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 abolitionmeeting
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
Secretsby
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
Romans310-452-2089
Group
Coordinatorljr@ljr.net
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
475
South Lake Avenue, Pasadena
|
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
Ngawang Pekar, Tibetan Monk
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 toindependent
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 22coordinator
if you receive a reply.
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
< p class=MsoNormal>
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,
DC20515
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,
DC20515
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 toleratedunder
any circumstances.
2.Limits
on incommunicado detention.Torture
often takes place while the victims are held incommunicado --unable to
contact peopleoutside who could
help them or find out what is happening to them. Governments shouldadopt
safeguards to ensure that incommunicado detention does not become an opportunityfor
torture. It is vital that all prisoners be brought before a judicial authority
promptly afterbeing taken into custody
and that relatives, lawyers and doctors have prompt and regularaccess
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 recognizedplaces,
and that accurate information about their whereabouts is made available
to relatives andlawyers.
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 complaintsabout their treatment.
There should be regular independent visits of inspection to places ofdetention.
An important safeguard against torture would be the separation of authoritiesresponsible
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
andeffectively investigated. The
methods and findings of such investigations should be madepublic.
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
maynever be invoked in legal proceedings.
7.Prohibition
of torture in law.Governments
should ensure that acts of torture are punishable offences under the criminallaw.
In accordance with international law, the prohibition of torture must not
be suspendedunder 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
applywherever they happen to be,
wherever the crime was committed and whatever the nationality ofthe
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 instructedthat
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
oftorture. Intergovernmental mechanisms
should be established and used to investigate reportsof
torture urgently and to take effective action against it. Governments should
ensure thatmilitary, 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 remediesagainst torture, including
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional
Protocol which provides for individual complaints.
Martha
Ter Maat, 626-281-4039 / mtermaat@hsc.usc.edu
Name:
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Address:
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&n bsp;
&nbs p;
&n bsp;
&nbs p;
&n bsp;
&nbs p;
&n bsp;
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Phone:
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E-mail:
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