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Archives: April 2010
HONDURAS: Jesuits respond to death threats against Fr. Melo of Radio Progreso
STATEMENT FROM THE JESUITS IN HONDURAS
The Superiors of the Society of Jesus in Honduras, greatly concerned by the repeated threats made against Fr. Ismael Moreno, J.J. (Fr. Melo, director of Radio Progreso, Honduras), wish to share the following concerns with the national and international community:
First: We denounce the death threats made against Fr. Melo by unknown persons, through messages and calls to his mobile telephone, during the past weeks. Such threats are linked to the humanitarian decision to facilitate protection for Miss Irma Melissa Villanueva in a case already known by the Honduran Public Prosecutor's Office and by various local and international human rights organizations.
Second: We attest that Fr. Melo's relationship with Miss Villanueva and her family is related directly to the events that occurred in Choloma, Honduras, on August 14, 2010, when Miss Villanueva accused various police officers of raping her during a march of resistance (against the recent coup d'etat). Fr. Moreno's work to protect Miss Villanueva is an act of humanitarian assistance, reflecting the Christian commitment to serve those in need.
Third: We note that these threats are not directed solely against Fr. Melo. The Society of Jesus denouces the fact that Ferardo Chevez, a reporter for Radio Progreso, is also receiving threats and intimidation related to his journalistic work for the Jesuit radio station.
Fourth: We wish to announce that on Friday, April 17th, Fr. Valentin Menendez, S.J., Superior of the Jesuits in El Progreso, Yoro, Honduras, filed a formal complaint with the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights in San Pedro Sula. In this complaint he requested an investigation of the threats made against Fr. Melo.
Fifth: We insist that the national authorities conduct a thorough and effective investigation into the facts associated with this situation, and we strongly urge national and international Human Rights organizations to closely monitor this case.
El Progreso, Yoro, April 19, 2010
Valentin Menendez, S.J.
Superior of the Jesuits of El Progreso
Carlos Solano, S.J.
Superior of the Jesuits of Yoro
Juan Jose Colato, S.J.
Superior of the Jesuits of Tocoa
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COLOMBIA: DAYS OF ACTION FOR COLOMBIA: Face the Displaced-- Campaign Information Inside
[the formatting is hard to read -- sorry] FACE THE DISPLACED CAMPAIGN: From Vanessa at Latin America Working Group: Until two years ago, José Goyes had lived in the indigenous community of Honduras in Cauca, Colombia. But his life came under threat because of his role as a leader in his community's struggle for land rights in the face of abuses committed by a multinational corporation that owns a dam in their area. The threats got worse and worse until finally on July 5, 2008, as he was leaving his office, hitmen fired 4 shots at him. Luckily, he survived, but he was forced to flee to Bogotá. I recently met José in Colombia. He showed me the scars that the bullets left on him and told me about his best friend, Robert de Jesús Guachetá, who stayed behind to organize in the community and was not able to dodge the bullet when assassins came for him on May 18th, 2009. José asked me to tell their community's story and explain why so many indigenous Colombians, Afro-Colombians, and campesinos are being displaced. So, I'm writing you now to ask that you join me in taking two actions to support José and the 4.9 million people who have been internally displaced in Colombia. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ First, send a message to your representative asking him/her to co-sponsor House Resolution 1224, which supports protection for indigenous and Afro-Colombian internally displaced persons. +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Rep. Hank Johnson and 22 other representatives have just begun circulating this resolution in which our Congress would officially call on the Colombian government to fulfill its duties--as ruled by the Colombian Constitutional court--to protect threatened indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities and aid those who have been internally displaced. Click here to get your representative to co-sponsor today! (http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/625/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2735) +++++++++++++++++++ Then once you've finished with the government, turn to your community to tell the stories of the displaced during the National Days of Action for Colombia this April. Last year, people raised awareness about the size of the crisis in Colombia by making thousands of paper dolls to symbolize the large number of IDPs in Colombia. This year we need your help in moving past the statistics, as we start teaching about why displacement is happening in a campaign we're calling "Face the Displaced." Our partners in Colombia have helped us gather the portraits and stories of 40 brave people, like José, who have been forcibly displaced. As a way to make our legislators and communities "face up" to the human reality of this crisis, we're going to make large posters like this one of displaced Afro-Colombian leader Daira