INTERNATIONAL
SOLIDARITY
Call to
action -
June 2,
2011
Jonsía
Jomata
-
Everyone
Together!
May 25,
2011
On June
2, 2011,
OPSEU
joins
together
with
people
in
Colombia
and
other
parts of
the
world to
mark the
10th
anniversary
of the
forced
disappearance
of
Colombian
Indigenous
leader
Kimy
Pernia
Domico,
and draw
attention
to
ongoing
threats
and
attacks
against
Indigenous
peoples
in
Colombia.
The
Jenzerá
Collective
– a
Colombian
organization
that
Kimy
helped
form and
that is
comprised
of his
closest
collaborators
–
together
with
other
organizations
in
Colombia
are
planning
a week
of
diverse
activities
to
honour
Kimy’s
memory,
raise
awareness
and
press
for
State
accountability.
As part
of this,
they
have
called
for a
National
and
International
Day of
Action
on June
2 to
demand
truth
and
justice,
under
the
slogan
Jonsía
Jomata
“Everyone
Together”.
In
Colombia
and
other
parts of
the
world,
candles
will be
lit to
honour
Kimy.
Kimy had
a close
connection
with
Canada.
In 1999,
he moved
Canadian
MPs when
he
testified
before a
Parliamentary
Committee
about
the
devastating
impact
of a dam
project
that
received
financing
from
Canada’s
Export
Development
Corporation
despite
failure
to
accord
affected
Indigenous
communities
their
right to
free,
prior
and
informed
consent.
In 2001,
Kimy
returned
to speak
at the
Summit
of the
Americas
in
Quebec
City.
Kimy was
honoured
with the
John
Humphrey
Freedom
Award,
given by
the
Canadian
organization
Rights
and
Democracy.
Kimy was
kidnapped
by
army-backed
paramilitary
forces
in 2001
and
remains
“disappeared”.
No one
has been
brought
to
justice
for this
crime.
Ten
years
later,
threats
and
attacks
on
Indigenous
leaders
and
Indigenous
communities
have
intensified.
According
to the
National
Indigenous
Organization
of
Colombia
(ONIC),
the
Embera
are
amongst
more
than 32
Indigenous
Peoples
threatened
with
extinction
in
Colombia
as a
result
of the
ongoing
armed
conflict,
state
abandonment
and the
imposition
of
development
projects
on their
land.
The
threats
are so
serious
that the
UN's
Rapporteur
on
Indigenous
People
has
called
for a
visit by
the UN
Special
Adviser
on the
Prevention
of
Genocide.
What
You Can
Do:
-
Hold
a
candlelight
vigil
on
that
day
(no
matter
where
or
how
many
you
are).
Please
send
a
photo
of
this
to
bilito@horizons.ca
so
that
it
can
be
shared
with
Kimy’s
family
and
community.
For
those
in
the
Toronto
area
–
Join
us
at a
candlelight
vigil
that
will
be
held
between
6:30
–
7:30
PM
on
Thursday
June
2 at
the
southwest
corner
of
Yonge
and
Dundas
Street
(where
the
Colombian
consulate
is
located);
-
Sign
an
online
petition
prepared
by
Amnesty
International
(www.amnesty.ca/colombia
) to
President
Santos,
calling
for
justice
for
Kimy
and
protection
for
the
Embera
and
other
Indigenous
Peoples
threatened
with
extinction;
-
Hold
a
screening
of
the
video:
Our
River:
Our
Life:
The
Struggle
of
the
Embera
Katio
of
Colombia.
This
10
minute
video
was
filmed
with
Kimy
in
Colombia
and
shows
the
impact
of
the
dam
on
the
lives
of
the
Embera
people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50gD3G6ZRq4
-
Use
the
attached
art
work
(commissioned
by
Amnesty
International)
to
create
signs
or
banners
for
display
in
offices,
schools
or
other
public
spaces.
Take
a
photo
holding
the
sign/banner
and
send
it
to
kprice@amnesty.ca
.
The
photos
will
be
shared
with
Colombian
partners
and
used
for
political
pressure
in
Canada.
