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Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: sharriso@aiusa.org
http://www.amnesty-usa.org/urgact/
Phone: 303 440 0913
Fax:303 258 7881
--------------------------------------------------- 
21 October 1998

UA 274/98 Fear for safety / Possible extrajudicial execution

COLOMBIA  Jorge Ortega Garcia, trade union leader - killed
Domingo Rafael Tovar Arrieta, and other National Trade Union
Leadership members, particularly those belonging to the Central
Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), Trade Union Congress


On 20 October 1998 Jorge Ortega Garcia died outside his home after
being shot in the head and chest repeatedly by an unknown gunman.
There are serious concerns that other leaders of the Central Unitaria
de Trabajadores (CUT), Trade Union Congress, may be the target of
similar attacks, particularly in the light of the on-going 15 day national
strike coordinated by the CUT.

Jorge Ortega Garcia's high-profile trade union work had made him
the target of repeated threats and harassment over a number of
years. On 22 September he and Domingo Rafael Tovar Arrieta,
another CUT leader, reported receiving death threats from an
unidentified individual who approached them in the street. On the
same day, Jorge Ortega Garcia's home was raided by a group of
unidentified men who reportedly beat, drugged and bound his wife
before searching the house. The police did not appear on the scene
for 24 hours. The CUT was holding a two day strike at the time of the
threats and illegal raid.

The CUT and other organizations have repeatedly called for the
threats and harassment suffered by Jorge Ortega Garcia and his
family to be fully investigated, and for him and other CUT leaders to
be given official protection. However, the authorities had reportedly
not responded to these requests by the time Jorge Ortega Garcia
was killed.

Jorge Ortega Garcia's name was reportedly on a death list (lista
negra) used by paramilitary groups. His killing has heightened fears
for the safety of all those named on the death list, which is known to
include other prominent trade unionists, social activists and human
rights defenders.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
For many years, trade unionists, human rights workers, members of
legal opposition groups and popular activists in Colombia have been
accused of being guerrilla sympathizers or auxiliaries by the security
and armed forces. Such accusations have frequently been followed
by serious human rights violations, often perpetrated by the security
forces' paramilitary allies.

Members of the Colombian army and security forces and their
paramilitary allies continue to commit serious human rights violations
with virtual impunity. The Colombian Government suspended the
constitutional legal base for the formation of paramilitary
organizations and issued directives to the armed forces to combat
and disband such groups in 1989. Yet these groups continue to work
with the support of the security forces in many areas of the country.

No effective steps have yet been taken by the authorities to control
the  actions of such groups and to hold their members accountable
for the serious and widespread human rights violations they commit.
Colombia's Attorney General recently stated that more than 200
arrest warrants issued against alleged paramilitary members in
connection with human rights violations have still not been acted
upon by the security forces.

Colombia's new President, Andres Pastrana, took office on 8 August
1998. So far, he and his government have not taken any effective
steps to tackle the country's long running human rights crisis.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send
telegrams/telexes/faxes/express/airmail letters:
- expressing your concern at the killing of Jorge Ortega Garcia on 20
October 1998;
- in the light of this killing and the death threats made against trade
union leaders, expressing concern for the safety of trade union
leaders and their families, particularly Domingo Rafael Tovar Arrieta
and other CUT leaders;
- expressing concern for other trade unionists, social activists and
human rights defenders whose names appear on a paramilitary death
list (lista negra);
- urging the authorities to conduct a full and thorough investigation
into this killing and threats made against trade union leaders,
including the raid on Jorge Ortega Garcia's house, during which his
wife was beaten; that the results be made public and that those found
responsible be brought to justice;
- calling on the authorities to take all steps deemed appropriate by
those under threat to guarantee their safety;
- reminding Colombia's new government of the country's commitment
to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular Article 3:
'Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.'

APPEALS TO:
President of Colombia:
Senor Presidente Andres Pastrana
Presidente de la Republica
Palacio de Narino,carrera 8 No. 7-26
Santafe de Bogota, Colombia

Dear President Pastrana:

Telegrams: President Pastrana, Bogota, Colombia
Telex: 396 44281 PALP CO
Fax: 011 57 1 284 2186/289 3377/286 7434/


Minister of the Interior:
Dr. Nestor Humberto Martinez
Ministro del Interior
Ministerio del Interior
Carrera 8, No.8-09, Piso 2
Santafe de Bogota, COLOMBIA

Dear Minister:

Telegrams: Ministro del Interior, Bogota, Colombia
Telexes: 396 45406 MINGO CO
Fax: 011 57 1 281 5884 / 286 6524 / 286 0405


Attorney General:
Dr.Alfonso Gomez Mendez,
Fiscal General de la Nacion
Fiscalia General de la Nacion
Diagonal 22B 5201,Apartado Aereo 29855
Santafe de Bogota,Colombia

Dear Dr.:

Telegrams: Fiscal General, Fiscalia General, Bogota, Colombia
Faxes:    011 571 570 2000 (when ansaphone picks up dial 2017 for
fax)

COPIES TO:
Trade Union:
Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia (CUT)
AA 221
Santafe de Bogata, Colombia


Ambassador Juan Carlos Esguerra
Embassy of Colombia
2118 Leroy Pl. NW
Washington DC 20008

Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office
between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if
sending appeals after December 8, 1998.

'Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.'
Article    3, Universal Declaration of Human Rights