URGENT ACTIONS! / PETITIONS!
Please SIGN and FORWARD widely. We need as many names as possible. Every single name counts. Be proactive and participate!
Thank you!!
URGENT! URGENT! URGENT!
*-*-*-*
Urgent Action Requested:
Update on Green Party Resolution on BDS
Dear Beit Zatoun community and friends,
Thank you for answering the call 10 days ago to email the Green Party of Canada leaders to support the BDS resolution coming to a vote at its biennial convention in Ottawa last weekend.
Despite being hotly contested and openly opposed by the party leadership, the convention passed the BDS resolution by such a wide margin that a count was not required. It was a stunning victory!
Yet, yet, the storm clouds took no time to show their menacing power. The attack by media, by the pro-Occupation lobby and much of the higher party brass tried to cut it off at the knees despite being the decisive "democratic" voice.
Thus once again, our community and other solidarity-minded groups are called upon to help reinforce the justness of this resolution - if only because it is the outcome of a democratic process. Does democracy only work as a rubber stamp?
Here are links to help with background:
- text of final BDS resolution
- CBC parroting B'nai Brith, et al. position
- Globe article about Elizabeth May warning she may resign the Green Party leadership
Finally, we come to REQUESTED ACTION. We could do no better than to reproduce a portion of the action bulletin put out by our friends and partners at CJPME (Canadians for Justice & Peace in Middle East):
Tell the Greens they made the right decision:
Please send an email to Elizabeth May and other Green leaders and thank them for the BDS resolution – they are under great pressure now. (If mailto: links does not work properly for you, open your email program and address an email to Elizabeth.may@parl.gc.ca, ken.melamed@greenparty.ca, and Dimitri.lascaris@greenparty.ca.
Just say, "Thank you for the BDS vote!"
CJPME prepared for the convention with two flyers. The first supporting the BDS resolution, depicts Israel’s violation of Palestinian human rights, and the way BDS aligns with international law. The second flyer highlighted the racist land use practices of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The JNF was targeted in a second Green party resolution which passed, but in a watered-down form.
Please share this with others and encourage them to send an email of encouragement to May and the Greens.
From Beit Zatoun and staff
p.s. Having the World Social Forum in Montreal has brought a bounty of speakers in August (an otherwise very quiet month). Beit Zatoun could not pass up the opportunity to have them speak in Toronto. Please see here event details.
Thank you for answering the call 10 days ago to email the Green Party of Canada leaders to support the BDS resolution coming to a vote at its biennial convention in Ottawa last weekend.
Despite being hotly contested and openly opposed by the party leadership, the convention passed the BDS resolution by such a wide margin that a count was not required. It was a stunning victory!
Yet, yet, the storm clouds took no time to show their menacing power. The attack by media, by the pro-Occupation lobby and much of the higher party brass tried to cut it off at the knees despite being the decisive "democratic" voice.
Thus once again, our community and other solidarity-minded groups are called upon to help reinforce the justness of this resolution - if only because it is the outcome of a democratic process. Does democracy only work as a rubber stamp?
Here are links to help with background:
- text of final BDS resolution
- CBC parroting B'nai Brith, et al. position
- Globe article about Elizabeth May warning she may resign the Green Party leadership
Finally, we come to REQUESTED ACTION. We could do no better than to reproduce a portion of the action bulletin put out by our friends and partners at CJPME (Canadians for Justice & Peace in Middle East):
Tell the Greens they made the right decision:
Please send an email to Elizabeth May and other Green leaders and thank them for the BDS resolution – they are under great pressure now. (If mailto: links does not work properly for you, open your email program and address an email to Elizabeth.may@parl.gc.ca, ken.melamed@greenparty.ca, and Dimitri.lascaris@greenparty.ca.
Just say, "Thank you for the BDS vote!"
CJPME prepared for the convention with two flyers. The first supporting the BDS resolution, depicts Israel’s violation of Palestinian human rights, and the way BDS aligns with international law. The second flyer highlighted the racist land use practices of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The JNF was targeted in a second Green party resolution which passed, but in a watered-down form.
Please share this with others and encourage them to send an email of encouragement to May and the Greens.
From Beit Zatoun and staff
p.s. Having the World Social Forum in Montreal has brought a bounty of speakers in August (an otherwise very quiet month). Beit Zatoun could not pass up the opportunity to have them speak in Toronto. Please see here event details.
Support as signatory to a letter indicating to the
Ontario government it must end its intimidation of Palestinian rights advocacy
Independent Jewish Voices Canada
July 24, 2016
Dear friends,
We are writing to YOU with a call on the Ontario government to immediately refrain from defaming and condemning Ontario human rights activists who work in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We contact you knowing you or your organization value free speech, democracy and justice.
We have written a letter for which we are seeking broad civil society support. See and sign the letter here.
The letter will be both emailed to all MPPs, and published online to be widely circulated. The point is to show widespread support for the right of Ontarians to engage in the legitimate tactics of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) in solidarity with Palestinians. We are Palestinian human rights activists in Ontario, including from the student movement and from Independent Jewish Voices Canada, but this letter will be sent on behalf of all organizations which are signatories.
While you may or may not formally support BDS, the attempt to silence a non-violent, time-honoured tactic that challenges human rights violations should not be even considered by the Ontario legislature. Despite the fact that Bill 202 was defeated on May 19th, Premier Wynne stated that she will work with the opposition this summer to bring forward a motion strongly opposing BDS. Thus, we are contacting you and your organization to add your name to groups who will demand that Premier Wynne and the Ontario legislature that it must end its intimidation of Palestinian rights advocacy.
We want to ensure this message gets to all members of the Ontario legislature before the legislature resumes in early September, so they can be ready to say no to any attempt at intimidation of Palestinian rights advocacy.
We are asking if you can let us know of your support as soon as possible, but no later than August 19 by adding your signature here.
We encourage your organization to also promote this letter once you have signed.
If you have questions be sure to ask us at OntBDS@gmail.com.
Tyler Levitan
Campaigns Coordinator / Coordonnateur des campagnes
Independent Jewish Voices Canada / Voix juives indépendantes Canada
613-371-8508
tyler@ijvcanada.org
We are writing to YOU with a call on the Ontario government to immediately refrain from defaming and condemning Ontario human rights activists who work in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We contact you knowing you or your organization value free speech, democracy and justice.
We have written a letter for which we are seeking broad civil society support. See and sign the letter here.
The letter will be both emailed to all MPPs, and published online to be widely circulated. The point is to show widespread support for the right of Ontarians to engage in the legitimate tactics of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) in solidarity with Palestinians. We are Palestinian human rights activists in Ontario, including from the student movement and from Independent Jewish Voices Canada, but this letter will be sent on behalf of all organizations which are signatories.
While you may or may not formally support BDS, the attempt to silence a non-violent, time-honoured tactic that challenges human rights violations should not be even considered by the Ontario legislature. Despite the fact that Bill 202 was defeated on May 19th, Premier Wynne stated that she will work with the opposition this summer to bring forward a motion strongly opposing BDS. Thus, we are contacting you and your organization to add your name to groups who will demand that Premier Wynne and the Ontario legislature that it must end its intimidation of Palestinian rights advocacy.
We want to ensure this message gets to all members of the Ontario legislature before the legislature resumes in early September, so they can be ready to say no to any attempt at intimidation of Palestinian rights advocacy.
We are asking if you can let us know of your support as soon as possible, but no later than August 19 by adding your signature here.
We encourage your organization to also promote this letter once you have signed.
If you have questions be sure to ask us at OntBDS@gmail.com.
Tyler Levitan
Campaigns Coordinator / Coordonnateur des campagnes
Independent Jewish Voices Canada / Voix juives indépendantes Canada
613-371-8508
tyler@ijvcanada.org
Letter to Organizations in Canada
- Peoples' Human Rights Observatory -
Mexico
Brothers and sisters of various organizations in Canada,Please receive our fraternal greetings of solidarity in the name of the Peoples' Human Rights Observatory in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Mexico is living through the worst human rights crisis in recent history. The most serious attacks against human dignity have become the norm to the extent of disappearances of people; extrajudicial executions; the most cruel and inhuman torture; kidnapping; exploitation, slavery and expulsion of migrants; abductions, followed by the appearance of mutilated bodies; the emptying of communal lands to establish mega-businesses or projects of death; the forced removal of populations by organized crime; and the commission of crimes by the armed forces on the pretext of security.
All of these are also old practices which keep an immovable caste in power: electoral fraud, vote-buying, illicit campaign financing, universal corruption in the behaviour of the government and the repression of all forms of resistance. All this is called neo-liberalism and has enthroned the wealthy in power.
Recent events are outstanding for their paradigmatic character: the execution of more than 20 people in Tlatlaya, Mexico State, where the army intervened; the events in Apatzingan where federal police killed various people; the confrontation in Equaderno, and also in Michoacan; and the forced disappearance of 43 students in the rural normal school of Ayotzinapa, Iguala Guerrero on September 26 and 27, 2014. In the most recent event six more people were killed.
Oaxaca sees frequent human rights violations. This has been shown by the crimes committed by [former Governor of Oaxaca] Ulises Ruiz Ortiz against the people and the teachers of Oaxaca in 2006 and recently the massacre committed on June 19, 2016 in Nochtitxlan, Oaxaca by the government of Enrique Peña Nieto.
Indigenous peoples are thrown out of their territories through the imposition of deadly projects established by foreign businesses, backed up by sellout neo-liberal governments who favour them, promoting hunger, looting, destruction and confrontations between communities. These business interests and neo-liberal governments support open aggression from paramilitaries or hitmen, with the peoples suffering grave violations to their social, cultural and economic rights.
Indigenous peoples are facing perpetual violations of their collective rights to forge their collective and individual relations in accordance with their own social practices, the life of their community and their needs. Amongst these we can count the right to life, to peace, to their territory, to development and to a clean and healthy environment.
Against this dark background the Peoples' Human Rights Observatory was born on June 13 and 14 in Oaxaca, Mexico. The Observatory is an initiative of the people and the popular exercise of the people's human rights, participatory democracy and justice locally, nationally and internationally. It stands for the active building and deepening of resistance and the strengthening of people's power.
There is a great need to introduce the Peoples' Human Rights Observatory in Oaxaca, Mexico to the world. We would like to introduce Daniela González Lopez, coordinator of the observatory, as well as Soledad Ortiz of the Technical Secretariat which exposes and denounces systematic human rights violations against organizations and peoples, and would like to share our experiences.
We look forward to the opportunity to share our experiences in the work and the struggle with you very soon.
Yours in Solidarity,
The Peoples' Human Rights Observatory
(Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico, June 30, 2016)
Mexico is living through the worst human rights crisis in recent history. The most serious attacks against human dignity have become the norm to the extent of disappearances of people; extrajudicial executions; the most cruel and inhuman torture; kidnapping; exploitation, slavery and expulsion of migrants; abductions, followed by the appearance of mutilated bodies; the emptying of communal lands to establish mega-businesses or projects of death; the forced removal of populations by organized crime; and the commission of crimes by the armed forces on the pretext of security.
All of these are also old practices which keep an immovable caste in power: electoral fraud, vote-buying, illicit campaign financing, universal corruption in the behaviour of the government and the repression of all forms of resistance. All this is called neo-liberalism and has enthroned the wealthy in power.
Recent events are outstanding for their paradigmatic character: the execution of more than 20 people in Tlatlaya, Mexico State, where the army intervened; the events in Apatzingan where federal police killed various people; the confrontation in Equaderno, and also in Michoacan; and the forced disappearance of 43 students in the rural normal school of Ayotzinapa, Iguala Guerrero on September 26 and 27, 2014. In the most recent event six more people were killed.
Oaxaca sees frequent human rights violations. This has been shown by the crimes committed by [former Governor of Oaxaca] Ulises Ruiz Ortiz against the people and the teachers of Oaxaca in 2006 and recently the massacre committed on June 19, 2016 in Nochtitxlan, Oaxaca by the government of Enrique Peña Nieto.
Indigenous peoples are thrown out of their territories through the imposition of deadly projects established by foreign businesses, backed up by sellout neo-liberal governments who favour them, promoting hunger, looting, destruction and confrontations between communities. These business interests and neo-liberal governments support open aggression from paramilitaries or hitmen, with the peoples suffering grave violations to their social, cultural and economic rights.
Indigenous peoples are facing perpetual violations of their collective rights to forge their collective and individual relations in accordance with their own social practices, the life of their community and their needs. Amongst these we can count the right to life, to peace, to their territory, to development and to a clean and healthy environment.
Against this dark background the Peoples' Human Rights Observatory was born on June 13 and 14 in Oaxaca, Mexico. The Observatory is an initiative of the people and the popular exercise of the people's human rights, participatory democracy and justice locally, nationally and internationally. It stands for the active building and deepening of resistance and the strengthening of people's power.
There is a great need to introduce the Peoples' Human Rights Observatory in Oaxaca, Mexico to the world. We would like to introduce Daniela González Lopez, coordinator of the observatory, as well as Soledad Ortiz of the Technical Secretariat which exposes and denounces systematic human rights violations against organizations and peoples, and would like to share our experiences.
We look forward to the opportunity to share our experiences in the work and the struggle with you very soon.
Yours in Solidarity,
The Peoples' Human Rights Observatory
(Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico, June 30, 2016)
PLEASE TAKE ACTION:
1) IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE, send an email to Mexican authorities to demand a halt to police attacks on striking teachers; the immediate liberty of Rubén Nuñez and Francisco Villalobos and all teachers union members jailed for their labor activities; the reinstatement of all educational workers fired for supporting the strike; that the government enter immediately and without conditions into negotiations to end the strike.
2) Consider organizing a demonstration or vigil at the nearest Mexican consulate or embassy. Please send us photos from your event to JAMES@AFGJ.ORG . We will post these on social media and send them to the People’s Human Rights Observatory in Oaxaca.
3) Share this email with you lists and/or post on social media:
http://afgj.org/urgent-call-for-solidarity-with-oaxacas-teachers-union
1) IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE, send an email to Mexican authorities to demand a halt to police attacks on striking teachers; the immediate liberty of Rubén Nuñez and Francisco Villalobos and all teachers union members jailed for their labor activities; the reinstatement of all educational workers fired for supporting the strike; that the government enter immediately and without conditions into negotiations to end the strike.
2) Consider organizing a demonstration or vigil at the nearest Mexican consulate or embassy. Please send us photos from your event to JAMES@AFGJ.ORG . We will post these on social media and send them to the People’s Human Rights Observatory in Oaxaca.
3) Share this email with you lists and/or post on social media:
http://afgj.org/urgent-call-for-solidarity-with-oaxacas-teachers-union
#right2RIP : Aura Minerals, Respect the Dead
and the Living in Honduras!
FACEBOOK
Aura Minerals, a Toronto-based mining company, is seeking to dig up and move a 200 year old cemetery near La Unión, Copán, Honduras. The community of Azacualpa has countless loved ones currently buried in this valued site, with the most recent burial just earlier this year. Aura Minerals says that they cannot continue mining for gold without exhuming and relocating the bodies.
Aura Minerals has been using every tool in the book to collaborate with the local police and military in forcing the community into allowing their family members to be exhumed and relocated, including violently evicting protesters, putting the cemetery under military occupation, bribes and false promises, drone surveillance, charging local leaders with ‘illicit protest’, and declaring the cemetery to be a safety hazard.
Despite all of this, the community continues to resist these coercive pressures through blockades, negotiations, and community referenda. Many worry that a relocation of the cemetery could happen any day unless more action is taken.
Just this month, the company and the Honduran Government, Army and Police pressured the Azacualpa Environmental Committee into signing a so-called “Act of Conciliation”, in the presence of:
who were brought in to intimidate members of the community into signing an agreement to allow for the destruction of the cemetery, without prior consultation with the community. Click here for more information about what happened during this coercive “negotiation”.
The community of Azacualpa needs our help to put pressure on Aura Minerals here at home. Help us tell this Canadian company: Azacualpa has the right to rest in peace!
Aura Minerals has been using every tool in the book to collaborate with the local police and military in forcing the community into allowing their family members to be exhumed and relocated, including violently evicting protesters, putting the cemetery under military occupation, bribes and false promises, drone surveillance, charging local leaders with ‘illicit protest’, and declaring the cemetery to be a safety hazard.
Despite all of this, the community continues to resist these coercive pressures through blockades, negotiations, and community referenda. Many worry that a relocation of the cemetery could happen any day unless more action is taken.
Just this month, the company and the Honduran Government, Army and Police pressured the Azacualpa Environmental Committee into signing a so-called “Act of Conciliation”, in the presence of:
- Hector Leonel Ayala, Minister of the Interior, Human Rights, Justice and Decentralization;
- Abel Contreras, Departmental Governor of Copan;
- Coronel Mario Edgardo Padilla, Commander of the 120th Infantry Brigade;
- National Police Commissioner Henry Amilcar Márquez Quintero;
who were brought in to intimidate members of the community into signing an agreement to allow for the destruction of the cemetery, without prior consultation with the community. Click here for more information about what happened during this coercive “negotiation”.
The community of Azacualpa needs our help to put pressure on Aura Minerals here at home. Help us tell this Canadian company: Azacualpa has the right to rest in peace!
HERE'S WHAT TO DO!
’s what to do:
- Find a picture of a loved one who has passed away (for example, your grandmother, a friend, even a respected celebrity or public figure).
- Take a selfie with this picture in whatever context you’d like.
- Share this picture of yourself on Facebook, Twitter, via photo text to your friends, etc., along with the following message (fill in the info that applies to your photo!): “This is [name and/or relationship]. [Pronoun] has the right to rest in peace, and so should the community of Azacualpa! #right2RIP www.tiny.cc/right2rip.”
For example, “This is my friend Alberto. He has the right to rest in peace, and so should the community of Azacualpa! #right2RIP www.tiny.cc/right2rip”. - If you’re sharing your picture on a platform that allows more than 140 characters, you can add the following text, along with whatever other commentary you’d like to include: “Canadian mining company Aura Minerals is trying to force the community of Azacualpa in Honduras to let them dig up countless loved ones because the cemetery is ‘in the way’ of their mining project. For more information about this atrocity or to join the ‘Right to Rest in Peace’ campaign, click: www.mininginjustice.org/aura-minerals. #right2RIP”
- If you want to support the campaign but don’t have a photo to share, you can tweet/post: “Aura wants to dig up Honduran community Azacualpa’s cemetery for a mine. Join the #right2RIP campaign to fight back:www.tiny.cc/right2rip“.
- We are in touch with impacted community members in Honduras, so we would love to hear from you about all the ways that you supported this campaign in order to report some numbers back to them! And be sure to use the hashtag #right2RIP in everything you post.
- BONUS ACTION: Find a piece of paper and write a message of solidarity to the community of Azacualpa to let them know you support their struggle to protect their land, loved ones, and sacred site. Take another picture and send it to mininginjustice@gmail.com, and we will pass it along!
Please share this call as far as wide as you can! We’re doing lots behind the scenes, too, to make this work – stay tuned for stories!
For more information:
***************************
Examples of people to contact with your message of support:
For more information:
- Canada’s Aura Minerals Terrorizing Honduran Communities for Protecting Their Cemetery
- Canada-based Aura Minerals Ready to Dig up the Dead in Honduras
- Community Fears Toronto-Based Aura Minerals Preparing to Illegally Remove Cemetery in Honduras with Military Support
***************************
Examples of people to contact with your message of support:
- Jim Bannatine, President and CEO of Aura Minerals: info@auraminerals.com
- William Monti Reed, Aura Minerals mine manager in Honduras: info@auraminerals.com
- Your Member of Parliament
- The Canadian embassy in Honduras: tglpa@international.gc.ca
- Michael Gort, Canadian ambassador to Honduras: Michael.Gort@international.gc.ca
- Claude Beauséjour, Director, Central America Development Program: claude.beausejour@international.gc.ca
Canada. Justice for Sheldon McKenzie:
Take Action to Protect Migrant Workers
This week's edition of CBC's Go Public exposes inconsistencies around the death of Sheldon McKenzie, a Jamaican migrant farm worker who died on September 17, 2015 (http://bit.ly/1WByDLx).
McKenzie was a father of two and had worked as a farmworker in Leamington for 13 years under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). On January 26, 2015, Mckenzie had been working in a greenhouse at the Leamington farm when he fell and subsequently ended up in a coma. He died later that year. Although his death was a workplace fatality, no coroner's inquest into his death was held. His family and friends want answers and are demanding action.
To date there has never been a coroners inquest into the death of a migrant worker anywhere in Canada, despite the known hazardous and dangerous conditions of their work sectors.
Please join us in demanding Justice for Sheldon and for the countless other migrant workers who have been killed while working in Canada. Both the federal and provincial governments must shoulder responsibility for Sheldon's death. Both levels of government must investigate all repatriations of migrant workers; including migrants repatriated for medical reasons.
Please check our website www.harvestingfreedom.org to take action by:
•Signing and sharing the Harvesting Freedom petition
•E-mail, phone and tweet ESDC Minister Mary Ann Mihychuk
MaryAnn.Mihychuk@parl.gc.ca
Telephone: 613-992-7148 (Ottawa)
Telephone: 204-984-6322 (Constituency office)
Twitter: @MPMihychuk
Demand that the voices of seasonal agricultural workers are included in the upcoming TFW review as well as the voices of injured and sick migrant workers no longer in the program.
• E-mail, phone and tweet Citizenship, Immigration and Refugees Minister John McCallum
E-mail: john.mccallum@parl.gc.ca
Phone: 613-996-3374 (Ottawa)
Phone: 905-479-8100 (Constituency office)
Twitter:@HonJohnMcallum
• E-mail, phone and tweet Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn at
kflynn.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Phone: 416-325-5200 (Queen's Park)
Phone: 905-827-5141 (Constituency)
Twitter: @MPPkevinflynn
Demand an investigation into all medical repatriations proactive inspections are undertaken (strengthen our province demand)
If you want to keep in contact with the campaign please contact us at harvestingfreedomcampaign@gmail.com
McKenzie was a father of two and had worked as a farmworker in Leamington for 13 years under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). On January 26, 2015, Mckenzie had been working in a greenhouse at the Leamington farm when he fell and subsequently ended up in a coma. He died later that year. Although his death was a workplace fatality, no coroner's inquest into his death was held. His family and friends want answers and are demanding action.
To date there has never been a coroners inquest into the death of a migrant worker anywhere in Canada, despite the known hazardous and dangerous conditions of their work sectors.
Please join us in demanding Justice for Sheldon and for the countless other migrant workers who have been killed while working in Canada. Both the federal and provincial governments must shoulder responsibility for Sheldon's death. Both levels of government must investigate all repatriations of migrant workers; including migrants repatriated for medical reasons.
Please check our website www.harvestingfreedom.org to take action by:
•Signing and sharing the Harvesting Freedom petition
•E-mail, phone and tweet ESDC Minister Mary Ann Mihychuk
MaryAnn.Mihychuk@parl.gc.ca
Telephone: 613-992-7148 (Ottawa)
Telephone: 204-984-6322 (Constituency office)
Twitter: @MPMihychuk
Demand that the voices of seasonal agricultural workers are included in the upcoming TFW review as well as the voices of injured and sick migrant workers no longer in the program.
• E-mail, phone and tweet Citizenship, Immigration and Refugees Minister John McCallum
E-mail: john.mccallum@parl.gc.ca
Phone: 613-996-3374 (Ottawa)
Phone: 905-479-8100 (Constituency office)
Twitter:@HonJohnMcallum
• E-mail, phone and tweet Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn at
kflynn.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Phone: 416-325-5200 (Queen's Park)
Phone: 905-827-5141 (Constituency)
Twitter: @MPPkevinflynn
Demand an investigation into all medical repatriations proactive inspections are undertaken (strengthen our province demand)
If you want to keep in contact with the campaign please contact us at harvestingfreedomcampaign@gmail.com
Increasing Death Threats in Colombia:
New Round of Death Threats against Union Leaders and Human Rights Defenders in Colombia
Codev - April, 2016
CoDevelopment Canada’s Colombian partner NOMADESC has informed us of a new round of death threats against numerous human rights defenders and union leaders in the Valle de Cauca region by the paramilitary group Gaitanistas Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC). This is the latest incident in a recent increase in human rights abuses in Colombia.
On April 11th 2016, a series of envelopes containing threatening messages from the paramilitary group Gaitanistas Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) were discovered at the Colombian Labour Central (CUT), Solidarity Committee with Political Prisoners (CSPP) and NOMADESC main offices.
The envelopes were slipped underneath the doors of the above-mentioned organizations and were addressed to Martha Giraldo, technical secretary of MOVICE in Valle (National Movement of State Crime Victims); Jose Milciades Sanchez of SINTRAUNICOL (National Union of University Workers and Employees of Colombia); Walter Agredo of CSPP (Solidarity Committee with Political Prisoners) and Wilson Sáenz of the CUT-Valle (Colombian Labour Central).
The messages declare the following people military targets, and warn that anyone accompanying them will be gunned down: Walter Agredo, Rodrigo Vargas, Hernán Arciniegas, Wilson Sáenz, Julián Lozano, José Milciades Sánchez, Martha Giraldo, Ariel Díaz, Edison Méndez, Carlos Murcia, Ismael Hurtado, Henry Domínguez, Jorge Iván Vélez, Albert Quintero and Antonio Gutiérrez, as well as making reference to the Congress of the People. Mr. Sáenz, Mr. Lozano, Mr. Milciades Sánchez and Mr. Velez were all subjects of a death threat in December 2015.
Please join CoDev in calling on the Colombian government to ensure the safety of the threatened activists and to investigate and dismantle the paramilitary groups operating in Colombia.
Background
In 2003 the Colombian government began a formal process to demobilize the paramilitary group the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The process came under significant criticism; only a small fraction of the 30,000 supposedly demobilized paramilitaries were convicted of human rights-related crimes, and according to reports from organizations including Amnesty International, paramilitary groups continued to operate under new names. In recent months human rights organizations including NOMADESC have reported increased threats and assassinations of activists by paramilitary groups in regions throughout Colombia.
NOMADESC stresses that these latest threats are part of an ongoing strategy by these re-constituted paramilitary groups to assassinate and intimidate social movement leaders. NOMADESC notes that the human rights group Somos Defensores (We Are Defenders) has registered 113 threats against human rights defenders in Colombia since the beginning of 2016. Of those, 81 were death threats, and 19 people have been assassinated.
At this important moment in the peace process, such widespread paramilitary actions are particularly troubling. There is concern for the safety of both demobilized combatants and communities in conflict zones, particularly in regions where there is a struggle for control over illegal activities and where communities are defending against forcible displacements.
READ, SIGN AND SEND URGENT ACTION HERE ....
On April 11th 2016, a series of envelopes containing threatening messages from the paramilitary group Gaitanistas Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) were discovered at the Colombian Labour Central (CUT), Solidarity Committee with Political Prisoners (CSPP) and NOMADESC main offices.
The envelopes were slipped underneath the doors of the above-mentioned organizations and were addressed to Martha Giraldo, technical secretary of MOVICE in Valle (National Movement of State Crime Victims); Jose Milciades Sanchez of SINTRAUNICOL (National Union of University Workers and Employees of Colombia); Walter Agredo of CSPP (Solidarity Committee with Political Prisoners) and Wilson Sáenz of the CUT-Valle (Colombian Labour Central).
The messages declare the following people military targets, and warn that anyone accompanying them will be gunned down: Walter Agredo, Rodrigo Vargas, Hernán Arciniegas, Wilson Sáenz, Julián Lozano, José Milciades Sánchez, Martha Giraldo, Ariel Díaz, Edison Méndez, Carlos Murcia, Ismael Hurtado, Henry Domínguez, Jorge Iván Vélez, Albert Quintero and Antonio Gutiérrez, as well as making reference to the Congress of the People. Mr. Sáenz, Mr. Lozano, Mr. Milciades Sánchez and Mr. Velez were all subjects of a death threat in December 2015.
Please join CoDev in calling on the Colombian government to ensure the safety of the threatened activists and to investigate and dismantle the paramilitary groups operating in Colombia.
Background
In 2003 the Colombian government began a formal process to demobilize the paramilitary group the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The process came under significant criticism; only a small fraction of the 30,000 supposedly demobilized paramilitaries were convicted of human rights-related crimes, and according to reports from organizations including Amnesty International, paramilitary groups continued to operate under new names. In recent months human rights organizations including NOMADESC have reported increased threats and assassinations of activists by paramilitary groups in regions throughout Colombia.
NOMADESC stresses that these latest threats are part of an ongoing strategy by these re-constituted paramilitary groups to assassinate and intimidate social movement leaders. NOMADESC notes that the human rights group Somos Defensores (We Are Defenders) has registered 113 threats against human rights defenders in Colombia since the beginning of 2016. Of those, 81 were death threats, and 19 people have been assassinated.
At this important moment in the peace process, such widespread paramilitary actions are particularly troubling. There is concern for the safety of both demobilized combatants and communities in conflict zones, particularly in regions where there is a struggle for control over illegal activities and where communities are defending against forcible displacements.
READ, SIGN AND SEND URGENT ACTION HERE ....
Petition to Upgrade Palestine’s Diplomatic Status
in Canada
Canada-Palestine Public Relations - CPPR
The Palestinians have had a representative in Ottawa for many years, but this representative has never enjoyed the same status as that enjoyed by representatives of other nations. The below petition requests that the status of this representative be upgraded, and that this individual be known as representative of “Palestine” in Canada.
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
We would like to express our utmost delight for your leadership of this great country, which makes us fully confident in the returned status of Canada as a major player in the international arena for peace, and the defending of principals of human rights and international legitimacy. As Canadians of Arab origin, and Canadians interested in justice in the Middle East, we are eager to strengthen relations between our home-land Canada and our countries of origin.
We are highly appreciative and supportive of your statements calling to achieve just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. We look forward to Canada taking a constructive, unbiased and honest mediation.
We, the undersigned, are asking you to take an active role in the implementation of a symbolic step to upgrade the diplomatic Palestinian representation in Canada to such a rank like: The General Delegation of Palestine, the Diplomatic Mission of Palestine, Diplomatic Representation of Palestine, including granting it the privileges and immunities enjoyed by other countries’ official representation in Canada.
We thank you for your consideration of our request. Please accept our utmost respect and best wishes.
More info here ...
We would like to express our utmost delight for your leadership of this great country, which makes us fully confident in the returned status of Canada as a major player in the international arena for peace, and the defending of principals of human rights and international legitimacy. As Canadians of Arab origin, and Canadians interested in justice in the Middle East, we are eager to strengthen relations between our home-land Canada and our countries of origin.
We are highly appreciative and supportive of your statements calling to achieve just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. We look forward to Canada taking a constructive, unbiased and honest mediation.
We, the undersigned, are asking you to take an active role in the implementation of a symbolic step to upgrade the diplomatic Palestinian representation in Canada to such a rank like: The General Delegation of Palestine, the Diplomatic Mission of Palestine, Diplomatic Representation of Palestine, including granting it the privileges and immunities enjoyed by other countries’ official representation in Canada.
We thank you for your consideration of our request. Please accept our utmost respect and best wishes.
More info here ...
Here is the most recent update from Gustavo's team in Tegucigalpa (More info below)
Gustavo made it to the Tegucigalpa airport. He had just hugged the Mexican ambassador and consul good-bye, and was about to pass the migration point, when the Honduran authorities showed up and tried to grab him. The ambassador fought back, shouting and making a ruckus. The Hondurans said that Gustavo had to finish "declaring" (he has already spent days doing this). In a process that no one didn't fully understand, he is now in the Mexican Embassy with diplomatic protection. He is well accompanied. There are many people supporting him: lawyers, activists, Amnesty International, etc.
The Honduran government has launched a "migratory alert" for Gustavo not to leave the country. They say that there is still one step in the declaration process that he must finish, and they want him to return to La Esperanza to do it.
Please, call the number below to state the following demands:
- Gustavo must leave the country as quickly as possible;
- Whatever process is still needed must be done in the embassy.
For today (they are answering the phones): Honduran Human Rights Commission, (504) 2231 0204
For calls/emails/faxes tomorrow use the info in this LINK.
The Honduran government has launched a "migratory alert" for Gustavo not to leave the country. They say that there is still one step in the declaration process that he must finish, and they want him to return to La Esperanza to do it.
Please, call the number below to state the following demands:
- Gustavo must leave the country as quickly as possible;
- Whatever process is still needed must be done in the embassy.
For today (they are answering the phones): Honduran Human Rights Commission, (504) 2231 0204
For calls/emails/faxes tomorrow use the info in this LINK.
Protection for Gustavo Castro, injured during the assassination of Berta Caceres
March 4, 2016
Leer en Español
Our friend and colleague Gustavo Castro Soto was injured during the attack. Gustavo is Mexican and a member of the organization Otros Mundos Chiapas/Friends of the Earth-Mexico, the Mexican Network of Mining-Affected Peoples and the Mesoamerican Movement against the Extractive Mining Model (M4). Gustavo survived the attack and has become a key actor in the investigation into the murder of our friend Berta.
Berta and Gustavo are two people known for their role in international social and environmental struggles, evidence of their dedication to defending the rights of Indigenous and campesino peoples, who have accompanied processes of organized and peaceful resistance to prevent territories within Mesoamerica from being appropriated by regional governments at the service of the neoliberal project being implemented through extractivist projects, considered projects of death.
In the context of the terrible assassination of the much loved Berta Cáceres, we call on the government of Honduras to pay immediate attention, to intervene, and to follow up on this devastating moment for the Honduran people. We also call for all legal and political measures possible to guarantee the immediate protection of our friend and colleague Gustavo Castro so that, once he has given his testimony to the Honduran state, he can safely return to Mexico.
Right now, it is fundamentally important to guarantee the life of our colleague Gustavo Castro given the risk he faces a key witness to this horrible assassination.
The security of all of the members of the Coordinating Group of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) must also be guaranteed. Please take action by clicking here
Mesoamerican Movement against the Extractive Mining Model
Mexican Network of Mining-Affected Peoples
Otros Mundos Chiapas
MORE INFO ABOUT HONDURAS HERE!
Our friend and colleague Gustavo Castro Soto was injured during the attack. Gustavo is Mexican and a member of the organization Otros Mundos Chiapas/Friends of the Earth-Mexico, the Mexican Network of Mining-Affected Peoples and the Mesoamerican Movement against the Extractive Mining Model (M4). Gustavo survived the attack and has become a key actor in the investigation into the murder of our friend Berta.
Berta and Gustavo are two people known for their role in international social and environmental struggles, evidence of their dedication to defending the rights of Indigenous and campesino peoples, who have accompanied processes of organized and peaceful resistance to prevent territories within Mesoamerica from being appropriated by regional governments at the service of the neoliberal project being implemented through extractivist projects, considered projects of death.
In the context of the terrible assassination of the much loved Berta Cáceres, we call on the government of Honduras to pay immediate attention, to intervene, and to follow up on this devastating moment for the Honduran people. We also call for all legal and political measures possible to guarantee the immediate protection of our friend and colleague Gustavo Castro so that, once he has given his testimony to the Honduran state, he can safely return to Mexico.
Right now, it is fundamentally important to guarantee the life of our colleague Gustavo Castro given the risk he faces a key witness to this horrible assassination.
The security of all of the members of the Coordinating Group of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) must also be guaranteed. Please take action by clicking here
Mesoamerican Movement against the Extractive Mining Model
Mexican Network of Mining-Affected Peoples
Otros Mundos Chiapas
MORE INFO ABOUT HONDURAS HERE!
Toronto Police Service has been racially profiling our community (and others).....
Latin American Community Unite Around this Issue!
Dear Latin American community member/organization,
It is time we unite around an issue. Toronto Police Service has been racially profiling our community (and others) by calling Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) if they "suspect" a person to "not have a status". Below you will find a report: Often Asking Always Telling, showing this in addition to a letter/deputation that we were supposed to read to the Toronto Police Service Board last December 17, 2015. Read full article here....
A copy of the letter is found here below and although it was given to the board, the deputation has not been made yet because they have not heard it on their agenda. Hopefully in February, 2016! We should keep our eyes and ears wide open!
More Info: Derik Chica, derikchica@gmail.com
It is time we unite around an issue. Toronto Police Service has been racially profiling our community (and others) by calling Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) if they "suspect" a person to "not have a status". Below you will find a report: Often Asking Always Telling, showing this in addition to a letter/deputation that we were supposed to read to the Toronto Police Service Board last December 17, 2015. Read full article here....
A copy of the letter is found here below and although it was given to the board, the deputation has not been made yet because they have not heard it on their agenda. Hopefully in February, 2016! We should keep our eyes and ears wide open!
More Info: Derik Chica, derikchica@gmail.com
| often_asking_always_telling.pdf |
SYRIAN REFUGEES
As you know, there are many conflicting voices emerging as to whether or not Canada should welcome the 25 000 Syrian refugees, whom our government has pledged itself to welcome to Canada
We urge you to support the federal government`s decision to welcome refugees to Canada by:
1) Signing one of the three petitions below:
Avaaz Bilingual Petition to Honour Pledge to Bring 25 000 Syrian Refugees to Canada
Change.org English Petition to Support Syrian Refugees Coming to Canada
Care2Petitions
2) Contact your federal Member of Parliament and let her or him know that you urge them to continue to honour their pledge to the decision to welcome the Syrian refugees to Canada.
Find your Member of Parliament using your Postal Code!
3) By continuing to demand that all refugees be treated with dignity as our sisters and brothers.
In solidarity,
Together, let us be in solidarity with all refugees and immigrants.
1) Signing one of the three petitions below:
Avaaz Bilingual Petition to Honour Pledge to Bring 25 000 Syrian Refugees to Canada
Change.org English Petition to Support Syrian Refugees Coming to Canada
Care2Petitions
2) Contact your federal Member of Parliament and let her or him know that you urge them to continue to honour their pledge to the decision to welcome the Syrian refugees to Canada.
Find your Member of Parliament using your Postal Code!
3) By continuing to demand that all refugees be treated with dignity as our sisters and brothers.
In solidarity,
Together, let us be in solidarity with all refugees and immigrants.
Urgent Action: Indigenous Activist Assassinated, October 2015
It is with great sadness that CoDev shares this urgent action. On October 11th, indigenous activist Benecio Flor Belalcazar was assassinated while travelling with his wife to the city of Suarez in the department of Cauca, Colombia. Mr Flor Belalcazar was a student in CoDev partner NOMADESC’s Intercultural University of the Peoples.
Mr. Belalcazar was a leader in the protection of freshwater basins in his territory, worked on community farming initiatives, and was the campaign manager for the mayoral candidate of the Independent Social Alliance party. Many years ago he participated in the truth commission for the investigation into massacres and human rights violation in Cauca, such as the Nilo massacre. Mr. Belalcazar was the father of Eider Flor, indigenous leader of the Cerro Tijeras council. Eider Flor is a member of the team working to ensure compliance with court sentence T462A, in which the Constitutional Court ordered Colombian State and the private company EPSA to carry out prior consultation and develop an environmental management plan for the human, economic, social and environmental impacts of the Salvajina Hydroelectric dam, an issue which has been ongoing for 22 years.
On July 28 2015, NOMADESC, Eider Flor and the Derechos Humanos Colombia met with Guillermo Rivera, Presidential Advisor for Human Rights. At that Eider Flor expressed his concern over threats against his life and that of his family. These issues were also brought to the attention of the State’s Attorney General in Bogotá, who referred the matter to the Sectional Office in Popayán, Cauca.
Please consider adding your voice to those asking for an investigation into Mr Belalcazar’s assassination and protection for his family members. Open and sign letter here ...
Mr. Belalcazar was a leader in the protection of freshwater basins in his territory, worked on community farming initiatives, and was the campaign manager for the mayoral candidate of the Independent Social Alliance party. Many years ago he participated in the truth commission for the investigation into massacres and human rights violation in Cauca, such as the Nilo massacre. Mr. Belalcazar was the father of Eider Flor, indigenous leader of the Cerro Tijeras council. Eider Flor is a member of the team working to ensure compliance with court sentence T462A, in which the Constitutional Court ordered Colombian State and the private company EPSA to carry out prior consultation and develop an environmental management plan for the human, economic, social and environmental impacts of the Salvajina Hydroelectric dam, an issue which has been ongoing for 22 years.
On July 28 2015, NOMADESC, Eider Flor and the Derechos Humanos Colombia met with Guillermo Rivera, Presidential Advisor for Human Rights. At that Eider Flor expressed his concern over threats against his life and that of his family. These issues were also brought to the attention of the State’s Attorney General in Bogotá, who referred the matter to the Sectional Office in Popayán, Cauca.
Please consider adding your voice to those asking for an investigation into Mr Belalcazar’s assassination and protection for his family members. Open and sign letter here ...
Petition to all MPP Members of Provincial Parliament including the Premier of Ontario!
This is a petition initiated by Andrea Vasquez Jimenez (Toronto) and sent to all MPPs and the Premier of Ontario requesting the name change from Hispanic Heritage Month to Latin-America History Month. If interested, sign petition found under link below.
Dear Elected Officials,
There are many community members upset and frustrated with the lack of transparency when “Hispanic Heritage Month” was changed from April to October in Toronto without any community wide consultation and subsequently passed in Ontario as Bill 28, Hispanic Heritage Month Act, 2014.
Please be aware that there is an online petition gaining momentum and we are now collecting hard-copy petitions asking that the name of the exclusive singular euro-centric term Hispanic Heritage Month be changed to Latin-America History Month. Using Latin-America History, allows a reference to a geographical location and therefore allows inclusivity of all/any multiple identities because it allows self-identification meanwhile celebrates a land and histories that connect us all.
We ask for the immediate name change to Latin-America History Month in order to be inclusive of the multiple communities and identities that make up Latin-America which are currently excluded under the term Hispanic such as Indigenous people, Afro-Latinxs, gender non-conforming people etc.
Please open petition HERE and full reasons as to why we ask for the name change.
Dear Elected Officials,
There are many community members upset and frustrated with the lack of transparency when “Hispanic Heritage Month” was changed from April to October in Toronto without any community wide consultation and subsequently passed in Ontario as Bill 28, Hispanic Heritage Month Act, 2014.
Please be aware that there is an online petition gaining momentum and we are now collecting hard-copy petitions asking that the name of the exclusive singular euro-centric term Hispanic Heritage Month be changed to Latin-America History Month. Using Latin-America History, allows a reference to a geographical location and therefore allows inclusivity of all/any multiple identities because it allows self-identification meanwhile celebrates a land and histories that connect us all.
We ask for the immediate name change to Latin-America History Month in order to be inclusive of the multiple communities and identities that make up Latin-America which are currently excluded under the term Hispanic such as Indigenous people, Afro-Latinxs, gender non-conforming people etc.
Please open petition HERE and full reasons as to why we ask for the name change.
URGENT ACTION!
How can you help?
Copy the entire line of emails and paste it in the To line of your message. At the bottom of the message, add your name and organization (if there is one!).
How can you help?
Copy the entire line of emails and paste it in the To line of your message. At the bottom of the message, add your name and organization (if there is one!).
To: agenda@agenda.gov.co; atencionciudadanacongreso@senado.gov.co; contacto@fiscalia.gov.co; ddhh@congresodelospueblos.org; defensoria@defensoria.org.co; denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co; editorweb@elespectador.com; insge.ardeh-gupov@policia.gov.co; insge.ardeh-sec@policia.gov.co; lnovoa@hchr.org.co; notificacionesjudiciales@mininterior.gov.co; secretaria_privada@hotmail.com; servicioalciudadano@mininterior.gov.co; servicioalcliente@elespectador.com; thowland@hchr.org.co
Subject: "Colombia - We demand immediate release of Activists and Human Rights Defenders"
Message:
On July 8, 2015, 15 people were detained in the city of Bogotá simultaneously in operations conducted by the District Attorney of the Nation, along with the National Police. The detained were accused of being responsible for the explosions that occurred last week in Bogotá. Even without a judiciary order, official pronouncements of the Presidency, local authorities and massive media were already targeting these 15 people as responsible of such attacks.
Regarding these incidents, we denounce that the majority of the detained and accused are well known student leaders, peasants, journalists, public servants and human rights defenders who have been publicly fighting for the rights to public education, the rights of peasants, and the construction of peace. Furthermore, eleven of the detained people are part of organizations that make up "Congreso de los Pueblos" (The People’s Congress).
Despite all their help and work for Colombia, different media characterized them as “terrorists”, considering their social engagement and activism as an indicator of violent actions. Besides the stigmatization and discrimination against these people, authorities are undermining the presumption of innocence and criminalizing the freedom of expression in Colombia.
In solidarity with this situation, the Latin American Movement Assembly denounces the violation of these people’s basic human rights and demands for their immediate release until the case is investigated according to the article 8 of the Human Rights Inter-American Convention, ratified by Colombia in 1985. We are worried about the multiple cases of legal false positives that have happened and continue to happen since last year and have been generating stigmatizations and risks to the members of the social movement in Colombia.
We demand justice for these 15 activists who, through their hard work and commitment have greatly contributed to the creation of a social and political movement that promotes peace and social justice and who represent structural changes for the country.
We demand the freedom of the people deprived of their liberty with the guarantee of a due process and the recognition of the legitimacy and legality of their actions.
We call the General Prosecutors of the nation to act in line with the principal of judicial independence by making a reasonable and technical assessment of the alleged evidence that has been collected, as they were in public and work-related activities to testify and provide justification.
We demand guarantees to political participation, the exercise of social protest and the freedom of expression in Colombia, and to detain all the mechanisms that obstruct the defense of human rights.
Your Name & Organization
On July 8, 2015, 15 people were detained in the city of Bogotá simultaneously in operations conducted by the District Attorney of the Nation, along with the National Police. The detained were accused of being responsible for the explosions that occurred last week in Bogotá. Even without a judiciary order, official pronouncements of the Presidency, local authorities and massive media were already targeting these 15 people as responsible of such attacks.
Regarding these incidents, we denounce that the majority of the detained and accused are well known student leaders, peasants, journalists, public servants and human rights defenders who have been publicly fighting for the rights to public education, the rights of peasants, and the construction of peace. Furthermore, eleven of the detained people are part of organizations that make up "Congreso de los Pueblos" (The People’s Congress).
Despite all their help and work for Colombia, different media characterized them as “terrorists”, considering their social engagement and activism as an indicator of violent actions. Besides the stigmatization and discrimination against these people, authorities are undermining the presumption of innocence and criminalizing the freedom of expression in Colombia.
In solidarity with this situation, the Latin American Movement Assembly denounces the violation of these people’s basic human rights and demands for their immediate release until the case is investigated according to the article 8 of the Human Rights Inter-American Convention, ratified by Colombia in 1985. We are worried about the multiple cases of legal false positives that have happened and continue to happen since last year and have been generating stigmatizations and risks to the members of the social movement in Colombia.
We demand justice for these 15 activists who, through their hard work and commitment have greatly contributed to the creation of a social and political movement that promotes peace and social justice and who represent structural changes for the country.
We demand the freedom of the people deprived of their liberty with the guarantee of a due process and the recognition of the legitimacy and legality of their actions.
We call the General Prosecutors of the nation to act in line with the principal of judicial independence by making a reasonable and technical assessment of the alleged evidence that has been collected, as they were in public and work-related activities to testify and provide justification.
We demand guarantees to political participation, the exercise of social protest and the freedom of expression in Colombia, and to detain all the mechanisms that obstruct the defense of human rights.
Your Name & Organization
