Son of Colombian COCA-COLA Union Leader Kidnapped and Tortured. - Urgent Action Required!

URGENT ACTION! SON OF
COCA-COLA WORKER
KIDNAPPED AND TORTURED

At about 4pm on 27th September 2007, ANDRES DAMIAN FLOREZ
RODRIGUEZ (son of JOSE DOMINGO FLOREZ, a worker at a Coca-Cola bottli ng plant and a leader of the trade union SINALTRAINAL) was returning from college to his home at No 204-102, 38th Avenue in the Andes barrio of Floridablanca in Santander when he was accosted by three individuals from a black van, they were carrying arms, communications radios and were wearing balaclavas. The three men took Andres in the van by force, threw him on the vehicle floor and started hitting him.

During this journey one of the assailants called on the radio and said
"we've got the S O B, what should we do with him?". The response from the
other end was, "take him for a ride, give him a belting and leave him with
the message". The voice from the other end of the radio added, "tell him to tell his Dad that we won't rest until we see him cut into pieces". The assailants threw Andres out of the van at a place called Palenque on the road to Lebrija, opposite the mechanics wor kshops just after the interchange bridge. This new incident against Coca-Cola workers in SINALTRAINAL and their close family members occurs after repeated death threats. Threats have been
received on 10 February, 26 July, 9 August, 13 August, 20 and 25 September 2007.

This throws into relief the fact that on 24 September 2007, we communicated to Coca-Cola that SINALTRAINAL has re-launched its worldwide protest
campaign. We denounce transnational corporations for their policy of violating human rights, and we do not back away from this in spite of the threats and anti-trade union repression that has been perpetrated against
SINALTRAINAL members.

We demand:

* That Coca-Cola corporation and the Colombian State cease all repression against the workers,

* That the material and intellectual authors of this persecution be investigated,

* That the rights to life, associat ion and trade union freedom be guaranteed.

Yours sincerely,
LUIS JAVIER CORREA SUAREZ
President
SINALTRAINAL

RECENT BACKGROUND

SINALTRAINAL Presents Full Complaint to ILO

On 18th September SINALTRAINAL lodged a formal complaint to the Internacional Labour Organisation (ILO) citing both Coca-Cola and the Colombian state authorities for victimisation, delegitimising the exercise of trade union rights and, finally, the destruction of the trade union inside the corporation.

Death Threat from Paramilitary Black Eagles At 12.30 on 25th September de 2007 a death threat was left at the office of SINALTRAINAL in Bucaramanga
and was discovered just after local leaders DOMINGO FLORES, NELSON
PEREZ and LUIS EDUARDO GARCIA had attended a forum to discuss
candidates in the upcoming elections for city Mayor and the Governor of
Santander .

SINALTRAINAL due to Testify against Paramilitaries

This new death threat occurred the day after SINALTRAINAL attended
a court hearing in Bogotá, in the ILO offices, convened by the Circuit Judge
of Valledupar, where union President LUIS JAVIER CORREA SUAREZ
and other SINALTRAINAL members and their families are witnesses against
the paramilitaries responsible for the assassination of union militant Luciano Romero.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

Please send URGENT ACTION
messages: Expressing your concern at
the kidnapping and torture of ANDRES
DAMIAN FLOREZ RODRIGUEZ, and
with the above demands to:

Presidencia de la República
Dr. Álvaro Uribe
Vélez, Cra. 8 No..7-26,
Palacio de Nariño,
Santa fe de Bogotá.
Fax: (+57 1) 566.20.71
E-mail: auribe@presidencia.gov.co
and to the Colombian Embassy
in London
mail@colom bianembassy.co.uk

with copies to Sinaltrainal Internacional
areainternacional@sinaltrainal.org
and to info@colombiasolidarity.org.uk