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I have recently gotten several requests to circulate sign-ons, for
Haiti, El Salvador, Bases in Colombia- and have a couple of notices
regarding Honduras which I have been asked to circulate. <br>
It seemed best to put them all in one email. <br>
<br>
<b>Both Haiti and El Salvador sign ons have a deadline of today-</b> <br>
<br>
Re the Haiti letter: there will be a meeting of international funders
on Monday where they hope to present the letter:<br>
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br>
<b>Haiti-</b><br>
<div><br>
Greetings - <br>
<br>
</div>
<div>We trust that the HSA and its members organizations and networks
will be able to support this initiative quickly.</div>
<div>On
Monday, January 25, there will be a ministerial meeting in Montreal to
lay the groundwork for the donor's conference on Haiti being convened
in March. Time is short to make a detailed denunciation, with the
necessary international force by then, but together with the World
March of Women we have drafted the attached letter to be presented
there on Monday. WE ASK THAT YOU CONFIRM THE SIGNATURE OF YOUR
ORGANIZATION/NETWORK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, and if possible, your
capacity either to support the presentation in Montreal on Monday, or
in your own capital.</div>
<div><br>
In Montréal, we have been in touch with
the RQIC and Pierre=Yves is helping, together with the women at the
march, to prepare the presentation.</div>
<div>In short, we hope to be
able to share further updates from Camille and others in Haiti, about
their efforts to regroup, contribute in the daunting humanitarian
emergency, confront the new invasion and strengthen coordination among
sister organizations in Haiti, in support of the rights and needs of
the Haitian people.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Look forward to hearing form you</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Beverly Keene (Jubilee South)<br>
</div>
<div>(Letter in English below)</div>
<b><br>
<i style=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Please
send endorsements to </span></i><i style=""><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";" lang="ES-TRAD"><a
href="mailto:jubileo@wamani.apc.org"><span style="" lang="EN-US">jubileo@wamani.apc.org</span></a></span></i><i
style=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">, no
later than January 22<o:p></o:p></span></i>
</b><br>
<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br>
T</span><b style=""><span
style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">o the
governments and organizations gathered in
Montreal on the situation in Haiti<o:p></o:p></span></b>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
recent tragedy in Haiti shocked the
people of the world for its destructive impact, the environmental and
social
consequences, and especially for the loss of human lives.
Unfortunately,
natural disasters are not new in that Caribbean country, which was
impacted in
2008 by hurricanes Hanna and Ike.<o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Nor
is it the first time we have watched the
international community make pledges of cooperation and assistance to
Haiti. We
are concerned, as organizations and social movements, that the
international
response be coordinated on the basis of respect for their sovereignty
and in
full accordance with the needs and demands of the Haitian people.<o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Now
is the moment for the governments that form part
of the United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti
(MINUSTAH), the
United Nations, and especially the U.S., Canada, and France, to
reassess the
many mistaken policies they have implemented in Haiti. The country's
condition
of vulnerability to natural disasters - in large part caused by the
devastation
of the environment, the lack of basic infrastructure and the weak
capacity of
state social action - is not unrelated to these policies, which have
historically undermined the sovereignty of the people and their
country, thus
generating a historical, social, environmental, and cultural debt in
which
these same countries and institutions have a major share of
responsibility.
Reparations must be made to the Haitian people for these debts, and all
the
more so in the face of the present situation affecting the country.<o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In
this regard, <b style="">we
reject the militarization of the country</b> as a false response to the
recent
disaster, including in particular U.S. unilateral action to send an
additional
10,000 troops to safeguard its economic and geopolitical interests. The
occupation troops of the MINUSTAH, over the past six years, did not
contribute
effectively to the stabilization or the provision of infrastructure and
public
goods, and nothing indicates that maintaining this policy would be
effective
from now on.<o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We
call on governments and international organizations
to <b style="">immediately and unconditionally
cancel the external debt claimed of Haiti</b>, the servicing of which
affects
millions of lives. We also demand that the resources allocated for
relief and
reconstruction do not create new debt, or conditionalities that are
imposed or
any other form of external imposition which vitiates this goal, as is
the
practice of international financial institutions like the World Bank,
the
Interamerican Development Bank, the IMF, and the so-called donor
countries. We
also reject the intervention of private multinational companies who
seek to
take advantage of this tragedy to reap multi billion dollar profits in
the
reconstruction of Haiti, as happened in Iraq, or to exploit cheap labor
and
continue to plunder the country’s natural resources.<o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Haitian
society, its organizations, social movements
and state representatives should be the protagonists of the
international
effort to rebuild their country: the first to be heard and the final
and
sovereign decision over their destiny. The Haitian people have lifted
themselves up many times on the basis of their own will, with the
strength and
conviction of their historical example of having been the first people
to free
themselves in America. Any cooperation can be effective only if it is
based in
this commitment and full popular participation.<o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We
are alert, and following developments in dialogue
with Haitian organizations, in order to ensure that international
cooperation
takes place on the basis of this kind of solidarity and that the errors
of past
policies are not repeated. For a free and sovereign Haiti!<o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span>
<br>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">January
25, 2010<o:p></o:p></span>
<br>
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<br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Jubilee
South – World March of Women – Haiti Support
Group U.K. - other signatures to be confirmed<o:p></o:p></span><br>
<i style=""><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"
lang="ES-NI">_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</span></i><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"
lang="ES-NI"><br>
</span><b>El Salvador-<br>
</b><br>
<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Dear allies
of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font
color="black"><span style="color: black;">El Salvador</span></font></st1:place></st1:country-region>,<br>
<br>
We are sure that many of you heard about and were very concerned and
outraged
by the murders of Salvadoran anti-mining activists <b><span
style="font-weight: bold;">Ramiro Rivera</span></b> and <b><span
style="font-weight: bold;">Felicita
Echeverria</span></b> (December 20, 2009) and <b><span
style="font-weight: bold;">Dora
Alicia Sorto Rodriguez</span></b> (December 26, 2009) and the <b><span
style="font-weight: bold;">continued threats </span></b>against
community
journalists and activists in <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cabañas,
El
Salvador</span></b>, the region where Pacific Rim mining company holds
gold
mining exploration concessions. <o:p></o:p></span></font>
<br>
<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font>
<br>
<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Pacific Rim
is a Canadian company that is currently
suing the government of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">El Salvador</st1:country-region></st1:place> at the
arbitration
“court” of the World Bank for not granting them gold mining
permits. Community members and local organizations report that the
presence of the company in the area has created an environment of
violence and
intimidation, and company "educators", or promoters, have been linked
to creating social tensions in the local communities.<br>
<br>
International Salvadoran organizations and international solidarity
organizations are requesting <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">organizations
to
sign on to the letter</span></b> <font color="navy"><span
style="color: navy;">(</span></font>below<font color="navy"><span
style="color: navy;">) </span></font>condemning both the murders
and shortfalls in the investigation, and calling for an improved and
through investigation
that seeks to find the 'intellectual authors' of the crimes.<font
color="navy"><span style="color: navy;"><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font>
<br>
<i><font color="black" face="Arial" size="2"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-style: italic;">Thanks
