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US coal company hires militia to kill union leaders Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=184635&s=&i=&t=US_mining_firm_faces_trial_for_Colombian_unionists'_deaths http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=184635&s=&i=&t=US_mining_firm_faces_trial_for_Colombian_unionists'_deaths http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_mining_firm_faces_trial_for_Colo_07092007.html US mining firm faces trial for Colombian unionists' deaths 07-09-2007, 21h21 MIAMI (AFP) Jury selection started in Alabama Monday in the trial of a US company accused of hiring right-wing paramilitaries to kill three trade unionists working at its coal mine in Colombia six years ago. Potential jurors met behind closed doors with the rival lawyers and federal judge Karon Bowdre in the Birmingham courtroom, a court official said. A Colombian trade union claims Drummond Company Inc. arranged the three murders in 2001 "as part of a plan to destroy the union at the company's mine in the South American country." Sintramienergetica alleges Drummond's companies in Colombia hired violent paramilitaries to kill the three unionists in order to deter others from joining the union. Co-plaintiff Jose Rubio, a union treasurer, also alleges he was tortured by paramilitary units acting on behalf of Drummond. The Alabama-based company, a major investor in Colombia, denies the accusations filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act. Passed in 1789 to protect US ambassadors and combat pirates, the act has remained moribund in modern times until a court in 1982 expanded its application to include cases "on behalf of aliens for violations of international law anywhere in the world." Other US companies also face legal action under the act, including banana importer Chiquita Brands which is being sued for paying Colombian paramilitaries. The act is also being used in a pending case against the Emir of Dubai brought by a group of parents charging he enslaved thousands of children to breed, train and ride camels for the racing circuit. The United Steel Workers of America union, which supports the civil lawsuit against Drummond, claims Colombia is the world's most dangerous country for trade unionists. More than 4,000 Colombian union leaders have been assassinated since 1986, according to US State Department figures. Many of the killings are blamed on the right-wing paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), which the US administration considers a terrorist organization. AFP

Biofuels doubles prices of corn and wheat { May 18 2007 } Coal company has colombian union leaders killed { May 19 2006 } Energy industry dirty { October 20 2002 } Ethanol demand pushing up food prices { July 18 2007 } Regulators dispute energy firm contracts { June 26 2003 } Safety issues investigated in coal mines after tragedy { January 5 2006 } US coal company hires militia to kill union leaders Files Listed: 7

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