Quiñones. -------------------- Face the Displaced Packet http://witnessforpeace.org/article.php?id=916 (this packet will give you everything you need) Help us shed light on our hemisphere's hidden humanitarian crisis by hosting a Face the Displaced gathering. Forty displaced Colombians have shared with us their powerful photos and harrowing stories of what it means to be displaced. Student, church, and community groups are coming together as part of the National Days of Action for Colombia to assemble the photos and statements into poignant portraits (see example at right). By hosting a gathering, you and your guests have the opportunity to learn from Colombians' moving stories while framing each photo with a message to President Obama, calling for much-needed policy changes that would alleviate rather than exacerbate Colombia's crisis. If interested, please contact Ben (ben@witnessforpeace.org) or your regional organizer. +++++++++++++++++++++ This is the official response from the White House to our concerns about the seven Colombian military bases, expressed through Representative Tammy Baldwin http://colombiasupport.net/2010/White_House_Letter-3-29-2010.pdf +++++++++++++++++++++ www.counterpunch.org/kovalik04012010.html Mass Graves Used to Cover-Up Atrocities in Colombia The Bodies of the Innocent By DANIEL KOVALIK April 1, 2010 The biggest human rights scandal in years is developing in Colombia, though you wouldn’t notice it from the total lack of media coverage here. A mass grave – one of a number suspected by human rights groups in Colombia – was discovered by accident last year just outside a Colombian Army base in La Macarena, a rural municipality located in the Department of Meta just south of Bogota. The grave was discovered when children drank from a nearby stream and started to become seriously ill. These illnesses were traced to runoff from what was discovered to be a mass grave – a grave marked only with small flags showing the dates (between 2002 and 2009) on which the bodies were buried. According to a February 10, 2010 letter issued by Alexandra Valencia Molina, Director of the regional office of Colombia’s own Procuraduria General de la Nacion – a government agency tasked to investigate government corruption – approximately 2,000 bodies are buried in this grave. The Colombian Army has admitted responsibility for the grave, claiming to have killed and buried alleged guerillas there. However, the bodies in the grave have yet to be identified. Instead, against all protocol for handling the remains of anyone killed by the military, especially the bodies of guerillas, the bodies contained in the mass grave were buried there secretly without the requisite process of having the Colombian government certify that the deceased were indeed the armed combatants the Army claims. And, given the current "false positive" scandal which has enveloped the government of President Alvaro Uribe and his Defense Minister, Juan Manuel Santos, who is now running to succeed Uribe as President, the Colombian Army’s claim about the mass grave is especially suspect. This scandal revolves around the Colombian military, recently under the direction of Juan Manuel Santos, knowingly murdering civilians in cold blood and then dressing them up to look like armed guerillas in order to justify more aid from the United States. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pilay, this practice has been so "systematic and widespread" as to amount to a "crime against humanity." To date, not factoring in the mass grave, it has been confirmed by Colombian government sources that there have been 2,000 civilians falling victim to the "false positive" scheme since President Uribe took office in 2002. If, as suspected by Colombian human rights groups, such as the "Comision de Derechos Humanos del Bajo Ariari" and the "Colectivo Orlando Fals Borda," the mass grave in La Macarena contains 2,000 more civilian victims of this scheme, then this would bring the total of those victimized by the "false positive" scandal to at least 4,000 --much worse than originally believed. That this grave was discovered just outside a Colombian military base overseen by U.S. military advisers -- the U.S. having around 600 military advisers in that country -- is especially troubling, and raises serious questions about the U.S.’s own conduct in that country. In addition, this calls into even greater question the propriety of President Obama’s agreement with President Alvaro Uribe last summer pursuant to which the U.S. will have access to 7 military bases in that country. The Colombian government and military are scrambling to contain this most recent scandal, and possibly through violence. Thus, on March 15, 2010, Jhonny Hurtado, a former union leader and President of the Human Rights Committee of La Cantina, and an individual who was key in revealing the truth about this mass grave, was assassinated as soldiers from Colombia’s 7th Mobile Brigade patrolled the area. Just prior to his murder, Jhonny Hurtado told a delegation of British MPs visiting Colombia that he believed the mass grave at La Macarena contained the bodies of innocent people who had been "disappeared." Daniel Kovalik is a labor and human rights lawyer working in Pittsburgh, Pa. +++++++++++++++++++++++ More...
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