to those who have already signed and apologies if you have already
received
this email!</span></font></i><br>
<br>
We would like to collect <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">as many
signatures
as possible before 5 pm (EST) on <font color="black"><span
style="color: black;">Friday,
January 22</span></font></span></b>, so they can be referenced in a San
Salvador
press conference by the Salvadoran National Coalition Against Metal
Mining. (However, we will continue collecting signatures the following
week.) Please send sign-ons to Meredith DeFrancesco at <b><span
style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="mailto:firmarcarta@yahoo.com"
title="blocked::mailto:firmarcarta@yahoo.com">firmarcarta@yahoo.com</a></span></b>.<br>
<br>
For more information, see: <a href="http://esnomineria.blogspot.com"
title="blocked::http://esnomineria.blogspot.com/">http://esnomineria.blogspot.com</a>,
<a href="http://www.cispes.org" title="blocked::http://www.cispes.org/">www.cispes.org</a>,
<a href="http://www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org"
title="blocked::http://www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org/">www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org</a>,
<a href="http://www.salvaide.ca/mining.html"
title="blocked::http://www.salvaide.ca/mining.html">www.salvaide.ca/mining.html</a>,
<a
href="http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/category/4315/4318/4321/4324/4498/4762"
title="blocked::http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/category/4315/4318/4321/4324/4498/4762">http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/category/4315/4318/4321/4324/4498/4762</a>.<br>
<br>
Thank you.<o:p></o:p>
<br>
<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In
solidarity,<o:p></o:p></span></font><br>
<font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Alexis
Stoumbelis<br>
CISPES Executive Director<br>
</span></font><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"
lang="ES-NI"><big>_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</big></span><br>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"
lang="ES-NI"><big><b>Honduras-</b><br>
<b>1. </b> Last week I made an unexpected trip to Nicaragua, to help
set up an office for Honduran refugees. One of the people who will be
working in the office had to flee Honduras after being captured and
tortured for 30 hours. The reason he had been captured is that he had
produced and was showing a video documenting the repression which has
been happening since the coup. His partner in the project was not so
fortunate. He was murdered in December in his own apartment. We are
trying to find a site where we can upload this video- which is 23
minutes long, and we are also looking for help in
translating/subtitling the video. We should have the Spanish version
up on the quixote.org site before the end of the day today.<br>
<br>
<b>2. </b> Witness for Peace has also recently released a video on
Honduras which they produced. You can see it at:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.witnessforpeace.org/article.php?id=877">http://www.witnessforpeace.org/article.php?id=877</a>.<br>
They are asking people to call Obama after watching it, to call for
continued suspension of military aid.<br>
<br>
<b>3.</b> In addition to the two delegations traveling to Honduras
this week-end, from Rights Action and Voz de los de Abajo, there is a
call to be a part of an international brigade which will be rebuilding
the Garifuna Community Radio station which was burnt down on January
6th. The brigade will be in Triunfo de la Cruz from February 1-7th.
For more information on how to participate in or otherwise support this
effort, go to: </big></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><a
href="mailto:encuentro@radioscomunitarias.info"><span
style="font-size: medium;">encuentro@radioscomunitarias.info</span></a><span
style="font-size: medium;">, </span><a
href="http://www.radioscomunitarias.info"><span
style="font-size: medium;">http://www.radioscomunitarias.info</span></a><span
style="font-size: medium;">, </span><a
href="http://www.comppa.org/wordpress"><span style="font-size: medium;">http://www.comppa.org/wordpress</span></a><br>
<br>
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br>
<b></b><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"
lang="ES-NI"><big><b>Colombia- bases<br>
<br>
1. </b>From John Lindsay-Poland<br>
<br>
</big></span><font size="4"><font
face="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;">Friends,<br>
After some dialogue about the content, we will be sending the following
letter in support of the proposed continental campaign to end foreign
military bases and presence in Latin America. The campaign will be
considered at a meeting of the Hemispheric Social Alliance in Porto
Alegre on January 27. We want those present at the meeting to be aware
of support for this campaign in the United States. So please
communicate your organization’s endorsement with <b>contact name,
position/title (if applicable), organization, location (if not national)</b>,
to John Lindsay-Poland at <b><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:johnlp@igc.org">johnlp@igc.org</a>, by end of the day on
Monday, January 25. </b>(You’ll receive an email saying I’m on leave,
but I am checking mail.)<br>
<br>
<b>Message to groups convoking a continental campaign to end foreign <br>
military bases in Latin America : <br>
</b> <br>
Enrique Daza, Coordinator<br>
Hemispheric Social Alliance<br>
Bogotá, Colombia<br>
<br>
Dear Enrique, <br>
<br>
We have read with great appreciation the “Llamamiento a Campaña
Continental” issued from the gathering in Buenos Aires on December 1-2,
2009, and wish to communicate our readiness to support the campaign in
all ways within our capacity that are useful to the campaign you are
developing. <br>
<br>
The agreement to establish at least seven U.S. military bases in
Colombia, and the broader militarism of U.S. actions in Latin America,
contradict the aspirations of many people in the United States, and we
are committed to opposing these ills. We believe that Latin American
grass-roots organizations committed to a just peace are protagonists in
a civil, democratic, and massive mobilization to make Latin America
free of foreign military bases and enclaves, and at the same time we in
the United States can play a strategic support role in that struggle. <br>
<br>
We represent organizations, networks and individual activists with
diverse experiences, capacities and constituencies, who embrace the
pursuit of political change through nonviolent means.<br>
<br>
While we cannot commit all our organizations to carry out any
particular kind of action, among us we have experience and readiness to
organize the following kinds of support of the campaign’s goal of
eliminating foreign military bases in Latin America (not limited to
this list): <br>
* speaking tours of the US;<br>
* delegations to Latin America to educate targeted constituencies about
issues involved <br>
* obtaining endorsements and other support from major religious groups;
<br>
* conducting advocacy in Washington; <br>
* write and translate material for publication in US media; <br>
* conduct research useful to the campaign; <br>
* Participate in hemispheric strategy meetings <br>
* organizing events at gatherings such as US Social Forum, SOA vigil,
etc. <br>
* connecting with other networks (solidarity, human rights, No Bases,
peace, etc.) in the U.S. <br>
<br>
We are supporting the letter uninitiated by Mingas, as well as plans
for an event focused on the bases at the US Social Forum, June 22-26.
School of the Americas Watch is convoking a gathering in Venezuela to
coincide with the US Social Forum, and we anticipate this gathering
will give serious attention to how to respond to the bases in Colombia.
In addition, several groups are considering activities in Washington in
the third week of April, to coincide with the SOA Watch annual strategy
meeting and lobby day. It would be helpful if a representative of the
continental campaign were able to be present at that gathering. <br>
<br>
We hope to continue communication with those developing the continental
campaign, individually and/or collectively. We hope you will let us
know both what would be of use, as well as ways we may engage each
other further in pursuit of the campaign’s goals. <br>
<br>
We hope you will share this message at the January 27 meeting in Porto
Alegre and with others who have convoked the continental campaign. <br>
<br>
In solidarity, <br>
[names of persons, names of groups, with contact info]</span></font></font><br
style="page-break-before: always;" clear="all">
<br>
<b><br>
2. The group Mingas is collecting signatures for a letter regarding the
bases in Colombia which will be sent to President Obama and others. <br>
<br>
</b><font size="3">Dear friends:<br>
<br>
We of the Mingas network are deeply concerned about the recently
signed military agreement between the governments of Colombia and the
United States. Under its terms, the U.S. is permitted to upgrade,
expand
and use seven Colombian military bases for the purpose of increasing
the operational capabilities of U.S. armed forces throughout South
America. We believe the agreement will further exacerbate tensions
across the entire region and aggravate armed conflict within Colombia.<br>
<br>
The Mingas network opposes war and the exercise of violence as an
instrument of political action. We believe that today the path of
social transformation is democratic and peaceful mass struggle. We
repudiate all forms of terror and State terrorism, including targeted
killings, kidnapping, extortion, and armed attacks on the civilian
population; none of these are legitimate expressions of the struggle of
the
people, and thus we condemn all such acts.<br>
<br>
We call on faith communities, solidarity groups, students,
academics, and other organizations in agreement with the above basic
principles
of nonviolence to come together in alliance to reject the U.S.-Colombia
military base agreement -- and we invite you to take action
immediately.<br>
<br>
Join us in signing the letter posted at: <a
href="http://www.formspring.com/forms/noUSbases-Obama" eudora="autourl">http://www.formspring.com/forms/noUSbases-Obama</a>
.<br>
<br>
You can sign by filling out the online form at the foot of the
letter. Note that the current letter is a sign-on for organizations
only.<br>
<br>
Signatures must be received by February 1, 2010. After collecting
signatures, we will send the letter to President Obama and other key
government officials.<br>
<br>
Thank you for your support.<br>
<br>
Cordially,<br>
<br>
The Mingas network<br>
<a href="http://mingas.info/" eudora="autourl">http://mingas.info</a></font><b>_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<br>
<br>
</b>Please excuse any errors or omissions<br>
Tom Loudon<br>
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