its Colombian coal mine in the 1980s. It now
produces 24 million tons a year, more than every coal
mine in Alabama combined. A second $1 billion mine near
the savanna town of La Loma is under development.
If Guzman's testimony is allowed, he will be the second
Colombian insider at the trial. This year, U.S.
District Judge Karon Bowdre, who presides over the
case, ruled that a former officer of the Colombian
secret service can testify. Rafael Garcia, who is in
prison in Colombia after a corruption conviction, says
he saw Drummond officials pay members of an armed
group. The Colombian government is investigating;
Drummond has sued Garcia in Colombia for defamation.
Colombia is filled with armed outlaw groups - both
left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary
organizations - after more than 40 years of civil war.
They battle each other, the government, drug
traffickers and civilians who are tired of it all.
Killing union leaders is not uncommon in Colombia, with
800 labor-related deaths since 2001, according to
Colombian government statistics.
E-mail: rhubbard@bhamnews.com
© 2007 The Birmingham News © 2007 al.com All Rights
Reserved.
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Monday, April 16, 2007
from: Ellen Gabin
N O W A V A I L A B L E !
Cowboy in Caracas: A North American's Memoir of Venezuela's Democratic Revolution
by Charles Hardy
"Read this important book, and drop the propaganda sandwich in the trash where it belongs."--Peter Coyote, actor/writer "Charles Hardy has given us a unique perspective on the Chávista revolution as viewed from a cardboard shack on a hillside barrio in Caracas. Writing in a graceful and conversational style in a series of vignettes, Hardy conveys with genuine affection and admiration the dignity and courage of the ordinary people of Venezuela.... This book is a must read for all Americans--but a must read that you won't be able to put down."--Dave Lindorff, columnist for Counterpunch and co-author with Barbara Olshansky of The Case for Impeachment
"This book is an antidote to the poisonous US government mantra against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Ironically, "Cowboy" isn't about Chávez, but about the exciting processes he has helped initiate and about the awakening of Venezuela's poor whom the US media neglects."--Saul Landau, author of A Bush & Botox World
No president today is more controversial than Venezuela's Hugo Chávez Frias. Elected in a landslide in 1998, he promised a peaceful revolution. That peaceful dream became a nightmare when Chávez was overthrown in a coup d'état in 2002. Surprisingly, he was brought back to power by his supporters, mostly barrio dwellers, within forty-eight hours. Although Chávez continues to be dogged by controversy, he stays in power because of these supporters who see themselves as active participants in a democratic revolution.
Currently residing in Venezuela, Charles Hardy has been writing and speaking about the political and social reality of Latin America for over forty years. He has visited almost every Central and South American country, and, as a Catholic priest, lived eight years in a cardboard shack in a Venezuelan barrio.
Cowboy in Caracas by Charles Hardy | Original Paperback | Curbstone Curbstone Press titles are distributed to the trade by: Curbstone occasionally sends information about current publications, events and readings via e-mail. If you wish to be added or removed from this list please visit http://www.curbstone.org
ISBN: 978-1-931896-37-5 | 176 pages | $15.00
Perseus Distribution/Consortium
phone: 800-283-3572 / fax: 800-351-5073
PUBNET: SAN 631-760X
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
from: Avi Chomsky
I arrived April 3rd and spent a couple days in Bogota. The good news is that our collective book project, THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE COAL (BAJO EL MANTO DEL CARBON), is moving along. The Spanish version should be out soon and the editors are enthusiastic about promoting it. It will definitely be ready for the August conference and the Witness for Peace delegation.
Once in La Guajira, I met immediately with both with Jose Julio, from Tabaco (now living in Albania) and Jairo, from Tamaquito, in order to hear about the situation in the communities and in order to deliver money from mochila sales, gifts from folks, etc. I was immediately reminded of how important the sales of these bags are to people in both communities. Since Tabaco has been displaced by the mine and Tamaquito essentially isolated and harassed to the point of desperation, these sales are a vital source of income. Anything we can do to continue or expand the project will be immensely appreciated by both communities. Jose Julio, his wife Isabel, and Jairo all thank everyone for their support in this project. And the kids thank Debbie for all the cool gifts, especially the goofy rabbit ears (Easter).
Immediately prior to my arrival, union leaders from Sintracarbon met with community members from Tabaco, Tamaquito, Chancleta, Patilla, and Roche. By all accounts, the meeting was a complete success. Community members are very pleased with the union´s overall commitment. The next step is for the union to broker a meeting between the communities and the company – with the end goal of collective negotiations to relocate and reimburse the communities. The communities are hoping for some sort of international presence at the negotiations.
I also toured Chancleta, Patilla, and Roche, all of which report the same, ongoing, problems. The mine promises collective negotiations to relocate the communities at the same time as it actively works to buy off individual community members (i.e. get them to sell their property and leave). Given the situation of community members, the option to sell is attractive…even as so many remain united against the company. An ongoing struggle for the communities is to remain united and in communication with each other. People from Tamaquito also report continued harassment from the police and general isolation as the road to their town deteriorates even further. This time of year it is almost impassable.
I also met with the President of the Union at the Drummond coal mine (located in Cesar, where union leaders have been murdered by paramilitaries). International pressure and spotlight on Drummond (and Chiquita) have the company nervous – which in the case of Drummond can also make the company more dangerous. Workers still have a series of problems with workplace safety and union leaders struggle with personal safety on a daily basis. The union encourages any efforts from the international community to pressure the company.
I met briefly with Jaime, President of Sintracarbon (Cerrejon). He sends a big hug to everyone. I will meet tomorrow and Friday with other union leaders. Sintracarbon is stronger than ever and fully committed to the communities.
Steve
Steve Striffler University of Arkansas Department of Anthropology Old Main, 330 Fayetteville, AR. 72701
from: Avi Chomsky
En espanol abajo
I just received this report from Jairo about the follow-up meeting between
Sintracarbon and the communities affected by Cerrejon, to debrief about the
contract negotiations and plan the next steps of their work.
Avi:
On Tuesday April 3 the Sintracarbon Executive Board met in Chancleta with
members of the different communities affected by El Cerrejon. The meeting
went well. We listened to what the community members had to say, their
dissatisfactions and disagreements about the union negotiations with the
company and its results for the community.
Sintracarbon accepted some of the criticism, but we also emphasized, as we
have before, that the main protagonists in this struggle are the
communities. The international community and Sintracarbon are aware of
their struggle, and we stand in solidarity with you with the sole goal of
improving the conditions and quality of life in the communities. We believe
that collective negotiations, with our participation and help, may be able
to achieve what the communities desire: relocation in better conditions and
reparations. The meeting was productive and cordial, and at the end the
communities understood the importance of our accompaniment, and that our
contract negotiations with the company were part of the struggle, a valid
tool, but that we all understood that the communities' problems could not be
resolved solely by that means.
One of our board members invited several municipal officials from the
DEMOCRATIC POLE party, a political party of the left that has committed
itself to this struggle.
We agreed on a plan of action, which we will explain to you in detail soon.
One thing we agreed on is to carry out a summit of social organizations in
one of the communities affected by the mine.
Jairo Fuentes Epiyayu reported that the people of Tamaquito are being
harassed by the army. We will be requesting a meeting with the military
commander in the area, with the participation of several national and
international human rights organizations and NGOs in order to discuss this
problem.
The meeting was well attended, and it was a success. We also organized a
committee to meet Steve [Striffler, a member of the International Commission
who is making a follow-up visit to the Guajira] at the airport later this
week when he arrives.
Fraternally
--
JAIRO QUIROZ DELGADO
Avi:
El dia martes tres (3) de abril SINTRACARBON con el pleno de sus
directivos hizo presencia en la poblacion de chancleta, sitio escogido
para desarrollar la reunion con las comunidades.
La reunion se desarrollo de buena forma, se escucho a la comunidad,
sus inquietudes, sus diferencias y conceptos sobre la negociacion de
sintracarbon y sus resultados para con la comunidad.
SINTRACARBON acepto muy gallardamente algunas criticas, pero fuimos
muy claros en señalar, como lo habiamos hecho antes, que los
principales protagonistas de esta lucha eran las comunidadaes, que la
comunidad internacional y sintracarbon eran consciente de esta lucha y
por tal motivo estamos solidarizados con ustedes con el unico
proposito de mejorar sus condiciones y calidada de vida, que las
negociaciones colectivas con nuestra asesoria y ayuda, pudieran
lograr el reasentamiento en mejores condiciones y que la indemnizacion
sea posible. La reunion se desarrollo en un ambiente cordial y
fianalmente las comunidades entendieron la importancia de nuestro
acompañamiento, y que nuestra negociacion colectiva era parte del
proceso de esta lucha, y una herramienta valida para utilizar, pero
que todos eramos conscientes de que toda la problematica existente en
las comunidadaes no se resolveria en ese escenario.
En esta reunion hicieron presencia, por invitacion de un compañero
directivo, algunos miembros directivos munipales del POLO DEMOCRATICO
ALTERNATIVO, partido politico de izquierda que se vincula en esta
lucha.
Se acordaron unas tareas, que posteriormente te estaremos detallando,
entre ellas quedo acordado, la realizacion de una cumbre de
organizaciones sociales, la cual se llevara a cabo en algunas de las
poblaciones aledañas al complejo afectada por la gran mineria.
JAIRO nos informo que la gente de tamaquito ha sido hostigada
ultimamente por las Fuerzas Militares del estado. Estaremos
solicitando una reunion con el comandante del area, con la
participacion de algunos organismo de derechos humanos y Ongs nacion
al e internacional, para tratar este tema.
En terminos generales la reunion fue bastante concurrida, y fue todo
un exito, en esta reunion tambien se nombro una comision de recepcion,
para la llegada del compañero Steven.
Fraternalmente
--
JAIRO QUIROZ DELGADO
--------------------
North Shore Colombia Solidarity Committee
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