Dear colleague,
I’m writing to you as one of the 4,000 international academics who supported
the successful campaign for the freedom of Colombian academic Dr. Miguel Angel
Beltran to ask you to show your support for the civil society organisations
working for a ceasefire and for peace in Colombia.
You can sign an open letter to the Colombian government here:
https://www.ucu.org.uk/colombiaopenletter
The Colombian government continues to persecute other academics and critics,
including members of the political opposition, trade unionists, indigenous
leaders, journalists, and human rights defenders. On 20 November 2012, Olga
Cadena Corrales, 68 year old Colombian historian, was murdered. Over 243 social
activists were assassinated in the first two years of the current government.
In March 2012 more than 100 Colombian academics wrote to both the Colombian
government and the FARC guerrillas calling for a peace process and an end to
the hostilities.
Peace talks have now begun but the Colombian government has refused to agree to
a bilateral ceasefire and the talks are to take place without proper civil
society participation.
Colombians for Peace, a wide-ranging civil society movement and leading force
for peace, that includes many high profile Colombian academics, has written to
the negotiating table calling for a ceasefire and seeking civil society
participation. However, in recent months, those calling for peace have received
increasing death threats, and there has been a rise in assassinations against
opposition activists.
UCU and Justice for Colombia are calling on UK and international academics to
add their voices to this call for a negotiated peace involving civil society
organisations and for guarantees for their safe participation.
I would ask you to consider adding your name to the below letter and encourage
other academics to do the same.
https://www.ucu.org.uk/colombiaopenletter
Thank you for taking the time to read this email.
Yours sincerely
Sally Hunt
UCU general secretary
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