By Morning Star Gali:
Dear Berkeley City Council Members,
I applaud you for unanimously passing the Berkeley No-Border Wall Resolution at the beginning of this year and for hosting the Lipan and Chiricahua Apache representatives with a reception to speak on demilitarization on Thursday August 28th.
However, I find it disturbingly shameful that although you take the stand of supporting the demilitarization of borders along the US-Mexico imposed boundaries and supporting the Indigenous People's of that territory-- you have failed to come out in public support or recognition of the local Indigenous struggles within your own city and community.
Last month I attended a Berkeley City Council hearing pleading for you to act on filing the appeal against UC Berkeley in support of the Memorial Oak Grove with its militarized border fences that are commonly referred to as Guantanamo Berkeley.
With your inaction you failed to support the demilitarization of the Memorial Oak Grove, which is regarded as a sacred place and documented by UC Berkeley's own Anthropology Department of which it disclosed evidence of 2 shell mounds sites with 18 ancestral remains found within them.
Along with UC Berkeley's attempt to develop on a sacred place, they are guilty of housing over 17,000 sacred remains and objects. UCB currently holds the largest human remains collection in the United States of which it is not in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. UC Berkeley is guilty of classifying approximately 7,000 human remains as culturally unidentifiable and has been negligent to notify and consult with tribes. The University of California has created self imposed borders that deny Indigenous Peoples consultation with tribal leaders and representatives.
I am a member of the National Native American NAGPRA coalition which has publicly stated that although they are culturally unidentifiable to UC Berkeley, this does not mean that they are culturally unidentifiable to us. We know that they are our ancestors and we have a duty to bring them home.
As city council members, the land that you help to govern is occupied Ohlone territory. The sacred places, remains, and objects of the Ohlone people are guaranteed no protection within the city of Berkeley as Ohlone people are not a federally recognized nation. From the Mission to the Gold Rush Era over 98% of California Indian people were brutally exterminated in the name of gold and greed. Although our numbers are low, we are actively fighting to protect our land and our way of life.
UC Berkeley has continued the genocidal practices that were perfected across turtle island from east to west and continues to be a major obstacle in the healing of our nations by holding our sacred objects and remains hostage.
City Council Members, You have failed to condemn UC Berkeley in its continued disregard and disrespect of Native Peoples and federal law. There has been a failure to support the sacred area of the Oak Grove, support the return of the 19,000 remains and publicly object to the illegal reorganization of NAGPRA. As these are all connected, they are a continued violation of our human rights as Indigenous Peoples.
Yesterday, we were not even allowed to hold a peaceful prayer gathering and put tobacco offerings down onto the earth in front of the grove. Although the UC Chief of Police was directly informed of the gathering and the intention to put prayers down, the UC Police responded by violently arresting one person and pushing and shoving me while I was holding my two month old son. While I was trying to put offerings down on the ground, they violently attempted to put their hands on him and threatened to pull him out of my arms.
I ask you, where is the support of the city council of the struggles of the local Indigenous peoples of this territory? Respectfully,
Morning Star Gali Citizen of the Achumawi band of the Pit River NationCo-Chair, Advocates to Protect Sacred Sites-- Morning Star Gali
www.ifhurbanrez.org
September 8, 2008
Ontario refuses to protect abused Mohawk grandmothers
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE REFUSE TO PROTECT ABUSED GRANDMOTHER AND INTIMIDATES MESSENGERS
Mohawk Nation News Sep. 8, 2008. Since the brutal June 14th 2008 beatings of Mohawk grandmothers, Kahentientha and Katenies, at the Cornwall Ontario checkpoint, there has been no public inquiry and no apology.
On Sunday, September 7, 2008, Kahentinetha asked two friends to present an affidavit she signed laying a formal complaint with the Ontario Provincial Police to investigate the assault by the Canada Border Services Agents CBSA. Apparently all Ontario police are required to accept and properly process complaints submitted by the public.
About 3:00 pm her friends arrived at the OPP station in Lancaster Ontario just over the border from Quebec . It was locked with a sign directing them to use a phone. They explained their business. Eventually “Sgt. Legault” opened the door and allowed them into a small waiting room. He said he needed to finish dealing with another matter and to “get his ducks in a row”.
Eventually he returned and said he had no jurisdiction “to accept the complaint because the Canada-U.S. border was under the authority of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police”. He insisted that if the messengers waited, he could call the Akwesasne police so they could come there and he could give it to them. It sounded like they were already on their way.
He demanded to know the names, addresses and birthdates of the messengers. He asked if they had a lawyer. He brought up Kahentinetha’s brother, “Frank Horn’s”, name, a lawyer who was a witness to the beating. As it wasn’t appropriate for the OPP to make decisions about a complaint they refused to accept, the messengers left. It looks like the OPP don’t want to get involved in this “hot potato”. Is this why the medics refused to check over Katenies after the brutal attack? In 2005 Teiohontateh was assaulted at the same border. The Akwesasne Mohawk refused to take her charges against the CBSA because they said, “We can’t”!!!
On the Trans Canada Highway 401, as they drove over the Quebec border a Quebec Police SQ car turned onto the highway and started to follow them. They were going 100 km per hour. Everyone else was passing them. The cop hung behind them for a while. Then he drove beside them and took a good look at them. He turned his flashing lights on and then sped away. A few minutes later he sped by in the opposite direction.
The following Affidavit to investigate the June 14, 2008 CBSA crimes against the Kanion’ke:haka grandmother was rejected by the Lancaster Ontario OPP:
“I, Kahentinetha, born on April 16, 1940, a resident of Kahnawake [ Quebec ], phone # 450-635-9345, a person of the Kanion’ke:haka/Mohawk Nation, report that a crime was committed and should be investigated by the Ontario Provincial Police OPP. Because of my physical condition as a result of the injuries inflicted on me, I was unable to lay this complaint until now. An illegal assault, arrest and detention by Canada Border Services Agents CBSA took place at the Cornwall Ontario Border control on Cornwall Island in the middle of the Akwesasne community on June 14th, 2008. I was seriously injured, suffering a heart attack. My personal possessions were taken and not returned.
I was crossing the said border with two other people. At approximately 2:00 pm we arrived at the Canadian border control. The border agent took our ID and told us to wait under the canopy. They returned to take my car keys. We sat there peacefully for an hour.
At approximately 3:00 pm, a platoon of about a dozen guards marched towards the car, all wearing leather gloves, flack jackets and all kinds of equipment hanging about their waists. Throughout the attack that followed, one officer, Maurice Saucier [Badge #16121] was on the cell phone directing operations.
The female passenger in my car, also a grandmother, was dragged violently from the back seat of the car by a gang of hefty young men and women. They knocked her down, pinned her to the ground, and forced their knees into her head and back. They handcuffed her and smashed and rubbed her face into the pavement. She received bleeding scrapes and bruises on her face, shoulders, arms and legs. She was taken into the customs building and later to Ottawa . No charges were read to her and her request for medical help was refused. She was held incommunicado for three days. She was not even allowed to call her mother to let her know where she was and to ensure the welfare of her family.
After this assault, I was ordered to get out of the car. I was afraid to get out because of what they had done to my friend. I heard Maurice Saucier tell the other agents to “Take her out”. I feared for my life if I got out of the car. I asked, “What have I done?” I was not informed of any legal charges against me.
Several agents started grabbing me and yanking me out of my car. I was thrown around, assaulted, handcuffed and imprisoned. In the cell, the attack continued. My shoes were taken. Some officers tightened the handcuffs on my wrists several times. This cut the circulation to my hands. Pain shot up my arms. I saw flashes of light and felt sharp pains in the middle of my chest and back. When I cried for help, the guards ignored me and tightened the handcuffs more. They yelled threats at me and kept ordering me to bend down. A man stood behind me and had his hands on my pants. I was afraid of being sexually assaulted. I received scrapes and bruises on my arms and legs.
I firmly believe I would have been killed if my brother, Frank Horn, who is a lawyer, had not appeared. He and his son happened to be waiting in the lineup at the border. When he asked to see me, they took off the handcuffs and offered me a chair to sit on. When he saw me, he immediately insisted on calling an ambulance. The Akwesasne police stood by and watched in silence.
The ambulance took me to Cornwall Community Hospital and later to the Ottawa Ontario Heart Institute. I remain ned in hospital for 5 days in the trauma unit and intensive care unit. The doctors told me I had a trauma induced heart attack. I was in excellent health before the attack by the border guards. Now my health is fragile. On June 30th 2008 I had a relapse and was hospitalized again.
Some of the CBSA officers involved in the attack had the following badge numbers: 17012; 16320; 16511; 16121; and 16275. My shoes and documents that were in the trunk of my car are missing.
I have never been contacted by any Ontario police or Canadian officials concerning an investigation of the illegal conduct that took place that day. To my knowledge no such investigation has ever taken place.
SIGNED this _____ day of September, 2008, at ____________________
by _____________________ Kahentinetha, at P.O. Box 991 , Kahnawake of Haudenosaunee Territory [ Quebec , Canada ] J0L 1B0 450-635-9345.
Address of Service: For the purposes of this proceeding only, service to be made care of Julio Peris, 625 Rene Levesque West, Suite 900, Montreal, Quebec H3B 1R2 – 515-933-4656 Fax 514-933-9587.
SWORN BEFORE __________________________
Address: ________________________________________
Date: ____________________
Posted by MNN Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com Contact: katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com
Please Note. Legal actions have to be taken to protect our rights. We have no funds. If you can donate anything to our cause, it will be greatly appreciated. Donate to PayPal, www.mohawknationnews.com, or “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991 , Kahnawake [ Quebec , Canada ] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen.
Go to MNN “ Canada ” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois
Mohawk Nation News Sep. 8, 2008. Since the brutal June 14th 2008 beatings of Mohawk grandmothers, Kahentientha and Katenies, at the Cornwall Ontario checkpoint, there has been no public inquiry and no apology.
On Sunday, September 7, 2008, Kahentinetha asked two friends to present an affidavit she signed laying a formal complaint with the Ontario Provincial Police to investigate the assault by the Canada Border Services Agents CBSA. Apparently all Ontario police are required to accept and properly process complaints submitted by the public.
About 3:00 pm her friends arrived at the OPP station in Lancaster Ontario just over the border from Quebec . It was locked with a sign directing them to use a phone. They explained their business. Eventually “Sgt. Legault” opened the door and allowed them into a small waiting room. He said he needed to finish dealing with another matter and to “get his ducks in a row”.
Eventually he returned and said he had no jurisdiction “to accept the complaint because the Canada-U.S. border was under the authority of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police”. He insisted that if the messengers waited, he could call the Akwesasne police so they could come there and he could give it to them. It sounded like they were already on their way.
He demanded to know the names, addresses and birthdates of the messengers. He asked if they had a lawyer. He brought up Kahentinetha’s brother, “Frank Horn’s”, name, a lawyer who was a witness to the beating. As it wasn’t appropriate for the OPP to make decisions about a complaint they refused to accept, the messengers left. It looks like the OPP don’t want to get involved in this “hot potato”. Is this why the medics refused to check over Katenies after the brutal attack? In 2005 Teiohontateh was assaulted at the same border. The Akwesasne Mohawk refused to take her charges against the CBSA because they said, “We can’t”!!!
On the Trans Canada Highway 401, as they drove over the Quebec border a Quebec Police SQ car turned onto the highway and started to follow them. They were going 100 km per hour. Everyone else was passing them. The cop hung behind them for a while. Then he drove beside them and took a good look at them. He turned his flashing lights on and then sped away. A few minutes later he sped by in the opposite direction.
The following Affidavit to investigate the June 14, 2008 CBSA crimes against the Kanion’ke:haka grandmother was rejected by the Lancaster Ontario OPP:
“I, Kahentinetha, born on April 16, 1940, a resident of Kahnawake [ Quebec ], phone # 450-635-9345, a person of the Kanion’ke:haka/Mohawk Nation, report that a crime was committed and should be investigated by the Ontario Provincial Police OPP. Because of my physical condition as a result of the injuries inflicted on me, I was unable to lay this complaint until now. An illegal assault, arrest and detention by Canada Border Services Agents CBSA took place at the Cornwall Ontario Border control on Cornwall Island in the middle of the Akwesasne community on June 14th, 2008. I was seriously injured, suffering a heart attack. My personal possessions were taken and not returned.
I was crossing the said border with two other people. At approximately 2:00 pm we arrived at the Canadian border control. The border agent took our ID and told us to wait under the canopy. They returned to take my car keys. We sat there peacefully for an hour.
At approximately 3:00 pm, a platoon of about a dozen guards marched towards the car, all wearing leather gloves, flack jackets and all kinds of equipment hanging about their waists. Throughout the attack that followed, one officer, Maurice Saucier [Badge #16121] was on the cell phone directing operations.
The female passenger in my car, also a grandmother, was dragged violently from the back seat of the car by a gang of hefty young men and women. They knocked her down, pinned her to the ground, and forced their knees into her head and back. They handcuffed her and smashed and rubbed her face into the pavement. She received bleeding scrapes and bruises on her face, shoulders, arms and legs. She was taken into the customs building and later to Ottawa . No charges were read to her and her request for medical help was refused. She was held incommunicado for three days. She was not even allowed to call her mother to let her know where she was and to ensure the welfare of her family.
After this assault, I was ordered to get out of the car. I was afraid to get out because of what they had done to my friend. I heard Maurice Saucier tell the other agents to “Take her out”. I feared for my life if I got out of the car. I asked, “What have I done?” I was not informed of any legal charges against me.
Several agents started grabbing me and yanking me out of my car. I was thrown around, assaulted, handcuffed and imprisoned. In the cell, the attack continued. My shoes were taken. Some officers tightened the handcuffs on my wrists several times. This cut the circulation to my hands. Pain shot up my arms. I saw flashes of light and felt sharp pains in the middle of my chest and back. When I cried for help, the guards ignored me and tightened the handcuffs more. They yelled threats at me and kept ordering me to bend down. A man stood behind me and had his hands on my pants. I was afraid of being sexually assaulted. I received scrapes and bruises on my arms and legs.
I firmly believe I would have been killed if my brother, Frank Horn, who is a lawyer, had not appeared. He and his son happened to be waiting in the lineup at the border. When he asked to see me, they took off the handcuffs and offered me a chair to sit on. When he saw me, he immediately insisted on calling an ambulance. The Akwesasne police stood by and watched in silence.
The ambulance took me to Cornwall Community Hospital and later to the Ottawa Ontario Heart Institute. I remain ned in hospital for 5 days in the trauma unit and intensive care unit. The doctors told me I had a trauma induced heart attack. I was in excellent health before the attack by the border guards. Now my health is fragile. On June 30th 2008 I had a relapse and was hospitalized again.
Some of the CBSA officers involved in the attack had the following badge numbers: 17012; 16320; 16511; 16121; and 16275. My shoes and documents that were in the trunk of my car are missing.
I have never been contacted by any Ontario police or Canadian officials concerning an investigation of the illegal conduct that took place that day. To my knowledge no such investigation has ever taken place.
SIGNED this _____ day of September, 2008, at ____________________
by _____________________ Kahentinetha, at P.O. Box 991 , Kahnawake of Haudenosaunee Territory [ Quebec , Canada ] J0L 1B0 450-635-9345.
Address of Service: For the purposes of this proceeding only, service to be made care of Julio Peris, 625 Rene Levesque West, Suite 900, Montreal, Quebec H3B 1R2 – 515-933-4656 Fax 514-933-9587.
SWORN BEFORE __________________________
Address: ________________________________________
Date: ____________________
Posted by MNN Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com Contact: katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com
Please Note. Legal actions have to be taken to protect our rights. We have no funds. If you can donate anything to our cause, it will be greatly appreciated. Donate to PayPal, www.mohawknationnews.com, or “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991 , Kahnawake [ Quebec , Canada ] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen.
Go to MNN “ Canada ” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois
Swedish Ambassador responds to assassination of Guatemalan Indigenous anti-mining organizer
From: Carina Gustafsson
Answer translated into english:
Hi Carina. Thank you for your e-mail sent to ambassador Ewa Werner Dahlin, on August 13.
The situation for Human Rights defenders and Indigenous leaders have deterioated in Guatemala.
The detestable murder of mr Morales, is unfortunately one of several murders this year.
The Swedish Embassy works actively to excercise pressure upon the local authorities, to encourage them to solve cases, like the Morales case, and hold a high profile in general, when it comes toHuman Rights issues, in Guatemala. This occurs for instance through the Embassys work in a special EU-group ( consiting members from the EU Embassies who are represented in Guatemala, withspecial responsibillity for Human Rights issues) who follows up cases of threats andattacks against human rights defenders and Indigenous leaders. This EU group exercisepressure collectively towards the local authorities who are responsible.
With kind regards
Pontus Rosenberg
Segundo Secretario
Embajada de Suecia en Guatemala Tel: (502)-23847300Fax: (502)-23847350
In Solidarity -Carina Gustafsson, Sweden
----- Original Message -----
From: pontus.rosenberg@foreign.ministry.se To: 1073gustafsson@telia.com Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 1:03 AMSubject: Re: Fw: ATTN: To the Ambassador of Sweden in Guatemala
Hej Carina,
Tack för ditt mail till ambassadör Ewa Werner Dahlin den 13:e augusti. Situationen för MR-försvarare och urfolksledare har försämrats i Guatemala. Det avskyvärda mordet på Morales är tyvärr ett av många mord detta år. Ambassaden arbetar aktivt med att utöva påtryckningar gentemot de lokala myndigheterna för få dem att klara upp fall som Morales' och har en mycket hög profil generellt när det gäller MR- frågor i Guatemala. Detta sker bl.a. genom ambassadens arbete i en särskild EU-grupp (med MR-ansvariga vid de lokalt representerade EU-ländernas ambassader) som följer upp fall med hot och attacker mot människorättsförsvarare och urfolksledare, och kollektivt utövar påtryckningar mot de lokala ansvariga myndigheterna.
Med vänliga hälsningar, Pontus Rosenberg ------------Pontus RosenbergSegundo SecretarioEmbajada de Suecia en Guatemala Tel: (502)-23847300Fax: (502)-23847350
"Carina Gustafsson" <1073gustafsson@telia.com> 2008-08-13 12:28
To: <ambassaden.guatemala@foreign.ministry.se>
cc: Subject: ATTN: To the Ambassador of Sweden in Guatemala
Dear Ambassador: Mrs Ewa Werner-Dalen,
It has been brought to our attention that a horrible crime has taken place, in Colotenango, Guatemala.
Antonio Morales, an Indigenous leader from the CUC ( Committe of Campesino Unity),CNOC and Maya Waqib Kej( three of Guatemalas most important indigenous organisations), was attacked and hacked to death, outside of his home in Tixel, on thursday morning August 7. Mr Morales was a Maya Mam Community leader, and his municipality of Cólotenango, became one of 26 municipalities to reject mining on their territory through a community referendum, one month ago. The assasination of mr Morales, occured one day before the International Day of Indigenous Peoples ( august 8). On this day, rural communities and organizations were planning mobilizations throughout the country and particularly in Western Guatemala, to voice their resistance against mega projects such as hard metal mining and hydroelectric dams, and defend their right to autonomy and self-determination. We are very concerned over the Guatemalan governments and the Canadian mining companies repression against anti mining activists, and strongly condemn this assasination. We ask that You, Mrs Ambassador, do what you can to find out who killed mr Morales, and adress the guatemalan authorities with our concern, so that justice can be done against those who are responsible for this assasination. We also call upon the Guatemalan authorities, and all nationstates, to respect the ILO Convention 169, along with The UN Declaration for Indigenous Peoples Rights, that were adopted by the majority of the UN General Assembly on september 13 in year 2007.
Respectfully Carina Gustafsson
Scandinavian Forum for Indigenous Peoples Rights Sweden
Please see statement from The Centre for Human Rights Legal Action: 1. ****HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST IS ASSASSINATED****The Center for Human Rights Legal Action- CALDH- condemns the assassination of our compañero of the Maya Mam people, Antonio Morales, resident of the community Tixel, municipality of Colotenango, department of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Four gunshots (to the left and right sides of his thorax, near his heart, and in his right arm) took Morales´ life in front of his house, on the Interamerican highway, near the Chanjon bridge.
Photo from:
http://patagonia-under-siege.blogspot.com/2008/01/anti-mining-environmentalists-win-big.html
Answer translated into english:
Hi Carina. Thank you for your e-mail sent to ambassador Ewa Werner Dahlin, on August 13.
The situation for Human Rights defenders and Indigenous leaders have deterioated in Guatemala.
The detestable murder of mr Morales, is unfortunately one of several murders this year.
The Swedish Embassy works actively to excercise pressure upon the local authorities, to encourage them to solve cases, like the Morales case, and hold a high profile in general, when it comes toHuman Rights issues, in Guatemala. This occurs for instance through the Embassys work in a special EU-group ( consiting members from the EU Embassies who are represented in Guatemala, withspecial responsibillity for Human Rights issues) who follows up cases of threats andattacks against human rights defenders and Indigenous leaders. This EU group exercisepressure collectively towards the local authorities who are responsible.
With kind regards
Pontus Rosenberg
Segundo Secretario
Embajada de Suecia en Guatemala Tel: (502)-23847300Fax: (502)-23847350
In Solidarity -Carina Gustafsson, Sweden
----- Original Message -----
From: pontus.rosenberg@foreign.ministry.se To: 1073gustafsson@telia.com Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 1:03 AMSubject: Re: Fw: ATTN: To the Ambassador of Sweden in Guatemala
Hej Carina,
Tack för ditt mail till ambassadör Ewa Werner Dahlin den 13:e augusti. Situationen för MR-försvarare och urfolksledare har försämrats i Guatemala. Det avskyvärda mordet på Morales är tyvärr ett av många mord detta år. Ambassaden arbetar aktivt med att utöva påtryckningar gentemot de lokala myndigheterna för få dem att klara upp fall som Morales' och har en mycket hög profil generellt när det gäller MR- frågor i Guatemala. Detta sker bl.a. genom ambassadens arbete i en särskild EU-grupp (med MR-ansvariga vid de lokalt representerade EU-ländernas ambassader) som följer upp fall med hot och attacker mot människorättsförsvarare och urfolksledare, och kollektivt utövar påtryckningar mot de lokala ansvariga myndigheterna.
Med vänliga hälsningar, Pontus Rosenberg ------------Pontus RosenbergSegundo SecretarioEmbajada de Suecia en Guatemala Tel: (502)-23847300Fax: (502)-23847350
"Carina Gustafsson" <1073gustafsson@telia.com> 2008-08-13 12:28
To: <ambassaden.guatemala@foreign.ministry.se>
cc: Subject: ATTN: To the Ambassador of Sweden in Guatemala
Dear Ambassador: Mrs Ewa Werner-Dalen,
It has been brought to our attention that a horrible crime has taken place, in Colotenango, Guatemala.
Antonio Morales, an Indigenous leader from the CUC ( Committe of Campesino Unity),CNOC and Maya Waqib Kej( three of Guatemalas most important indigenous organisations), was attacked and hacked to death, outside of his home in Tixel, on thursday morning August 7. Mr Morales was a Maya Mam Community leader, and his municipality of Cólotenango, became one of 26 municipalities to reject mining on their territory through a community referendum, one month ago. The assasination of mr Morales, occured one day before the International Day of Indigenous Peoples ( august 8). On this day, rural communities and organizations were planning mobilizations throughout the country and particularly in Western Guatemala, to voice their resistance against mega projects such as hard metal mining and hydroelectric dams, and defend their right to autonomy and self-determination. We are very concerned over the Guatemalan governments and the Canadian mining companies repression against anti mining activists, and strongly condemn this assasination. We ask that You, Mrs Ambassador, do what you can to find out who killed mr Morales, and adress the guatemalan authorities with our concern, so that justice can be done against those who are responsible for this assasination. We also call upon the Guatemalan authorities, and all nationstates, to respect the ILO Convention 169, along with The UN Declaration for Indigenous Peoples Rights, that were adopted by the majority of the UN General Assembly on september 13 in year 2007.
Respectfully Carina Gustafsson
Scandinavian Forum for Indigenous Peoples Rights Sweden
Please see statement from The Centre for Human Rights Legal Action: 1. ****HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST IS ASSASSINATED****The Center for Human Rights Legal Action- CALDH- condemns the assassination of our compañero of the Maya Mam people, Antonio Morales, resident of the community Tixel, municipality of Colotenango, department of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Four gunshots (to the left and right sides of his thorax, near his heart, and in his right arm) took Morales´ life in front of his house, on the Interamerican highway, near the Chanjon bridge.
Photo from:
http://patagonia-under-siege.blogspot.com/2008/01/anti-mining-environmentalists-win-big.html
Oppression at Republican Convention mirrors oppression in Iraq
By World Can't Wait
I wrote you last Wednesday after 4 days of house raids, mass arrests, tear gas, concussion grenades, and a growing array of "police-state" measures had been deployed against protesters at the Repubican National Convention in St. Paul. Worldcantwait.org is pulling together the whole picture, and Democracy Now covered many of the outrages. But I am still trying to adequately describe the suppression of speech that occured last week.
This thought, said to me in the chaos last week, sticks in my head. "If you have a doctrine of pre-emptive war on whole countries, you need pre-emptive suppression of protest at home." The $50 million operation run by Homeland Security and the Secret Service had a lot in common with how the US military views citizens in the Middle East: if they're on the street when we don't want them there, they are terrorists.
Fans & riot police after Rage Against the Machine show September 3.Thursday September 4, as the Republicans swaggered into the Xcel Center for their orgy of McCain love, a few hundred peace activists gathered on the lawn outside the Minnesota capitol, about a mile away. Most were sitting in the grass, listening to bands and speeches for a permitted rally. At 4:05 pm, 8 police on bikes sprinted into the crowd, threw their bikes down, and grabbed two men sitting on the lawn. Press and protesters surrounded them, and within 4 minutes, dozens of police of horses and riot police drove a wedge through the crowd, as cars and an ambulance drove onto the lawn, and the men were extracted and disappeared into cars. It was not impossible to know why they were taken, but it seemed to me the exercise was practice in crowd control, intimidation and provocation.40 minutes later, a loudspeaker was driven by police onto the lawn, drowning out the program on the stage. Police announced that the permit was over at 5:00 pm, and anyone on the lawn would be arrested. The crowd tried to leave together, marching toward the Xcel Center, but was forced by police onto a a bridge across the freeway, surrounded at both ends. Bulldozers with blades lowered were moved into place at one end, looming over the crowd, as if to sweep them up. Dump trucks blocked off streets. Police pulled on their gas masks. 400 people were arrested that night, bringing total arrests to over 800, including 102 outside the Rage Against the Machine concert (a wonderfully great show!) where police were a mile deep, and looking for any pretext to arrest.
Defending the people arrested in St. Paul will be the responsibility of this whole movement. While the crinminal charges are state of Minnesota, the direction comes from the federal government. These are charges criminalizing political activity.Democracy Now reports, "In St. Paul, Ramsey County prosecutors have formally charged eight members of the group RNC Welcoming Committee with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. The eight activists are believed to be the first persons ever charged under the 2002 Minnesota version of the federal PATRIOT Act.
The activists face up to seven-and-a-half years in prison. According to the National Lawyers Guild, the criminal complaints filed by the Ramsey County Attorney do not allege that any of the defendants personally engaged in any act of violence or damage to property. Instead, authorities are seeking to hold the eight defendants responsible for acts committed by other individuals during the opening days of the Republican National Convention."CHEERS to IVAW! Inside the convention, Adam Kokesh interrupted McCain's acceptance speech about 20 seconds after he began, with a banner reading "McCain Votes Against Veterans" and "You Can't Win an Occupation". After 3 seconds, the hall erupted in chants of "USA!" drowing out McCain. The Iraq Veterans Against the War were all over Denver and St. Paul, demanding that the war and occupation be ended. See the video More on all of this coming soon! Thanks to the hundreds who wrote about Obama's acceptance speech. I've read all your comments and you'll be hearing back from me.
Debra Sweet, Director, The World Can't Wait - Drive Out the Bush Regime
I wrote you last Wednesday after 4 days of house raids, mass arrests, tear gas, concussion grenades, and a growing array of "police-state" measures had been deployed against protesters at the Repubican National Convention in St. Paul. Worldcantwait.org is pulling together the whole picture, and Democracy Now covered many of the outrages. But I am still trying to adequately describe the suppression of speech that occured last week.
This thought, said to me in the chaos last week, sticks in my head. "If you have a doctrine of pre-emptive war on whole countries, you need pre-emptive suppression of protest at home." The $50 million operation run by Homeland Security and the Secret Service had a lot in common with how the US military views citizens in the Middle East: if they're on the street when we don't want them there, they are terrorists.
Fans & riot police after Rage Against the Machine show September 3.Thursday September 4, as the Republicans swaggered into the Xcel Center for their orgy of McCain love, a few hundred peace activists gathered on the lawn outside the Minnesota capitol, about a mile away. Most were sitting in the grass, listening to bands and speeches for a permitted rally. At 4:05 pm, 8 police on bikes sprinted into the crowd, threw their bikes down, and grabbed two men sitting on the lawn. Press and protesters surrounded them, and within 4 minutes, dozens of police of horses and riot police drove a wedge through the crowd, as cars and an ambulance drove onto the lawn, and the men were extracted and disappeared into cars. It was not impossible to know why they were taken, but it seemed to me the exercise was practice in crowd control, intimidation and provocation.40 minutes later, a loudspeaker was driven by police onto the lawn, drowning out the program on the stage. Police announced that the permit was over at 5:00 pm, and anyone on the lawn would be arrested. The crowd tried to leave together, marching toward the Xcel Center, but was forced by police onto a a bridge across the freeway, surrounded at both ends. Bulldozers with blades lowered were moved into place at one end, looming over the crowd, as if to sweep them up. Dump trucks blocked off streets. Police pulled on their gas masks. 400 people were arrested that night, bringing total arrests to over 800, including 102 outside the Rage Against the Machine concert (a wonderfully great show!) where police were a mile deep, and looking for any pretext to arrest.
Defending the people arrested in St. Paul will be the responsibility of this whole movement. While the crinminal charges are state of Minnesota, the direction comes from the federal government. These are charges criminalizing political activity.Democracy Now reports, "In St. Paul, Ramsey County prosecutors have formally charged eight members of the group RNC Welcoming Committee with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism. The eight activists are believed to be the first persons ever charged under the 2002 Minnesota version of the federal PATRIOT Act.
The activists face up to seven-and-a-half years in prison. According to the National Lawyers Guild, the criminal complaints filed by the Ramsey County Attorney do not allege that any of the defendants personally engaged in any act of violence or damage to property. Instead, authorities are seeking to hold the eight defendants responsible for acts committed by other individuals during the opening days of the Republican National Convention."CHEERS to IVAW! Inside the convention, Adam Kokesh interrupted McCain's acceptance speech about 20 seconds after he began, with a banner reading "McCain Votes Against Veterans" and "You Can't Win an Occupation". After 3 seconds, the hall erupted in chants of "USA!" drowing out McCain. The Iraq Veterans Against the War were all over Denver and St. Paul, demanding that the war and occupation be ended. See the video More on all of this coming soon! Thanks to the hundreds who wrote about Obama's acceptance speech. I've read all your comments and you'll be hearing back from me.
Debra Sweet, Director, The World Can't Wait - Drive Out the Bush Regime
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