The Quimbo Hydroelectric Project is the first dam to be built in Colombia entirely by a multinational corporation, Emgesa an affiliate of Endesa-Enel, as part of the policies of creating investor confidence that have been imposed by recent administrations. This policy gives all the guarantees and support to the private corporations in detriment of the communities whose rights are violated.
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The former president of the Colombian Congress was sentenced Wednesday to seven and a half years in prison for his ties to now defunct paramilitary organization the AUC. Following a trial that began in March 2011, the Criminal Chamber of Colombia's Supreme Court found Miguel Pinedo Vidal guilty of engaging in parapolitics, by having political and electoral ties to the AUC's Tayrona Bloc, in northern Colombia.
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Colombia's 'parapolitics' scandal on Dipity. Chronology of events and diplomatic cables regarding the Colombian parapolitics scandal Created by colombiareports on Feb 20, 2011 Last updated: 02/05/12 at 08:16 PM
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The CUT and the USO oilworkers’ union have reported the assassination of trade union leader and community activist Mauricio A. Redondo and his wife Janeth Ordonez. The two were killed at 19.30 on January 17th in Puerto Asis. The couple leave behind 5 children. Mr Redondo was from the settlement of Teteye, near Puerto Asis in Putumayo department in Southern Colombia. He worked in PEI, a services company for the oil sector. As a community leader he had recently had an active participation in a forum on the right to work.
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Despite multiple accusations that the Colombian branch of Anglo-French oil company Perenco funded paramilitary organization AUC, the company is only investigated for the alleged bribing of government officials, newspaper El Espectador reported Sunday. Apart from the alleged paramilitary funding, the oil company has come under increasing pressure by locals and its workers' union for an oil spill allegedly due to the company's disregard of environmental protection procedures and the ongoing harassment of unionists.
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The Regional Movement for the Defense of the Territory launched a regional strike in Huila, Colombia on Jan. 3 to protest the destructive impacts of the Quimbo Hydroelectric Project and the entering of UK-based petroleum company Emerald Energy into the biodiverse mountaintop moor ecosystem of the Páramo of Miraflores.
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Source: www.confederacionminera.org This past November 30 2011, the National Confederation of Miners of Colombia, Conalminercol, signed an agreement with the national government putting an end to the strike planned for December 1. In the document, it was agreed to begin talks to identify "points that will lead to formalizing traditional or informal mining," involving two million Colombians carrying out this activity.
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p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }a:link { } Communiqué: Marmato Defence Committee and Regional Indigenous Council of Caldas (CRIDEC), December 22, 2011 The residents of Marmato detain open-pit mining in their territory, impede the resettlement of their municipal centre and prohibit the demolition of local heritage
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On December 5, 2011, representatives from Mexico, Colombia and the countries of Central American attended the 13th Summit of the Tuxtla Mechanism for Dialogue and Coordination in Merida, Mexico. The summit’s main purpose was to discuss the progress of different initiatives included in the Mesoamerica Project’s framework, which is the new version of the Plan Puebla-Panama (PPP).
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Colombia's internal armed conflict continued to result in serious abuses by irregular armed groups in 2011, including guerrillas and successor groups to paramilitaries. Violence has displaced millions of Colombians internally, and continues to displace tens of thousands every year. Armed actors frequently threaten or attack human rights defenders, journalists, community leaders, teachers, trade unionists, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders, displaced persons' leaders, and paramilitaries' victims seeking land restitution or justice.
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