Workers have been on strike at the Dona Ines de Collahuasi mine and have refused to return to work until the mining company meets their demands and continues to negotiate. Labor leaders dispute the company’s claims that production at the mine has not been disrupted. They say that only 20% of production has been maintained during the strike.

Labor leaders also deny the company’s statement that 120 workers stopped striking and returned to work at the mine. The leaders declare, instead, that a much smaller number of miners, about 36, have broken the strike so far. There is a Chilean labor law that states that if half of the workers break a strike, then the strike must end at that moment. The miners that went back to work were responding favorably to an offer that the mining company presented to them last week.

Bernardita Fernandez, a spokesperson for the Collahuasi mine, expressed little worry about the strike’s implications, saying, “the company will meet all of its commercial obligations” even as the strike marches on. Fernandez has remarked that negotiations between the workers and the company have not been resumed this week. According to the company, collective talks had to be discontinued because the union was “intransigent”; therefore, only negotiations with individual workers will be pursued.

The 1,430 remaining strikers have been given a deadline of late Tuesday night to accept or decline the company’s most recent wage and benefits offer. This offer includes a signing bonus of roughly $30,000 per worker. The union representing the workers has announced that wage talks will have to continue because most of the strikers will reject the company’s offer.

“We are strong and united,” said Manuel Munoz, a union leader. “Right now they are just trying to break up our movement and that’s suicide. They have to discuss a new offer with us to resolve this conflict.”

Most of the striking miners have been living in tents in the port city of Iquique while the strike continues.

For more information, please see:

Bloomberg Businessweek-Collahuasi Union Says Company Must Resume Talks-23 November 2010

Reuters-Chile’s Collahuasi strike faces crucial test-23 November 2010

 

 

 

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America 

SANTIAGO, Chile – A group of 33 women have banded together in a Chilean mine 3,000 feet underground to protest the end of a program which, at one time, provided thousands of people with jobs. 

In February, an earthquake devastated Chile.  As a result, the Chilean government created a Military Job Corps program which put people to work clearing debris and constructing emergency housing, amongst other things.

In September, the government failed to extend the program, forcing –by some accounts– 12,000 people out of work, adding additional stress on those who had already lost their homes and livelihoods to the earthquake. 

In an interview with the Santiago Times, protest spokesperson Ivania Anabalón stated that Chileans have “tried several actions at all levels [since September] and cannot make the government understand that all we need is a source of work.”  Anabalón also stated that “[t]he governor wouldn’t even look at us.”

Reports from several news agencies indicate the women have hundreds of supporters and sympathizers protesting and rallying outside the mine, which was operating as a tourist attraction when the women occupied the coal mine.  Javier Matamala, who is currently in charge of the mine, has urged all parties involved to end the protest quickly and peacefully “to avoid damages to this historic location.”

The women sent an open letter to the Piñera Administration, referring to the recent effort to rescue 33 trapped miners in the north of the country. They ask the government to use that same kind of effort to provide assistance for the thousands of Chileans who have lost their jobs and homes due to the earthquake and the failure to reauthorize the jobs bill.

Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter urged the 33 women on hunger strike to reconsider their protest and said they were “lucky” to have had jobs for a few months.  The governor of the Concepción region, where the mine is located, told Radio Cooperativa that the women’s protest was being orchestrated by Lota municipal chief of staff Vasili Carrillo, a one-time guerrilla who battled the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

For more information, please see:

Epoch Times – Women Stage Hunger Strike in Chilean Mine – 18 November 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Chilean Women Mount Hunger Strike to Demand Jobs – 18 November 2010

Hispanically Speaking News – 33 Chilean Women Lock Themselves in 9,000 Feet Deep Mine – 16 November 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia—Human rights groups have voiced concern after a pregnant activist was arrested and charged with being connected to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).  It is feared that this woman’s arrest is part of a growing effort in Colombia to silence human rights workers and any voices of opposition.

Carolina Rubio is eight months pregnant and was arrested in the northeastern Colombian city of Bucaramanga on Tuesday.  She continues to be detained in prison although her health—because of her condition—may be threatened.

Rubio belongs to two groups that may have made her a political target for Colombian authorities:  the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE) and the Committee of Solidarity for Political Prisoners (FCSPP).    The current evidence against Rubio stems from two informants who remain anonymous.

Rubio had just returned from an assembly of the International Office of Human Rights in Brussels last month where she had been speaking out against human rights violations in Colombia.  In Brussels, Rubio presented a report to European Commission officials regarding human rights concerns during the first 75 days of Juan Manuel Santos’ presidency.  Rubio stated that over 22 activists were murdered in Colombia during that period.  Some human rights workers speculate that these acts are the real reason Rubio was arrested—not any possible connection to the FARC.

The International Office said that it was concerned “that a human rights defender on the verge of giving birth is detained just as she returns to Colombia after having denounced the grave situation of human rights” there.

