David Norris, Harry Browne & Augustine O Donoghue

Harry Browne (journalist and anti-war activist) and Senator David Norris (Joycean scholar, anti war and gay rights compaigner) launched the "The Profits of Extermination. How U.S. Corporate Power is destroying Colombia" in Trinity College on Thursday night. The Author is Francisco Ramirez Cuellar, President of Sintraminercol (The Miners Union of Colombia). Introduction and translation by Aviva Chomsky. Several attempts have been made to assasinate the author since the book was published. The book outlines how corporate greed has resulted in human rights abuses in Colombia. The event was Organised by Colombia Solidarity Network and Trinity One World Society in collaboration with Latin America Solidarity Centre. For copies of the book at sale at the discount price of ten euro please email colombia (at) lasc.ie .

Message from the author of the book: Francisco Ramírez Cuellar, President SINTRAMINERCOL, General Secretary FUNTRAENERGETICA

To the Brothers and Sisters of the Social Organisations in Ireland.

On behalf of the workers in the mining sector of Colombia I wish to extend our warmest greetings to this book launch. First of all we wish to thank the Colombia Solidarity Network delegation that visited our country last June and July. Such visits allow us to show you first hand the grave situation facing the trade union movement and the communities and for you to see first hand the challenges we face and hopefully encourage you to continue in your internationalist solidarity.

It gives us great pleasure to know that you are launching our book The Profits of Extermination as this allows us to continue with our investigations and to mobilise the community and trade union organisations, the victims of the attacks by the Colombian government, the multinationals and the international financial institutions.

Unfortunately since we published the book the situation in the mining and energy producing regions of Colombia has not improved. Currently 87 of every 100 people forcibly expelled from their land come from such regions. The total number for displaced people in Colombia is in excess of 3 million in a country of barely 44 million. 80% of all human rights violations and 71% of the murders of trade unionists take place in mining and energy regions.