From vinniechops at hotmail.com Tue Oct 5 11:48:44 2010 From: vinniechops at hotmail.com (Brian O'Connell) Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2010 14:48:44 -0400 Subject: [HNA] FW: Cut off military aid to Honduras In-Reply-To: <267774041.-1774665720@org2.org2DB.mail.democracyinaction.org> References: <267774041.-1774665720@org2.org2DB.mail.democracyinaction.org> Message-ID: Witness for Peace Updates Dear Brian, Last Thursday, the Ecuadoran police mounted an attempt at overthrowing democratically elected President Correa. Within hours, the U.S. government issued a statement "urge[ing] all Ecuadorians to come together and to work within the framework of Ecuador's democratic institutions to reach a rapid and peaceful restoration of order." However, as you know, the U.S. continues to support the post-coup government in Honduras - despite the fact that the current president was the winner of elections hosted by an illegal coup government. Politically motivated, targeted human rights violations are occuring with large-scale impunity. Now, Representative Sam Farr (D-CA) is circulating a Dear Colleague Letter calling on the Obama Administration to make financial support for the Honduran government contingent upon concrete action in halting human rights violations and holding the perpetrators accountable. Click here to ask your congressperson to sign on to the letter before October 7. Brian, now is the time to let the United States government know that its citizens demand consistency in our support for democracy, lawfulness and nonviolence around the world. Click here to ask your congressperson to sign this important letter today! In solidarity, Galen Cohee Baynes, Brooke Denmark and Christine Goffredo, International Team, Witness for Peace Witness for Peace 3628 12th Street NE. 1st Fl., Washington, DC 20017 202.547.6112 - 202.536.4708 witness at witnessforpeace.org If this was forwarded to you, visit http://www.witnessforpeace.org/subscribe to subscribe. Visit http://www.witnessforpeace.org/unsubscribe to unsubscribe. To update your preferences or contact information, go to: http://www.witnessforpeace.org/profile -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vinniechops at hotmail.com Wed Oct 6 10:46:27 2010 From: vinniechops at hotmail.com (Brian O'Connell) Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2010 13:46:27 -0400 Subject: [HNA] FW: Torture, Massacres, Attempted Coup: SOA in the News In-Reply-To: <1566183992.44446970@org.orgDB.mail.democracyinaction.org> References: <1566183992.44446970@org.orgDB.mail.democracyinaction.org> Message-ID: Content: 1) SOA Graduate Involved in Coup Attempt in Ecuador 2) Seven SOA Graduates Convicted in Peru 3) SOA-trained Ex-General on Trial in Colombia 4) Contact your Member of Congress 5) November 19-21: Vigil and Direct Action in Georgia 2nd Coup Attempt by SOA Grads in less than 2 years SOA Graduate Involved in Coup Attempt in Ecuador A School of the Americas graduate has been charged for last Thursday's unsuccessful coup attempt in Ecuador. Colonel Manuel E. Rivadeneira Tello, a graduate of the SOA's combat arms training course, is one of three police officials being investigated for negligence, rebellion and attempted assassination of the president. Read more and watch a news video about the coup attempt. Seven SOA Graduates Convicted in Peru Leer en espa?ol Murder, Kidnapping, Forced Disappearance, and Massacres On October 1, 2010, seven Peruvian SOA graduates were convicted of aggravated murder, kidnapping, forced disappearance, and conspiracy for their roles in two massacres of civilians and the murder of a radio journalist who had been reporting on human rights violations. The crimes were all committed by Grupo Colina, an army unit led and largely staffed by SOA-trained soldiers. Read what a Grupo Colina member had to say about the SOA. The SOA and Colombia SOA-trained Colombian Ex-General on Trial for Murder and Complicity with Paramilitaries The National Security Archive obtained declassified documents that implicate retired Colombian Brigadier General Rito Alejo del R?o with the use of paramilitaries in the Urab? region of northwestern Colombia. Alejo del Rio, a graduate of the School of the Americas, is currently standing trial for murder and complicity with illegal paramilitaries. Alejo del Rio led a brutal offensive against the guerrilla and social movements in the late 90s, killing thousands and effectively institutionalizing the military-paramilitary relationship which would be replicated around the country. In his secret "Biographic Note" on Alejo del R?o, then US ambassador to Colombia Curtis Kamman noted "systematic arming and equipping of aggressive regional paramilitaries was pivotal to [Alejo del R?o's] military success at the time." Click here to read the report. Take Action! Tell Congress to Shut Down the SOA SOA graduates continue to get cited for serious abuses throughout the Americas and the Pentagon is fighting hard to keep the school open. Despite the requirement in National Defense Authorization Act for 2010 to release the names and enrollment information of recent students and instructors at the facility, the Pentagon used a loophole and continues to classify the information based on "national security reasons" in an effort to prevent the connections between their training and human rights abuses to become public. Click here to send a message to your Member of Congress to Tell Her/Him to Close the School of the Americas. The 20th annual Vigil to shut down the SOA and to change oppressive U.S. foreign policy Join us from Nov. 19-21 at the gates of Ft. Benning in Memoria y Resistencia Please join in on Nonviolence Trainings Friday morning and afternoon. The practice of nonviolent direct action is an essential part of the movement to close the School of Americas and it is only successful if we are constantly practicing and improving our nonviolent pressure. Workshop forms due today Oct.6th. Contact liz at soaw.org Ad requests