International Centre for Trade Union Rights

ICTUR IN ACTION: INTERVENTIONSSource: International Union Rights, Vol. 2, No. 2, Multinationals and workers' rights (1995), p.12Published by: International Centre for Trade Union RightsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41935427 .

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ICTUR IN ACTION O INTERVENTIONS

South Africa Concern was raised for the safety of Bheki Ntuli, Regional Chairperson of COSATO, who was facing repeated death threats from persons identifying themselves with the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in Kwa-Zulu Natal, an IFP stronghold. The death threats have taken place against a background of violence being carried out against trade union activists in the province. ICTUR wrote to the Province's Premier calling for safety of Bheki and his family.

Turkey The disappearance of Kurdish trade unionist, Osman Kundes, president of the Municipality Workers' Union branch in Batman, southeast Turkey, resulted in letters of protest being sent to the local authorities in Turkey. ICTUR demanded an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Kundes' disappearance.

Colombia ICTUR protested strongly to the Colombian government after Rodrigo Rodriguez Sierra, leader of the trade union SINTRAPROACEITE, was violently abducted from a restaurant in Bogota by the Colombian security forces. No warrant for his arrest was produced and, at the time of writing, his family and friends are still unable to locate him.

Protests were sent when we were informed of the murder of Francisco Giraldo, a trade union leader in the banana growing sector of Uraba and member of the National Directorate of SINTRAINAGRO.

ICTUR demanded an immediate and thorough investigation into both cases and called on the Colombian President to make good his election promise that tackling the abuse of human rights would be his priority in office, a promise which has so far foiled to materialise.

Mexico In the increasingly unstable political environment in Mexico following the peasants uprising in Chiapas, ICTUR received information that the authorities were now targeting trade unionists as part of their official clampdown against

Over recent months ICTUR's international

head office has

again been overwhelmed

with information about attacks on

trade union leaders and

activists around the world.

ICTUR

brings this information to the attention of the international trade union

movement and, where

appropriate, asks for the ILO, the United Nations and other world

bodies to intervene to bring these violations

to an end. These are just

some of the cases we have

highlighted in recent months.

For more information on any of the casos mentioned please contact ICTUR's international

head office.

alleged members and sympathisers of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). Among them is Ramiro Arciniega Martinez, leader of the teachers union in Tehuacan, who was taken to a prison in Mexico City where he reportedly told a judge that he had been tortured to force him to confess his alleged involvement with the EZLN. After several protest letters were sent, ICTUR received a letter from the Mexican Embassy in London informing us of the intention of the National Human Rights Commission in Mexico to investigate all allegations of ill treatment of detainees.

In April ICTUR condemned the apparent illegal detention of a number of leaders of the Union of Road Transport Workers. 12,000 workers were dismissed when the Road Transport Authority was declared bankrupt. The company and the government had blamed the unions for the situation and had then apparently rounded up a number of trade union leaders for this 'crime'.

Guatemala ICTUR made further representations to the Guatemalan government over the ongoing dispute at the Lunafil S.A. textile factory in Amatitlan, as noted in IUR Vol 2 No 1. We expressed concern at the abduction of one of the workers at the factory, Debora Guzman Chupen (subsequently released), allegedly by private security guards hired by the firm.

ICTUR expressed its horror to the Guatemalan government over the murder of Alexandra Yovani Gomez Virula, financial secretary of the RCA workers union. He was abducted as he returned home after attending a meeting at the UNSITRAGUA headquarters. His union had been in dispute with the company since August 1994.

ICTUR again protested at the persistent death threats being received by leaders of the FEDECAMPO union and by Felix Hernandez, secretary general of FENASEP who had denounced corruption in state institutions. More ICTUR protests followed the news that yet more trade union leaders were receiving death threats by

a death squad calling itself 'Jaguar Justiciero' who told them to abandon their trade union activities.

Sudan Mr Hashim M. Ahmed, elected Président of Sudanese Engineers' Trade Union and a representative of the Sudanese Trade Unions in exile, addressed the May meeting of ICTUR's British Committee.

He reported on the banning of independent trade unions in Sudan, the mass dismissals from employment of trade union activists and the appointment of government stooges to run state sponsored unions along 'Islamic principles'. At the same time many genuine trade union leaders have been imprisoned and tortured and since June 1989 even murdered by the regime's agents.

The British Committee of ICTUR undertook to circulate information and expose the phoney unions in Sudan at the ILO and elsewhere. Further information on the campaign can he obtained from the Sudanese Trade Union Coordination Office , 1 Thorpe Close , London W10 5XL, UK, or from ICTUR's international office.

Morocco The 'crime' of taking part with other trade unionists in a peaceful sit-in at the agro- industrial complex in Sidi Slimane resulted in a one year's imprisonment sentence for Khadija Benameur, an activist in the Morrocan Labour Union. ICTUR called on the Moroccan Justice Minister to terminate the sentence and also to investigate the allegations of ill- treatment and police brutality against Ms Benameur while she was in police custody.

Bolivia ICTUR condemned the Bolivian authorities who, just hours preceding the announced state of siege, rounded up and detained hundreds of trade unionists. This followed three weeks of demonstrations by teachers unions and the calling of a general strike by the Bolivian Labour Confederation. The workers had attempted to maintain dialogue with the government right up to the mass arrests.

INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 12 Volume 2 Issue 2 1995

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