The ITF’s campaign for justice for assassinated Guatemalan trade unionist Pedro Zamora and his union, STEPQ, has continued to increase dramatically as international supporters weigh in.
On Friday, the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) and the ITF jointly submitted a complaint to the International Labour Organization (ILO), protesting against the murder.
Since the ITF began mobilising support after the January 15th killing, thousand of supporters have signed up. ITF unions in Spain, Japan and Thailand, among others, reacted quickly to distribute the campaign information to their members. Unions attending the World Social Forum, which concluded in Nairobi last week, also backed the call for justice.
Venezuela’s national television network broadcast a debate focusing on the Zamora murder on January 24th. Pedro Recalde, president of Argentina’s committee on labour legislation, has written to President Berger of Guatemala demanding a guarantee of basic rights.
Green parties in Spain and Britain have backed the campaign, and Spanish socialist MEPs have tabled questions in the European Parliament. EU money helps fund the Guatemalan government’s development programme “Vamos Guatemala”, supplying approximately half of the programme budget for improving justice and security.
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