laen enero-abril

December 14, 2009 (ALC)

On December 12, in SãoLeopoldo, Brazil, the gradu-ating classes of the facultiesof the Higher School ofTheology (EST), along withfamily members and rela-tives, teachers, and guests,joined in a candlelight vigilurging the world authoritiesgathered in Copenhagen toadopt a “real deal” for thesaving of the planet from aclimatic disaster.

The vigil took place during thethanksgiving service on the occasionof the graduation of eleven theologystudents and four music therapy stu-dents, held in the Hall of Mirrors inSão Leopoldo. The ceremony washonored by the presence of the Rev.Walter Altmann, President of theEvangelical Church of LutheranConfession in Brazil (IECLB) and aModerator of the World Council ofChurches (WCC).

“Today is a special day for you,but it can also be a special day forhumanity,” EST Rector, OneideBobsin, told the graduating classes.“Academic knowledge, what isknown about people and public poli-cies, needs to cooperate in the searcha better model for an effective civi-lization,” added Bobsin.

People all over the world, inmore than 130 countries, demon-strated in streets, squares andavenues on Saturday, in a candle-

light vigil, asking for a “real deal”.Nobel Prize winner Desmond Tutuand the former United Nations com-missioner for Human Rights, MaryRobinson, led a special vigil in frontof the meeting place of the negotia-tions for a climate justice agreementin Copenhagen.

“We need an agreement that isambitious enough to leave a planetsafe for us all .That it be fair for thepoorest countries that did not causethe climate change but are sufferingmost from it,” pointed out the repre-sentative of Service for Peace(Serpaz), Marie Ann Wangen Krahn,at the thanksgiving service.

A “real deal” needs to foresee theallocation of 200 billion dollars forthe financing of climate policies onthe part of the poorest countries, thedecrease of carbon emissions to 350parts for million by 2015, and beenforceable. The campaign for a“real deal” is an initiative of theglobal network Avaaz.org, made upof 3.6 million people mobilized for afairer and peaceful world. Avaazmeans “voice” in many languages.

Whoever speaksthe truth giveshonest evidence. Proverb 12,17LAENLAEN

I n f o r m a t i o n S e r v i c e o f t h e L a t i n A m e r i c a n C o u n c i l o f C h u r c h e s

LatinAmericanEcumenicalNewsJanuary-April 2010 • No. 1

Santo Domingo, February 17,2010 (ALC)

The challenges ahead arealready visible. Apart fromthe destruction of Haiti’s

infrastructure, the earthquake hasleft a high number of amputees,orphans, widows and displaced peo-ple. The numbers tell of some 350thousand persons displaced to theDominican Republic. What awaitsthem there is pain, grieving, povertyand marginalization. Because ofthat, the CLAI Dominican RepublicNational Roundtable, along withother churches and ecumenicalorganizations, has said that attend-ing to this displaced population isone of the challenges of the secondphase following the earthquake.

The churches and ecumenicalorganizations have proposed thatsupport be given to:

- The setting up of a Center forAssistance and Ombudsman Services

for the Displaced by the Earthquake,that will offer psychological, med-ical, and legal attention to the dis-placed. The center will do a detailedmapping out of the actions and ser-vices already being developed by thechurches and ecumenical organiza-tions, in favor of the coordinatingand identifying of the areas in whicha hand of solidarity is needed. Themap will facilitate a more effectiveorientation of the food and medicinecampaigns that many churches andecumenical organizations are carry-ing out.

- The Women and Gender JusticePastoral Ministry will offer accompa-niment and consolation in the bor-der hospitals.

- The CLAI Youth PastoralMinistry will organize volunteer ser-vices with the purpose of facilitatingdirect cooperation in Haiti.

- The promotion, in coordina-tion with the leadership of theHaitian churches, of the installation

of water treatment plants, supportedby CLAI’s Program forEnvironmental Citizenship.

- Carry out a gathering in theDominican Republic of religiousand community leaders from Haiti,to assist them in working throughtheir own pain and burdens. In addi-tion, the gathering will foster thestrengthening of ties betweenHaitian and Dominican Republicpastors.

According to the Rev. NiltonGiese, CLAI General Secretary, in astatement released on February 5,“these proposals are to be imple-mented as part of a strategy forrespecting local networks and lead-ership. Thus, the proposal of aCenter for Assistance is not to set upsomething new, but rather to servethose who are already working insolidarity with Haiti.”

Source: Latin American Council of Churches, CLAI: www.claiweb.org

People walk between the ruins of Puerto Principe after the earthquake. 20minutos.es

Climate justice candlelight vigil inCopenhagen (Ana Libisch IPS)

CLAI prepares second phase ofresponse to earthquake in Haiti

Tegucigalpa, February 23, 2010(ALC)

“We are viewing with greatconcern that the murdersand violations are nowdirected against workersunion leaders. VanesaZepeda was killed a weekago, Porfírio Ponce sufferedthreats and his home wassacked, and now, JulioFúnez Benitez,” informsPastor Franklin David delCid, of the Agape ChristianChurch of Tegucigalpa, andcorrespondent for theEcumenical Watch on

Human Rights in Honduras,of the Latin AmericanCouncil of Churches (CLAI).

Del Cid reports that on Monday,February 15, when approaching hishouse in the Brisas de Olanchoneighborhood, 55 year old JulioFúnez Benítez, a workers unionleader and member of the Movementof National Resistance, wasapproached by two men on a motor-cycle who shot and killed him,increasing the number of martyrs inHonduras.

Nearby where the crime wascommitted, there is a police stationand, as in other cases, nothing wasdone. Julio was a member of theAutonomous National Aqueducts

and Sewers Workers Union. He issurvived by his widow and threedaughters.

Pastor del Cid had to go to thehospital to identify the dead workersunion leader, who had been shot inthe foot, thorax and head. “Close tohis were two other dead bodies, alsovictims of the state of criminality,”he reports.

“While bullies kill common peo-ple in the streets, in the church tem-ples they continue singing romantichymns and uttering sermons, hav-ing to do with what life will be like inheaven,” says Pastor del Cid, whoadmitted that he was tired of seeingso much oppression on the streets ofTegucigalpa.

Higher School of Theology(EST) community in SãoLeopoldo, Brazil, joins in

climate justice vigil

Workers union leaders suffer repression

Honduras repression (HondurasResists)

Panama City

During 2009 the work ofCLAI was to affirm spacesfor consultation and

direct participation of the churches,which we call the CLAI NationalRoundtables, and twenty were orga-nized. The first stage was the discus-sion of objectives and functions. TheNational Roundtables do not replacethe Board of Directors of CLAI, butare areas of consultation, dialogueand accompaniment to CLAI activi-ties in the country or region. Thedecision maker in CLAI is theGeneral Assembly and then theBoard of Directors.

To promote greater participationand due to the difficulty facing thelarge geographical distances, somecountries created sub-roundtablesfor dialogue. The most visibleachievement so far is that, throughthese spaces of ecumenical dialogue,churches again recognize that theyare one in Christ. These tables fordialogue integrate the CLAI church-es and member agencies, the conti-nental or regional secretaries andcoordinators in the given country,the CLAI board members resident inthe country, and those in CLAInational programs. A NationalRoundtable may decide to also invitenon-member churches and agen-cies, but their participation will havean advisory status, with the right tospeak and participate in plannedactivities. When making decisionsabout who will participate in CLAIactivities outside of the country, thiscorresponds only to members.

However, the Roundtable may decideto include the participation of thosewho are not members of CLAI. TheNational Roundtables will be chal-lenged by regional secretaries to sug-gest topics and emphasis of work,but the final decision on the WorkPlan corresponds to the Board ofDirectors, as proposed by the secre-tariat and agreed on by the CLAIgeneral secretary.

Some of the themes and strate-gic challenges that have beenemphasized in CLAI for 2010, stem-ming from the challenges offered bythe National Roundtables, are:

* The situation of women interms of the growing violence,exclusion, discrimination and gen-der inequality.

* Natural resources of land andwater, the social, economic and eco-logical impacts caused by climatechange and the serious environmen-tal pollution caused by the operationof open-pit mining.

* Indigenous and Afro-descen-dant populations due to the viola-tion of their fundamental rights toland and territory, the living-out oftheir cultures, and their ongoingstruggles against discrimination,racism and extreme poverty, and forrespect and recognition of their spir-ituality.

* Youth and the manipulationfrom the media, as a social sectorco-opted by consumerism, neo-hedonism, widespread violence andtheir clear disappointment in thearea of politics, its leadership andthe entire political scene.

* Migration for reasons of sur-vival, which puts migrants in situa-tions vulnerable to the violation oftheir human rights, physical vio-lence and human trafficking, andfamily disintegration.

The main objectives of CLAI,according to article 3 of itsConstitution, are:

a. To promote the unity of God’speople in Latin America as anexpression and sign of the unity ofLatin American peoples.

b. To manifest the unity that wehave in Christ, recognizing the rich-ness represented by the diversity oftraditions, confessions and expres-sions of faith, reflection, teaching,proclamation and service, takinginto account Latin American reali-ties and identities.

c. To help its members to discov-

er their own identity and commit-ment as Christians in the LatinAmerican reality in the search for anorder of justice and fraternity.

d. To encourage and support itsmembers in the task of evangeliza-tion, as a sign of their fidelity toChrist’s command and presencewithin the Latin American peoples.

e. To promote theological andpastoral reflection and dialogueabout the mission and Christian wit-ness in the continent and the rest ofthe world.

Given these objectives, during2010 we intend to achieve the fol-lowing goals:

* Renewal of the ecumenicalmovement: Prioritize the participa-tion of new generations and voicesfrom the National Roundtables.Work in formation and encouragethe participation of young theolo-gians as no less than 30% of the totalparticipants.

* Formation for propagationand transformation: Develope a cul-ture of follow-up and preparation oftraining materials that can be usedin local groups of churches and ecu-menical bodies, not to just informbut to provide tools for multiplica-tion and transformation.

* Interaction with other ecu-menical actors, other sectors of civilsociety, and between programs: Thework of CLAI does not only strive tobe an ecclesial witness of better qual-ity and breadth, but also a betterpolitical and socio-economic con-text in which the churches areinserted. Therefore, the incidenceand interdisciplinary cooperationwith ecumenical bodies in civil soci-ety and government are importantand should be sought.

* Strategic alliances: Manydenominational families andchurches in the North seek to havean impact in Latin America throughtheir programs. The search foralliances in areas such as externaldebt, the new financial order, cli-mate justice, and natural resourceextraction will be a priority for 2010.

* Public-political impact: Withthe support of the representation ofthe WCC in the assembly of theUnited Nations we will work with theissue of public and political impact.

Visit the CLAI website regularlyto accompany the monitoring ofthese work proposals during 2010.

2 CLAI NewsLAT

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Latin American Ecumenical Newsis a quarterly produced by theCommunication Department of theLatin American Council of Churches

Editor: Christopher MorckTranslation: Geoff Reeson, Patricia Morckand Christopher Morck.

Layout and Editorial Coordination:Amparo Salazar ChacónPress service: ALC, Methodist NewsService, ENI, Presbyterian News Press,ACNS, Zenit, Factiva, ACPress.

Departamento de Comunicaciones CLAIInglaterra N32-113 y Av. Mariana de JesúsCasilla 17-08-8522, Quito, EcuadorTelepone: (593-2) 255-3996/252-9933Fax: (593-2) 256-8373E-mail: [email protected]

ISSN 1390-0358

Suscriptions:Latin American and the Caribbean:One year US$ 12, Two years US$ 20Other regions: One year US$16,Two years US$26

LAEN

The Secretariat and Board of Directors of CLAI.

Strict securitymeasures for the installation of Honduras’ new President Lobo(EFE ALC)

By Franklin David del Cid*Tegucigalpa, January 28, 2010

(ALC)

On Tuesday, January 19, inthe facilities of the Christian

Development Commission (CCD),the visiting ELCA commission, coor-dinated by the Lutheran WorldFederation (LWF), met with mem-bers of the CLAI Honduras NationalRoundtable. At the meeting, attorneyLeonel Casco, Coordinator of theEcumenical Watch on HumanRights of CLAI, explained to the visi-tors the work being carried out bythe Ecumenical Watch in its twomonths of operation.

Casco told of the situation of thedeterioration of human rights inHonduras and of how the state insti-tutions (military, police, judges,attorneys, representatives and oth-ers), have become the main violatorsof such rights. Also, he broached thematter of the participation of theChristian churches, both in favor ofand against the political-militarycoup d’etat.

Specific cases were briefly com-mented on, such as the support topeasants whose lands have beenexpropriated, and who have beenphysically beaten, imprisoned, havehad their belongings destroyed, andsome who have even been murdered;the help to persons who have had to

leave the country as politicalrefugees, and the pastoral andhumanitarian accompaniment tothe families of the deceased, alloccurring as consequences of theoverthrow of the democraticallyelected government. TheCoordinator of the EcumenicalWatch urged the visitors to sharewith the churches of their countrythis information and to share theirparticular experiences of the situa-tion in Honduras.

Besides the work of the CLAIEcumenical Watch, organizedgroups such as the Pastoral andMinisterial Network continue to per-manently monitor the respect forhuman rights in Honduras. OnJanuary 18, this group at one of itsordinary meetings traced out thenecessary lines so as to provide forthe continuity of the EcumenicalWatch, and to begin processes ofincreasing awareness within theEvangelical community, on behalfof those who are excluded andoppressed. Pastor Rigoberto Ulloa,Coordinator of the Pastoral andMinisterial Network, urged themembers to seek out spaces to spreada pastoral ministry that is morepractical and less theoretical, morehuman and less “a religion ofPharisees.”

*Pastor of the Agape Christian Church, Human Rights Procurator, andmember of the CLAI Ecumenical Watch.

Quito

In the celebration marking theclose of the CLAI Board ofDirectors meeting in Quito onFebruary 12, the ecumenical organi-zation publicly acknowledged Dr.Andrés Pavón, president of theHuman Rights Committee ofHonduras, as a person who has givena prophetic witness for the defense ofdemocracy in Honduras. “We admirehis prophetic attitude in Honduransociety, in the midst of the terror, vio-lence and injustice aimed at thepoorest sectors,” said Bishop JulioMurray in handing over to Dr. Pavóna diploma of recognition from CLAI.

Dr. Andrés Pavón was one of thepersons authorized by the de factogovernment of Honduras to bringfood to the occupants of the BrazilianEmbassy in Tegucigalpa. “PresidentManuel Zelaya and the other occu-

pants of the Brazilian embassy wereafraid of their food being poisonedand so I was recognized as a trust-worthy person for the job,” said Dr.Pavón to representatives of 14 coun-tries in Latin America and theCaribbean meeting in Quito.

The situation in Honduras hasupset the entire international com-munity due to the coup d’état onJune 28, 2009. CLAI reaffirmed itsposition that democratic conflictsshould be solved with democraticinstruments rather than militaryforce as was the case in Honduras.

Dr. Pavón was in Quito accompa-nied by Mr. Leonel Casco, coordinatorof the Human Rights Observatory ofCLAI Churches in Honduras. In addi-tion to the CLAI meeting, they werealso with law students at the LatinAmerican Christian University inQuito.

How will CLAI walk in 2010?

Evangelical Lutheran Churchin America (ELCA) delegates

visit and observe thesituation in Honduras

CLAI pays tribute to Honduranhuman rights leader

CLAI News 3LATINAMERICANECUMENICALNEWS

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By Víctor Liza JaramilloSantiago, December 17, 2009

(ALC)

From December 4-6, theCLAI youth pastoral ministryin Chile held a workshopcalled “Young PeopleParticipating in the Buildingof a Culture of Peace,”sponsored by the WorldCouncil of Churches withthe support of the YouthPastoral Ministry Coordina-tion of the CLAI AndeanRegion. The workshop,which took place in ElQuisco (two hours fromSantiago), was attended byyoung people from church-es in Santiago and Con-cepción.

The support given, as pre-senters and facilitators,by Alberto Vásquez and

Florence Guinle of the Keys of theYouth for Christ Program ofUruguay was also important. At thegathering, the facilitators workedthrough with the participants, the

“Hands for Good Care” material,produced by Keys and the CLAICommunications Department.This material is used for work-shops and dynamics with childrenand adolescents.

After exploring the situationsin which these groups are mis-treated and thinking about how tobring about “good care” for them,the facilitators presented the“Vaccination Against AbuseCampaign”, which consists ofcommitting people to the fosteringof “Good Care”, signing a “vacci-nation certificate”, and receiving a“dose” that can be in the form of acandy. This “Vaccination AgainstAbuse Campaign” can be carriedout in public places such as parksand squares, and people of differ-ent ages can take part in it.

At the end of the workshop,Johanna Oñate, Youth PastoralMinistry Coordinator for Chile, andthe participants, committed them-selves to promoting the matter inthe churches, and the holding ofsimilar workshops in other placesof the country, such as Concepciónand Santiago.

“As he approachedJerusalem and saw the city, hewept over it.” Luke 19:41

Dear sisters and brothers:

We greet you as the Board ofDirectors and Secretariat of

the Latin American Council ofChurches, in the love with which wehave been filled by our Lord JesusChrist who is our strength in themidst of difficulties and hope in theface of discouragement that mightarise in the context of uncertaintyand change in which we live.

We have celebrated our annualworking meeting of February 9 to12, in Quito, Ecuador. During thesedays, we have rejoiced in thereunion, renewed faith and commit-ment and been strengthened in thetask that we are daily called to andmotivated for. Every day we prayedand reflected together on the ele-ments of creation and, once again,the following task has sounded inour ears: to promote unity, dialogueand cooperation in order to bear wit-ness to our faith through the rawand challenging reality presented tous by the situation of our LatinAmerican and Caribbean countries.

We live in different times thanthose which scarred our institution-al life in the recent past. Even amidthe difficulties that prevent us fromdoing everything that we wish, wehave reaffirmed the commitmentthat unites us, whether as membersof the Board of Directors or the sec-retariat and support staff. We haveworked on a new triennial plan,reflecting on the current situation ofthe ecumenical movement.

Part of our task was also toreview the situation with which weare confronted every day concerningthe mission in Latin America andthe Caribbean. The arbitrary inter-ruption of the institutional anddemocratic life in Honduras, whichwe thought we had overcome in theinstitutional and political life ofLatin America and the Caribbean,impelled the creation of theEcumenical Observatory of CLAIChurches in Honduras. We also seechanges that harbor hopes, thoughnot free from threats, as in Bolivia,

Paraguay and Uruguay and initia-tives of political responses to social,political and economic demandswhich still fail to be fully met, as inthe cases of Ecuador and Venezuela.In the midst of these situations,there are others which still persistdespite the many cries and protests.The sustained economic blockadethat the United States governmenthas unfairly imposed on the Cubanpeople for more than 50 years is agood example.

Furthermore, we are surprisedby the callousness of the U.S. gov-ernment in continuing to impedethe visits of their five Cuban prison-ers by the prisoner’s wives, childrenand family. Cuban churches pray forthe long-awaited family reunion.

Equally important and notewor-thy to highlight is the awakeningand struggle of indigenous peoplesfor their rights and, in particular,that of the Mapuche in Chile.

These examples, together withothers, are indicators of a continentthat is mobilized and continues inthe quest that allows for the recon-nection with fullness, even amid thetears and pain. With the abundanceof work, fullness in health, environ-mental and ecological wholenessand, indeed, the fullness of commu-nity where the rights of each andevery person do not need to beclaimed but instead fully lived,where “love and truth meet, justiceand peace kiss, the truth breaksforth from the earth and justicelooks down from heaven.” (cf.Psalm 85:10-11).

Now, and as if the problems andchallenges we had to meet through-out the year were not enough, inJanuary we were surprised by a newdisaster: the earthquake that devas-tated the Haitian people. It wouldseem that the unexpected, incalcu-lable and frightening phenomenonwas the last thing missing in orderto finish our realization of wheredecades of subjugation, slavery,authoritarianism and militarizationas a strategy of control over povertyhas led. Amid this dramatic situa-tion, we have been moved by thewords of the sisters of the Church ofHaiti in a testimony collected by theLatin American network of women:

“Friends, in this moment solidarityis the only encouragement, solidari-ty is the only force which will suc-ceed in containing the silence ofpain and encourage our sisters towatching for the future.” We want toanswer this call and, in this regard,we welcome the efforts that ourchurches and international ecu-menical community are making tomeet the needs of our brothers andsisters on the island. In particular,we encourage the CLAI Churches inLatin America and the Caribbean tocontinue working with the Churchesof the Dominican Republic in itsefforts to support the Care Center forthe displaced at the border withHaiti. Our prayers and committedsolidarity accompany these efforts torestore health and living amid somuch need, pain and absence.

Dear sisters, Dear brothers: As weapproach the reality of our peoples,we can not but feel like the Lordwhen he comes to Jerusalem. Godvisits us again and again despite ourresistance to the message of justice,mercy, and peace that He asks us tobring to fruition in the constructionof a community of peoples andnations pleasing to his eyes. Whilemany are the aches and cries ofthose for whom we weep, we knowthat after the cross we have thepromise of the resurrection that willensure an end to the tears and crieswith which we live and by which weare daily confronted.

In this time of grace we want towish you peace and wellbeing. Wepray for the work and ministry of thechurches and agencies that, togeth-er, we can be useful tools to serve theKingdom that our Lord Jesus Christannounces and after the realizationof which we walk. Let us be consis-tent in word and deed so that theLord, as the Psalmist says, confirms“the work of our hands” (Psalm90:17b).

We commend ourselves to Godwho in Christ has called us. Weknow we will not be deprived of hisSpirit. He encourages us and sus-tains us on the road!

In the year when we rememberthe 30th anniversary of the martyr-dom of Archbishop Oscar ArnulfoRomero.

San José

That the grace of our good Godand the power of his Spirit be

full in your hearts and in the confidenceof his promises: “For the groan of theneedy I arise, says God” (Psalm 12:8).

A little over a month has passedsince the January 13th tragedy, but thecry of pain and hope continues to beheard, to be present in the prayers andin the solidarity of the churches andagencies of the CLAI-Costa RicaNational Roundtable.

We note with great sadness theinformation about thousands ofdeaths, the destruction of homes,buildings and infrastructure in Haiti,the foreign occupation and militariza-

tion, the trafficking of children, theinsufficient food distribution andinternational cooperation, a biasedand opportunistic reconstruction pro-posal, and the folly of some preacherswho speak of a “divine punishment”.

From our experience of faith, froma rereading of the Bible and from ourwitness of communion in the Spirit weencourage you:

* For the love of God is revealed,firstly and abundantly in the smallestand most vulnerable of history. (Ex.3:7; Dt. 10:17-19; Ps. 12:5; Mic. 2:1-3;Lk. 4:14-19, 10:25-37; Gal. 2:10)

* For human pain never is, was orwill be cause for celebration or causedby the God of life in which we believeand we find in Scripture and salvationhistory. (Gen. 9:8-11; Jn. 3:16)

* For the will of God is for the sal-vation of all, understood as full life,dignity, peace with justice, and startingwith the “despised” and “forgotten” ofthe world. (Gen. 2:9; Psalm 34:11-15;Isaiah 42:1-4; Jn. 10:10)

* For the church of Jesus Christ iscalled to a faithful following in soli-darity with people in their pain: by pro-viding pastoral care, providing foodand necessary items, announcinghope and denouncing incongruitiesand abuses of any kind.

* For the Haitian people hold thelove and respect of the churches whobelieve in the God of life; the Haitianpeople are not alone, for we accompa-ny them on a permanent basis so thatone day soon the expression that it “isthe poorest country on the continent”

will disappear forever.* For our prayers rise every

moment for the dear people of Haiti,seeking new forms of active solidarityin their struggle to defend life and forthe confirmation of hope.

We feel in the Spirit of Christ that:* Any theological interpretation or

assessment on the current and histori-cal situation in Haiti as “divine pun-ishment” does not come from our LordJesus Christ.

* All theological-religious mes-sages of a sacrificial and retributivenature concerning the situation of theHaitian people and other peoples arefar from the will of God.

* Our Master Christ Jesus gave usmany examples of solidarity, alwaysclinging to the supreme interest of the

wellbeing of the people and rejectingthe opportunism and individual inter-ests, whether they occur in Haiti by agovernment or by an international aidagency.

* Any assistance (religious or non-religious, material or not, economic ornot, local or not) whose aim is to getsome kind of selfish advantage,exploiting the suffering of the Haitianpeople, “has forsaken the right way,and gone astray” (I Pet. 2:15) and isnot acceptable in the eyes of ourSavior.

In the communion of the Spirit ofJesus of Nazareth,

CLAI-Costa Rica NationalRoundtable

Rev. Roger CabezasPresident

Pastoral Letter of the Latin AmericanCouncil of Churches reaffirms commitmentto ecumenism in a continent mobilized

CLAI youth, gathered inChile, commit

themselves to thebuilding of peace

CLAI youth workshop, El Quisco, Chile (ALC)

CLAI-Costa Rica National RoundtablePastoral Letter to the Churches and people of Haiti

4 HaitiLAT

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By Chris Herlinger/ March 12,2010 (Church World Service)

As Fontil Louiner sees it,faced with the reality ofdamaged homes and lostincome, he and more thantwo dozen family membersand friends had no alterna-tive but to pull up stakesand leave the Haitian capitalof Port-au-Prince. “We hadno other choice. We could-n’t stay,” said the 39-year-old video technician whorecently returned to hishometown of Petite Riviere,in the northern departmentof Artibonite. But in doingso - and helping establish a500 meals-a-day feedingprogram in Petite Riviere -Louiner not only becamepart of a wider exodus outof Port-au-Prince; he alsobecame part of a story thathas often been overlookedin the rush of recent imagesand narratives of interna-tional aid workers assistingHaitians.

While those images andstories convey part of thereality of the global

response to the recent earthquake inHaiti, another reality is often ignoredby outsiders: the quiet, localizedefforts of Haitians like Louiner whoare assisting fellow Haitians.

According to the United Nations,more than 500,000 people have leftPort-au-Prince for outlyingprovinces – or, departments, as theyare called in Haiti. Among the mostpopular destinations during the ini-tial weeks following the January 12quake has been Artibonite, where anestimated 162,500 arrived – includ-ing Louiner and 30 friends and fam-ily members. Louiner was not astranger returning home to PetiteRiviere, which was not hit by thequake. Though Louiner had workedin Port-au-Prince for 20 years, hehad maintained his ties with hishome town by serving, since 2004, asa part-time manager and DJ of alocal radio station, Family Radio.

The station is committed to notonly playing music but providing auseful public service function, airingnews and educational program-ming. That is no small role – inHaiti, radio is a significant socialplayer, with some calling it the“engine of society.” Family Radiohas ties with CONHANE, a consor-tium of Haitian community-basedagencies that, in turn, has a rela-tionship with Service Chretiend’Haiti, a long-time partner ofChurch World Service. In the past,the station had worked with CON-HANE in responding to floods in theregion.

Now, in the wake of the earth-quake and the sudden arrival of

thousands - by some estimates,about 8,000 have arrived in PetiteRiviere in recent weeks - the stationhas served the role of galvanizingpublic support for a grass-roots-runmeals program. Working with CON-HANE and another radio station,RTA, Family Radio has sent out anappeal for food donations and formoney to pay for food. One of theappeals goes like this: “If you have afamily of six people, please donate agoblet of rice.”

The effort has paid off, withlocal residents dropping off rice,other foods and cash donations inorder to provide 500 meals daily forthe displaced Port-au-Prince resi-dents, many - though not all - ofwhom have ties to the region.Station employees and volunteersprovide the meals at a feeding centerlocated adjacent to the Family Radiooffices and studio.

“We know they need thesemeals,” Louiner said, but added thatamong all – employees, volunteers,those benefiting – “there is a lot ofsharing.” Louiner and his FamilyRadio colleagues know this is farfrom a permanent solution to thedisplacement issue; what the futureholds for the displaced, who are stay-ing in family homes, in tents andpublic spaces like schools, is still notclear.

“Nobody knows how long we’llbe here,” Louiner said of the experi-ences of the displaced. “But we doknow it’s not possible to go back toPort-au-Prince.” Louiner downplaysany possible tensions between thenew arrivals and the community,saying the arrivals have been warm-ly welcomed. “They’ve become ‘nat-uralized’ citizens here,” he said, afeeling he and other family mem-bers have experienced themselves.“We’re very proud to be back here.”

Another example of Haiti’sindigenous self-help activities can befound in the southern coastal city ofJacmel which, like Port-au-Prince,was badly affected by the quake butwhose efforts to recover from the dis-aster have not received the samelevel of attention as those of the cap-ital. Still, locally-based efforts havemade a difference as this colonialcity begins to recover from thequake.

From the first day, the Haitiannon-governmental organizationKROSE, a partner of ACT Alliance

member DiakonieKatastrophenhilfe, mobilized a net-work of workers and volunteers thatdid everything from assessing dam-age to providing emergency assis-tance. Work has focused on twocamps within Jacmel that to an out-sider’s eyes are noticeably cleanerand better organized than most ofthe displacement sites elsewhere inHaiti.

Tents provided by Diakonie areone reason for that; another is thatKROSE’S local ties in Jacmel put it ina good position to assist in runningthe camps. “There is nothing we cando if we don’t have a relationshipwith local authorities and residents,”said Gerald Mathurin, KROSE direc-tor. “It’s a whole process.” Thatmeans everything from involvingcamp residents in the maintenanceof the sites to having local BoyScouts volunteer in the camps todeliver water.

The efforts of a non-Haitianhumanitarian group like Diakoneneed to mesh with local realities,Mathurin said. “All of these effortshave to find roots in a local base.Without that local base, the situationwould be far worse. There has to be‘synergy,’” he said. Care must also begiven to uphold notions particularlydear to Haitians: participation anddignity. Dignity is a watchword inHaiti, and to some in Jacmel, thatmeans staying together as a com-munity and not moving into the dis-placement camps.

Among “Groupes Solidarités,”or solidarity groups, friends andneighbors decided that it made moresense to stay together, even on bor-rowed land and space, and in condi-tions that are noticeably moreexposed than those of the camps, inorder to have access to their homes,which have been either damaged ordestroyed. Their numbers are notsmall. There are typically between 50and 200 people in the solidaritygroups, and in Jacmel alone thereare more than 400 solidarity groups,representing an estimated total ofsome 31,505 persons.

“There are some people whowant to see their house everyday,”said Francilaire Jeudi, 34, a leader ofa solidarity group staying in andaround the grounds of Jacmel’sWesleyan (Methodist) Church whichis receiving assistance from KROSEand the World Food Program. “Evenif you can’t go into it, you want tosee it.”

While conceding their stay onthe church grounds could bemonths, and stretch out even further,the members of this solidarity groupare determined to remain togetherwithin the city rather than relocateto a displacement site on Jacmel’soutskirts. “This place is better thanthe camp because here we can orga-nize ourselves,” said Thifaut Jean,another community leader. “Here,”said Francilaire Jeudi, “we’re onefamily.”

Source: Church World Service, CWS: http://www.churchworldservice.org/

Displaced fromPort-au-Prince, FontilLouiner has helped to establish acommunity meal program for 500others displaced by the Januaryearthquake (Nils Carstensen CWS)

A sense of family: the quiet,localized efforts of Haitiansassisting fellow Haitians

By Beverly BellPuerto Príncipe, March 4, 2010

(Upside Down World)

“We plant but we can’t pro-duce or market. We plantbut we have no food to eat.We want agriculture toimprove so our country canlive and so we peasants canlive, too.” - Rilo Petit-homme, peasant organizerfrom St. Marc, Haiti

What would it take to trans-form Haiti’s economy

such that its role in the globaleconomy is no longer that of pro-viding cheap labor for sweatshops?What would it take for hunger tono longer be the norm, for thecountry no longer to depend onimports and hand-outs, and forPort-au-Prince’s slums no longerto contain 85% of the city’s resi-dents? What would it take for thehundreds of thousands left home-less by the earthquake to have asecure life, with income?

According to Haitian peasantorganizations, at the core of thesolutions is a commitment on thepart of the government to supportfamily agriculture, with policies tomake the commitment a reality.Haiti is the only country in thehemisphere which is still majorityrural. Estimates of the percentageof Haiti’s citizens who remainfarmers span from 60.5% (UN,2006) to 80% (the figure used bypeasant groups).

Despite that, food imports cur-rently constitute 57% of whatHaitians consume (World Bank,2008). It didn’t used to be that way;policy choices made it so. In the1980s, the U.S. and internationalfinancial institutions pressuredHaiti to lower tariffs on foodimports, leading to a flood of cheapfood with which Haitian farmerscould not compete. At the sametime, U.S.A.I.D. and others pres-sured Haiti to orient its productiontoward export, leaving farmers vul-nerable to shifting costs of sugarand coffee on the world market.

Because of the poor state oftheir production and marketingand the lack of basic services, 88%of the rural population lives inpoverty, 67% in extreme poverty(UNDP, 2004). Things have grownworse for them since the 2008 hur-ricane season, when four stormsbattered Haiti in three weeks,destroying more than 70% of agri-

culture and most rural roads,bridges, and other infrastructureneeded for production and market-ing. At least during the earthquake,only one farming area, aroundJacmel, was badly damaged.

There is a direct relationshipbetween the state of agricultureand the earthquake’s high toll indeaths, injuries, and homelessness.The quake was so destructivebecause more than three millionpeople were jammed into a citymeant for a 200,000 to 250,000,with most living in extremely pre-carious and overcrowded housing.This is partly due to the demise ofpeasant agriculture over the pastthree decades, which has forcedsmall producers to move to thecapitol to enter the ranks of thesweatshop and informal sectors. Itis also due, in part, to the fact thatgovernment services effectively donot exist for those in the country-side. ID cards, universities, special-ized health care, and much else isavailable exclusively, or almostexclusively, in what Haitians callthe Republic of Port-au-Prince,forcing many to visit or live thereto meet their needs.

“It’s not houses which willrebuild Haiti, it’s investing in theagriculture sector,” says RosnelJean-Baptiste of Tèt Kole Ti PeyizanAyisyen (Heads Together SmallPeasant Farmers of Haiti). Thoseinterviewed for this article, includ-ing dozens of peasant farmers fromfive organizations as well as econ-omists and development experts,agree that the current momentoffers opportunities for secureemployment for the majority, ruraldevelopment, diminished hunger,and resettlement with employmentof those displaced from earth-quake-hit areas.

If reinforced, agriculture couldhelp feed the nation, which is cur-rently suffering a dire food crisis.More than 2.4 million Haitians areestimated to be food-insecure.Acute malnutrition among chil-dren under the age 5 is 9% andchronic malnutrition for that agegroup is 24% (World FoodProgram, 2010). The poverty ispolitical in origin, largely due toWorld Bank and IMF conditions onloans which have squeezed thepoor, and free trade policies whichhave made it impossible for farm-ers to grow enough food to meetthe needs. Securing adequate and

Peasant farmers, Haiti. (Roberto Guerra Upside Down World)

A future for agriculture,a future for Haiti

Continue on page 11

Church and Society LATINAMERICANECUMENICALNEWS•

JANUARY-APRIL20105

By Jerry L. Van MarterHavana, March 31, 2010

(Presbyterian News Service)

Nowhere is the resur-gence of the church— with all its oppor-

tunities and challenges — feltwith more optimism and urgencythan at the Matanzas EvangelicalTheological Seminary, seminarypresident and PresbyterianReformed Church in Cuba(IPRC) Elder Reinerio Arce-Valentin told a group of 15 lead-ers from the Presbyterian Church(U.S.A.)’s Synod on March 16.The group, led by the Rev. JoseLuis Casal — executive presbyterfor Tres Rios Presbytery who grewup in Cuba and pastored on theisland until the late 1980s —was on a 10-day continuing edu-cation trip to learn more aboutPresbyterians in Cuba and howU.S. Presbyterians can partnerwith them. The group alsoincluded General Assembly StatedClerk Gradye Parsons and thisreporter.

“Our mission is missiologi-cal,” Arce told the group. “Ourtask is to train leaders and teach-ers in response to the needsexpressed by our churches.”Those needs are overwhelming.

The IPRC encompasses 32organized churches and at least15 informal fellowships —developing congregations plant-ed by existing churches. Mostcongregations also include anumber of “house churches” orprayer groups that meet regularlyin members’ homes. To servethese rapidly growing congrega-tions, the IPRC – founded by aCuban expatriate, EvaristoCallao, coming back from theU.S. in 1890 – has just 23 pastors,“So pastoral care is a tense situa-tion,” Arce said.

Matanzas Seminary —founded in 1946 by Presbyteriansand Methodists and soon joinedby Episcopalians and Quakers—is one of 13 theological seminar-ies on the island but is the onlyecumenical school. It currentlyenrolls 300 students in at least

five programs, but only 26 are inthe full-time three-year residen-tial program, the shortest track toordination. The largest numberof students are in the semi-resi-dential program, in which stu-dents spent four one-week ses-sions on campus for five years.“This is our most popular pro-gram because many churches(which pay for students toattend) cannot afford the full-time program,” Arce noted.

The seminary’s largest non-residential program is called“Biblical and TheologicalTraining for Leaders.” The“highly ecumenical” programgathers students in local church-es for 12 courses on Bible andtheology. “The classes are taughtby seminary graduates whereverpossible,” Arce noted. The newestand most rapidly growing semi-nary offering is a training pro-gram for Sunday school teachers,Arce said. “Our churches aregrowing fast with many, manychildren and young people andour churches just don’t haveenough teachers,” Arce said,adding that the seminary hastrained more than 150 teachersso far “and we have so manyrequests for others.”

Theological education atMatanzas Seminary is very prac-tical. All students work in church-es on weekends and engage inservice projects during the weekin addition to their studies.Students support communitycenters, HIV/AIDS programs,orphanages and hospitals andclinics throughout the island.With Cubans facing chronic foodshortages, the seminary has

turned a sizable portion of itscampus into a state-of-the-artorganic garden, furnishing freshproduce to the seminary and tolocal schools and selling the sur-plus at low cost to people in thecommunity. Each morning, localresidents line up outside a gatenear one corner of the campus tostock up. “The garden is not self-sustaining financially,” Arce said,“but God will provide.” The gov-ernment has lifted up the semi-nary’s garden as a model of self-sustainable agriculture for othercommunities.

With the per-student per-month cost of seminary equal tothe cost of food for three days,“our financial situation is alwaysa struggle,” noted Arce. Forty per-cent of the school’s budget comesfrom the PC(USA) — supportfrom local churches, presbyteries,the Outreach Foundation, theCuba Connection led by longtimeCuba mission advocate DeanLewis in Santa Fe, and ExtraCommitment Opportunityaccounts administered by thePresbyterian Foundation. TheSynod of the Sun group broughtseven laptop computers as giftsfor the seminary.

“The PC(USA) is our motherchurch so we feel very close,” Arcesaid. “Through all the circum-stances we are one church.” Theseminary also receives supportfrom European and CanadianProtestants. “Keeping our doorsopen is a big juggling act,” Arcesaid, “but we are faithful andconfident and thankful for ourfriends because more and morethe power of the PresbyterianChurch is concentrated at theseminary, where churches cometo express their needs and we arecalled by God to meet them.”

That such challenges andopportunities even exist forCuban Presbyterians seems like amiracle, said Francisco“Pancho” Marrero, general sec-retary of the IPRC. ”In the firstyears of the revolution, even thepeople who didn’t flee Cubastayed away from the churches infear,” he said, “but there wasalways a small group that keptthe church alive. After the Sovietcollapse, the revolutionaries real-ized there was something miss-ing. The church could not be pre-pared for the mass influx of peo-ple back into the churches.

“It has been a difficultprocess but one that gives us sat-isfaction,” Marrero said,“because we’ve faced up to chal-lenges we never thought we’dmeet.”

GradyeParsonspresentsa plaque toReinerio Arce-Valentin, president ofMatanzas Evangelical TheologicalSeminary (PCUSA)

By Geovani MontalvoJanuary 17, 2010 (upsidedown-

world.org)

On January 8 and 9, familyand friends of environmen-talists killed in the town ofSan Isidro, Cabañas, gath-ered in solidarity with theirfallen loved ones at a publicecumenical and artisticcommemoration. Thosegathered attributed therecent assassinations ofthree environmentalactivists to a generalizedrepression targeted at thoseopposed to the re-openingof the “El Dorado” goldmine by the Vancouver, BC-based Pacific Rim MiningCorporation. The companyhas denied any role in themurders.

Ramiro Rivera Gómez waskilled on 20 December

2009 in the Trinidad community,despite being under witness protec-tion at the time. Two police stoodguard in the back of his pick-up ashe was shot. Ramiro was a friend ofMarcelo Gustavo Rivera (no rela-tion), who was killed June 28 inSan Isidro, Cabañas. A week afterthe murder of Ramiro, onDecember 26, Dora Alicia Recinoswas killed, also in the Trinidadcommunity. She was eight monthspregnant with a son, who wouldhave been Enmanuel Recinos.

“If we look at how these crimeshave occurred, the resources used,they have mobilized logistics andcommunications, and weaponrythat was used, no doubt for us thisis the result of a deliberate process,properly planned, duly paid,” saysEdgardo Mira of the Center forResearch on Investment and Trade(CEICOM). ”As the Prosecutor [forthe Defense of Human Rights,Oscar Luna] said, there is negli-gence on the part of the investiga-tors and police [in their investiga-tion],” said Vidalina Morales, fromthe Association for Economic andSocial Development (ADES).Vidalina hails from the Santa

Marta community, and says sheexpects more from the new govern-ment.

“We are here to express our sol-idarity with our martyred com-pañeros who were killed becausethey are defending life here in ElSalvador,” said Ricardo Navarro,president of the Salvadoran Centerfor Appropriate Technology(CESTA) Friends of the Earth ElSalvador. ”We are aware that theirdeath was caused by their opposi-tion to polluting projects, such asmining,” claims Navarro.

Pacific Rim denied allegationsof the company’s involvement in astatement on their website. “Wedemand a competent investigation;we demand that [Pacific Rim] par-ticipate in this process, allowinginvestigations and not assumingan attitude of wanting to blameothers. Above all, Pacific Rim[must not be] presented nationallyand internationally as victims ofthis process,” says Mira ofCEICOM. ”It should be noted thatMembers of the LegislativeAssembly, namely, the currentAssembly president Ciro CruzZepeda and his political group, thePCN [National Conciliation Party]also has supported mining here inEl Salvador, and therefore, theyalso share the criminal responsi-bility for the 4 deaths that haveoccurred,” added Navarro fromCESTA.

“President (Funes) said hewould support us, but we hope topass a law banning metal mining.It is urgent, that through a presi-dential decree or legislation, to stopmining exploration and thatexploration permits no longerexist,” urged Francisco Pineda,coordinator of the EnvironmentalCommittee of Cabañas.

The commemoration wasorganized by the “NationalRoundtable Against MetalMining,” a coalition of Salvadoranorganizations and social move-ments. During the event there washeavy security presence, especiallyfor environmental leaders in thearea who continue to live underthreats of violence.

(This report was edited and fact checked by Jason Wallach.)

Resurgence in Cuba: MatanzasSeminary addresses leadershipneeds of rapidly growing church

Salvadorans hold ecumenicalvigil to honor fallenanti-mining activists

Ecumenical vigil, San Isidro, Cabañas, El Salvador. (Geovani Montalvo Upside Down World)

April 2, 1990 is described by Christians in Cuba as “aturning point.” That day — shortly after the collapse ofthe Soviet Union, Cuba’s main patron since the 1959 rev-olution — Fidel Castro met with 70 church leaders,including those of the Presbyterian Reformed Church inCuba (IPRC) and following the gathering changed oneword in the Cuban constitution: Cuba officially became a“secular” rather than “atheist” state. That single change— which signaled that the Cuban government was nowneutral rather than hostile to the church — opened thefloodgates to renewed life and mission in the church thatcontinues to this day.

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106 Latin American News

By Franz ChávezLa Paz, January 28, 2010 (Inter

Press Service News Agency)

Evo Morales began his sec-ond term as president ofBolivia by swearing in a

cabinet made up of an equal num-ber of women and men - unprece-dented in this South Americannation with a strong patriarchal tra-dition. “My great dream has cometrue: half of the members of my cab-inet are women, and half are men,”said a visibly moved Morales whenhe presented his new team of minis-ters Saturday, the day after he wassworn in to a second term. “This wasan impressive surprise,” JimenaLeonardo, one of the heads of theBartolina Sisa federation of peasantwomen of La Paz, told IPS. Three ofthe 10 female members of the cabi-net are indigenous social activists.

The 50 year-old Morales, the firstindigenous president in this countrywhere Amerindians make up over 60percent of the population, said thatsince his days as a rural trade unionleader, he had stressed the need forwomen’s participation in top posts tobe “chacha-warmi”, which meansroughly fifty-fifty in Aymara, hismother tongue.

Bolivia has thus become the sec-ond country in Latin America, afterChile, to have a cabinet with genderparity, said Mónica Novillo, head ofadvocacy and lobbying for theCoordinadora de la Mujer, a Bolivianumbrella organization of more than200 women’s groups. Referring tothe new constitution that took effectin February 2009, Novillo told IPSthat “this was a promise thatPresident Morales made when thenew constitution was enacted, whichhas been fulfilled with the swearingin of the new cabinet.”

Noting that the women in his 20member cabinet include “singers,lawyers, activists and social leaders,economists, doctors and workers,”the president highlighted the factthat Bolivia will have a female laborminister for the first time ever -while calling on trade unionists notto protest the historic appointment.

Novillo pointed out that thereare now twice as many women inMorales’ cabinet, compared to hisfirst term, which began in January2006. The leftist leader was reelected- to a five instead of tour year termunder the new constitution - in anunparalleled landslide victory, with64 percent of the vote, on Dec. 6. Sheadded that gender parity in the threebranches of the state is a long-time

demand of the women’s movement.The new constitution, which guar-antees equal rights for men andwomen, empowers both women andthe country’s historically downtrod-den indigenous majority.

The naming of 10 women min-isters was preceded by the election ofa female legislator, Ana MaríaRomero of the governing Movementto Socialism (MAS) party, as thepowerful president of the Senate -another milestone for gender equal-ity touted by Morales. The propor-tion of women in the new parlia-ment - in which the total number oflegislators was expanded under thenew constitution - will be doublewhat it was in the previous Congress:46 out of 166 seats (28 percent),compared to 22 out of 157 seats (14percent).

In appointing his new cabinet,Morales had to respond to conflict-ing pressures from the various socialmovements that make up his sup-port base and from his supportersamong the middle class and intel-lectuals. He also apparently made asmall concession to his adversariesby replacing his interior and defenseministers and chief of staff, whowere extremely unpopular amongthe opposition. But seven ministersstayed on, including three who wereconsidered key to the success of hisfirst administration: the ministers ofeconomy and finance, autonomy,and foreign relations.

Bolivian women’s organizationshave been celebrating the new cabi-net as a far-reaching achievement ina country where machismo runsdeep. Women have quietly madeheadway in politics as part of theprocess of change that broughtMorales to power. But only now is thestrength of their participation since2006 gaining recognition, under theleadership of indigenous and com-

munity activists from poor rural andurban areas in the country’s westernhighlands region.

Leonardo is one of them - afarmer who led thousands of peasantwomen as they showed their strengthin roadblocks, days-long marchesalong highways, and protest demon-strations that formed part of thestruggle against the free market eco-nomic policies implemented by gov-ernments between 1985 and 2005.

Researchers and indigenousthinkers say the major changes seenin Bolivia over the last four years arelargely due to the strength and driveof women. But up to now, thewomen’s movement had not taken afront seat role. When he announcedhis new cabinet, Morales also saidthat Bolivian women’s social con-science, patriotism and dedication todefending national interests, as wellas the respect he feels for his mother,sister and daughter, were factors inhis decision to break with a long his-tory of discrimination againstwomen.

The female members of the cab-inet include popular folk singer andactivist Zulma Yugar in the Ministryof Culture; lawyer and formerombudswoman Nardi Suxo as theanti-corruption minister; U.S.-trained economist Elba Viviana Caroin the Ministry of DevelopmentPlanning; Antonia Rodríguez, thehead of an association of womenartisans, as Minister of ProductiveDevelopment; Nilda Copa, a leaderof the Bartolina Sisa federation ofpeasant women of Tarija, in theJustice Ministry; and CarmenTrujillo as Minister of Labor andSocial Security. Others are Dr. SoniaPolo as Minister of Health andSports; María Esther Udaeta asEnvironment Minister; NemesiaChacollo, a leader of the BartolinaSisa federation of peasant women ofLa Paz, as Minister of RuralDevelopment and Land; andMinister of Legal Defense ElizabethArismendi.

But the organizations that makeup the Coordinadora de la Mujerhave no intention of resting on theirlaurels, and have already launcheda campaign to achieve gender equi-ty at the municipal and regional lev-els, demanding that half of the can-didates fielded by political parties inthe April local and provincial elec-tions be women.

Source: Inter Press Service News Agency, IPS:http://www.ipsnews.net/latin.asp

Zulma Yugar, Minister of Cultures,Bolivia. (Press Office, Government Palace, Bolivia)

By José Pedro MartinsPorto Alegre, February 21, 2010

(Latinamerica Press)

In the wake of the globaleconomic crisis, social

movements made arenewed call for justice atthe 10th annual WorldSocial Forum in PortoAlegre, Brazil. The forum,held this year on January25-29, has for a decadeserved as an arena foralternatives to globaliza-tion by civil society andsocial movements thatcounters the WorldEconomic Forum, held inDavos, Switzerland.

“If before movements and civilsociety were fragmented, there ismuch more unity and activitiestoday,” said Brazilian businessmanOded Grajew, one of the founders ofthe forum. Grajew and other par-ticipants, which totaled 35,000from 39 countries, said the globaleconomic meltdown of 2008 is justone more example that the main-stream economic model has failedand its heavy reign on society hasbrought social, economic andenvironmental consequences.

Lula takes center stage“I’m aware that Davos no

longer has the glamour that peoplethought it had in 2003,” saidPresident Luiz Inacio Lula daSilva. Lula did not travel to Davos,where he was awarded with the

first-ever “Global Statesman”award, due to a case of hyperten-sion. His words were met with loudapplause before 7,000 forum par-ticipants in Porto Alegre.

Lula, who has long been pub-licly critical of rich countries’ fail-ure to effectively fight poverty, isstill facing a hefty list of demandsfrom his constituency, includingland reform, as elections inOctober approach and Lula worksto bring his successor to office.

“Necessary and urgent”Portuguese sociologist

Boaventura de Sousa Santos, oneof the most vocal participants inthe World Social Forum, suggestedchanging the event’s theme to“Another World is Necessary andUrgent” from “Another World isPossible.”

Participants reiterated theircommitment to fight deforestation,agrochemicals and monoculture.“We know that these triumphs willcome from the organized people’sstruggle,” said the event’s finaldeclaration, referring to defense ofthe environment.

Brazilian social movements, inparticular, called for greater unityin the country’s struggle toimprove income distribution, fightpoverty and defend the environ-ment. Participants also called foran end to military bases in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean andsafe and sane environmental poli-cies.

Source: Latinamerica Press: http://www.lapress.org/index.asp

Unprecedented gender parity inBolivia’s new cabinet

World Social Forum turns 10 as participants call for new forms of develop-ment. (Hamilton F.P. Farias FSM2010)

World Social Forum(WSF) at 10

By Jim HodgsonFebruary 14, 2010 (United

Church of Canada)

The call is to act to defendmembers of a United

Church partner organiza-

tion and others from threatsdirected against communityleaders concerned aboutthe ecological impacts of agold mining project. SinceJune 2009, four peoplehave been murdered and

threats continue againstleaders of the Santa MartaAssociation for Economicand Social Development(ADES), a non-governmen-tal organization that is apartner of The United

Church of Canada.

BackgroundThe Santa Marta Association

for Economic and SocialDevelopment (ADES), a non-governmental organization that

is a partner of The UnitedChurch of Canada, works closelywith the journalists of RadioVictoria, the CabañasEnvironment Committee, and

United Church of Canada call to end killingsof anti-mining activists in El Salvador

Continue on page 7

others concerned about the eco-logical impact of a proposedgold mining project in theCabañas department of north-ern El Salvador. However, sincelast June, community leadersfrom the region of Cabañas andSanta Marta have come underserious threat related to theirresistance.

Salvadoran PresidentMaurio Funes, who opposed themining project during his presi-dential campaign, has reiteratedhis support for the community,assuring Salvadorans that hewill not succumb to pressurefrom the mining industry. Localpolice authorities and the for-mer Attorney General have clas-sified these murder cases ascommon crimes. Salvadoransare fearful and outraged by thecontinued violence, but also bythe inability and unwillingnessof the police and the office of theattorney general to protect com-munity activists and halt theviolence.

As people of faith, we muststand together in solidarity withour sisters and brothers whowork for ecological justice andhuman rights and in defense oftheir communities in El

Salvador. The needs of the peo-ple and the Earth must be putbefore business and profit. Weask you to call on theSalvadoran government toensure that the threats and vio-lence are stopped and that anexhaustive investigation of thesecrimes and their motives be car-ried out.

The Attorney General andSalvadoran authorities arebeing urged to:

•carry out impartial,exhaustive, and effective investi-gations into the assassination ofMarcelo Rivera, Ramiro Rivera,Felícita Echevarría, and DoraAlicia Sorto, and bring thoseresponsible to justice

•ensure the safety and pro-tection of all members of theSanta Marta Association forEconomic and SocialDevelopment (ADES), theCabanas EnvironmentalCommittee, other communityactivists and their relatives

•guarantee the rights ofenvironmental and humanrights activists to dissent andpeaceful protest

Source: United Church of Canada: http://www.united-church.ca/

LATINAMERICANECUMENICALNEWS•

JANUARY-APRIL2010Latin American News 7

By Helda MartínezFebruary 1, 2010 (Inter Press

Service News Agency)

“Why is the government, whichis so generous towards the richestsectors of the economy, so stingytowards the displaced?” askedactivist Marco Romero at the presen-tation of a new report on the dire sit-uation faced by the millions ofColombians who have been forcedout of their rural homes by thecountry’s nearly half-century oldarmed conflict. Romero, the directorof the Consultancy for HumanRights and Displacement (COD-HES), was alluding to things like arecent scandal over 113 million dol-lars in tax-free farm subsidies hand-ed out over the last three years towealthy business families, some ofwhom are not even involved in agri-culture, under the government’sAgro Ingreso Seguro program.

Many of the beneficiaries havemade sizeable campaign contribu-tions towards the re-election ofright-wing President Álvaro Uribe toa third term in office. The Ministryof Agriculture is one of the focuses ofthe investigation by the AttorneyGeneral’s Office.

The activist was also referring torecent tax cuts for the tobacco indus-try adopted by the Uribe administra-tion and the huge tax breaks it offersforeign investors. But Romero’s crit-icism, voiced during this week’srelease of the report “¿Saltoestratégico, o salto al vacío?”(“Strategic Leap, or Leap into theVoid?”), an overview of forced dis-placement in Colombia between2002 and 2009, also alluded to soci-ety’s indifference towards thethrongs of poor peasant farmers try-ing to scratch out a living as streetvendors or manual laborers in thecities.

The report by CODHES, one ofColombia’s most respected humanrights groups, says 49 percent of thedisplaced have been forced off theirland during the Uribe administra-tion, whose controversial “democra-tic security policy” has drawn criti-cism from human rights groups.Indifference marks the plight facedby the nearly five million peopleforcibly displaced in Colombia overthe last 25 years, including 2.4 mil-lion displaced from 2002 - whenUribe’s first term started - to 2009.

Based on data from Colombia’sCatholic Church and bishops’ con-ference, the public prosecutor’soffice and the government depart-ment in charge of providing aid tothe internally displaced, AcciónSocial, as well as daily monitoring ofthe media, CODHES estimates that290,000 people were displaced in dif-ferent regions of the country in2009, “as a result of the conflict andother expressions of violence.”

In this South American country,which has one of the largest popula-tions of internally displaced persons(IDPs) in the world, along with theDemocratic Republic of the Congo,Iraq and Sudan, people have beenforcibly displaced in 69 of the total1,119 municipalities. But the hard-est hit areas are the northwestern

province of Antioquia, a paramili-tary stronghold (45,800 IDPs), andthe war-torn southwestern provinceof Nariño (26,000 IDPs), where cocacrop spraying has been stepped up inthe last few years.

The largest numbers of IDPshave fled to Bogotá, whose reputa-tion as a relatively safer city and thefact that it is the largest city in thecountry make it the biggest magnetfor those seeking safety and a way tomake a living. And although the lat-est CODHES figures point to a 24percent drop in the number of peo-ple displaced in 2009 compared to2008, the situation remains serious.

The report says it is appallingthat “civilians in Colombia are stillforced to flee from the constantaggression from illegal armedgroups, and in many cases fromagents of the state who due to action,omission, incapacity or complicityfail to guarantee the basic rights tolife, honor and assets as the consti-tution stipulates.”

Rural populations of black andindigenous people are the mostheavily affected by forced displace-ment, especially in areas where oilpalm plantations are expanding.

“It’s true that there have beenadvances for some segments of soci-ety, but not for everyone, which castsinto doubt the democratic compo-nent of (the government’s) securitypolicy,” says the report. The human-itarian and human rights crisiscaused by displacement will lead to“a leap into the void” unless there issome change in terms of “the inter-nal conflict, theft of land, emergenceof new armed groups, increase inillegal drug crops, fragmentation ofdrug cartels, and a rural develop-ment model that accentuatesinequality and deepens social injus-tice in the countryside,” it adds.

Between 1999 and 2007, some5.5 million hectares of land wereseized from 380,000 peasant fami-lies, according to the EncuestaNacional de Verificación, a nationalsurvey that periodically follows upon the government’s compliancewith a landmark 2004Constitutional Court ruling. In itsunprecedented legal decision,known as T-025, the Court ruled thatthere were massive violations of theconstitutional rights of those dis-placed from their land by all partiesto the conflict - far-right paramili-taries, left-wing guerrillas, and gov-

ernment forces - and that the gov-ernment is legally bound to guaran-tee respect for IDPs’ rights to health,education, housing, emergencyhumanitarian aid, and food security.

However, in 2009, public policiesonce again failed to live up to theConstitutional Court order, saidCODHES president Jorge Rojas. Thatwas born out by the fact that therural population shrank by one mil-lion people over the last five years, to9.3 million people.

“Under the current administra-tion, the rural population hasdeclined by at least nine percent, dueto causes attributed to the violenceand armed conflict and, to a lesserextent, the predominant rural devel-opment model,” said Romero.Among the causes of the rural exo-dus, the report mentions the resur-gence of “demobilized” paramilitarygroups seeking to consolidate con-trol over land taken from peasantfarmers. In addition, the paramili-taries “control the drug trade, takeover the local institutions, andimpose guns and money as forms ofpolitical control,” said Romero.

In second place in terms ofnumbers of IDPs are disputed areaswhere the state is carrying out a mil-itary offensive against the FARC(Revolutionary Armed Forces ofColombia) and smaller ELN(National Liberation Army) guerril-las, which are trying to regroup afterthe setbacks suffered in the past fewyears. The third cause of displace-ment is aerial spraying and forcedmanual eradication of drug crops bythe military, reports CODHES.

The only options available toIDPs are joining one of the illegalarmed groups, fleeing to Bogotá orsome other city or to a neighboringcountry, or trying to find land togrow coca or opium poppies, thusbecoming part of the weakest link inthe drug trafficking chain. But peo-ple are also fleeing growing levels ofurban violence, especially inAntioquia’s provincial capital,Medellín, Valle del Cauca’s capitalCali, and Bogotá.

In the meantime, the constantthreats against activists and organi-zations working on behalf of theIDPs, including CODHES, continue.


Who cares about the victims offorced displacement in Colombia?

Improvised shelters in Tercer Milenio park, Bogotá, Colombia, 2009.(Helda Martínez IPS)

April 5, 2010 (Honduras:Human Rights)

The Unified PeasantMovement of Aguán, to theHonduran people andnational and internationalhuman rights organizations,denounces:

1. The murder of our colleagueMiguel Angel Alonso, farmer, is partof the new strategy of exterminationof MUCA by landowners MiguelFacusse, Reinaldo Canales and RenéMorales, with the participation of thearmy, national police and the navalbase of Puerto Castilla.

2. Paramilitary, military, andpolice groups are being trained inthe fourth infantry battalion in LaCeiba Atlántida under the commandof Billy Joya in the premises of theAtlantic factory exporter in theQuebrada community, in the Tocoamunicipality, and in the installa-tions of the 15th Battalion in the RioClaro community, Trujillo munici-pality, Colon department.

3. Beginning in April, the occu-pied land will be intervened militar-ily, in a violent and bloody way, withthe installation of mines and traps.This repression is being calledOperation Thunder and includesmeasures such as the arrest andassassination of MUCA and NationalResistance Front leaders as well as

the mass detention of peasants andfarmers.

4. The police and army vehiclesoperating in Colon use the landown-ers’ private cars, are armed withAK47s, use ski masks and conductdaily operations with paramilitaryforces against the MUCA.

5.-We hold the landowners, thenational army, the national police,and the current governmentaccountable for the deaths that havealready occurred and for the inno-cent blood that could run with thedevelopment of Operation Thunder.

Tocoa, Colon, Honduras, April 2,2010

Source: Honduras: Human Rights:http://hondurashumanrights.wordpress.com/

Repression in Aguán imminent,denounces the Unified Peasant

Movement (MUCA)

Aguán Belongs To Us (MUCA)

United Church of Canada…From page 6

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108 Indigenous Issues

Berlin, El Salvador, January 6,2010 (ALC)

Just prior to the VI ContinentalGathering of IndianTheology held in El Salvador

recently, the first gathering ofIndigenous Women Abya YalaTheologians took place, with thetheme, “United to support the com-munity”. At the gathering it wasdecided that the Community of AbyaYala Indigenous WomenTheologians be formed, and a clos-ing statement was issued. Women ofthe Aymara, Quechua, Kichua,Náhuatl, Mayan Quichè, MayaKakchiquel, Qom, Kaigang peoples,together with sisters in solidaritywith the process of reflection andaction, gathered in the municipalityof Berlin, El Salvador, on November29 and 30, 2009.

“We recognize ourselves asbeing descendents of the millennialcultures, inheritors of the grand-mothers and grandfathers who werevaliant fighters and martyrs, such asBartolina Sisa, Gregoria Apaza,Micaela Bastidas, Tomasa Tito,Digna Ochoa, CommanderRamona, Transita Amaguaña, andDolores Cacuango, who were mur-dered, raped, humiliated, tortured,disappeared, and exiled for defend-ing life, the earth, children, justiceand the right to life of the indige-nous peoples. We are also live seedsof anonymous women, mothers anddaughters, who day after day culti-vated our ancestral knowledge andtransmitted culture from generationto generation, such as RigobertaMenchu, Rosa Ribeiro, DomitilaChungara. We are inheritors of thehistory of oppression, perseveranceand resistance of our peoples.

“We recognize ourselves asbeing caretakers of the natural andancestral seeds, cultivators of theearth and of the struggles of the

excluded peoples, generators and re-creators of life and of the communi-ty, transmitters of natural medicineand sacred wisdom, preservers of thebalance and harmony ofPachamama, Nan Uleu, Tlalli, Pats,‘Enauacna. We recognize that theancestral spirituality moves throughour bodies and integrates the familyand is expressed in the language,dress, manners, music, dances, fes-tivities, symbols, rites, and the mythsthat give us the energy to continueon the way,” say the women in thefinal declaration of the gathering.

The theologians dialogued ontheology, the Bible and pastoral con-cerns from the understanding andexperience of indigenous women.“We understood that there is thenecessity to broaden the way ofunderstanding theology, the biblicalhermeneutics and the pastoral per-spectives, seriously incorporatingour cosmovisions, cultural codes,symbolic manifestations, and spiri-tualities. We also understood thatthere is the need to recover the bro-ken and burnt threads and to cre-atively knit multicolored mantelsthat go beyond the institutions and

make us an open, welcoming andhospitable community.

