Liliany's Freedom Fund

CASC is supporting the financial efforts initiated by the Peace and Justice for Colombia Committee. CASC has recently contributed to that fund and we hope that more people will be contributing as well. The Freedom Fund will help to finance Liliany's defense and other expenses associated with it.

Please write CASC for further details: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Bogotá, Colombia, November 28, 2008

Open letter # 4 National Women's Penitentiary

Bogota, Colombia, November 17 de 2008

Open letter # 3 National Women's Penitentiary

Friends of the Campaign for Labor Rights,Friends of the Colombia Action Network,Activist Friends for Peace, Social Justice and the defense of Human Rights , United States:

A fraternal greeting of solidarity to all of you on my behalf and from all the other political prisoners secluded in the jails of Colombia and the United States.

With much emotion and gratitude I received in the National Women's Penitentiary where I have been a prisoner for 3 months, your messages of solidarity and I learned of your noble intention to undertake a campaign to pressure the Colombian government for my freedom. Friends, your worry, your constant concern for the causes of Social Justice are the fuel that, in conditions like ours, as political prisoners, feeds our morale and fills our spirits so that we can continue with our work, for which the final goal is the construction of a better world, with fairness, justice and peace, with no one left out.

Friends, if the campaign is to continue to denounce the social injustices that my people suffer, and to denounce the aberrant violations of workers rights and other human rights against union members, campesinos, the indigenous, Afro-Colombian communities, students, social leaders, popular activists, human rights defenders, and the political opposition of my country, it would be welcome.

If the campaign is to serve to condemn the Colombian state for its systematic practice of "State Terror" against its people, and to reject the interference of the North American state with its military bases, with the training of military torturers and their death squads; with its military plans such as Plan Colombia, Plan Patriot and other Plans of interventionist war; and to reject its plans that strip the riches of our America and our Colombia through the "Free Trade Agreements", it would be welcome, friends.

I am honored to be an instrument by which the world may know the reality of the more than 7,200 political prisoners in the Colombian jails and of the Colombian political prisoners extradited under rough conditions to the United States. And I am honored to be an instrument by which the world learns of our fallen dead in this absurd Dirty War of the Colombian State. For our dead, not one minute of silence, but rather, a life full of struggle!

If you friends lend us your free bodies and voices so that ours may reach to thousands of "receptive ears", we, the political prisoners, will put our commitment, our courage, our restrained rage, toward continuing the task for a better Colombia and a better Latin America and a better world. From here, we are already working hard to pressure the Colombian government that they open the doors to a true Humanitarian Exchange of Prisoners, and for this, international pressure and support are fundamental. And we likewise pledge our continued insistence on a negotiated, political solution to the Internal Colombian Conflict. We are convinced that this is the only option to achieve a nation at peace, with social justice.

Bolivarianly,

Liliany Obando
Political Prisoner
Prisoner of Conscience
Survivor of the Genocide Against the Patriotic Union 

[L to R] Heather, Terry, Liliany, Victoria, BC, Canada 2006

Bogota, Colombia, November 17 de 2008

Open letter # 2 National Women's Penitentiary 

Fraternal Greetings:

For all those who have made the commitment to struggle for a just Colombia, without impunity, where workers' rights are respected , where the political opposition is not assassinated, where human rights are not violated, where  the State Terrorism is ended, the passage through the jail is almost inevitable.

But comrades, by whatever chains and gags they intend to put on us, the justice of our struggle requires that we continue resisting wherever we may be.  Courage grows with captivity and we maintain our high morale.  The bars of the jail do not matter if you, wherever you may be, help us that our voices may move beyond the walls and not be stopped.

Today more than ever we need the world to be informed that in the Colombian jails there are more than 7,200 political prisoners.  We are here because we dare to think differently, to denounce the ignominy of this Terrorist State and its corrupt governments, mafiosos and paramilitaries.  We are here because we have conscientiously decided to embrace the banner of a Colombia in Peace and with Social Justice and that in order to achieve it we continue struggling and acting in keeping with our revolutionary principles.

From the jails of Colombia, the political prisoners continue working for the Humanitarian Exchange of prisoners and for the search for a political solution to the internal conflict.  We hope we can count on your support and solidarity to arrive at a happy ending:   the construction of that New Colombia of which we all dream.

For all of you, a strong hug in the name of all those who share with me this reality of the jail.

Bolivarianly,

Liliany Obando
Political Prisoner
Prisoner of Conscience
Survivor of the Genocide Against the Patriotic Union 

Port Renfrew, BC, Canada, 2005

Open letter # 1 by Liliana Obando

Women's Prison, Bogotá, Colombia. September 3, 2008

A new witch-hunt against the Political Opposition in Colombia

As at no other time in the life of the nation, the loss of credibility of public institutions now has a direct correlation with the mafia style of governance. 

