News from Colombia
President Attacks Human Rights Defenders
Date: 7 May 2008
In the latest in a long line of angry attacks against those working to defend human rights in Colombia, President Alvaro Uribe has again lashed out at human rights NGOs generally and leading Colombian human rights campaigner Ivan Cepeda specifically. His comments, in which he repeatedly accuses and insults the human rights community, have further endangered the lives of numerous brave Colombians that continue to work to try and improve the dire human rights situation in their country. Justice for Colombia has joined other international organisations in unreservedly condemning the President's latest outburst. >>>
This Week I Visited Monteria
Date: 5 May 2008
The leader of Colombia's National Movement of Victims, himself the son of an assassinated politician, has written the below piece for the Colombian press. In it Ivan Cepeda talks about a visit he carried out to the city of Monteria, the capital of Cordoba department in northwest Colombia. The region has long been the headquarters of Colombia's paramilitary death squads. Mr Cepeda's piece first appeared in Spanish in the Colombian newspaper El Espectador on May 3rd and was subsequently posted in English on the website of the Washington DC-based Center for International Policy. >>>
Army Offensive Ends in Disaster
Date: 4 May 2008
An operation by the Colombian Army against the presumed headquarters of a senior Colombian guerrilla commander has ended in embarrassment after numerous soldiers were killed in combat with the rebels and the army was forced to pull out of the area near the Venezuelan border. Both Colombian and Spanish media have reported that at least six soldiers have been killed in the area of Tibu, in Norte de Santander department, though it is believed that the number may actually be more than 20 after reports from local people suggested that the guerrillas repeatedly ambushed the military unit involved. >>>
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News from Justice For Colombia
Colombian Regime Seeks British PR Agency
Date: 9 May 2008
The Colombian Government is looking for a UK public relations company to assist it in a bid to promote the image of the country. Andelfo Garcia, the deputy head of mission at the Colombian Embassy in London, told PR week magazine that "We need someone to help us reach out to the UK media, its politicians and its businesses." Justice for Colombia agrees with Guy Ryder, the leader of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), who recently stated that "instead of using its resources to tackle the real problem, the Uribe government is spending millions of dollars on a massive public relations campaign, sending top officials abroad to tell the world that the situation is Colombia is improving. They are lying." >>>
Public Meeting with Colombian Civil Society Leaders
Date: 6 May 2008
Justice for Colombia (JFC) and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Rights are pleased to invite the public to attend a meeting in Parliament on Tuesday 13th May with senior Colombian civil society leaders. >>>
Former Trade Union and Political Leader Visits UK
Date: 3 May 2008
Aida Avella, the only surviving member of the leadership of the leftwing 'Patriotic Union' political party in Colombia, has returned to exile in Switzerland after a three day visit to the UK arranged by Justice for Colombia. Ms Avella, former President of the 'Patriotic Union' party who also led the Colombian public sector workers trade union FENALTRASE in the early 1990s, was forced to flee Colombia to Switzerland after an assassination attempt in central Bogota during which a bazooka was fired at her armoured car. >>>
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