due today Oct. 6th. Contact nico at soaw.org Table registration goes to tom at circlevision.org with subject line: Table Registration. Stewart Immigrant Detention Center Vigil on Friday, Novemer 19, 2010: No one is Illegal - Justice for Immigrants We need volunteers for the November vigil Contact Nico to help out! Become a Peacemaker Join the Puppetistas, email Jake at lmcleod1 at gmail.com Join the medics team, contact Larry Egbert at egbertl4pj at yahoo.com Consider engaging in nonviolent direct action: Keep the pressure on! People who put their bodies on the line to speak in solidarity with the people of Latin America are crucial in the struggle to close the SOA/ WHINSEC. Stay tuned for a message about the new direct action scenario this November at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia. Stand up for justice: SOAW.org/take-action/november-vigil Download the November Vigil Poster by Scot LeFavor We appreciate your interest! You are subscribed to the SOA Watch list as vinniechops at hotmail.com. Click here to unsubscribe. Contact us. Our mailing address is: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. 20017, USA Our telephone: (202) 234 3440 Click here to fund the campaign to close the SOA. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vinniechops at hotmail.com Tue Oct 12 17:27:25 2010 From: vinniechops at hotmail.com (Brian O'Connell) Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:27:25 -0400 Subject: [HNA] FW: HONDURAS: Urgent -- Call-ins needed to Congress members and Senators In-Reply-To: <1103769094999.1103480765269.947.1.32181001@scheduler> References: <1103769094999.1103480765269.947.1.32181001@scheduler> Message-ID: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rights ActionHONDURAS: Urgent Call-ins Needed to Congress members & Senators October 11, 2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HONDURAS - URGENT - CALL CONGRESS TO CUT MILITARY AND POLICE AID October 11, 2010 Please call and write to your representatives in the US House of Representatives to TODAY to urge them to sign onto the letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which is being sponsored by Representative Sam Farr and ask that military and police aid be cut off to Honduras. In addition to educating fellow congress members, this letter calls for a suspension of police and military aid to Honduras and it calls on the State Department to stop advocating for a return of Honduras to the OAS. The Foreign Operations Appropriations bill is in its final moments before the House would approve the budget for foreign operations of the US government in 2011. Currently the bill contemplates normal and continued funding to the Honduran military and police, despite the military coup and massive, politically-motivated, grave human rights violations. Representative Barbara Lee's office is proposing conditioning of military aid on human rights, a measure that has had little to no impact on US aid to Colombia. While "conditioning" aid may be better than nothing, police and military aid should be completely cut off as occurs in Title IV of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill. On Thursday, October 14, 2010, the Honduran Platform for Human Rights will testify in a briefing in Congress. They will give first hand testimony about the systematic State repression occurring through out Honduras. Please reinforce their message with your calls and letters. Below - find the telephone number for the House of Representatives switchboard, where you can ask to be transferred to your representative, a sample letter expressing concerns, and the full text of Representative Farr's letter. * * * * * House of Representatives Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 * * * * * Sample Letter: Dear Representative X: I write to urge you to sign onto the dear colleague letter on Honduras being sponsored by Representative Sam Farr, and to urge you to support cutting off military and police aid to Honduras. Funding for Honduran police and military is unacceptable. In Honduras, killings of political opponents of the government, in which the military junta behind last years' coup hold key positions, are occurring almost every week. A return to military coups and military governments in Latin America is a direct assault on stability and democracy in all of the Americas, including the United States. It is not in the interest of the well being and security of our families, and much less the people of Honduras. Sincerely, [Your Signature] * * * * * Text of Representative Sam Farr's Dear Colleague Letter Support Democracy in Honduras Ever since the Micheletti coup d'?tat disrupted Honduran democracy on June 28, 2009, freedom of political expression, free speech and human rights have been under constant assault. Please co-sign the below letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The letter calls attention to the more atrocious violations of human rights and incidents of politically motivated violence. The letter calls on the Obama Administration to curtail assistance to the Lobo government until it protects the rights of all Hondurans, not just political supporters, and remove people who participated in the coup d'?tat from the leadership of government corporations. PLEASE NOTE: The deadline has been extended to COB, Wednesday, October 13. To sign on, please contact caitie.whelan at mail.house.gov. Dear Secretary Clinton, We are encouraged to see that the U.S. government has acknowledged the gravity of the political and human rights situation in Honduras. The August 4, 2010, trip by senior State Department official Maria Otero to review the state of human rights and democratic governance under Honduran President Porfirio Lobo demonstrates a new assertiveness by the Obama Administration to observe and protect political and human rights in that country. We believe U.S. assistance, particularly military and police aid, should be suspended until the government of Porfirio Lobo distances itself from individuals involved in the June 28, 2009, military coup d'etat and adequately addresses the ongoing human and political rights violations. We have received credible reports from Honduran human rights organizations that abuses continue with near impunity. Members of the human rights community, journalists and activists continue to be attacked and intimidated. The Honduran Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared (COFADEH), a highly esteemed human rights organization, reports assassinations, arbitrary arrests, beatings and death threats targeting political activists and the human rights workers who attempt to protect them. COFADEH described August as a "black" month for human rights and has documented a disturbing number of incidents that have taken place in recent weeks. Since the beginning of August 2010, at least six individuals identified with the opposition movement against the Lobo Administration have been murdered, including several rural activists, a teacher union leader and a journalist. Several journalists known for their criticism of the coup d'etat have been arbitrarily detained or suffered physical attacks. An opposition radio station - Radio Uno of San Pedro Sula - was forced off the air and its transmission cables were cut; police fired tear gas and a water cannon at demonstrators outside the radio station. The Honduran authorities have failed to investigate and prosecute dozens of other murders and violent attacks against pro-democratic political activists since the June 28, 2009, coup d'etat. The victims and their families have been left vulnerable with no access to justice. There is serious concern that the rule of law is directly threatened by members of the Honduran police and armed forces. On the weekend of September 17, 2010, a leader in the Social Security labor union, Juana Bustillo, was assassinated while riding in a car with the union's president Hector Escoto, who was hospitalized. Earlier in September, four peasants were murdered in the Aguan region - home to a land conflict where landless peasants are attempting to secure plots to build homes. In the first incident, three people were killed, allegedly by private security guards of Miguel Facuss? Barj?m -- one of Honduras' largest landowners. In the second incident, Francisco Miranda, a leader among landless peasants, was shot several times by unknown men while running errands on his bicycle. The newspaper La Tribuna, owned by Facuss?'s nephew, reported that the killing was part of a dispute internal to the landless peasants' organization. On many occasions, Honduran authorities have summarily dismissed the attacks against political activists, human rights defenders and journalists as a symptom of criminality linked to drug trafficking and organized crime. Crime is a problem; however, since the June 28, 2009, coup, there has been a distinct pattern of political violence that merits a strong U.S. response. It is our expectation that the Obama Administration will advance justice by urging the Lobo Administration to vigorously investigate and prosecute threats and attacks against activists and journalists, and to suspend any members of the police or military credibly alleged to be involved in such crimes while investigations take place. In addition, the State Department should urge the Lobo Administration to recognize the undeniable political character of many of the attacks against activists and journalists. A strong democracy provides security to those who participate peacefully in political process; lack of security demonstrates deficiencies in Honduran democracy. Tragically, since the August 4, 2010, visit of Undersecretary of State Maria Otero, Honduras has not advanced human rights or political freedoms. Until the government of Honduras makes sustained progress in improving its deplorable human rights record, we believe it is inappropriate to provide direct assistance to Honduran authorities, particularly to the police or military. We also urge the Obama Administration to refrain from supporting the immediate re-entry of Honduras in the Organization of American States. The Obama Administration does a great disservice to democracy and human rights across the Western Hemisphere by making an exception for Honduras, while the Lobo Administration continues to include perpetrators of the June 28, 2009, coup d'etat and fails to prosecute politically motivated crimes. Sincerely, * * * * * * * How to support Honduras' pro-democracy, anti-coup regime movement: info at rightsaction.org Join/ Unjoin our listserv: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1103480765269 Please redistribute this information QUESTIONS? / MORE INFORMATION? Annie Bird, annie at rightsaction.org Grahame Russell, info at rightsaction.org www.rightsaction.org Forward email This email was sent to vinniechops at hotmail.com by info at rightsaction.org. Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe? | Privacy Policy. Email Marketing by Rights ACtion | Box 50887 | Washington | DC | 20091 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From proyectohondureno at gmail.com Sun Oct 24 19:49:50 2010 From: proyectohondureno at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Proyecto_Hondure=F1o?=) Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2010 22:49:50 -0400 Subject: [HNA] Atentan contra Fanny Tome Message-ID: *Acci?n urgente* * **El CODEH comunica que Octubre 23, 2010 a las 8 p.m. varios hombres en motocicleta y con uniforme de la **Polic?a Nacional, le hicieron parada, a la Abogada Fanny Carolina de Tome esposa del abogado Rassel Tome y dirigente del Frente N**acional de Resistencia y sus dos hijos-un var?n y ni?a 10 y 8 a?os.* Link: http://proyectohondureno.blogspot.com/2010/10/atentan-contra-fanny-tome.html -- Powered by Blogger http://www.blogger.com/ -Michelle Fuentes "Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children." Kahlil Gibran _______________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: