Fifteen-year-old Cuneyt Ertus was arrested by police after Newroz (New Year) demonstrations on 22 March in the south-eastern city of Hakkari. He was apparently ill-treated during and after his arrest and is currently being held on remand at Bitlis Prison. He has been charged with offences including resisting arrest and making propaganda for a terrorist organization.
Television footage apparently shows plainclothes police officers injuring Cuneyt Ertus' arm while he was under their control and not resisting arrest [http://www.ozgurgundem.org/haber.asp?HaberId=49576] Amnesty International is calling for Cuneyt Ertus to be given an urgent independent medical examination and appropriate treatment.
This call follows official medical reports which have apparently not found his arm to be seriously injured. Concerns for his health are heightened by reports that after he was taken into police custody, Cuneyt Ertus was allegedly punched, slapped and verbally abused by police officers.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Newroz (Kurdish)/ Nevruz (Turkish) is the traditional festival of New Year in the Persian calendar which celebrates the arrival of spring at the March 21 equinox and which is celebrated especially by the Kurdish community in Turkey.
Violent protests occurred in the south-eastern cities of Hakkari, Siirt, Van, and Yuksekova after local authorities refused to permit traditional Newroz celebrations. There were widespread allegations of the use of excessive force and ill-treatment by police officers in demonstrations that left three people dead. A large number of people, including some police officers were also
reportedly injured during the demonstrations. In other cities where permission was granted, demonstrations took place without incident.
Under international law it is the duty of the Turkish authorities to ensure that the policing of demonstrations is carried out in a manner that complies with the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment and international standards on the use of force. Article 3 of the United Nations (UN) Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (UN Code of Conduct) states that: "Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty".
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:
- urging the Turkish authorities to ensure that Cuneyt Ertus has access to an independent medical examination and can access appropriate medical treatment;
- calling for a prompt, impartial and effective investigation into claims that Cuneyt Ertus was ill-treated by police officers during and after his arrest and for those responsible to be brought to justice;
- acknowledging that governments have the right and responsibility to prosecute those suspected of a recognizably criminal offence but reminding the authorities of their obligation to uphold the absolute prohibition of the use of torture and other ill-treatment under the Convention against Torture and their obligations to under the Convention of the Rights of the Child which apply to Cuneyt Ertus who is a minor under national and international law;
- calling for demonstrations to be policed within the confines of international law and as such for force only to be used where strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty.
APPEALS TO:
Minister of the Interior:
Mr Besir Atalay
Ministry of the Interior
Içisleri Bakanligi
06644 Ankara
Turkey
Fax: +90 312 418 1795 /418 3284
e-mail: besir.atalay@icisleri.gov.tr
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister
Mr Cemil Çiçek
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanl?k
06573 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 417 0476
Email bimer@basbakanlik.gov.tr
Salutation: Dear Minister
and to diplomatic representatives of Turkey accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 20 May 2008.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Mistreatment of Kurdish children by Turkish authorities
Munich, 28.03.08
Ladies and Gentlemen,
this year again numerous children and young persons in Turkey became brutally arrested, abused, kidnapped and tortured by members of the Turkish police, constabulary and military and special operation units during the Newroz celebrations . Defense by a lawyer and medical care for the victims are prevented.
There are numerous photographs and videos from the incidents. On videos attached by us is to be seen how members of the civil police and/or the Turkish secret service, members of special-purpose forces in civilian clothes, are breaking through the arm of the 15-year-old Cuneyit Ertus in front of the unit's running camera.
They call: „We break the arms which throw stones.“ The Turkish idiom, originally used by the former Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller: "We break the hands which rise against Turkey, the tongue which speaks against us is cut off".
According to our information, Cuneyit Ertus is still kept captive without medical care since the incident on 23.03.2008 in Hakkari/Yüksekova. More children and youngsters in Turkey suffer the same in this very moment. Right now we have received news from a member of the bar association of Hakkari that another kid apparently has lost both eyes and suffered a scull fracture. The boy has been brought for emergency operation to Ankara.
The arrested children must be helped immediately.
Therefore we are addressing to you. Please pass on the information to your contact-lists and communicate us quickly who got involved in the matter.
If you need further information, you can contact us at any time. We ourselves are for the moment depending on publications in the Internet and the abroad working Kurdish media etc. We have the information about the whereabouts of
Cuneyit Ertus over Roj TV, a Kurdish television station, which referred to the information from the child's father. If we get informations about the other children we will inform you.
In hope, Yours sincerely
Memo Arikan
Directorate of Kurdish Community Bavaria &
Member of Munich Foreigners' Council
Kurdische Gemeinde Bayern
Bergmannstr.35, 80339 München,
Tel.:0049-089-509584
kurdinfo.muc@t-online.de
Mobil: 0171/5324986
Links:
Cüneyit Ertus Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ENIwySnfNM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2JA7yy56Eg&feature=related
Weitere Links mit Videos von Misshandlungen von Kindern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYvE7bm2cl0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PikJpE0OH2U&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=ML_TnmyxCrc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SxHbFs0aao&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2JA7yy56Eg&feature=related
Links des Menschenrechtsberichte von IHD Türkei auf Englisch:
http://www.ihd.org.tr/report/summary/2007.htm
http://www.ihd.org.tr/report/summary/January-June2007.html
http://www.ihd.org.tr/report/summary/1999_2007_comparative_balance_sheet.htm
http://www.ihd.org.tr/report/summary/2006.htm
The Nigerian Embassy as a Deportation Agency
Support the Fax-Campaign!
The Nigerian embassy in Germany is actively supporting the deportation of Nigerian and other African refugees and migrants. They are doing embassy hearings for issuing traveling documents (TCs) which are needed to carry out deportations.
It has come to an extent that such embassy hearings with the Nigerian embassy are taking place every month, each time in another region and another city of Germany. The Nigerian embassy officials were in Munich in August 2007, in January 2008 they were in Halberstadt, in February they were in Dortmund and in March they were in Ludwigsburg.
The aim of the German authorities is clear: Accelerating massive deportation of Nigerian citizens! And not only of Nigerian citizens: Even people from other African countries, like Liberia, Togo or Sudan, are forced to attend these hearings, with the aim to deport them to Nigeria as well. It seems as if the Nigerian embassy has become a central agency for the deportation of African migrants and refugees!
Therefore, the Munich group of the Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants calls for a campaign of massive pressure against the Nigerian embassy to stop them from carrying out this shameful deportation business.
Fax protest letter that you can sign and send to the Nigerian embassy in Berlin (if you can write your own protest letter, even better!):
Adress of the Nigerian embassy in Germany for protest:
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Neue Jakobstr. 4
10179 Berlin
Fax: +49-(030) 21230212
info@nigeriaembassygermany.org
Report about Nigerian embassy hearing in March 2008 in Ludwigsburg by an activist of The Voice Refugee Forum/Baden Würtemberg:
Background article
The Nigerian Embassy as a Deportation Agency
Whose Ambassadors are these?
By Olushola Adeagbo, Maxim Kammerer & Gerit Boekbinder
Nigeria Village Square Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Over the last few years, European governments have managed to tighten their immigration laws leading ultimately to the construction of “fortress Europe”. As a result, refugees as a rule are routinely denied asylum. According to Spiegel magazine (a leading German newsmagazine) only one in a thousand African refugees is offered asylum in Germany. Those whose asylum applications have been denied have to be deported back to their countries of origin, forcefully and against their will.
We would like to point out that all the countries in Europe and Africa are signatories to the United Nations Organisation (UNO) Declaration on Human Rights and the Geneva Convention on Refugees. This declaration recognises the right of Asylum as a fundamental human right. However, with the new immigration laws of the western European countries, especially Germany, this fundamental human right is being denied to refugees and other legal immigrants are also facing hard times. And the embassies of African countries, especially the Nigerian embassy, are playing a shameful role supporting this deportation policy:
While most asylum seekers do not have any travel or identification documents, it therefore becomes necessary for these refugees to be identified by their countries’ embassies so as to issue travel documents which will facilitate their deportation. Without this identification and issuance of a travel document, no refugee can be deported. It is one of the most shocking aspects of the treatment of African refugees in Germany that the embassies of African countries are collaborating in this desecration of fundamental human rights. The most prominent of these collaborators is the Nigerian embassy in Germany. In order to facilitate the quick deportation of Nigerian refugees living in Germany, the German authorities are conniving with Nigerian embassy officials by bringing these officials all the way from Berlin to different places all over Germany, where Nigerians are forced to attend so-called Identification hearings with these officials for the purpose of issuing travel documents for their deportation, against their will. It has come to an extent that such embassy hearings with the Nigerian embassy are taking place every month, each time in another region and another city of Germany. The Nigerian embassy officials were in Munich in August 2007, in January 2008 they were in Halberstadt, in February they were in Dortmund and in March they were in Ludwigsburg.
The aim of the German authorities is clear: Accelerating massive deportation of Nigerian citizens! And not only of Nigerian citizens: Even people from other African countries, like Liberia, Togo or Sudan, are forced to attend these hearings, with the aim to deport them to Nigeria as well. It seems as if the Nigerian embassy has become a central agency for the deportation of African migrants and refugees!
Why do the Nigerian embassy officials allow themselves to be used in this way? The answer is that for every refugee that is issued a travel document thereby paving the way for his eventual forceful deportation, the embassy is paid a certain sum of money by the German authorities: They receive 250 Euro for every interview and 250 Euro more for every travel document! This means a total of 500 Euros for every refugee that is invited and finally issued a travel document. It would be interesting to know what happens to the money these embassy officials receive from the German authorities. Does it go into the federal government account or into the pockets of the embassy officials?
The invited refugees are not informed about the purpose of these invitations and are even forced through various repressive means, including imprisonment, by the local German authorities to attend these hearings. So the truth is that the embassy officials receive money to facilitate the denial of fundamental human rights by a foreign country to Nigerian and other African citizens living in this foreign country.
One common argument by the Nigerian government is that Nigerians disgrace the country by living abroad illegally and that they should all come home since there is no Problem in Nigeria. In terms of security of life and property, is Nigeria safer after Obasanjo’s two terms as President? What is the current state of the Nigerian Police force? What is the current state of the Nigerian Prison system considering the fact that Obasanjo himself was a guest there shortly before he was handpicked by his political godfathers and catapulted into Aso-Rock?
On the political level, we all witnessed the last elections which ushered in our current President, Umaru Yar’Adua. Was it a free and fair election? Is it not shameful that the freest and fairest election in Nigerian history held on June 12, 1993 was annulled? Is it not shameful that during elections in Nigeria hundreds of people have to lose their lives and the last one was no exception? Have we found out who killed our former Justice Minister (whose wife incidentally was also a Justice of the Federal Appeal Court) Chief Bola Ige? Is there peace today in the Niger-Delta after two terms of “Democracy” in Nigeria? If an eminent international figure like Chief Bola Ige who was Nigerian Justice Minister to boot could be killed and nobody could be held responsible, then who is actually safe in Nigeria? Is it the common man on the streets who is safe?
The truth of the matter is that Nigerian leaders have been the most significant source of shame for Nigeria as a nation and not refugees who flee for political, economic or whatever reasons. Simply put, our leaders have failed us. It is therefore revolting, to say the least, for these same leaders to turn back and accuse refugees who are fleeing their inhuman and failed leadership adventures of bringing shame to the country. A classic case of the farmer who did not discover the thief on time thereby giving the thief the chance to accuse the farmer of stealing!
On June 9, 2007 a 23 years old Nigerian, Osamuyiwa Aikpitanhi was killed by Spanish police officers during a forced deportation. They handcuffed him, chained his legs, gagged him with his mouth completely closed with industrial strength rubber or duck-tape and put a twine-bag or sack over his head, once out of public view, they pummelled him, until he suffocated and asphyxiated. One does need to add that this kind of treatment is inhuman to say the least and negates all UN and EU conventions on human rights to which Spain and Nigeria are signatories. It also needs no saying that this deportation would not have been possible without the active co-operation of the Nigerian embassy in Spain. Till now, we are yet to hear of any official complaints for this dastardly act from the Nigerian government and the Nigerian embassy in Spain or even any explanation or apology from the Spanish side. We wonder how the officials who received money to sign for the deportation of this young man would be feeling now, assuming they have any conscience…..which we seriously doubt.
A recent study by an organ of the UN reported that the total annual development aid given by western nations to Africa was less than half of the total cash remittances to Africa by Africans living outside Africa. This means that Africans living in the western world actually contribute more to the economic stability of their countries than even the African governments and Western governments. There is virtually no Nigerian family that does not have a relative living abroad! This fact is of course lost to Nigerian embassy officials in Germany who as usual are only thinking about whatever money they can make from colluding in the deportation of fellow Nigerians against all known national and international human rights regulations.
This phenomenon is a sad reminder of the era of slavery when local chiefs and community leaders sold fellow Africans to European slavers. Now Africans who fled to Europe to escape hunger, wars and the irresponsible leadership of their elite are being deported from Europe by the same irresponsible elite who caused them to flee in the first place. It is indeed a shame that 200 years after the official end of slavery and 50 years after the official end of colonialism, the African elite is still being used as a tool by the West for the subjugation and oppression of the African people.
It is therefore with a great sense of shame and disappointment that we witness the recent flurry of visits by the Nigerian embassy officials to various German cities in order to collude with German authorities in facilitating mass deportations of Nigerians from Germany. We wonder how many Nigerians will have to suffer the type of humiliating death that Mr Aikpitanhi died before our embassy officials stop putting ill-gotten wealth ahead of their humanity and reason.
We hereby call on all Nigerians and other Africans to protest this atrocious action by embassy officials who are supposed to be representing the interest of their citizens in a foreign land but who end up signing the death warrants of these citizens. It is not a crime to be a refugee especially when you come from a country where visionless, callous and kleptomaniac leaders reign!
Olushola Adeagbo, Maxim Kammerer & Gerit Boekbinder
Munich, Germany
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Who killed Oury Jalloh
Artworks by Bonaventure Ndikung Soh Bejeng
Oury Jalloh 1
Oury Jalloh was burned to death in a police cell in Dessau (Germany) on 7th of January 2005.
Further Information:
Karawane für die Rechte der Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen
http://thecaravan.org
Initiative Oury Jalloh
http://initiativeouryjalloh.wordpress.com
Oury Jalloh 1
Oury Jalloh was burned to death in a police cell in Dessau (Germany) on 7th of January 2005.
Further Information:
Karawane für die Rechte der Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen
http://thecaravan.org
Initiative Oury Jalloh
http://initiativeouryjalloh.wordpress.com
Monday, March 10, 2008
Bayan notes women’s active role to oust President Arroyo
7 March 2008
Reference: Dr. Carol Pagaduan-Araullo, Chairperson
As the country observes the International Women’s Day tomorrow, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said that the movement of women for greater political participation, for genuine social change, and against gender-related abuses, oppression, and exploitation is gaining strength.
Bayan chairperson Dr. Carol Pagaduan-Araullo said that this can be seen in the active leadership and participation of women’s groups and women personalities in the campaign for truth, justice, and change amid the latest corruption scandal bedeviling the Arroyo government.
“Filipino women have a long history and continuing tradition of leadership and heroism. We see it again in the struggle to make the Arroyo regime accountable for its numerous crimes against the people. From the nuns who have given sanctuary to whistleblower Lozada, to the women activists who have been tirelessly organizing and leading awareness-raising events and street protests, we can see their important role in the movement for social justice and reforms”, Araullo said.
Mrs. Gloria Arroyo is currently facing a new wave of huge protests from various sectors demanding her resignation or ouster after Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr implicated her husband in the $329-million broadband corruption scandal. Arroyo’s cabinet officials and several police officers have also been charged of abducting Lozada, a former government consultant, and undertaking a cover-up of the broadband scandal.
“It is only right that many women are in the thick, if not leading, the fight against the detested regime of a woman-president. It only shows that for these women, plunder and other high crimes, whether committed by a man or a woman in office should not go unpunished. By not tolerating the crimes committed by one of our own, we show what justice truly means”, argued the woman leader of Bayan.
Araullo noted that the Arroyo government, in fact, has a long list of crimes against women. “The anti-people economic policies and corruption of her regime impact most harshly on women. As poverty and unemployment worsen, women provide the coping mechanisms for Filipino families to survive. They are oppressed twice over, in their own homes and as they eke out a living, many as contractual workers or toilers in the underground economy. Labor migration, the primary means with which families try to survive the lingering economic crisis, has been increasingly feminized in the last three decades. More than 60% of deployed migrant workers are women”, said Araullo.
Bayan and its affiliate groups will join the commemoration of International Women’s Day on March 8, which will be led by the broad alliance Babae Laban sa Katiwalian (BABALA) and Bayan member-organization Gabriela. The rally forms part of the people’s continuing campaign to ferret out the culpability of the Arroyos in the broadband scandal, remove the corrupt regime and begin the process of meaningful reforms in the country’s political governance and economic management.
| 7 Mar 2008 - 16:13 by bayan | Previous News Releases | |
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Justice for Mouctar Bah - support the fax campaign
Campaign against the efforts of the City of Dessau to destroy the existence of an African activist, because he protested as his friend was burnt in a police cell.
flyer of the campaign in german for download
video interview with Mouctar Bah
On the morning of 7th January 2005 Oury Jalloh, an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone was caught by police and put into custody. He was beaten, handcuffed and enchained on the feet on the ground of a cell. Four hours later the completely tiled cell was on fire and it is still open how this could happen. The policemen on duty turned off the alarm three times, instead of helping Jalloh. He torturously burned.
Since then friends of the West African refugee and antiracist initiatives in Germany are demanding “Clarification, Repatriation and Justice”. Under the slogan “Oury Jalloh, it was murder!” they are organizing numerous demonstrations in Dessau and other cities.
The main person of the protests: Mouctar Bah, a friend of Oury Jalloh and former carrier of an internet café in the town center of Dessau. Already in 2006 his license was taken off him, arguing he had not reacted offensively enough towards drug dealers near his shop. Since then he is working as an employee in the internet café. But this now is to be forbidden as well: because of supposedly complaints of neighbors about noise and dirt of his customers and because he – against the charges – has a “leading” position in the café, now he should not be allowed to work there at all.
Mouctar Bah opened his phone café four years ago in Dessau. It is one of the rare places in Dessau where African refugees can meet and feel safe. But after the death of Oury Jalloh he became object to the attention of the authorities. Under the pressure of the “Initiative Oury Jalloh”, which was founded by Bah, the prosecution office had to give out the burnt corpse of the dead refugee for a second and independent autopsy. Herein suddenly a broken nose was diagnosed, which was missed during the first round. In the documentation “Death in the Cell” of the TV-Channel WDR and also in interviews with other media representatives Bah doubts the explanations of the prosecution office about Jallohs death, which says that Oury Jalloh burnt himself, despite the bonds.
