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Solidariteitsactie Colombia
Ojala and friends... - 09.11.2007 16:28
This Friday, 9 of November, Ojala and other friends of the Peace community of San Jose de Apartado, organized a solidarity action at the Colombian Consulate in Amsterdam and subsequently in a supermarket at the Museumplein. At the same moment the Peace Comunity San Jose de Apartado held a march in their rural communities in Colombia in memoriam of two farmers which were brutally murdered by the army and paramilitaries last August and October. We all brought flowers, white crosses and several coffins made of Chiquita banana boxes. These symbolized the victims of military and paramilitary violence in the Apartado area, which was for years co-financed by the multinational Chiquita Brands.
Funeral march
One of the dead farmers
Funeral at the Colombian consulate
The graves
Boycot Chiquita
This Friday, 9 of November, Ojala and other friends of the Peace community of San Jose de Apartado, organized a solidarity action at the Colombian Consulate in Amsterdam. At the same moment the Peace Comunity San Jose de Apartado held a march in their rural communities in Colombia in memoriam of two farmers which were brutally murdered by the army and paramilitaries last August and October. The message of the march was that “we will not give in to war, the threats, nor to death or any of the armed groups”. In this “March for Life” we all brought flowers and little white crosses as a respect for life and to honor their dead.
At 10:00am with a group of 15 people accompanied with drumming funeral music we marched to the consulate, dressed in black, as to simulate a funeral. We brought several coffins made of Chiquita banana boxes. These symbolized the victims of military and paramilitary violence in the Apartado area, which was for years co-financed by the multinational Chiquita Brands (see  http://www.chituitakills.org). At the doors of the Consulate we built graves where we buried our dead and honored them with flowers and little white crosses. There we also read out loud a communiqué in which we pronounced our solidarity with the struggle of the peace communities for a non-violent solution to the conflict, paying our respect to the deaths of the members of the communities and additionally we made a clear statement to Dutch and Colombian politicians to take specific measures to end de assassination of members of the peace communities and to end the internal conflict.
We requested the presence of the directing consulate. In the mean time we continued with the drum music after which we observed one minute of silence in respect for the death of the people of San José de Apartadó. At the end, the directing consulate never came out to talk to us and instead sent an assistant. The assistant told us that the consulate did not have a declaration to respond to our action. We gave the assistant various copies of the comuniqué and stressed the need for immediate action. During the funeral-action we also distributed information amongst on-lookers who received it well. We finished the action by marching out with the Chiquita-coffins with two drummers leading the way.
Additionally we proceeded to the Albert Hein at the Museum Plein to draw attention to Chiquita’s support of paramilitary violence in the Apartado area. We tried to do this by burying one of our victims under a pile of Chiquita bananas and putting white crosses in the Chiquita banana stand, but we met with a lot of resistance from the security of the supermarket. Although our action was peaceful and meant to make people aware of the violence that is being committed in Colombia, the response that we got from the security people was quite aggressive: our megaphone was grabbed and our communiqué silenced, security personnel tried to take the camera of one of the activists while also being threatened with detention, additionally the police were called (but arrived when we were already outside).
However, we did manage to supply flyers with information to costumers and created a genuine commotion, after which several costumers reacted positively (some of course also did not), with several even brought back their Chiquita bananas.
We want to make public that we will keep on organizing direct actions against Chiquita Brands and other companies financing the conflict in Colombia: Ojalá and other friends of the peace community of San José de Apartadó will not rest until peace is guaranteed for San José andfor the rest of Colombia and until these companies are brought to justice!
Ojala and friends of the peace community of San Jose de Apartado
 E-Mail: ojala@ojala.nl  Website: http://www.ojala.nl
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| Read more about: antimilitarisme vrijheid, repressie & mensenrechten | | supplements | | Foto's | Ojala and friends... - 09.11.2007 16:31
At the consulate
And in the Alberth Hein: Boycot Chiquita
Chiquita kills!
