Army Troops Arbitrarily Detain Leading FENSUAGRO Trade Union Member
News from Colombia |
on: Monday, 18 April 2011
Astracatol, a union of peasant farmers affiliated to FENSUAGRO, has reported that its President, Jailer Gonzalez was arbitrarily arrested by troops of the 8th Mobile Brigade on April 16th. His arrest closely follows the killings on the 30th of March of Hector Orozco, the Vice-President of the Astracatol Chaparral section, and Gildardo Garcia, a lay member of the union, less than 400 metres from an army checkpoint.
For some time local peasant communities have been reporting repeated violations of their human rights and sustained harassment of their communities by units of the armed forces. Astracatol and other organisations had been organising peasant farmers to mobilise against these abuses, and on the 11th-12th April over a thousand activists from across the region gathered to march to Chaparral in protest at extrajudicial executions and to call for the establishment of a regional human rights observer. They have also organised a meeting taking place on the 27th of April in Chaparral which they hope will be attended by government institutions and national and international human rights organisations.
On the morning of 16th April Jailer Gonzalez was at a community meeting in the settlement of Los Mangos when troops arrested him and held him for three hours against his will. After three hours the soldiers told him they were moving him to the military base in Planadas, whereupon they force marched him for 6 hours along the highway there. No-one was informed of their decision and in light of recent executions and persecution, local people and Astracatol began to assume the worst. Astracatol reports that a delegation of community members was rapidly organised to follow Jailer Gonzalez.
The troops holding Jailer Gonzalez arrived at the military base of the Counter-Guerrilla battalion in Planadas at 6pm, where Mr Gonzalez was held for an hour before being transferred to the local police station. For two more hours the delegation waited outside before the police finally handed him over and he was able to return home.
Astracatol reports that his detention is part of a campaign of persecution against the trade union by military units.