“We raise our voice of hopefulstruggle and we urge humanity tobuild and follow alternative para-digms of life, beginning with our lifeas indigenous and our cosmovisionsbased on the Suma Qamaña, SumajKawsay, Ñandereko, Da Nca’alaxa‘Enauac, Inh Fé Tupe, Xochitlalpan,Endanazaaca, Buen vivir (‘Good liv-ing’) or Vida Plena (‘Full Life’) for aworld where other worlds have roomas well,” they underline.

They summon the other indige-nous sisters and others in solidaritywith their cause to join in the newcommunity. Likewise, they invite theindigenous brothers and others insolidarity with the indigenous causeto see, to hear and to support the dif-ferent voices and experiences of theindigenous women, to respect theirprocesses and to assume their wordin the theological, biblical and pas-toral building as a community, withrespect and welcome. “We glimpse acolorful world, with the smell of thedamp earth, with flavors and differ-ent colors,” they end by saying.

Faces of IndigenousWomen (ALER ALC)

Lima, February 4, 2010(Latinamerica Press)

Indigenous groups from14 countries around theregion sought to takeadvantage of and defendtheir traditions andteachings to combat cli-mate change in the sec-ond Latin Americansummit on ClimateChange Impacts onIndigenous Peoples: PostCopenhagen, heldJanuary 25-26 in Lima.

Participants in the summit,convened by the CoordinatingGroup of Indigenous Women’sContinental South AmericanRegion, the Central AmericanIndigenous Council and theCenter for Indigenous Cultures ofPeru-Chirapaq, discussed the bestmethods of sustainable develop-ment on indigenous lands, mea-sures to monitor forests and rivers,food sovereignty and security, gen-der and indigenous rights. Theyswapped information about

extreme weather such as coldsnaps, blizzards and abnormalrainfall patterns that have dam-aged or destroyed indigenouslands and their native crops.

“The food security crisis, ill-nesses, the loss of our traditionalteachings and practices, the weak-ening of our own [community]organization are consequences ofclimate change,” said the LimaDeclaration: For the Life of Motherand Human Nature. The trend hasbroken the ecological, socioeco-nomic and spiritual balance, theysaid.

Participants agreed thatindigenous peoples continue to besome of the worst affected by cli-mate change, with extremeimpacts on their lands, health,culture, economy, water and nat-ural resources.

They called for unified mobi-lizations of indigenous groupsagainst extractive industries suchas oil and mining, which directlyhurt the communities, and saidtheir traditional knowledge shouldbe used to counter the economicmodels that promote dangerous,unsustainable development.


Quito, February 12, 2010(Latinamerica Press)

The Sarayaku Kichwa indige-nous group in Ecuador’s

Amazon jungle saw a happy endingto its 14-year struggle to end two oilgiants’ presence on its land. InDecember, Argentina’s CompañíaGeneral de Combustibles, a sub-sidiary of US oil company Chevron,and Burlington Resources, of theUnited States, agreed to end their oil

contracts with the government amidpressure from the local indigenouscommunity.

The government had grantedthe two companies a concession toexplore and drill on two lots in thearea in 1996, without consulting theSarayaku community, in the Pastazaprovince.

The concession violated anagreement signed seven years earlierin which the government guaranteedthe Sarayaku community’s rights to

the land and banned oil explorationthere. In early 2003, the governmentput the military in control of theindigenous area so the indigenouscommunity members did not evenhave free movement on their ownlands, and the oil companies beganto intimidate the local population.

A year later, the community pre-sented a case against the Ecuadorianstate before the Inter-AmericanCommission on Human Rights, abody of the Organization ofAmerican States, which sought pro-tection for the community. The fol-lowing year, the oil companies hadto suspend their activities since theInter-American Court on HumanRights ruled that the governmentmust protect the community.

The government has not com-plied with the part of the sentencethat called for the removal of 400kilograms of explosives planted bythe Argentine company in theindigenous area, and on February 3,the community appealed to the courtto pressure the government intocomplying with the sentence.


Indigenous women form the firstcommunity of Abya Yala theologians

Indigenous groups,post-Copenhagen

Indigenous peoples’ thinking, Mural (WACC UBL Costa Rica)

Indigenous group kicks out oil company in Ecuador

Soldierswith CGC engineer, Sarayaku, Ecuador. (Giovanny Acción Fotográfica Argentina Indymedia)

April 14, 2010 (LWI)

Colombian Lutheran BishopEduardo Martinez has

reminded representatives of theLutheran World Federation (LWF)member churches in Latin Americaand the Caribbean of their responsi-bility in building an equal societythat provides inclusiveness in a conti-nent demanding justice and equality.In his sermon based on Luke 14:12-13, at the opening worship of theApril 12-16 LWF Pre-AssemblyConsultation and Church LeadershipConference for the Latin America andCaribbean region, hosted by theEvangelical Lutheran Church ofColombia (IELCO), Martinez said,“We have been told that in our soci-ety there will always be poor and rich.That it is something normal, a nat-ural condition, and that the rich arerich because they work and that thepoor are poor because they are lazy,don’t want to work and always spendwhatever savings they might have.But the truth is that the poor are not

invited to enjoy the abundance ofbread that our society has. … Thisthinking has to change.” On a conti-nent where a great number of peopleare poor, sharing is an opportunity totransform the region into a continentthat demands “justice and equality”and “food for everyone.”

Participants deliberated on theJuly 2010 assembly theme, “Give UsToday Our Daily Bread,” and onLWF’s work since the last assembly.The delegates meeting in Bogotábrought bread from their homecountries to share at the meeting.With this bread on a table before thealtar at the opening worship, Rev.Martin Junge, LWF area secretary forLatin America and the Caribbean,said, “This ceremony, full of symbol-ism, encourages the act of sharing,but it also reminds us that there aremany in the world that are left hun-gry.” Junge, who will become LWFgeneral secretary later this year, said“this is something that we asChristians are required to changeand overcome.”

Churches called to fulfill their roletoward “inclusive justice” at theLutheran World Federation Pre-

Assembly Consultation and ChurchLeadership Conference


JANUARY-APRIL2010Latin American News 9

By Ángel PáezLima, February 23, 2010 (Inter

Press Service News Agency)

“The police generals havebeen charged with the com-mon crimes of homicideand severe bodily injuries,which are not crimes in theline of duty here or any-where else,” argues thehead of the non-govern-mental APRODEH humanrights association, MiguelJugo. APRODEH is one ofthe human rights groups,along with COMISEDH, theIDL and the CatholicEpiscopal Commission forSocial Action (CEAS), rep-resenting the 96 defendantsaccused of the June 2009violence in Bagua.

Although the technicalinvestigations cleared twoof the indigenous demon-

strators accused in the murders of 12policemen during a bloody June2009 clash between native protestersand the security forces near thenorthern Amazon jungle town ofBagua, they are still behind bars.Feliciano Cahuasa and Danny Lópezhave been in prison for over eightmonths, despite the fact that techni-cal crime scene investigationsshowed that neither of them fired asingle shot and they are thus inno-cent of the June 5 killings of thepolice officers.

On the other hand, no police arein prison for the June 5 shootingdeaths of at least 10 indigenous pro-testers, which occurred when thepolice were ordered to clear theirroadblock on the main highwaynear Bagua. The killings put an endto a two-month demonstration andtraffic blockade by thousands ofnative protesters demanding therepeal of decrees passed by the gov-ernment of Alan García that openedup indigenous land in the rainforest

to oil, mining and logging compa-nies. The decrees were passed with-out the required consultation withnative communities. (Since the June5 incidents, Congress has revokedseveral of the decrees.)

According to different sources,the local police chiefs and the pro-testers had reached an agreement fora peaceful lifting of the roadblock at10:30 AM on June 5. But at dawn thatday, heavily armed police unitsarrived and opened fire on thedemonstrators, some of whom werestill sleeping. When the shootingbegan at the Curva del Diablo, thearea on the highway where the road-block was set up, indigenous protest-ers took 38 police at a nearby oilpumping station (Estación 6)hostage, and stripped them of theirweapons.

Police officers who survived theattack on the hostages told IPS afterthe incident that the indigenous pro-testers killed some of their colleaguesin reprisal for the security forces’failure to respect the peace agree-ment reached with the local policechiefs. The courts in Bagua wereinvestigating 96 native and non-indigenous demonstrators in con-nection with the murders of 23police and the disappearance ofanother during the incidents, whichare known in Peru as the“Baguazo”.

Juan José Quispe and GustavoCampos, two of the lawyers repre-senting the native protesters chargedwith the murders of the police whodied that day, have filed an injunc-tion for an extension of the deadlinefor the legal inquiry in the courts inBagua, which has expired. The attor-neys argue that the judges failed tocarry out investigations that are cru-cial to clarifying the situation of the96 defendants, including Cahuasaand López. “There is no evidenceagainst Cahuasa and López, just asthere is none against the otherdefendants,” Quispe, with the non-governmental Human RightsCommission (COMISEDH), told IPS.“Of course the murderers of thepolice should be punished, but these

people weren’t the ones who killedthem,” he said.

“The entire case is plagued withirregularities,” said the lawyer, whopointed out, for example, that “thetestimony of key eyewitnesses, whichshowed that the defendants are inno-cent, was not even gathered. “Thepeople who are on trial were arbi-trarily arrested by the police on theday of the events in question. Theyweren’t arrested as the result of anyinvestigation,” said Quispe.

Héctor Requejo, the mayor ofthe province of Condorcanqui andleader of the Aguaruna indigenouscommunity, and Merino Trigoso,another native leader, have beenaccused of planning the killing ofpolice at the Curva del Diablo.Requejo and Trigoso were allegedlyidentified by two teenagers arrestedby members of the army during the“Baguazo”. However, the two youngmen’s statements are not included inthe case file.

“The legal authorities them-selves confirmed that the adoles-cents’ statements do not appear inthe case file; nevertheless, the perse-cution of Requejo and Trigoso con-tinues,” said Gustavo Campos of thenon-governmental Legal DefenseInstitute (IDL). “What’s more, theadolescents have said that they didnot accuse either one of them,” headded.

Campos said “we have recom-mended to the courts that the case bedeclared complex, in order to con-tinue with the investigations aheadof the oral phase of the trial, toestablish that there is no evidenceagainst the 96 defendants who arefacing prosecution.” But the requestwas turned down, “so we haveappealed,” said Campos, who addedthat “we are very concerned aboutthe series of irregularities that haveundermined due process.”

Prosecutors in the province ofUtcubamba, which has jurisdictionover the events in Bagua, accusedtwo generals of being ultimatelyresponsible for the killings of fourindigenous protesters, and two policeofficers of being the actual perpetra-tors. The generals are the formerhead of special operations(DIROES), Gen. Luis Muguruza,and former Bagua police chief Gen.Javier Uribe.