More photo's
Website: http://www.chiquitakills.org
| | Traduccion en Espanhol | Ojala - 09.11.2007 16:44
Este viernes 9 de noviembre, Ojala y otros amigos de la Comunidad de Paz de San Jose de Apartado, organizamos una demostracion en los predios del Consulado Colombiano en Amsterdam. Esta accion coincidio con una marcha realizada por la Comunidad de Paz de San Jose de Aparatado en memoria de dos campesinos quienes fueron asesinado brutalmente por el ejercito y los paramilitares en agosto y ocáátubre respectivamente. El mensaje de la marcha, y que inspiro nuestra accion tambien, fue justamente que “ no nos involucraremos en la guerra, ni nos dejaremos intimidar por las amenazas y asesinatos perpetrados contra nosostros por los grupos armados”. En esta marcha por la vida trajismo flores, y cruces pequenas con el cual honrar la vida y la lucha de los asesinados por los grupos armados en San Jose de Aparatado, como los tantos otros que han dado su vida por un Columbia en paz.
A las 10 am, un grupo de15 personas vestidas de negro, marchando al ritmo funebre de dos bateristas, llegamos en luto a las puertas del Consulado Colombiano. Con nostros venian varios ataudes construidos con cajas de banana de la marca Chiquita. Las mismas simbolizan las victimas del militarismo y el paramilitarismo en el Area de Apartado, por años financiado por la compañia transnacional Chiquita (ver http://www.chiquitakills.org). A las puertas del consulado constriumos dos tumbas en donde dimos entierro a nuestros muertos, y los honramos con flores y pequeñas cruces. Alli lleimos tambien una comunicado en donde exigiamos una soludion no-violenta al conflicto, damos nuestro pesame por los muertes en San Jose de Apartado, y en donde tambien exigimos medidas claras de parte de los politicos Colombianos y Holandeses para resolver el conflcito interno de Colombia.
Pedimos la presencia del consul. Mientras tanto seguiamos con la música de los bombos y después de esto observamos un minuto de silencio honrando los muertes de la gente de San José de Apartadó. Al final, el consul nunca salió para hablar con nosotros sino mandó una asistente. La asistente nos dijo que el consulado no iba a dar una declaración para responder a nuestra acción. Dimos varias copias del comunicado a la asistente y emfatizamos la necesidad de acción imediata. Durante la acción funebre distribuimos información a la gente que se encontraba en el sitio quienes la recibieron bien. Terminamos la acción saliendo del lugar, marchando con las ataudes de cajas de Chiquita, con los dos músicos guiándonos.
Adicionalmente fuimos al supermercado Albert Heijn en el Museumplein para pedir atención al apoyo financiero de Chiquita para la violencia de los paramilitares en la area de Apartadó. Tratamos de hacerlo por enterrar unas víctimas debajo de un montón de bananas de la marca Chiquita y poniendo cruces blancas en medio de las bananas de Chiquita, pero nos encontramos con mucha resistencia de los vigilantes de seguridad del supermercado. Aunque nuestra acción fue pacífica y se refería a llamar la atención para la violencia en Colombia, la respuesta que nos dieron los vigilantes fue bastante agresiva: nos agarraron el megáfono y silenciaron el comunicado, trataron de tomar la camera de uno de los activistas y mientras amenzaban con detenernos y también llamaron a la policía (que llegaron tarde).
No obstante esta resistencia pudimos distribuir folletos con información a clientes y creamos una comoción real que durante 15 minutos gritó “Que pare la Violecia en Colombia” en el medio de unos de los supermercados mas poblados de Amsterdam.
Que esto sea una advertencia para Chiquita Brands y otras empresas financiando el conflicto en Colombia: Ojalá y otr@s amig@s de la comunidad de paz de San José de Apartadó seguimos con acciones aquí en Holanda en solidaridad con grupos en Colombia y no descansamos antes de que la paz sea garantizada para San José y el resto de Colombia y estas empresas sean ajusticiadas.
En solidaridad Ojala y l@s amig@s de la Comunidad de Paz de San Jose de Apartado
Website: http://www.chiquitakills.org
| | Colombia San José de Apartadó Peace Community | Adam Isacson - 11.03.2011 06:36
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Colombia's San José de Apartadó Peace Community on Vimeo.
http://vimeo.com/18663200
Here is video of a conversation with Jesús Emilio Tuberquia, a leader of the San José de Apartadó Peace Community in northwestern Colombia, recorded during his October 2010 visit to Washington.
Founded in 1997, the Peace Community was established in the conflictive Urabá region as a non-violent effort to exclude all armed actors -- the military, paramilitaries and guerrillas -- from their zone. More than 180 members of the Peace Community have since been killed.
This interview was conducted by Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America.
http://justf.org/blog/2011/01/11/colombias-san-josé-de-apartadó-peace-community
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