Bogotá, May 2 (EFE) .- The Office in Colombia of the UN High Commissioner for human Rights condemned on Friday the murder in the southwest of the country of a peasant leader who promoted the demonstrations of labor Day, a crime that was denounced by President Gustavo Petro.
The victim, Alberto Peña, was killed yesterday in Miranda (Cauca), where he was “making peripheral, inviting the march” of May 1, when “she was killed by the armies of drug trafficking,” Petro said.
“We condemned the murder of Luis Alberto Peña, yesterday in Miranda, Cauca, while promoting the right to work and invited the mobilization of May 1, Labor Day,” UN Human Rights said.
According to the International Agency, Peña “had leadership in the Pro Association Pro Constitution of Peasant Reserve” of Miranda, subsidiary of the National Agricultural Unitary Trade Union Federation (Fensuagro).
“It is particularly unfortunate that on the International Labor Day a peasant leader of a union is killed,” UN Human Rights added, which asked the authorities to “guarantee justice in the face of this serious fact and strengthen the prevention and protection measures for people defending human rights.”
In his speech before thousands of workers in Bogotá, Petro said that senators who oppose their labor reform have been dirty by Peña’s blood.
The president defined Peña as “hero of the popular cause of Colombia” and said that his murder is a consequence of the opposition of congressmen such as Miguel Ángel Pinto and Nadia Blel -who cited for his last names -, to the labor reform and the popular consultation with which he hopes to rescue that initiative that was already sunk in the Senate in March.
“Alberto is the first dead thanks to the decisions of that Congress. Alberto is killed by Pinto, for having denied the transit of the Labor Reform Law and although he did not order it, Mrs. Blel, Alberto’s blood today dirty it to you and your family,” said the president. EFE
