Friday, January 01, 2010

Teachers Union Funds Terrorists?

EIA says it's a "provocative" headline, but the question is, how accurate is it?

An Ontario teachers' union says Colombian authorities are claiming it inadvertently funded a terrorist organization through its donations to a Colombian union.

The allegations stem from the 2008 arrest of Liliany Obando, who Colombian authorities allege was managing the resources of FARC, a left-wing guerrilla group considered a terrorist group by Colombia, the U.S. and Canada for its bombings, hijackings and violent attacks on Colombian targets.

Before her arrest, Obando toured Australia, the U.K. and Canada as an international representative for FENSUAGRO, one of the biggest labour organizations in Colombia. While on the tour, she collected donations from various unions, including the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation...

Although OSSTF officials say their money was accounted for, El Tiempo, a daily newspaper published in Bogota, reported the country's counterterrorism unit believed Obando had funnelled $3,000 from OSSTF to FARC.


It certainly seems a stretch, given the information in only this linked report.

1 comment:

Ellen K said...

Isn't that special? And she probably got funding with the blessings of the union higher ups.