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IMMIGRATION: House Judiciary Committee passes indefinite detention bill
July 14, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) today voted out of committee a costly and unconstitutional bill that would authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain thousands of immigrants, potentially indefinitely, without due process. The HJC democrats offered many amendments in an attempt to make the indefinite detention bill constitutional. Under the provisions of the bill, called the “Keep Our Communities Safe Act,” many detainees would be deprived of bond hearings before an immigration judge, which are a basic component of justice in the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union strongly opposes this bill, H.R. 1932, because it violates both the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings protecting the rights of immigrants against indefinite detention.
Though the bill’s author Lamar Smith (R-TX) asserts it will protect people from “dangerous criminal immigrants,” the legislation would in fact lead to the detention of thousands more immigrants for years without first having a hearing before a judge. Some would be subjected to prolonged detention under the bill without ever having been charged with a crime and, in some instances, even after having won their cases before an immigration judge. Worsening a broken immigration detention system that costs $1.9 billion a year, the legislation would lock up lawful permanent residents, victims of persecution and torture, parents of U.S. citizen children and other upstanding members of our communities who have jobs, houses, businesses and significant American roots. The bill would also enormously expand DHS’s program of detaining indefinitely immigrants whom the government cannot deport to their countries of origin because of diplomatic problems, leading to potentially lifelong detention without the federal court oversight that our Constitution requires.
The following can be attributed to Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
“Today the House Judiciary Committee failed to respect its traditional role of upholding the Constitution. In voting a bill out of committee that would detain immigrants without just cause, the committee ran roughshod over our venerable safeguard of due process. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that in America ‘liberty is the norm,’ and immigrants may not be locked up in potentially lifelong detention absent the strictest of conditions. This bill would subject some of the most vulnerable immigrants in our society to needless and expensive incarceration without the required checks and balances of federal court oversight. It is contrary to long-established constitutional law, fiscal prudence and common sense, and the ACLU urges the full House to vote against this legislation.”
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ACTION ALERT: COLOMBIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
This could be our last chance. The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could come up for a vote any day now - unless our legislators hear from us.
This is a call for fair trade, not free trade. We are honoring the trade unionists, community leaders, and human rights defenders murdered in recent years in Colombia because they stood up for rights that will be further undermined if this FTA passes.
Will you back them up today by echoing their message in a two-minute call to your members of Congress?
Just follow this simple three-step process to make your call:
Step 1—Call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your members of Congress. If you don't know who that is, just provide your address and the operator will connect you.
Step 2—Once connected, ask to speak to the aide that works on trade agreements. Keep your message simple. Just say, “My name is ____. I am a constituent calling to urge Representative/Senator ____ to take a stand for human and labor rights today by opposing the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.”
Step 3—After you've made the call, tell us how it went and anything you learned about how your representatives will vote through this website.
So-called "free" trade has exacted a heavy price from many of other brothers and sisters in Central and South America. Please see the email below from Witness for Peace and follow their steps for contacting your Congressional Representative.
If you believe that human rights should NOT be sacrificed on the altar of free trade, we need your help to make sure this FTA does not pass! So please make your call and send a strong message to Congress today.
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COUNTRY UPDATE: Guatemala: A Terrible, Typical Day in Guatemala: The Killing of Facundo Cabral
Argentine resistance singer Facundo Cabral murdered in Guatemala
Facundo Cabral, a singer/ songwriter from Argentina, was one of the leaders in nonviolent protest music throughout Latin America for over 50 years. Born in La Plata, Argentina in 1937, Cabral grew up in extreme poverty. As he learned to play the guitar, sing, and write, he quickly became known as the voice of the people who could not speak. His dedication to social justice movements and his response to violent military dictatorships in Latin America forced him into exile in Mexico following the Argentine coup in 1976, where he continued writing and performing, and gained wide-spread popularity. In 1996, the United Nations designated Cabral a “worldwide messenger of peace” for his continued commitment to the people and to justice and freedom for the powerless in Central and South America.
Cabral and his promoter were on their way to the airport in Guatemala City early Saturday morning, July 9, 2011, when they were ambushed by two armed vehicles. Cabral was shot and killed, while the other man traveling with him was seriously injured. The pair was coming from a performance in Quetzaltenango, where he sang in his last concert on Thursday. The official motives for the attack are still unclear, as several sources speculate that the music promoter traveling with him may have been the intended target. However, other activists, such as Rigoberta Menchú, have stated that they believe that he was assassinated for his beliefs and condemnation of the violence in the region.
In reaction to the murder, fans throughout Guatemala and around the world have spoken out for justice and peace. President Álvaro Colom declared three national days of mourning in remembrance of the artist, and expressed his deepest sympathies to the president of Argentina as well as to the public. Fans in Guatemala held a memorial concert, and thousands came to Guatemala City to honor him. The reaction has been similar throughout the Western Hemisphere, where military dictatorships and oppressive governments have been a part of the consciousness of nearly every country in the past 50 years. Hispanic communities in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando and Washington DC have expressed like reactions, leading to enormous responses via Twitter and Facebook, and calls for the murderers to be brought to justice.
President Colom has stated that a full investigation of the crime is underway, and that justice will be sought for the perpetrators. Unfortunately, the murder Facundo Cabral is only one of many violent crimes in the country, the vast majority of which are committed with total impunity. The violence in Guatemala, including high rates of femicide, gang violence and organized crime, and politically-motivated assassinations, has overwhelmed the already weak and corrupt judicial system.
Cabral spent his life advocating for peace and nonviolence, and his violent death is an incredible tragedy. Cabral's supporters have demanded justice, and GHRC joins the international community in calling for an exhaustive investigation, justice for Cabral's murder, and increased efforts to decrease crime and violence in Guatemala.
* * *
74 years old, Facundo was in Guatemala to give concerts and readings. He was assassinated while driving to the airport to travel to Nicaragua to give more concerts. If you know the music and thoughts of Facundo – soft, repetitive messages of caring and love, pardon and hope, gratitude, justice and peace — then read them, listen to them and share them today. If you have not heard of his music and words, it is a good day to learn more about him.
* * *
It is with anger that we begin to hear the voices of the powerful sectors in Guatemala, and of other governments and institutions, lamenting this killing, expressing their dismay at so much violence and impunity …, … as if they are surprised about so much structural, repetitive and normal violence and impunity that they have put and kept in place for generations.
photo:
(“We are present here not only for the death of the teacher Cabral, but also for every boy, girl, elderly woman and man, who is, day after day, victim to the violence. Not only for Facundo Cabral, Also for the future of our children.”)
Ever since the U.S.-sponsored coup of 1954, Guatemala has been and remains a profoundly undemocratic country, wherein the rule of law (administration of justice) is dysfunctional at best, abused and corrupted in favour of the interests of the powerful, wealthy sectors (national and international), at worst.
Guatemala is one of the most unjust, violent countries of the Americas, dominated and abused by powerful national elites that have long maintained beneficial economic, military and political relations with the United States, other governments, international companies and investors, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, etc.
This is much more than a “tragedy. This is how things work in Guatemala.
* * *
For today, we light a candle for this poet and musician, and for his family and friends. We encourage all to read and listen to the words and music of Facundo Cabral, and to share them with others.
Thank-you / Gracias a la vida
Grahame Russell, info@rightsaction.org
(Annie Bird, annie@rightsaction.org, & Karen Spring, spring.kj@gmail.com)
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COUNTRY UPDATE: Honduras-- HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS CONTINUE -- human rights observers needed
The death threats against Father Fausto Milla, a commissioner with the Commission of Truth, and his assistant Denia Mejía have escalated recently, resulting in their decision to leave the county this Friday. They said good-bye to fellow Hondurans during a press conference at the Committee of Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH).
Milla's parish is in Corquín, in the department of Copán, and his parishioners are mostly rural poor and indigenous peoples, and Milla has initiated efforts to organize the population to defend their human rights and reclaim their culture. He has helped many poor families with illnesses to survived, helping them with nutritional techniques.
Previous persecution
In the 1970s and 1980s he was followed by the police and the military, who classified him as a “guerilla,” resulting in Milla taking refuge in Mexico, where he learned more about natural medicine and dedicated himself to healing.
At that time, besides being parish priest in Corquín, Milla also worked as director of Caritas (Catholic Charities) in his diocese. As part of that work he gave protection to Salvadoran refugees, resulting in the persecution from police and military.
His public denouncement of the massacre of Río Sumpul, which occurred on May 14, 1980, aggravated the situation. More than 600 inhabitants of the Salvadoran towns of San Jacinto and La Arada were fleeing, terrified, from the Salvadoran and Honduran police and military when they were murdered in a matter of hours. Few survived.
Saturday, May 24th of the same year, Milla denounced the act from his pulpit, saying it was being ignored by the responsible authorities, and that's when he was accused by the military and police of organizing guerilla groups and amassing arms.
Kidnapping
En February of 1981, Milla returned from Mexico to participate in the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal. He was kidnapped by a Battalion 3-16 death squad who held him for six days in La Flecha, Santa Bárbara, where they tortured him and later abandoned him.
Current Attacks
Father Milla has been the object of acts of harassment, surveillance, and death threats.
On Wednesday, June 29th, his assistant Denia Mejía, who will accompany him in his exile, found a death threat in the institutional email account of the Honduran Ecumenical Institute for Community Services (INEHSCO). The e-mail was sent as a warning, and included threats veiled as extortion attempts, where the authors granted a period of 48 hours to make a deposit of $35,000, or Milla would be killed.
In the past two weeks there have been calls made from unknown numbers demanding to know Milla's daily routine, an unusual presence of police offices in the vicinity of his health centre in Corquín, unknown men entering the health centre where Milla's patients are resting, and he has continued to be followed at a short distance by vehicles with tinted windows.
Solidarity
Bertha Oliva, the co-ordinator of COFADEH, stated that leaving one's country is not an easy decision. “We hope that his leave is for a short time, we have to insist on the necessity of their return to their people. There is no doubt that we are in a state of total defencelessness, where they are asking for amnesia for past crimes, they are demanding that we forgive them, put look what happens to Enrique Flores Lanza, who believed in the agreements, he came back to his country and now he's facing a political trial.”
The human rights defender informed journalists that information regarding the threats against Father Milla and Denia were presented to the corresponding instances, but nothing has been done, they have responded with silence.
The scene became emotional when when Nohemí Pérez, in the name of COFADEH, offered Father Milla a white handkerchief, which is a symbol of the organization's struggle since the 1980s in search of their family members who were forcibly disappeared by State security apparatus of Honduras. “With sadness in my hard and in the name of our organization I offer you this handkerchief as a simple of hope, and that we are not saying 'good-bye,' but 'see you soon'.”
The words of Gladys Lanza, National Co-ordinator of the 'Visitación Padilla' Women's Movement for Peace moved those in attendance when she placed a hand on her chest and expressed to the priest the pain that she felt over the situation he was going through, and assured him that he would return to his homeland.
Oscar Flores, on behalf of the National Front of Popular Resistance, offered Milla a red handkerchieff with an image of Che Guevara, and with tears in his eyes showed the priest the affection held for him by the population in resistance.
In a press release, the Union of Workers of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (SITRAUNAH) expressed their solidarity with the religious leader and registered their condemnation in relation to the death threats he had received from the oligarchy and other power groups and demanded an end to the persecution against Father Milla.
They have as their weapon the millions they've stolen from children
Milla put special emphasis on the fact that poverty in Honduras is a consequence of the millions that the oligarchy has taken from the mouths of approximately 400 thousand malnourished children. “Stolen mouthfuls: this is how they've accumulated their millions, this is how they've gained control of the country. They have the military, the police, their private armies, and they have the authority to commit the worst barbarities against young people.”
He added that the oligarchs are trying to paralyse the country; “we will not let ourselves be paralysed, they want us to leave here, they want the campesinos (peasant farmers) in the Aguán to leave there as a result of so much torture, and they want to convert the land into dollars.”
I leave with great sadness
Denia Mejía expressed that she is leaving the country with great sadness because she is leaving her family, with whom she has not even been able to share all the details of what has happened, because of concerns for their well-being and her own.
Below is the statement that COFADEH released at the press conference:
We condemn the fact that Father Fausto Milla must leave in forced exile
The Committee of Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH) profoundly laments to the national and international community that Honduras must leave their country in exile.
This time it is Father Fausto Milla, a Commissioner with the Commission of Truth, along with his assistant Denia Mejía, who due to repeated acts of surveillance and persecution, who has recently decided that to best protect his life he must leave his homeland, which he has fought for for decades in order to achieve social transformation that will result in a more dignified live for all.
This decision has been difficult, but the incidents of insecurity have been increasing in intensity, which it is believed clearly demonstrates a strategy to obstruct his community work and particularly his work with the Commission of Truth, which will be presenting it's report on the events that occurred before and after the coup d'état, as well as the serious human rights violations that took place, and who was responsible for them.
Other members of the Commission have also been subject to attacks, which have been made known nationally and internationally. This systematic pattern, occurring since September 2010, concerns us.
We offer an embrace of solidarity to Father Milla and Denia, we consider exile to be an act that violates human rights and that results in feelings of rootlessness in those who are subject to it.
Since the coup d'état in Honduras on June 28, 2011, 200 people have fled persecution in the country in order to save their lives, and they can't return because the human rights situation in the country is worse than when they left.
We denounce that although the formal denouncement has be made to the Ministry of the Attorney General, no investigative actions have been taken to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice or to protect the lives of Padre Milla, Denia, and other members of the Commission of Truth.
We demand that immediate action be taken to cease the insecurity that Father Milla and Denia are experiencing so that they can return to their country, which they never should have had to leave.
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The repression in Honduras continues as in the past week Honduras police forces burned the homes of the entire Rigores community of the Aguan Valley in a forced eviction and 2 of their leaders were imprisoned. A few days ago in the Siria Valley 2 environmental activists were arrested in their struggle against the toxic cyanide good mining taking place in their communities.
The return of Zelaya and the re-entry of Honduras to the OAS has not meant safety or security for the Honduran people. The call for international solidarity and international human rights observers is becoming more desperate.
Consider joining me on this Human Rights monitoring delegation to Honduras September 10-18. The delegation takes place during Honduras' Independence Day Sept 15th. Hondurans will be marching and continuing to demand true independence and democracy in their country. This delegation will visit both sides of the country from the capital Tegucigalpa as well as the Caribbean north coast of San Pedro Sula and provide an opportunity to meet the many diverse organizations and members of the Honduran Resistance Movement.
Here is a link to the delegation full announcement, flyer, delegation application and scholarship application. We have some partial scholarships that range from $50-$300 and we can also help you fundraise. http://witnessforpeace.org/article.php?id=631
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On June 26th, Honduras Security Forces and private paramilitaries violently evicted 150 families from the town of Rigores (Trujillo municipality, Colon Department, in the Aguan Valley). The armed men burned down homes, businesses, the school and town church, leaving the residents sleeping on the streets or in the community center.
Today, July 1st, when word came that the security forces along with paramilitaries were returning to Rigores with supposedly a new eviction order, a delegation of 23 US American activists, led by the Alliance for Global Justice, decided to enter and accompany the residents. The armed forces arrived, apparently raising their guns at the delegates (according to Annie Bird) and threatening to evict the townspeople from the vicinity.
The officers who seem to be in charge are LEONEL RAMOS (of the National Office of Criminal Investigation, DNIC) and JORGE MARTINEZ (the police commissioner from the town of Toccoa. COFADEH has been contacted and is awaiting response from Minister of Security Oscar Alvarez's office. All calls to the US Embassy's emergency line has been met with a series of answering machines.
Karen (contact info: 011 504-9507-3835) asked that the following groups be contacted to stop the current attacks on the town of Rigores, and in general, to end the evictions of campesinos from the Aguan Valley by private militias and state security forces:
1. Toccoa Police Department - where the police have come from. 011 504-2444-3105
2. Office of the Honduran Minister of Security, Oscar Alvarez.
Minister of Security
Dr. Oscar Alvarez
Ministro de Seguridad
Ministerio de Seguridad Pública
Edificio Poujol, 4o piso
Col. Palmira (Blvd. Morazán)
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
TeleFax: +504 220 4479
3. US State Department
Honduras Desk: (202) 647-3482
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UPDATE
I just heard from Chuck and, after a 3 1/2 hour stand-off, the police have backed down and left the village. The delegation is staying around a while to monitor the situation and to make sure the armed men don't return. Chuck expressed concern that during this whole time, they were not able even once to get an answer from any of the emergency numbers provided for the US Embassy.
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Longtime radio and TV journalist slain in Honduras
Associated Press
A longtime radio and television journalist has been shot to death in front of his home in Honduras.
Police say in a statement that Adan Benitez was killed in the city of La Ceiba on the country's Atlantic coast Monday night. The statement says two men assaulted and robbed him, but did not say whether his death appeared to be related to his work.
The 42-year-old journalist had worked for 16 years for several radio and television stations in La Ceiba.
The country's national human rights commission says at least 20 journalists and media workers have been killed violently since November 2003. Few of the cases have been resolved.
Journalist-rights organization C-Libre has called the state "institutionally incapable" of preventing such attacks.
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This is the incident that occurred last April that is linked to today's detention of Carlos Amador, Marlon Hernandez & at least 2 other community members (names are unkonwn at this time).
http://www.rightsaction.org/Alerts/Honduras_Goldcorp_Amador_042910.html
Good link. Everyone should read the article because it gives detailed background information and shows how the community is fighting to preserve their forest which they have had title to since the 1800s. Carlos Amador and the Environmental Committee in the Siria Valley have been fighting for years against open-pit gold mining which has caused serious environmental and health damages to the communitiies in the region.
---- current situation:
PROAH (Honduras Accompaniment Project) accompanied COFEDEH lawyers to the hearings for the detained members of the Siria Valley Environmental Committee. More detailed information will follow likely tomorrow. COFADEH and PROAH are concerned with the criminalization of the human rights defenders involved (members of the Siria Valley Environmental Committee).
As mentioned in previous updates to the Presente list, the two individuals who were initially detained this morning between 6:30 and 7:00am on charges of obstructing the execution of an environmental management plan" (Carlos Amador and Marlon Hernandez) were released on conditions shortly before 2pm (they need to show up at the courthouse and sign in every 15 days, cannot leave the country until the legal proceedings are resolved, and cannot "go near" the property in question or the dwelling of the owner of the property). The Public Prosecutor requested that the accused by held without bail, but the judge pronounced the request excessive considering the charges, and instead ordered them released on the conditions mentioned above.
There are 18 people total with warrants out for their arrest on the same charges related to the same incident. During Carlos and Marlon's hearing, a third person with a warrant out in his name, Juan Angel Recongo (sp?), who was outside with a crowd of supporters, was detained. Five other individuals, also with warrants out for their arrest and who were present, voluntarily presented themselves, along with Juan Angel, in front of the judge. All six of them were released with the same conditions as Carlos and Marlon by about 3:30pm.
There are still 10 people with warrants out for their arrest who have not presented themselves to the judge and are at risk of being arrested. COFADEH is working with members of the Environmental Committee to sort out their situation this week.
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This is a translation of the Urgent Action released by COFADEH this morning regarding the criminalization of human rights defenders in the case of the Environmental Committee of the Siria Valley. Contacts for US and Canadian Embassies with representation in Honduras have been added to the action.
Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras
COFADEH
Urgent Action:
Honduran State Continues to Criminalize Human Rights Defenders
The Committee of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (Cofadeh) expresses its repudiation and concern for the Honduran State's systemic practice of qualifying the most basic actions defending of nature and the rights accorded by the Constitution of the Republic as disturbing the peace, sabatoge and terrorism.
Various legal tools and policies are being used to inhibit the work of human rights defenders. In this particular case, defenders of the environment Carlos Danilo Amador and Marlon Hernández were detained by police, with warrants, between 6:30 and 7:00 AM on their way to work on charges of obstructing the excecution of an environmental management plan. Juan Ángel Reconco was detained in the early afternoon on the same charges. All are members of the Environmental Committee of the Siria Valley. Another 15 environmental defenders, also members of the committee, also have warrants out for their arrest on the same charge, and are at risk of arrest.
The charges are related to incidents that occured on April 7, 2010, when 600 residents of the Municipality of El Porvenir prevented logging of trees that protect the mini-watershed of the Guayabo Stream, known as el Tapalito, in the village of El Terrero. This source supplies water for human consumption to six comunities in the municipality, directly affecting 10,000 residents who have been protecting this forest for years. This protection was formalized on December 27, 2007 in an agreement with then AFE-COHDEFOR (State Forestry Administration – Honduran Corporation for Forestry Development), the Municipality of El Porvenir, and the residents.
The Environmental Committee and the affected communities consider that the management plan granted to Hayde Urrutia Mejía by the Honduran State is illegal because it deos not comply with the prerequisites established in the Forestry, Protected Areas and Wildlife Law, which requires an Environmental Impact Assessment including the participation of the population that could be affected by the project or activity under review. They also consider the management plan illegal due to irregularities regarding land tenancy.
The environmentalists in question are facing charges of Obstructing the Execution of a Management Plan, which carries a penaly of 4-6 years in prison according to article 186 of the above mentioned law. In the hearing that took place on July 5, 2011, Judge Ingrid Quiroz Banegas imposed precautionary measures on the defendants, including the requirements that they present themselves and sign-in at the courthouse every 15 days, do not leave the country, do not approach the mini-watershed of Tapalito, and do not approach the person, family, or dwelling of the beneficiary of the Management Plan, Hayde Urrutia Mejia.
In this particular case the justice system has not acted objectively and is instead favoring the executive branches of the state and criminalizing civil protest in the name of national (and international) interests, while the national (and international) interests in question are the precisely the reason for concern and protest on the part of the people and communities of the municipality of El Porvenir and leaders of the Environmental Committee of the Siria Valley.
Cofadeh is requesting the national and international community to demand that: 1) the Honduran State take the necessary measures, including implementation the required mechanisms, to guarantee personal freedom, due process, and the right to defend human rights to Carlos Danilo Amador, Marlon Hernández, Juan Ángel Reconco and all other members of the Siria Valley Environmental Committee; 2) cease all acts of retaliation against them; and 3) guarantee in general the right to defend universally recognized human rights as established in the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, approved in 1998, and similar OAS Resolutions emitted in 1999 and 2000.
Please direct letters, calls and faxes to Honduran Justice officials and diplomatic representatives of your country of residence:
Fax and phone numbers are listed with calling codes from the US or Canada
Jorge Alberto Rivera Avilés
President of the Supreme Court
Tel (from the US or Canada): 011-504-2269-3000, 011-504-2269-3069
Email: cedij@poderjudicial.gob.hn
Luis Alberto Rubí
Attorney General
Fax: 011-504-2221-5667
Tel 011-504-2221-5670 or 011-504-2221-3099
E-mail: lrubi@mp.hn
gsuazog@mp.hn
CANADA:
Ambassador Cameron MacKay
Canadian Embassy in Costa Rica (also responsible for Honduras):
Tel: 11-5062242-4400
Email: sjcra@international.gc.ca, Cameron.MacKay@international.gc.ca
Fax: 011-506-2242-4411 – Political Affairs
UNITED STATES:
U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Telephone: 011-504- 2236-9320, 011-504-2238-5114
Fax Number: 011-504-2236-9037
With copies to:
Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH)
Barrio La Plazuela, Avenida Cervantes, Casa No. 1301
Apartado Postal 1243
Tegucigalpa, HONDURAS
Fax: 011-504-2220-5280 (call by phone and ask for "tono de fax, por favor", then hang up and send the fax to the same number)
E-mail: berthacofadeh@yahoo.com
Barrio La Plazuela, Avenida Cervantes, casa 1301, teléfono (504) 2220- 5280,
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
cofadehydefensoresenlinea@gmail.com
www.defensoresenlinea.com
www.cofadeh.org
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Security Conference Vows to Push Drug War into Central America
Security Conference Vows to Push Drug War into Central America
Written by Dawn Paley
Thursday, 23 June 2011 20:41
This past week was a busy one for the masters of war in Central America.
Presidents and bankers gathered at a high profile meeting on the drug war in Antigua Guatemala from June 21-23, producing a familiar sounding series of commitments to fight organized crime in Central America. The event was rounded out with pledges of almost two billion dollars in foreign aid and loans, much of which will go towards intelligence gathering and training of police forces.
The International Conference in Support of the Central America Security Strategy brought together Central American heads of state, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, Mexico’s Felipe Calderon, and representatives from more than fifty countries, including Israel, Spain, Canada, and South Korea. Also present was Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as well as representatives from the World Bank, the Organization of American States, the United Nations, and the European Union.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Clinton clarified the kind of strategy that will be pursued in Central America. “We know from the work that the United States has supported in Colombia and now in Mexico that good leadership, proactive investments, and committed partnerships can turn the tide,” she said.1
That the northern triangle of Central America, comprising Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador is the most dangerous area in the world that’s not a war zone has become an oft-cited refrain as mainstream media outlets begin to beat the drums of war. By all indications, the U.S. led solution to this difficult situation is a simple one: bring open war back to Central America.
“We must remember that the war against organized crime and narcotrafficking is an extension of the war on terror, launched by the United States after the fall of the twin towers,” Maximo Ba Tiul, a Mayan Poqomchi analyst and professor explained to Upside Down World. “In Latin America, this must be understood as an extension of the cold war and the doctrine of national security, which were implemented to diminish the struggles of insurgent movements, of social movements, and of guerrilla movements to convert them into political parties and co-opt them into the very system of bourgeois democracy.”
Meanwhile, just across the border in El Salvador, a group of elite army commandos from throughout the hemisphere practiced sniper exercises, while their superiors swapped counter-terrorism strategies during military training competitions sponsored by U.S. Southern Command. The week-long event, known as Fuerzas Comando, is now in its eighth year.
“It’s the strategic level, with the commanders and strategic thinkers from that country, all the way down to the tactical level, where the teams that go and break down the doors and go save people, or, depending upon their requirement, they eliminate a threat,” Air Force Maj. Brett Phillips, the Fuerzas Comando planner for U.S. Special Operations Command South told the American Forces Press Service.2
Back in Guatemala, conference participants didn’t hide the fact that creating a better investment and business climate is a key aim of their program. "Insecurity threatens peace and social progress as well as the consolidation of democratic processes,” said Moreno. “It scares away investors, increases the costs of doing business for the private sector, and undermines social cohesion."3
None of this comes as a surprise to Ba Tiul, who lives in Alta Verapaz, a region declared under state of emergency last December because of the presence of Los Zetas, a Mexican drug trafficking organization.
“What happened during and after the state of emergency here was this: the assassination of Indigenous people in Izabal, evictions in the Polochic Valley, control and threats against community leaders and social organizations, and now they’re trying to displace entire communities, the communities that are in strong resistance to corporations building electrical transmission lines,” he said.
“From Alta Verapaz, we understand that this meeting about security has two objectives: to limit the presence of narcotraffickers and organized crime, and to combat grassroots movements that are defending their territories, which are highly prized in today’s neoliberal [system],” Ba Tiul told Upside Down World.
For his part, Moreno announced that the IDB would make $500 million available for regional and national security programs in Central America. In addition to creating and maintaining intelligence gathering services and networks, funding police training and cooperation and reforms to the legal system, IDB money will be used to “search for innovative, efficient, and sustainable models for financing security activities.”
In a candid deviation from the carefully planned speeches of the rest of the conference participants, Colombian President Santos intoned that drug money had made its way into the very hall where he spoke. “I assure you, and pardon me for being so frank, that here in this meeting there are a lot of people who are on the payroll of narcotraffickers, and they are informing the narcos what is happening in real time,” said Santos.4
The conference was organized by the Central American Integration System (SICA), an organization which is comprised of the seven countries of Central America (including Panamá) and the Dominican Republic, as well as a host of regional and international observer states. Clinton indicated Wednesday that the U.S. government is now seeking observer status with SICA.
Notes:
1. http://www.sica.int/busqueda/busqueda_archivo.aspx?Archivo=dis1_60501_1_22062011.pdf
2. http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=64394
3. http://www.iadb.org/en/news/news-releases/2011-06-22/citizen-security-in-central-america,9433.html
4. http://www.semana.com/nacion/esta-reunion-mucha-gente-sueldo-narcos-presidente-santos/158963-3.aspx
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COUNTRY UPDATE: El Salvador
On Thursday, June 9, the leadership of the Legislative Assembly and the Magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court met for the first time to discuss the controversial legislative decree 743 that has caused a major conflict between the government branches and begin to reconcile tensions that have been developing over the past two years between El Salvador's Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches; both sides considered the meeting an important step towards resolving the institutional tension that began with the passage of the decree two weeks ago. On June 2, all right-wing parties – Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), Great Alliance for National Unity (GANA), Christian Democrat Party (PDC), National Conciliation Party (PCN) - closed ranks to pass the decree that requires unanimous decisions from the five magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber. The Constitutional Chamber is the highest court in El Salvador’s judiciary and monitors the constitutionality of laws and policies passed by the Executive and Legislative branches.
Previously, a 4/5 majority of magistrates was necessary to declare a law or policy unconstitutional and a 3/5 majority was necessary to determine that a person or institution's constitutional rights had been violated.
The right wing parties publicly stated that decree 743 was a preventative measure to halt the Constitutional Chamber from ruling on cases related to the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and dollarization - hallmarks of neoliberal economic policies implemented under ARENA administrations - as well as the Amnesty Law that prohibits prosecution of crimes committed during El Salvador's Civil War. The decree is also widely understood to be a retaliatory measure to restrict the Constitutional Chamber's powers in the wake of two rulings that have severely challenged right-wing parties at the start of the 2012 elections season; the Chamber has called for the dissolution of the PCN and PDC and the removal of PCN representatives from El Salvador’s elections authority. After a rushed legislative vote that did not include discussion or debate in the full legislative plenary, President Funes unexpectedly signed the decree into law the same day it passed. In the days following, the Constitutional Chamber ruled the decree unconstitutional, refusing to abide by a law that “violates the separation of powers”, while many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as the National Private Business Association (ANEP) and the right-wing think tank Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES) organized protests to denounce the decree.
Amidst public scrutiny, ARENA party president and former president of the Republic, Alfredo Cristiani, changed the party's position and began calling for the FMLN to join ARENA to repeal decree 743. In an ARENA communiqué, the party claimed to have supported the decree out of fear that the Amnesty Law - passed by Cristiani's administration in 1993 - would be found unconstitutional. The Amnesty Law is widely criticized by the social movement and the FMLN as a barrier to bringing justice to victims of State repression during El Salvador's Civil War. Given the recent Spanish Court indictments of 20 military officers for the 1989 Jesuit massacre, including Cristiani’s former cabinet members, Cristiani himself could be forced to stand trial without the protection of the Amnesty Law. In ARENA's communiqué, the party claimed to have changed its position after "evident demonstrations by the Constitutional Chamber that they have no intention of declaring the Amnesty Law unconstitutional." FMLN leadership immediately began to question whether ARENA and the Constitutional Chamber had cut a backroom deal. President of the Supreme Court Belarmino Jaime has denied meeting with ARENA party leadership or engaging in negotiations regarding future Constitutional Chamber rulings, but acknowledged that on June 6 the magistrates did decide to dismiss pending cases against dollarization and the Amnesty Law.
Since ARENA's call for repeal, many NGOs have joined in the clamor, viewing the decree’s repeal as the necessary action to restore institutional rule of law. In contrast, the FMLN and sectors of the social movement like the Salvadoran Union Front (FSS) have expressed concern that repeal will not resolve the conflicts between the government branches highlighted by the passage of the decree. At an FMLN public forum in San Salvador on June 10, FMLN General Coordinator Medardo Gonzalez advocated for dialogue between the Constitutional Chamber, Legislative Assembly and Executive as the appropriate solution. “Right now there is a battle between the powers of the government. Clearly, decree 743 seeks to undermine the authority of the Constitutional Chamber; but the Chamber has also tried to wield more power than it should. Their recent rulings are extremely prescriptive and go beyond simply deciding the constitutionality of laws – the magistrates are trying to legislate how laws should be applied, which is the duty of the Assembly. Repealing decree 743 will not resolve this larger issue. We need an open dialogue with all three branches of government to define the roles of each branch to move forward.” Gonzalez specifically cited rulings regarding voting procedures that the FMLN views as an attempt to legislate an electoral reform through legal rulings. The FMLN is promoting an electoral reform in the Legislative Assembly, but has been unable to garner support from right-wing parties. However, the party asserts that it is the role of legislative deputies - elected to reform and create laws - to draw up this reform, rather than the magistrates appointed to make constitutional rulings. Since last Thursday’s meeting between the Constitutional Chamber and the Legislative Assembly, President Funes has publicly supported the dialogue approach and has convened a second meeting to include representation of all three branches of government to determine a smooth way to resolve decree 743 and the clash of state powers.
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Stop Dangerous Deportations
“PLEASE SAVE US. We as in my fellow inmates find ourselves in the Torrance County Detention Facility and we are scared for our lives.”
Fearful of being kidnapped or murdered if they were deported to Mexican states that border Texas and New Mexico, individuals held on immigration charges in New Mexico sent this plea to No More Deaths, a humanitarian aid organization that works to protect migrants in the Arizona/Sonora border area.
Click here to urge the Department of Homeland Security to take immediate action to protect migrants’ safety!
In their letter, the people in New Mexico told No More Deaths,“[One of the inmates here was last deported through Texas and he was] kidnapped and held hostage along with other deportees and was always at gunpoint. . . Some of the group of deportees didn’t have family or had no money to pay the ransom so this group killed them and the ones that paid escaped death but not a beating . . . On the other side of the border of Texas is where this takes place every day.”
U.S. deportation practices are exposing migrants to severe and unnecessary risks–including deporting people at night, to regions they are unfamiliar with, where they can easily be exploited and harmed.
Click here to join No More Deaths in taking action!
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/703/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7046
All migrants should be able to return to their county in the safest manner possible. Of course, authorities in Mexico and the United States must work together to make sure that all communities on both sides of the border are safe for residents and migrants alike–and that those who provide much needed assistance to migrants in Mexico border communities are protected. Throughout Mexico, those who bravely stand up to promote and protect migrant rights are increasingly becoming victims of threats and attacks themselves.
Click here to fax the Department of Homeland Security asking them to stop jeopardizing the lives of migrants–and end dangerous repatriation practices now!
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/703/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7046
For more information on this important No More Deaths campaign–and additional ways to take action on this critical issue, click here. www.nomoredeaths.org/Updates-and-Announcements/stoptexasdeportations.html
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COUNTRY UPDATE: Guatemala: HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS FILE TORTURE COMPLAINT WITH UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR AGAINST GUATEMALAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE GENERAL OTTO PEREZ MOLINA
Para leer en Español, haga clic aqui.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS FILE TORTURE COMPLAINT WITH UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
AGAINST GUATEMALAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE GENERAL OTTO PEREZ MOLINA
Today, July 6, 2011, three human rights defenders presented a formal report of torture, or “Allegation Letter”, to Professor Juan Méndez, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture. The letter alleges that General Otto Pérez Molina, now a leading presidential candidate in Guatemala, was directly involved in the systematic use of torture and acts of genocide during the long civil war in Guatemala. Specifically, he was on the ground and in command in the Ixil triangle in 1982 during the village by village massacre campaign, and he was directly responsible for the long term torture and disappearance of prisoner of war Efrain Bámaca Velasquez. Protesters in Washington D.C. recently demanded the cancelation of his visa to the United States.
The report is accompanied by 1982 film footage [1] showing the then- Major Pérez Molina being interviewed by journalist Allan Nairn in the Ixil triangle. The battered bodies of several prisoners lie nearby on the ground. Although Pérez Molina was using a different name, he is identifiable by his voice and features. He is also well remembered in the Ixil. The video may be viewed here.
According to the U.N. sponsored Truth Commission report, “Memoria de Silencio”, the army carried out daily acts of torture, genocide and terror in the Ixil region, and razed between 70 and 90% of the villages there. Pérez Molina currently presents himself as a reformist and “peace candidate”.
Otto Pérez Molina was also the National Director of military intelligence (D-2) on March 12, 1992, when Efrain Bámaca, a Mayan resistance leader, was captured alive and taken to the Santa Ana Berlin military base. According to evidence cited in the Allegation Letter, a high level intelligence meeting was held at the same base that day, and the officers decided to subject Bámaca to a secret intelligence program for valuable prisoners of war. This consisted of long term torture in order to break the prisoner psychologically and force him or her to collaborate with the D-2 forces. Bámaca was severely tortured for more than 2 years: always in D-2 compounds, under orders of the D-2, and by D-2 specialists. He was also transported throughout the country by the D-2, and twice detained by a secret D-2 death squad based in the Capital at the notorious “La Isla”. The letter alleges that Pérez Molina was the key intellectual author of this and similar war crimes cases. U.S. declassified documents confirm that the D-2 systematically tortured all prisoners of war, then either executed them or forced them to collaborate. In 1993 the CIA reported 300 such prisoners. See attached memorandum regarding the Bámaca case.
The Allegation Letter requests an investigation into General Pérez Molina’s responsibility for such war crimes, and was presented by the following human rights defenders: Annie Bird, Co- Director, Rights Action, annie@rightsaction.org, 202-680-3002; Jennifer K. Harbury, Human Rights Attorney, jharbury@gmail.com, 512-751-5852; Kelsey Alford-Jones, Director, Guatemala Human Rights Commission-USA, kajones@ghrc-usa.org, 202-529-6599.
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COMUNICADO DE PRENSA:
DEFENSORES DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS ENTREGAN DENUNCIA DE TORTURA
CON EL RELATOR ESPECIAL DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS
CONTRA EL CANDIDATO PRESIDENCIAL GUATEMALTECO GENERAL OTTO PEREZ MOLINA
Hoy día, el 6 de Julio de 2011, tres defensores de los derechos humanos presentaron un informe formal o “Carta de Alegato” al Profesor Juan Méndez, el Relator Especial de las Naciones Unidas Contra la Tortura. La carta alega que el General Otto Pérez Molina, ahora candidato presidencial principal en Guatemala, fue directamente involucrado en el uso sistemático de tortura y en actos de genocidio durante el conflicto interno en Guatemala. Específicamente, él se encontraba en el territorio y en posición de mando en el triángulo Ixil en 1982 durante la campaña de masacres de aldeas, y él fue directamente responsable por la tortura a largo plazo y desaparición de prisionero de guerra Efraín Bámaca Velásquez. Recientemente hubo una manifestación en Washington D.C., en contra de la emisión de su visa.
Al informe le acompaña grabaciones de video filmado en 1982 [1] que demuestran el entonces Mayor Pérez Molina siendo entrevistado por el periodista Allan Nairn en el triangulo Ixil. Los cadáveres de cuatro presos abusados se encuentran acostados en el piso a corta distancia. Aunque Pérez Molina utilizó otro nombre, él está claramente identificado por su voz y sus rasgos faciales. Además le recuerden claramente en el área Ixil. El video se puede ver aquí.
Según el informe “La Memoria del Silencio” de la Comisión de Verdad apatrocinada por las Naciones Unidas, el ejército diariamente llevo a cabo actos de tortura, genocidio y terror en la región Ixil, y arraso entre 70% y 90% de las aldeas en esta región. Pérez Molina actualmente se presenta como reformista y “candidato por la paz.”
Otto Pérez Molina también fungió como Director Nacional de inteligencia militar (D-2), el 12 de marzo de 1992 cuando Efraín Bámaca, un comandante Maya de la resistencia armada, fue capturado vivo y llevado a la base militar de Santa Ana Berlin. Según las evidencias citadas en la Carta de Alegato, una reunión de alto nivel fue realizado este mismo día en este mismo base, y los oficiales presentes decidieron someter Bámaca a un programa secreto de inteligencia militar para los prisioneros de guerra de alto valor. Este consistía de tortura a largo plazo con el objetivo de romper el preso psicológicamente y así obligarlo de colaborar con las fuerzas del D-2. Bámaca fue torturado de forma severa durante más de dos años: siempre dentro de las instalaciones de D-2, bajo órdenes del D-2, y por especialistas del D-2. El fue transportado por todo el país por el D-2 y en dos ocasiones detenido por el escuadrón de la muerte secreto del D-2 en la Capital en el infame “La Isla.” La carta alega que Pérez Molina fue el autor intelectual clave en este y parecidos casos de crímenes de guerra. El gobierno de los EEUU desclasificó documentos que confirman que el D-2 torturó de forma sistemática todos los prisioneros de guerra, y posteriormente los ejecutaron extrajudicialmente o los forzaron colaborar. En 1993 la CIA reportó la existencia de 300 presos de esta naturaleza. Vea el memorándum adjunta en referencia al caso Bámaca.
La Carta de Alegato solicita una investigación de la responsabilidad del General Pérez Molina en crímenes de Guerra, y fue presentado por los siguientes defensores e los derechos humanos; Annie Bird, Co-Directora, Rights Action, annie@rightsaction.org; Jennifer K. Harbury, Abogada de derechos humanos, jharbury@gmail.com, 512-751-5852; y Kelsey Alford-Jones, Directora, Comisión de Derechos Humanos para Guatemala-USA, kajones@ghrc-usa.org, 202-529-6599.
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Dear friends,
After ten long years of struggle, we join the Association for Justice and Reconciliation and the Center for Human Rights Legal Action in applauding the arrest of General Héctor Mario López Fuentes, marking the first arrest in the case against genocide in Guatemala. The initial hearing against López Fuentes will be held this coming Monday.
At this moment we want to share with you the words of the AJR and CALDH as they announce this historic advance in the pursuit of justice in Guatemala:
"Today, June 17th, General Héctor Mario López Fuentes was captured in Guatemala City, twenty-nine years after having initiated the execution of Plan Victoria 82, developed by the Army Chief of Staff and Efraín Ríos Montt’s de facto government. He is accused of having perpetrated genocide against the Maya Ixil people in the years 1982-83.
"The victims and survivors of genocide have knocked on the doors of justice for more than ten years. Today the justice system has the opportunity to prosecute genocide, a crime which is an affront to the dignity of all humanity. These events fill us with hope and motivate us to continue the fight against forgetting.
"We express our satisfaction at this arrest. We hope that the authorities continue to pursue the judicial process against him, and that he will be the first to be convicted of the many responsible for genocide that remain at liberty. We will continue on the path towards justice, recuperating our history and speaking the truth.
"We invite you to accompany us in this process, which is historic not only for our country, but for Latin America and the world. We will show that our justice system CAN work, and has the capacity and courage to prosecute the crime of genocide."
(See the full statement in English and Spanish on our blog.)
As members of the NISGUA and GAP communities, you have walked in solidarity with the people of Guatemala through years of struggle. You have mobilized with energy, passion, and heart to support the AJR's fight for justice as accompaniers, sponsoring community supporters, and commited activists. Today we feel profound appreciation for all the work that has come before us, as well as a sense of privilege to be able to bear witness to this moment. We know that your thoughts are with the communities and organizations at the forefront of movements for truth, justice, and human rights in Guatemala, and we will keep you informed of important events and opportunities to take action and show your support.
In solidarity,
Bridget, Caitlin, Carrie, Lara, Pancho, Phil, and the GAP accompaniment team
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ACTION ALERT: El Salvador: Student Anti-Mining Activist Assassinated
ACTION ALERT June 17, 2011
Student Anti-Mining Activist Assassinated: Call on the Attorney General and the Minister of Security to Begin an Investigation Immediately!
With heavy hearts, we report that Juan Francisco Durán Ayala, anti-mining activist and university student, has been killed. SHARE El Salvador expresses our solidarity with Juan Francisco Durán Ayala’s family, the Cabañas Environmental Committee (CAC), and all those working to defend human rights and prevent metallic mining in El Salvador.
The National Working Group Against Mining Press Conference
On June 2, in the city of Ilobasco, Cabañas, thirty year-old Juan Francisco Duran Ayala was putting up fliers and banners that asked for the approval of a law against metal mining and for the Canadian mining company Pacific Rim to leave Cabañas as part of a CAC campaign. Juan Francisco Durán was last seen on June 3rd at the Technological University, where he was a model student in his fourth year of studies. His body was found after midnight on June 4th. Despite a missing persons report with a photo and identifying features, the Medical Examiner buried his body in a common grave in a San Salvador cemetery. It was not until 10 days later that members of the CAC discovered that his body had been found. Juan Francisco’s father positively identified his body after it was exhumed.
Juan Francisco was shot twice in the head, execution style. There has yet to be any investigation into his murder.
Juan Francisco Durán Ayala has been murdered almost two years after the brutal torture and killing of Marcelo Rivera, member of the Association of Friends of San Isidro, Cabañas, community leader and
anti-mining activist. Since then, two other antiminig activists have been killed, Dora Alicia Sorto and Ramiro Rivera, and death threats and attempts continue against anti-mining activists. Perhaps the most emblematic case are ongoing threats against journalists of Radio Victoria.
As long as there is no justice in these cases, uncovering the intellectual authors behind these threats and murders, impunity will reign and violence will continue in Cabañas.
Please join us in calling on the Attorney General and National Civilian Police to carry out thorough and exhaustive investigations into the murder of Juan Francisco Durán Ayala that identify and bring to justice the material and intellectual authors of this crime and protect the lives of all anti-mining activists in El Salvador by bringing an end to impunity in the cases of Marcelo Rivera, Ramiro Rivera, Dora Alicia Sorto, and the threats against Radio Victoria and other activists.
Join the CAC and the family of Juan Francisco in calling on the authorities—specifically the Attorney General’s Office and the Civilian National Police (PNC)—to conduct a thorough and exhaustive investigation into all the cases of violence towards community leaders in Cabañas and to specifically set up a task force to investigate the murder of Juan Francisco. The CAC demands that the investigations look for possible ties between this case of violence and local mayors José Ignacio Bautista, Edgar Bonilla and José Maria Dimas Castellano as well as any ties to the mining company Pacific Rim.
Send an email to the Attorney General Romeo Barahona (see sample email below) and Manuel Melgar, the Minister of Justice and Security, to demand a full investigation and protection for the victims. Please send the email to Barahona’s assistant at hector.burgos@fgr.gob.sv and to Minister Melgar jusegministro@seguridad.gob.sv and his assistant Sandra.lazo@seguridad.gob.sv
If you speak Spanish, please also call Salvadoran Attorney General Romeo Barahona at 011-503- 2230-6350 (see sample script below). Please also call Minister Melgar 011-503-7070-0081 (see sample script below).
Sample Email to Attorney General Barahona
hector.burgos@fgr.gob.sv
Estimado Señor Fiscal General de la República,
Como miembro de la comunidad internacional, quiero expresar mi profunda preocupación sobre las nuevas amenazas y los casos de violencia contra líderes sociales en Cabañas.
Hace más de una semana,Juan Francisco Duran Ayala, miembro del Comité Ambiental de Cabañas en Defensa del Agua y Cultura (CAC) desapareció, a pocos días después de haber participado en actividades contra la minería en Cabañas. A pesar de que la familia le reportó desaparecido, el cuerpo de Juan Francisco Durán Ayala, asesinado de dos disparos en la cabeza el día 4 de junio de 2011, fue enterrado en una fosa común en La Bermeja. No fue hasta 10 días después que miembros del CAC y familiares de Juan Francisco lograron desenterrar e identificar su cuerpo.
Urge que la PNC y la Fiscalía hagan una investigación profunda y exahustiva sobre este nuevo asesinato de un activista jóven.
Además, urge una investigación profunda y eficaz sobre este último caso y todas las amenazas contra los ambientalistas de Cabañas, para determinar quiénes son los autores materiales, intelectuales y financieros. Es necesario también re-abrir los casos de Marcelo Rivera, Dora Alicia Sorto y Ramiro Rivera para investigar vínculos entre estos casos, los asesinatos de Darwin Serrano y Gerardo Abrego León, las nuevas amenazas contra el personal de Radio Victoria, y la desaparición de Juan Francisco Duran Ayala.
Finalmente, tomando en cuenta los nexos entre esta violencia y la lucha contra la minería, los casos de violencia y las amenazas contra líderes sociales en Cabañas requieren una investigación profunda para identificar los autores materiales e intelectuales. Estas investigaciones deben de incluir posibles nexos entre la violencia y la compañía minera Pacific Rim, y las autoridades locales como los alcaldes de San Isidro, Ilobasco y Sensuntepeque.
El hecho de que la violencia y amenazas que se han dado en Cabañas desde 2007 siguen en impunidad ha permitido que surgieran los nuevos casos de violencia. Pido que, por favor, tome las medidas necesarias para asegurar justicia y protección para los afectados.
Agradezco de antemano sus gestiones para agilizar las investigaciones sin descarar ninguna linea de investigación y espero que pronto se haga justicia en estos casos. Estaré pendiente de las acciones de la Fiscalía y seguiré informando a los y las funcionarias de gobierno en mi país sobre estos casos.
Atentamente,
Your Name
Sample Email to Minister of Justice and Security
jusegministro@seguridad.gob.sv and Sandra.lazo@seguridad.gob.sv
Estimado Señor Ministro de Seguridad y Justicia,
Como miembro de la comunidad internacional, quiero expresar mi profunda preocupación sobre las nuevas amenazas y los casos de violencia contra líderes sociales en Cabañas.
Hace más de una semana, Juan Francisco Duran Ayala, miembro del Comité Ambiental de Cabañas en Defensa del Agua y Cultura (CAC) desapareció, a pocos días después de haber participado en actividades contra la minería en Cabañas. A pesar de que la familia le reportó desaparecido, el cuerpo de Juan Francisco Durán Ayala, asesinado de dos disparos en la cabeza el día 4 de junio de 2011, fue enterrado en una fosa común en La Bermeja. No fue hasta 10 días después que miembros del CAC y familiares de Juan Francisco lograron desenterrar e identificar su cuerpo.
Urge que la PNC y la Fiscalía hagan una investigación profunda y exahustiva a este nuevo asesinato de un activista jóven.
Además, urge una investigación profunda y eficaz sobre este último caso y todas las amenazas contra los ambientalistas de Cabañas, para determinar quiénes son los autores materiales, intelectuales y financieros. Es necesario también re-abrir los casos de Marcelo Rivera, Dora Alicia Sorto y Ramiro Rivera para investigar vínculos entre estos casos, los asesinatos de Darwin Serrano y Gerardo Abrego León, las nuevas amenazas contra el personal de Radio Victoria, y la desaparición de Juan Francisco Duran Ayala.
Finalmente, tomando en cuenta los nexos entre esta violencia y la lucha contra la minería, los casos de violencia y las amenazas contra líderes sociales en Cabañas requieren una investigación profunda para identificar los autores materiales e intelectuales. Estas investigaciones deben de incluir posibles nexos entre la violencia y la compañía minera Pacific Rim, y las autoridades locales como los alcaldes de San Isidro, Ilobasco y Sensuntepeque.
El hecho de que la violencia y amenazas que se han dado en Cabañas desde 2007 siguen en impunidad ha permitido que surgieran los nuevos casos de violencia. Pido que, por favor, tome las medidas necesarias para asegurar justicia y protección para los afectados.
Agradezco de antemano sus gestiones para agilizar las investigaciones sin descarar ninguna linea de investigación y espero que pronto se haga justicia en estos casos. Estaré pendiente de las acciones de la PNC y seguiré informando a los y las funcionarias de gobierno en mi país sobre estos casos.
Atentamente,
Your Name
Translation
As a member of the international community, I want to express my deep concern about the new cases of violence and threats against social leaders in Cabañas.
Over a week ago, Juan Francisco Duran Ayala, member of the Environmental Committee of Cabañas in Defense of Water and Cultura (CAC) disappeared, only days after having participated in activites protesting mining in Cabañas. Although his family reported him missing, Juan Francisco Durán Ayala, killed with two shots to the head on June 4th, 2011, was burried in a common grave in La Bermeja. It wasn’t until 10 days later that members of the CAC and Jauan Francisco’s family were able to exhume him and identify his body.
It is urgent that the National Civilian Police (PNC) and the Attorney General carry out an exhaustive and thorough investigation into this most recent murder of a young activist.
In addition, there needs to be a thorough and efficient investigations into this recent case and all of the threats to environmentalists in Cabañas, to determine who the material, intellectual and financial authors are. It is also necessary to re-open the Marcelo Rivera, Dora Alicia Sorto, and Ramiro Rivera cases in order to investigate links between those cases, the murders of Darwin Serrano and Gerardo Abrego León, the new threats against the staff of Radio Victoria, and the disappearance of Juan Francisco Duran Ayala.
Finally, taking into account the ties between this violence and the anti-mining struggles, the cases of violence and threats against Cabañas social movement leaders require a thorough investigation to identify the material and intellectual authors. These investigations should look into the possible ties between the violence and the mining company Pacific Rim as well as local authorities like the mayors of San Isidro, Ilobasco, and Sensuntepeque.
This new case of violence has arisen because the violence and threats that have occurred in Cabañas since 2007 remain in impunity. I ask that you please take the necessary measures to assure justice and protection for those affected.
Thank you in advance for your efforts to begin thorough investigations without ruling out any investigative line. I hope that soon there will be justice in these cases. I will continue to follow the actions of the Attorney General’s office and the National Civil Police (PCN) and will continue informing my elected officials about these cases.
Call Script for Attorney General Barahona
(direct number for his assistant, Hector Burgos: 011-503- 2230-6350)
Buenos (días/tardes)
Mi nombre es_______________________ y llamo para expresar mi indignación sobre el asesinato de Juan Francisco Duran Ayala y la violencia contra líderes sociales en Cabañas.
Urge una investigación profunda sobre el asesinato del Señor Duran Ayala con un equipo especializado, y así también es necesario re-abrir los casos de Marcelo Rivera, Dora Alicia Sorto y Ramiro Rivera para investigar vínculos entre estos caso, los asesinatos de Darwin Serrano y Gerardo Abrego León, las nuevas amenazas contra el personal de Radio Victoria y la desaparición del Señor Duran Ayala.
El hecho de que la violencia y amenazas anteriores quedaron en impunidad ha permitido que surgieran los nuevos hechos de violencia. Pido que el Fiscal General tome las medidas necesarias para asegurar justicia y protección para las y los afectados.
Gracias
Call Script for Minister of Justice and Security Manuel Melgar
(direct number: 011-503- 7070-0081)
Buenos (días/tardes)
Mi nombre es_______________________ y llamo para expresar mi indignación sobre el asesinato de Juan Francisco Duran Ayala y la violencia contra líderes sociales en Cabañas.
Urge una investigación profunda sobre el asesinato del Señor Duran Ayala con un equipo especializado, y así también es necesario re-abrir los casos de Marcelo Rivera, Dora Alicia Sorto y Ramiro Rivera para investigar vínculos entre estos caso, los asesinatos de Darwin Serrano y Gerardo Abrego León, las nuevas amenazas contra el personal de Radio Victoria y la desaparición del Señor Duran Ayala.
El hecho de que la violencia y amenazas anteriores quedaron en impunidad ha permitido que surgieran los nuevos hechos de violencia. Pido que la PNC tome las medidas necesarias para asegurar justicia y protección para las y los afectados.
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Background:
On June 2, in the city of Ilobasco, Cabañas, thirty year-old Juan Francisco was hanging flyers and banners as part of a CAC campaign against mining and the Canadian mining company Pacific Rim. The CAC reports that Ilobasco's mayor, José Maria Dimas Castellano, ordered municipal police to remove the banners and intimidate the activists hanging them. The next day Juan Francisco left for his classes at the Technological University in San Salvador and was not heard from again. His body was found after midnight on June 4; he had been shot twice in the head, execution style. The Medical Examiner declared his body "unidentifiable" and buried him in a common grave in San Salvador. The following week, CAC members visited the morgue and learned that Juan Francisco's body had been found. His father positively identified his son´s body on June 14 after it was exhumed.
Juan Francisco was shot twice in the head, execution style. There has yet to be any investigation into his murder.
Juan Francisco's murder comes two years after the brutal torture and killing of community leader and anti-mining activist Marcelo Rivera, member of the Association of Friends of San Isidro, Cabañas, community leader and anti-minig activist. Since then, two other anti-mining activists have been killed, Dora Alicia Sorto and Ramiro Rivera, and death threats and attempts continue against anti-mining activists, particularly the youth journalists of the Radio Victoria collective. As long as the intellectual authors of these crimes remain unpunished, impunity and violence will continue to reign in Cabañas.
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IMMIGRATION; Legislation and June 20 World Refugee Day
Alabama passes new law:
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_alabama_immigration_law
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Secure Communities is a program that allows state and local law enforcement to submit the fingerprints of individuals who are booked into jail to be run through immigration databases so that ICE can decide whether to take enforcement action. Since its introduction, the Secure Communities program has met with resistance by advocates and officials in several state and local jurisdictions who argue that it casts too wide a net. Concerns have also been raised about the program's effect on immigrant communities, including racial profiling and fear of law enforcement, as well as significant costs to states and localities. Recently the state of Massachusetts declined participation in Secure Communities, a move that comes on the heels of decisions by Illinois and New York to cancel or suspend their participation in the program. We want to alert you to resources on Secure Communities available from the Immigration Advocates Network, our partners or other advocates.
On Immigration Advocates Network:
The "Library" contains:
- A list of jurisdictions where Secure Communities is activated at www.immigrationadvocates.org/link.cfm?17708
- A two-part webinar series and resources on Secure Communities at www.immigrationadvocates.org/link.cfm?16879
- A substantive folder on Secure Communities in the State and Local Issues library at www.immigrationadvocates.org/link.cfm?16878
The "News" section contains:
- An article on the abandonment of Secure Communities by several states at www.immigrationadvocates.org/link.cfm?17709
Upcoming Webinar:
"Denying ICE ACCESS," a free two-part webinar outlining strategies for fighting ICE ACCESS programs in local communities, by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Detention Watch Network, Immigrant Defense Project, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, National Immigration Law Center, Rights Working Group, and the Washington Defender Association. For more information and to register, visit www.nilc.org/trainings/trainings001.htm
IAN Community Forum:
Ask questions and discuss Secure Communities and other immigration topics on the IAN Community Forum. Each section of the Forum is moderated by expert AILA attorneys. To participate in the Community Forum, visit www.immigrationadvocates.org/nonprofit/community-forum
Other resources on Secure Communities:
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) has issued a statement regarding their concern about state and local law enforcement's participation in enforcing federal immigration laws at www.lirs.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=nhLPJ0PMKuG&b=5544305&ct=9377969
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has issued a report on the dangers of Secure Communities in Illinois at icirr.org/en/node/5344, as well as statements on the rejection of Secure Communities in Massachusetts (icirr.org/en/node/5430) and New York (icirr.org/en/node/5428).
Immigration Policy Center
The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) maintains a Secure Communities resource page at www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/secure-communities-resource-page
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) provides resources on Secure Communities, including handouts, an overview, and details about their advocacy efforts at www.miracoalition.org/en/issues-roknav-public-safety/secure-communities
National Immigration Forum
The National Immigration Forum provides information about Secure Communities at www.immigrationforum.org/blog/display/secure-communities-do-we-know-anything-for-certain/
More...
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ACTION ALERT: Colombia and Guatemala
Colombia and Guatemala: The Killing Continues as US Doubles Down on Failed Trade Policies
A number of notable events took place in the past week which underscore the U.S.'s continued failed policies in Latin America. And of course, these notable events were almost totally ignored by the mainstream of the U.S. press.
First, Joel Hernandez Godoy, the Finance Secretary of the SITRABI union in Guatemela, was murdered by two gunmen on motorcycle. Mr. Hernandez is the second SITRABI unionist killed this year in Guatemala. SITRABI represents Del Monte banana workers, and, along with the AFL-CIO, is a party to a pending labor complaint against Guatemala filed under the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). This labor complaint involves serious claims of labor abuses in Guatemala -- now the second most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists after Colombia which has held the number one spot for years. Among the labor abuses charged in this CAFTA complaint is the murder of another SITR! ABI leader, Marco Tulio Ramirez.
Guatemala had promised, as a condition of CAFTA, to deal with the problem of anti-union violence within its borders and had even brought the union murder rate down to zero for the two consecutive years leading to CAFTA approval. However, as USLEAP has noted, once CAFTA was passed, the rate skyrocketed again, with 9 unionists killed in 2008 and 16 unionists killed in 2009.
This should be a lesson to those hoping for Colombia to ensure protection for unionists once the Free Trade Agreement with that country is passed.
Meanwhile, in Colombia, at least a dozen unionists have been killed in that country so far this year, with two union teachers killed within recent days, including one in the city of Cali. Another unionist, Carlos Arturo Castro, an engineer, was also killed in Cali on May 23. Mr. Castro was with the union SINTRAEMCALI, a union of public sector workers in the city of Cali. A couple of we! eks before Mr. Castro was killed, a lawyer for SINTRAEMCALI, Hernan Dario, was himself shot five times in the city of Cali. Sadly, Mr. Dario passed away in the hospital from these wounds on June 2.
While the Colombian Embassy in Washington, desperate for the Colombia FTA, is attempting to write off the three (3) labor-related killings in Cali as somehow unrelated and as the product of random or even drug-related violence, it is well-known that unions in Cali, and the SINTRAEMCALI union in particular, have been a special target of intensive military/paramilitary harassment and threats for years. Most famously, SINTRAEMCALI has been the target of a harassment and assassination program known as "Operation Dragon" -- a joint military/paramilitary operation which targeted 150 social, political and labor leaders, including the SINTRAEMCALI union.
One of the masterminds of this operation was Lieutenant Colonel Julian Villate Leal who was trained a! t the School of the Americas in Columbus, Georgia. As the Associated Pr! ess (AP) reported in an April 2007 article entitled, "Alleged Assassin Worked at U.S. Embassy in Colombia," when the "Operation Dragon" plot was uncovered, Mr. Villate came under criminal investigation, and, needing a place to hideout, found refuge as an employee at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota where he worked until receiving employment, upon a positive reference by the U.S. Embassy, at the Drummond Coal Company. See also, Washington Post (April 30, 2007). I was told by a reliable source in the Colombian DAS (the analogue of the U.S. FBI) that "Operation Dragon," was never called off, and that those on the hit list are still targets of the Colombian security forces. The recent assassinations may be proof of this.
Further, Amnesty International has just released a report concluding that, despite the stated good intentions of Colombian President Manuel Santos - who, as Defense Minister of Colombia oversaw Colombia's "false positive" program pursuant to which the Colo! mbian military murdered over 3,000 civilians and then passed them off as guerillas to guarantee further aid from the U.S. -- paramilitary groups are on the rise in Colombia and are continuing to receive aid and support from the U.S.-backed Colombian military. Meanwhile, according to the well-respected human rights group CINEP, extra-judicial killings by the U.S.-backed Colombian military skyrocketed in 2010, with an almost 70% increase in the number of victims of such killings. CINEP has also concluded that there have been 38,000 "forced disappearances" in the past three years, and that such disappearances have only accelerated under the current administration of President Juan Manual Santos.
In short, Colombia remains a death squad state - with the full support of the U.S. -- a "Genocidal Democracy," in the words of renowned Colombian human rights advocate Father Javier Giraldo. That Colombia is nonetheless the closest ally of the U.S. in the Hemisphere, however! , should not be surprising as the U.S. has never seen a death squad gov! ernment in this Hemisphere that it hasn't liked or sponsored. Indeed, the violence happening in Guatemala today is a continuation of the violence that the U.S. unleashed decades ago when, at the urging of United Fruit (now Chiquita), it overthrew the democratic government of President Arbenz and installed a military dictatorship which proceeded to kill around 200,000 civilians in the succeeding years.
Against this background, Secretary of State Clinton announced this past week that she is certain that the Colombia FTA will be introduced by the Obama Administration in the very near future. Bill Clinton's own confession before the Senate last year that such free "trade policies have failed everywhere they have been tried," should ring in Secretary Clinton's ears and in the ears of President Obama. And, recent events in Guatemala prove how such policies have been a failure in guaranteeing labor and human rights. Still, the Administration seems doomed by its ow! n ideological dedication to free trade and free market principles to push through another bad trade deal with Colombia - a deal which will ratify Colombia's continued gross violations of human and labor rights.
Dan Kovalik is a labor and human rights lawyer living in Pittsburgh.
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www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/chiquita-the-colombia-fta_b_861784.html
Dan Kovalik
Chiquita & the Colombia FTA -- Murder in the Interest of Profit
Posted: 05/16/11 09:54 AM ET
Recent documents obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University from the U.S. Justice Department show that Chiquita Brands International, in direct contradiction of the claims of both Chiquita and the U.S. government for many years, made illegal payments to both guerrilla groups and then AUC death squads over the course of about 14 years in return for security from these groups.
Just as importantly, these documents show that the U.S. Justice Department was aware of this fact when it accepted a plea bargain from Chiquita in which it pleaded guilty to paying these groups a total of over $1.7 million and running them 3000 guns as "protection" from "extortion."
In return for this plea to the lesser crime of paying "protection" from "extortion" (rather than making payments as a quid pro quo for security for its operations), Chiquita was given a slap on the wrist by the Justice Department -- a mere $25 million fine, which Chiquita was permitted to pay over 5 years. Chiquita was given this light sentence, with no jail time whatsoever for the offending officials, despite the fact that, according to Colombian Attorney General Mario Iguaran, these payments resulted in the murder of almost 4,000 people and helped to give the AUC death squads a foothold throughout Colombia, and despite the fact that the AUC was designated as a "terrorist organization" by the U.S. State Department.
Again, the recently-released documents, which had been in the possession of the U.S. Justice Department, show that the Justice Department, as well as current U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder who helped negotiate the plea deal as a defense lawyer for Chiquita, were very aware that Chiquita had been involved in a far worse crime (the knowing supplying of guns and money to a terrorist group in return for security) than they pleaded to and than they were punished for. What this shows is that the Justice Department, contrary to its mandate, actually aided and abetted Chiquita in covering up its crimes.
While the National Security Archive states that, "What we still don't know is why U.S. prosecutors overlooked what appears to be clear evidence that Chiquita benefited from these transactions," it is quite clear why they did so -- because it is the policy of the United States to aid corporations in their quest for profit at any cost, even to the cost of the lives of innocent civilians. The Chiquita case proves this as does the Colombia FTA, which the Obama administration is now poised to push through Congress.
The new Chiquita documents show the following:
The Colombian military, itself a long-time beneficiary of U.S. aid, encouraged Chiquita to finance the AUC death squads through the Convivir group.
The Convivir group -- the conduit for the illegal payments -- was strongly supported by then-governor of Antioquia Alvaro Uribe, who would later become President of Colombia and close ally of the U.S., both under Bush as well as Obama.
Chiquita used various accounting tricks to try to hide its "sensitive payments" to the illegal armed groups -- payments it designated in its own records as for "security services." Chiquita's internal communications with its lawyers show that they decided to claim that the payments were the product of "extortion" so that they could justify these as legal.
Chiquita was also assisted with its "security" by a Colombian general who, as Chiquita's records show, was forced out of the military for his connection with, in the words of Chiquita, "death squads" -- the very "death squads" Chiquita was itself funding.
Chiquita provided funds to support Alvaro Uribe's campaign for governor.
Other companies were involved in the payment scheme. (We know from paramilitary sources that Dole and Del Monte were other companies involved, but they remain un-indicted).
All of this confirms what Colombia's Attorney General under President Uribe -- Mario Iguaran -- had claimed years ago : that Chiquita was not paying protection money as they had claimed, but that they were in fact paying for "blood"; for "the bloody pacification" of the Uraba banana region. And, in response to Iguaran's request to the U.S. that it turn over the identities of the Chiquita officials involved in the payment scheme to the Colombian government for purposes of extradition for their crimes, the U.S. refused.
In the end, the U.S. let Chiquita off the hook easily and helped it to conceal the full extent of its crimes for two obvious reasons: (1) because the U.S. sees its role as protecting U.S. corporate interests (even from its own laws against supporting terrorist organizations); and (2) because the U.S. is itself culpable of doing exactly what Chiquita did -- advancing its perceived security interests in Colombia and the region by funding violent groups.
As to the second point, the U.S. has provided the Colombian military, which has carried out its own share of massacres -- including the admitted murder of at least 3,000 civilians killed during the administration of President Alvaro Uribe and his Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos (now President) in what has become known as the "false positive" scandal -- with over $7 billion since the year 2000. And the U.S. did so even as the U.S. State Department itself concluded year after year that the military has been collaborating with illegal death squad groups, including the AUC, by providing them with weapons, ammunition, soldiers and logistical support. In short, by protecting Chiquita, the U.S. was covering up its own culpability for heinous violence in Colombia.
And now, the U.S. is set to pass the long-stalled Colombia FTA even as massive violence is being carried out in Colombia against labor leaders (7 of whom have been murdered so far this year), peasant leaders, Afro-Colombians and Indigenous. Indeed, the FTA is designed to benefit companies, just as Chiquita, in their quest to intensify the exploitation of Colombian land and labor -- many times through violence. For example, the FTA will support the massive expansion of palm oil companies, about half of which are actually owned and controlled by paramilitary death squads.
And, what's more, such violence in Colombia is only accelerating in order to prepare for the FTA. And so, according to the The Black Communities Process (PCN) of Colombia, a group advocating on behalf of Afro-Colombians, the Colombian army has been forcing Afro-Colombians from their home -- including by burning down their homes and bombing their villages, leading to the deaths of civilians, including children -- in order to make way for new ports and tourist infrastructure which will be built once the FTA is passed. In one area alone, the PCN reports, 3500 Afrocolombian families have recently been displaced for such purposes, adding to the more than 1.5 million internally displaced Afrocolombians.
In total, Colombia already has over 5 million internally displaced peoples -- the largest in the world, even surpassing that of The Sudan. And, the FTA, by accelerating the further exploitation of Colombia by corporate interests; by allowing cheap, subsidized agricultural products from giant U.S. agricultural interests to be dumped into Colombia duty-free, thereby wiping out the livelihood of tens of thousands of small farmers (just as such trade policies did in Haiti and Mexico), will only add to the violence, displacement and misery plaguing Colombia.
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COUNTRY UPDATE; HONDURAS and Action Alert on Roberto Micheletti -
U.S. CONGRESS TO HEAR FROM HONDURAN ROBERTO MICHELETTI, UNDER FALSE PREMISES
The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs is to hear from the “Honorable Roberto Micheletti Baín (Invited)”, who is, they say, the “Former President of Honduras”.
Micheletti was a key leader of the June 2009 military coup in Honduras, and was a ‘de facto’ leader of the military-backed regime that carried out widespread repression against the Honduran people.
It is false to say Micheletti is a “Former President” of Honduras. The so-called swearing in process by the pro-coup Honduran Congress, one day after the illegal military coup, was based on a forged resignation letter of President Zelaya.
The ‘dishonorable’ Micheletti should be tried in court in Honduras for his role in the coup, not received by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs as “former President” of Honduras.
WHERE & WHEN
HEARING NOTICE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515-0128
Connie Mack (R-FL), Chairman
June 7, 2011
You are respectfully requested to attend an OPEN hearing of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, to be held in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building (and available live, via the WEBCAST link on the Committee website at http://www.hcfa.house.gov):
DATE: Tuesday, June 14, 2011
TIME: 3:00 p.m.
SUBJECT: Holding Honduras Hostage: Revoked Visas and U.S. Policy
WITNESSES:
The Honorable [sic] Roberto Micheletti Baín (Invited), Former President [sic] of Honduras
Mrs. Sandra Martínez de Midence, President, Central Bank of Honduras
Mr. Leonardo Villeda Bermudez, Former Executive Secretary, National Convergence Forum (FONAC)
*NOTE: Further witnesses may be added.
By Direction of the Chairman
The Committee on Foreign Affairs seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202/225-5021 at least four business days in advance of the event, whenever practicable. Questions with regard to special accommodations in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats and assistive listening devices) may be directed to the Committee.
WHAT TO DO
Write to your own Member of Congress, and other government officials, demanding that Micheletti – a dishonorable military coup plotter and leader – NOT be invited to speak at this hearing.
WHITE HOUSE: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/, 202-456-1111, Comment Line: 202-456-1414
CONGRESS: Go to http://www.house.gov/ to get info for your member of Congress, and call: 202-224-3121
SENATE: Go to http://www.senate.gov/ to get contact for your Senator, and call: 202-224-3121
STATE DEPARTMENT: 202 647-8947
STATE DEPARTMENT - Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs: 202 647-0834, WHAAsstSecty@State.Gov
AMBASSADOR CRAIG KELLY, Principal Deputy Asst. Secretary, Western Office of Hemisphere Affairs: KellyC@state.gov
MARIA OTERO, Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs; c/o Laura Pena, Assistant: PenaL@state.gov
BENJAMIN GEDAN, Honduras Desk Officer, (202) 647-3482
DR. ARTURO VALENZUELA: ValenzuelaAA@state.gov
PAUL MONTEIRO, Office of Public Engagement, Darron_P._Monteiro@who.eop.gov
AMBASSADOR HUGO LLORENS, U.S. Embassy in Honduras, LlorensH@state.gov, 504 2236-9320 ext. 4268, 2236-9037; Silvia Eiriz, Eirizs@state.gov
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Big Landowners Impose a State of Terror in Lower Aguan, Honduras; Bishop of Copan names Miguel Facusse as responsible for 14 deaths; Senate Confirmation Hearings: Lisa J. Kubiske,of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Honduras www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=bd55a98c-5056-a032-52c4-d0404cc80c6f
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AGUAN UPDATES:
Please take note! There was more violence on Sunday, June 5th.
Radio Globo is indignant about the media response to the outcry about violence against the campesinos in Aguan on Sunday. Below is a link to an article attacking the campesinos in La Prensa which has a special multi media section on "Terror in Aguan" the terror being caused by armed campesinos assisted by mysterious Nicaraguans, Colombians and Ecuatorianos.
http://www.laprensa.hn/Apertura/content/view/section/395234
Big Landowners Impose a State of Terror in Lower Aguan, Honduras
The Popular Network of Aguan received access to the following declaration of the National Front of Popular Resistance (FNRP) in the province of Colon.
The FNRP in the province of Colon DENNOUNCES, to the international community, to national and international human rights organisms, and to the Honduran people, the continuation of the policies of kidnapping, persecution and assassination of members of campesino organizations located in lower Aguan, on the northern coast of Honduras, where under orders from the big landowners, Miguel Facusse, Reinaldo Canales and Rene Morales, the National Preventative Police, the members of the forces from the naval base at Puerto Castillo and of the Honduran army, together with their security guards impose a climate of terror on all the campesinos of Aguan. Among the most notable acts we highlight the following:
Attacks during the night and early morning against the campesino settlements of the MUCA on the right bank (of the River Aguan) with high caliber weapons.
On Wednesday, May 11 of this year, the campesino Pablo Lemus of the Campesino Movement of Aguan (MCA) was assassinated having been ambushed near the battalion at the Rio Claro in Trujillo, Colon.
On May 15 of this year, the campesino, Francisco Pascual Lopez, of the campesino movement of Rigores, disappeared; his 10 year old son who was with him testified to the community that the security guards from the plantation of Miguel Facusse fired at his father. The assassins sent a photo of the assassinated peasant to the Web but his body has still not been found in Aguan.
On May 18 the compañero campesino, Sixto Ramos of the MCA was assassinated when he walked to his work in the fields; he was fired on from a double cabin, black vehicle with armed men wearing ski masks, with high caliber weapons.
On May 19, 2011, peasants traveling in a vehicle from the community of Honduras, Aguan towards the municipality of Sonaguera were followed by a grey vehicle loaded with security guards and elements wearing the uniforms of the Cobras, the National Preventative Police, ending when the vehicle of the guards overturned on the side of the road. As a consequence, one of the Cobra police fractured a leg.
On Sunday, May 21 of this year, 2campesinos disappeared: Olvin Gallegos, 17 years old, of the campesino group, Despertar of the Authentic Revindicative Campesino Movement (MARCA) who was on his way to the plantations of Reinaldo Canales and Rene Morales, together with the campesino Secuindino Gomez, 48 years old. Only the bicycle on which they had been travelling was found. To date their whereabouts is unknown.
On June 4, the security guards of the big landowners accompanied by the National Preventative Police, attacked members of the campesino cooperative, La Trinidad, with live high caliber bullets with no regard for the presence of women and children in the sector.
At dawn on June 5, 2011, guards, police and members of the army attacked the campesino Enterprise, La San Isidro, on land for which procession is legally disputed by Miguel Facusse. Two hours after the attack these peasants left the location; the armed men who defend the big land owners began to shoot at campesinos who have taken refuge in the offices of the regional National Agrarian Institution (INA) because of the rains; attacking the governmental regional facilities of the INA and firing on another group of campesinos who were laboring in production. Three people were wounded by bullets among them, Doris Peres Vasquez and Oliver Gonzales, as of this moment there are four disappeared campesinos, all members of the Unified Campesino Movement of Aguan, MUCA.
At 10 in the morning the same day the campesinos José Recinos, Genaro Cuestas, and Joel Santamaría, were assassinated. They were travelling in a vehicle near the palm fields in Suyapa where they were ambushed and their lives ended. Hours later, officials mounted an operation so that no one could get close to the bodies of the campesinos, later under strong security measures they transferred the bodies to Trujillo, where also they closed off a perimeter of 10 blocks for the intervention by a forensic doctor, the legal authorities opposed turning the bodies over to their families. Later, in the same patrol cars that attacked the campesinos, they transferred them to La Ceiba, in Atlantida, about 120 kilometers from the site of the assassination. They belonged to the peasant enterprise of San Esteban of the MARCA.
The big agribusiness landowners, according to communications from campesino organizations, up to 50 thousand Lempiras for every four campesinos that the assassins are able to assassinate, stating furthermore that currently in the plantation of El Tumbador and in the installations of the 15th Infantry Battalion there are 150 hired assassins using Honduran army and National Preventative Police uniforms to carry out military operations against the campesinos of Aguan. Because of the type of assassinations committed, with clear indications of savage torture of the campesinos before their murder, the presence of foreigners is perceived among the hired assassins. Some have been detected by their way of speaking and others even when they are hooded their accents have been recognized as gringo or Colombian.
We call on the International community to oversee the fulfillment of the agreements signed by the current regime in order to be able to return to the OAS. It promised respect for life and for Human Rights but less than 24 hours after being newly recognized by the Latin American community it is not capable of avoiding the assassination of campesinos, far from that, its security forces are co-participants in the human right violations in this region. This assassin regime does not merit the privilege of being a beneficiary of cooperation with this organism of regional integration, but rather it deserves international condemnation for the crimes against humanity committed since June 28, 2009.
We demand a halt to the kidnapping and assassinations of the peasants in Aguan!!!
June 6, 2011
WE RESIST AND WE WILL WIN!!!!
National Front of Popular Resistance of Colon, Honduras, Central American
From the Popular Network (Red Popular) of Aguan, information network for the world.
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Monseñor Luis Alfonso Santos, Bishop of Santa Rosa de Copán in Honduras has been threatened with a defamation law suit by Honduran billionaire landowner, Miguel Facussé. Bishop Santos recently charged in a news journal that Miguel Facussé is responsible for the murders of 14 campesinos in the Aguán region of Honduras http://www.elheraldo.hn/Sintesis/Lo-ultimo/Ediciones/2011/05/30/Noticias/Querellan-a-lider-de-iglesia-catolica-de-Honduras
Facussé, one of the coup plotters in the overthrow of President Mel Zelaya nearly 2 years ago, has long been charged by Aguán campesino agrarian reform cooperatives of killing these 14 campesinos whose land Facussé is trying to violently take over for palm oil plantations. The campesino groups have reported Facussé’s involvement in the killings to both police and human rights groups. However, the police have failed to investigate these killings, in all likelihood because the police themselves have collaborated with Facussé’s paramilitary hired guns in carrying out and covering up the killings. With the millions of dollars the U.S. government provides to the Honduran police, Solidarity Groups have made repeated requests for to the State Department that these murders be investigated, and that the perpetrators and those who hire them be prosecuted. The State Department has reported that no progress has been made beyond the unverified claim that each case we bring to their attention “is being investigated by the police”.
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http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/2933 about Miguel Facusse
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Video of Amy Goodman interviewing Patricia Rodas in Managua's Airport
resistenciahonduras.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2991:zelayas-return-is-a-victory-for-the-peoples-of-latin-america-says-patricia-rodas-&catid=101:news&Itemid=349
Zelaya’s return is a victory for the peoples of Latin America, says Patricia Rodas
Martes 07 de Junio de 2011 08:14 Red Morazanica de Informacion
Correo electrónico Imprimir PDF
“The Honduran people has embodied values to transform the nation”
VIDEO: Interview with Amy Goodman
The former foreign minister of Honduras, Patricia Rodas, said Saturday that the return of ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, and part of his cabinet represent "a victory of the Honduran and Latin American peoples."
"This is a hard-won victory, a battle won with hope, a victory for the Latin American people who supported us (...) I take this opportunity to send a message to our Bolivarian people, the ALBA peoples, (..) especially Venezuelan and Cuban peoples", she said in gratitude for their support.
From the Airport of Managua in Nicaragua, the Central American nation's diplomat took off to her country after spending 700 days in exile, "with the same clothes" she wore the day she was taken "by force" in Honduras.
In an interview with Democracy Now!, about the last time she was in Honduras, Rodas told how she was taken by force and waited many hours in the air force's runway, as she explained "I was expelled from my country by the military, they came to my house. I was taken prisoner in the air force of Honduras and after they deported me at midnight", after she was flown to Mexico with an airplane “presumably property of Miguel Facussé”.
Rodas said: "This victory today is the grand prize for our martyrs, for those who are still being persecuted, for those who are still being killed (...) this victory today is dedicated to those who shed their blood".
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Another Opinion -- Academic viewpoint -- ignores the human rights abuses of the last two years...
Fixing Honduras
The crisis that led to President Manuel Zelaya's ouster underscores the importance of strengthening constitutional controls over both the military and the executive.
By Noah Feldman, David Landau and Brian Sheppard
June 7, 2011
Is Honduras ready for a return to the community of nations? It has been almost two years since the forced removal of then-President Manuel Zelaya at the hands of the Honduran military. On June 1, the Organization of American States said yes, when it lifted the suspension of Honduras from the organization by a vote of 32 countries in favor and one against. Still, the question on everyone's mind remains: Was there a coup d'état in 2009? Perhaps the better question to ask is: How can similar instability be avoided in the future in Honduras and elsewhere in the region?
Immediately after Zelaya's removal, the United States, the United Nations and the OAS denounced the ouster as illegitimate and demanded Zelaya's restoration, which triggered restrictions on foreign aid and trade. So this situation has had real-world effects on ordinary Hondurans.
Since then, the Obama administration has subtly backed away from its initial stance of absolute condemnation. Several months after Zelaya's ouster, the State Department noted that it "recognized the complicated nature" of events leading to Zelaya's removal. The following year, the U.S. resumed aid to Honduras, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged the OAS to readmit Honduras into the organization, citing its "free and fair" election of President Porfirio Lobo in November 2009 and its establishment of a truth commission. This year, Clinton upped the ante by voicing "strong support" for Lobo and emphasizing the U.S. "commitment" to having Honduras readmitted to the OAS.
The truth commission asked us — a team of U.S. specialists in comparative constitutional law — to evaluate what had happened from a legal perspective and to propose fixes. What we found was a good deal more complex than the simple story of a coup or a justified removal. In our judgment, both Zelaya and those who removed him acted unconstitutionally.
To begin with, Zelaya violated Honduran law when he tried to hold a referendum asking voters whether they wanted to call a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. His foes claimed the goal was to extend his stay in office. The constitution, aiming to avoid dictatorship, restricts the president to a single term. Zelaya threatened the integrity of the constitutional order by ignoring numerous court orders that he desist from holding the vote, and by ordering the military rather than the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to supervise the process.
The institutions involved in removing Zelaya also acted in violation of the Honduran Constitution. Zelaya might have been constitutionally removed after a full judicial trial in front of the Supreme Court. But no trial took place. Instead, the military removed Zelaya from the country before any legal determination had been made. The legislature publicly claimed Zelaya had resigned, which he flatly denied, and the lawmakers otherwise lacked any legal authority to remove him from his post. Finally, the courts and other legal actors failed to act as effective arbiters during the crisis or as defenders of human rights in its aftermath. The ineffectiveness of judicial solutions paved the way for military intervention.
To prevent this sort of instability in the future, it is imperative that the people and institutions involved have better tools to avoid the two serious threats to democracy that manifested during the crisis and that have long plagued the region: military intervention in politics and executive overreaching. Honduras' Constitution and laws should be reformed to safeguard against both of these risks.
The independence and powers of the judiciary need strengthening to protect the rights of citizens and to arbitrate institutional disputes. For example, a specialized constitutional court with the power to rapidly resolve controversies between different branches of government might have prevented the 2009 crisis from escalating. It is critical that judiciaries, rather than militaries, resolve constitutional crises. For this purpose, it is also important, in Honduras and elsewhere in the region, that constitutions be amended to make it clear that the military possesses no extralegal power to "save" the state in periods of crisis. Constitutional provisions that suggest such a savior role for the military must be eliminated.
Honduras also needs to place limits on the president's capacity to pervert the constitutional order by, for example, putting institutional safeguards and limits around plebiscites and related devices that could be used to fundamentally alter the institutional order. It is desirable to require the assent of other institutions of government, such as the Congress and the courts, before the executive is able to consult the public for any exercise of direct democracy. Finally, it is important to ensure that both the grounds for removal of the president and removal procedures are clearly specified in the constitution.
The relative calm of the last two years in Honduras has brought with it the opportunity to engage in unpressured analysis of these issues. Reform is needed now because it would not be possible to make it happen under the pressures of a crisis. Honduras should seize the moment to make improvements that can help keep democracy safe in moments of crisis.
Noah Feldman, David Landau and Brian Sheppard are law professors at Harvard Law School, Florida State University College of Law and Seton Hall University School of Law, respectively.
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From Rights Action:
HONDURAS RE-ADMITTED TO THE OAS
3 KILLED; 2 KIDNAPPED IN THE AGUAN
(By Annie Bird, June 9, 2011)
On Sunday, June 5, Jose Recinos Aguilar, Joel Santamaria and Genaro Cuesta, all members of the Authentic Revindicative Campesino Movement of the Aguan (MARCA), were massacred in a car a few meters from the San Esteban cooperative. At approximately the same time it is reported that armed forces entered the installations of the National Agrarian Institute and opened fire on families who for several months have taken refuge within the government owned agrarian training center. Doris Pérez Vásquez was shot in the abdomen and is reported to be in critical condition.
Even as the community buried the three men murdered this Sunday, they continued the search for Olvin Gallegos and Segundo Gomez, two members of MARCA. Eyewitnesses saw private security guards, from the same forces being trained as paramilitaries, kidnap the two men.
MAY 15 – DISAPPEARANCE
The killing and kidnapping of these 5 campesinos follows upon the May 15th forced disappearance of Francisco Pascual López as he tended cattle on his farm close to the property line with the Panama African palm plantation, a farm that maintains heavy presence of paramilitaries. Nearby farmers with whom he shares the farm heard shots fired, but when they arrived where he had been, he was gone. Police found bullets and a trail of blood leading into the Panama African palm plantation, but refused to enter the plantation to continue the search.
MAY 18 - KILLING
On May 18, Sixto Ramos was killed along the highway, shot from a passing car. Additionally, on May 10, Jose Paulino Lemo was shot as he walked on the road to sell fish by a passing motorcycle. Francisco Pascual Lopez, Sixto Ramos and Jose Paulino Lemo were active members of the Campesino Movement of the Aguan (MCA).
