invisible popular struggles - A Canadian Tour
February, 2001

The "Peace, Conflict and Intervention in Colombia: A Public Forum for Canadian Solidarity" was held in Ottawa on December 2 and 3, 2000. Civil society participants from Canada and the United States developed a "Concerted Platform for Solidarity with Colombia" defining two lines of action to advance solidarity efforts. One such lines of action being to: support the voices and demands of those representing Colombia's invisible popular struggle for peace and social transformation.

The "invisible popular struggles" are about feasible alternatives for peaceful coexistence through social transformation and reconstruction in face of on-going extreme social injustice and war. These struggles are rendered invisible through a strategy of exclusion and systematic genocide directed against popular social movements and evidenced through massacres, forced displacements and many other atrocious human rights violations. They include the Black Communities Process, the Cauca Indigenous NASA project, the network of Communities and Territories for Peace, the Women's Path for Peace, the Popular Women's Organization, the Union and Labour movements and many others.

A Canadian Tour of leaders representing some of the above-mentioned movements is expected to take place during March of 2001. (Please see Annex 1 for the background of each of the social movements to be represented in the tour.) The tour launches the Canada-Colombia 2001 Solidarity Campaign in response to the Ottawa forum mandate.

The proposed objectives of the tour are to:

1. Introduce Canadians to some of Colombia's popular leaders and the social alternatives they represent;
2. Raise awareness among Canadians about the humanitarian crisis in Colombia, its national and international determinants and magnitude of impacts for Colombia, Canada and the Americas; and
3. Foster effective solidarity between Canada and Colombia, based on informed coordinated action.

The tour of these popular leaders will begin in the first week of March 2001 and is expected to travel for three weeks throughout Canada.

We call on you to participate and contribute to the successful organization and implementation of this tour. You can do this by:

1. Joining the organizing and coordinating efforts during the planning, execution and evaluation stages.
2. Adding your organization to those supporting the tour and the Campaign.
3. Sponsoring a popular Colombian leader's participation in the tour by contributing totally or partially to the total cost of the tour which is $2.000.00 per person.
4. Participating in event organization, publicity, translation, fundraising or in any other capacity.
5. Assisting in mobilizing the interest of key Canadian organizations and individuals, including the provision of relevant national contact information (media, civil society organizations, M.P.s, colleges and universities, etc).

All cheque donations should be made out to Canadian Coalitions "Lazos Visibles" or by direct deposit into the following bank account: Metro Credit Union, account # 7073802

On average, one Colombian is murdered every 15 to 20 minutes, 2 million Colombians have been forcibly displaced and a massacre is committed every day. Most of the victims of this genocide are unarmed black, indigenous, campesino, women, labour, and other popular leaders and civilians.

We would appreciate your positive response before February 23rd, 2001.

Sincerely,

Pablo Leal         Emmanuel E. Rozental

On behalf of:

CLAS (Caribbean-Latin American Solidarity Group)
CCA (The Canadian Colombian Association)
RISC (Research and International Support for Colombia)
Canadian Chapter of the Coalition Pueblos Hermanos: Lazos Visibles.

CONTACT and FURTHER INFORMATION:
Ottawa: Pablo Leal (613) 747-9930 pablo_leal@hotmail.com
Toronto: Iliam Burbano (416) 929-1834 -CCA cca_toronto@hotmail.com
Website: www.gratisweb.com/colombiacrisis

Colombia's Invisible Popular Struggles | A Concerted Platform for Solidarity | Plan Colombia | FTAA Québec