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CAJAR lawyers, journalists, administrative staff and paralegals targeted with death threats and intimidation.
Ottawa (20 Sept. 2010) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is appealing to the president of Colombia to ensure the safety of a human rights collective called Colectivo de Abogados "José Alvear Restrepo" (CAJAR).
"This is a matter of considerable concern to us," NUPGE president James Clancy writes in a letter to Juan Manuel Santos, the president of Colombia.
"At our recent national convention, our delegates heard from one of the human rights defenders of CAJAR and unanimously endorsed a resolution to support the organization. We hold them and their work in high esteem and have developed strong friendships with many of its members."
Members of CAJAR have informed NUPGE that they have learned of a plot to kill one of the lawyers in the collective.
"This plot is related to an ongoing effort, which it is suspected to involve members of military intelligence, to target and eliminate CAJAR," Clancy notes.
"The campaign against CAJAR has included rallies at which gross distortions of the facts and slander were used in an attempt to incite attacks on the organization. We can only interpret these actions as retaliation for the work of CAJAR to hold those responsible for gross violations of human rights and to seek justice at the national or international level."
Clancy says the group has also been subjected to incidents of persistent stalking, harassment and interception of its communications.
"Several members of the collective, including lawyers, journalists, administrative staff and paralegals, have received strange calls to their places of residence and mobile phones. In one case it was determined that the call had come from the Office of Education and the National Army Doctrine. There is also evidence of e-mail being intercepted and members of CAJAR being followed near their homes and office."
Clancy argues that intervention by the president is required to deal with the threats.
"On behalf of the members of my union, I am urging your office to take all necessary actions to ensure the safety of the members of CAJAR and to end the campaign of harassment and intimidation being directed at them," his letter says.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE