Community Action for Justice in the Americas

Gunshots, explosions and fear

2009-07-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

We heard gunshots as we were having dinner in the community of Filipinas (Arauca) on June 25. FARC guerrillas were attacking the soldiers that had arrived in town that morning. I looked at my watch and noted that it was 5:12 P.M. – something concrete to focus on in order to avoid the fear that I was feeling.

The bursts of gunfire were becoming longer and the direction of the sound was changing. It seemed as though the shots were coming closer. There was a particularly long, and ugly, burst of automatic rifle fire. At one point, shots were fired in the plantain grove – 100 yards away.

We also heard explosions which could have been army mortars or guerrilla cylinder bombs. The guerrillas sometimes launch propane cylinders filled with shrapnel – deadly devices that often veer off course and miss their intended target.

A group of soldiers had set up camp in the neighboring house – 50 feet away. I was afraid that the explosions could have been cylinder bombs and that the guerrillas would attempt to hit the army encampment. I counted the explosions (something else to focus on) and noted 16.

“My God! My God!” cried the woman who had invited us for dinner. “Why don’t they just leave?” she said in relation to the soldiers. She was also afraid that their presence would draw bullets or bombs.

I motioned a few times to my friend Nidia and mouthed, “Let’s get on the ground!” but she and the others didn’t seem to think that was necessary. We heard some more shots and I finally said to everyone, “You can stay seated, but I’m going to get down on the ground.” I then laid down on the dirt underneath the table. The family puppy joined me and I nicknamed the two of us, “The Brave Ones.” The sight of the gringo and the puppy provided some comic relief and, at that point, the gunfire and explosions ended.

I dusted myself off and we walked to the center of the community. Gunfire sounded again while I was inside a small store. This time I didn’t hesitate – I immediately laid down on the floor. I looked at my watch and noted that it was 6:03 P.M.

A helicopter came and circled overhead five minutes later. A roar of machinegun fire came from the helicopter – the ugliest sound I’ve heard in my life. I looked behind me and saw Nidia crouched underneath a table with her son Brandon, who was crying. One of the bullet cases tore through the metal roof of a house fifty yards away and landed on the ground a few feet from a mother and child (see attached photos).

The following morning we learned that four soldiers had been seriously wounded in the attack. The troop commander came to talk with us and we expressed our sorrow for those soldiers. We stated our concern that the ongoing presence of soldiers in the community, and encamped in people’s homes, was putting the civilian population at risk. The guerrillas were also endangering civilians by attacking the soldiers inside the community.

We had traveled to Filipinas for a human rights workshop organized by the Arauca Peasant Association (ACA). The workshop was suspended because of the danger posed by the presence of the soldiers and guerrillas. The troop commander told Nidia, the workshop facilitator and me that we would have to leave the area. Before leaving, we went to the home of the ACA president – at least ten soldiers were encamped around the house.

Gunshots rang out again about half an hour after we left Filipinas. The ACA president’s horse was struck by one of the bullets and killed.

I’ve been experiencing a growing commitment to the non-violent struggle for justice. The actions of both the guerrillas and the soldiers put the children and adults in Filipinas at grave risk. Seeing their fear, and experiencing my own fear, has deepened my opposition to the blind hatred embodied in the barrel of a gun.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

Terror of the "people's army"

2009-07-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

The “Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army” (FARC) guerrillas murdered two teachers here in the state of Arauca during the week of June 8. I traveled to Arauca City on June 12 for their wakes – which were held in the Arauca Teachers Union auditorium.

Pablo Rodriguez, of the Sikuani people, taught in the indigenous school in Marrero. He was murdered in his classroom by the FARC on June 9. Because of the difficult access to that community, his body wasn’t recovered until two days later. When I arrived in Arauca City, the wake had finished and the funeral procession was marching to the cemetery.

Humberto Echeverri taught for 18 years in the community of Los Colonos and he was with his students on June 11. The Social Pastorate program of the Catholic Church has a nutrition and community garden program in Los Colonos, and they were monitoring the weights of the children. FARC guerrillas came into the school and told Humberto they needed to speak with him. They led him away, prevented the people from following, and then killed him.

The wake for Humberto began shortly after I arrived at the union office. I heard a woman crying out and I followed her cries into the auditorium. Arelis, who is eight-months pregnant, was leaning over the coffin of her spouse. She was accompanied by their two children - Jorge and Andrea.

Jorge told me that he is six-and-a-half years old. “The FARC took him a long ways away,” he said. “There were three shots – one in the air and two at my papa. It’s sad.” Andrea said that she will turn ten this month and I could see the tears in her eyes.

Humberto was another victim of the war between the two guerrilla groups, FARC and ELN (“National Army of Liberation”), in Arauca. That war began in late 2005 and it appears to be escalating once again. The FARC and ELN both profess to be fighting for social justice but here in Arauca they’re acting just like the paramilitary death squads – threatening and killing civilians that they view as supporting the other side. Their war is solely about the control of territory and resources in Arauca.

More than 350 civilians have been killed as a result of that war and thousands of people have fled from their homes. The FARC and ELN have now caused more damage to the Arauca social movement than the military and their paramilitary allies were able to accomplish in two decades.

Teachers and other community leaders in Arauca are afraid for their lives. The FARC has threatened various teachers. The ELN also threatened people prior to the murders of Pablo and Humberto – stating that if the FARC killed anyone, the ELN would respond by killing two or more people that they view as supporting the FARC.

The mid-year school vacation began on June 12 and extends until July 5. Several teachers are unsure about whether they will return to their schools after vacation. Twenty four teachers have been killed in Arauca during the past eight years.

The FARC also distributed a written death threat in late May in which they declared the Arauca State Peasant Association (ADUC) and the Regional Student and Youth Association (ASOJER) to be “military targets.” I live in the social organizations building in Saravena which houses the offices of ADUC and ASOJER.

My friend Robinson spent 18 months in prison for “rebellion” and he was the only person I talked with at the wake that still exhibited some hope. He said, “We have to transform our difficulties into something beautiful.”

In love and solidarity,

Scott

April Speaking Tour

2009-03-31T15:55:00.001-07:00

Dear friends,

In just a few hours, I’ll be flying from Bogota to Los Angeles to arrange the final details for Nidia Castellanos’ Northwest speaking tour: “Women Resisting War in Colombia” (see schedule at end of message).

Nidia is a single mother of three children who is risking her life to defend human rights here in Colombia. She is the secretary general of the Arauca Peasant Association (ACA), which promotes organic agriculture and defends the rights of its members and their families. ACA has been severely repressed by the Colombian government and has also been attacked by the guerrillas.

Luz Perly Cordoba, the founding president of ACA, was imprisoned for “rebellion” in 2004 and now lives in exile. Jose Caicedo, the following president, went into hiding after an arrest order was issued against him for rebellion in 2007. Carlos Cabrera, a previous secretary general, was killed by the guerrillas in November 2008.

“Defending the rights of small farmers and their families in our state of Arauca means facing a lot of risk,” said Nidia. “I’m willing to suffer those consequences because I want a better future for my children – Melisa, Camila and Brandon.”

“We hope that the Obama administration will represent a change in U.S. policy towards our country,” continued Nidia. “Colombia doesn’t need any more guns and bombs - there are already enough to kill all of us. We’re also aware of the serious economic problems in the U.S. Instead of spending your tax dollars on more weapons, that money could be used to create jobs and support health care and education – in Arauca, as well as Montana.”

The U.S. government is providing Colombia with more than $1 million per day in military aid. Some of that aid is used to protect Occidental Petroleum’s oilfield and pipeline in Arauca – which produce and transport 100,000 barrels per day. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly documented the human rights abuses committed by the Colombian military.

We hope you’re able to join us for one of the presentations. Please also help us spread the word about Nidia’s speaking tour.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

Monday, April 6 – Helena, Montana

7 P.M. – Wiegand Amphitheater, Simperman Hall 101-202, Carroll College

Tuesday, April 7 – Billings

7 P.M. – St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 180 24th St. West

Wednesday, April 8 – Red Lodge

7 P.M. – Regis Cafe, 206 16th St.

Thursday, April 9 – Bozeman

7 P.M. - Strand Union Building 235, Montana State University

Monday, April 13 – Hamilton

7 P.M. - Hamilton Library, 306 State Street

Tuesday, April 14 – Arlee

6:30 P.M. – The Hangin’ Art Gallery, 11 Hwy. 93

Wednesday, April 15 – Kalispell

7 P.M. – Blake Hall Board Room 140, Flathead Valley Community College

Thursday, April 16 – Missoula

7 P.M. – North Underground Lecture Hall

Monday, April 20 – Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Spokane, Washington

Noon – Todd Hall, Molstead Library, North Idaho College

7 P.M. – Wolff Auditorium, Jepson Center, Gonzaga University

Tuesday, April 21 – Ellensburg

7 P.M. – Room TBA, Central Washington University

Wednesday, April 22 – Bellingham

Noon – World Issues Forum, Fairhaven College Auditorium

7 P.M. – Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, 13 Prospect St.

Thursday, April 23 – Twisp

7 P.M. – Confluence Gallery

Monday, April 27 – Portland, Oregon

7 P.M. – Portland Mennonite Church, 1312 SE 35th Ave.

Tuesday, April 28 – Corvallis

Time and room TBA, Oregon State University

Wednesday, April 29 – Eugene

Time and location TBA

Free at last!

2009-03-31T15:50:00.001-07:00

Dear friends,

My friend Flor Diaz was released from the Arauca City prison last month and was finally able to return to her home here in Arauquita. We went out on the Arauca River with her youngest children, Viviana and Fernando, on March 10 to watch the herons returning to roost for the evening. There were hundreds of herons in the trees along the river and it was wonderful to enjoy that beauty and freedom with her.

Flor spent three years and four days in prison for “rebellion.” She was the secretary general of the Arauca Peasant Association and she told me that she was imprisoned because of her work in support of human rights. “I can’t ignore the suffering of others,” she said.

Marcela, her oldest daughter, was 18 years old when Flor was detained by the secret police on February 14, 2006. Marcela had to assume the responsibility for her three siblings: Viviana (who was just 8 years old), Fernando and Edwin. “It was very hard when they would call me and tell me there wasn’t any food in the house,” Flor said. “I would ask myself, ‘What can I do?’”

Flor worked for 14 years as a health practitioner in the rural communities of Arauca and also served as a catechist. She continued with her vocations while she was in prison. She would care for the other prisoners when they were ill, and she also helped organize prayer and mass.

“Suffering makes you strong,” Flor said. “If you’ve never suffered, you can’t be strong. I would get very disappointed when I received bad news about my case. I would argue with God: ‘You abandoned me! I don’t want anything more to do with you!’ But then I would remember the gift of my children.”

Flor’s first grandchild, Camila, was born on December 20, 2006. “I saw her for the first time on January 21, 2007,” said Flor. Marcela would take Camila to visit Flor in prison every three months. “For the first two years of her life, ‘Grandmother’s house’ was the largest mansion in Arauca,” Marcela said jokingly.

Being in prison for three years was a very hard experience but it’s also an adjustment being outside of prison after all that time. “I couldn’t see long distance,” Flor said, because there aren’t any open views in the prison. “I also wasn’t used to the noise in town. All I heard in my cell was the sound of the fan.”

Flor told me about a conversation she had recently with a fellow prisoner who had also just been released. They talked about the process of adjustment. Flor said to him, “I’m not doing well either (she’s unemployed and in debt), but I am free.”

As we were alongside the river, Flor explained “Oil and war are the cause of poverty here. What do we get from supplying the war machine?: widows and poverty. We’re going to stop supplying that machine. It already has enough. Let’s look at the situation of poverty and invest that money to meet the needs of the people.”

In love and solidarity,

Scott

Armed transportation stoppage

2009-03-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

The “Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army” (FARC) declared an armed transportation stoppage here in the state of Arauca that is causing hardship for the people they claim to be defending. FARC guerrillas called the transport companies on March 16 and threatened to burn their vehicles if they didn’t obey the order to halt transportation.

I’m currently in the town of Arauquita – which lies along the highway that runs through the north of Arauca. The route to Saravena (35 miles west) was the first to be suspended early on the morning of March 16. The last taxi for Arauca City (65 miles east) left town around 2:30 that afternoon. Two armed men on a motorcycle halted a bus on the highway that day and forced it to turn back.

There are no longer any taxis circulating in Arauquita. The motorized canoes that take people across the Arauca River to La Victoria in Venezuela have also been suspended. School bus service in the towns of La Esmeralda and Fortul was suspended this morning due to threats from the FARC. Local stores are running out of fruit and vegetables, and the remaining food is increasing in price because of the scarcity.

Defense Minister Juan Santos flew to Arauca City on March 16 for a public meeting about the security situation in Arauca. Government authorities decided to fine the transport companies that are refusing to risk their drivers and vehicles during the stoppage. The military and police also announced that they were launching “Plan Meteor” to prevent the guerrillas from paralyzing transportation.

FARC guerrillas have burned a cargo truck and a tanker truck, halted a vehicle on the Arauca-Tame highway and placed it across the roadway blocking traffic, attacked a tractor-trailer, and also attacked a caravan of oilfield workers.

The military and police launched the “Arauca Moves” plan on March 17. The plan consists of armed escort for transportation caravans. One caravan of vehicles leaves Arauca City every morning for Arauquita, Saravena, Fortul and Tame. Another caravan travels daily from Tame to Arauca City. The caravans are accompanied by a large contingent of soldiers, police and secret police. Three of the caravans have been attacked by the FARC.

The United Nations’ World Food Program planned to deliver food supplements for pregnant women and nursing mothers, and children at risk of malnutrition, in Arauquita on March 19. The delivery was cancelled because the food packets couldn’t be brought here due to the transportation stoppage.

According to United Nations’ reports, FARC commanders ordered the “Black March” campaign (which includes the stoppage in Arauca) to commemorate the death of three of their top leaders in March 2008. Raul Reyes, the second-in-command, was killed along with 25 other people when his camp inside Ecuador was bombed by the Colombian military on March 1. Ivan Rios was killed on March 3 by his own bodyguard, who then cut off Rios’ hand to present to the government as proof to collect the reward money. Manuel Marulanda, the legendary leader of the FARC, died of natural causes on March 26 – after fighting against the Colombian government for more than 50 years.

The vast majority of people here in Arauquita have no idea why the FARC is imposing this transportation stoppage – they just want it to end soon. According to those same UN reports, the stoppage is going to continue until March 30.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

Letter to Montana Congressional Delegation--Colombia

2009-03-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Senators Baucus, Tester, and Representative Rehberg,

As advocates for sensible, just and humane US foreign policies ,and residents of the great state of Montana, we would like to draw your attention to the issue of U.S. involvement in Colombia and ask that you consider the human rights impact of U.S. policy as you determine your position concerning upcoming funding requests.

Colombia is caught in a complex web of violence resulting in the most severe humanitarian crisis in the hemisphere. Approximately 3 million people have been forced to flee their homes in recent years, and human rights violations continue by all armed actors. (as documented by Human Rights Watch). Since the inception of Plan Colombia in 2000, the U.S. has supported a military solution to Colombia’s armed conflict and illegal drug trade, which are in many cases interrelated. Over 80 percent of nearly 5 billion in U.S. assistance has gone directly to Colombian military and police forces but the war continues unabated and there has been no reduction of the availability of Colombian drugs on U.S. streets. Despite the many destructive consequences of U.S. policy in Colombia and the drastic failure of the War on Drugs, Plan Colombia has not changed. Recently, members of the Colombian government and the Uribe administration’s cabinet have been implicated in secret support of death squads.

We urge you, as our representative in Congress, to shift the U.S. focus in Colombia from funding the military, which has been implicated in human rights abuses, to assisting in negotiations for a lasting peace. We would ask that you support all legislative efforts to direct funding toward increased alternative development programs, judicial reform and aid for internally displaced persons, including Afro-Colombian and indigenous populations. Rather than the ineffective, often indiscriminate and inhumane aerial herbicide spraying, we must work to reduce demand at home and support programs to move Colombian farmers away from illicit crop production.

We further believe that in light of the Colombian governments poor record regarding its close ties to those implicated in the persecution, harassment and even murder of union leaders, social justice activists, and community leaders, as well as their failure to improve investigations and prosecution of these crimes, the US must not sign the Colombia FTA. The US must demand accountability from its trading partners.

As your constituents, we encourage you to help seek a new direction for U.S. policy in Colombia, one which is based on respect for human rights and justice.

Thank you for your consideration of this important issue.

Sincerely,

Summer Language Exchange and Accompaniment

2009-02-26T16:39:00.000-08:00

Originally, when I was thinking through my learning objectives for students when traveling to Spanish-speaking regions of the world, I wanted their experience to be more meaningful than your run-of-the-mill museum/castle-visiting-tour. I wanted to bring students to regions of the world that starkly contrasted with theirs and to make a central component of these experiences socially-conscious travel. With trips to Chiapas, Mexico in February of 2008 through Witness for Peace, and a more recent trip to Nicaragua last November through Global Exchange, I was able to accomplish a great deal of what I had hoped for as students were challenged to engage in economic, political, social and cultural issues. However, even as I found that what I was doing with students was unique among most high school experiences, I realized I wanted to go beyond this level of challenge for students engaged in the act of learning.

These two delegations of students to Chiapas and Nicaragua were amazing experiences for the students and me. It is evident in their successful community presentations around Missoula in schools, churches and the University of Montana, that they learned a great deal about the economics, politics, history and culture of Latin America. Two of the students who participated on these delegations are newly inaugurated board members with CAJA!

However, I believe there exists another level of learning and participation for us that goes beyond the experiences Global Exchange and Witness for Peace can provide. One of my goals is to critique the idea that travel experiences, even “socially-conscious” ones, should be viewed by the participants as a product to be consumed. Secondly, both Global Exchange and Witness for Peace presented our delegations to the communities of Nicaragua and Chiapas as consumers, albeit “fair” consumers learning about the advantages of Fair Trade over Free Trade. In both cases, we gave our money and in return we received an “experience” (i.e. a product) to “witness” firsthand the effects of global economics, U.S. foreign policy, etc. In return, we committed to telling our/their story upon return, which included a plea to our consumer society to buy Fair Trade.

From June 19-July12, 2009, I will be co-leading a group of 10 Montanans (5 graduating seniors, 3 returning seniors, 1 graduating U. of Montana student and my twin-sister who will be graduating from Carroll College in May) to Chiapas, Mexico for the first-ever Summer Language Exchange in the Zapatista community of Oventic, Chiapas, Mexico. Big Sky High School senior, Gabriel Doherty, will be co-leading this group as he approached me four months ago offering to make his co-direction his high school Senior Project.

It is my contention, that while this kind of travel is certainly valuable, it is through the act of accompaniment that learning goes beyond the intellectual absorption of ideas (including “walking a mile in another’s shoes”). Accompaniment, instead, embodies the concept of mutual aid. In this case, the students and the Zapatistas are pushed to stay open to divergent ideas and accompany each other as they work through the real lived history of their respective moments in time. The Zapatista language school does not provide a structure for learning, but instead expects learning to be self-generated (an aspect of their school that has frustrated misinformed revolutionary travelers). Again, their expectation is that if one is going to learn, they need to begin by asking what it is they want to learn, and no one will be there to prod one to ask.

The language school in Oventic offers Spanish and Tzotzil. I will be studying Tzotzil and the students will study Spanish. Our daily lessons consist of only a couple of hours of morning grammar and an hour of afternoon activity, while the biggest challenge provided in Oventic, as many who have gone through this experience claim, is figuring out what to do with oneself for the rest of each day. The Zapatistas are inviting us to generate for ourselves what we will learn. At the same time, our presence in their community for the three weeks provides much needed accompaniment, as U.S. military aid has resulted in the increased militarization of Mexico in general and Chiapas in particular. Moreover, we must also recognize that it is we, U.S. Americans, who could benefit a great deal from the accompaniment of Zapatistas; having their support as we face our own struggle for justice at home in the U.S. Instead of reinscribing the global economic order by using our economic privileges to consume one more product (even if those products are “greener and fairer”) we must, as is the mission of CAJA, “seek to fundamentally alter the unfair distribution of wealth, power and resources.” Accompaniment transcends the deficiency of consuming our way out of our current predicaments by doing our transformation. “We need to walk together. We need to do history together. We need to journey side by side, confronting whatever comes” (Staughton Lynd, Wobblies and Zapatistas).

Becoming a godparent

2008-12-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

My friends Alba and Eulices asked me to be the godfather for their son Kuss Bryan, who was baptized on December 8 (photo below). It was a joy and an honor to become part of their family that day.

Alba is an amazingly strong and resilient person. Her left shoulder was shattered in the bombing of Santo Domingo in December 1998 when she was 16 years old, her father was killed by FARC guerrillas in March 2006, and her spouse Eulices was imprisoned during the mass arrest in Fortul in August 2006.

Residents of Santo Domingo were holding a bazaar on December 13, 1998 to raise funds for their community. Planes and helicopters began circling overhead and the people gathered on the highway that runs through town, waving white cloths to indicate that they were civilians. Two cluster bombs were dropped alongside the highway – killing 17 people (including seven children) and wounding 25 others. Yesterday was the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the bombing.

Shrapnel from the bombs tore into Alba’s shoulder and into the right leg of her sister, Xiomara. As we sat in their kitchen after the baptism, they began talking about that day. “We’re lucky to be alive” said Alba. Xiomara then showed me the large scar on her upper leg.

Wilson Garcia, their father, was the community president. “There wasn’t a phone in Santo Domingo,” said Alba, “so he went to Betoyes (when the planes began flying overhead) to call the Red Cross. He saw us as he was coming back and we were leaving on the truck with the wounded. He didn’t know which one of us he should attend to first.”

The cluster bombs were manufactured in the U.S. and the coordinates for the bombing were given by U.S. crew members operating a surveillance plane for AirScan. Occidental Petroleum (based in Los Angeles) contracted AirScan (based in Florida) to provide security for the pipeline that transports oil from Occidental’s Cano Limon oilfield in the state of Arauca to the Caribbean coast. I found myself thinking about those connections as I looked at the scar on Xiomara’s leg.

I met Wilson my first day here in Saravena in June 2004. I was impressed by his soft-spoken manner and deep commitment to his community. He told me what had happened to Alba and Xiomara, and it was obvious that he loved them both very much. Two years later, on March 22, 2006, Wilson was killed by the FARC. As Alba and Xiomara talked to me about their father, tears welled up in their eyes.

Alba gave birth to her first child, Kuss, on December 1, 2005. Eight months later, Eulices was arrested along with 15 other people in Fortul. I met Eulices in Arauca City when I traveled there with a human rights lawyer, two days after the arrests, to visit the prisoners. I met Alba two weeks later when she came to the Joel Sierra Human Rights Foundation office in Saravena to discuss his case.

Eulices was charged with rebellion and terrorism, and the prosecutor’s office alleged that he was an ELN militia member and recruiting for the FARC – not a very plausible accusation given the fight between those two guerrilla groups in Arauca. He was in prison on Kuss’ first birthday and he was finally released on June 9, 2007.

After Kuss was baptized, Eulices turned to me and called me “Compadre” (the godfather of my child). During the reception in their home, Alba also started calling me Compadre. I expressed my appreciation to them for inviting me to be Kuss’ godfather and Alba responded, “We couldn’t think of a better person.”

In love and solidarity,

Scott

Death of a Friend

2008-12-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

My friend Carlos Cabrera was killed in Arauquita on November 28. He was forcibly removed from his home, taken to the outskirts of town, and then shot and killed. He was the secretary general of the Arauquita Displaced Persons Association, which represents people who have been forced to flee from their homes because of the violence. He had a spouse and two young daughters, and it appears that he was killed by ELN guerrillas.

The situation here in the state of Arauca is deteriorating rapidly. The week before Carlos was killed, an explosive was set off in the entrance of the social organizations building in Saravena – shattering windows on the first and second floors. A fragmentation grenade was thrown over the front gate of the Saravena Community Water Company on November 25 – causing slight damage to the exterior of the building. Eight people were killed, and two people were wounded, between November 23 and 29 in Arauca (total population is less than 300,000 people).

The two guerrilla groups in Arauca (FARC and ELN) have been fighting against each other for the past three years, and that conflict is worsening. Both groups have targeted civilians that they view as supporting the other side. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands have had to flee from their homes in the countryside.

I traveled in a bus filled with Carlos’ friends from Arauquita to Fortul for the wake and funeral on November 30. I met his spouse Luz Mila and their two daughters – Luz Linney (8 years old) and Clara Lisbet (3 years old).

I was overwhelmed by the intelligence and insight of Luz Linney. She came up to me and very politely asked if she could ask me a question. She wanted to know where I was from and I responded by asking if it looked to her like I was from Colombia – which elicited a smile and laughter.

She asked me later on why I was taking so many photos and if I was a reporter. I told her that I’m somewhat like a reporter in that I send reports to people in the United States about life here in Arauca.

The next day, she sat down next to me and said, “Yesterday was hard. Today is better...How have things been going for you?” She then asked if people in Colombia receive my reports. She has relatives in Bogotá who weren’t able to attend the funeral and she was concerned that they would see the photos. “If they see the photos, they’ll be very sad,” she told me.

She then asked to see the photos. Some of the images reflect intense pain and sadness, and at one point I told her we could look at the photos some other time. “Let’s keep going,” she replied.

After we looked at all the photos, she said “You didn’t get a photo of my uncle when he was crying so hard.” I replied that I try to take a few photos that show people’s emotions but I also try to respect their privacy (a balance that is difficult to achieve). She seemed to understand because she said, “Some of the photos are sad, some are happy, and some are neither one nor the other.” We then looked at a few of the photos in reverse order as she told me which were sad, happy, or neither one.

The conversation with Luz Linney took place in the home of Maria Ruth (where I stay in Arauquita). Maria Ruth and Carlos were close friends, and she is very concerned that she and her spouse Armando could also be targeted by the ELN. Maria Ruth is the Arauquita representative of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, a member of the Arauquita municipal council, and a leader of the Democratic Alternative Pole opposition party. She traveled to Montana and the Northwest for a speaking tour in April. Maria Ruth and her family will be leaving Arauca for a while because of the increasing threat against them.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

Explosion Targets Our Home

2008-11-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Last night at 8:35 P.M., an explosive was set-off in the entrance of the social organizations building where I live in Saravena. No one was hurt but windows were shattered on the first and second floors of the building (see attached photos). I was in Arauquita at the time and I returned here early this morning.

The explosive didn't contain any shrapnel and it appears that the intention was to scare and intimidate us, rather than hurt anyone. Leaders of the social organizations that operate in the building believe that the explosive was set-off either by a FARC guerrilla or a government agent.

The guerrillas of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the ELN (National Army of Liberation) have been fighting against each other for the past three years here in the state of Arauca. Both groups profess to be fighting against the Colombian government to achieve social justice, but their conflict in Arauca is solely about the control of territory and economic resources.

In addition to killing each other, the FARC and ELN have also been operating like death squads in Arauca; displacing and killing civilians that they view as supporting the other side. They've also created a situation in which anyone could take action (set-off an explosive or kill someone) and make it look like it was part of the fight between the two groups.

The social organizations building is located in the center of Saravena, one-and-a-half blocks from a police guard post, two-and-a-half blocks from another guard post, and just four blocks from the police station.

The various social organizations have written public denunciations about the explosion and are determined to continue forward with their non-violent struggle for social justice.

I'll be moving to a room on the third floor later today, further away from the street and with bulletproof glass.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

March for Freedom

2008-11-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

More than 500 people participated in a mass and march in Arauquita on November 11 in protest of the mass arrest that occurred there the week before. Fourteen people were arrested for "rebellion" on November 4 including Martin Sandoval, president of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CPDH).

The March for Freedom and Dignity began with a mass in the central park. The young priest that welcomed people to the event talked about the need to speak out against the unjust arrests and to overcome the fear that people are feeling now in Arauquita. "It is legitimate to resist any authority that gravely and repeatedly violates the principles of natural law," stated the other priest during the homily. He also spoke out about "the many problems that this system of brutal capitalism has caused for us."

Ingrid stepped onto the stage with her son Christian in her arms after the mass (see attached photo). Her spouse, Jose, was arrested for "rebellion" during the previous mass arrest in Arauquita on January 12. Christian was born three months later on April 21. Ingrid told me "the environment in the Arauca City prison is very oppressive" and, because of that, she has only taken Christian there twice to see his father.

Martin wrote a letter from prison that was read before the start of the march. "If having an opinion that differs with the government, and denouncing the abuses that are committed in the name of law and justice is a crime; then they should convict me. But because they don't have any valid arguments, they will continue using all their tricks to convert lies into absurd truths which not even they, themselves, believe...If we all remain silent; the next victim could be you, a family member, or a good friend."

The people then marched through the main streets of Arauquita, passing in front of the police station where the 14 people had been taken the week before. Several families carried placards with photos of their loved ones, calling for their immediate release (see attached photo).

I accompanied CPDH leaders a few days later when they visited Martin and the others in the Arauca City prison on November 15. Martin told us that he knew the risks he was facing for defending human rights in the state of Arauca and that he had been prepared psychologically for the likelihood of being imprisoned. "This is a beautiful experience," he said. "We share everything with each other here." Martin also stated that the march in Arauquita "inspires us to keep going forward."

Guillermo Diaz is the president of the Afro-Colombian association and treasurer of the Laborers' union in Arauquita. He told me that he has five daughters - including a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old that he and his wife adopted as orphans. The police came to their house at 5:40 A.M. on November 4. He was handcuffed and taken away to the police station, and wasn't shown an arrest order until two hours later. Guillermo was the sole source of income for the family.

Yilmar Mina is a leader of the search and rescue team and a member of the Assembly of God church in Arauquita. The police called him to the station on November 4 with the pretext that they were going to give him radios for the team. When he arrived there at 5:45 P.M. he was arrested. Yilmar and his wife, Lisbeth, have three young children.

Martin told us, "We're paying the price for the public hearing and the visit to the prison." CPDH helped organize the public hearing of the House of Representatives human rights commission in Arauquita on July 31 and also organized a fiesta for the inmates of the Arauca City prison on October 10.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

Arrest of a Friend

2008-11-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

My friend, Martin Sandoval, was arrested along with 13 other people here in the town of Arauquita on November 4. He began a hunger strike the following day in protest of those arrests.

Martin is the president of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in the state of Arauca. He has consistently spoken out against the human rights violations committed by the Colombian government in the state – including mass arrests and the killing of civilians who are then reported as guerrillas killed in combat. He has also forcefully denounced the abuses committed against the civilian population by the FARC and ELN guerrillas in their fight against each other in Arauca.

Martin was arrested just four days after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, met with human rights activists in Arauca to discuss the difficult situation that they’re confronting in their work. The arrest also occurred just four weeks after the United Nations working group on arbitrary arrests visited Arauca to investigate the mass arrests that have taken place in the state.

The Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights organized a fiesta in the Arauca City prison on October 10 – to provide solidarity for the prisoners and lift their spirits for a few hours. Martin greeted the inmates on behalf of the Committee (see attached photo). He is currently being held in the Arauca City police station and will probably be entering the prison again soon – although, this time, not as a visitor.

The Committee also helped organize a public hearing of the House of Representatives human rights commission in Arauquita on July 31 which was attended by more than 500 people. Martin and other community leaders denounced the persistent violation of human rights in Arauca. The leaders of the Committee believe that his arrest is due, in part, to retaliation for that hearing.

Maria Ruth Sanabria is the Arauquita representative for the Committee, and I organized her Montana and Northwest U.S. speaking tour in April. She called me on November 4 and said “I have bad news for you, my son, Martin has just been arrested,” as her voice began to break.

I arrived in Arauquita two hours later and went to the police station to enquire about Martin. The police commander told me that I couldn’t enter at that moment, but I could come back in 20 minutes at noon. When I returned shortly after noon, the prisoners were being loaded into a truck and were then taken to the Arauquita military base. We arrived at the base in time to see the helicopter land that, a few minutes later, took the prisoners away to the 18th Military Brigade headquarters in Arauca City.

Martin and the others are charged with rebellion, conspiracy and terrorism. The primary “evidence” in many of the previous mass arrests in Arauca has been the testimony of supposed former guerrillas that receive compensation for their collaboration.

Guillermo Diaz was one of the 13 people arrested along with Martin. Guillermo is the treasurer of the Laborer’s union and president of the Afro-Colombian association in Arauquita. Jose Ortiz, a young man who is studying accounting in the National Training Institute, was also arrested. José was the only source of financial support for his elderly mother. Reynel Cifuentes and Olegario Araque, who both have disabilities, were also among those arrested.

The news on the day of the arrests was dominated by the U.S. elections. Our friends from Arauquita, including Martin, want to believe that Barack Obama will represent a change from the policies of George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

Dancing in Prison

2008-10-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

I went to a great party in the Arauca City prison on October 10. The Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights organized the fiesta to provide solidarity for the prisoners and lift their spirits for a few hours.

More than 60 people traveled to the prison from Arauquita – including two very-talented high school dance troupes and two great musical groups. Packages of food and personal items were delivered to the 87 prisoners from Arauquita, who then decided to share those amongst all the 286 inmates of the prison.

Mejia, the MC, organized an impromptu dance contest with the five female prisoners at the party – partnering them with five of their male colleagues. After the contest, the dancers grabbed other partners from the crowd and the party kicked into high gear!

Mejia danced with one of the prisoners and then called me out to finish the song (see attached photo). Later on, we sat down to talk and she told me about her experiences.

Flor Díaz is a great dancer, mother of four children, health promoter, devout Catholic, and is serving six-and-a-half years in prison for “rebellion.”

Flor was the board secretary of the Arauca Peasant Association and she told me “I continue defending human rights and I’m paying the price for that.” She was detained by the secret police (DAS) when she was in Arauca City on February 14, 2006 for a medical appointment. The police didn’t present her with an arrest order until two hours later.

Marcela, Flor’s oldest daughter, was 18 years old when her mother was imprisoned. She suddenly had to assume the responsibility of taking care of her three siblings – Viviana, who was 8 years-old; Fernando, 11; and Edwin, 14. The four of them have occasionally gone hungry, but they’ve stayed together as a family.

As a single mother, Flor requested that she be granted house arrest so that she could care for her children. That request was denied because she was considered to be a danger to society and to her own children.

Flor’s trial on January 23, 2007 lasted for 15 minutes. None of the six witnesses that testified during the investigation appeared in court. The judge left the courtroom before the trial began and the prosecutor declared her to be guilty of rebellion.

Flor worked as a rural health promoter for 14 years and she’s continuing that work by caring for the health of the other inmates. She’s also continuing her role as a catechist. “In these circumstances if you’re not spiritually strong, you’ll fall apart,” she said.

Her primary concern is the violation of children’s rights, including those of her own children – the right to be with their mother and to not suffer from hunger.

Flor was very glad to hear that the Arauca Peasant Association is continuing its work in spite of the repression against the organization. Luz Perly Cordoba, the founding president, spent a year in prison for rebellion and is now living in exile. An arrest order was issued for the second president last year, and another member of the board was imprisoned for rebellion in January.

“There’s nothing else to do but to cry and to keep going forward,” Flor concluded.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

A Mother's Birthday Gift

2008-09-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

“This is the best gift that God could give me: bringing Nelson here today,” said Rosa on August 22. It was Rosa’s birthday and she was spending the afternoon in Saravena circuit court at the preliminary hearing for her son, Nelson Prieto. Nelson is a leader of the health workers union in Saravena who was arrested for “rebellion” on July 17, 2007 and imprisoned in Arauca City. He was brought to Saravena for the hearing.

I met Nelson during the commemoration of the first anniversary of the killing of his father, Jorge Prieto, and two other community leaders - Alirio Martinez and Leonel Goyeneche. The three men were executed by the military in the community of Caño Seco on August 5, 2004.

The last time I had seen Nelson was in September 2006 when we traveled in the same plane from Saravena to Bogotá and he expressed his concern about the persecution against him. This time he told me, “Being in prison is very difficult. Please tell people about my case.”

Nelson had been arrested previously for rebellion on November 12, 2002 during the first mass arrest in Saravena. More than 2,000 people were rounded up by the military and police that morning and taken to the sports arena. They were forced to walk past a truck in which two informants pointed out the people to be detained. Nelson and 42 others were charged with rebellion and imprisoned in Bogotá. He spent 15 months in prison before being granted conditional release.

Carmen, Nelson’s spouse, told me that she would take the 5 A.M. bus on Saturday from Saravena to Bogotá – a 12 hour trip. She would spend Saturday night on the sidewalk in front of the La Picota prison in order to visit Nelson on Sunday – the day for women to visit the prisons in Colombia.

Carmen now leaves Saravena at 2:30 A.M. on Sunday to get in line outside the Arauca City prison by 5 A.M. Yajaira (9 years old) and Sebastian (11 years old), their two children, travel to the prison every three months to visit their father. The last time they had seen Nelson was on May 25 and they were very happy to be with their father again in court.

The judge in the first case declared Nelson and the others to be innocent in 2006. That decision was appealed by the prosecutor. The Bogotá superior court upheld the innocent verdict last month and disqualified the testimony of the witnesses in the case.

Nelson is now in prison for the same crime for which two courts have declared him to be innocent. The “evidence” against him is the testimony of the same witness from the first case. That witness claims to be a former guerrilla, and he entered a government demobilization program in 2003. He states that he attended a meeting of guerrilla commanders in which Nelson was present in 2005 – two years after entering the government program.

The “investigation” against Nelson was carried out by the Support Unit of the prosecutor’s office based in the 18th military brigade headquarters in Arauca City. That unit was established in 2001 to investigate cases of “terrorism” – specifically defined as attacks against the pipeline that transports oil from Occidental Petroleum’s oilfield in Arauca to the Caribbean coast for shipment to the U.S. Nelson is charged with rebellion, not terrorism.

Nelson’s lawyers requested that the case be dismissed because he’s already been tried for this same crime and the Support Unit doesn’t have the authority to investigate cases other than terrorism. The prosecutor even agreed with them in relation to being tried twice for the same crime. Nelson’s lawyers also requested that if the case were to continue, that he be granted house arrest.

The judge ignored the concerns of the defense and the prosecutor, and denied the motions to dismiss the case and the request for house arrest.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

P.S. I will be in the U.S. and Canada during September for my annual pilgrimage to the Canadian Rockies. The week of September 15, I’ll be speaking in United Church of Christ congregations in Montana – Billings, Red Lodge, Big Timber, Bozeman, Butte and Missoula. If you’d like to attend one of those presentations, please let me know and I’ll send you the date, time and location.

(Photo of Rosa, Nelson, Yajaira and Sebastian outside the Saravena circuit court)

Subversive Memory

2008-08-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

The police intelligence agent was aiming through the gun slot of the guard post at the people who were marching through Saravena on August 5. He was crouched down below the bullet-proof glass window and was photographing the people that were commemorating the fourth anniversary of the killing of three beloved community leaders.

An army truck then rushed to the front of the march and several soldiers jumped out with automatic rifles. One of the soldiers was also armed with a camera and he started taking photos, as well. Two soldiers on motorcycles rode through the people at the front of the march and then roared away.

More than a thousand people marched along the main streets of Saravena that day in the subversive act of honoring the memory of Alirio Martinez, Leonel Goyeneche and Jorge Prieto. During the early morning of August 5, 2004, soldiers took the three men out of Jorge’s home in Caño Seco and executed them. Vice President Santos and Defense Minister Uribe said that the men were guerrillas who had shot at the soldiers, and the soldiers then shot back in self-defense.

Alirio was the president of the state Peasant Association, Leonel was the director of an alternative adult high school in Saravena, and Jorge was the president of the Saravena health workers union.

A “memory gallery” was created in front of the social organizations’ building in Saravena on August 4 (see attached photo). Three banners were hung from the second floor with the names of Alirio, Leonel and Jorge. Photos of people who had been killed by the government security forces and the right-wing paramilitaries were then placed in front of the building.

Hundreds of people gathered together that evening to honor the victims of government violence in the state of Arauca. During a very moving ceremony, candles and flowers were placed by the photos, people held hands in a moment of silence, and then joined together in applause.

The march the following day ended at a sports arena. Father Teodoro and other priests from the churches of Saravena held a mass there for Alirio, Leonel and Jorge. During the homily, Fr. Teodoro called for “an end to the killings, mass arrests, hunger and poverty.”

Three of the family members then spoke in honor of their loved ones. Aide was 21-years-old when her father, Alirio, was killed. The last time she saw him alive was in January 2003 when she left Colombia to attend medical school in Cuba. She had decided to follow her father’s example of service to the community by studying to become a doctor. She is now in her sixth year of medical school and will graduate next year.

“Papa, your light shines in us, in each of our hearts, and we will uphold your example,” said Aide. “Today your life nourishes the ground on which the new Colombia for which you struggled will arise.”

Abdon Goyeneche is a teacher, like his brother Leonel. He talked about his brother and he also described being arrested shortly after the second anniversary of the killing in 2006. Abdon was charged with “rebellion” and spent ten months in prison. Luis Ernesto Goyeneche, another brother, was arrested for “rebellion” in December 2006 and is still in prison in Arauca City.

Cesar Prieto came up to the stage with his niece, one of Jorge’s daughters. Jorge’s son, Nelson, spoke during the first anniversary of the killing but was unable to attend this year. Nelson was a leader of the Saravena health workers union, and he was arrested for “rebellion” in February 2007 and is still in prison in Arauca City.

One of the slogans of the social movement here is “Arauca exists, insists, and resists!” Honoring the memory of Alirio, Leonel and Jorge was a powerful expression of that resistance.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

"Guerrilla killed in combat"

2008-07-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Aicardo Ortiz was shot to death inside his home by members of the Calibio Battalion at approximately 5:30 A.M. on July 8. Aicardo was 58 years old and suffered health problems. The army reported him as a guerrilla who had been killed in combat.

I was visiting the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) in the city of Barrancabermeja that week and we were asked by the Cimitarra River Valley Peasant Association to accompany a mission to Aicardo’s house on July 10. The mission included a representative of the presidential human rights office, five investigators from the prosecutor’s office, and two non-governmental human rights lawyers.

Aicardo lived in a ten foot by ten foot wood structure above a small corral a few miles from the community of San Francisco. The investigators spent more than three hours analyzing the scene and then some of us were allowed to enter the house. When I got to the doorway, I saw the large stain on the floor (two photos of Aicardo’s house are attached, although you may prefer not to view the second image of the inside of the house).

When members of the community arrived at the house after the killing, Aicardo’s body was laying on the ground outside. Either Aicardo had somehow been able to get off the floor and make his way down the steps after losing so much blood, or his body had been moved from the house.

Initially, there were also a two-way radio, grenade and revolver by the body. Similar items have been planted by soldiers in previous cases of what are called here “extrajudicial executions” or “false positives.” In this case, the radio was later removed by one of the soldiers, and the grenade was removed and detonated allegedly for safety concerns.

The Calibio Battalion is utilizing four informants from San Francisco who apparently told the soldiers there were three guerrillas in Aicardo’s house. When Aicardo didn’t open the door for the soldiers that morning, they forced it open and shot him.

When we returned to San Francisco, Lieutenant Florez had a brief and very tense meeting with the community. He had been in charge of the operation on July 8, and he stated that everything was done legally and there had been an exchange of gunfire.

Two days later, Wilson Ramirez (commander of the Calibio Battalion) was quoted in the Vanguardia Liberal newspaper as stating “the troops reported an armed confrontation, but it appears that never existed.” In relation to the supposed guerrillas in the house, he was quoted “I have information that there were not those guerrillas in the house.”

The president has put pressure on the military to “show results” and national and international human rights organizations have repeatedly expressed concern about extrajudicial executions in Colombia.

“The international accompaniment (of the mission) was very valuable and it encourages people to speak out” said Carlos, regional coordinator of the peasant association. “The people feel strong and protected, and we’d like to have continuous accompaniment” added Evaristo, another leader of the association.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

The "War on Drugs"

2008-07-01T15:03:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

The helicopter swooped by a couple hundred yards away, just above the trees, as we were traveling to the community of Malvinas on June 12. We stopped at a house alongside the road and heard more helicopters. We then saw the two planes that were spraying herbicide in the U.S.-financed “war on drugs.”

One of the planes flew directly overhead - in the photo you can see the tubing attached to the wing that is used for the fumigation. The plane was escorted by two helicopters which each had machine guns pointing out of both doors.

Peasant and human rights organizations have repeatedly denounced that the fumigations damage food crops and human health. On June 25 and 26, I traveled with representatives of the Joel Sierra Human Rights Foundation to visit farms that had been fumigated in the municipality of Arauquita.

Luis Alfonso and Amilia have four children and live in a small, dirt-floored, house alongside their field of corn and yuca. They don’t have any coca (the raw material used to manufacture cocaine) but their farm was still fumigated on June 10. The plants have withered and will not produce any harvest (see attached photo). Luis Alfonso borrowed money to plant the crops, and now he won’t be able to pay that money back nor does he know how he’ll be able to provide for the family.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) detected approximately 6,700 acres of coca here in the state of Arauca in 2001 (the peak year, according to their figures). Between 2003 and 2007, nearly 60,000 acres were fumigated in the state during five rounds of spraying. The amount of coca detected by the UNODC in Arauca at the end of 2007 was 5,300 acres – the largest amount since 2001.

While the policy of massive aerial fumigation has failed to reduce coca cultivation in Colombia, it has generated substantial income for several U.S. corporations:

1. DynCorp, a corporation of retired soldiers and soldiers-for-hire, has the State Department contract for drug eradication and interdiction in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Pakistan – with the primary focus being the aerial fumigations in Colombia. DynCorp receives $174 million per year for that contract.

2. United Technologies manufactures Black Hawk helicopters and received $234 million for the eighteen Black Hawks given to Colombia as part of Plan Colombia - a huge increase in U.S. military aid pushed through Congress by Bill Clinton in 2000 using the justification of the “war on drugs.”

3. Textron manufactures Huey helicopters and received $81 million for the forty two Hueys given to Colombia as part of Plan Colombia.

4. Monsanto manufactures the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup) that has been used to fumigate more than 2.5 million acres in Colombia during the last eight years.

According to peasant and human rights organizations in Arauca, the fumigations also benefit the oil corporations by causing people to abandon the rural areas where oil exploration is occurring. Occidental Petroleum (a U.S. corporation), Repsol (a Spanish corporation), and Ecopetrol (a corporation primarily owned by the Colombian government) are currently exploring several new oilfields in Arauca.

The peasant organizations in Arauca are calling on the government to halt the fumigations. The peasants have expressed their willingness to manually eradicate the coca in exchange for assistance with alternative crops and marketing that would enable them to provide for their families. In the last two weeks, some of the peasants have already started eradicating even though the government has not agreed to the proposal.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

ACTION ALERT

2008-05-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

Centro De Intercambio Y Solidaridad, -CIS- May 2008

“MONSEÑOR OSCAR ARNULFO ROMERO COMMUNITY” IN TONACATEPEQUE

THREATENED WITH EVICTION

v Support their struggle to purchase the land where they live.

v Help with emergency aid for rain damage, and for a family whose home burned down

The community, located in the Department of San Salvador and the Municipality of Tonacatepeque, chose the name “Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero” because Msgr. Romero was their source of hope in their darkest hours: during war, and after Hurricane Mitch (1998) and the earthquakes of 2001. The community took refuge in Romero’s radical option for the poor.

No history is simple in El Salvador and this community has its story, too. The Oscar Arnulfo Romero community made up of 98 families, originating from San Vicente, Usulután, Soyapango, San Martin, Chalatenango, among others, with the common thread that they are families without land, affected by the war, Hurricane Mitch, and the 2001 earthquakes, are poor, and excluded. They came together to settle on this land, owned by the government’s “Social Fund for Housing” (Fondo Social para la Vivienda). They chose the land to take over, knowing there would be the possibility to negotiate the settlement due to the Constitution which guarantees dignified housing (Art. 119). The “Social Fund for Housing” is set up precisely to respond to this need.

When the community members illegally settled on the land on March 28, 2005, they were met violently by the riot policy and four community members were thrown in jail. Nonetheless, with nowhere else to go, the community was persistent in its action and would not be deterred. One year later, March 24, 2006, it was recognized as a legal association in Tonacatepeque by the FMLN-led City Council and was legally recognized on April 26, 2006 when its bi-laws were published in the Official Diary of the Salvadoran Government. The Government’s “Social Fund for Housing” recognized their settlement as legitimate when it offered them the option of purchasing the land in 2006. FUNDASAL (Salvadoran Foundation for Development and Basic Housing), the oldest and most respected housing NGO in El Salvador, offered to finance the purchase of 6 manzanas of land (about 10.38 acres).

The community, with strong will and organization, worked together to get water and electricity installed in their tin-and-cardboard houses. They went to the Government water utility, ANDA, which agreed to install water in the community in 2006. The private electric company also agreed to install electrical lines, after the community went through all the legal and paper work. In July 2006 the Social Fund for Housing promised the community members that they could stay on the land if they could come up with $8,671.94 per manzana which was verified in a meeting in October 2007. In November 2007, FUNDASAL agreed to finance the purchase of 6 manzanas for $52,031.64; the community would pay them back at a manageable rate with no interest and doing the technical measurements and legal divisions of the land. Things were looking good for the future of this humble community and their organization was paying off.

The community’s problems began when ARENA won the municipal elections and took power on May 1, 2006. Since then, Mayor Gilberto Erroa has led an attack on the community and is pressuring them to change their name. The mayor says he will give them land, water and electricity if they change their name. On principle the community is not willing to change their name; in addition, they see it as a trap, since they have legal recognition under that name, they would lose legal backing if they changed their name. The community had an agreement the water utility ANDA and the electric company to provide utilities which the community would pay for. Both utilities agreed, but as part of the legal process in El Salvador, they need the signature of local authorities -- in this case, the Mayor. The Mayor, Gilberto Erroa, refused to sign the permission, calling the families in the community “usurpers and illegals”. A false charge, given that by this time their possession of the land had been recognized by various government and non-governmental entities.

At the same time the Mayor got a commitment from 18 of the 98 families to support the ARENA party and change the name of the community to “Nuevo Manantial”. The Mayor rewarded them for splitting from the Monsignor Romero community by providing them with a water fountain and promising that they could stay on the land, while the other families would be evicted. He formed a parallel community council and refused to authorize the board members of the legal community council.

After the October 2007 meeting with FUNDASAL and the Social Fund for Housing, FUNDASAL wrote a letter in November of 2007 committing to pay for the land. However, the Social Fund for Housing replied that it had decided to sell the land to the Salvadoran Institute for Agrarian Reform (ISTA). The Administrative Manager of FUNDASAL, Miguel Francisco Galdamez Rojas in a letter dated February 15, 2008, states that in a meeting on February 1, 2008, the decision was taken by the Board of Directors to sell the land to ISTA. An article in the El Salvador’s daily paper, “El Diario de Hoy” dated March 27, 2007, cites ISTA’s central manager as saying that 1) it will buy 8 manzanas of the land and distribute it to poor families, and 2) It will pay $1.35 million for the land, quite a sizable amount larger that the value quoted by the Social Fund for Housing. The same article states that ISTA will give the land to poor families that can prove their stay on the land. Yet the 80 families that have been living on the land for 3 years have not been invited to meetings attended by ISTA representative Benjamin Juarez and Mayor Erroa. The community has been repeatedly threatened with eviction. The Mayor has no legal say over the land and at least to date ISTA is not the legal owner of the land. The arbitrary acts of ISTA representative Benjamin Juarez and Mayor Erroa, given that the Constitution of El Salvador protects the possession and right to property. In a meeting with the Community Board of Directors and leadership of ISTA on May 22^nd, in fact, Ing. Mauricio Rivera in charge of purchasing land for ISTA clarified that ISTA did not have the money to purchase the land and it was not the intention of ISTA to acquire land in dispute or evict the poor.

The community members approached the CIS looking for support for their cause. The CIS has made a commitment to accompanying the community in its struggle for their land, legal status, water, and electricity. The community has joined the CIS community network for Cooperation and Solidarity. Communities have pledged to accompany the families if they are threatened with eviction. The CIS has agreed seek legal support for the community. At the current moment, the community is in negotiations with the different actors in their case: Social Fund for Housing, FUNDASAL, the Mayor and City Council of Tonacatepeque, ISTA, and the Commission for Justice and Human Rights of the Legislative Assembly.

The 98 families of “Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero Community” need your support:

1. The community board of directors has asked for letters, phone calls or faxes (preferably in Spanish) to the Fondo Social para la Vivienda President and executive Director, Ing. Enrique Oñate and to the Legislative Assembly, calling for:

The FONDO SOCIAL PARA LA VIVIENDA to sell the 6 manzanas occupied by 98 families of Comunidad Oscar Arnulfo Romero in Toncatepeque to FUNDASAL, IMMEDIATELY, and comply with their mission to “finance agile and efficient housing solutions, providing favorable and sustainable credit conditions, satisfying the social necessity for workers and other population groups, to contribute to elevate their living conditions and reduce the habitational deficit” (http://www.fsv.gob.sv)

Presidente y Director Ejecutiva Fondo Social de Vivienda

Ing. Enrique Oñate

Calle Rubén Darío y 17 Ave. Sur, #901

San Salvador

Telephone: 011-503-2231-2000; 011-503-2222-3119; 2281-0988

Fax: 011-503-2271-2910

Also – write the Comision de Justicia y Derechos Humanos (Commission for Justice and Human Rights), of the Legislative Assembly, asking them to use their good offices to resolve the conflict over land in the Romero Community and to guarantee that the Fondo Social para la Vivienda sell the land to FUNDASAL so it can offer housing to family’s in need.

Asamblea Legislativa, Centro de Gobierno

Edeficio de Comisiones, Comision de Justicia y Derechos Humanos

Presidente: Diputada Irma Amaya

San Salvador, El Salvador

Fax: 011-503-2281-9526

E-mail: comision_justicia@asamblea.gob.sv

***Please send copies of correspondence to: cis_elsalvador@yahoo.com

Additionally,

2. The community has asked CIS for financial support for families living in precarious conditions. Now that the rain has started (May 1 – Nov. 1), people’s homes are leaking, and they would like tin to reinforce their homes until they have permission to build permanent homes. A sheet of tin is $13. If we give five sheets of tin per family, the total cost is $65 per family. There are 98 families in the community. The families in the most precarious conditions will be prioritized.

3. When CIS and a delegation from Dominican University in Chicago visited the community on May 15, the home of a single mother, Nolvia Segura Rico, and her 8 and 10 year old daughter and son, burned to the ground. They lost everything except the clothing on their back. The community has requested $766 to rebuild her home and $515 for a small stove, table and chairs, a bed and a bunk bed. The CIS is collecting used clothing, blankets, and basic food at the CIS for the family as well. A candle fell over, which would not have happened if the mayor would have authorized access to electricity. Additionally, the community could not put the fire out due to Mayor Erroa’s denial of potable water in the community.

Tax deductible donations can be sent in U.S. dollars to: Los Olivos CIS / PO BOX 76 / Westmont, IL 60559-0076. Make a note “Romero Community”.

Argentina: A Different Kind of Land Occupation

2008-05-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Written by Shane Kavanagh
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
"This is going to be a different type of occupation," say the people of Tierra y Libertad (Land and Freedom), a land occupation on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The name of their group gives an idea of what they intend. The occupation began on March 29th this year when 40 families entered a small parcel of land in La Matanza and began setting up a community. Since then the occupation has grown to over 135 families and has continued to organize and resist eviction in the face of intimidation and violence. Land occupations are not unusual in the poorest suburbs surrounding Buenos Aires (the neighbouring land was occupied 3 years ago), but what sets this apart is the vision for another kind of community. All decisions are taken by popular assembly and political parties and the associated mechanisms of party politics have been consciously excluded. In place of this is a plan that includes two community centres, one for meetings and activities and another one for two common brick and bread ovens. The history of the land itself gives an idea of the extent of corruption at the local level that exists is this suburb. While the land officially belongs to the Insituto de la Vivienda de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (Department of Housing for the Provence of Buenos Aires) it has already been occupied by a local business figure who has also occupied a number of similar parcels of land and used them for his own business interests or has sold some of them off for his own profit. Locals describe a system of intimidation and violence linked to the protection of these interests and the people at Tierra y Libertad have had to endure nights of gunfire, the wounding in the shoulder of one of the community and death threats to maintain their current occupation. Solidarity has arrived from a wide variety of groups and social movements. While people in surrounding suburbs have had mixed views about the occupation many have arrived to lend resources and support. Alongside them are people and groups from other grassroots organisations including Madres Plaza Mayo, and an anarcho-feminist collective that is donating clothes for fund raising and is going to provide education on violence and unwanted pregnancy prevention. Sunday has been designated as an open day where many arrive to spend the day and has included a clothes fair, barbeques, videos and community volleyball. After surviving its first difficult month, Tierra y Libertad is attempting to reinforce its presence and organise to resist attempts at eviction. Homes are being built, electricity is being extended to all and land it being cleared. Support for the community will be crucial over the coming months to resist eviction and reinforce the community.

US Naval Fleet to Be Positioned Off the Coast of South America

2008-05-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

The news from the Pentagon that the US is re-establishing its Fourth Naval Fleet in the Caribbean, ostensibly to "build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts" unfortunately shows that the days a US military threat to Latin America are far from over.

Furthermore, it underlines the need for the countries of Latin America to develop a new, independent military doctrine that replaces the US-backed and developed ‘National Security Doctrine’ which provided the rationale for so much terror and bloodshed throughout the region between the 1950s and 1990s, and which subordinated Latin American security interests to those of their northern neighbour. (The Fourth Fleet has not been used in the region since 1950.)

The re-establishment of the Fourth Fleet comes at a time when much of Latin America is emerging from under the imperial shadow, with Paraguay being the latest country to elect a left-wing leader. Paraguay joins a growing list of countries seeking an independent, more egalitarian and just path towards development, in direct contrast to the decades of US backed dictatorships and neoliberalism. This growing independence is a direct threat to North American domination of the region, traditionally seen as its strategic resource reserve and ‘backyard’.

The nuclear aircraft carrier-equipped US Navy fleet will provide an offshore base from which to observe, threaten, coordinate and possibly launch black operations. This is the role that similar naval groups have carried out in the past, in the Persian Gulf, against Nicaragua, and off the coasts of Brazil and Chile. They can also be rapidly expanded to provide air and logistical support for larger operations, such as the invasions of Grenada and Panama in 1983 and 1989 respectively. This is the reality that underlies the talk of ‘counter-narcotics operations’ and ‘cooperation with regional partners’ and it is the reality that the governments of Latin America must prepare for.

The creation of this fleet does nothing to lower the tensions caused by the Colombian regimes attack into Ecuadorean territory, and will in fact heighten the threat of war in the region. Colombian aggression is underpinned by its close alliance with the United States, an alliance secured through the huge amounts of US military aid which sustain the current Colombian government. Colombia already has the largest, and most advanced military in the region, and with US Navy air and logistical support will have a vastly increased offensive potential, something that is a direct threat to stability in the region.

The target of this threatening move is without doubt the government of President Chavez in Venezuela. The democratic Bolivarian revolution is at the heart of the new independence movement in Latin America, and has, through its example, inspired millions throughout the region to challenge the neoliberal economic model. With its revolutionary project to construct a 21st century socialism, Venezuela challenges US ideological hegemony, and thus threatens to undermine and destroy the dominance of US championed free-market capitalism, which in turn threatens to end the days of US access to cheap raw materials extracted from Latin America.

Although Venezuela is currently the biggest US target in the region, it is not the only one. Cuba still stands defiantly challenging US hegemony having withstood 50 years of naked aggression in every sphere. Bolivia has elected the continent’s first indigenous president, promising to end 500 years of exploitation and subjugation. Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina have all elected left of centre governments that are in some measure challenging US hegemony in the region.

The US has re-established the Fourth Fleet in a direct move against this new ‘pink tide’. A threat, and a statement of intent to remind all those in the region that the imperial master may be occupied elsewhere, but his reach is still long. As ever, where there is an imperial power, there are imperial servants, with no greater one than Alvaro Uribe of Colombia who sits at the head of the most bloodthirsty government that Latin America has seen since the vicious, genocidal wars waged against the peoples of Guatemala and El Salvador. The Fourth Fleet is doubtless also meant to shore up this US ally, and ensure that he can continue to provoke and destabilise the region. Such provocation could be used as the rationale for a direct US intervention in the region, as was the premise in the NATO exercise "Operation Balboa", which rehearsed the invasion of western Venezuela by combined NATO forces with Panamanian and Colombian assistance.

Such a possibility underlines the need, now more than ever, for Latin American governments to develop a common defensive strategy. For too long the nations of what Marti called ‘Nuestra America’ (Our America) and Bolivar the ‘Patria Grande’, have remained divided, easy prey for foreign governments and corporations. Latin American militaries have been blinded by a vision of patriotism and sovereignty that only understands borders, and wilfully ignores the fact that there is no ‘patria’ beyond the people, and that there is no sovereignty when natural resources can be plundered in the interests of the wealthy few at home and abroad. The first steps towards this unity are being taken on a political and economic level by the establishment of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), and must be reinforced by an integrated defensive doctrine.

Given the history of US intervention in Latin America, with direct military interventions in Nicaragua, Haiti, Santo Domingo, Grenada, Panama and with covert interventions in Honduras, Guatemela, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chile and Brazil among others, it is not unreasonable for a future integrated doctrine also to be focused on resisting further interventions from the ‘Giant of the North’. The only way that this can be done is by developing a doctrine based around the concept of ‘the people in arms’, which was successful in defeating French and US interventions in Vietnam. This is the basis of Venezuela’s military reorganisation.

Such a re-alignment of Latin American militaries away from serving foreign interests is bound to be resisted fiercely by the United States government, and by its military industrial complex, who will doubtless categorise it as ‘threatening stability’ and being ‘anti-democratic’. As regional unity grows and coheres, it is likely that the US will ever more aggressively seek to sow discord and conflict among neighbours. Already the US has supported and helped plan a coup in Venezuela, has been accused of supporting the secession movement in Bolivia, and of assisting Colombia’s illegal and aggressive attack on Ecuadorean territory. It is highly unlikely that interference will end here, with the US already talking about extending the economic blockade of Cuba to include Venezuela.

The development of a capacity to resist aggression is not synonymous with the militarization of the region. Effective defence against external intervention is vital for economic and social development. Together with new visions of development based upon the concepts of solidarity and sustainability, a regional defensive doctrine forms part of the ongoing efforts to achieve true sovereignty. For too long the peoples of Latin America have been the victims of violence and terror, inflicted upon them by local elites in alliance with the US. It is time that they were able to stand up, and embark upon the construction of their societies independently and without fear.

El Salvador: Hector Ventura of the Suchitoto 14 Assassinated

2008-05-17T11:31:00.001-07:00

On Friday May 2nd, Hector Antonio Ventura was assassinated in the community of Valle Verde, Suchitoto. Ventura was the youngest of the 14 political prisoners captured in Suchitoto on July 2nd, 2007.

According to preliminary reports, Ventura was stabbed to death. Another victim, who was with Ventura, was attacked but survived. Reports say that the assailants were at least two men, who entered the back room of the house where Ventura and his friend slept and attacked them.

According to a 1994 report by the Joint Group for the Investigation of Illegally Armed Groups with Political Motivations in El Salvador, a Peace Accords initiative in response to the reappearance of armed groups after 1992, there are three key elements that qualify a political murder. These elements are that the victim is seen as a member of the political opposition, that the murder is planned with the goal of killing the specific victim, and that the assailants are granted impunity by the State. Because Ventura was a recently freed political prisoner and because the attack was not a random incident but demonstrated prior planning, the murder suggests political motives.

Ventura was killed days after having agreed to speak at the Day Against Impunity, an event planned to take place this coming July 2nd in Suchitoto, on the anniversary of last years capture of the Suchitoto 14 by police.

Yesterday in a press conference, Salvadoran legal and community organizations demanded that the Attorney General and National Civilian Police begin an extensive investigation of the case, one that investigates not only the assailants but also the intellectual authors of the assassination. They also request that the Ombudsperson for Human Rights act to protect the lives of the witnesses and verify that the case is investigated thoroughly.

Ventura´s murder is one of a number of assassinations of political opposition leaders and activists in El Salvador in the last few years, and one in a recent series of murders of young people in historically government opposition communities in the Suchitoto area during the last two weeks.

Lorena Araujo Martinez, president of CRIPDES said yesterday: ¨These atrocious crimes demonstrate why we must demand a complete investigation of this and the other murders with possible political motivations. We ask the national and international community, as they have stood with the Suchitoto 14 throughout the last 10 months, to keep working in solidarity to achieve justice for the victims of these crimes.¨

Colombian Journey - Speaking Tour

2008-03-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

(Maria Ruth with her twin daughters – Maria Jose and Maria Camila)

Dear friends,

I arrived here in Bogotá yesterday and I’m flying to Los Angeles tomorrow to arrange the final details for a Northwest speaking tour by Maria Ruth Sanabria (see schedule at end of message). Maria Ruth is a mother of six children who is risking her life to defend human rights in one of the most war-torn regions of Colombia. She is the Arauquita representative for the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights and was elected to the Arauquita municipal council in October as a candidate of the Alternative Democratic Pole opposition party.

Maria Ruth will be giving a presentation, “Women Waging Peace in Colombia,” that includes some of the photos that I’ve taken in the state of Arauca. The U.S. government is providing Colombia with $1.5 million per day in military aid – some of which is being used to protect Occidental Petroleum’s operations in Arauca. Maria Ruth will describe how women are resisting the war and waging peace, and how you can support them in their struggle.

Maria Ruth has been “displaced” (forced to flee from her home) several times because of her work to defend human rights. She fled from her hometown of San Alberto, Cesar when hired gunmen sought to kill her in 1988. Her first husband was assassinated two years later because of his involvement with the Patriotic Union opposition party. She fled from San Alberto again in 1994 to escape from a paramilitary death squad. She had to abandon the city of Bucaramanga the following year after the paramilitaries tracked her down there and she had to flee from the capital city of Bogotá when they located her there in 1996.

Maria Ruth has been living in Arauca for the past ten years. In addition to the threats from the government security forces, she has also been threatened by both of the guerrilla groups present in the state.

“Arauca is a very beautiful and fertile state that is being destroyed by the war and the oil corporations,” says Maria Ruth. “I want my children to be able to live in peace and to enjoy the rivers, estuaries and grasslands of Arauca. Instead of sending more weapons, we ask that the U.S. government use your tax dollars to provide support for schools, health care and decent housing – in Arauca, as well as the U.S.”

In love and solidarity,

Scott

Maria Ruth will be speaking in:

Helena, Montana on Monday, April 7 at 7 P.M. in 107 O’Connell Hall at Carroll College
Bozeman on Tuesday, April 8 at 7 P.M. in Strand Union Building Room 276 at Montana State University
Billings on Wednesday, April 9 at 7 P.M. in St. Andrew Presbyterian Church at 180 24th St. West
Butte on Thursday, April 10 at 7 P.M. in the Copper Lounge of the Student Union Building at Montana Tech
Kalispell on Monday, April 14 at 7 P.M. in the Blake Hall Board Room at Flathead Valley Community College
Hamilton on Thursday, April 17 at 7 P.M. in the First Presbyterian Church at 1220 West Main Street
Missoula on Sunday, April 20 at 6:30 P.M. in University Congregational Church at 405 University Avenue
Spokane on Monday, April 21 at noon in (location TBA) at Eastern Washington University and at 7 P.M. in the Wolff Auditorium of the Jepson Center at Gonzaga University
Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday, April 22 at noon in Todd Hall of the Molstead Library at North Idaho College
Twisp, Washington on Tuesday, April 22 at 7 P.M. in the Confluence Gallery
Bellingham on Wednesday, April 23 at noon in the Fairhaven College auditorium at Western Washington University, AND at 7 P.M. in the First Congregational Church of Bellingham at 2401 Cornwall Ave
Ellensburg on Thursday, April 24 at 7 P.M. in Black Hall 152 at Central Washington University
Portland on Monday, April 28 at 7 P.M. in the Portland Mennonite Church at 1312 SE 35th Ave.
Eugene on Tuesday, April 29 at 7 P.M. in (location TBA) at the University of Oregon
Corvallis on Wednesday, April 30 at noon in Waldo Hall 240 at Oregon State University
White Salmon, Washington on Thursday, May 1 at 7 P.M. in Bethel United Church of Christ at 480 E. Jewett Blvd.

CAJA Event

2008-03-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

Public Service Announcement

The Failures of NAFTA and New Ways to Move Forward

Community Action for Justice in the Americas will host an international panel of experts who will discuss free trade, immigration, and security.

Wednesday, April 9

6:00pm—Reception at the Badlander

7:00 pm—Panel at Palace Hotel (formerly Casa Pablo’s). All ages

Event sponsored by: Global Exchange, Central Labor Council, Forward Montana, Jeanette Rankin Peace Center, Students for Economic and Social Justice, UM Environmental Studies Dept, Helena Peaceseekers, IWW Montana

On April 15, Community Action for Justice in the Americas will gather together a panel of experts from the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Colombia to discuss how NAFTA and other free trade agreements have failed, and how citizens can forge a new way forward in the arenas of trade, immigration, and security in the Americas.

This panel of speakers from Global Exchange, Council of Canadians, Mexican Action Network on Free Trade, and the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Colombia will come together to sound a call to arms to the citizens of these countries to raise their voices in the fight for global integrity.

NAFTA is approaching its fifteenth birthday. Even with the human rights violations and economic failures attributed to this fair trade agreement, major corporations and executive branches of Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. are meeting behind closed doors to forge further agreements known as the Security and Prosperity Partnership. This subverts the democratic process by excluding public input and consultation with national legislatures.

Panelists

Carleen Pickard: Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians, which is Canada's largest citizens' organization with members and chapters across the country. Carleen works with communities to protect Canadian independence by promoting progressive policies on fair trade, clean water, safe food, public health care, and other issues of social and economic concern to Canadians.

Hector Sanchez: Policy Education Coordinator for Global Exchange's Mexico Program. He represents the program in Washington, D.C., where he coordinates efforts to inform and organize legislators and key organizations in support of new priorities on trade and immigration.

Manuel Perez Rocha: Associate Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C., Manuel directs an advocacy and research project on "the Security and Prosperity Partnership and the NAFTA Plus Agenda." Manuel works in coordination with the Alliance for Responsible Trade in the United States and is a member of the Mexican Action Network on Free Trade (RMALC). He has worked for more than a decade with Mexican and international civil society organizations and networks including the Hemispheric Social Alliance and Oxfam International doing advocacy work for fair economic relations among countries, particularly for trade with justice.

A Tense Calm Breaks

2008-02-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

“The present is uncertain and the future is uncertain,” Sonia told me on February 13. Sonia is the president of the Joel Sierra Human Rights Foundation here in Saravena, Arauca. There is a “tense calm” now and people are concerned about what will happen when that calm breaks.

“There was a calm period during 2007 and people started returning to their homes,” said Sonia. “Then there was a series of killings (in January 2008) and people had to leave their homes again.” After those killings, Sonia, her spouse Eduardo, and their two children left their home and moved into the social organizations building in Saravena. She and Eduardo are at risk from FARC militia members and, also, from the government security forces.

“We’re relatively safe here with protective security measures but I’m worried about my brother and my parents” she said. Sonia’s brother was detained in August 2006 by ELN guerrillas who accused him of being a supporter of the FARC guerrillas. Fortunately, his community reacted quickly and demanded his release – which saved his life.

“When the paramilitaries (right-wing armed groups allied with the military) couldn’t find the person they were looking for, they would kill someone else from that person’s family,” explained Sonia. “So far, that hasn’t happened in this conflict,” but she’s still concerned for her parents.

The ELN and FARC guerrillas have been present here in the state of Arauca for more than twenty years, and both groups claim to be fighting against the government in order to achieve social justice. However, for the past two years they’ve been fighting against each other in Arauca for the control of territory and resources – and that fight exploded again last month. Both groups have threatened, displaced and killed civilians that they view as supporting the other side.

In the midst of this insanity, Sonia and I felt the need to “desahogarnos” – let our feelings out. She described the process as “sharing our sorrows.” We talked about the difficulty of not knowing what’s going to happen next – you think that the situation can’t get any worse and then something happens and it does worsen. Most recently, the government took advantage of this situation to carry out another mass arrest in Saravena on January 31 - 20 people were arrested for “rebellion” and there are arrest orders out for 20 more people.

In addition to talking with Sonia, I continue to seek solace by going up to the terrace roof of the social organizations building to watch the sunset and the herons flying by to roost. Recently, I met two children up there who moved into the building with their family last month.

Yeini is nine-years-old and as we were talking she asked me, “Do you have a father?” I replied, “Yes, do you?” She said “No” and then told me that her father had recently died - Pedro Ruiz was the president of the community of Pueblo Seco and he was killed by FARC guerrillas on January 6. Hector is eight-years-old and he asked me, “Are you displaced?” He thought that everyone that lives in the building is “displaced” – having fled from their homes.

Yeini and Hector are very beautiful and resilient children. May they inspire us to confront all forms of violence and repression, and to take even more effective action to end the U.S. military aid that continues to fan the flames of war here in Arauca.

As I finished writing the above, the tense calm broke here in Saravena. The president of the Saravena city council was assassinated at 3 P.M. yesterday afternoon just a few blocks away from the social organizations building.

In love and solidarity,

Scott

El Salvador Needs Our Help!

2008-02-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

San Salvador, February 2008

Dear Friend:

We are writing you about El Salvador's upcoming elections and CIS international monitoring and observation work. Each election cycle presents a different set of challenges, and the upcoming 2009 elections will be no different. Already the rightwing legislature has implemented obstacles to a fair process and there are serious threats to the rights of civil society to seek change (see below). It is less than a year until the 2009 elections, and we are writing to invite your participation and support. This election cycle will be hotly contested, as civil society and the FMLN have united behind Mauricio Funes, the FMLN candidate for President. There are currently numerous ARENA candidates vying to represent the party in power, and the smaller parties are maneuvering for space. Your help is important to encourage a free and fair choice for the Salvadoran electorate.

The CIS Electoral Observation Missions conform to the principles set forth by the Carter Center, "To be effective, election-monitoring missions should begin long before Election Day, be invited by a country's national authorities and be welcomed by the major political parties. Observers analyze election laws, assess voter education and registration processes, and evaluate fairness in campaigns. The presence of impartial election observers deters interference or fraud in the voting process, and reassures voters that they can safely and secretly cast their ballots and that vote tabulation will be conducted without tampering." (From The Carter Center Democracy Program, www.cartercenter.org)

The ability of CIS to monitor the entire electoral process from the campaign through the vote and vote count and our subsequent report on the process has encouraged reforms that support the movement toward a true democracy in El Salvador. For example, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal redesigned the voting booth to attempt to guarantee a secret vote and has begun to implement a pilot program of residential voting.

Municipal and national assembly elections are held every 3 years and presidential elections every 5 years; every 15 years they fall on the same date. In 2009 elections for every public office will be held- Municipal, Legislative and Presidential. The right-wing parties that control the process have thrown up a roadblock by splitting the election into two different election days: January 18 and March 15, 2009. This doubles the effort and the expense of elections both for tax payers and political parties and diminishes the ability of opposition parties, which have smaller campaign budgets, to compete on a level playing field.

Other reforms that were passed in the Legislative Assembly in December 2007 take away safeguards for free and fair elections. For example, the ballot will no longer be signed or stamped at the voting table to guarantee its validity. Additionally, there will be 3 right wing political parties and three left political parties participating in the 2009 elections. Previously, all parties could have a representative at the table or there was a lottery, but a reform passed in December guarantees a seat at each and every voting table for all 3 right wing parties and only two of the three left parties, where decisions are made as to the validity of a vote.

For a nation to claim it is democratic, at some point there needs to be a change of government, an alternability of power. Elections are the vehicle in modern democracies that are intended to reflect the will of the people and promote equality in opportunity, and movement toward economic and social justice. For CIS, it is important to accompany a fair, honest and nonviolent electoral process in El Salvador in order to allow the maximum opportunity for the elections of 2009 to demonstrate the will of the majority of the people of El Salvador.

Civil rights are in jeopardy for the first time since the signing of the Peace Accords. Legal protests against water privatization provoked the unwarranted arrest of activists in July 2007. The activists face charges of terrorism and if convicted face many years in prison in upcoming trials in February 2008. After international protest, the Salvadoran Government changed its Penal Code so that charges of disorderly conduct are now a felony instead of a misdemeanor. As a result, union activists who protested against privatization of public health care are also facing prison terms, but under charges of "disorderly conduct".

Your presence in El Salvador as an organization and/or as individual observers will enrich your understanding of our world, as you accompany a people in search of social justice through an important moment in their history, which will prove critical as to whether or not a democratic society can be consolidated, as set forth as the objective of the 1992 Peace Accords.

Here are the ways you can support CIS International Observer Mission:

Be an international observer: In 2009, there will be two CIS International Election Observer missions. The first will be from January 12-20, 2009, and will observe the Mayoral and Legislative Elections. The second will be from March 9-17, 2009 and will observe the Presidential elections. You will receive observation training, orientation to the municipality where you will observe, observer credentials and information about the current situation in El Salvador from human rights officials, representatives of Salvadoran civil society, and with the political parties involved in the elections. Interpreters will be present with each group of observers and Spanish is not a requirement.
Volunteer and help set up the CIS Mission. CIS will be relying on a group of 3 and 6 month volunteers to plan and help out with the entire electoral cycle of 2009. If you have Spanish ability, and the desire to make this kind of commitment, please contact us. We need volunteers from October 2nd 2008 to April 2, 2009; January 2 to April 2, 2009 and January 2nd to July1, 2009 to write and present the report. Please send your C.V. and a letter of interest and the dates you will be available to: misionelectoral_cis@yahoo.
Donate to CIS Building Democracy Fund. CIS needs funds to be able to monitor the entire process; from legislation being passed that affects the process, civil rights trials pending, and the campaign, which extra officially has already begun. We are requesting that organizations and individuals consider giving a contribution of $500 to carry out election monitoring prior to the observer mission. This fund will also be used in a non-partisan manner to mobilize voters in rural areas to the polls, some of whom have to walk up to 15 kilometers to get to polling station or sacrifice a day's wages for transportation to vote in just one of the elections. Tax deductible donations can be made to "Los Olivos CIS", with Building Democracy Fund in the memo and sent to: Los Olivos CIS/ PO BOX 76 / Westmont, IL 60559-0076. Please notify us immediately if you are able to make a contribution: misionelectoral_cis@yahoo.com

Your participation in an International Election Observer Mission with CIS will be an invaluable tool to learn about the reality of El

Salvador. It will also be important to encourage the conduct of free and fair elections in El Salvador in 2009 and the construction of democracy in El Salvador. Thank you for your work and support or participation you can offer our program. We look forward to hearing from you.

Leslie Schuld,
CIS Director
lschuld@sbcglobal.net

Joe DeRaymond,
Election Mission Volunteer.
misionelectoral_cis@yahoo.com

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CIS:

Ave. Aguilares y Ave. Bolivar #103
Colonia Libertad
San Salvador, El Salvador
Telefonos: ++(503)2235-1330; 2226-5362
www.cis-elsalvador.org

Los Olivos CIS
PO Box 76
Westmont, IL 60559-0076