Radioactive water near Hopi springs
Infoshop News
Situated on the boundary marking Hopi and Navajo lands, the dump was adisposal site for medical waste, animal carcasses, paint, batteries andtires, ...<http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=2007032213594451>
March 22, 2007
Cucapa carry out fishing rights
El Mayor, Baja Mexico -- Cucapa (Cocapah) have started their fishing season with the support of Zapatistas and international observers, near the Arizona/California border in Mexico:http://www.indymedia.org/en/2007/03/882410.shtml
http://imctj.espora.org/news/2007/03/3016.php
http://bsnorrell.tripod.com
Navajo Generating Station in Page among top 10 toxic dumpers in Arizona
Navajo Generating Station in Page among top 10 toxic dumpers in Arizona
Subject: EPA releases 2005 Arizona Toxics Release Inventory dataFor Immediate Release: March 22, 2007Contact: Wendy L. Chavez, (415) 947-4248, chavez.wendy@epa.gov
1. Phelps Dodge Miami, Inc. (Claypool, Gila County) with 26.7 millionpounds.2. ASARCO Inc. Ray Complex Hayden Smelter & Concentrator (Hayden,Gila County) with 14 million pounds.3. Phelps Dodge Morenci Inc. (Morenci, Greenlee County) with 5.4million pounds.4. Cholla Power Plant (Joseph City, Navajo County) with 3.4 millionpounds.5. Tucson Electric Power Co. Springerville Generating Station(Springerville, Apache County) with 2.4 million pounds.6. Phelps Dodge Sierrita Inc. (Green Valley, Pima County) with 2.3million pounds.7. Phelps Dodge Bagdad Inc. (Bagdad, Yavapai County) with 2.0 millionpounds.8. Navajo Generating Station (Page, Coconino County) with 1.7 millionpounds.9. ASARCO LLC Ray Operations Mine (Kearny, Pinal County) with 1.6million pounds.10. ASARCO Inc. Mission Complex (Sahuarita, Pima County) with 1.3million pounds. Fact sheets and additional information on the 2005 TRI data for Arizona are available at http://www.epa.gov/region09/toxic/tri/report/05/arizona.pdf. The following Web sites also provide useful information on TRI: http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/ and http://www.epa.gov/enviro
Subject: EPA releases 2005 Arizona Toxics Release Inventory dataFor Immediate Release: March 22, 2007Contact: Wendy L. Chavez, (415) 947-4248, chavez.wendy@epa.gov
1. Phelps Dodge Miami, Inc. (Claypool, Gila County) with 26.7 millionpounds.2. ASARCO Inc. Ray Complex Hayden Smelter & Concentrator (Hayden,Gila County) with 14 million pounds.3. Phelps Dodge Morenci Inc. (Morenci, Greenlee County) with 5.4million pounds.4. Cholla Power Plant (Joseph City, Navajo County) with 3.4 millionpounds.5. Tucson Electric Power Co. Springerville Generating Station(Springerville, Apache County) with 2.4 million pounds.6. Phelps Dodge Sierrita Inc. (Green Valley, Pima County) with 2.3million pounds.7. Phelps Dodge Bagdad Inc. (Bagdad, Yavapai County) with 2.0 millionpounds.8. Navajo Generating Station (Page, Coconino County) with 1.7 millionpounds.9. ASARCO LLC Ray Operations Mine (Kearny, Pinal County) with 1.6million pounds.10. ASARCO Inc. Mission Complex (Sahuarita, Pima County) with 1.3million pounds. Fact sheets and additional information on the 2005 TRI data for Arizona are available at http://www.epa.gov/region09/toxic/tri/report/05/arizona.pdf. The following Web sites also provide useful information on TRI: http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/ and http://www.epa.gov/enviro
White Mountain Apache chairman responds to Snowbowl lies
White Mountain Apache respond to Snowbowl lies
March 22, 2007
To: Jon Misner - President and General Manager
Mark Casey – News Director
12 News
KPNX-TV 12
1101 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
Dear Mr. Misner and Mr. Casey,
This letter provides a response to Eric Borowsky’s interview by Mark Curtis and Fay Fredricks on Friday, March 16, 2007, regarding the recent ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. I find it appalling that the interview was made without any attempt by KPNX to gain comments from the Plaintiffs. Without our views, the interview was biased, factually incorrect, and unfair. KNPX has a duty to provide both sides of any news story, but has completely failed to do so in this case.
Mr. Borowsky falsely claims that the White Mountain Apache Tribe makes “snow from virtually untreated sewer water”, sprays it on a “sacred mountain” and operates “without question or environmental review.” Nothing can be further from the truth.
Unlike Snowbowl, the White Mountain Apache Tribe’s Sunrise Ski Park is not on a sacred mountain. There is a sacred mountain nearby, but it is miles away and remains closed to the public. Nor do we spray untreated sewer water to make snow on our ski slopes. We have to comply with the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Protection Act, and other federal regulations, just like everyone else. We use pure water to make snow.
Mr. Borowsky complains of a certain unfairness in his treatment by the 9th Circuit, because the water he wanted to make snow with is “A+” and “reclaimed”. Scottsdale residents do not drink A+ water, as he claims. The fact is that Mr. Borowsky wanted to use treated sewage effluent on a mountain that is sacred to Indian people. We and other Tribes found that use untenable. Judge Fletcher correctly observed that it would be equivalent to using treated sewage for a baptism in a church. No one would stand for that in any temple, church or synagogue. Why should we?
We further pointed out, and the 9th Circuit agreed, that the U.S. Forest Service did not follow the requirements of the National Environmental Protection Act. That is hardly a liberal view; it’s a fact. Nor do we, nor any other Tribe, have some kind of veto power over any project on federal lands.
Clearly, the facts are not legally in Snowbowl’s favor. While sewage effluent may have been the best economic choice for Snowbowl Partners, there were alternatives, which Snowbowl refused to consider. What is unfortunate is that Mr. Borowsky prefers to color his protest in racial terms. We believe that the facts speak for themselves.
Apaches did not suddenly wake up and find that the San Francisco Peaks have religious significance, as Mr. Borowsky reports. For centuries, our people have been going to the Peaks to practice our beliefs, our traditions. The Peaks are an integral part of who we are as Apache, as a spiritual people. As the most holy mountain of the north, the Peaks are one of a chain of four mountains that form the four cardinal directions, and a place where the Ga’an, the holy ones, come from. In court, we provided factual evidence to support our view that the Peaks are perhaps one of the most powerful, significant religious sites for us. Now the court has agreed. That is justice.
It is my hope that KNPX offer equal time to the Plaintiffs to rebut Mr. Borowsky’s outrageous claims. Only in that way would KNPX guarantee fairness and accuracy in reporting the news.
You may contact Gwendena Real Bird of my office at 928.338.2502 or 205.5733, to set a time for an interview.
Sincerely,
Ronnie Lupe
Chairman
March 22, 2007
To: Jon Misner - President and General Manager
Mark Casey – News Director
12 News
KPNX-TV 12
1101 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
Dear Mr. Misner and Mr. Casey,
This letter provides a response to Eric Borowsky’s interview by Mark Curtis and Fay Fredricks on Friday, March 16, 2007, regarding the recent ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. I find it appalling that the interview was made without any attempt by KPNX to gain comments from the Plaintiffs. Without our views, the interview was biased, factually incorrect, and unfair. KNPX has a duty to provide both sides of any news story, but has completely failed to do so in this case.
Mr. Borowsky falsely claims that the White Mountain Apache Tribe makes “snow from virtually untreated sewer water”, sprays it on a “sacred mountain” and operates “without question or environmental review.” Nothing can be further from the truth.
Unlike Snowbowl, the White Mountain Apache Tribe’s Sunrise Ski Park is not on a sacred mountain. There is a sacred mountain nearby, but it is miles away and remains closed to the public. Nor do we spray untreated sewer water to make snow on our ski slopes. We have to comply with the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Protection Act, and other federal regulations, just like everyone else. We use pure water to make snow.
Mr. Borowsky complains of a certain unfairness in his treatment by the 9th Circuit, because the water he wanted to make snow with is “A+” and “reclaimed”. Scottsdale residents do not drink A+ water, as he claims. The fact is that Mr. Borowsky wanted to use treated sewage effluent on a mountain that is sacred to Indian people. We and other Tribes found that use untenable. Judge Fletcher correctly observed that it would be equivalent to using treated sewage for a baptism in a church. No one would stand for that in any temple, church or synagogue. Why should we?
We further pointed out, and the 9th Circuit agreed, that the U.S. Forest Service did not follow the requirements of the National Environmental Protection Act. That is hardly a liberal view; it’s a fact. Nor do we, nor any other Tribe, have some kind of veto power over any project on federal lands.
Clearly, the facts are not legally in Snowbowl’s favor. While sewage effluent may have been the best economic choice for Snowbowl Partners, there were alternatives, which Snowbowl refused to consider. What is unfortunate is that Mr. Borowsky prefers to color his protest in racial terms. We believe that the facts speak for themselves.
Apaches did not suddenly wake up and find that the San Francisco Peaks have religious significance, as Mr. Borowsky reports. For centuries, our people have been going to the Peaks to practice our beliefs, our traditions. The Peaks are an integral part of who we are as Apache, as a spiritual people. As the most holy mountain of the north, the Peaks are one of a chain of four mountains that form the four cardinal directions, and a place where the Ga’an, the holy ones, come from. In court, we provided factual evidence to support our view that the Peaks are perhaps one of the most powerful, significant religious sites for us. Now the court has agreed. That is justice.
It is my hope that KNPX offer equal time to the Plaintiffs to rebut Mr. Borowsky’s outrageous claims. Only in that way would KNPX guarantee fairness and accuracy in reporting the news.
You may contact Gwendena Real Bird of my office at 928.338.2502 or 205.5733, to set a time for an interview.
Sincerely,
Ronnie Lupe
Chairman
March 21, 2007
Mohawks: Colonial Collapse of the Western Hemisphere
CAN YOU SEE IT COMING? THE COLONIAL COLLAPSE OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE!
Mohawk Nation News
March 21, 2007. We’ve been trained to think that things are inevitable. We forget to look at the fact that human beings have a basic instincts for law, order and decency. In the April 2007 issue of Vanity Fair there is a major story on “How a Prison Gang took Over a City of 20 Million” by William Langwiesche. He described how a highly organized prison gang launched an attack that shut down Brazil ’s largest city last May, with the authorities powerless to stop it.
The center of Sao Paolo is a gated city of rich non-natives living in lavish luxury. They are guarded by private security. They run multi national corporations and banks from there. Their business is extraction of the resources of Brazil .
The city is ringed by shanty towns and slums where millions upon millions of the ultra poor live. These people have no voice and live completely separate from the upper and middle class. The police have gone into these shanty towns and imprisoned the bright men they considered to be trouble makers. The imprisoned people are the result of extreme colonization. They set up a secretive shapeless network that controls much of Sao Paulo . Government is non-existent to the rich and to the poor. Each has their own systems of “governments”, based on what could be called the “law of a jungle”.
For 7 days last year Sao Paulo was in a wilderness zone. A vast, amorphous "criminal" network was the only government they had. It was controlled by people who have been officially denied and not seen.
One day before this event, out of fear, 765 of those the police thought were “leaders” of 140,000 prisoners in Sao Paolo were moved to a prison outside the city. They could not communicate with their people nor continue running their businesses that were outside prison walls using cell phones. They could not protect their people. The following day the centre of Sao Paulo was swarmed by waves upon waves of people that devastated the entire city, the transportation, buildings and businesses for seven days.
The authorities could find no one to negotiate with. No one made any demands. In the end the prisoners were asked to make demands. So they asked for plasma televisions so they could watch the World Cup and to have more conjugal visits. Did people lose their lives so they could get television sets? We don’t think so!
There are positives and negatives to this story.
We’ve survived centuries of oppression, colonization and imprisonment. We’re in it for the long haul, no matter what they do to us. We’re seeing in the siege of Sao Paolo the kind of conditioning of both the colonizers and the colonized. The positions are polarized.
Human equality is a basic instinct and a reality. In Sao Paolo it developed naturally among the poor. There were cell organizations with none dominating another. Inwardly we will always work towards that. The prison situation proves that the hierarchical model will self-destruct. The distribution of wealth and opportunities must be equitable, otherwise it will fall apart.
The Onkwehonwe of Turtle Island always understood this. That is why the Kaianereh’ko:wa/Great Law is the model for democracy for the world. It takes into account this drive inside of every person for freedom. It was totally contrary to the hierarchical system.
In the hierarchical pyramid system these people do not see others. They only see themselves. It is based on self-centeredness, which is natural to a baby. A baby is dependent and weak and can only think of itself. The “twos” are called terrible because that’s when people have to learn they are not the only people in the world. They give up their childish self-centeredness. They have to co-operate to survive.
The hierarchical system is not based on rational reasonable human characteristics. Ego centrism is a basic survival instinct for a baby. Those caught up in the hierarchical system indicates they have been improperly "potty trained". Psychologically they are what is called an “anal” personality. They regress if they are conditioned to see other humans as being inferior to them. To them we are not human. We are not visible.
They can’t see humans as part of the natural world. They cannot care for the natural world because they cannot see it and are disconnected from it. In a lonely individualist society they can only be part of that which they can control and destroy.
Those who wish to dominate us make us focus so hard on getting the basic things of life like food, water and a place to live. We have no time to think. We can only react. This is a major cause of a lot of crimes.
A lot of property crimes are based on the system of wealth for the few and poverty for the many. In Onkwehonwe communities we are forced to eke out a living. Then our activities are criminalized. If not, then foreign corporate states [ Canada and the U.S. ] try to regulate and tax us, which are extortion.
They make us think all we can do is run casinos for them on our lands. This kind of gambling violates Onkwehonwe law. Those who win at our gambling games end up with the presents but also with the obligations to take care of those they defeated. In the colonial style there is no obligation to winning. It makes them even more self centered.
Colonial states will only support gambling in our communities if they can take money from us with no obligation to us. They don’t give any of that tax back to us. At the same time they use the gambling as a way to demonized us and associate us with illicit behavior.
The good side of the Sao Paolo event shows that respect for fellow human beings will always emerge. Even in a jungle like a prison. This is the basis of legality. The depressing side of this is that Canadian and U.S. societies have not come to that realization. To colonial society sharing is a loss of control.
The large metropolitan areas in the United States are developing the same symptoms as South American cities where roving bands of youth are organizing themselves and are going to try to take over. Turtle Island cities are going to face the same situation if they don’t share the resources equitably. They think they have to steal from and brutalize people to keep control, by using armies, police, government and all levers of the military to keep control. They don’t know that “power” is in the people.
They think if they obey their own laws and recognize Onkwehonwe rights, they will fall. They don’t realize in an egalitarian society there is no place to fall. The energy wasted on that kind of fear should be directed to problem solving that makes life better for everyone.
Like South America , more "private" prisons are being built. It’s been proven that a crack down by the police precedes lawlessness. Imprisonment does not foster lawful behavior. The more police the more crime there is. Many have been falsely accused. Many are appealing, with DNA and other means. Many have been wrongfully convicted.
Those who were not criminals became criminal minded. They learned inside from thieves, rapists, killers and liars. When placed in their midst, how do you survive? You have to fit in. Otherwise you will be their victim. Many become part of that swinging door society. The burden falls on the tax payer, not on the corporate crooks.
In fact, we are seeing prime examples of corrupt governments. Look at all the political scandals, the politicians trying to hide their crimes, each cutting the others throats and protecting their private interests. The difference between them and those in jail is that the bars are not on their windows yet.
This corruption is based on fear by those who think that society has to be set up so that everybody is afraid of them. If not, they will lose out to those they have no control over.
As it looks now, the upper class of South America are going to be eaten up by American companies. This model is being played out on Turtle Island . Here we have two corporations, the U.S. and Canada . The U.S. amoeba is going to swallow up the Canadian one.
Remember Britain thought it “ruled the wave” forever. Rule Brittania! It collapsed. The U.S. thinks it will rule everything. It will collapse too. The symptom of its collapse is that it is trying to swallow everything in its sight.
We have to hold onto our hats. We’re in for a rough ride. We Onkwehonwe have survived devastation before by hanging in there. We remembered our culture. We looked after our children. We thought about our future generations. We kept our sense of humor. We got rid of our spies and traitors. We never bought the story that we were any less than anyone else as human beings. That’s how we beat colonialism before. That’s how we will beat it again!
Kahentinetha Horn
MNN Mohawk Nation News
http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Kahentinetha2@yahoo.com http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=katenies20@yahoo.com
For updates, workshops and speakers, to sign up, go to
http://www.mohawknationnews.com/
Coming soon online books on Mohawk issues.
Mohawk Nation News
March 21, 2007. We’ve been trained to think that things are inevitable. We forget to look at the fact that human beings have a basic instincts for law, order and decency. In the April 2007 issue of Vanity Fair there is a major story on “How a Prison Gang took Over a City of 20 Million” by William Langwiesche. He described how a highly organized prison gang launched an attack that shut down Brazil ’s largest city last May, with the authorities powerless to stop it.
The center of Sao Paolo is a gated city of rich non-natives living in lavish luxury. They are guarded by private security. They run multi national corporations and banks from there. Their business is extraction of the resources of Brazil .
The city is ringed by shanty towns and slums where millions upon millions of the ultra poor live. These people have no voice and live completely separate from the upper and middle class. The police have gone into these shanty towns and imprisoned the bright men they considered to be trouble makers. The imprisoned people are the result of extreme colonization. They set up a secretive shapeless network that controls much of Sao Paulo . Government is non-existent to the rich and to the poor. Each has their own systems of “governments”, based on what could be called the “law of a jungle”.
For 7 days last year Sao Paulo was in a wilderness zone. A vast, amorphous "criminal" network was the only government they had. It was controlled by people who have been officially denied and not seen.
One day before this event, out of fear, 765 of those the police thought were “leaders” of 140,000 prisoners in Sao Paolo were moved to a prison outside the city. They could not communicate with their people nor continue running their businesses that were outside prison walls using cell phones. They could not protect their people. The following day the centre of Sao Paulo was swarmed by waves upon waves of people that devastated the entire city, the transportation, buildings and businesses for seven days.
The authorities could find no one to negotiate with. No one made any demands. In the end the prisoners were asked to make demands. So they asked for plasma televisions so they could watch the World Cup and to have more conjugal visits. Did people lose their lives so they could get television sets? We don’t think so!
There are positives and negatives to this story.
We’ve survived centuries of oppression, colonization and imprisonment. We’re in it for the long haul, no matter what they do to us. We’re seeing in the siege of Sao Paolo the kind of conditioning of both the colonizers and the colonized. The positions are polarized.
Human equality is a basic instinct and a reality. In Sao Paolo it developed naturally among the poor. There were cell organizations with none dominating another. Inwardly we will always work towards that. The prison situation proves that the hierarchical model will self-destruct. The distribution of wealth and opportunities must be equitable, otherwise it will fall apart.
The Onkwehonwe of Turtle Island always understood this. That is why the Kaianereh’ko:wa/Great Law is the model for democracy for the world. It takes into account this drive inside of every person for freedom. It was totally contrary to the hierarchical system.
In the hierarchical pyramid system these people do not see others. They only see themselves. It is based on self-centeredness, which is natural to a baby. A baby is dependent and weak and can only think of itself. The “twos” are called terrible because that’s when people have to learn they are not the only people in the world. They give up their childish self-centeredness. They have to co-operate to survive.
The hierarchical system is not based on rational reasonable human characteristics. Ego centrism is a basic survival instinct for a baby. Those caught up in the hierarchical system indicates they have been improperly "potty trained". Psychologically they are what is called an “anal” personality. They regress if they are conditioned to see other humans as being inferior to them. To them we are not human. We are not visible.
They can’t see humans as part of the natural world. They cannot care for the natural world because they cannot see it and are disconnected from it. In a lonely individualist society they can only be part of that which they can control and destroy.
Those who wish to dominate us make us focus so hard on getting the basic things of life like food, water and a place to live. We have no time to think. We can only react. This is a major cause of a lot of crimes.
A lot of property crimes are based on the system of wealth for the few and poverty for the many. In Onkwehonwe communities we are forced to eke out a living. Then our activities are criminalized. If not, then foreign corporate states [ Canada and the U.S. ] try to regulate and tax us, which are extortion.
They make us think all we can do is run casinos for them on our lands. This kind of gambling violates Onkwehonwe law. Those who win at our gambling games end up with the presents but also with the obligations to take care of those they defeated. In the colonial style there is no obligation to winning. It makes them even more self centered.
Colonial states will only support gambling in our communities if they can take money from us with no obligation to us. They don’t give any of that tax back to us. At the same time they use the gambling as a way to demonized us and associate us with illicit behavior.
The good side of the Sao Paolo event shows that respect for fellow human beings will always emerge. Even in a jungle like a prison. This is the basis of legality. The depressing side of this is that Canadian and U.S. societies have not come to that realization. To colonial society sharing is a loss of control.
The large metropolitan areas in the United States are developing the same symptoms as South American cities where roving bands of youth are organizing themselves and are going to try to take over. Turtle Island cities are going to face the same situation if they don’t share the resources equitably. They think they have to steal from and brutalize people to keep control, by using armies, police, government and all levers of the military to keep control. They don’t know that “power” is in the people.
They think if they obey their own laws and recognize Onkwehonwe rights, they will fall. They don’t realize in an egalitarian society there is no place to fall. The energy wasted on that kind of fear should be directed to problem solving that makes life better for everyone.
Like South America , more "private" prisons are being built. It’s been proven that a crack down by the police precedes lawlessness. Imprisonment does not foster lawful behavior. The more police the more crime there is. Many have been falsely accused. Many are appealing, with DNA and other means. Many have been wrongfully convicted.
Those who were not criminals became criminal minded. They learned inside from thieves, rapists, killers and liars. When placed in their midst, how do you survive? You have to fit in. Otherwise you will be their victim. Many become part of that swinging door society. The burden falls on the tax payer, not on the corporate crooks.
In fact, we are seeing prime examples of corrupt governments. Look at all the political scandals, the politicians trying to hide their crimes, each cutting the others throats and protecting their private interests. The difference between them and those in jail is that the bars are not on their windows yet.
This corruption is based on fear by those who think that society has to be set up so that everybody is afraid of them. If not, they will lose out to those they have no control over.
As it looks now, the upper class of South America are going to be eaten up by American companies. This model is being played out on Turtle Island . Here we have two corporations, the U.S. and Canada . The U.S. amoeba is going to swallow up the Canadian one.
Remember Britain thought it “ruled the wave” forever. Rule Brittania! It collapsed. The U.S. thinks it will rule everything. It will collapse too. The symptom of its collapse is that it is trying to swallow everything in its sight.
We have to hold onto our hats. We’re in for a rough ride. We Onkwehonwe have survived devastation before by hanging in there. We remembered our culture. We looked after our children. We thought about our future generations. We kept our sense of humor. We got rid of our spies and traitors. We never bought the story that we were any less than anyone else as human beings. That’s how we beat colonialism before. That’s how we will beat it again!
Kahentinetha Horn
MNN Mohawk Nation News
http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Kahentinetha2@yahoo.com http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=katenies20@yahoo.com
For updates, workshops and speakers, to sign up, go to
http://www.mohawknationnews.com/
Coming soon online books on Mohawk issues.
With a $25 million fine, Chiquita washes its hands in death squad case
With a $25 Million Fine, Chiquita Washes its Hands in Death Squad Case
By Sean Donahue, Posted on Sat Mar 17th, 2007 at 11:16:47 PM EST
Narco News
http://www.narconews.com
Chiquita has admitted to making payments to Colombian death squads -- but the death squads' victims won't get any money from the multinational, and none of the company's executives are facing jail time.
Marino Cordoba used to live in the town of Riosucio, a small town populated by the descendants of freed slaves in the Colombian department of Choco, in a region called Uraba – a region famous for its banana and palm plantations, its gold, its forests, and its rivers.
In recent years the region has also become famous for its death squads – right wing paramilitary groups that terrorize communities that refuse to bend to the will of foreign companies and big investors. These militias are organized under an umbrella group, the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC,) that has strong ties to the Colombian military and government and to cocaine and heroin traffickers.
In 1996, Riosucio became the first community in the region to gain legal title to its land under provisions of Colombia's 1991 Constitution that granted Afro-Colombian communities collective rights to the land their ancestors settled. In a 2002 article, Cordoba described what happened next:
Seven days later, at 5:00 AM on Dec. 13, 1996, paramilitary groups arrived in my town, Riosucio, intent on murdering the leaders and their families. Many were taken from their beds and paraded naked through the streets. Anyone who resisted was killed. The shouts woke me up. I ran to take refuge in the swamp along with many others. . . .At 8:00 AM, army helicopters started patrolling. The paramilitaries radioed the pilots to attack the swamp, claiming the people were guerrillas. The army attacked us with bombs and rifles, killing many people. Those who survived stayed in the water for three days until hunger and desperation forced us out. Some of us sneaked through the town and reached a rural community across the river. I recuperated there, then fled to Bogota,
I thought of Marino Cordoba and the other survivors of the Riosucio massacre the other day when I read that Chiquita (the former United Fruit Company)had plead guilty to charges of financing a terrorist group in federal court after admitting to paying $1.7 million to the AUC over a ten year period. Their punishment a $25 million fine – less than half the money the company made by selling its Colombian subsidiary, a company that could never have grown as big as it did were it not for the role the paramilitaries played in preventing union organizing on the banana plantations and forcing communities off prime farming land. Chiquita Colombia made a lot of its money in Uraba.
None of the survivors of the AUC's crimes will ever see a penny of that money.
And even though top executives personally approved the payments to the AUC,none of them are facing a single day in jail.
A bitter irony for Arab-Americans locked away in federal prison in the name of the war on terror, whose crimes pale in comparisson to Chiquita's: People like Dr.Rafil Dhafir an Iraqi-American who is serving 22 years in prison -- not for giving money to terrorists, but for sending food, medicine, and blankets to needy Iraqis in violation of U.S. sanctions.
When Dafir was arrested, then Attorney General John Ashcroft held a [press conference] at which he told reporters that:
"As President Bush leads an international coalition to end Saddam Hussein's tyranny and support for terror, the Justice Department will see that individuals within our borders cannot undermine these efforts,"
and that
"Those who covertly seek to channel money into Iraq under the guise of charitable work will be caught and prosecuted."
In contrast, the U.S. Justice Department doesn't have single posting about the Chiquita site on its website.
Nor has the U.S. Justice Department shown any interest in investigating companies like Coca Cola or Drummond Coal that have even clearer links to paramilitary violence in Colombia than Chiquita.
Once again proving that for the U.S. Justice Department, its not really terrorism unless the victims live in the U.S. or the perpetrators are Muslim.
By Sean Donahue, Posted on Sat Mar 17th, 2007 at 11:16:47 PM EST
Narco News
http://www.narconews.com
Chiquita has admitted to making payments to Colombian death squads -- but the death squads' victims won't get any money from the multinational, and none of the company's executives are facing jail time.
Marino Cordoba used to live in the town of Riosucio, a small town populated by the descendants of freed slaves in the Colombian department of Choco, in a region called Uraba – a region famous for its banana and palm plantations, its gold, its forests, and its rivers.
In recent years the region has also become famous for its death squads – right wing paramilitary groups that terrorize communities that refuse to bend to the will of foreign companies and big investors. These militias are organized under an umbrella group, the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC,) that has strong ties to the Colombian military and government and to cocaine and heroin traffickers.
In 1996, Riosucio became the first community in the region to gain legal title to its land under provisions of Colombia's 1991 Constitution that granted Afro-Colombian communities collective rights to the land their ancestors settled. In a 2002 article, Cordoba described what happened next:
Seven days later, at 5:00 AM on Dec. 13, 1996, paramilitary groups arrived in my town, Riosucio, intent on murdering the leaders and their families. Many were taken from their beds and paraded naked through the streets. Anyone who resisted was killed. The shouts woke me up. I ran to take refuge in the swamp along with many others. . . .At 8:00 AM, army helicopters started patrolling. The paramilitaries radioed the pilots to attack the swamp, claiming the people were guerrillas. The army attacked us with bombs and rifles, killing many people. Those who survived stayed in the water for three days until hunger and desperation forced us out. Some of us sneaked through the town and reached a rural community across the river. I recuperated there, then fled to Bogota,
I thought of Marino Cordoba and the other survivors of the Riosucio massacre the other day when I read that Chiquita (the former United Fruit Company)had plead guilty to charges of financing a terrorist group in federal court after admitting to paying $1.7 million to the AUC over a ten year period. Their punishment a $25 million fine – less than half the money the company made by selling its Colombian subsidiary, a company that could never have grown as big as it did were it not for the role the paramilitaries played in preventing union organizing on the banana plantations and forcing communities off prime farming land. Chiquita Colombia made a lot of its money in Uraba.
None of the survivors of the AUC's crimes will ever see a penny of that money.
And even though top executives personally approved the payments to the AUC,none of them are facing a single day in jail.
A bitter irony for Arab-Americans locked away in federal prison in the name of the war on terror, whose crimes pale in comparisson to Chiquita's: People like Dr.Rafil Dhafir an Iraqi-American who is serving 22 years in prison -- not for giving money to terrorists, but for sending food, medicine, and blankets to needy Iraqis in violation of U.S. sanctions.
When Dafir was arrested, then Attorney General John Ashcroft held a [press conference] at which he told reporters that:
"As President Bush leads an international coalition to end Saddam Hussein's tyranny and support for terror, the Justice Department will see that individuals within our borders cannot undermine these efforts,"
and that
"Those who covertly seek to channel money into Iraq under the guise of charitable work will be caught and prosecuted."
In contrast, the U.S. Justice Department doesn't have single posting about the Chiquita site on its website.
Nor has the U.S. Justice Department shown any interest in investigating companies like Coca Cola or Drummond Coal that have even clearer links to paramilitary violence in Colombia than Chiquita.
Once again proving that for the U.S. Justice Department, its not really terrorism unless the victims live in the U.S. or the perpetrators are Muslim.
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