[sas-announce] Police Raided the SINALTRAINAL Office in Colombia!

[Josh Robinson]

POLICE RAID SINALTRAINAL OFFICE

On Aug 3 at about 12:15 pm, uniformed men identifying themselves
as police illegally raided the offices of Colombian trade union
SINALTRAINAL, a frequent target of anti-union violence. The
police claimed that the raid was a justifiable "preventive
operation" in advance of President Uribe's beginning another
term in power. This raid was executed without a warrant, and
represents a clear attempt to silence critics of the
government's labor policies.

Colombia is the deadliest country for trade unionists on the
planet. Tell the authorities that they should be protecting
trade unionists and not violating their basic rights!

You can take action on this alert via the web at:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/unionraid/

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/unionraid/forward/

We encourage you to take action by September 7, 2006

Union Office Raided

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action on this
alert by going to the following URL:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/unionraid/

Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Dr. Edgardo Jose Maya Villazón
Dr. Francisco Santos
Dr. Volmar Antonio Pérez Ortiz
Presidente Dr. ÿlvaro Uribe Vélez

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am writing to protest the illegal police raid of Colombian
trade union SINALTRAINAL's Bogotá offices on 3 August 2006.

Police officers videotaped and ransacked the union's
headquarters without a warrant, and claimed the "preemptive"
invasion was necessary to avoid "problems with public order" as
President Uribe begins another term in office on 7 August. This
raid is a clear attempt to intimidate and bully SINALTRAINAL
into silencing its advocacy for workers and its criticism of the
President's labor policies.

SINALTRAINAL members continually face threats and deadly attacks
from armed groups, and these workers' lives are every bit as
valuable as the life of the President. The Colombian state
should be acting to secure the union members' safety, not
persecute them. I ask that the authorities immediately cease
their intimidation of SINALTRAINAL and its supporters and
publicly denounce this illegal raid.

I await your response regarding this urgent matter.

----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----