UPCOMING EVENTS
October 14-November 19. Candle of Hope Walk. AI-Irvine group member Dick
Carlburg and friends are walking from San Diego to San Francisco for the
November
"Committing to Conscience" national death penalty conference. There is still time to join the walk
October 19-25 as it passes through Los Angeles. Contact Martha to get involved: mtermaat@hsc.usc.edu,
626-281-4039.
Thursday, October 26, 7:30
PM. Monthly Meeting 1052 E. Del Mar. Avenue, Top Floor. Learn about the new Campaign Against
Torture and help us plan Doo-Dah!
Friday, October 27, 7:00 PM. Special
Event. Mauritanian anti-slavery activist speaks. Winnett Center
(above the bookstore), Club Room 1, Upstairs. Details inside.
Tuesday, November 14, 7:30 PM. Letter-writing Meeting at the Athenaeum. Corner of California & Hill in the basement recreation
area. An informal meeting, a great
place for first-timers to ask questions!
Thursday, November 16,
7:30 PM. Monthly Meeting 1052 E. Del Mar. Avenue, Top Floor. Note this departure from our usual
“4th Thursday” meeting date.
November 16-19, “Committing to Conscience”
anti-death penalty conference in San Francisco, the largest such abolition meeting ever held! Join us! Visit www.ncadp.org or
contact Martha for more info, mtermaat@hsc.usc.edu,
626-281-4039.
Sunday, November 19, 9:00-2:00. Join the Doo-Dah Parade! (See below for
details).
Sunday, November 19, 7:30 PM.
Human Rights Book Discussion Group
at Borders Books on S. Lake Avenue. This month we discuss
Secrets by Nuruddin Farah.
Details inside.
Coordinator’s
CORNER
On October 18, Amnesty International launched its worldwide
Campaign to Stop Torture. Despite
the nearly universal accession to conventions against torture, at least
two-thirds of the nations of the world still do it. Amnesty's new campaign is very important for a number of
reasons. The campaign will also be
an experiment in a new style of activism:
responding to torture with "fast actions" creatively utilizing
the internet, telephones, faxes and other electronic resources. Besides focusing on specific cases, we
are also aiming for changes in procedures to make it harder to practice
torture, and harder to get away with impunity afterwards. We are also working for more support
for survivors of torture, and better awareness of the special issues they
face. Please partake in the actions of this
campaign, and if you have internet connectivity, please consider signing up to
the FAST network (see details
within).
For our book discussion group earlier this month, I finally got
around to reading "Dead Man Walking" by Sister Helen Prejean. Wow, what a remarkable book, what a
remarkable person. I can't
recommend it more highly -- it's so powerful, well written and intelligent, so
inspirational, without waffling at
all on the really tough questions involved. (In case you haven't read it yet, the book deals with Sister
Prejean's visiting and serving as spiritual advisor to death row inmates, and also her work as an advocate for
families of murder victims.)
Thanks to group member Martha Ter Maat for recommending the book, for
organizing the book discussion group in the first place, and for coordinating
our work on the death penalty.
This month, in our monthly meeting (on Thursday evening, Oct. 26;
see the calendar for details) we'll continue our planning for this year's Doo
Dah parade, where the Animals for the Ethical Treatment of People will take on
persecution of environmentalists in Mexico. Be sure to mark your calendar for the parade (Sunday, Nov.
19) and also the special-edition November meeting the Thursday evening before
(Nov. 16), which will replace our usual monthly meeting because of the
Thanksgiving holiday.
On Friday evening, Oct. 27 (the evening after the monthly
meeting), our group is
co-sponsoring a talk at Caltech by Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, a leading antislavery activist in
Mauritania and president of El Hor,
the principal organization assisting escaped and freed slaves
there. Our book discussion group
selection for April this year, "Disposable People: New Slavery In the Global
Economy," devoted a chapter to the dismaying persistence of old-style
slavery in Mauritania, and also discussed how Boulkheir's organization offers
hope. Join us for this very
special opportunity to see a remarkable activist!
I look forward to seeing you in our meetings and other
activities!
Cheers,
Larry Romans
310-452-2089
Group Coordinator ljr@ljr.net
IT’S DOO-DAH TIME!
Group 22 plans to be back in the Doo-Dah Parade this year
as Animals for the Ethical Treatment of People and featuring a street theater
piece on Endangered Species: Mexican Environmentalists. Doo-Dah happens on Sunday, Nov. 19 and
your commitment will be from aproximately 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Entry fees are $10 per person (but,
thanks to GLAD funding, we will be able to waive fees for up to 30 people). We
provide all props and costuming. We need to hear from you soon so that we can
determine if we have enough masks and tails to go around, how many signs to
make, etc. What is Doo-Dah? If you
are new to the area, the Doo-Dah parade is a Rose Parade parody that attracts
large crowds to Old Town Pasadena.
Extroverts: this is your
chance to put those dramatic instincts to good use! Intoverts: yes, you will be wearing a mask and nobody,
absolutely nobody will know it's you.
Let us know if you plan to march--please contact Lucas Kam
(626) 795-1785, lkamp@lively.jpl.nasa.gov
RIGHTS READERS
Human Rights Book
Discussion Group
Borders Books &
Music
475 South Lake Avenue,
Pasadena
Sunday, November 19, 7:30
PM
|
|
Secrets
|
Its varying voices, parables, proverbs and dreams depict a
starving nation that sells its soul to superpowers to survive. Corpses, literal and figurative, lie by
the roadside.... Brilliant, elliptical as ever, Farah shrouds Secrets in
ambiguity. - Lisa Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle
"With Secrets, Nuruddin Farah solidifies his
reputation as one of the world's great writers. He has the painter's
perspective,
and a knowledge of the natural world which he uses effectively in this novel
about the beauty and the woes of modern Africa." -Ishmael
Reed
"Nuruddin Farah is one of the real interpreters of
experience on our troubled continent. His insight goes deep, beyond events,
into the sorrows and joys, the frustrations and achievements of our lives. His
prose finds the poetry that is there." -Nadine Gordimer
Group 22 maintains its firm commitment to work for the release of
prisoner of conscience (POC) Ngawang Pekar (naw-wan pee-kar). He's a Tibetan monk who was arrested by
Chinese authorities in 1989 for participating in a peaceful demonstration in
Lhasa. His initial prison sentence
of 8 years was increased by an additional 6 years, and he is reported to have
been beaten and denied medical care.
Last month group member Robert Adams helped to arrange for the
delivery to the Chinese Embassy of petitions on behalf of Ngawang Pekar
containing nearly 5000 signatures. Currently Robert is participating in
discussions with Senator Feinstein's staff in an effort to have her send a
follow-up letter to the petitions, which would result in their receiving
significantly more attention from the Chinese government.
While we wait to hear what action Senator Feinstein takes, we
suggest that this month we target the regional level of the Chinese government
and write letters to Legchog Zhuren, the chairman of the Tibet Autonomous
Region.
Here is a sample letter to copy or use as a
guide:
Dear Chairman,
I am writing to you about a prisoner being held in Tibet
Autonomous Region Prison No. 1. The prisoner's name is NGAWANG
PEKAR.
Ngawang Pekar, a Tibetan monk, was arrested in 1989 for
participating in a peaceful demonstration in the city of Lasashi and sentenced
to 8 years in prison. Later his sentence was increased by an additional 6
years. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience, and
I am concerned that he has been imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of
his universally recognized right to freedom of
expression.
I am especially concerned about reports that Ngawang Pekar has
been beaten and denied access to medical care. I respectfully request that you
do everything possible to see that Ngawang Pekar's case is considered with
regard to the international laws to which China is signatory. I also ask that
Ngawang Pekar be allowed access to
independent non-governmental organizations so that his state of health
may be determined and made known.
Thank you very much for taking the time to consider this important
matter.
Sincerely,
Please address your letters to:
Legchog Zhuren
Xizang Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu
1 Kang'angdonglu
Lasashi 850000, Xizang Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Postage to China is 60 cents. As always, please notify the Group
22 coordinator if you receive a
reply.
WEB TIPS FOR
OCTOBER
The Government Action Network section of the Amnesty-USA
website is undergoing a redesign that includes some great features. If you register at the site actions
will be selected for you based on your congressional district reflecting your
representative or senator's committee assignments.
http://amnestyusa.policy.net/general/
You can take action with a few mouse clicks. If you're worried that e-mail is not as
effective as a physical letter, don't worry, the Amnesty office prints out some
of this correspondence and delivers it the old-fashioned way!
JUST EARTH
NETWORK
Ecuador: Pattern of
Abuses
Concerns for the safety of environmental and
indigenous activists in Ecuador’s oil zones are well founded. Security
forces have been cited for numerous cases of human rights abuses against the
civilian population in Ecuador. In a 1998 report, Amnesty International
detailed numerous cases of abuse, including: Torture and ill-treatment of detainees and prisoners in the
custody of the National Police, the military and prison
authorities.
Amnesty has urged that the necessary steps be taken to
ensure those members of the security forces accused of human rights violations
be brought to justice. These incidents point to the need for a preventive
strategy to ensure that communities and activists who oppose the destructive
practices of the oil industry are safe from abuse.
Big Oil’s Amazon Legacy. From
1971 to 1992, New York-based Texaco oil company dumped more than 20 billions of
gallons of toxic waste water and 16 million gallons of crude oil into the
Amazon forest, contaminating the soil and groundwater. Cancer rates,
spontaneous abortions and respiratory infections among indigenous populations
living in the area have increased dramatically.
In 1993, a class action lawsuit against Texaco was
filed in the state of New York by more than 30,000 Amazon residents seeking
relief for the health and environmental damage allegedly caused by the
company’s Ecuadorian operations. The case is
pending.
"Frankly, I don’t see why
environmentalists need to monitor the pipeline." — ARCO spokesperson
Herb Vickers
Militarization of Oil Zones.
Texaco’s long history of environmental destruction in Ecuador left
indigenous groups suspicious of multinational oil companies, and of the
government which did little to protect them from the pollution. This distrust
grew in 1988 when California-based Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) began
cutting seismic lines (the first
step in oil exploration) in Quichua land without consulting the local
communities.
For thousands of years, the Quichua people of the
Oriente region have relied on traditional fishing, hunting and farming methods
to survive. But, like other indigenous groups in the Ecuadorian Amazon, their
physical and spiritual connections to the land are now being threatened by the
oil companies that have found large petroleum reserves in the area. With the
help of environmental groups in Ecuador, the Quichua are committed to
protecting approximately 20,000 square kilometers (7700 square miles) of
tropical rain forest from the oil companies.
The Ecuadorian government has responded to protests by
indigenous groups against oil development on and around traditional lands by
increasing its military presence around the oil fields and the TransEcuadorian
pipeline. The effect has been to cut off indigenous people from the land of
their ancestors.
The military has posted soldiers along the entire
length of the pipeline that links the oil reserves on Quichua land to the
Pacific Coast. It has defended its actions by saying that spills could result
in serious accidents.
Access to militarized areas is restricted to company
employees and soldiers, effectively cutting the Quichua people off from a
traditional hunting area.
Environmentalists and even journalists have also been
denied access to the area. In July 1999, the Ecuadorian army detained several
Quito-based environmentalists and a journalist as they were trying to
investigate reports of a spill. They were detained for a day and no charges
were filed.
Environmental Promises Fall Short. After
pressure from indigenous and environmental groups, such as the Organization of
Indigenous Peoples of the Pastaza (OPIP), ARCO agreed in 1994 to an independent
assessment of the environmental and social consequences of such a project.
Unfortunately, the environmental practices of the company fell short of
original expectations.
Local people report that several small rivers around
the area known as Block 10, a government concession to ARCO on traditional
Quichua land, are so polluted that all the fish and other organisms have
died.
A major leak in February 1998 caused a fire near
Esmeralda, a town of immigrants, slave descendants and mestizos where one of
the refineries is located. More than 8,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled,
forming a toxic "river" more than 18 miles long. At least seven
people
died and more than 500 were injured by the fire.
In August 1999, Burlington Resources, a US-based oil
company, took over ARCO’s operations in Ecuador. This transfer presents a
unique opportunity for both Burlington and the Ecuadorian government to commit
to the prevention of further human rights violations occurring around the oil
facilities.
Take Action Now! The government of
Ecuador should take immediate steps to ensure that indigenous communities, as
well as environmental and human rights organizations are included in an open
dialogue with oil companies on the future of oil exploration in Ecuador.
Furthermore, the government should commit to upholding international human
rights standards when deploying security forces to protect oil
facilities.
Urge the Ecuadorian government to create a climate for
open dialogue on environmental protection by respecting peoples rights to
freedom of association, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement as
detailed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Ecuador has agreed to
observe.
Call upon the Ecuadorian government to uphold the UN
Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials as well as other international
human rights standards when deploying security forces to protect oil
facilities.