The authorities did not like him even before. Now for three years the Ordnungsamt (munipical department for public order, or the city’s regulatory agency) is trying to take off Mouctar Bah his business license. The fact that people with black color had their meeting point at his shop seemed to be enough reason to argue that it was a drug trafficking spot.
But Mouctar Bah himself had reported drug dealers several times to the police. Now he is being accused of having reported the dealers after knowing that the police had noticed them as well. The court where Bah protested against the withdrawal of his license argued so. The court confirmed the decision of the authorities from the year 2006. Mouctar Bah had to give up his shop. The new owner employed him in the cafe.
After one year he asked for the allowance of a new license. The Ordnungsamt can only deny this if there are cogent arguments.
The authorities think there are good reasons, why Mouctar Bah should not have the license, as follows:
1. Because he works on his own in the shop, he must have a ‘leading position’ which is against the charges.
2. His customers would pollute the environment of the café, urinate at the walls and produce a lot of noise.
3. The drug dealing was continued.
4. Especially Africans would visit the shop, police had observed, and leave it and return “several times a day (…) either by foot or via bicycle”.
5. Some of the visitors of the café had left their Landkreis and broken the rule of residency.
The Ordnungsamt also points at four reports, which were put against Bah. Two of them were by the same neighbor of the café, who does not really like the presence of the Africans anyway. The well known right wing neighbor has insulted Bah several times in front of the café. Twice he even hit Mouctar Bah – the second time Bah defended himself and the neighbor had to be medicated. Out of revenge he reported twice to the police. In the first case, Bah was found not guilty by the judge, who saw Bah to be the victim. The second case is still on. The third report is from a policeman, who felt insulted by Bah during the court case. The fourth case finally was stopped by the prosecution office before a while.
The simple fact that someone has reported Bah to the police, means to the Ordnungsamt that Bah has “great character deficiency”.
Despite all of this the Ordnungsamt declares: “Behavior, which repeatedly needs police investigation, shows great character deficiency of the person and a lack of acceptance of the norms of social intercourse and of laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, independent of the results of those investigations.”
The simple fact, that there were reports against Bah, independent of the results of investigations, seem to be enough to prove “great character deficiency”. This shows how strongly the Ordnungsamt wishes to discredit Bah. Mouctar Bah is supposed to be responsible for the behavior of his customers, because they are focused by police due to their color of skin and their status. That he was taking care of the cleaning of the area and of the activities of his customers is being interpreted as “cognizance”. The fact that Bah reported to the police about drug dealing means to the administration that he had known about drug dealing before. The phone café is even supposed to have provoked the activities of his customers: “There are no doubts that the incidents on the Friedrich-Naumann-Straße only happened because of the existence of the shop with telecommunication services.”
Since March 2007 two policemen are in front of the court because of the death of Oury Jalloh. Clarification is not in sight – because the colleagues keep silent.
Meanwhile the police and the town of Dessau have become known for their friendly intercourse with far right activities and are now trying to produce another picture in the public. But if it is about Non-Germans or people with black skin, then still they can continue with their disrespect and discrimination – the bureaucratic means they have.
What exactly the “acceptance of the norms of social intercourse and of laws of the Federal Republic of Germany” means, seems to be under the definition power of the administration, who also has the power to enforce the definition.
Everyday people with dark skin are affected by this definition – in the streets or behind the walls of police offices. Since years Mouctar Bah must resist the efforts of the authorities to neglect his existence in this town. Since the death of Oury Jalloh this pressure has increased.
The Dessau administration have relied on their experience that in this case too, this could happen without publicity and hoped to continue the exclusion of refugees and migrants. They shall not succeed! This is why we demand a broad solidarity with Mouctar Bah. Please take part of the fax campaign.
In SOLIDARITY we BREAK the silence
Agro-chemicals continue to sicken Chile's farm workers
The latest incidents of Agro-Chemical poisoning coincide with the progression of harvest time in Chile
Photo courtesy of Monica Wyant
Thirteen farm workers from the Region VII town of Pelarco recently became ill after being sprayed with toxic chemicals known as plaguicides. The accident occurred days after Chile’s Health Ministry disclosed that 710 farmers were victims of similar accidents nationwide in 2007, prompting labor advocates to call for greater control over the chemical substances.
“Plaguicides” is an all-inclusive term that refers to a wide range of agrochemicals: pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc. On average, says the Health Ministry, some 700 people suffer acute poisonings from plaguicides every year in Chile. (ST, Sept. 7, 2007)According to the NGO Chilean Plaguicide Action Network (RAP-AL), the latest incident took place on Jan. 16 in a small farming sector called Bajo Lagunilla, located 15 kilometers from Talca. The workers, all employees of the company Sociedad Agricola Beyce, notified their bosses that they were going to be working in the fields. In spite of this warning, company officials proceeded to spray the entire area—and the workers—with the toxic insecticide Zero 5 EC.
The thirteen employees immediately came down with severe headaches, nausea, stomach aches, and shivers, and all of them were hospitalized. After taking chemical baths to remove the insecticides, the workers were placed under observation for several days before allowed to return home.
Shortly after the incident, Region XII Health and Labor Ministry officials investigated both Sociedad Agricola Beyce and Fumital, the company which carried out the fumigation.
The Director of the Region VII Work Authority JoaquÌn Torres told the Santiago Times that the companies had violated a range of industry safety norms mandating, among other precautions, the provisioning of adequate protective gear, the constructing of chemical showers and emergency cellars in the event of an accident, and the barring of fumigation while workers are present. He said both companies were shut down after the accident occurred, and were only allowed to reopen after complying with regulations and paying a fine of Ch$3.5 million pesos (US$7,500).
“The businesses were fined not only for breaking industry standards, but also because they did not report the accident to local authorities… We only managed to find out about this incident through local media,” said Torres.
“This incident shows us that, in Chile, there continue to be bad practices in the agriculture industry. There is little concern for both the health of the workers who are exposed to plaguicides and environmental contamination as a whole,” RAP-AL Director MarÌa Elena Rozas told the Santiago Times. “The checks that were carried out later on revealed a completely defenseless workforce, and thus serious violations of industry norms. Above all, this accident reminds us that, regardless of their classification, all plaguicides are dangerous.”
Rosas also called on Chile’s Agriculture and Cattle Service (SAG) to apply far stiffer penalties to companies that put workers at risk. “The fines, as they stand now, do not represent a strong enough fine for these companies, and they will not help things change.”
The 710 workers cited by Chile’s Health Ministry who were accidentally sprayed with agro-chemicals in 2007 oftentimes risked serious health threats. More than 39 percent of those accidents involved chemicals the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies as 1a and 1b: considered “extremely” and “very” dangerous, respectively.
Meanwhile, in 2005, at least 785 people were poisoned nationwide by plaguicides, according the Health Ministry. In roughly 85 percent of the cases, health authorities were able to identify the specific chemical involved. More than 150 of those cases (23 percent) involved chemicals classified as 1a and 1b: considered “extremely” and “very” dangerous, respectively. Nearly two thirds of the 1a/1b poisonings involved a chemical called metamidofos, distributed in Chile by the multinational Bayer Corporation under the trade names Tamaron and Baythroid.
The Health Ministry statistics, however, may just be the tip of the iceberg. The real number of poisonings, says Rosas, may be between 2,500 to 3,000. “What worries us is that for every one of those cases, there are many more that don’t get reported,” Rosas told the Santiago Times. “There are a lot of reasons not to report. It’s been calculated that in the best case scenario, for every case that’s reported, four go unreported” (ST, Sept. 7, 2007).
By Matt Malinowski (editorAT santiagotimes.cl)
See also the Open Letter to Bayer
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