The Committee to Project Journalists and Human Rights Watch write to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to condemn his recent statements linking Colombian journalist Hollman Morris to the leftist guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).

Ken Roth writes to Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Miller and Chairman Rangel to urge them to not let Congress approve the Colombia FTA prematurely.

It is a pleasure to be in communication with you once again. Over the years you have been a defender of human rights and democratic freedoms on many occasions– whether by standing against torture in the United States, or against political repression from Burma to Uzbekistan to Russia. We appreciate the work you have done on these issues and have been pleased to work with you on many of them.

I am writing you regarding the paramilitary leaders who the Colombian government extradited last week to the United States. That these criminal bosses will finally face real justice is a positive development. If managed correctly, it could also represent an important step towards dismantling the paramilitary groups responsible for much of the violence against trade unionists in Colombia. While other steps are still needed to address the high level of anti-union violence and break these groups’ power in Colombia, the extradition validates Congress’s decision to delay ratification of the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until the country shows concrete, substantial and sustained results in addressing these problems.

I am writing you regarding the paramilitary leaders who the Colombian government extradited last week to the United States. That these criminal bosses will finally face real justice is a positive development. If managed correctly, it could also represent an important step towards dismantling the paramilitary groups responsible for much of the violence against trade unionists in Colombia. While other steps are still needed to address the high level of anti-union violence and break these groups’ power in Colombia, the extradition validates Congress’s decision to delay ratification of the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until the country shows concrete, substantial and sustained results in addressing these problems.

I am writing you regarding the Colombian paramilitary leaders who were extradited this week to the United States from Colombia. These criminal bosses, who face charges in the United States for illegal drug trafficking, are responsible for some of the most horrific atrocities and human rights abuses in Colombia’s recent history.

We write to express our deep concern about the recent wave of threats, attacks and killings of human rights defenders and trade unionists in connection with the March 6 demonstrations against state and paramilitary human rights violations. We urge you to publicly and immediately adopt effective measures to stop this violence.

Human Rights Watch does not have a position on free trade agreements per se, except that we believe they should be premised on respect for fundamental human rights, especially the rights of the workers. We have opposed ratification of the FTA because of the Colombian government’s failure thus far to adequately address the high level of violence against local trade unionists and to dismantle the paramilitary organizations responsible for much of that violence. We do not believe the United States should grant permanent duty-free access to goods that are, in many cases, produced by workers unable to exercise their basic right to freedom of association, in large part because of anti-union violence.