Write
to: Dr. Gustavo Noboa
Bejarano
&nb
sp;
President of the Republic of Ecuador
&nb
sp;
c/o Ambassador Ivonne A-Baki
&nb
sp;
Embassy of Ecuador
&nb
sp;
2535 15th Street, NW
&nb
sp;
Washington DC 20009
E-mail:
mecuawaa@erols.com
MODERN SLAVERY IN MAURITANIA
Anti-Slavery and Democracy Activist to Speak in
Pasadena
Group 22 and American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) will host
Mauritanian political activist Messaoud Ould Boulkheir. Boulkheir will discuss his work to end
slavery, to establish a culture of democracy and ethnic tolerance, and to
promote economic justice in the west African country of Mauritania. He is visiting the US in an effort to
influence U.S. policies toward the Mauritanian government, ultimately leading
to the abolition of all forms of slavery.
Although the Mauritanian government has abolished slavery three times,
slavery continues to flourish. According to Amnesty International, in 1994
there were as many as 90,000 black Africans enslaved by Arab Berbers in
Mauritania. Boulkheir, a former
slave himself, is the president of El Hor-the oldest anti-slavery organization
in Mauritania. He was born in Nema, in southern Mauritania, where he was able
to attend primary school. After high school, he attended the National School
for Administration and in 1979 earned his master's degree.
Be there: Friday October 27th , 7 PM at Winnett Center at Caltech
(above the bookstore) Club Room 1, Upstairs. Co-sponsored with Caltech Y, the
Coalition Against Slavery and Trafficking and All Saints Church
COLORS.
DEATH PENALTY ACTION
Support the Innocence Protection
Act!
October
28-29 marks the third annual National Weekend of Faith in Action and we'll be
making a push at All Saints Church for passage of the Innocence Protection Act,
a bipartisan bill, (HR 4167, and S. 2690), that aims to reduce the number of
innocent persons that are put to death. Please join us in this effort. The bill will:
§
ensure that convicted
offenders are afforded an opportunity to prove their innocence through DNA
testing;
§
help states provide
competent legal services;
§
inform jurors about
sentencing options (for instance that they can ask for "life without the
possibility of parole");
§
provide other safeguards
to address the deplorable use of the death penalty in the
US.
After
years of bills expanding the death penalty, this is the first bill receiving serious consideration that
begins to turn the tide back towards abolition.
The
implementation of the death penalty in the United States is particularly
heinous. The poor, the ignorant
and the underprivileged suffer.
Several inmates on death row had the "benefit" of lawyers who
slept through their trial, or who represented them while intoxicated. Advances
in DNA technology are showing that numerous eyewitnesses who were sure that
they identified the right man, were in fact mistaken. Police testimony and
evidence provided by prison snitches have similarly been unreliable, thanks to
definitive exculpatory DNA evidence. A large majority of death row inmates,
however, will not benefit from the new advances because DNA evidence is only
available in a fraction of cases.
Since
1970, 87 death row inmates have been found innocent--8 of those due to DNA
evidence. Since 1977, innocence
and wrongful convictions have required the release of one person for every
seven executed. The releases due to exoneration are not an indication that the
system is working: many of those released proved their innocence only thanks to
unpaid lawyers or activists who investigated their case. Illinois recently
instituted a moratorium on the death penalty after 13 death row inmates were
able to show their innocence. One of those exonerated was found innocent only
thanks to a college journalism class that investigated his case. He had come
within two days of his execution.
Strong evidence suggests that at least 23 people executed in this
century were innocent.
We've
written to Senator Feinstein on this before and the replies were
noncommital. Let's see if after
the election (no slight to Tom Campbell, but she has a 20 pt lead at press
time) we can get her to take a stand.
The Honorable Dianne
Feinstein
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20515
senator@feinstein.gov
Senator Boxer is already a co-sponsor of the Innocence Protection
Act. Sens. Feingold (WI), Boxer
(CA) and Wellstone (MN) have also introduced S. 3048, a bill which would
immediately
suspend federal executions in the U.S. while a commission reviews the
administration of the federal death penalty. The moratorium would bar the
execution of individuals sentenced under federal statutes. We'll have more on
the federal death penalty in the next newsletter, meanwhile, let's send Barbara
a note of thanks!
Senator
Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20515
senator@boxer.senate.gov
CAMPAIGN AGAINST
TORTURE
What is Torture? And a 12 Point Plan to
End It
What
is the Purpose of Torture?
Torture serves several purposes for the perpetrators.
It may be used to obtain information, force a confession or destroy the will,
personality and identity of the victim. Perpetrators use torture to create a
climate of fear and tear apart families, communities and the social fabric of
society. It is done to enforce a social, economic or political order that
serves to benefit the perpetrators or the elite of
society.
Who
Uses Torture? Between 1997 and the spring of 2000,
Amnesty International received reports of torture or ill treatment by state
officials in more than 150 countries. In more than 70, they were widespread or
persistent. In more than 80 countries, people reportedly died as a result.