PARAMILITARY TRAINING ON HONDURAN MILITARY BASE
FOREIGN TRAINERS REPORTED
There are reports that approximately 400 private security guards, employed by African palm producers in the region, are being trained in the Rio Claro base in Tocoa, Colon, home of the 15th Army Battalion. The security guards reportedly are from the Orion security company, employed by the Exportadora del Atlantico, and others are employed directly by the Dinant palm oil and derivatives company.
The trainers wear Honduran military uniforms, and rarely leave the base though they have been reported to participate in forced, illegal evictions. During these evictions security guards have been reported to change into military uniforms; close collaboration between police, military and security guards has been reported.
Local informants claim the trainer’s accents, stature and coloring lead people in the region to believe they are not Honduran. Many suspect they are Colombian. In October 2009, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the use of Mercenaries, Private Security and Paramilitaries reported the Honduran African palm producers were recruiting security forces in Colombia particularly among former AUC members – a right-wing paramilitary group.
There have also been reports of Chinook helicopters flying to and from the Rio Claro base, which leads many to believe US troops maintain a presence on the base.
On January 8, 2011, Juan Chinchilla, a Honduran land rights activist, was kidnapped and tortured. Able to escape the evening of January 9, while being moved from his illegal detention center, Chinchilla reported that participants in his torture spoke English and another language he was not able to identify.
CRIMINALIZATION OF LAND RIGHTS AND OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
The rash of killings and forced disappearances is obviously of grave concern; all the more shocking as Honduras was re-admitted to the OAS.
A communiqué by the National Agrarian Institute Workers Union asserts that since the June 2009 military coup, 39 campesinos have been killed by paramilitary forces working for the oil palm planters while 10 more have been disappeared.
As violence by paramilitary forces increases so does criminalization of land rights activists and other human rights defenders. The limited media reporting of the killings in the Aguan region is coupled with accusations that the land and human rights movements being targeted by the paramilitary actions are armed.
In March 2010, when the military backed Honduran regime was criticized for the extreme militarization of the Aguan, de facto president Lobo responded with unsupported accusations that the campesinos were armed and Venezuelan and Nicaraguans were present in the area.
Following the November 15, 2010 massacre of 5 campesinos by Dinant palm oil security forces (with military and police support), Lobo claimed that campesinos had a stash of over 1,000 high caliber weapons and had received foreign training, which Security Minister Oscar Alvarez claimed took place in Nicaragua.
On this pretext the military took over the National Agrarian Institute (INA) and the INA union reported that the army stole documentation that demonstrated that palm oil planters did not hold legitimate claim over lands being contested by campesinos.
African palm producer Miguel Facusse (one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Honduras and major backer of the June 2009 military coup) is again using Honduras’ corrupted “justice” system to persecute human rights defenders, a practice long employed by Facusse and others.
On May 30, 2011, Facusse’s lawyers announced he was suing Catholic Bishop Luis Alfonso Santos for statements that implicated Facusse in the killing of 14 farmers in the Aguan region. A few days later, June 6, 2011, Facusse presented defamation charges against Andres Pavon, the Director of the Honduran Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CODEH). Several months prior Pavon had presented legal charges against Facusse related to the killing of the 14 farmers, and just days before being subject to the defamation charges had denounced that the evidence on the killings was disappearing from the Attorney General Offices files.
PALM PLANTERS USE VOLENCE AND FRAUD TO TAKE LAND FROM FARMERS
This State-backed, paramilitary repression occurs in the context of a series of complex, long-term land rights disputes in the region.
The lower Aguan, a fertile agricultural plain that surrounds the Aguan river near Honduras’ Caribean coast, was subject to an agricultural colonization program in the 1960s and 1970s facilitated by an agrarian reform program. At that time dozens of cooperatives were formed and many began cultivation of a crop pioneered by United Fruit Company, African palm for vegetable oil production.
In the beginning of the 1990s, a “land modernization” law was passed. Among other measures, the “Land Modernization Law” in Honduras removed restrictions on resale of land obtained through the agrarian reform program. Dozens of cooperatives established through the agrarian reform program were resold to today’s Honduran palm oil magnates, Miguel Facusse and Rene Morales. However many of the sales were marred by illegalities, fraud and violence.
By 2000, there were tremendous problems of landlessness, underemployment and terrible working conditions among small farmers in the region. With the support of the Parish of Tocoa, landless farmers organized the Campesino Movment of the Aguan (MCA).
In 2000, hundreds of small farmers established themselves in an area known as the Center for Regional Military Training (CREM), an extension of land used by the US army in the 1980s to train Central American militaries and to provide support to the Contra armed insurgency that fought the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
Between 1989 and 1990, the CREM land had been purchased by the National Agrarian Institute, reportedly from US citizen Temistocles Ramirez, for $17 million to be used exclusively for agrarian reform purposes. Previously, the land had been used for large scale cattle ranching, and according to some reports drug trafficking, largely by former Honduran military, who naturally quickly came into conflict with the campesinos who established farms in the property in 2000.
However, with support from the catholic church and national land rights organizations, the “cattle ranchers” were compensated through the INA for the “improvements” they had made on the CREM land, so as to take pressure of the campesinos who were now setting up coops and businesses, with the support of INA.
Only a few portions of the land then remained in conflict, particularly an area known as El Tumbador which Miguel Facusse claimed to own, via a questionable land purchase. The MCA divided the CREM lands between 45 distinct Campesino Businesses.
In 2004, campesinos began organizing to reclaim cooperative lands that had been illegally acquired by the palm oil magnates in the 1990s, forming the Unified Campesino Movement of the Aguan, MUCA.
In February 2006, 7000 campesinos organized in the MUCA blocked the main highway in Tocoa, demanding that the District Attorney in Tocoa, the Attorney General of Honduras and the Supreme Court investigate the irregular purchases of the cooperatives in the 1990s.
By March 2009, after years of investigation, the MUCA proposed a negotiation platform focused on demanding that 29 cooperatives be returned to campesinos.
On May 28, 2009 MUCA occupied the palm oil processing plant owned my Miguel Facusse.
President Zelaya personally went to the Aguan to negotiate with the campesinos. On June 12, 2009 an agreement was defined between the MUCA and the government, and the processing plant occupation was lifted. On June 19 President Zelaya signed the agreement, which essentially mandated a technical–legal team with the investigation of the legal history of the cooperatives.
On June 21 the investigation began, but ended with the June 28, 2009 military coup.
In reaction to the suspension of the investigation, on December 9, 2009 the MUCA began occupying the former cooperatives in conflict, and claim to hold documentation to demonstrate that the palm oil magnates do not legally own 29 cooperative farms.
In April 2010, de facto president Porfirio Lobo sent thousands of troops to occupy the Aguan, and forced the MUCA to enter into negotiations, not only threatened private security forces controlled by the palm oil magnates, but also by the Honduran military.
An agreement was signed in which Miguel Facusse agreed to sell an extension of land to the MUCA. At this time a section of the MUCA split off to form the Authentic and Revindicative Campesino Movement of the Aguan, MARCA.
MARCA campesinos decided to pursue recognition of their land rights through law suits using the documentation they had gathered that showed flawed titling processes by the palm oil magnates rather than signing a negotiated agreement as those in MUCA chose to do.
The terms of the “agreement” signed between the palm oil companies and the MUCA have not been complied with and the “justice” system has not facilitated the advance of the legal remedies sought by MARCA.
Instead, throughout 2010 palm oil planters strengthened their paramilitary presence and the area remained militarized. Dozens of campesino killings have been documented, and it is understood that others have occurred which have not been documented; please see the list below:
PARTIAL LIST OF KILLINGS, KIDNAPPINGS & DISAPPEARANCES
1. January 4, 2010: Miguel Angel Alonso Oliva, from the Cooperativa Guanchias, Shot in the back
2. January 31, 2010: Juan Ramon Mejia, from the Cooperativa Occidental, Intentionally run over by a car
3. February 4, 2010: Isidro Santos, from the Cooperativa Occidental, Died in car crash while fleeing from armed men shooting at them from another car
4. February 4, 2010: Francisco Montes, from the Cooperativa Buenos Amigos, Died in car crash while fleeing from armed men shooting at them from another car
5. February 14, 2010 – Feliciano Santos from the Cooperativa 21 de Julio – fatally shot while walking to lands in dispute
6. March 17, 2010 – Jose Antonio Cardoza from the Associative Business Brisas de COHDEFOR – fatally shot while walking home from the fields
7. March 17, 2010 – Jose Concepcion Carias from the Associative Business Brisas de COHDEFOR – fatally shot while walking home from the fields
8. April 7, 2010 – Jose Leonel Guerra Alvarez from La Confianza Cooperativa – shot in front of his home by two people who stopped on a motorcycle
9. April 25, 2010 – Esteban Garcia from the Associative Business 9 de Agosto - shot while riding his bicycle from a passing car
10. June 20, 2010 – Oscar Giovanny Ramirez of the La Aurora Coopertiva – killed in the midst of an assault carried out by Cobra police force and Orion security guards
11. August 18, 2010 – Victor Manuel Mata Olica from the La Auroroa Cooperative – shot while traveling home in a car that according to witnesses was fired upon by security guards riding in blue double cabin pick up truck
12. August 18, 2010 – Rodving Omar Villegas from the La Auroroa Cooperative – shot while traveling home in a car that according to witnesses was fired upon by security guards riding in blue double cabin pick up truck
13. August 18, 2010 – Sergio Madiel Amaya from the La Auroroa Cooperative – shot while traveling home in a car that according to witnesses was fired upon by security guards riding in blue double cabin pick up truck
14. September 10, 2010 – Francisco Miranda Ortega of the La Aurora Cooperativa – shot by six people while he rode his bike to Tocoa
15. November 15, 2010 – Raul Castillo of the Cooperative 14 de mayo – shot by Dinant security guards on the Finca El Tumbador
16. November 15, 2010 – Jose Luis Sauceda of the Cooperative 14 de mayo – shot by Dinant security guards on the Finca El Tumbador
17. November 15, 2010 – Ciriaco Munoz of the Cooperativa Nueva Esperanza – shot by Dinant security guards on the Finca El Tumbador
18. November 15, 2010 – Teodoro Acosta de la Cooperativa Nueva Esperanza – shot by Dinant security guards on the Finca El Tumbador
19. November 15, 2010 – Ignacio Reyes Garcia of the Three United Families Cooperative – shot by Dinant security guards on the Finca El Tumbador
20. Esteban Garcia from the Associative Business 25 de abril was shot while riding his bike by gunmen in a white sedan
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Notes from the Senate Confirmation Hearing
colleague at CEPR took notes on the confirmation hearing. It was only attended by Menendez and Rubio (the chair and ranking members of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee), and they were predictably bad. Other committee members could - and perhaps still can - submit questions for the record, since the confirmation process isn't complete. But it seems that we're weak on real Honduras champions in the Senate
Opening statement:
Marco Rubio (R-FL):
What happens in the western hemisphere is crucial, not from a defense standpoint but from an offensive standpoint--economic growth, etc.
Opening statements of nominees:
Farrar (nominee to Nicaragua) promises to work with US businesses--small, medium and large--to redress a $1 billion trade surplus that Nicaragua enjoys with the U.S.
Lisa Kubiske (nominee to Honduras):
Says it's a tremendous honor and responsibility, thanks Sec. of State H. Clinton. Promises to advance interests of the U.S. in Honduras. Presents family
"I've spent my career as a trade representative, in the State Dept. in the Dept. of Agriculture. I've worked in Brazil and China. As I've understood (thru undergrad studies in Peru), the flow of people, trade and illicit activities makes Lat. Am. a core interest for the US.
200 US companies in Honduras.
Half of Honduran imports are from US
we have trade surplus with Honduras as of 2009
Expanding US relationship with Honduras creates growth in Honduras while creating jobs in the US.
Honduras's alternative energy sector includes the largest windfarm in Central America, those turbines manufactured in PA.
Build on strong cultural and bilateral ties
15,000 US citizens living in Honduras
almost 1 million Honduran origin US residents
25% of Honduran economy based on US remittances
Honduras's VP believes that the Millennium Challenge Corp. compact is the "most successful dev. proj. in Honduran history."
Lobo has recognized close ties with US
High homocide rates related to gang activity
Assisting with joint efforts to address underlying problems responsible for murders (via USAID, development, Peace Corps and other methods)
Pays tribute to Lobo's efforts for national reconciliation
Looks forward to working with Honduran govt. to strengthen democratic institutions
Strengthen efforts of Honduran Ministry of Justice and Human Rights
Bob Menendez (D-NJ): Zelaya's return predicated on his immunity and immunity of associates from prosecution. Your thoughts?
Kubiske: Quite a triumph that Honduras and its neighbors were able to work out a solution to bring it back into the fold of the OAS.
I understand that the atmosphere continues to be fragile and polarized
Part of the project of national reconciliation was the condition of his return. We hope and urge (and I hope and urge if selected) that Zelaya play a constructive role.
Menendez: What's the stability of Lobo govt?
Kubiske: "I will answer that indirectly, to be frank."
They have taken important steps in creating unity govt with members of opposition and reconciliation committee
My role is putting priority on strengthening democratic institutions.
Priority must be on having system that can avoid [another] "political crisis"
Menendez: Will you help family of a constituent of mine who disappeared in boating accident off the coast of Honduras get a certificate of death from Honduran govt for closure?
Kubiske: Absolutely. Taking care of Americans is core objective of my policy in Honduras.
Rubio: What's the most important area that we need to focus on regarding diplomatic funding?
Kubiske: Top concern for Hondurans is citizen security, and a culture of impunity.
Area to focus on, if you look at it through the narrowest, hard-nosed perspective:
We need to help Hondurans have opportunities in Honduras
There are 2 options: joining drug cartel or illegally immigrating to US.
I do have a strong view that to have a successful economy you need opportunities for poor people.
I'd like to see more support for job-related skills for Hondurans and connect Hondurans to markets.
Hopefully that would be win-win for both of us.
Hard to disentangle the security component from the economic part.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
More...
link
VOTE FOR THE BUDGET YOU WANT
US military aid to Honduras and base construction there are among the first things that should be cut.
Choose a Budget
The following alert was originally distributed by the New Priorities Network:
Our country is at a crossroads, and the budget choices Congress makes this summer will shape the rest of our lives.
Do we want a nation and a society that:
• Cuts taxes for the wealthiest families and corporations?
• Bails out Wall Street and lets Main Street suffer?
• Sharply reduces Medicaid, Medicare, and social programs?
• Continues high levels of war spending?
Tell Congress which budget you think is best for America. The Senate is writing next year's budget now. Cast your vote.
Want to do more?
• Ask organizations you're part of to join the Poll campaign. (New Priorities Network can put the poll right on their website or provide graphics for websites, Facebook pages and email messages that link to it.)
• Help organize a Town Hall Meeting and bring this choice to your neighbors! Jobs with Justice is planning one on June 17.
• For more information or assistance, write to cutmilitaryspending@gmail.com
FEDERAL BUDGET PREFERENCE POLL
Let your voice be heard in the federal budget debate!
________________________________________
Three very different federal budget choices are being proposed for fiscal year 2012:
o President Obama's Budget Framework
o The "People's Budget" proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC)
o The GOP Budget proposed by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI)
THIS POLL GIVES YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD IN THIS BUDGET DEBATE.
Compare the plans. Then take the poll to tell Congress what you think the nation's priorities should be! Cast your vote for the plan that best represents your vision for our nation in 2012 - and beyond!
WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THE RESULTS?
The results of this poll will be sent to every member of Congress, to the media, and to everyone who participated in the poll who provides an (optional) email address.
WHO IS SPONSORING THIS POLL?
This poll is sponsored by the New Priorities Network composed of a broad range of organizations that share a common interest in using our tax dollars to meet urgent domestic needs. Learn more about the Network by visiting www.newprioritiesnetwork.org or send an email message to newpriorities@gmail.com
________________________________________
DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE BUDGETS
* Links to full details of each budget are provided on the website newprioritiesnetwork.org
* BUDGET DETAILS
1. Obama Administration Budget www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview
2. CPC "People's Budget" cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=70§iontree=5,70
3. GOP Budget paulryan.house.gov/UploadedFiles/PathToProsperityFY2012.pdf
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Federal Budget 101: A good explanation of the budget process from National Priorities Project
Detailed Comparison: Congressional Progressive Caucus Budget vs. the House GOP Budget
OTHER RESOURCES newprioritiesnetwork.org/resources-by-category/
CAST YOUR VOTE https://federalbudgetpoll.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey
More...
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COUNTRY UPDATES: Peru, Haiti, Venezuela, Chile
Hope in the Andes: What Ollanta Humala’s Victory Means for Peru
By Ben Dangl, June 7, 2011
Fried pork rinds, fish, potatoes and eggs were sold by street vendors outside polling stations on election day in Lima, Peru. By nightfall, thousands of people gathered in a central plaza waving the white flags of Ollanta Humala’s political party. Ollanta is an Incan name meaning “the warrior everyone looks to.” Indeed, all eyes were on the leftist president-elect as he greeted the crowd just before midnight with the words, “We won the elections!”
Humala, a former military officer who led a failed military uprising in 2000, lost the elections in 2006 to Alan Garcia. On the June 5th presidential elections this year, he narrowly defeated Kieko Fujimori, the daughter of ex-president Alberto Fujimori, who was jailed in 2007 for corruption and crimes against humanity. If elected, Kieko would have likely worked to release her father from jail, and carry on his administration’s capitalist and repressive policies.
This election puts Humala among a growing number of leftist presidents in Latin America and offers hope to the poorest sectors of Peruvian society.
Read full article: //bit.ly/msVrZB
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Leftist Humala narrowly wins Peru election
Posted Sunday, Jun. 05, 2011
By FRANK BAJAK
Associated Press
LIMA, Peru — A leftist former army officer with questioned human rights credentials narrowly won Peru's presidency in a bitterly fought runoff with the daughter of disgraced ex-President Alberto Fujimori.
Ollanta Humala, 48, won Sunday after softening his radical image and disavowing the affinity for Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez that fueled his defeat in a first run for the presidency five years earlier.
Not all were convinced by the makeover: Peru's stock market nose-dived Monday, falling 12 percent by midday.
Humala promises Peru's poor a greater share of the Andean nation's considerable mineral wealth and pledged in victory to honor the free market but put Peruvians first.
The former army lieutenant colonel won 51.5 percent of the vote against 48.5 percent for Keiko Fujimori, according to complete unofficial results compiled by the independent election watchdog Transparencia.
Official results, with about 90 percent of the vote counted, had Humala ahead with 51.3 percent but officials cautioned that rural districts where Humala fared better were slow in reporting.
Humala told supporters Sunday night he'd work to convert a decade-long economic boom that is the envy of Latin America into "the great motor of the social inclusion Peruvians desire." He says he'll do so by taxing windfall mining profits and exporting less natural gas so Peruvians get it cheaper.
But he has also said he won't expropriate land or nationalize industries. And he says he won't renegotiate Peru's free trade agreements or seek to rewrite the constitution, reversing himself on early campaign pledges. He says he wants to follow Brazil's market-friendly model for elevating the poor.
Rife with mudslinging and dirty tricks, the campaign was marred by doubts about both candidates' commitment to democracy.
Fujimori's father is serving a 25-year prison term for rights abuses and corruption, and many Peruvians considered her little more than his proxy. Humala has been accused of violent excesses as an army counterinsurgency unit commander in the 1990s and of encouraging a bloody uprising his brother staged in 2005 seeking to oust then-President Alejandro Toledo that cost four policemen their lives.
Keiko Fujimori, 36, did not immediately concede, instead appearing briefly before supporters Sunday night to ask them "responsibly and with prudence" await official results.
Humala narrowly lost the presidency to Alan Garcia in 2006. In that election he presented himself as a fan of Gen. Juan Velasco, the leftist dictator who expropriated land from the rich and nationalized a raft of industries during his 1968-75 rule.
This time, Humala tempered his rhetoric.
After initially vowing to renegotiate free trade agreements and rewrite the constitution "to create an economic regime with social justice as its goal" he reversed himself, pledging to instead follow Brazil's market-friendly model for elevating the poor.
Two weeks ago, he swore on the Bible to respect democracy and press freedom.
But Humala failed to win over the business elite and most of the news media, which campaigned openly against him. They fear he's a Velasco reincarnate.
As he rose in popularity, stockholders sold off shares in Lima's exchange.
Billions are at stake. Investors have pledged more than $40 billion over the next decade to develop gold, silver, copper and other mining operations in rich Andean lodes.
In a rousing victory speech Sunday to more than 10,000 supporters in central Lima, Humala said he would create jobs, build homes, and deliver running water and electricity to long-neglected backwaters.
"We've been waiting a long time for a government that really cares about the poor," he said, rather than catering to a Lima elite that sells transnationals the mineral riches that comprise more than 65 percent of Peru's export earnings.
"This has got to change, and it's for this change that I am here. That is why I got into politics," Humala said. "I'm only interested in achieving what I've offered the Peruvian people."
His base was the one in three Peruvians who are poor - in Peru's rural highlands its closer to two in three.
Jose Romero, a 58-year-old construction worker who said he was harassed for labor organizing during Alberto Fujimori's regime, was overjoyed by Humala's win and pledges to protect workers from exploitation that let employers hire people full time without paying benefits.
"We're getting everything back with him. Good jobs will come back. There won't be corruption. I believe in his word," said Romero, who is from Peru's poorest state, Huancavelica.
Both candidates promised a raft of giveaways for the poor, including free school meals and preschool care. Humala promised a government pension for all at age 65.
Exit polls gave Humala better than 70 percent of the vote in four poor highland states including Puno, where Aymara Indians who object to a planned Canadian-owned silver mine suspended a nearly monthlong highway blockade so people could vote. The protesters fear the mine will poison their water.
Fujimori did capture Lima, but by a modest margin.
Humala finished first in the election's April 10 first round, when three centrist candidates together split 45 percent of the vote. He got a big boost with the endorsement of Toledo, who finished fourth. Toledo had previously likened voting for Humala to "a jump into the abyss."
Had Toledo and the other two centrists united behind a single candidate they could have elbowed out Keiko Fujimori. But Peru is a country where personality decides elections rather than political party affiliations or ideologies. Its parties are weak, its political class considered extremely corrupt.
That opens the door for outsiders like Humala and Fujimori's father, Alberto. He vanquished hyperinflation and fanatical Shining Path rebels during his autocratic 1990-2000 presidency. A fifth of Peruvians revere the man, but his legacy of corruption hurt his congresswoman daughter. Humala harped on it.
He says he'll put crooked politicians in jail and make it easier for citizens to recall dishonest elected leaders.
Peru's best-known intellectual, 2010 Nobel literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, said Humala's win "saved democracy."
"What's important is that we have been freed from the return to power of a dictatorship that was terribly corrupt and bloody," he told CPN radio. "We should congratulate ourselves and celebrate."
Humala insists he'll steer Peru closer to the United States and Brazil than to Chavez's leftist camp, which includes Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, none of which currently have U.S. ambassadors.
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, in Peru as an Organization of American States election observer, met with both candidates and said he didn't consider Humala another Chavez.
"He is a nationalist and an enigma with evolving views and a pragmatic streak," Richardson said. "I think he's educable and the business community should give him a chance."
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Associated Press writers Carla Salazar and Franklin Briceno contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/06/05/3129304/unofficial-count-gives-humala.html#ixzz1OWVtsCWU
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Humala’s Win in Peru Consolidates Hemispheric Gains for Democracy, Independence, Progress
By Mark Weisbrot
This article was published in The Guardian (UK) on June 6, 2011. If anyone wants to reprint it, please include a link to the original.
The victory of left-populist candidate Ollanta Humala in Peru’s election is a “big ( ) deal,” as Vice President Joe Biden famously whispered to Obama on national TV in another context. With respect to U.S. influence in the hemisphere, this knocks out one of only two allies that Washington could count on, leaving only the right wing government of Chile. Now Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Peru have left governments that are more independent of the United States than Europe is. And Colombia under Manuel Santos is now siding with these governments more than with the United States.
This means that regional political and economic integration will proceed more smoothly, although it is still a long-term project. On July 5, for example, heads of state from the whole hemisphere will meet in Caracas, Venezuela, to proceed with the formation of CELAC, (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States). This is a regional organization which includes all countries except the United States and Canada, and which – no matter what anyone says for diplomatic purposes – is intended to displace the Organization of American States (OAS). The new organization is a response to the abuse of the OAS by the United States (which controls most of the bureaucracy) for anti-democratic purposes, most recently in the cases of Honduras and Haiti.
These institutional changes, including the vastly expanded role of UNASUR (the Union of South American Nations) are changing the norms and customs of diplomatic relations in the hemisphere. The Obama administration, which has continued the policies of “containment” and “rollback” of its predecessor, has been slow to accept the new reality. As a result, it does not have ambassadors in Bolivia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
The election is also important for Peru, for a number of reasons. As conservative Peruvian Nobel literature laureate and politician Mario Vargas Llosa said, Humala's win "saved democracy." Former president Alejandro Toledo said, "The people have won, democracy has won, the memory of the people won. The people have opted for economic growth with social inclusion." Indeed it would have sent a terrible message to Peruvians and the world if the daughter of someone who is in jail for multiple political murders were elected president. Although she made some efforts to distance herself from his crimes, she was still running on his name and legacy, and with the help of his advisers.
The election is interesting for other reasons. First, it is another example of the voters going against the vast majority of the country’s rich and elite, including the most influential of that group – the major media. Leftists may criticize Humala for some of the promises that he made (e.g., no nationalizations) in order to get the support of some political actors. But it remains clear that he was not the candidate of Peru’s rich and powerful. This is one of the great and nearly unprecedented things about democracy in South America that has happened repeatedly in recent years – that those who control most of the income, wealth, and means of communication in a country can be defeated in an election. We are still a long way from any such result in our own presidential elections in the United States.
It is also interesting that Peru’s traditional elite was defeated – in both the first and second rounds of the election – despite record economic growth over the last decade. GDP growth has averaged 5.7 percent annually since 2000, about the highest in the region. To give credit where credit is due, these governments (Alejandro Toledo’s and Alan García’s) got their most important macroeconomic policies – fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate – basically right, which has not been the norm in the neoliberal era. They also responded to the world recession with counter-cyclical policies and minimized the economic damage. As would be expected from the economy’s rate of growth, there were some improvements in peoples’ lives, including many poor people: the official poverty rate declined from 55 percent in 2001 to 35 percent in 2009. Life expectancy rose 70.5 to 73.5 and infant mortality fell from 35.1 to 19.4 per thousand (from 2000-2009).
But by 2009, Peru still had 62 percent of its population living on less than three dollars a day, and the percentage is certainly about the same today – Peru is a majority-poor country. With vast regional, urban-rural, ethnic, and overall income and wealth disparities – the poverty rate is 60 percent in rural, versus 21 percent in urban, areas – most people understandably felt cheated. Most importantly, the governments of García and Toledo didn’t deliver on the kinds of big initiatives that the left governments in the region delivered. Bolivia lowered the retirement age from 65 to 58 and greatly expanded the public pension system, nationalized its hydrocarbons industry, and increased social spending. Ecuador expanded social spending, especially on health care. Venezuela provided free health care to its citizens and tripled real social spending per capita, greatly expanding education, including free university education. Brazil had a 60 percent real increase in the minimum wage (in Lula’s eight years) and some modest increases in anti-poverty spending. Peru’s last two governments did not do these kinds of things.
The lesson is clear: those political parties and governments that want to make sure they are re-elected have to promise and deliver real economic and social change. South America’s left governments of the past have helped to make this a part of the democratic process, and this influence is likely to affect the region for many years to come.
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Humala’s Win in Peru Consolidates Gains for Left, More Independent and Democratic South America, CEPR Co-Director Says
For Immediate Release: June 5, 2011
Contact: Dan Beeton, 202-239-1460
Washington, D.C. - Ollanta Humala’s apparent presidential electoral victory in Peru represents a consolidation of the gains made by left-leaning leaders in South America over the past decade, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) Co-Director Mark Weisbrot said today.
“Democracy, national and regional independence, and economic and social progress have gone hand-in-hand with South America’s leftward political shift over the past decade,” said Weisbrot. “This election continues these trends, for sure.”
As of late Sunday night, quick counts from two firms, Ipsos-Apoyo and Datum Internacional, had Humala ahead with over 51 percent of the vote, compared to less than 49 percent for his opponent, Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of Peru’s former authoritarian president Alberto Fujimori. Exit polls showed Humala ahead by over five points.
News of Humala’s victory was welcomed by well-known politicians from across the political spectrum. Author and politician Mario Vargas Llosa, a well-known conservative, said that Humala's win "saved democracy," while former president Alejandro Toledo said, “It’s the hour of reconciliation. The people have won, democracy has won, the memory of the people won. The people have opted for economic growth with social inclusion.”
Although official Washington – outside of spokespersons for the far right – did not express a preference, it appears that the Obama administration favored Fujimori.
“This election result also represents another setback for the U.S. government’s strategy of ‘containment and roll-back’ in the region,” said Weisbrot.
Weisbrot also noted that Peru’s traditional elite lost this election because the previous two governments had failed to take the kinds of initiatives that other left governments in the region had done, despite record economic growth.
“Peru’s growth did reduce poverty significantly,” said Weisbrot. “But the government didn’t deliver the kinds of gains that were seen in other countries in health care, education, minimum wages, public pensions, or social spending, as happened in Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, and Venezuela.”
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