CARTA ABIERTA EN SOLIDARIDAD CON LOS HUELGISTAS DE HAMBRE EN LA PRISION LA TRAMACUA EN VALLEDUPAR COLOMBIA

FORO SOCIALISTA DE SOLIDARIDAD
INTERNACIONAL CON LOS PUEBLOS
DE LAS AMERICAS Y DEL MUNDO

POR LA LIBERTAD
DE LOS PRESOS POLITICOS
EN LAS CARCELES
FASCISTOIDES
DEL PRESIDENTE
JUAN MANUEL SANTOS
DEL REGIMEN BURGUES CAPITALISTA
DEL ESTADO TERRORISTA DE COLOMBIA
DE VIOLENCIA INSTITUCIONALIZADA

CON EL DESARROLLO HUMANO
SER SIEMPRE CAPACES DE SENTIR
EN LO MAS HONDO CUALQUIER INJUSTICIA
COMETIDA CONTRA CUALQUIERA
EN CUALQUIER PARTE DEL MUNDO
ES LA CUALIDAD MAS LINDA DE UN REVOLUCIONARIO

A LUCHAR CON LAS PERSONAS HUMANITARIAS
DEMOCRATICAS Y PROGRESITAS

CONTRA "EL DEMOCRATISMO BURGUES"
Y CONTRA "EL TERRORISMO DE ESTADO"
POLITICAS DE LA CONTRARREVOLUCION

PRESS RELEASE

June 30, 2011

For Immediate Release
Contact:
James Jordan
National Co-Coordinator,
Alliance for Global Justice
520-243-0381
james@afgj.org

Open Letter in Solidarity with Hunger Strikers

at La Tramacúa Prison in Valledupar Colombia


Noam Chomsky, Medea Benjamin, Rev. John Fife, and Isabel Garcia among 136 Academics, Human Rights Defenders and Community Activists Calling for the US Funded Prison to be Shut Down!

Human rights leaders, academics, unionists and community activists have issued an an Open Letter in Solidarity with Hunger Strikers at the High Security Penitentiary of Valledupar, Colombia, "La Tramacúa". The open letter has 136 signatories, including academic and author Noam Chomsky, Medea Benjamin, Co-founder of Code Pink, and Rev. John Fife, Co-Founder of the Sanctuary Movement and No More Deaths.
On Jun 19th, 2011, a hunger strike was announced at La Tramacúa with the participation of 54 inmakes and June 22nd, eight of the prisoners sewed their own lips shut, refusing to take anything into their bodies but water. Although a modern prison, conditions at La Tramacúa are abhorrent and torture and violence all too common--especially toward political prisoners. Access to running water is restricted to ten minutes a day, with temperatures frequently rising above 100 degrees. Unsanitary toilet and food preparation areas are the norm. This open letter supports the demands that La Tramacúa be closed and prisoners transferred to locations near their families. La Tramacúa is Colombia's most infamous prison. Completed in November, 2000, La Tramacúa was built as part of a United States-Colombian accord called the "Program for the Improvement of the Colombian Prison System". Funding and advice for the prison were provided by USAID (US Agency for International Development) and the US Bureau of Prisons.
Copies of this letter will be sent to Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, Minister of the Interior and Justice German Lleras, Brigadier General Gustavo Adolfo Ricuarte Tapia and members of the Colombian Congress; the US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the US Congress; and to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights in Colombia and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.


TEXT OF THE LETTER, WITH LIST OF SIGNERS:
An Open Letter in Solidarity with Hunger Strikers at the High Security Penitentiary of Valledupar, Colombia, "La Tramacúa"
We are deeply concerned over reports* about conditions at the High Security Penitentiary at Valledupar, Department of César, Colombia, commonly known as La Tramacúa. We join a growing chorus of voices calling for La Tramacúa to be closed. These include the prisoners themselves, current and former members of the Colombian Congress, the mayor of Valledupar, the César Public Defender, and national and international human rights defenders. For those of us in the United States, we are particularly troubled knowing that La Tramacúa was built with US funding and advice.
The situation has become such a crisis that 54 inmates started a hunger strike on June 19th and on June 22nd, eight of them sewed their own mouths shut, refusing to take anything into their bodies but water. These actions were preceded by a 44 day hunger strike by Felix Sanabria which began in September, 2010, a 24 day hunger strike by Hernan Rodriguez in May, 2011, and a nonviolent general strike by 60 prisoners from May 14-June 12th. While these actions are drastic, they reflect desperate conditions, the lack of recourse available and the determination of the inmates to hold onto the hope that their struggle might win some degree of dignified treatment. We recognize that at least in part, the extreme act of sewing one's mouth shut is a silent call that we open our mouths in protest concerning the terrible conditions in La Tramacúa.
Construction at La Tramacúa was finished in November, 2000 and the institution was hailed as a model of a "New Penitentiary Culture". However, this modern prison has become notorious for its bad conditions, including:
•Severe Restriction of Access to Water--Inmates have an average ten minutes daily access to running water in a place where temperatures regularly climb to 100 degrees (38 Celsius). Access to running water has been suspended altogether for days at a time as a form of collective punishment. Water was shut off from April 29th until June 2nd, 2011, sparking a widespread and nonviolent prison strike.
•Fecal Contamination of Food--Officials from the United Nations, the César Department of Health and various other government agencies and NGOs have verified this on different occasions. An international delegation visited on June 13th, reporting filthy kitchen and food preparation areas swarming with flies.
•Unsanitary toilets--Because of water restrictions, toilet facilities are usually non-functioning. Sewage is frequently backed up, running into cells and kitchen areas.
•Repeated Reports of Torture, Beatings and Armed Attacks--Reports of violence in La Tramacúa are frequent and often horrifying. As recently as June 11th and 12th, guards attacked five units in order to end the peaceful prison strike. Witnesses said guards caused some prisoners to fall as far as four and five floors. Other guards were reported stripping prisoners and firing "non-lethal weapons" at their genitals. Especially targeted for violence are political prisoners at La Tramacúa, one of several harsh prisons where Colombia's more than 7,500 political prisoners are concentrated.
•Extreme Isolation from Family and Friends-- One of the most frequent complaints of prisoners at La Tramacúa is that they are being held far from their homes and are unable to receive visits from family members because costs are so prohibitive.
As people of conscience, we support the prisoners in their two demands that the Colombian government close La Tramacúa and transfer inmates to institutions near their families.
We also call on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights in Colombia and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate the situation at La Tramacúa as well as the treatment of Colombia's political prisoners throughout the penal system.
We call on Pres. Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to add their voices to those calling for La Tramacúa to be closed. We call on the United States Congress to investigate the roles played by the US Agency for International Development and the US Bureau of Prisons in allowing these conditions to develop at La Tramacúa.
We also insist that Congress reject attempts to pass the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. There is no justifiable reason to pass this FTA, especially while Colombia, with US support, allows such inhumane treatment to occur in its jails and while it continues to lock up 7,500 political prisoners-most of whom are peasant farmers, unionists and students who were engaged in nonviolent mobilizations.
* These reports were first received from the Colombian political prisoners advocacy organization, Lazos de Dignidad.
List of Signers (Organizational affiliations listed for identification purposes only):
Noam Chomsky- Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts, USA
Medea Benjamin- Co-founder of Code Pink, Washington, DC, USA
Isabel Garcia- Founder of the Coalición de Derechos Humanos and recipient of Mexico's National Human Rights Prize Tucson, AZ, USA
Dan Kovali- Senior Counsel, United Steel Workers, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Rev. John Fife- Co-Founder of the Sanctuary Movement, No More Deaths and former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, Tucson, AZ, USA
Prof. Marjorie- Cohn Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Former President of the National Lawyers Guild, San Diego, CA, USA
Prof. James Petras- Bartle Professor Emeritus, Binghamton University , New York, USA
Margaret Prescod- Women of Color in the Global Women's Strike, KPFA Radio host, Los Angeles, CA, USA
David Bacon- US labor journalist and photographer, San Francisco, CA, USA
Raquel Mogollón- Chair of the Alliance for Global Justice Colombia Committee and President, Pan Left Video Collective, Tucson, AZ, USA
Chuck Kaufman- Co-Coordinator for the Alliance for Global Justice, Tucson, AZ, USA
James Jordan- Co-Coordinator for the Alliance for Global Justice, Tucson, AZ, USA
Bob Briton- International Network in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners (of Colombia), Adelaide, Australia
Susan A. Scott- CoChair, National Lawyers Guild International Committee, Inverness, CA, USA
Cecilia Zárate-Laun- Program Director, Colombia Support Network, Madison, WI, USA
Dale Sorensen- Interfaith Task Force on Central America, Inverness, CA, USA
Selma James- Founder, Global Women's Strike, London, UK

Nico Udu-gama- Field Organizer, School of the Americas Watch, Washington, DC

Dr. Julian Kunnie- Professor of Africana Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
Dr. Peter Mott- Editor Interconnect, Rochester, NY, USA

Gail Mott- Editor INterconnect, Rochester, NY USA
Mary Ann Tenuto- Coordinator for the Chiapas Support Committee, California, USA

Blase Bonpane Ph.D- Director, Office of the Americas, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Bob Brown- Organizer, All-African People's Revolutionary Party (GC)
Mark Burton- Law Offices of Mark Burton and National Lawyers Guild, Denver, CO, USA Andaiye- Women of Color in the Global Women's Strike Georgetown, Guyana
Jerry Pendergrast- US-El Salvador Sister Cities Project, Chicago, IL, USA
Arnold Matlin- M.D. Executive Committee of Nicaragua Network, Rochester Committee on Latin America Steering Committee, Linwood, NY, USA
David L. Wilson- Co-Editor, Weekly News Update on the Americas, New York, NY, USA
Joseph "Tex Shelters" Callahan- Political humorist, Jobs with Justice, Tucson, AZ, USA
Karl Tetzlaff- National Lawyers Guild Alexandria, VA, USA
Maggie Ronayne- Global Women's Strike, Galway, Ireland
Eric Gjertsen- Payday Men's Network Philadelphia, PA, USA
Michael Kalmanovit-z Payday Men's Network United Kingdom
Phoebe Jones- Global Women's Strike Philadelphia, PA, USA Corey E. Olsen- CEO Pipe Organs/Golden Ponds Farm, Delafield, WI, USA
Gar Smith- Co-Founder, Environmentalists Against War Berkeley, CA, USA

Peter Bohmer- Faculty in Economics, Evergreen State College, Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, Olympia, WA, USA

Dr. Oliver Villar- Lecturer in Politics, Humanities and Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Australia

Mary Charlotte Thurtle- Director of Pan Left Productions, Tucson, AZ, USA

Kenneth Trauger- Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness, Lancaster, PA, USA

Joe Bernick- Director of Salt of the Earth Labor College, Tucson, AZ, USA

Robert Roth- Retired Public Interest Lawyer, Eugene, OR, USA

Todd Davies- Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Kevin Neish- Human Rights Activist Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Jeff Strain- Cumberland Countians for Peace & Justice, Pleasant, Hill, TN, USA

Donald B. Clark- Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility, United Church of Christ, Pleasant Hill, TN, USA

Banbose Shango-National Network on Cuba, Oklahoma City, OK, USA

Antony C. Black- Teacher, Political Journalist, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Stanley Kaster- Alliance for Global Justice, Brooklyn, NY, USA

Nina Lopez- Global Women's Strike London, UK
Lori Nairne- Legal Action for Women , San Francisco, CA, USA
Robert Roth- Haiti Action Committee , San Francisco, CA, USA Niki Adams- Legal Action for Women, Crossroads Women's Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
Michael Bass- Steering Committee, School of the Americas Watch, San Francisco, CA, USAQ

Felice Cohen-Joppa- Editor, Nuclear Resister Tucson, AZ, USA

Jack Cohen-Joppa- Ediotr, Nuclear Resister Tucson, AZ USA

Rufus Wanning- Master Arborist, member Maine Peoples Alliance, Orland, ME, USA

Jamie Way- Editor Global Justice Monitor, Alliance for Global Justice, Denver, CO, USA

Kathy Hoyt- National Coordinator of the Nicaragua Network, Imperial Beach, CA, USA

Elizabeth Hulm- Community and Public Sector Union of Australia

Elizabeth Lozano- Associate Professor of Communications, Loyola University, Chicago, IL. USA

Dr. William T. Whitney- Veterans for Peace, International Network in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners (of Colombia) South Paris, Maine, USA

Alison Whitne- Women in Black, South Paris, Maine

Pedro Arbelaez- International Network in Solidarity with the Political Prisoners (of Colombia), Ontario, Canada

Peggy Powell Dobbins- PhD Women in Time Change History m Indianola, TX, USA

Paul Teitelbaum- Tucson May 1st Coalition for Immigrant and Workers Rights, Tucson, AZ, USA

Rev. Dick Preston- Lansing, MI, USA

Dr. Barbara Larcom- Casa Baltimore/Limay, Baltimore, MD, USA

Gloria Osborne- Rochester Committee on Latin America, Springwater NY, USA

Renate Bridentha- Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York (PSC-CUNY), New York, NY, USA