Amnesty International (AI) has spoken out against Rubio’s arrest.  Marcelo Pollack, Colombia Researcher for AI said, “The Colombian authorities have a duty to investigate any criminal activity and bring to justice those responsible through processes which conform to international standards of fairness.  However, there is a great deal of concern that such arrests are part of a strategy designed to silence and discredit the work of human rights defenders and to distract attention from their exposure of human rights violations.”

The controversy over Rubio’s arrest has come during a period of increasing persecution against human rights defenders.  In Colombia, it is not uncommon for activists like Rubio to be prosecuted using evidence acquired from paid informants rather than impartial investigative authorities.

Pollack has expressed the need for Rubio’s rights to be upheld, saying, “The authorities must ensure that due process is respected and that [her] legal situation is resolved speedily.  They must also ensure that she has access to quality health care while in detention.  Amnesty International is closely monitoring this case, especially because concerns have been raised about irregularities in the process.”

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International-Colombia: Concern over arrest of pregnant human rights defender-18 November 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune-Rights Activist Arrested in Colombia-18 November 2010

Tolerance-Concern over arrest of pregnant human rights defender in Colombia-18 November 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombia’s high court ruled against a lawsuit which would have legalized same-sex marriage in the country by a vote of 5-4.

The lawsuit, which was filed in September 2009, sought to alter the definition in Colombia’s civil code which defines marriage as “a solemn contract through which a man and a woman unite.” 

Felipe Montoya, one of the lawyers who filed the suit, wanted judges to eliminate the phrase “man and woman” from the code, in order to open up the possibility of a same-sex marriage.  The court ruled that the lawsuit was “flawed” and presented in an “irregular manner.”  

Judge Mauricio Gonzalez Cuervo, president of Colombia’s Constitutional Court, said that “nothing is final, and it is possible to insist on civil marriage for same sex couples in front of the court, but with more detailed arguments because this article will play a vital role within Colombia’s constitution.”

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is rallying against the Court’s decision, calling it “unconstitutional” and vowing to seek legislation to ensure equality if the Court fails them.  Marcela Sanchez, director of Colombia Diversa, a Colombian organization which represents the interests of the LGBT community, asserts that, as a result of the Court’s actions, “[Colombia] will lose a unique opportunity to achieve a true concept of equality.”

In addition to Colombia Diversa’s criticisms, gay rights advocates in Colombia planned to protest the Court’s ruling on Friday with demonstrations in Colombia’s capital.

In July, Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage after legislators passed a bill giving same-sex couples equal marriage rights.  While the attorney’s likely viewed Argentina’s actions as a broader, more progressive attitude toward the issue, Colombia’s Constitutional Court did not sway from their traditional view.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Colombia gay rights groups protest after court’s gay marriage decision – 12 November 2010

Colombia Reports – Court Blocks Gay Marriage – 12 November 2010

Queerty.com – Did Colombia’s Constitutional Court Turn Down The Gay Marriage Lawsuit Because It Was Too Weak? – 12 November 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

IRANDUBA, Brazil—On Sunday, a riot in a jail became the third prison riot in a week in Brazil.  The latest riot resulted in three deaths and has sparked debate over possible human rights violations in the nation’s correctional facilities.

The most recent riot occurred in the jail of a police station in Iranduba, a city in the Amazon.  The prisoners became violent in the early hours Sunday in order to protest the poor living conditions they were subjected to.  The protesters were eventually subdued by police officers, but in the wake of the incident, three prisoners were found dead.  It is unknown how many others were wounded, and whether the deceased were killed by rioters or authorities when they moved in to regain control of the facility.

Brazil’s prisons and jails are frequently overcrowded and can lead prisoners to riot and go on organized hunger strikes.  Sunday’s violence arose after the jail became packed with 40 prisoners.  The jail was designed to hold only eight.
Police officer Geraldo Pereira de Oliveira said that, “After the riot, there were negotiations and the possibility of transferring some prisoners is being studied.”

Sunday’s deadly protest is the third of its kind this week alone in Brazil.  On Wednesday, three prisoners were killed by other prisoners in a similar riot, just 19 miles from Iranduba.  Last Monday, 18 prisoners—four of whom were decapitated–died in a riot in the penitentiary complex in Sao Luis.  A correctional officer was also injured by a gunshot wound.  The riot began when prisoners shot the guard while he was conducting an inspection, then took him and five other guards hostage.  The prisoners announced that they were protesting substandard quality of life in the institution.  The prison is currently inhabited by 4,000 prisoners—double the number that the building was constructed to hold.

In each of the three riots, experts and authorities have determined that overcrowding and unsatisfactory living conditions were the primary impetus for the melee.  In Brazilian prisons, gangs vie for control, their violence unchecked by an inadequate number of correctional officers.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Third Brazil Prison Riot in a Week Leaves 3 Dead-15 November 2010

Sydney Morning Herald-Three dead in Brazil jail riot-15 November 2010

Telegraph-Brazil prison riot leaves 18 inmates dead-9 November 2010