Who
Is Tortured? People may be tortured because they are
activists for human rights, labor rights, or any other cause, because they are
family members of these activists, or because of their identity (ethnicity, gender, sexual identity,
etc). Quite often they are criminal suspects or prisoners. People may also be
tortured at random if the state or an opposition group is trying to create a
climate of terror in a population - even if the torturers do not consider this
person "guilty" for any reason.
Anyone can be tortured.
Methods
of Torture. Torture can be physical and include various techniques
including: beating, whipping, burning, rape, suspension upside down, submersion
into water almost to the point of suffocation, and electric torture with shocks
of high voltage on various parts of the body, very often on the genitals.
And
torture can be psychological, including threats, deceit, humiliation, insults,
sleep deprivation, blindfolding, isolation, mock executions, witnessing torture
of others (including one's own family), being forced to torture or kill others,
and the withholding of medication or personal items.
Specialized
rehabilitation centers have been set up around the world to provide treatment
to survivors. After receiving appropriate medical and psychological help,
torture survivors can often resume leading healthy, involved
lives.
HOW
YOU CAN HELP:
Join
the AIUSA FAST internet alert system. Spread the word and urge your friends and
colleagues to sign up too. Visit the www.amnestyusa.org
to learn more.
Support
legislation aimed at torture prevention, the criminalization of torture, an end
to impunity, and funding of torture treatment programs.
Learn
how torture affects individuals and communities. You can start with the
resources on this Web site. Offer support to organizations that work with
helping survivors of torture.
12
POINT PLAN TO PREVENT TORTURE
1.
Official condemnation
of torture. The highest authorities of every country should
demonstrate their total opposition to torture. They should make clear to all law-enforcement personnel that
torture will not be tolerated
under any circumstances.
2.
Limits on
incommunicado detention. Torture often takes place while the
victims are held incommunicado --unable to contact people outside who could help them or find out
what is happening to them. Governments should adopt safeguards to ensure that incommunicado detention does
not become an opportunity for
torture. It is vital that all prisoners be brought before a judicial authority
promptly after being taken into
custody and that relatives, lawyers and doctors have prompt and regular access to them.
3.
No secret
detention. In
some countries torture takes place in secret centers, often after the victims
are made to "disappear."
Governments should ensure that prisoners are held in publicly recognized places, and that accurate information
about their whereabouts is made available to relatives and lawyers.
4.
Safeguards during
interrogation and custody. Governments should keep procedures for
detention and interrogation under regular review. All prisoners should be promptly told of their rights,
including the right to lodge complaints
about their treatment. There should be regular independent visits of
inspection to places of detention.
An important safeguard against torture would be the separation of
authorities responsible for
detention from those in charge of interrogation.
5.
Independent
investigation of reports of torture. Governments should ensure that all
complaints and reports of torture are impartially and effectively investigated. The methods and findings of such
investigations should be made
public. Complaints and witnesses should be protected from
intimidation.
6.
No use of statements
extracted under torture. Governments should ensure that
confessions or other evidence obtained through torture may never be invoked in legal
proceedings.
7.
Prohibition of
torture in law. Governments should ensure that
acts of torture are punishable offences under the criminal law. In accordance with international
law, the prohibition of torture must not be suspended under any circumstance, including states of war or other
public emergency.
8.
Prosecution of
alleged torturers. Those responsible for torture should be
brought to justice. This principle should apply wherever they happen to be, wherever the crime was committed
and whatever the nationality of
the perpetrators or victims. There should be no "safe haven"
for torturers.
9.
Training
procedures. It
should be made clear during the training of all officials involved in this
custody, interrogation or
treatment of prisoners that torture is a criminal act. They should be
instructed that they are obliged
to refuse to obey any order to torture.
10.
Compensation and
rehabilitation. Victims of torture and their dependants
should be entitled to obtain financial compensation. Victims should be provided with appropriate medical care and
rehabilitation.
11.
International
response. Governments should use all available channels to intercede
with governments accused of
torture. Intergovernmental mechanisms should be established and used to
investigate reports of torture
urgently and to take effective action against it. Governments should ensure
that military, security or police
transfers or training do not facilitate the practice of
torture.
12.
Ratification of
international instruments. All governments should ratify
international instruments containing safeguards and remedies against torture, including the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocol
which provides for individual complaints.
Editor's Last
Word:
Read us on line:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~aigp22
Martha Ter Maat, 626-281-4039 /
mtermaat@hsc.usc.edu