Susan Bower- Safe Alternatives for our Forest Environement, Hayfork, USA

Juan Carlos Segura- The New School for Social Research, Sunnyside, NY, USA

Rachel Greenwood- The Sunrise Foundation, Williamsburg, MA, USA

Natalie Alfaro- Monterey Institute of International Studies, MPA candidate, Carmel Valley, CA

Luise Levy- Clinical Social Worker, Womens International League for Peace, Tucson, AZ, USA

JoAnn Wypijewski- New York, NY, Journalist

Fred Highton- Tucson Moveon.org, Tucson, AZ, USA

Timoteo Jeffries- USA Bend-Condega Friendship Project, Board, Alliance for Global Justice, Bend, OR

Scott McDaniel- Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA, USA

Jenaro Rodriguez- Pax Christi, Hastings, PA, USA

Scott Woods- Witness for Peace Southwest, Phoenix Chapter, Chandler, AZ

Jeff Imig- Co-Founder, Pan Left Video Collective, Tucson, AZ, USA

Tom Baker- Nicaragua Solidarity Committee, Chicago, IL, USA

Shelly Scribner- Modesto Peace Center, Board of Directors for Alliance for Global Justice and Nicaragua Network, Modesto, CA, USA

Peter Robbins- Let Cuba Live Committee, Sedgwick, ME, USA and Peninsula Peace and Justice, Blue Hill, ME, USA

Judy Robbins- Let Cuba Live Committee, Sedgwick, ME, USA and Peninsula Peace and Justice, Blue Hill, ME, USA

Antony Schofield- Unison, Manchester, England, UK

Lelia Mattingly- Network against Torture, Cochabamba, Bolivia

Ann Wootton- Freedom Rides for Justice in Education, New Orleans, LA, USA

Lee Siu Hin- National Immigrant Solidarity Network, Los Angeles, CA, USA

John Keevert- Treasurer, Interfaith Impact of New York State, Rochester, NY, USA

Lois Putzier- Labor Activist, Founder of Desert Witness Protest Against Torture at Fort Huachuca

Army Intelligence Headquarters, Tucson, AZ, USA

Jerry Wharton- Labor and Peace Activist, Tucson, AZ, USA

Dawn Paley- Journalist, California, USA

Herbert J. Hoffman- Maine Veterans for Peace, Maine, USA

Ollie Jefferson- Attorney at Law , Arlington, TX, USA

Dave King- Unionist, Seattle, WA, USA

Stephen Benson, Ph.D- Peninsula Peace and Justice, Blue Hill, ME, USA

Grace Braley- Peace Action Maine, Portland, ME, USA

Lee Robinson- All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party (GC), Richmond, VA, USA

William H. Slavick- Pax Christi Maine, Portland, ME, USA

Will Hodges- City High School, Tucson, AZ, USA

Dr. Dana Bott Whitefish Bay, WI, USA

Mrs. Dana Bott Whitefish Bay, WI, USA

Barbara Zilles Iowa City, IA, USA

Enoch Yisrael Bey Brooklyn, NY, USA

Katya Peterson Tucson, AZ, USA

Pierre Landau Tucson, AZ, USA

Jerold Block Santa Monica, CA, USA

Leonardo Maturana Tucson, AZ, USA

Karen Kampwirth Knox College, Galesburg, IL, USA

Kevin Young Stony Brook, NY, USA

John Bergen North Newton, KS, USA

Michael Adler Gainesville, FL, USA

Ross S. Heckman Arcadia, CA, USA

Kimberly Cook Haslett, MI, USA

Caroline Herzenberg Chicago, IL, USA

Elena Day Charlottesville, VA, USA

Larry Siegel Plainsboro, NY, USA

Don McKelvey Glendale, CA, USA

Stephen Coats Chicago, IL, USA

Jo Maguire Cochabamba, Bolivia

Andrea Sexton Lansing, MI, USA

Carole Edelsky Tucson, AZ, USA

Lynn Biddle Cambridge, MA, USA

Rachel Deierling Tucson, AZ, USA

Sheila Malone Waterville, ME, USA

Harold Hodes Ithaca, NY, USA

Leonard Yannielli Naugatuck, CT, USA

Carolyn Coe Maine, USA

L. Chris Hager USA

Paul Meyers USA

Steve Nutter USA

Sue Newlin USA

Paul Newlin USA