Para-politics is the crime of bribery that favoured Uribe's re-election; it is the links between government officials, the district attorney office and State security with the cartels of the paramilitary mafia; the failed "process" of demobilization of the paramilitaries and the strange extradition of paramilitary bosses closing off the possibility of knowing the truth demanded by their victims; the repeated attempts of the government to undermine the autonomy and the independence of the justice system particularly, the Supreme Court of Justice; the politicization of the office of the Attorney General in favour of the government; the military incursions outside the national territory and the unfortunate diplomatic handling of matters with the progressive governments of the region. These are just some elements that provide evidence of the lack of governability in the country and call into question the existence of real democracy. 

Neither the Colombian people, nor for the international community find it strange that the Colombian government resorts to manoeuvres and smoke screens every time it confronts a new scandal providing evidence of its illegality and illegitimacy. 

On this occasion the Uribe government, in a rehash of the darkest days of state terrorism, has unleashed another "witch-hunt" against the political opposition. Last May 22, in a public address to the press the Attorney General of the country, Mario Iguarán, and the Defence Minister, Juan Manuel Santos, announced the beginning of the process that has been called "farc-politica" [1]; a judicial process derived from emails supposedly found on the computer of the late leader of the FARC, Raul Reyes, after the military incursion into Ecuadorean territory last 1 st of March 08. 

After which, they proceeded to read a list of the persons presumed to be implicated in the supposed emails. They were all leaders of the national and international opposition: members of congress, academics, journalists and other well-known personalities. 

On the 8th August, it was published in the mass media that an investigation was opened with an order for my capture, as one of those mentioned on the list of the "farc-politica" . A few hours later, my place of residence was raided and I was taken away under "preventative" arrest. I was then taken to the facilities of the Anti-terrorism Unit of DIJIN (judicial police) and six days later, jailed at the Women's Prison in Bogotá. 

During the raid conducted by the DIJIN on my home, a number of irregularities took place which today I would like to publicly denounce: 

• My young children (5 and 15 years old) were filmed without authorization. 

• My 15 year old son was verbally abused and intimidated. On many occasion during the raid he was queried, and I quote, "are you going to follow in your mothers foot steps?" 

• The illegal seizure of personal items and documents belonging to my mother and children (bank statements, passports and laptop) that had no connection to the proceedings against me. 

• The manipulated filming and later the leaking to the press of documents and books freely available for public sale that were presented in the media as subversive propaganda. 

• The aberrant seizure of public documents like the constitution of the Communist Youth, other documents referring to the Communist Party, a book with the title "Bolivar for Children", etc and even the absurd action of taking a school assignment belonging to my son, who is in year 9, that deals with the Colombian conflict. 

It warrants attention as to how, the images taken during the raid were so "efficiently" distributed to be widely published by the media even before the raid had finished, while the captain of the DIJIN told me that "they would make me nationally and internationally famous." 

While unaware of the details of the judicial process initiated by the Anti-terrorist Unit against me, which is also an illegal practice that violates due process and the presumption of innocence while under investigation is lost, the state intelligence and the juridical authorities in charge also systematically leaked to the media – in particular to the EL TIEMPO newspaper – some of the supposed emails and defamatory statements against me, such as the supposed intimate relationship with the assassinated leader of the FARC, Raul Reyes. I denounce and reject this irresponsible and clearly ill-intentioned defamation that has been presented publicly against me, violating my dignity, my honour and my right to privacy as a woman and as a mother, as a professional and an activist of the left. I do this also because it is part of the government's insidious strategy to damage the image of revolutionary organizations and their leaders. 

I would also like to denounce publicly how violating the Penal Code penalises my fundamental rights as the head of my family and those of my children. The Attorney 19 of the Anti-terrorist Special Unit, Nancy Esperanza Pardo Bonilla has denied my right to home detention. A decision we reject and with my defence team we are appealing against it.

I also publicly denounce and express my profound concern at the surveillance that my 15 years old son has become victim of since my detention. 

I hold the government and its security forces directly responsible for any actions that harm the physical and moral integrity of my family or mine. 

I request the solidarity of all progressive and human rights organizations and ask them to take the necessary measures for the protection of my family. 

It is very clear that the so-called process of FARC POLITICA is more an act of political persecution than a legal case and that it is full of illegalities. With my defence team we have decided: 

1. Not to recognize the supposed emails found in the computer of the late leader of FARC Raul Reyes as evidence against me because, these emails were obtained from an illegal military action on 1 st March organized outside the national territory and violating Ecuadorean territorial sovereignty since this action had no authorization from either the Ecuadorean government or police or the judicial authorities of that country. 

2. To reject the emails as valid evidence against me, not only because they where obtained after an illegitimate act of war in which civilians and guerrillas who were in the camp of Raul Reyes were murdered as it was recognized by the Organization of American States

(OAS) but also because a cloud of doubt exists over their veracity and the manipulation they were subjected to. 

3. Publicly denounce the Office of the Attorney General for starting the process of accusations against many leaders of the opposition and national and international personalities based only on the supposed emails illegally obtained that lack validity as evidence. 

4. Publicly denounce Judge 60 of the Bogotá Control of Guarantees for validating the illegally obtained evidence. 

5. Denounce the report of the Judicial Police for ideological falsehood, expressing the facts that took place on 1 st March 2008 in a misleading way from the computers presumably obtained and that are now used with the intention of accusing us. 

6. To turn to international organisations due to the lack of credibility and legitimacy enjoyed by those responsible for justice in Colombia. 

Before the national and international anti-terrorist crusade the Colombian government had already begun organizing against the political opposition. It is not indifference or fear that immobilizes and gags or a weak attitude or lack of solidarity that will keep us safe. It is not by denying the political fighters or revolutionary organizations or the struggle of the people that will lead us out of the `dark night'. 

Only unity in action, mobilization, solidarity and adherence to revolutionary principles allows us to confront the difficult moments and advance towards the construction of a real democracy, and political inclusion and the long yearned for Peace with Social Justice. 

Finally, I would like to thank all the expressions of solidarity made by national and international, trade unions, social, political and human rights organizations as well as all those committed to social justice. I thank those that have recognised my work as an academic and social activist in the defence of human rights in pursuit of peace with social justice for our country. 

Here we carry on with high morale in this new battle because the imprisonment of our bodies does not mean the renunciation of our ideals or our principles which remain free. 

Fraternally,

 Liliany Obando

Political Prisoner

Prisoner of conscience

Survivor of the genocide against the Union Patriótica

 [1] Farc-Politica, a process known as Farc-politics

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 Write to Colombia's Ambassador in Canada

His Excellency Jaime Giron Duarte 

Ambassador of Colombia to Canada

1002 – 360 Albert StOttawa, ON, K1R 7X7

Dear Mr. Ambassador:

This is to convey our concern for the arrest of  Mrs. Lilliany Patricia Obando  on August 8, 2008 on charges of “rebellion” and “managing resources related to terrorist activities”.
Mrs.  Obando visited Canada in 2006. During her visit to our country, she participated in several public events organized by trade unions, higher education institution and community organizations.

In her role as a Human Right, Labour activist and consultant for the Federation of Agricultural Workers [FENSUAGRO], she explained to the Canadian public and to her fellow trade unionists, the deplorable and dangerous situation facing the trade union movement in Colombia.

We understand that at the moment of her arrest, Mrs, Obando, was researching the murders of 1.800 FENSUAGRO members that had taken place during the last three decades.

  As Canadians, we believe that our prospective trading partners should abide by international legal standards, including respect for human rights, due legal process, respect and protection of workers.

We respectfully ask you to ensure Mrs. Obando and her family’s physical integrity are protected and to release her immediately from custody to allow her to continue her work on behalf of FENSUAGRO’s members.

Thanks you for your consideration and we look forward to hear from you

Respectfully,

 [your name and address]

  copies/

 The Honourable David Emerson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and international Trade

Denise Savoie, NDP Victoria MP

Victoria Central America Support Committee

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CUPE DEMANDS LILIANY'S FREEDOM

CUPE Local 50 in solidarity with Liliany

Liliany [l] during her 2006 visit to Victoria, BC., Canada

By James Brittain

The previous issue of People's Voice reported that Colombian filmmaker, women's rights proponent, labour solidarity activist, and sociologist Liliany Patricia Obando Villota was arrested on August 8 by a special wing of the Anti-Terrorism Unit (Unidad Antiterrorismo)of the Colombian National Police and the Criminal Investigation Directorate, under the direction of the National Prosecutors Office, on charges of "rebellion" and "managing resources related to terrorist Activities". The arrest severs long established relations between the Colombian labour movement and Canadian unions, faith-based communities, Latin American solidarity networks, and social justice
organizations.

Public presentation in Victoria, BC, Canada

The primary grounds for Liliany's incarceration is that she allegedly worked to obtain funding earmarked for Colombia's largest rural-based labour organization (FENSUAGRO), but utilized the collected finances for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) - a movement listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. and Canadian governments.

The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia has announced that the reason for the arrest was that Liliany worked for a non-governmental organization entitled FENSUAGRO and indirectly rallied funds for the
FARC-EP through said association. In actual fact, FENSUAGRO is not an NGO, but a structured labour organization in its 32nd year of existence, which organizes and consolidates the many unions, labour
associations, and voices of those in the countryside. If the state cannot obtain intelligence of this simplistic nature, any information related to the charges against Liliany are likely erroneous.

In addition, no material evidence has been found to support the charge against Liliany. The only "proof" presented by the state is purely speculative, as it was allegedly retrieved from FARC-EP computers captured following an illegal raid at an insurgent encampment on March 1, 2008 in Ecuador. Interpol has confirmed that agents connected to the Anti-Terrorism Unit manipulated tens of thousands of files from the seized FARC-EP databases. In their report, Interpol published that "using their forensic tools, specialists found a total of 48,055 files for which the timestamps indicated that they had either been created, accessed, modified or deleted as a result of the direct access to the eight seized exhibits by Colombian authorities between the time of their seizure on 1 March 2008 and 3 March 2008 at 11:45 am."

Over the past several years, Liliany has visited Canada many times to speak with various civil society groups, development agencies, members of religious organizations, unionists, and university students on issues of
human rights abuses and anti-labour activities under the Presidency of Alvaro Uribe Velez. During this period Liliany also worked for FENSUAGRO's international relations commission, and was heavily involved in fundraising in Canada, the European Union, the UK, and Australia.

As a direct result of her efforts, some of Canada's most important unions provided funding to projects across Colombia: the creation of socioeconomic infrastructure for small and medium agricultural producers, human rights education and data collection, and an experimental farming and educational facility called La Esmeralda,
which assists displaced rural families in areas of agriculture, gender equity, reading, and writing.

Public presentation in Victoria, BC, Canada

Why has the Colombian state targeted Liliany Obando and FENSUAGRO?

Since its inception, as many as 1500 persons associated with FENSUAGRO have been killed or disappeared by right-wing paramilitaries or state forces, while five thousand members have experienced some form of state-based abuse or human rights violation. In 2007, twenty percent of all known unionists murdered in Colombia belonged to this one labour organization. It is clear that the Colombian state is attempting to silence any and all measures of international solidarity with Colombian labour and social movements.

Liliany was one of FENSUAGRO's most important contacts outside Colombia. Her work as a filmmaker and a scholar within the National University of Colombia has been widely recognized for its insight. Her analysis on Colombia's political economy has been heard and applauded at countless conferences. Her achievements in raising awareness of the trials and tribulations of Colombia have spanned many countries. It is clear that the state is
taking steps to silence this important proponent for social justice, and to block the important efforts made by Canadians to support the struggle of Colombia's rural and urban working classes.

Retrieving information related to Liliany's condition and the case at hand has been very difficult. Nevertheless, contact has been made with Liliany's legal counsel, who say that she has received messages of solidarity from all over the world. Her legal counsel has forwarded a statement of how emotionally touched and tremendously
encouraged Liliany is by such broad support for her and all Colombians subjugated to such treatment at this troubling time.

It was hoped that Liliany would be able to obtain a reprieve from her formal incarceration at the women's prison (Buen Pastor) in Bogota. Her legal counsel applied for home detention so that she could care for her two children. The Australian-based Peace andJustice for Colombia (PJFC) has argued that Liliany's detention is a negation of her two young children's basic human rights, as she is a single mother and principal provider for the family. However, the court denied this request. The PJFC also reported that during the August 8 raid on Liliany's residence in Modelia, Bogota state forces "seized passports, photos and other personal belongings of her children and Mother". Arguing that such items have nothing to due with the formal allegations, the legal counsel requested that the
family's possessions be returned. The courts also refused this request.

Public presentation in Victoria, BC, Canada

Targeting Liliany and other social justice activists is a structured tactic on the part of the Colombian state. Canada is in the final stages of a controversial bilateral free-trade agreement with Colombia, where the administration is embroiled in a scandal involving links between top politicians and the paramilitary forces. Liliany was on the cusp
of finalizing a significant solidarity project involving several Canadian unions and FENSUAGRO. In conjunction with labour, agronomists,farmers, and researchers, she was working on an expanded development program to further assist rural workers at La Esmeralda.

It is critical for individuals, unions, community and civil society groups, development agencies, members of faith communities, academics, students, and concerned citizens to show their solidarity for Liliany. We must express our opposition to the unjust detention of this important Colombian activist, scholar, and worker. Please demand
that Liliany Patricia Obando Villota be released, have all charges withdrawn, and be treated as a democratic citizen.

In the Spring, 2005, James Brittain (MA-Sociology 2004) received the esteemed Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) Doctoral Scholarship through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The $105,000 award is delivered to the most promising academics within Canada whose scholarly research augments existing academic inquiry.  

Subsequently following his CGS decoration, James was chosen as the national recipient of the 2005-2006 Aileen D. Ross Fellowship from SSHRC, which is awarded to the most promising doctoral or post-doctoral student of sociology in Canada, whose research specifically relates to the study of poverty and pauperization (e.g. urban/rural poverty, displacement, violence, race and ethnicity). This is the first time a graduate student from UNB has received the national award.

Free Liliany Obando! Libre Liliany Obando!