U.S. lawmaker presses Colombia on judge's removal

[Omaha Steve]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080303/pl_nm/usa_colombia_trade_dc;

Mon Mar 3, 6:42 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers facing a possible vote on a free trade pact with Colombia need better information about why a highly respected Colombian judge was removed from a panel handling cases involving the murders of trade unionists, a senior U.S. Democrat said on Monday.

Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee, pressed the issue in a letter to the administrative arm of Colombia's independent judicial branch, after Colombia's vice president said Miller's questions were best directed to them.

Miller expressed concern that Colombian Judge Jose Nirio Sanchez may have been removed from the three-judge panel in retaliation for his rulings in a high-profile murder case involving Colombia's armed forces and for ordering a probe into whether Nestle SA had a role in another labor killing case.

"As the U.S. Congress debates the proposed trade agreement with Colombia, it is essential that we consider whether Colombia is doing everything it can to protect the safety of workers who want to exercise their basic workplace rights without worrying about becoming a victim of violence," Miller said in a statement.

"Colombia must have an independent, effective, sustainable process for investigating, prosecuting, and adjudicating these cases. If it lacks such a process, then killers will continue to murder union members with impunity," Miller said.

FULL story at link.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

1. GOOD JOB!!!!

I'll be darned!!! Some of those Democratic congress-critters are ON TOP OF THE GAME!!!

:woohoo: