Give the gift of peace this holiday! Free Simon Trinidad!

Fight Back! is circulating this timely statement from the Committee to Free Simon Trinidad.

Call President Biden at 202-456-1111 and ask him to “Free Simon Trinidad!” Call between 11am-3pm Eastern, from Tuesday, December 10 to Thursday, December12.

Leave your message to “Free Simon Trinidad!” on the White House comment line. Now is the time to call before President Biden leaves the White House in January 2024.

Say: “I call on President Biden to ‘Free Simon Trinidad’ so he can return home to Colombia and strengthen the ongoing peace process. 20 years in lock down is too long. Please honor the request of Colombian President Petro for Simon Trinidad’s return. Trinidad was ordered to testify at the special court of justice (JEP) in Bogota, Colombia. Give the gift of peace these holidays! Free Simon Trinidad!”

Who is Simon Trinidad?

Known popularly as Simon Trinidad, he is a Colombian revolutionary and political prisoner of the U.S. held in the Supermax Prison in Florence, Colorado. The U.S. government extradited, held four trials, and now imprisons Trinidad under his birth name of Juvenal Ovidio Ricardo Palmera Pineda (BPO No. 27896-016).

Simon Trinidad was a leader and peace negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC-EP). Prior to that, he spent his life organizing people for progressive causes and social change, including with the Patriotic Union (UP) political party.

What will he testify about at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)?

Just as he did over the course of four trials in a Washington D.C. Federal Court, Trinidad will speak about his role in the FARC-EP revolutionary movement and then be cross-examined.

He can also detail the political violence against the Patriotic Union (UP) in the 1980’s and 1990’s when more than 4000 party activists, candidates, and elected officials were kidnapped, murdered, and assassinated. The Colombian government and right-wing repression closed the electoral avenue to change in this period. As a political candidate, Trinidad himself was a victim of this terror campaign and it caused him to join the rebel fighters of the FARC-EP at the age of 37.

Why ask President Biden now?

President Biden has the power to release Simon Trinidad in the last days of his term in the White House. It appears as a “now or never moment” for Trinidad and Colombia. We want Trinidad to return home to serve an important role: support and strengthen the ongoing Colombian peace process.

Biden is very familiar with U.S. policy in Colombia. Biden introduced Plan Colombia to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. war plan that spent 10 billion dollars to cause misery, poverty and death in Colombia. Joe Biden was then Vice President under President Obama when the U.S. supported the 2016 Peace Accords between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC-EP).

What does Colombia’s President Petro want?

Today, the ongoing Colombian peace process with the FARC-EP and the Colombian government faces great challenges. Once back in Colombia, Trinidad will participate in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, a court backed by the Obama and Biden administrations to create justice and reconciliation.

Trinidad was left out of the peace negotiations between the Colombian Government and FARC-EP which resulted in an uneasy and sometimes faltering peace after 2016. A peace where the far-right paramilitaries continue to murder hundreds of former FARC-EP fighters who trusted the peace process by laying down their arms. The violence of the far-fight continues to claim labor and community leaders every single week to this day. Because of the lack of unity and trust, guerrilla groups like the ELN continue to fight in the countryside, and new ones, remnants of the FARC-EP are appearing.

What can we do?

The ongoing imprisonment of revolutionary Simon Trinidad is a violation of the sovereignty of Colombia. We can help end his imprisonment and now is the time.

Colombia’s President Petro and solidarity activists in the U.S. see Trinidad’s freedom and testimony as a way to reinforce the current peace efforts. Bringing Simon’s historical and institutional knowledge to the special court of the JEP would allow the country to hear and think about a better future. The weight of Simon Trinidad’s absence is heavy, and his leadership is sorely missed by those who he can rally, as well as others who he might persuade.

Freeing Simon Trinidad to face court proceedings under the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia will show consideration and goodwill from Biden as President of the United States. It will also strengthen the will of those who advocate for democracy in Colombia and in the U.S.

The Committee to Free Simon Trinidad!

info@freesimontrinidad.org and https://freesimontrinidad.org

#International #Colombia #SimonTrinidad #PoliticalPrisoners #Featured

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/give-the-gift-of-peace-this-holiday-free-simon-trinidad?pk_campaign=rss-feed