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Archives: June 2009
EL SALVADOR: UPDATE ON MINING
Social movement organizations have denounced the disappearance of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera, a well-known anti-mining organizer from the town of San Isidro, Cabañas. Rivera is a local leader of the FMLN party, the director of the San Isidro Community Center, and the legal representative of Amigos de San Isidro Cabañas (ASIC). He is a vocal opponent of the El Dorado gold mine, a project of the Pacific Rim mining company that has been stalled based on disputes over permits. Pacific Rim recently sued El Salvador for $77 million under the Central America Free Trade Agreement after the government refused to grant a permit to open the El Dorado mine.
In addition to helping organize opposition to the El Dorado mine, Rivera played a key role in January when the results of the municipal elections in San Isidro were challenged due to fraud and the presence of foreign voters. Social movement groups believe that his disappearance is politically motivated and have called on the National Civilian Police, the Attorney General’s office, and the Human Rights Ombudsman's office to actively investigate his whereabouts. Local leaders have met with new Public Security Minister Manuel Melgar about the case but have continued to complain about the lack of action on the part of the local police and the Attorney General’s office, the leadership of which remains in limbo due to a refusal by the right-wing bloc in the Legislative Assembly, led by the ARENA party, to hold an election for a new Attorney General.
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The SHARE Foundation denounces the disappearance of Marcelo Rivera, a renowned leader in the community of San Isidro in the northern department of Cabañas. Marcelo was last seen in the afternoon of June 18th near the town of Ilobasco, Cabañas. He was wearing a Bishop Oscar Romero t-shirt and blue jeans. Marcelo's family, friends, and community members are desperately searching for him. They suspect that he may have been abducted for political reasons. Marcelo was one of the main FMLN leaders who denounced the presence of foreigners trying to vote illegally in San Isidro during the January 18th municipal elections. As a result, elections were suspended in the town and conducted a week later under strict oversight. Marcelo is a leader in the social resistance movement against the Canadian mining corporation, Pacific Rim. The mining company has been exploring for gold in the El Dorado mine located in Cabañas. Pacific Rim is currently suing El Salvador under CAFTA because the government has refused to grant the company permits to begin gold mining extraction.
Marcelo Rivera is a 37 year-old teacher who works as the Director of San Isidro's Casa de la Cultura, a community center dedicated to promoting the local culture. Marcelo is also a founding member and Director of Friends of San Isidro Cabañas (ASIC), which is a member organization of the National Working Group Against Mining in El Salvador (La Mesa). In addition, Marcelo is an FMLN leader at the local level, serving as a party board member in the Cabañas chapter. This week, communities in San Isidro, ASIC, and other social organizations gathered in front of the Casa de la Cultura to express their concern and to pressure local and national authorities to begin investigations regarding the whereabouts of Marcelo. Students and teachers from San Isidro's schools participated in the protest carrying signs asking authorities to stop violence, corruption, and impunity.
Many social organizations at the national level are also joining forces to demand the return of Marcelo. The Foundation for the Study and Application of Law (FESPAD) has assigned two lawyers to investigate the case. The National Working Group Against Mining (La Mesa), the Coalition for Peace, Dignity, and Social Justice, and other organizations held a press conference on June 25, in which they denounced the disappearance of the activist. Members of the participating organizations expressed that Marcelo has been threatened by members of ARENA after he took leadership in publicly denouncing the electoral fraud committed by the incumbent mayor of San Isidro, Ignacio Bautista, during the January 18th municipal elections. Bautista was reelected for another period in the midst of fraud accusations. Other activists were also persecuted after the municipal elections. José Beltrán, the activist who denounced the electoral fraud before the Attorney General's office, was threatened with a gun by Milton Bautista, the mayor's brother who is a policeman. According to La Mesa, Bautista is also a main promoter of the Pacific Rim mining activities in the area which Marcelo was organizing against, making him deeply unpopular with the municipal government.
In the press conference, representatives of the participating organizations stated, "The police authorities of Cabañas have been reluctant to find the whereabouts of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera and to investigate his disappearance....For those reasons, we demand that the highest authorities of public security (Director of the National Civilian Police, Attorney General, and Minister of Justice and Public Security) to act immediately, until they find our disappeared colleague and prosecute those responsible." Another speaker was barely able to say, "We ask that he be returned alive and well," before she broke out in tears.
SHARE's delegation from Maryland Presbyterian Church and Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church visited Marcelo's relatives in San Isidro. They met with Miguel RIvera, Marcelo's brother (pictured at left with SHARE delegate, Susan Saudek), who explained to them the circumstances under which Marcelo disappeared. "Grassroots organizing is the most dangerous work because you risk your life and your family's," Miguel stated with a worn-out face. "An example of this is what is happening to my brother," he added solemnly. The delegation accompanied Miguel to the local Attorney General's office in Sensuntepeque, where they met with one of the judges and asked her to do everything in her power to find Marcelo.
Marcelo's disappearance is one more case of politically-motivated crimes that are dismissed by authorities as common or gang-related crimes. Social organizations are concerned about the violence toward social justice and community activists that has increased since 2008. Social justice organizations ask the international community to be alert and to support them in their struggle to bring these cases to justice.
Resources:
The National Working Group Against Mining in El Salvador's press release.
http://www.share-elsalvador.org/programs/advocacy/Mesa%20Press%20Release%20on%20Marcelo%20Rivera%20ENG.pdf
Friends of San Isidro Association's press release, Part One and Part Two.
http://www.share-elsalvador.org/programs/advocacy/Friends%20of%20San%20Isidro%20Press%20Release%20Part%201.jpg
http://www.share-elsalvador.org/programs/advocacy/Friends%20of%20San%20Isidro%20Press%20Release%20Part%202.jpg
Diario CoLatino. "Se Intensifican las Denuncias por Desaparición de Lider Social."
http://www.diariocolatino.com/es/20090625/nacionales/68328/
Diario CoLatino. "Pobladores Denuncian Desaparición de Lider Social."
http://www.diariocolatino.com/es/20090624/nacionales/68274/
Prensa Gráfica. "Desaparece Miembro del FMLN en Cabañas."
http://www.laprensagrafica.com/el-salvador/departamentos/41511-desaparece-miembro-del-fmln-en-cabanas.html
- Claudia Rodríguez, DC Policy Office Director
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SOA: We won the vote but it's not over
Thanks to your efforts and hard work in defense of human rights, the culture of secrecy and lack of accountability surrounding Defense Department policies suffered a blow today when the U.S. House of Representatives approved the McGovern-Sestak-Bishop (GA)-Lewis (GA) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010. (Click here to tell the Senate to follow their lead!)
The amendment forces the public release of names, rank, country of origin, courses and dates of attendance of WHINSEC's graduates and instructors to the public. The amendment was approved with a 224 to 190 vote! This is a major victory for the international human rights community! You spoke up and now we are one step closer to transparency and to closing the SOA/ WHINSEC!
But it's not over...
In order for this amendment to become law, the text of the amendment has to be approved by a joint House and Senate conference committee. We need you to sustain intense pressure on the Senate for the next few weeks to make sure this amendment is approved by the conference committee!
Click the link above to send a letter to your Senators asking that they work for passage of this language!
We will continue to update you on our progress for ensuring this language becomes law, so please continue to visit the Legislative Action Index http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=96 and learn how to stay plugged into our legislative campaigns over the summer and leading up to the November Vigil.
http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=1733
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TRADE JUSTICE: Peru and Mexico Updates: TRADE Act of 2009 Introduced
Summary of TRADE Act of 2009:
http://www.citizen.org/documents/TRADEActFactSheet2009.pdf
Reps. Carnahan and Costello co-sponsor HB 3012 Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment Act) -- SEND THEM A THANK YOU!
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update on the Amazon situation from a Presbyterian Mission Co-worker in Peru:
6/20/09
An update on the situation in Peru: the news this morning is that the Congress has indeed repealed the Legislative Decrees (see below) in question which spurred the violence in Bagua. The indigenous communities of Bagua have ceded their blockade of the roads and the Congress will be re-assessing the Legislative Decrees which were passed as part of the implementation of the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement.
Some indigenous groups are still blockading transport access in various parts of the country, such as Cusco and Andahuaylas (Apurimac). This goes to prove that the conflicts are not limited to Bagua nor to these specific decrees, but reflect a reality of polarization and politicization of indigenous communities in the whole country as relating to Free Trade and issues of sovereignty. The government of Alan García would have us believe that the situation in Bagua is exceptional and resolved, led by foreign forces, and relating to only a minority of the population. However, signs point to a national indigenous movement against exploitation of natural resources, including land rights.
We at Joining Hands will continue to follow the situation as it unfolds. Our hope, prayer, and petition now is for genuine dialogue between the indigenous leaders and the government. Look for a letter to send to President Alan García regarding this point very soon.
Specifically with the Bridge of Hope Fair Trade program, we hope you will continue to push the Peruvian and US government for alternatives to free trade. One way to do that is to urge your House Representative to support the TRADE (Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment) Act,
(http://action.citizen.org/t/6413/content.jsp?content_KEY=5999)
sponsored by Rep. Mike Michaud (D - Maine). This act is designed to replace failed NAFTA-WTO policies and is one step closer to global economic justice. Read more and send a letter to your representative here . Feel free to mention your interest in the situation in Peru as a reason to reform these policies.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8109021.stm
Peru Indians hail 'historic' day
Indigenous groups in Peru have called off protests after two land laws which led to deadly fighting were revoked.
Hailing victory, Amazonian Indian groups said it was an "historic day".
At least 34 people died during weeks of strikes against the legislation, which allowed foreign companies to exploit resources in the Amazon forest.
The violence provoked tension with Peru's neighbour, Bolivia, where President Evo Morales backed the Peruvian Indians' tribal rights.
"This is a historic day for indigenous people because it shows that our demands and our battles were just," said Daysi Zapata, vice president of the Amazon Indian confederation that led the protests.
She urged fellow activists to end their action by lifting blockades of jungle rivers and roads set up since April across six provinces in the Peruvian Amazon.
The controversial laws, passed to implement a free trade agreement with the US, were revoked by Peru's Congress by a margin of 82-12 after a five-hour debate.
Diplomatic dispute
The worst of the clashes occurred on 5 June when police tried to clear roadblocks set up by the groups at Bagua, 1,000km (600 miles) north of Lima.
At least 30 civilians died, according to Indian groups, as well as 23 police.
Peru's Prime Minister Yehude Simon said the reversal of policy would not put at risk Peru's free trade agreement with the US, but he has said he will step down once the dispute is settled.
The dispute led to a diplomatic row between Peru and Latin American neighbours Venezuela and Bolivia.
Peru recalled its ambassador to Bolivia for consultation on Tuesday after Bolivian President Evo Morales described the deaths of the indigenous protesters as a genocide caused by free trade.
Peru's Foreign Minister Jose Antonia Garcia Belaunde called Mr Morales an "enemy of Peru".
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La Oroya:
Peru says may give Doe Run more time for clean up
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2329158520090623
LIMA, June 23 (Reuters) - Peru's government said on Tuesday it may give troubled Doe Run Peru more time to complete an environmental clean up of its La Oroya smelter as it tries to persuade the company to meet the terms of a financial bailout plan.
Banks canceled the company's credit lines about four months ago after metals prices fell. In April, a group of mining companies that sell concentrates to Doe Run Peru agreed to give it a $175 million credit line if its parent company, U.S.-based Renco Group, met two conditions.
The stipulations were that Renco had to fill a $156 million financial shortfall in its Peruvian unit and pledge its shares to the Peruvian government as a way of promising that its unit would finish an environmental cleanup project at one of the world's most polluted sites.
So far, the conditions haven't been met.
"The government has said that we could evaluate the environmental issue, which appears reasonable, but we won't extend it for five years or three years, we will reach for something more adequate," Labor Minister Jorge Villasante said on RPP radio.
When Doe Run Peru bought the smelter in 1997, it was expected to take 10 years to clean up La Oroya. In 2006, the company got a three-year extension that lasts until October of this year.
Doe Run Peru says it has so far spent $307 million on repairing damages and total costs will hit $500 million.
Frustrated by the impasse, workers and people from La Oroya have blocked Peru's main east-west highway to demand the government intervene in the company, but the government has said it doesn't want to take over the financially troubled unit of U.S.-based Renco. (Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
http://www.livinginperu.com/news-9390-business-doe-run-peru-shut-down-operations-during-90-days
Doe Run Peru workers will no longer be allowed at the company's installations in La Oroya, because the company will halt all the operations during 90 days, starting on June 22nd.
This was confirmed by the corporate vice President of environmental affairs, Jose Mogrovejo, who said that the company does not have resources to afford the payroll since it is not operating.
The company has proposed to pay 50% of the salaries during this enforced break.
The General Secretary of the National Federation of Mining Workers (FNTMMSP), Luis Castillo, said that “there is no political will” --neither from the Government nor from the company-- to solve Doe Run's problems, and that the workers are very concerned about their situation.
IKN: Doe Run Peru: Showtime
By Otto Rock
Workers at Doe Run Peru (DRP) are going on indefinite strike at La Oroya, Peru as of 10pm tonight. This represents a significant acceleration in the ongoing dispute at the plant which is already closed due to lack of funds. ...
IKN - http://incakolanews.blogspot.com/
22 June, 2009 [ 09:31 ]
Peru's Central Road blocked by protesters
http://www.livinginperu.com/news/9405
LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra
La Oroya's residents and thousands of Doe Run Peru workers are currently blocking three spots of Peru's Central Road, as a protest against the smelter's temporary closure.
Doe Run announced the smelter would shut down operations for 90 days, paying only 50% of the workers' salaries.
According to RadioProgramas del Peru (RPP), the protesters are blocking the road's exits from La Oroya to Lima, Huancayo anf Chanchamayo (Junin region).
Some other Unions and workers association have joined Doe Run workers' protest.
Peru's Police has sent its special squads to establish alternative routes and to prevent further problems.
Road's Police has also stopped the cargo trucks and passengers buses traffic at Corcona Control Post, located at the Km, 48 of the Central Road.
Living in Peru
Peru's Central Road blocked by protesters
Living in Peru - Lima,Peru
La Oroya's residents and thousands of Doe Run Peru workers are currently blocking three spots of Peru's Central Road, as a protest against the smelter's
Living in Peru
Peru's Government rules out intervention in Doe Run
Living in Peru - Lima,Peru
Thousands of workers from La Oroya smelter are currently holding a public protest, because they do want the government to intervene so that they don't lose ...
Doe Run miners block central highway to protest temporary 90-day ...
By anniether
The trade unions are pressuring Peru President Alan García to guarantee that the La Oroya smelter resumes normal activity, as it generates 3500 direct jobs and 16000 indirect jobs. The metallurgical complex of La Oroya run by Doe Run ...
Peruvian Times - http://www.peruviantimes.com/
Peru's Pres Garcia Faces More Protests, Low Approval Rating
Wall Street Journal - USA
In the La Oroya area in central Peru, workers and local residents have blocked the main central highway, trying to pressure the government and Doe Run Peru ...
Central Road Blocked
Poder 360 - Miami,FL,USA
Almost 3000 Doe Run Peru (DRP) workers who work in the La Oroya province have blocked the Carretera Central road. They are calling for a solution to the ...
Peru's Pres Garcia Faces More Protests, Low Approval Rating
Wall Street Jour nal - USA
In the La Oroya area in central Peru, workers and local residents have blocked the main central highway, trying to pressure the government and Doe Run Peru ...
Central Road Blocked
Poder 360 - Miami,FL,USA
Almost 3000 Doe Run Peru (DRP) workers who work in the La Oroya province have blocked the Carretera Central road. They are calling for a solution to the ...
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IMMIGRATION: President Obama met with Congressional Leaders 6-25-09
Ask President Obama and Congressional Leadership to show us the Road Map to Real Immigration Reform:
NYTIMES:
June 25, 2009, 4:55 pm
Guest Worker Program Poses Obstacle for Obama on Immigration Push
By Jeff Zeleny
President Obama said on Thursday that he was committed to passing a comprehensive immigration plan, but Republicans attending a bipartisan meeting at the White House expressed skepticism a deal could be reached unless Mr. Obama endorsed a guest worker program that Democratic-leaning labor unions oppose.
“What I’m encouraged by is that after all the overheated rhetoric and the occasional demagoguery on all sides around this issue,” Mr. Obama said, “we’ve got a responsible set of leaders sitting around the table who want to actively get something done and not put it off until a year, two years, three years, five years from now.”
In the State Dining Room, Mr. Obama met with nearly three dozen Democratic and Republican lawmakers for the first substantive discussion on immigration since he took office five months ago. Mr. Obama named a working group to be led by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.
Mr. Obama singled out his former Republican rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona, for his commitment to changing the nation’s immigration system.
“I want to specially commend John McCain who is with me here today,” Mr. Obama said at the end of the closed-door meeting when reporters were briefly allowed inside. “He has already paid a significant political cost for doing the right thing. I stand with him.”
Mr. McCain, speaking to reporters outside the White House, said comprehensive immigration reform has a fresh urgency because of the surge in violence along the border with Mexico. But he suggested a bigger sticking point could be the guest worker program, which he said must be part of any immigration bill.
“I can’t support any proposal that doesn’t have a legal temporary worker program and I would expect the president of the United States to put his influence on the unions in order to change their position,” Mr. McCain said. “Without a commitment to a legal temporary worker program for our high-tech community and agriculture sector, there is no such thing as comprehensive immigration reform.”
As he walked to a waiting car, Mr. McCain said the president needed to stand up to labor unions and show leadership, saying: “That’s why he was elected president.”
With unemployment rising, several labor unions have opposed a temporary guest worker program. The president made no commitments, according to several participants in the room, but has signaled that he is open to discussing such a program. Several Republicans told Mr. Obama that they had taken political heat in their own parties and it was time for him to do the same.
“We’ve got one more chance to do this,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. “If we fail this time around, no politician will take this up for a generation.”
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This afternoon (thursday), President Obama is meeting with Members of Congress at the White House to talk immigration. Just yesterday, Senate leaders said that they are ready and able to move real immigration reform forward. This is great news, and it's about time!
For the extreme, anti-immigrant groups that have blocked reform for years, however, any talk of real solutions must be shut down. These groups are riled up and angry. On their websites they claim to have already sent 693,437 faxes to Washington this month opposing reform.
At a time when Minutemen track human beings in the desert like animals, Latinos are pulled over for "looking illegal," Sheriffs march chain gangs of immigrants through the streets of Phoenix with a smile, and unscrupulous employers openly exploit "under the table" workers and don't pay their fair share of taxes, real reform is more crucial than ever. Comprehensive immigration reform ensures that everyone in America has the same rights and responsibilities and that no one has second-class status. If we want it, we have to speak up and drown out the anti-immigrant lobby that opposes solutions!
If we want it, Washington needs to hear from us right now.
Tell the President and our leaders in Congress to stand up to the noisy anti-immigrant lobby and show us a real Road Map to Reform:
http://www.AmericasVoiceOnline.org/RoadMap
It's no surprise that, in the face of progress, extreme, anti-immigrant groups are doing what they do best: sending angry faxes, lashing out at immigrants, and trying to intimidate Congress into doing nothing. Their only "solution," after all, is to forcibly round up and deport the 12 million immigrants who are living and working in this country without legal status. Sound good?
Meanwhile, public support for reform is at an all-time high. A nationwide poll conducted last month revealed that an astounding 86 percent of voters support comprehensive immigration reform when they hear the details. A clear majority, 64 percent, support it even before hearing the specifics. Activists like you made 20,000 phone calls to the White House supporting immigration reform last week alone. You helped send over 200,000 faxes last month.
Thank you -- but we can't stop here.
Ask President Obama and Congressional Leadership to show us the Road Map to Real Immigration Reform:
http://www.AmericasVoiceOnline.org/RoadMap
The good news is that the tide is turning in Washington -- but we can't let these extreme voices turn it back. Today is a big day.
Thanks for everything you're doing, and for forwarding this message widely.
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COLOMBIA: President Uribe to visit Washington, DC
So it's going to happen. Colombian President Uribe will make his first visit to the Obama White House next Monday (June 29) to discuss the future of Plan Colombia and the stalled U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with President Obama. While the two leaders met at the Summit of the Americas in April, this could be the moment when President Obama makes clear his positions on Colombia. It's up to us to use this opportunity to make sure that he sets the right course from the get-go by making human rights a priority in U.S. policy towards Colombia.
We need you to email President Obama today to pressure him to take a strong public stand in support of human rights and victims of violence in Colombia--and to live up to his promise that violence against trade unionists will be a central issue while considering the FTA.
This visit happens as the spokesperson for a special United Nations' mission just announced that although the recent killings of civilians by soldiers in Soacha "were undeniably blatant and obscene, my investigations show they were only the tip of the iceberg." The visit also happens as the Uribe Administration has been tarnished by revelations that the presidential intelligence agency illegally wiretapped the phones of hundreds of human rights activists, journalists, and Supreme Court judges. And it happens after a year in which more than 380,000 people fled their homes because of violence.
In its first months, the Obama Administration has worked with the leaders of many nations in an effort to restore the United States' image and credibility around the world. Although we have many concerns about President Uribe and the effect of his policies on human rights, we know that President Obama will meet with Colombia's president no matter how much noise we make. But we have to get it across to our president that sometimes being a good friend to our neighbor means asking tough questions and telling difficult truths. We need him to let President Uribe know that he expects Colombia to play by the rules on human rights.
Once President Obama is "on the record" on Colombia, it will be difficult--but not impossible--to get him and his administration to pursue a different path. That's why we need you to join us today.
Best,
Travis Wheeler, Vanessa Kritzer, Lisa Haugaard
Latin America Working Group www.lawg.org
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IMMIGRATION: UPDATE-Legislative and Administration
Action Alert
Add Your Voice Now to Stop the Nonsense! We are forwarding the following e-mail alert being circulated by the National Council of La Raza, having to do with the rise of hate speech surrounding the Sotomayor nomination. (The New York Times recently published this sobering op-ed about the rise of extremist speech and the actions it may be provoking.) Here is the text of the NCLR alert:
Extremist voices keep attacking the bedrock American value of diversity. We've seen it in the immigration debate, where misinformation and intolerance are common staples. And now, the ethnicity of Supreme Court Justice Nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor has proven to be too much of a temptation for those who give a voice to hatred and extremism. Instead of looking at her judicial record, they have launched a vocal rampage that has reached new heights of absurdity-attacking the food she eats and how she pronounces her name. Join us in signing this petition asking Republican leaders to restore civility to the public discourse. In just two weeks, the petition has already gathered more than 4,000 signatures.
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Legislative Update
Reuniting Families Act introduced: On May 20, the Reuniting Families Act, S. 1085, was introduced by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), along with Senators Gillibrand (D-NY), Kennedy (D-MA), and Schumer (D-NY). The purpose of the bill is to update the family-based immigration system, which has not been updated in 20 years. In those 20 years, demand for visas in many categories has so out-paced the number of visas available, that some family members have to wait years or decades to enter the U.S.
Among other provisions, this bill would re-classify the spouses and children of legal permanent residents so they would be treated the same as "immediate relatives" of U.S. citizens (for which there is no wait for a visa). It increases the percentage limit for the admission of immigrants from any one country (from 7 to 10 percent). The bill would also allow the continuation of a petition for immigration status for an immigrant spouse or child even if the U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident petitioner dies before the immigrant visa is granted to the spouse or child. In addition, the bill would waive certain bars to admission, and it would "re-capture" visas that should have been allocated to family members in past years but for processing delays that caused the opportunity for a visa to expire.
The bill text can be found on line here:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s1085is.txt.pdf
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A similar bill, H.R. 2709, was introduced in the House by Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA) and 55 co-sponsors. In addition to the provisions included in the Senate bill, this bill includes provisions to allow permanent partners to gain immigrant visas.
Text of H.R. 2709 can be found here:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h2709ih.txt.pdf
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Appropriations bills: On June 12th, the House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security for the government's Fiscal Year 2010. Related to immigration, the bill funds:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement at $5.4 billion ($30 million below the President's request and $439 above the Fiscal 2009 allocation. Included in the total is $200 million for Secure Communities; $1.5 billion for identifying dangerous criminals and prioritizing these individuals for removal; and $74 million for alternatives to detention ($10 million above the administration's request).
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at $248 million (not including receipts and expenditures from the Immigration Fee Account, which accounts for most of the USCIS budget). This is $116 million below the administration's request, and $110 million above the 2009 level. $100 million was allocated for refugee and asylum applications for which there is currently no charge and which are currently paid for by surcharges to the fees of other applications. (The administration asked for $206 million.) Military naturalization costs will be paid for by the Department of Defense. $112 million was allocated to operate and improve E-Verify. $11 million was allocated to expand immigrant integration and outreach to new Americans (the administration asked for $10 million).
Customs and Border Protection at $10 billion ($82 million below the administration request and $147 million above the 2009 level). Among other things, this allocation includes: $692 million for Southwest Border investments for Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology ($24.5 million less than requested); $3.5 billion for 20,019 Border Patrol agents, (including 44 new agents) of whom over 17,000 will be based on the Southwest Border.
Both CBP and ICE will receive tens of millions of dollars related to drug interdiction efforts, including efforts to intercept south-bound gun runners.
A summary of the Committee-passed Homeland Security appropriations bill can be found here:
http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/HS_FY10_FC_Summary_06-12-09.pdf
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The House Appropriations Committee has also approved the Fiscal Year 2010 budget for Commerce, Justice and Science. In the Department of Justice, that bill includes $1.5 billion for law enforcement along the Southwest border. A summary of that bill can be found here:
http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/CJS_FY10_FC_Summary_06-08-09.pdf
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COLOMBIA: Colombian SOA Graduate Arrested for his Participation in Massacre
Saturday 23 May 2009, by Prensa - Colectivo: A preventive measure of detention was issued against the former commander of the Palacé Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Alberto Amor Páez, by the specialized human rights prosecutor in the city of Calí, Juan Carlos Oliveros Corrales. This warrant confirmed Amor Páez's participation in the massacre of 24 peasant farmers, which took place in the rural communities of Alaska, Tres Esquinas and La Habana, in the municipality of Buga in the department of Valle del Cauca, on October 10, 2001.
Massacre of Alaska
The Longer Story:
Colombian SOA Graduate Arrested for His Particpation in Massacre
Former Commander of the Palacé Battalion, Colonel Jorge Alberto Amor Páez, Linked to Massacre of 24 Persons
Saturday 23 May 2009, by Prensa - Colectivo
A preventive measure of detention was issued against the former commander of the Palacé Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Alberto Amor Páez, by the specialized human rights prosecutor in the city of Calí, Juan Carlos Oliveros Corrales. This warrant confirmed Amor Páez’s participation in the massacre of 24 peasant farmers, which took place in the rural communities of Alaska, Tres Esquinas and La Habana, in the municipality of Buga in the department of Valle del Cauca, on October 10, 2001.
The warrant was issued on May 7, 2009, after the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective, as the representatives of the victims, requested the revocation of the decision taken this past September 2, 2008, which denied issuing the preventive measure of detention against Lieutenant Colonel Amor Páez.
Lieutenant Colonel Amor Páez, who until recently was the commander of the 5th Artillery Battalion, based in the municipality of Socorro, Santander department, is presently detained in these same installations, since he was captured by agents from the CTI, Sijin, and DAS, after the warrant was issued.
Charges against Lieutenant Colonel Amor Páez
At the time of incidents, Amor Páez, an expert in military intelligence, was the commander of the 3rd Artillery Battalion at the Palacé Battalion. According to the School of the Americas Watch Database, Jorge Alberto Amor Páez carried out military training in the United States in 1981 and 1996. He also had military training in Chile and Israel. In 2007, he was appointed by president Álvaro Uribe Vélez to be the naval military attaché in Argentina. He held this post until February 2008, when he returned to Colombia.
It should be stressed Hebert Veloza García, aka HH, paramilitary boss of the Calima Bloc, provided testimony in the criminal case being prosecuted for the massacre of Alaska, before he was extradited to the United States on April 2, 2008. This testimony asserted Lieutenant Colonel Amor Páez coordinated with members belonging to this paramilitary group. He also claimed Amor Páez facilitated a list to Armando Lugo, aka El Cabezón, one of the members of this Bloc, which consisted of the names of the persons who were later murdered by this paramilitary group. Later, this testimony was corroborated and extended in the Justice and Peace proceedings.
Lieutenant Colonel Amor Páez was also accused of coordinating and facilitating the criminal activities carried out by the Calima Bloc, providing vehicles to transport its members, and receiving money from these structures, according to statements made by Armando Lugo, aka El Cabezón, and Yesid Enrique Pacheco, aka El Cabo. The latter participated in the meetings Amor Páez held with aka El Tocayo, who was in charge of political affairs and coordinated activities with civilian and military authorities in the area.
Up to now, the paramilitary Dairo Antonio Castaño, had been the only person convicted for the massacre of Alaska. Castaño was sentenced to 40 years of prison by the Criminal Second Court of the Specialized Circuit on December 2006.
Despite the evidence demonstrating the responsibility of members of the public force in the commission of these crimes and that the incursion of the paramilitary groups in this part of the county was widely known by the local civilian and military authorities, until today, no military officer had been criminally charged.
The Massacre
On the day of October 10, 2001, members of paramilitary structures belonging to the Calima Bloc, arrived to the rural community of Tres Esquinas and, after selecting eight persons from the community, proceeded to murder them in a total state of defenselessness.
Later, the paramilitaries went to the communities of Alaska and La Habana, which are located within the municipality of Buga, department of Valle de Cauca. There they removed men, women and children from their homes forced them to go to an area near the Alaska Agricultural and Livestock School.
Once a considerable number of people were gathered there, one of the paramilitary leaders ordered the women and children to shut themselves in any of the 30 houses in the community.
Next, members of the Calima Bloc ordered the men and children to form a line and minutes later the paramilitaries began to shoot them indiscriminately. There were 16 victims, among them several children.
It should be stressed this massacre took place just 15 minutes from the base for the Palacé Battalion, which belongs to the Army’s Third Brigade, and 5 minutes from the La Magdalena police station, where police officers were being trained in counterguerrilla operations.
For the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective and for the victims, this decision represents a step forward in the fight against impunity and in the recognition of the rights of the victims to truth, justice, and comprehensive reparation. It also demonstrates once again that paramilitary structures were developed and consolidated as a State strategy. With the support of senior civilian, political and military authorities, these structures perpetrated thousands of crimes against humanity so as to exterminate and destroy organizing processes and achieve political, economic, social and military control in many regions of the country.
http://www.colectivodeabogados.org/spip.php?article1614
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PERU: Urgent: Indigenous Peruvians Killed While Protesting Bad Trade Deal
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2c=WkCTOsee1koiyL68EZ2MkOoO0tath%2FWo
[See statements of protest at the end]
New:
From: laborexchange-n-bounces@organizerweb.com
On Behalf Of laborexchange@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 6:16 AM
To: laborexchange-n@organizerweb.com
Subject: Peru Minister Resigns Amid Crisis - Doubts on Peru Death Toll
Doubts on Peru Death Toll
Lima, Jun 9 (Prensa Latina) Doubts on the death toll in the recent violent incidents in the Peruvian Amazonian region persist on Tuesday, amid insistent versions, holding that there are many more civilians dead than the number announced.
Prime Minister Yehude Simon ratified the official figure of 24 dead police agents and nine civilians, and said the different versions are just speculation, because they have been verified by the Ombusdman's Office and no other corpses have been found.
"We wish there are no more deaths," said Simon, and accepted the possibility that other victims could be found.
Foreign Minister Garcia Belaunde is said to have ordered that Peruvian embassies and consulates report properly on the incidents, because versions about a large number of deaths have been published by the international media.
Television Chanel 2 published on Monday testimonies by citizens of the northern Bagua jungle area, saying they had seen dozens of corpses after the disturbances unleashed on Friday, when the police cleared a road blockage.
The television station visited several indigenous villages, in which it said to have verified that most the town's males had not returned, although it was possible that they had hidden in the jungle.
Radio Nizkor de Bagua station agreed with that version and published testimonies by Ricardina Ramos, a religious woman who works with the indigenous communities, who says that the death toll is at least 60.
"A number of corpses have been thrown to the river and others burned. Many corpses lie in the closest hills. The indigenous people have been shot and chased," held the mentioned radio station.
The Peruvian Junge Inter-Ethnic Association (AIDESEP), which is in charge of the protest started two months ago, accused the government of exacerbating the tension, highlighting the death of police agents, including some of them who were executed, and concealing information about dead indigenous people, which is in the dozens.
The Peruvian Team of Forensic Anthropology (EPAF) demanded that the government creates an independent investigative commission to clarify the violent incidents and the real number of dead and wounded people.
The AIDESEP had previously demanded the creation of an impartial commission, led by institutions of civil society, with foreign observers and the same objective.
Expert in Amazonia, Roger Rumrril, proposed the creation of a Commission of the Truth to investigate what happened, faced with a media offensive that is trying to release the government from any guilt, and blame it on the indigenous people.
Peru Minister Resigns Amid Crisis
Lima, Jun 9 (Prensa Latina) Peruvian Minister for Women, Carmen Vilodoso, resigned on Tuesday amid a serious political and social crisis, based on the deaths of dozens of people in a recent demonstration of indigenous communities from the Amazon.
Vilodoso confirmed her resignation early in the morning on Tuesday and only explained that it was based on political reasons, although the media said the situation in the Amazon is the origin of her resignation and that it could unleash a greater ministerial crisis.
Asked if she supported President Alan Garcia in the present situation, she just said her resignation from government is an irrevocable decision.
Vilodoso is not member of the governing Partido Aprista party and had assumed the post in October, 2008, together with Prime Minister Yehude Simon, also not a part of the governing party, in a hasty reshuffle, caused by a serious corruption scandal.
The minister communicated her resignation to President Alan Garcia, after a rather stormy and long presentation by Simon and Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas, before the congressional Defense Commission.
For several hours, with intervals of intensive discussion, the ministers presented the official version, saying that those responsible for the recent disturbances are the Peruvian Jungle Inter-ethnic Association (AIDESEP) leaders, in charge of the protest started two months ago.
During his appearance in court, Simon announced that the president of AIDESEP had sought refuge at the Nicaraguan embassy and that the situation had been accepted by the Peruvian Foreign Ministry.
Nicaraguan Ambassador Tomas Borge said his government is studying whether or not to grant political asylum to Pizango, although he announced his personal opinion, which is that he should be granted protection.
The version of foreign intervention, put forward by Alan Garcia, was also denied by AIDESEP Vice president Daysi Zapata, who said the Amazonian protest is genuine and comes from the communities.
Zapata demanded Simon and Cabanillas' resignation and also Defense Minister Antero Flores Araoz', as those directly responsible for police operations that resulted in 33 deaths, including police agents and civilians.
From: EL NUEVO TOPO
Sent: Jun 14, 2009 11:57 AM
Subject: [pga na] Fw: Indigenous Struggle Peru
From: EL NUEVO TOPO
Sent: Jun 14, 2009 11:55 AM
Subject: Indigenous Struggle Peru
According to indigenous leader Miguel Palacios, aproximately 250 indigenous people were killed on June 5th in Bagua...not the government figure of 9 indigenous and 22 policemen. Apparently, bodies have been burnt and buried in Army bases.
President Garcia has counseled his Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior that "every ministry has its up and downs and that they should not become momentarily depressed by momentary opinion."
All roads to the Amazon are blocked by indigenous tribes and 1,500 indigenous people are marching from the Amazon to Lima. Earl Gilman
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Eyewitness account from Presbyterians in Peru:
Today, Alexandra Buck, Harry Horne and myself, along with our friends and companions from the Red Uniendo Manos (Conrado, Jenny, Koki, Maribel and Rita) and from El Recinto joined the massive peaceful march to protest the use of violence by the Garcia Administration against the indigenous peoples of the Amazon as well as to repeal the legislative decrees he enacted without the consult of the indigenous peoples... which ultimately have been the source of the conflict.
After a peaceful and powerful march (of several thousand... I don't have the exact number) towards the congressional buildings, we were met by a force of police who demonstrated once again this administration's complete disregard for human life. Showering tear gas upon us, we found ourselves in the midst of the masses turning on itself in fear as it began running against the crowd.
While feeling the burns of the gas in our eyes and throats, we were fortunate to escape and have all returned safely to our homes.
I am not aware of any injuries being reported.
Also, I was able to capture it on video which I will be uploading and sending to you later tonight.
While we were certainly shaken by the experience, our convictions are stronger than ever. We are determined to continue raising our voice in opposition not only to the tactics of this administration but to its destructive and exclusive agenda.
...we should also start writing letter to our congregations/churches, our US Congress and friends at local, state and federal level to let them know how the Peruvian government is repeating the historical genocide and how the the government is also trying to take out the land of the native Peruvians. Land is all they have. Once they lose their lands they will be completely destroyed.
Please advocate for my native Peruvians brothers and sisters.
The Peruvian government and the Peruvian media is try to hide the killing and the violence against the indigenous. We the international opinion can change this. (signed: a Peruvian)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
from Quixote Center:
Thank you for your strong response! Over 700 of you have sent letters telling our government that we reject the killing and environmental destruction in the Peruvian Amazon unleashed by U.S. Free Trade policies. Protests are being held at the Peruvian Embassy here in Washington D.C., L.A. and around the world. However, the situation remains extremely tense.
Alberto Pizango, AIDESEP (Inter-ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Amazon) called last weekend's massacre, "the worst slaughter of our people in 20 years." Pizango has been charged with sedition and has taken refuge in the Nicaraguan Embassy in Lima.
President Alan Garcia has declared martial law in the Amazon, issued arrest warrants for indigenous leaders and inflammatory statements linking the indigenous to terrorism. Government statements and actions indicate they are preparing for another wave of repression.
A broad national strike begins today, June 11th in Peru as trade unions, peasant movements and civil society organizations call for the urgent defense of the heroic struggle of the Amazonian peoples and the immediate repeal of "decrees and international treaties that hand over the nation's natural resources to transnational monopolies."
Despite the widespread rejection of the free-trade treaty which has given rise to the deadly conflict in the Peruvian Amazon, USTR Kirk is meeting with Peruvian Government officials in Washington D.C. this week to advance FTA implementation!
Fearing violent government reprisals in response to today's national strike and mounting protests, indigenous leaders are calling for international observers to come to Peru. We can't be on the ground in Peru - but we can let our government know that the whole world is watching.
If you have not already done so, please send a letter today.
Also, please send this action alert (http://www.quixote.org/peru-massacre-action) to your friends so that we can maximize the number of letters pouring in. The lives of peaceful protesters are literally on the line. Let make sure we do our part to stop the repression and defend the Amazon.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NYTimes
Protesters Gird for Long Fight Over Opening Peru’s Amazon
By SIMON ROMERO
Published: June 11, 2009
IQUITOS, Peru — Faced with a simmering crisis over dozens of deaths in the quelling of indigenous protests last week, Peru’s Congress this week suspended the decrees that had set off the protests over plans to open large parts of the Peruvian Amazon to investment. Senior officials said they hoped this would calm nerves and ease the way for oil drillers and loggers to pursue their projects.
But instead, indigenous groups are digging in for a protracted fight, revealing an increasingly well-organized movement that could be a tinderbox for President Alan García. The movement appears to be fueled by a deep popular resistance to the government’s policies, which focused on luring foreign investment, while parts of the Peruvian Amazon have been left behind.
The broadening influence of the indigenous movement was on display Thursday in a general strike that drew thousands of protesters here to the streets of Iquitos, the largest Peruvian city in the Amazon, and to cities and towns elsewhere in jungle areas. Protests over Mr. García’s handling of the violence in the northern Bagua Province last Friday also took place in highland regions like Puno, near the Bolivian border, and in Lima and Arequipa on the Pacific coast.
“The government made the situation worse with its condescending depiction of us as gangs of savages in the forest,” said Wagner Musoline Acho, 24, an Awajún Indian and an indigenous leader. “They think we can be tricked by a maneuver like suspending a couple of decrees for a few weeks and then reintroducing them, and they are wrong.”
The protesters’ immediate threat — to cut the supply of oil and natural gas to Lima, the capital — seems to have subsided, with protesters partly withdrawing from their occupation of oil installations in the jungle. But as anger festers, indigenous leaders here said they could easily try to shut down energy installations again to exert pressure on Mr. García.
Another wave of protests appears likely because indigenous groups are demanding that the decrees be repealed and not just suspended. The decrees would open large jungle areas to investment and allow companies to bypass indigenous groups to obtain permits for petroleum exploration, logging and building hydroelectric dams. A stopgap attempt to halt earlier indigenous protests in the Amazon last August failed to prevent them from being reinitiated more forcefully in April.
The authorities said that nine civilians were killed in the clashes that took place last Friday on a remote highway in Bagua. But witnesses and relatives of missing protesters contend that the authorities are covering up details of the episode, and that more Indians died. Twenty-four police officers were killed on the highway and at an oil installation.
Indigenous representatives say at least 25 civilians, and perhaps more, may have been killed, and some witnesses say that security forces dumped the bodies of protesters into a nearby river. At least three Indians who were wounded said they had been shot by police officers as they waited to talk with the authorities.
“The government is trying to clean the blood off its hands by hiding the truth,” said Andrés Huaynacari Etsam, 21, an Awajún student here who said that five of his relatives had been killed on June 5 and that three were missing.
Senior government officials repudiate such claims. “There is a game of political interests taking place in which some are trying to exaggerate the losses of life for their own gain,” said Foreign Minister José García Belaunde.
He said the ultimate aim of the protesters was to prevent Peru from carrying out a trade agreement with the United States, because one of the most contentious of the decrees that were suspended on Thursday would bring Peru’s rules for investment in jungle areas into line with the trade agreement.
“But,” Mr. García Belaunde insisted, “the agreement is not in danger.”
Still, the government’s initial response to the violence seems to have heightened resentment. A television commercial by the Interior Ministrycontained graphic images of the bodies of some police officers who were killed while being held hostage by protesters. The commercial said that the killings were proof of the “ferocity and savagery” of indigenous activists, but an uproar over that depiction forced the government to try to withdraw the commercial.
The authorities are struggling to understand a movement that is crystallizing in the Peruvian Amazon among more than 50 indigenous groups. They include about 300,000 people, accounting for only about 1 percent of Peru’s population, but they live in strategically important and resource-rich locations, which are scattered throughout jungle areas that account for nearly two-thirds of Peru’s territory.
So far, alliances have proved elusive between Indians in the Amazon and indigenous groups in highland areas, ruling out, for now, the kind of broad indigenous protest movements that helped oust governments in neighboring Ecuador and Bolivia earlier in the decade.
In contrast to some earlier efforts to organize indigenous groups, the leaders of this new movement are themselves indigenous, and not white or mestizo urban intellectuals. They are well organized and use a web of radio stations to exchange information across the jungle. After one prominent leader, Alberto Pizango, was granted asylum in Nicaragua this week, others quickly emerged to articulate demands.
“There has been nothing comparable in all my years here in terms of the growth of political consciousness among indigenous groups,” said the Rev. Joaquín García, 70, a priest from Spain who arrived in Iquitos 41 years ago and directs the Center of Theological Studies of the Amazon, which focuses on indigenous issues.
“At issue now,” he said, “is what they decide to do with the newfound bargaining power in their hands.”
Andrea Zarate contributed reporting from Lima, Peru.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/world/americas/12peru.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
Subject: Urgent: Indigenous Peruvians Killed While Protesting Bad Trade Deal
June 10, 2009
Indigenous Peruvians Killed While Protesting Bad Trade Deal
Thousands of indigenous people in Peru face extreme violence as they protest new laws passed to implement the U.S.-Peru FTA. Urge Speaker Pelosi and House trade committee leaders to intervene http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=SwlcjvP861NzImgOiukPd%2BoO0tath%2FWo and end the Peru FTA-related violence.
As you're reading this, thousands of indigenous people in Peru face extreme violence, and the Wall Street Journal reports that 30 indigenous protestors were killed while demonstrating against new laws passed to implement the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement that give foreign oil, gas, mining and timber firms access to their Amazonian homelands.
In the pre-dawn hours of June 5, Peruvian military police staged a violent attack on a group of indigenous people camped out on a peaceful blockade of a road outside of Bagua, in a remote area of the northern Peruvian Amazon. Several thousand indigenous peoples were forcibly dispersed by tear gas and live ammunition. Violence and protests have continued all week.
Urge Speaker Pelosi and House trade committee leaders Charles Rangel and Sander Levin today to intervene and end the Peru FTA-related violence against these indigenous communities.
Thousands of you took action in October of 2007 when we urged Democratic leaders to oppose the Peru FTA because its extreme foreign investor rules would give new incentives for foreign corporations to exploit huge sections of the Peruvian Amazon.[1] Peru's indigenous leaders were well aware that the FTA's grant of expansive rights for foreign investors would direly threaten their communities. We joined with them to strongly oppose the agreement. Now, as they block roads and sit in to protect their communities and lands, they need our help.
Take action today to stop the Peru FTA-related murders of indigenous people in Peru.
Since April, communities throughout the Peruvian Amazon have been protesting the Peru FTA implementation laws that have triggered an unprecedented rush of extractive industries into Peru's Amazon Rainforest. Over 30,000 indigenous people have taken to blockading roads, rivers, and railways to demand the repeal of these new laws that allow oil, mining and logging companies to enter indigenous territories. Peruvian President Alan Garcia's government passed these laws under "fast track" authority he had received from the Peruvian congress to enact laws that implement the U.S.-Peru FTA.
A June 8 Wall Street Journal story sums up the situation from the corporate perspective:
"The protesters are demanding that the government backtrack on decrees that the indigenous groups say would weaken their traditional communal land system by breaking up land into parcels of private property. The García government has been moving aggressively to grant concessions for oil and natural gas exploration in the Amazon.
Analysts say giving in to protester demands would make Mr. García seem weak and cast a cloud over a recently signed free-trade agreement with the U.S. Following the pact, the government enacted laws that opened up indigenous lands to development, changes that the indigenous groups oppose."[2]
When we were campaigning against the Peru FTA, even we couldn't have predicted that the FTA and its harmful foreign investor provisions could be used to destroy the Amazon so quickly. But indigenous leaders know that passage of these new laws - and final implementation of the agreement - means destruction of their communities, livelihoods and health.
Please contact Speaker Pelosi and House trade leaders Rangel and Levin today
Support Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
Thanks for all that you do,
Bill Holland
Deputy Director, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch division
[1] Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, How NOT to solve global warming: NAFTA for the Amazon!
[2] Robert Kozak and Matt Moffett, "Peru Struggles to Defuse Amazon Violence With 50 Dead,"
Photo courtesy Amazon Watch
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EL SALVADOR: Anti-Mining Movement Wins International Human Rights Award
The SHARE Foundation and IFCLA congratulate the National Working Group against Mining in El Salvador for winning the 2009 Letelier-Moffitt Memorial Human Rights Award. The award is sponsored by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in memory of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt. Orlando Letelier was a Chilean economist, politician, activist, and a diplomat under the government of Salvador Allende. Later he became the Director of Transnational Programs at IPS. Ronni Karpen Moffitt was a 25 year-old American activist and IPS Development Associate. Letelier and Moffitt were killed 1976 by a bomb placed under Letelier's car in Washington DC. Only Moffitt's husband survived the terrorist attack committed by agents of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's secret police.
Since 1997, IPS has granted a domestic and an international award to honor "these fallen colleagues while celebrating new heroes of the human rights movement from the United States and elsewhere in the Americas." This year the National Working Group against Mining in El Salvador, one of SHARE Foundation's partners and grantees, was chosen for the international award. The working group, known in Spanish as "La Mesa contra la Minería" or simply "La Mesa," is a coalition of eleven grassroots organizations in El Salvador. According to Joseph Eldridge, American University's chaplain and a member of the award selection committee, La Mesa was chosen for their "courage in struggling against huge odds to press El Salvador to become the first country in the world to ban gold mining: a victory for rural communities and for the environment." The award ceremony will be on Thursday, October 15, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
About the National Working Group against Mining in El Salvador (La Mesa)
La Mesa began in 2005 when communities in the Cabañas province organized against the Canadian mining corporation, Pacific Rim. In 2004, the mining company applied to the Salvadoran Ministry of the Environment for exploration permits in the mining district of El Dorado, Cabañas. After Pacific Rim's technicians confirmed the existence of gold and silver in the area, the company stated that they would begin mining in 2007. After learning about how mining has negatively affected people in Honduras and Guatemala, communities from Cabañas and Chalatenango organized themselves in "La Mesa." Ever since La Mesa began, other local and national environmental, religious, legal, and grassroots organizations have joined as they became aware of the environmental degradation, health problems, and labor rights abuses that come with mining.
Currently there are 29 mining exploration concessions for gold and silver in El Salvador. Thanks in great part to the work of La Mesa, exploitation permits have not been granted by the Salvadoran government. La Mesa combines grassroots organizing, popular education, and local and national strategies to resist and confront Pacific Rim and other mining corporations. In 2006, La Mesa introduced into the Legislative Assembly a bill that would prohibit metallic mineral mining exploration and exploitation. However, this bill has never been discussed. The educational work carried out by La Mesa has raised awareness about issues of water pollution, cyanide contamination, and community displacement that gold mining entails. This information campaign has reached out not only to the general population but also to the government and policymakers, undermining the expensive and powerful pro-mining campaign led by Pacific Rim. The Catholic Church has also joined La Mesa in rejecting gold mining exploitation, stating that mining would cause irreversible damage to humans and the environment in El Salvador.
These combined efforts have been successful in preventing the Salvadoran government from granting exploitation permits to Pacific Rim and other mining corporations.
editorial in coLatino: http://www.share-elsalvador.org/programs/advocacy/Mesa%20de%20Mineria%20Opinion%20Article%20050609.pdf
Pacific Rim Sues El Salvador under the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
The Letelier-Moffitt Award comes to La Mesa in a very significant and precarious moment for the anti-mining movement, as Pacific Rim, unwilling to forego its investment, has decided to sue El Salvador in an international tribunal. According to the company's press release, Pacific Rim began CAFTA arbitration proceedings against El Salvador on April 30, 2009. This is the first international dispute filed under CAFTA.
http://www.pacrim-mining.com/s/News_2009.asp?ReportID=346327&_Type=2009-News-Releases&_Title=Pacific-Rim-Subsidiary-Commences-CAFTA-Arbitration-Proceedings-Against-the-..
Pacific Rim has filed the claim under its subsidiary, "Pacific Rim Cayman LLC" based in Nevada, and is being represented by Crowel & Moring, LLP in Washington, DC. According to Pacific Rim, they are seeking compensation for damages caused by the failure of the Salvadoran government to finalize the permit process to begin mining exploitation in the country. The company claims to have invested US$77 million in El Salvador, which has become an economic loss. Pacific Rim also argues that its mining activities have been in compliance with Salvadoran law and have met or exceeded environmental, mining, and foreign investment legal requirements.
According to CAFTA's legal framework, the arbitration will follow the rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), (http://icsid.worldbank.org/ICSID/FrontServlet) a subsidiary of the World Bank. According to Pacific Rim's press release, once the case has been filed and an arbitration tribunal has been consulted, the process may take up to three years.
Commerce Group Corporation Files Notice of Intent Under CAFTA
Two other US mining corporations working in El Salvador in a joint venture agreement filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) http://idea.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/109757/000010975709000004/0000109757-09-000004.txt on March 16, 2009 to begin arbitration procedures against El Salvador under CAFTA. In the NOI, Commerce Group Corporation and San Sebastian Gold Mines, Inc. (Commerce/SanSeb) asked the government of El Salvador to pay Commerce Group a minimum of US$100 million in compensation for its losses due to the denial of mining permits. In addition, they asked the government to grant permits allowing Commerce Group to resume mining activities in the country that are "subject to reasonable and appropriate environmental protection conditions."
Commerce/SanSeb Joint Venture is registered in Wisconsin, US, and in El Salvador, and Commerce Group is authorized to execute agreements on behalf of the Joint Venture. These mining companies have operated at the San Sebastian Gold Mine in La Unión since 1968. They suspended operations in 1978 due to the Salvadoran civil war and resumed in 1985. Commerce/SanSeb alleged that the Salvadoran government revoked its environmental permits in September 2006 without any justification, and in 2008 it also refused to grant exploration permits to the companies.
According to Commerce/SanSeb, El Salvador has violated Articles 10.3 and 10.5 of CAFTA regarding obligations with foreign investors. The parties have 90 days to resolve the dispute amicably before the mining companies begin the arbitration proceedings. The mining companies are being represented by Machulak, Roberston & Sodos, S.C., Attornies at Law, based in Milwaukee, WI.
The Struggle Continues
The news about mining corporations commencing or wanting to commence arbitration proceedings against El Salvador creates a grim situation for El Salvador. If El Salvador loses the arbitration cases, the Salvadoran goverment will have to pay millions of dollars in compensation to the mining corporations just when the country is facing a severe fiscal deficit. Moreover, the country would have to allow mining exploitation permits to the corporations. That would cause irreversible environmental damage to El Salvador, creating health problems due to cyanide contamination and the displacement of rural communities.
La Mesa's anti-mining struggles are far from being over. CAFTA has brought this issue to the international and governmental arena. Local grassroots efforts will not be enough to stop the avarice of mining corporations. This is a moment when solidarity among citizens from the two signatory countries is necessary in order to put pressure on their governments. The revision of CAFTA is imperative in order to promote fair trade and to prevent US corporations from using it to exploit natural and economic resources at the expense of the poor.
- Claudia Rodríguez-Alas, DC Policy Director
More...
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NICARAGUA: Ask President Ortega to withdraw from the WHINSEC (SOA)
Five Latin American countries have already announced their withdrawal from the School of the Americas (renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). Please sign the petition, co-sponsored by the Nicaragua Network and SOA Watch, asking Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to withdraw Nicaragua from the SOA.
(Español abajo)
TO: The Honorable President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega
FROM: The Undersigned Progressive People of the United States and Friends of Peace Around the World
Dear President Ortega,
As you are aware, since 1990 progressive people in the United States have struggled to close the Army School of the Americas (now named the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.) This year we are close to victory and we appeal to you to give your solidarity support to our efforts by pulling Nicaragua out of the SOA.
As you know, prior to the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution, no army sent more troops to be trained at the SOA than Somoza's National Guard. In 1996 the Pentagon was forced to admit that torture was taught at the SOA when the training manuals were revealed to the public. Withdrawal from the SOA is a way of honoring the thousands of lives lost in Nicaragua at the hands of National Guard who trained at this institute and who led the contra attacks against the Nicaraguan people.
For 20 years after the Triumph Nicaragua did not send troops to the SOA. We were disappointed when, under the Bolaños government, Nicaragua's military officers again began attending SOA training at Ft. Benning, GA. In 2008 Nicaragua sent 78 officers to the SOA.
Five countries have announced their withdrawal from the SOA: Venezuela (2004), Argentina (2006), Uruguay (2006), Costa Rica (2007) and Bolivia (2008).
The announcement of Nicaragua´s withdrawal could be the final step to close the doors of the SOA. In 2007 a vote in Congress to close the school lost by only 6 votes. Another congressional vote to de-fund the school will take place this year, with a new line-up of members. Our hope is that the withdrawal of a 6th country will give the necessary momentum to close the school.
During the 1980s Nicaraguans often told North Americans that what they could best do to support the Revolution was to change the US government. With respect for Nicaragua’s sovereignty and right to self-determination, we appeal to you to help us accomplish that task by publically ending Nicaragua’s involvement in the SOA.
(En Español)
A: Su Excelencia Daniel Ortega, Presidente de Nicaragua
De: Los abajo firmantes individuos y organizaciones progresistas de los Estados Unidos y amigos de la paz de todo el mundo
Estimado Presidente Ortega:
Como Ud. sin duda sabe, desde 1990, personas progresistas en los Estados Unidos han luchado para cerrar la Escuela de las Américas del Ejercito de los Estados Unidos (llamada ahora el Instituto del Hemisferio Occidental para la Cooperación en Seguridad-WHINSEC). Este año estamos cerca a la victoria y apelamos a Ud. para que nos dé apoyo solidario a nuestros esfuerzos sacando los soldados y oficiales de Nicaragua de la Escuela.
Como Ud. sabe, antes del triunfo de la Revolución Popular Sandinista, ningún ejército envió más tropas a entrenarse en la Escuela de las Américas que la Guardia Nacional de Anastasio Somoza. En 1996, el Pentágono tuvo que admitir que se enseñaba tortura en la Escuela cuando se reveló al público los manuales de entrenamiento. Salir de la Escuela es una manera de honrar a los miles que perdieron sus vidas en Nicaragua en manos de los Guardias que recibieron entrenamiento en esa Escuela. Esos soldados también encabezaron los ataques de los contrarrevolucionarios contra el pueblo de Nicaragua.
Durante veinte años después del Triunfo, Nicaragua no mandaba soldados a la Escuela. Nos sentimos entristecidos cuando, bajo la administración del Presidente Enrique Bolaños, los oficiales del Ejército de Nicaragua empezaron de nuevo a recibir entrenamiento en Fuerte Benning, Georgia. En 2008, Nicaragua envió a 78 oficiales a la Escuela.
Cinco países han anunciado el retiro de sus oficiales de la Escuela: Venezuela (2004), Argentina (2006), Uruguay (2006), Costa Rica (2007) y Bolivia (2008).
El anuncio del retiro de Nicaragua podría ser el paso final para cerrar las puertas de la Escuela de las Américas. En 2007, un voto en el Congreso EE.UU. para cerrar la Escuela perdió por solamente seis votos. Otra votación en el Congreso para cancelar los fondos para la Escuela tomará lugar este año, con nuevos miembros en la legislatura. Nuestra esperanza es que el retiro de un sexto país nos dará el ímpetu necesario para cerrar la Escuela.
Durante los años 1980, los nicaragüenses a menudo dijeron a los norteamericanos que lo que podríamos hacer para ayudar más a la revolución era cambiar a nuestro propio gobierno. Con pleno respeto a la soberanía y al derecho a la auto-determinación de Nicaragua, apelamos a Ud. para que nos ayude a lograr ese propósito, anunciando públicamente el fin de la participación de Nicaragua en la Escuela de las Américas.
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COLOMBIA: Update
CALL CONGRESS TO STOP FUNDING PLAN COLOMBIA!
Call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Mail and email information can be found at http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ALLIANCE FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE' AUGUST 7-17 COLOMBIA
DELEGATION CALL 520-243-0381 OR EMAIL US AT james@afgj.org
This exciting delegation is being hosted by Fensuagro, the largest union of farmers and farm workers in Colombia.
Demand Negotiated Peace and End to Displacements
The Latin America Solidarity Coalition (LASC), on June 15 is delivering to all members of the House and Senate an article appearing in that date's issue of The Nation entitled, "The Dark Side of Plan Colombia." Read the article at
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090615/ballve/single
Call or write your two Senators and Representative during the week of June 15-19 to bring the LASC mailing to their attention and more importantly the fact that US economic aid is contributing to the enrichment of drug running paramilitaries who are pushing people off their land and laundering their drug money on Palm Oil plantations subsidized by US taxpayer dollars!
The Congressional Switchboard number is 202-224-3121. Mail and email information for your elected officials can be found at http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
The LASC, a coalition of grassroots solidarity, peace and justice, and human rights groups, in their letter, demands five actions of our elected representatives:
1) Reject any attempts to pass a US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
2) Make a negotiated end to the armed conflict a central objective of all US policy and programs in Colombia. All efforts should support this objective.
3) End aid to the Colombian armed forces (in both Foreign Operations and DOD budgets) and amend the Defense Authorization bill to deny funds for construction of any new or upgraded military facility in Colombia.
4) Condition non-military assistance on a) adequate controls to ensure it is not used to assist members of armed groups or others who have benefitted from stolen land, b) an end to extrajudicial killings and disappearances committed by the armed forces, and c) implementation by Colombian government of other measures for the protection of human rights recommended by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
4) As a critical step on the road toward negotiations to end the armed conflict, fully support negotiations for a humanitarian accord for the release of members of the armed forces and others in the hands of the guerrillas, and of guerrillas held prisoner by the government.
Background
Before this session ends, Congress will be called on to consider foreign aid and Department of Defense budgets that include assistance for economic development as well as for the armed forces in Colombia. In addition, at the Hemispheric Summit in April, President Obama indicated that the Colombia-US Free Trade Agreement might be submitted to a vote during this Congress.
The June 15, 2009 issue of The Nation includes an investigative report on U.S. assistance that has aided Colombian companies controlled and owned by paramilitary death squads entitled, "The Dark Side of Plan Colombia." It details the ways that USAID funds have gone to paramilitary leaders and associates who have stolen land for palm oil plantations.
Since 2000, armed violence has displaced 2.6 million Colombians from more than 13 million acres of land, constituting a reverse agrarian reform of massive proportions, and leading to the worst humanitarian crisis in the hemisphere. Despite claims to success, political violence continues, and last year displaced more than 380,000 Colombians, according to the Consultancy on Human Rights and Displacement.
Yet U.S. policy has not caught up with the need to end the violence leading to this crisis. The Foreign Operations budget submitted last month proposes to increase Foreign Military Financing and IMET funds to Colombia, fueling the fire that is causing so much suffering. These funds are directed to a military whose practice of civilian killings the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights characterized as "widespread and systematic."
Proposed funds for USAID development projects lack controls to ensure they don't support former paramilitaries and others who have benefitted from violent land transfers, reinforcing the massive transfer of land and the impoverishment of communities displaced by paramilitary violence. Colombian institutions, that will ostensibly receive US funds and channel them, have an even worse record than USAID of funding companies that benefit from narco-paramilitaries and stolen lands.
The theft of land often takes place in areas of oil and mineral resources coveted by private corporations for development. Populations are also removed to make way for agribusinesses or for the consolidation of territory by narco-paramilitaries. These economic interests frequently coincide with this major political and military objective: the dispersal of communities with concentrations of unionists and/or where dissent runs high against the policies of the Uribe Administration.
USAID grants to palm oil growers that are tied to paramilitaries and narco-traffickers seed the investment plans promoted for the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The FTA benefits transnational and Colombian companies that also benefit from these displacements. Companies like Chiquita, Drummond Coal, and Coca-Cola are among those who have been caught paying money to paramilitaries or looking the other way while paramilitaries even come on company grounds to commit acts of violence.
Even with improved labor and human rights situations in Colombia, an FTA would be devastating to family farmers and sustainable farms in much the same way that NAFTA led to widespread disruption and destruction of Mexican farm communities.
The proposed DOD budget also includes $46 million to establish a "Cooperative Security Location" - a military base - in Palanquero, Colombia, with a capacity to support U.S. military intervention through most of the South American continent. The proposed facility would commit the United States to a militarized response to conflicts in Colombia and the region.
Instead, the United States should make ending the armed conflict its central priority in Colombia. The war in Colombia is causing massive human suffering, feeds drug trafficking, and distorts development efforts and social relations. To establish the minimal trust and the track record necessary for successful negotiations, the United States should support negotiation of a humanitarian accord for the release of those still held captive by guerrilla forces and guerrillas under government custody.
To learn more about the Latin America Solidarity Coalition visit www.lasolidarity.org
The Alliance for Global Justice is a member of the Latin America Solidarity Coalition.
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UNMASK THE WAR ON DRUGS
The Afro-Colombian communities Union del Rio Chagui, Recuerdo de Nuestros Ancestros del Rio Mejicano and Union del Rio Rosario in the state of Narino in southwestern Colombia decided to eliminate coca growing through an arduous program of manual eradication---removing coca plants by hand. They signed an agreement with the United Nations to eradicate coca in their lands. But, even though they had made this commitment and removed coca from their lands, the Colombian government, supported by the United States, has decided to spray their lands with concentrated glyphospate (Round-Up Ultra), which will kill their food crops. This reveals the real reason behind the fumigation campaign: to force them off their lands, so they can be taken over for large-scale African palm projects and economic development programs to benefit multinational mining and other companies seeking accesss to Colombia’s natural resources.
Please join the threatened Afro-Colombian communities in protesting the fumigation of their lands. Tell President Alvaro Uribe and his Ministers that you oppose fumigation and wish to see the Afro-Colombian communities’ rights to their lands and their way of life protected.
And tell President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and your Senators and Representatives in Congress that you oppose U.S.-promoted fumigation and want to see the U.S. Government protect the rights of the Afro- Colombian communities to their lands and their customs. Tell them it is clear that the supposed “War on Drugs” is a pretext for neo-liberal policies promoting multinational corporate interests at the expense of the Colombian people. Tell them you now know that no basis exists for fumigation of these lands and the excuse given that the lands are used for coca production is demonstrable false.
PLEASE WRITE : to your Senators and Representatives and suggest they take note of the failure of the War on Drugs in Colombia
To send messages to your members of Congress, please go to our website and see CSN’s Action Center: www.colombiasupport.net
To President Barack Obama
www.whitehouse.gov/contact
To Secretary of State Hillary Clinton : secretary@state.gov
www.state.gov
To Mr. Alvaro Uribe – Velez, President of Colombia : E-mail: auribe@presidencia.gov.co
Fax: 57 1 566 2071
Or check his website www.presidencia.gov.co
Tp Minister of Environment : Carlos Costa- Posada Dear Mr. Costa
ministro@minambiente.gov.co
To the Director of the Colombian Police : Major General Oscar Naranjo . Dear General Naranjo
oscar.naranjo@correo.policia.gov.co
Original letter in Spanish to President Obama
http://www.colombiasupport.net/2009/Carta_Final_mayo_12_09.pdf
CSN ‘s English translation of original letter to President Obama
http://colombiasupport.net/2009/Open_letter_to_Obama_fromColombia_Pacfic_coast.pdf
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IMMIGRATION: Sojourners lauches a campaign
Immigration Reform: The Time Has Come
The time has come for comprehensive immigration reform. After several failed attempts in past years, the president has promised it and the White House is showing a clear commitment to it. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said that it is one of his top three priorities for this year. Next week, the president will meet at the White House with congressional leadership on immigration reform. The debate on reform is moving and will only intensify.
There is a new factor now in the debate. A grassroots movement is growing across the country and there is increasing support for reform. And the faith community is playing a major role. In fact, the growing movement toward immigration reform is deeply rooted in the faith community, across the political spectrum. It's very important to note that this isn't a liberal or a "Left" issue anymore, or even an "ethnic" issue. There are conservative Christian leaders, Latino, African-American, and Anglo, who are seeing immigration reform as a critical matter of faith, not just another political issue or a special interests issue.
Around the country, people of faith are taking action. The Family Unity tour sponsored by Rep. Luis Gutierrez traveled to evangelical churches in more than 21 cities over the past year, calling people of faith to take action against the separation of families. Clergy in Iowa are organizing and taking a prophetic stance in support of immigration reform after the devastating Postville raid in May 2008. We were part of an effort that sent 30,000 letters to the Department of Justice to stop Sheriff Arpaio and his racial profiling of Latinos in Arizona. We haven't seen a response to an action alert like that in some time. We see clergy holding vigils at detention centers calling for just treatment of immigrants that were denied due process. Family values are at stake here. When the U.S. government is separating families, it is getting at the heart of our Christian conviction. There is now the activity and momentum of a real movement across the country. A rising tide of Christian faith says that this is something we can no longer ignore. The timing is right and hopefully this fall we will see a strong effort from the White House on comprehensive immigration reform.
In response, we have re-launched Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. A new statement of principles has already been endorsed by 27 national religious organizations and 40 leaders. It proposes five guiding principles:
Enforcement initiatives that are consistent with humanitarian values.
Reforms in our family-based immigration system that reduce waiting times for separated families to be reunited.
A process for all immigrant workers and their families already in the U.S. to earn citizenship upon satisfaction of specific criteria.
An expansion of legal avenues for workers and families to enter our country and work in a safe and legal manner with their rights and due process fully protected.
Examining solutions to address the root causes of migration, such as economic disparities between sending and receiving nations.
You can sign the statement of principles and join the growing movement of Christians who are deeply concerned about the lack of immigration reform in our nation. And to support the growing grassroots movement for immigration reform, a new interactive Web site has also been launched, designed to equip the faith community to engage in the immigration debate. The site features organizing resources and a clearinghouse of information on the need for immigration reform and the role the faith community can play in supporting reform efforts.
The time has come. We need comprehensive immigration reform. And with people of faith leading the way, we can achieve it.
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Various Justice Campaigns for your consideration
Join a global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The only way to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and make sure they are never used is to get rid of them. To join the thousands of citizens -- and to support the political leaders -- committed to this effort, please click below:
http://www.globalzero.org/en/sign-declaration
With Presidents Obama's and Medvedevi's recent commitment to this goal (their countries have 96% of the word's nuclear weapons) we have a real opportunity achieve global zero. We must choose between two very different futures. In one, nuclear weapons continue to spread, increasing the chances that a country or terrorists use them, with catastrophic consequences. In the other, all nuclear weapons are eliminated according to a comprehensive global agreement for phased and verified reductions.
A growing group of political and military leaders agree that Zero is not only desirable, it is also achievable -- with political will. With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance.
When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many. Join us today by clicking below:
http://www.globalzero.org/en/sign-declaration
The vision of a world free of nuclear weapons can come to be, but we must get involved to make it happen. So please, sign and ask your friends to do so as well. Make your voice count.
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These are frustrating times for single payer advocates. We know we have the best solution to the health care crisis – one that is simple, economical, and humane. Most of the American people, and most doctors agree.
But Congress, instead of latching on to HR 676 and moving it toward adoption, is focused on new legislation. We have yet to see it, but we hear that it will keep private insurance companies front and center. It will include an individual mandate. And it will cost a bundle. It will be what the doctors in our movement might call an expensive placebo. Prescribing it, when you know it’s expensive and won’t work, is nothing less than criminal.
There is pressure for us to slide, to support the public option as a step in the right direction. But let’s be clear – as citizen advocates, we must continue to advocate and organize on behalf of a solution that we believe in – one that will work, and one that won’t throw more of our money into the hands of private insurance companies. And we need to stay true to that course until we win single payer national health insurance. That day will come; we just don’t know when.
It could come soon. The new legislation and its heavily touted public option could look so bad when it finally is printed that not even Health Care for America Now and Obama plan supporters can stomach it. It could collapse under its own weight. Congress might have to start over, and HR 676 will still be there as an option that can move quickly, right a lot of wrongs, and clean up a big mess.
Our charge is clear — to keep advocating for HR 676 and S 703. When the new legislation comes out, we expose it for what it probably will be – an unconscionable placebo. And we expose the Congressional leaders that colluded in advancing lousy, wasteful legislation knowing full well that Americans are hurting, and will continue to die and go bankrupt because of its shortcomings. We do what it takes to get attention and make them accountable for what they have done.
Members of Congress certainly can’t argue that they have no choice. They have one, they knew about it (we made sure of that); they know most Americans want it; yet it appears they are choosing a different course.
So we do what all movements do – we keep building support for what is just and humane. We make those accountable who persist in jeopardizing our lives and our quality of life, and that of future generations.
Nothing less will do.
Thank you,
Healthcare-NOW! National Steering Committee
Healthcare-NOW! National Staff
TAKE ACTION:
1. ASK Obama to support Single Payer reform. Tell him it’s what the country wants and needs. We can’t afford not to have single-payer reform!
COMMENT HERE: http://www.healthreform.gov/contact/index.html
AND HERE: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
CALL AND FAX: Phone: Comments: 202-456-1111;
Switchboard: 202-456-1414; FAX: 202-456-2461
2. E-Mail Senator Kennedy and insist that he put SINGLE-PAYER healthcare reform on the table. Object to forcing all Americans to buy health insurance. You can email him here: http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/contact.cfm and
Fax him here:
FAX Senator Kennedy’s Washington office: 202-224-2417
FAX Senator Kennedy’s Massachusetts office: 617-565-3183
3. ASK your Senators to co-sponsor S 703, The American Health Security Act.
ASK your Representative to co-sponsor HR 676, The United States National Health Insurance Act. (75 Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors so far).
You can find your legislators’ contact information here: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
For more information on both bills:
http://www.healthcare-now.org/2009/04/on-s-703-the-american-health-security-act/
http://www.healthcare-now.org/hr-676/
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Our efforts to strengthen the clean energy bill are raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill. Just last week, climate activists like you sent more than 8,000 faxes to congressional offices in Washington.
But this is no time to let up: we have to keep pushing for a stronger bill!
Here's another way to keep pushing: send a letter to your local newspaper editors. Your representatives read the editorial pages of your hometown paper--and they pay attention to what their constituents have to say.
Your published letter can send them a strong message: passing a strong clean energy bill can transform our economy, create millions of jobs, and begin to solve the climate crisis. Send a letter to your local newspaper editor today:
http://www.1sky.org/letter
It's easy to get started: Simply enter your zip code to select one of your local newspapers. You can customize your message or use our talking points to get started. Then, encourage your friends, family, and neighbors to send their own letters!
Be sure to tell your local editors that this bill needs to be stronger with three changes:
**Ensure More Clean Energy for America: By increasing the renewable energy and energy efficiency standards.
**Hold Polluters Accountable: By restoring authority to the EPA to mandate cleaner technology for power plants.
**Create More Clean Energy Jobs for America: Limit giveaways to polluting industries and instead bolster green job development and protection of vulnerable communities.
You can also follow-up your letter with a call to your local paper and tell them about your letter. Send a letter to your local paper today:
http://www.1sky.org/letter
Thanks again for all you're doing to pass a strong clean energy bill this year!
Liz Butler
Deputy Campaign Director, 1Sky
P.S.: After you send your letter, learn about other ways you can get louder for a stronger clean energy bill.
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IMMIGRATION: Pres. Obama to meet with Congressional Leaders on June 8
Background: On May 20, an administration official confirmed that President Obama will be holding a meeting with congressional leaders from both parties on June 8 to discuss comprehensive immigration reform. Subsequently, the date for the meeting was pushed back to June 17. "The meeting will be an opportunity to launch a policy conversation that we hope will be able to start a debate that will take place in Congress later in the year," the official, who asked not to be named, said.
Action: Your action is needed to ensure a productive meeting between the President and congressional lawmakers. Comprehensive reform is a priority for the President and enjoys substantial backing in Congress. However, significant grassroots pressure would help ensure that a plan to draft and introduce CIR is put in place and does not slip from the 2009 agenda. Please CALL the White House as well as your representative or senator today and ask the President and Congress to begin the process of moving comprehensive immigration reform in 2009.
White House Switchboard: (202) 456-1414
Capitol Hill Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
TTY: (202) 225-1904
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) describes the activities taking place on June 4th, and urges its members and others to send a free fax to Senators, Representatives, and Congressional leadership at http://www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org
AILA notes that 279 votes are needed to pass comprehensive immigration reform: 218 US Representatives + 60 Senators: www.aila.org
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JUNE 1: The Inauguration of President Mauricio Funes in El Salvador
The official inaugural ceremony took place at the International Convention Center in San Salvador on June 1, 2009. To watch a video of the ceremony, click here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-sN_5sIjZk&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.laprensagrafica.com%2F&feature=player_embedded To see pictures of the ceremony, click here. http://www.presidencia.gob.sv/traspaso/galerias/2009/06/gal0101.html
Funes Becomes President of El Salvador
As Mauricio Funes and his wife, Vanda Pignato, arrived at the inaugural ceremony, they were received by a cheering crowd chanting, "Yes, we did!" As the couple reached the stage, the chants turned into the traditional Latin American leftist hymn, "The people, united, will never be defeated." Monday's inauguration marks a turning point in the country's history, since it is the first time El Salvador elected a leftist president. Since colonial times, the smallest Central American country has had a troublesome history characterized by brutal repression of indigenous uprisings, decades of military dictatorship, a bloody twelve-year civil war and more recently, 20 years of right-wing party rule. Therefore, the FMLN victory represents a new era of hope and change for Salvadorans.
More than 70 foreign delegations attended the inaugural ceremony, including 16 presidents; Prince Felipe of Spain; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Inter-American Development Bank President, Luis Alberto Moreno; and the General Secretary of the Organization of American States, José Miguel Insulza also attended. Venezuelan and Bolivian Presidents Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales were expected to attend but they cancelled at the last minute. Daniel Ortega from Nicaragua missed the official ceremony but joined the afternoon celebration at the Cuscatlán stadium. Nobel Peace Prize Winner Rigoberta Menchú was also present along with about 4,000 special guests.
"The Salvadoran people asked for a change and the change begins now," stated Funes at the beginning of his 50-minute inaugural speech. Referring to past ARENA administrations, Funes expressed that his government will not "govern for a few, tolerate corruption and organized crime, or agree to support backwardness in all its expressions." His government will be of national unity, he added, which will be built around "a project for national development which will be based on social inclusion, increase in opportunities, valorization of work productivity, modernization of public institutions and the guarantee of democratic freedom."
Funes stated that "to govern well is the highest expression of commitment to the people and with the memory of Archbishop Oscar Romero, my teacher and spiritual guide for the nation." All the attendees, except for the ARENA representatives, stood up and applauded when Funes mentioned Archbishop Romero in his speech; some people also waved posters of Bishop Romero. Funes visited Archbishop Romero's grave at 8:52 a.m. before arriving at the inaugural ceremony at 9:35 a.m. Inspired by Bishop Romero, Funes expressed during his campaign that "if the people would allow him to govern, he would have a preferential option for the poor."
Funes, whose main goal is to fight poverty, pledged to generate 100,000 direct jobs in the next 18 months, to increase and improve public services and infrastructure, and to build 11,000 housing units. He also announced a System of Social Protection, which includes education, health and nutrition programs and a basic pension for senior citizens in the areas where there is extreme poverty. Funes will also continue with the cash-transfer program, Solidarity Network, which he has changed the name to Rural Solidarity Communities. To finance these programs, the new government is planning to invest US$474 million.
Funes also announced that El Salvador will reestablish diplomatic, trade and cultural relations with Cuba, which had been discontinued since 1961. The announcement generated a happy response from the audience which began to chant "Cuba!, Cuba!" Cuban Vice-President Esteban Lazo Hernández was present at the ceremony, and the same afternoon he met with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugo Martínez, to sign a diplomatic cooperation agreement between the countries. With this agreement, El Salvador became the last Central American country to reestablish relations with Cuba.
Funes also wants to maintain strong ties with the Unites States; he expressed that US President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula Da Silva became important figures during his campaign. He stated that both Obama y Lula are an example of how progressive leaders, "instead of being a threat, they represent a new and secure path for their people." Funes stated during his campaign that he will conduct a moderate left modeled after President Lula Da Silva. "Lula showed that it is possible to have a democratic government, with a strong economy and a fair distribution of wealth," Funes added.
Funes complimented US Secretary of State Clinton, saying that she "is a woman who honors America and radiates the brilliance of women to the world." Clinton attended the ceremony dressed in a bright red, the color of the FMLN party, something that the Washington Post considered an unthinkable image in the 1980s, "when the United States poured $6 billion into El Salvador to fight the rebel group backed by Cuba and the Soviet Union." Clinton, on the other hand, expressed that Funes election was a "testament to democracy" and that she expects a positive relationship between the United States and the new elected government of El Salvador.
At the end of the ceremony, Funes joined his wife and 18-month old son, Gabriel Funes at the balcony. As the first family walked out on the red carpet, Funes wore his newly presidential sash and carried Gabriel in his arms while the little one waved to the crowd as he imitated both of his parents.
In the afternoon, about 60,000 people congregated in the Cuscatlán stadium to celebrate inaugural day. People began to arrive to the stadium early in the morning to ensure good seats and waited patiently all afternoon to see their new president. The stadium was a sea of red as the attendees wore the party colors and danced to the tunes of revolutionary and progressive songs. Presidents Inácio Lula Da Silva, Rafael Correas and Daniel Ortega spoke to the crowd followed by the new president of El Salvador. Funes reaffirmed to the attendees what he had expressed in the morning: that his government "won't be any government but one that follows a preferential option for the poor."
For English press coverage of the Funes' inauguration please check:
BBC News. "Salvador leftist leader sworn in." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8078133.stm
Los Angeles Times. "El Salvador installs its first leftist president, TV host Mauricio Funes." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-el-salvador-funes2-2009jun02,0,5126868.story
Reuters. "Leftist Funes takes over as El Salvador's president." http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090601/tpl-uk-salvador-funes-353e308.html
Washington Post. "Leftist Takes El Salvador's Helm."
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705307908/Leftist-Takes-El-Salvadors-Helm.html?pg=
World AP. "El Salvador's 1st leftist president takes power." http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1075973.html
- Claudia Rodríguez, DC Policy Office Director
Sixteen heads of state attended Funes' inauguration ceremony, including Brazilian President Lula da Silva , Ecuadorian President Correa, and Chilean President Bachelet. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also attended the ceremony. To see a video of the heads of state who attended the ceremony, click here. http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/media/popUpAudioVideo.aspx?id=2864 To see pictures, click here. http://www.elecciones2009.elfaro.net/galerias/galeria_1junio/galeria.html
"The Salvadoran people asked for a change and the change begins now."
Read Mauricio Funes' inspiring inaugural speech here. http://www.presidencia.gob.sv/traspaso/discurso/2009/06/disc0101.html
Click here http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/media/popUpAudioVideo.aspx?id=2873 to watch a video of the audience at the Cuscatlán Stadium, where over 60,000 people gathered to hear the new president speak.
To see a list of the new members of Funes' economic Cabinet, click here. http://www.elecciones2009.elfaro.net/gabinete/default.html To see a video of the swearing in ceremony for new Cabinet members, click here. http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/media/popUpAudioVideo.aspx?id=2863
Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYqSl0dUBao to watch a video about Mauricio Funes' life and career. The video details Funes' life from his youth to his victory as the first leftist president of El Salvador.
more on YouTube.com
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New SOA/ WHINSEC Legislation Introduced in Congress! HR 2567
Lacy Clay is on. Also call: # Rep Cleaver, Emanuel [MO-5] # Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12] # Rep Blaine Luetkmeyer [MO-9] 202-224-3121
see: www.soaw.org and www.soaw.org/presente
YouTube about Latin America summit and new base proposed for Colombia: http://www.soaw.org/presente/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=214&Itemid=74
[see also a previous story on a new military base in Colombia in IFCLA archives]
On May 21st, 2009, Representative Jim McGovern introduced HR 2567 in the House of Representatives with 42 original cosponsors! This new legislation would suspend operations at the SOA/ WHINSEC and investigate the association of torture and human rights abuses associated with the school.
We need your help generating more cosponsors and support for HR 2567! Visit the Legislative Action Index http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=96 on our website to learn more about how you can get involved and add your cosponsor as a supporter of this legislation. Use our Online Action http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/727/t/3823/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27318 to send an automatic email or fax to your Member of Congress or access our sample call script and the toll-free congressional switchboard phone number to make your views heard in Washington! You can also access the updated list of cosponsors at the bottom of the Legislative Action Index.
If you haven't already signed the petition to President Obama asking that he close the SOA/ WHINSEC by executive order, click here to sign the petition online!
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/727/t/3823/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1732
For more information, please contact the Legislative Coordinator of SOA Watch, Pam Bowman at pbowman@soaw.org or 202-234-3440.
Sign petition asking Nicaragua to withdraw from the School of the Americas!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NicaraguaCloseSOA/
The US grassroots movement to close the Army School of the Americas (now called Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) is mobilizing for victory this summer under a new administration and a new Congress. Last year the vote to close the SOA would have succeeded had we changed only six votes. Five Latin American countries have already announced their withdrawal from the SOA. Please sign the petition below, co-sponsored by the Nicaragua Network and SOA Watch, asking Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to withdraw Nicaragua from the SOA.
El movimiento de base en los Estados Unidos para cerrar la Escuela de las Américas (que ahora se llama el Instituto del Hemisferio Occidental para la Cooperación en Seguridad) está movilizando para la victoria este verano bajo una nueva administración y un nuevo congreso. El año pasado, el voto para cerrar la Escuela perdió por solamente seis votos. Cinco países latinoamericanos ya han anunciado el retiro de sus soldados y oficiales de la Escuela. Por favor firme la petición, co-patrocinada por la Red de Solidaridad con Nicaragua y SOA Watch, pidiendo al Presidente Daniel Ortega de Nicaragua que ponga fin a la participación de su país en la Escuela de las Américas.
Click here to sign the petition (Haga clic aquí para firmar la petición)
(Para la carta en español, ver abajo.)
TO: The Honorable President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega
FROM: The Undersigned Progressive People of the United States and Friends of Peace Around the World
Dear President Ortega,
As you are aware, since 1990 progressive people in the United States have struggled to close the Army School of the Americas (now named the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.) This year we are close to victory and we appeal to you to give your solidarity support to our efforts by pulling Nicaragua out of the SOA.
As you know, prior to the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution, no army sent more troops to be trained at the SOA than Somoza's National Guard. In 1996 the Pentagon was forced to admit that torture was taught at the SOA when the training manuals were revealed to the public. Withdrawal from the SOA is a way of honoring the thousands of lives lost in Nicaragua at the hands of National Guard who trained at this institute and who led the contra attacks against the Nicaraguan people.
For 20 years after the Triumph Nicaragua did not send troops to the SOA. We were disappointed when, under the Bolaños government, Nicaragua's military officers again began attending SOA training at Ft. Benning, GA. In 2008 Nicaragua sent 78 officers to the SOA.
Five countries have announced their withdrawal from the SOA: Venezuela (2004), Argentina (2006), Uruguay (2006), Costa Rica (2007) and Bolivia (2008).
The announcement of Nicaragua´s withdrawal could be the final step to close the doors of the SOA. In 2007 a vote in Congress to close the school lost by only 6 votes. Another congressional vote to de-fund the school will take place this year, with a new line-up of members. Our hope is that the withdrawal of a 6th country will give the necessary momentum to close the school.
During the 1980s Nicaraguans often told North Americans that what they could best do to support the Revolution was to change the US government. With respect for Nicaragua's sovereignty and right to self- determination, we appeal to you to help us accomplish that task by publically ending Nicaragua's involvement in the SOA.
Click here to sign the petition (Haga clic aquí para firmar la petición)
Versión en español:
A: Su Excelencia Daniel Ortega, Presidente de Nicaragua
De: Los abajo firmantes individuos y organizaciones progresistas de los Estados Unidos y amigos de la paz de todo el mundo
Estimado Presidente Ortega:
Como Ud. sin duda sabe, desde 1990, personas progresistas en los Estados Unidos han luchado para cerrar la Escuela de las Américas del Ejercito de los Estados Unidos (llamada ahora el Instituto del Hemisferio Occidental para la Cooperación en Seguridad-WHINSEC). Este año estamos cerca a la victoria y apelamos a Ud. para que nos dé apoyo solidario a nuestros esfuerzos sacando los soldados y oficiales de Nicaragua de la Escuela.
Como Ud. sabe, antes del triunfo de la Revolución Popular Sandinista, ningún ejército envió más tropas a entrenarse en la Escuela de las Américas que la Guardia Nacional de Anastasio Somoza. En 1996, el Pentágono tuvo que admitir que se enseñaba tortura en la Escuela cuando se reveló al público los manuales de entrenamiento. Salir de la Escuela es una manera de honrar a los miles que perdieron sus vidas en Nicaragua en manos de los Guardias que recibieron entrenamiento en esa Escuela. Esos soldados también encabezaron los ataques de los contrarrevolucionarios contra el pueblo de Nicaragua.
Durante veinte años después del Triunfo, Nicaragua no mandaba soldados a la Escuela. Nos sentimos entristecidos cuando, bajo la administración del Presidente Enrique Bolaños, los oficiales del Ejército de Nicaragua empezaron de nuevo a recibir entrenamiento en Fuerte Benning, Georgia. En 2008, Nicaragua envió a 78 oficiales a la Escuela.
Cinco países han anunciado el retiro de sus oficiales de la Escuela: Venezuela (2004), Argentina (2006), Uruguay (2006), Costa Rica (2007) y Bolivia (2008).
El anuncio del retiro de Nicaragua podría ser el paso final para cerrar las puertas de la Escuela de las Américas. En 2007, un voto en el Congreso EE.UU. para cerrar la Escuela perdió por solamente seis votos. Otra votación en el Congreso para cancelar los fondos para la Escuela tomará lugar este año, con nuevos miembros en la legislatura. Nuestra esperanza es que el retiro de un sexto país nos dará el ímpetu necesario para cerrar la Escuela.
Durante los años 1980, los nicaragüenses a menudo dijeron a los norteamericanos que lo que podríamos hacer para ayudar más a la revolución era cambiar a nuestro propio gobierno. Con pleno respeto a la soberanía y al derecho a la auto-determinación de Nicaragua, apelamos a Ud. para que nos ayude a lograr ese propósito, anunciando públicamente el fin de la participación de Nicaragua en la Escuela de las Américas.
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END TO IMPUNITY: Peru, Guatemala, Mexico,
Fujimori Verdict: An Advance for Justice
Written by Lisa Haugaard
Monday, 11 May 2009
The trial of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori “contributes to the strengthening of the rule of law and democracy in Peru and is a genuine milestone in the struggle against impunity in the region,” according to Jo-Marie Burt of George Mason University and Coletta Youngers of the Washington Office on Latin America. “It is the first time that a democratically elected head of state in Latin America has been found guilty of committing crimes against humanity.”
To read coverage of the trial and analysis of its impact in Peru and throughout Latin America, check out these pieces by LAWG partners WOLA and the National Security Archive:
Washington Office on Latin America, “Fujimori on Trial”: http://www.wola.org/media/Fujimori%20on%20Trial%205-5-2009%282%29.pdf
National Security Archive, “Fujimori Found Guilty of Human Rights Crimes,” with declassified U.S. documents used in the trial: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB274/index.htm
GUATEMALA
Independent reports, including the United Nations-sponsored Historical Clarification Commission, have concluded that genocide was committed against indigenous Maya peoples. A courageous group of war survivors from the Association for Justice and Reconciliation have filed charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against former military dictators Romeo Lucas Garcia and Efrain Rios Montt and their military high commands. Read NISGUA's overview of the genocide cases here. http://www.nisgua.org/themes_campaigns/Genocide_cases_2008.pdf NISGUA provides human rights accompaniment and advocacy to these cases. Mary Sennewald of St. Louis just returned from accompanying in the Ixil region.
Numerous independent reports concluded that Guatemalan government forces committed acts of genocide during Guatemala's 36-year-long internal armed conflict, reaching a height under the dictatorships of Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia (1978-1982) and Efrain Rios Montt (1982-1983). Approximately 83.3% of the at least 200,000 killed during the war were indigenous, and about 93% of the human rights violations were committed by the Guatemalan Army. Survivors suffer from immense physical and mental injuries; have lost family members and community leaders; and bore witness to unbearable violence against human beings.
http://www.nisgua.org/themes_campaigns/index.asp?cid=1031
More...
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