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Death threat union leader’s visit wins Euro parliament victory
16 March 2007
A visit to Europe by a colleague of the murdered Guatemalan trade union leader Pedro Zamora has led to the European Parliament taking significant action on human and union rights in the country.
The ITF and ETF have brought Oscar Gonzalez, a leader of the STEPQ dockers’ union, to France, Belgium, Spain and Italy for two weeks of meetings with politicians, unions and human rights organisations, as part of a campaign to protect threatened members of the union, defend the jobs of the workers it represents at Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, and seek justice for the murder of Pedro Zamora, who was gunned down as he picked up his three year old son from a hospital appointment in January (see www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/zamora.cfm for more details and a short film about the killing of Pedro Zamora). Zamora was shot following attempts to secure the jobs of nine workers who had been unfairly dismissed, and after a police occupation of the port. Oscar Gonzalez, his colleagues and their families are now experiencing the same death threats that preceded the murder of Zamora.
Following his meetings with senior European parliamentarians the European Parliament yesterday passed a joint resolution denouncing human rights abuses in Guatemala (6,000 in 2006 alone, according to the United Nations), including the gunpoint ambush of Pedro Zamora and his sons in January. The Parliament has also decided to send a delegation to the country in April to investigate further and meet with STEPQ members. The Subcommittee on Human Rights will also hold a hearing on Guatemala to which Guatemalan trade unionists will be invited. The European Union supplies a significant share of the budget for improving justice and security under the Guatemalan government's 'Vamos Guatemala' development programme, and is also a major donor to other elements of the initiative on human rights, the peace process, and dialogue and democracy. The introduction of transparency and concern for human rights into this process had been one of the key requests put by Oscar Gonzalez and the accompanying ITF/ETF delegation to European Parliament members.
“We are asking for justice for these crimes and an end to impunity”, explained Socialist MEP Raimon Obiols. Green MEP Raul Romeva added: “We have also demanded a clear definition of development assistance aid programmes and better protection for the defenders of human rights in the cooperation strategy with Guatemala.”
At the same time as the European Parliament was taking action ITF affiliated unions in Panama were picketing the Guatemalan Embassy there and taking up a collection of US$2,000 that will be given to Pedro Zamora’s family and the campaign for justice for his killing. The money will be handed to Oscar Gonzalez when he attends the major dockers’ and seafarers’ meeting being held by the ITF in Sorrento, Italy, from 19 to 24 March.
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