We who participated at the international meeting in Switzerland, express our fraternal greetings in support of all political prisoners in different jails of Colombia.
We are informed about the hunger strike that you carry through at this moment demanding that the Colombian State recognizes you as political prisoners caused by the social and armed conflict that Colombia goes through. It is necessary to remember that the political prisoners are in their big majority students, workers, farmers and intellectuals, defenders of human rights or journalists.
We support your demands that the problems of health, overcrowding, visits, the juridical situation and the systematic violation of human rights, among others, have to be resolved, these are problems that affect and cause suffering to the entire prison population of our nation. We join the voices that denounce the repressive policies of the Colombian State that seek to disperse them, moving them away from their families and their lawyers in order to break their family links, to demoralize them and to put pressure on them to sign the so called Law of justice and peace.
From the exterior we transmit our voice to encourage you in your just demands. In the international meeting we agreed to spread your demands in order to save your dignity and integrity, supporting the international campaigns that make your situation known and promote the release of all Colombian political prisoners in the different jails of the country, in the United States, as well as in other places of the world.
From Switzerland we call upon the Colombian government to respect the rights of political prisoners. To deny their existence does not contribute to peace in Colombia.
Political prisoners and prisoners of war are a juridical, political and social reality in the context of the Colombian conflict and their situation must be treated within the framework of a political resolution of the conflict and in the light of the International Humanitarian Law (DIH).
In the light of the gestures of peace of the insurgency, we call upon the Colombian government to allow the presence of the International Commission of Verification, headed by the spokeswoman of Colombians for Peace (CPP) and Women of the World for Peace, Dr. Piedad Córdoba.
Finally, the participants of the international event make a strong call upon President Juan Manuel Santos and the Colombian State to take the necessary measures to facilitate the start of talks with the insurgency, who by means of decisions and recent communication have given a clear sign of their availability to talk.
Peace is a constitutional mandate (art. 22). The recognition by President Juan Manuel Santos, that the conflict exists is important but insufficient if there are not specific measures taken that allow to advance towards the achievement of peace with social justice.
Coordinating Comittee.
Lausanne, Switzerland 25 March 2012
http://www.albamerica.ch/colombia