4 November 2004 Edition

Resize: A A A Print

Multinational terror in Colombia

Edgar Paez addresses a public meeting in Dublin on Coca-Cola's atrocious human rights record in Colombia

Edgar Paez addresses a public meeting in Dublin on Coca-Cola's atrocious human rights record in Colombia

Colombia is a beautiful country better known for its ugly statistics. Nearly 50 trade unionists have been killed so far this year, and that is only a small part of the final figures of those whose lives end violently in a country where unemployment rates are upwards of 80%.

Edgar Paez, responsible for the international department of the trade union SINALTRAINAL, knows the risks very well. He knew many of those who were killed or have had to leave Colombia because of their dedication to human rights. He also knows very well that his "subversive" activities as a trade unionist may land him in jail in a country where justice has a price and impunity is the norm.

Paez's was over here to take part in the recent European Social Forum, to raise awareness about the situation in Colombia and SINALTRAINAL's proposals against the policies of corporations in his country. He spoke particularly about Coca-Cola, which SINALTRAINAL deems responsible for the killing of nine trade union officials in bottling plants.

An Phoblacht: Over a year since the boycott against Coca Cola was launched, how do you judge the campaign so far?

Edgar Paez: What we are looking for is for full reparation from Coca-Cola to the victims, its acceptance that serious crimes were carried out on its behalf and the naming of those responsible so they are brought to court.

We are not alone, as this company is known for its "aggressive" policies all around the world. The level of aggression associated with its policies depends on where it is applying them, but we can see a common thread of neo-liberal policies, which diminish workers' rights; steal water resources from local populations, pollute water and soil, etc. We have been constantly denouncing these policies.

A year after the beginning of the boycott, we are very happy because, although Coca-Cola has not compensated its victims, we have enjoyed a wave of solidarity. People now know about the economic misery suffered by Colombia's population, the situation of state-sponsored violence and how corporations benefit from that violence. Coca-Cola is a clear example of this reality.

How have people participated in the campaign?

This campaign has allowed people to take part on different ways, depending on their circumstances. Some people have sold their Coca-Cola shares; others have stopped drinking Coca-Cola as they consider that it is financing war. Another achievement is that Coca-Cola has been taken out of many selling points, like universities; cultural and recreational centres; social venues; trade union headquarters, etc. These are expressions of rejection of war and violence and a call for dignity and workers' rights. It has also set the ball rolling, as other communities that never dreamed of confronting Coca-Cola have launched their own campaigns. So, the campaign has served to unite initiatives and peoples around the struggle against a corporation that has established itself in more countries than even the United Nations.

How difficult has been to keep the campaign going in Colombia?

It has not been an easy task due to the increasing violence emanating from the so-called Plan Colombia and the rise of the right-wing paramilitaries' activities. Paramilitaries have an important role in our case against Coca Cola, as they are responsible for the murder of nine trade unionists who worked in Coca Cola's bottling plants in Colombia.

I believe that this campaign against Coca Cola and all the international solidarity created around it is the reason why there have not been more casualties in the ranks of the trade union SINALTRAINAL and the reason why this organisation still exists. Because this campaign is not only about justice for the dead and their families; it is also about workers' right to join a union; for the right to keep their employment and their dignity.

In the last year, Coca-Cola has closed ten factories in Colombia, leaving 500 people unemployed. The company has violated all agreements between workers and management. Union officials have been the target of constant abuses and threats. We had to go on hunger strike for ten days to get the company's representatives to meet the workers.

It is your support, the support of many others in Europe, Latin America, and the US, that has kept us going. It has been a beautiful experience, because we have learned to love other people, to join efforts in the struggle, and others have shown their love for us and their support.

So, is Coca-Cola still not accepting responsibility for the situation in its plants in Colombia?

When Coca-Cola establishes franchises, they also impose conditions. They impose conditions on the quality of the product - colour, bottle, labelling, etc - and the same happens when it comes to its global policies.

The company maintains that it has nothing to do with what is happening, but it has failed to express condemnation for the killing of trade unionists, though we have informed its headquarters in Atlanta and Bogotá every time there has been a violation of its workers' human rights.

At the moment, there are 27 trade unionists in Colombian jails who have been denounced by Coca-Cola management in Colombia. Sixty-seven comrades are under death threat. That is their response to union activities, and a warning to anyone who dares to try to improve working conditions. This is why we had to launch this campaign.

The response from Coca-Cola to the expressions of international solidarity towards the workers has been one of further violence. For example, when we started our campaign, another comrade was murdered, increasing to eight the number of our officials working in Coca-Cola plants murdered by right-wing paramilitaries. However, as I said, we believe this campaign has saved lives.

Last February, under the auspices of the Carter Centre, we met with Coca-Cola executives in Atlanta. At the meeting, we presented our proposal calling for total reparation for the victims of its violence, but the company was only interested in negotiating a set of rules for the future; they did not want to talk about the past.

We cannot subscribe to a proposal that will mean impunity for those who murder our comrades. We cannot allow this company to benefit from the deaths of our comrades. We cannot forget how Isidro Gil was murdered, and his wife, who denounced his murder, was also assassinated by the paramilitaries.

However, Coca-Cola is not the only corporation responsible for human rights violations in Colombia. Nestlé is responsible for similar actions. And oil companies like Occidental Petroleum, REPSOL and British Petroleum are responsible for forced displacements, pollution and further violence in the region of Arauca.

The inhabitants of Arauca settled there due to what we call The Violence, a civil war from 1948 and until the 1960s that caused the displacement of millions of people in Colombia. Well, now these people are being displaced once again by oil corporations.

The US administration is also very interested in the region. First, because of its vast oil reserves; second, because Arauca borders Venezuela, a country where the revolutionary government of Hugo Chavez is not cooperating with the policies of the US. Finally, it is the area where the US would like to build a dry canal to allow the transport of goods from the ports of Venezuela to the Pacific coast of Colombia, as part of the so-called Plan Puebla-Panamá.

This is why many people have been murdered in the region; why many community leaders have had to leave the country. There have been massacres and massive arrests. To this you should add the massive pollution caused by oil extraction; the enormous environmental damage; the destruction of the means of survival and social structures of the indigenous people in the area.

This is the new face of the struggle against corporations in Colombia, and we are calling for expressions of solidarity and support for our struggle against the oil companies


An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland