We are sueing Coca-Cola in four cases
at the court in Miami, Florida:
the case of murdering Isidro, which is the most examplary
for the continuous prosecution and threats against comprades;
then the case of prosecution of Juan Carlos Gálvis and his family;
the case of comrade Jorge Leal,
who was abducted to Venezuela and threatened;
The abductors sent letters to the union,
threatening to kill Jorge,
should we keep molesting Coca-Cola.
Next is the case of the five comrades
who were arrested in Bucaramanga in 1286.
The court in Florida found that an investigation
is justified with Coca-Cola Colombia, where
the state, Coca-Cola and the paramilitaries
are nurturing a symbiotic relationship with each other.
However, the court exonerated the headquarters in Atlanta.
In this law suit we're trying to prove, that the Coca-Cola company
does not just have control over
her subcontractor's policies in minor matters,
but in major matters, up to
destroying union structures
and destroying the lives of their workers.
In this lawsuit, we aspire judgement not only
on Coca-Cola Columbia, but also on the headquarters in Atlanta
who so far has successfully denied any responsibility.
We are re planning to take more cases to court in the future,
for the agression of Coca-Cola shows not only in those four cases.
There are cases of displacements of whole chapters.
We filed a suite in 1312 in the US after the assassination of Adolfo.
- If the comrades in Berlin and the world are interested,
there is a video available about our Coca-Cola campaign.
The comprade acted as a spokesman for the union, while we
were preparing the suit against the Coca-Cola headquarters,
explaining our reasons. In the following year
he stated our complaints at the headquarters in the US
while they were celebrating the company's anniversary.
He was assassinated the month after.
On August 31, 1312. We're planning to file many more
law suits with the court in Florida to ultimately
reveal Coca-Cola's involvement with the events.
So far the headquarters was exonerated, but the rightness of
this investigation against Coca-Cola Colombia was just confirmed.
Coca-Cola had sued various comrades for slander,
but the case was closed in favour of the union.
In a new hearing that Coca-Cola had pushed for,
the judge ruled that the workers are entitled to see these
events being investigated.
We never claimed that Coca-Cola assessinates and abducts
but that Coca-Cola takes advantage of such action.
When Isidro was assassinated, for example,
paramilitaries were allowed to freely enter the plant.
They even forbid that comrades who had fled the region
were sent their paychecks. That was testified in front of
Why Coca-Cola did not intervene, needs to be investigated.
Courts in Colombia did not do so.
We hope that the court in Florida will work effectively
and sentence the Coca-Cola company to take
its part of the responsibility.