Rating: NNNNN
Francisco Ramirez, a trade unionist who toured Canada recently to warn of the removal of ecological protections from Colombia’s mining code, has received threats since his return to Bogotá.
The T.O.-based Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA) and MiningWatch Canada say Ramirez, president of a mining workers union, has twice been followed by a van carrying six men recently.
ICCHRLA says that when Ramirez notified police, he was told that a paramilitary death squad was in the capital targeting union leaders.
Ramirez has survived several attempts on his life.
Fax messages of concern to Colombian ambassador Jose Maria de Guzman at (613) 230-4416.