But the attorneys representingthe indigenous defendants said theprosecutors’ case contained seriousflaws, such as considering the twogenerals ultimately responsible forthe demonstrators’ murders. Thelawyers pointed out that the generalswere actually following orders.“Muguruza and Uribe formed part ofa chain of command that stretchedall the way up to the then director ofthe National Police, LieutenantGeneral José Sánchez Farfán, andhis immediate boss, then InteriorMinister Mercedes Cabanillas, whoat the same time was under theorders of Prime Minister YehudeSimon,” said Quispe.

However, “statements have noteven been taken from Cabanillasand Simon, which would be veryimportant in establishing where theorder originated to crack down onthe demonstrators at Curva delDiablo and Estación 6, where mas-sacres were committed on bothsides,” he said. In the lawyer’s view,“these charges by the prosecutorswere designed to guarantee impuni-ty for the executive branch officials.”

But there has also been anotherattempt to keep government officials

who gave the order for a violentbreak-up of the roadblock out of thehands of justice. The president of theSupreme Council of Military Justice,retired vice admiral Carlos Mesa,announced that he would attempt tohave the two generals tried by themilitary, rather than civilian, courts.Mesa argued that the military justicesystem has jurisdiction over cases inwhich police have allegedly commit-ted crimes in the line of duty.

“This is a maneuver by the mil-itary justice system to ensureimpunity for the police generals inexchange for their agreement not totestify that they carried out the oper-ation in Bagua on direct orders fromformer Prime Minister YehudeSimon and former Interior MinisterMercedes Cabanillas,” said Jugo. Hesaid the military establishment andthe generals who are facing chargesare well aware that the penalties forcrimes in the line of duty are muchlighter than the sentences for homi-cide in the ordinary courts, whichcan be as long as 35 years.

The Regional Organization ofIndigenous Peoples of the NorthernAmazon (ORPIAN) has called for ademonstration to protest the irregu-larities in the case against the 96indigenous demonstrators. ORPIANwill also protest the failure to repealall of the decrees that opened up theAmazon jungle to investment bymining, oil and timber companies.

The multi-party congressionalcommittee in charge of the processof revoking the controversial decreesthat triggered last year’s indigenousprotests that led to the “Baguazo”informed IPS that four of the 10 so-called “jungle laws” have alreadybeen overturned. The committee hadissued a report which concluded thatthe 10 decrees violated InternationalLabor Organization (ILO)Convention 169, which requires thatindigenous groups be previouslyconsulted with respect to any invest-ment projects in their territory.


No justice for Indians in Peru’s Amazon massacre

Massacre in Bagua, June, 2009(CATAPA)

By Antonio Carlos RibeiroPorto Alegre, January 28, 2010

The campaign to collectofferings for the victims of

the earthquake in Haiti, beingcarried out by the EvangelicalChurch of Lutheran Confessionin Brazil (IECLB), has so farreceived $12,000.00, which hasbeen sent on January 26 to theLutheran World Federation(LWF), informed Pastor WalterAltmann, President of the IECLB.

The LWF, which gatherstogether Lutheran churchesaround the world, is participatingin the emergency relief work inHaiti and has thanked the enthu-siastic support of the BrazilianLutherans. The LWF and the

World Council of Churches(WCC) are publicly supportingthe campaign for the pardoningof Haiti’s foreign debt, insistingthat the amount of the fundinggiven for the reconstruction of thecountry be considered as a dona-tion to the Caribbean nation.

In his letter, Altmann informsthat it is estimated that there arehundreds of thousands dead andincalculable material damages,with a reminder that a good partof Haiti is in ruins and that theHaitian people are relying on sol-idarity and intercessions.Altmann calls on the communi-ties and parishes of the IECLB tocommit themselves to solidaritywith their Haitian brothers andsisters.

Brazilian Lutherans sendhelp to Haiti

Tegucigalpa, March 24, 2010(Honduras: Human Rights)

On March 23, at three in theafternoon an unknown per-

son was sighted in front of theOfficial High School Institute SanJose del Pedregal. The unusual pres-ence of the stranger caused concernsamong students and the more than30 teachers that make up the staff ofteachers that take care of the teach-ing obligations at the school. Amongthe teachers was Professor of SocialScience José Manuel Flores, who alsohad the role of teacher counselor.

Witnesses saw two pickup vehi-cles approaching from the rear ofthe premises of the institution, onegreen and another white. ProfessorManuel, as his friends called him,was in the back of the facility over-

seeing his pupils when he found hismurderers. They had crossed theperimeter fence and fired their gunsat close range. Professor Manuel wasin a terrace and fell over but the

murderers fired again. One of themlost his balaclava cap as theyescaped through a hole they hadmade in the wired fence which servesas perimeter security. The teacherdied instantly.

This is the first case of a teacherwho was murdered inside education-al facilities, in front of his peers andstudents. Those who ordered andplanned the crime have a clearstrategic purpose to set fear in thepeaceful movement of the resistanceby assassinating prominent leadersof the movement. These crimes arebeing committed without compro-mising state security forces, who arehiring assassins from other coun-tries who have come to Honduras totake revenge against those who pur-sued justice following the coup.

Source: http://hondurashumanrights.wordpress.com/

Professor José Manuel Flores, member of theNational Front of Popular Resistance (FNRP) to

the coup, assassinated

José Manuel Flores (HondurasHuman Rights)

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1010 Latin America and Environment

By Emilio GodoyMexico City, March 7, 2010(Inter Press Service News

Agency)

Amidst allegations thatCanadian mining compa-nies operating in Latin

America have been complicit in themurders and harassment of activists,several positive developments inCanada are seen as a source of hopethat firms may begin to be heldaccountable on human rights andenvironmental questions. TheCanadian parliament is currentlyconsidering Bill C-300, “An ActRespecting Corporate Accountabilityfor the Activities of Mining, Oil orGas Corporations in DevelopingCountries”, aimed at ensuring thatCanadian extractive companies fol-low human rights and environmen-tal best practices when they operateoverseas.

It would create a mechanismallowing Canadians and affectedcommunities to sue companies thatviolate these standards, and imposesanctions - such as the loss of gov-ernment loans or assistance - onfirms found guilty of such violations,according to MiningWatch Canada.In addition, the Canadian govern-ment launched a web site in Januaryoffering Canadian mining compa-nies advice and information to helpthem adopt ethical business prac-tices.

And in a late January decisionthat focused on a Red Chris (ownedby Imperial Metals) mining compa-ny project in the western Canadianprovince of British Columbia,Canada’s Supreme Court ruled thatthe federal government could notsplit projects into artificially smallparts in order to avoid comprehen-sive environmental impact studies.In its verdict, the Court stated thatunder the Canadian EnvironmentalAssessment Act, entire projects mustbe environmentally evaluated, andthe government “cannot reduce thescope of the project to less than whatis proposed” by the company.

The ruling also said the

Canadian government had actedunlawfully by excluding publicinput from its assessment of theplanned Red Chris open-pit mine,which would process 30,000 metrictons of copper and gold a day in apristine wilderness area.

“We have gone from a positionof ignorance on the question of min-ing companies to a situation inwhich the parties are well-informedon the issue and are working to getthe bill approved,” DavikenStudnicki-Gizbert, coordinator of theMcGill Research Group for theInvestigation of Canadian Mining inLatin America (MICLA), told IPS.“Awareness has been increasing onthe issue,” said Studnicki-Gizbert,an associate professor at theDepartment of History at McGillUniversity in Montreal who hasresearched the environmentalimpact of mining companies inMexico and Panama.

The Canadian parliament’sHouse of Commons StandingCommittee on Foreign Affairs andInternational Trade has alreadyexamined Bill C-300. In the mean-time, that country’s main parties -the Liberal Party, the NewDemocratic Party and theConservative Party - have all intro-duced their own versions, whichindicate that passage of a law regu-lating the operations of miningcompanies abroad is imminent.

“What is happening inCanada…is an example of whatshould be done in Mexico, withrespect to the adoption of laws aswell as the obligation for firms to be

transparent, auditable and account-able. There is a long list of pendingissues here,” Agustín Bravo, a lawyerwith the non-governmental MexicanCenter for Environmental Law(CEMDA), told IPS. CEMDA hasworked closely with opponents of theParedones Amarillos gold mine pro-ject of the U.S.-based Vista Goldcompany, which was eventuallydenied a permit by Mexico’sSecretariat (ministry) of theEnvironment and Natural Resourcesto mine for gold in a forested area.Vista Gold wants to extract the pre-cious metal for 10 years in an areaadjacent to the Sierra de La Lagunabiosphere reserve in the northwest-ern state of Baja California Sur, some4,000 km from the Mexican capital.

Conflicts that killThe fight against environmental

and health damages caused bymines in Mexico can be lethal. InNovember 2009, Mariano Abarca, aleader of the Mexican Network ofPeople Affected by Mining (REMA),was killed. He had fought hardagainst Canadian mining companyBlackfire Exploration’s operations inthe southern Mexican state ofChiapas, and had requested policeprotection, saying he had receivedthreats from people linked to themining firm.

Mineral-rich Chiapas, Mexico’spoorest state, is one of the areas inthis country that has proven mostattractive to foreign mining compa-nies, especially from Canada.Abarca’s murder triggered an outcryin Mexico and abroad, and protestdemonstrations were held in front ofthe Canadian Embassy in theMexican capital. Nearly 60 percentof the world’s mining corporationsare Canadian, and mining compa-nies from that country have at least578 projects in Mexico. But whileMICLA reports that only 13 of themhave generated conflicts in Mexicoin recent years, it says these disputeshave “tarnished” the entire industry.

“Only measures designed to putpressure on mining companies willforce them to comply with ethical

standards of practice,” wroteStudnicki-Gizbert and ChristineFréchette, coordinator of the Chairin Contemporary Mexico Studies atthe University of Montréal, in anarticle published February in “FocalPoint; Canada’s Spotlight on theAmericas”, a bulletin put out by theCanadian Foundation for theAmericas.

MICLA has identified at least 100cases of local communities in con-flict with Canadian mining compa-nies throughout Latin America.“Abarca’s murder occurred justwhen the issue was gaining attentionin the Canadian media; the debateon the bill (C-300) in the Committeecoincided with the killing,” saidStudnicki-Gizbert.

Violence in Ecuador tooA case that could help strength-

en the accountability of miningcompanies is a one billion dollarlawsuit brought before the OntarioSuperior Court of Justice byEcuadorian activists Marcia Ramírezand brothers Polibio and Israel Pérezagainst the Copper Mesa MiningCorporation (formerly known asAscendant Copper), two of the mem-bers of the company’s board of direc-tors, and the Toronto StockExchange (TSX).

The legal action, filed in March2009, claims the copper companyused aggressive and coercive tactics,including hiring armed thugs, toacquire land and natural resourcesin the village of Intag near the townof Junín in western Ecuador.According to the lawsuit, the TSX,which financed Copper Mesa’s open-pit copper and molybdenum miningproject in Intag, and the two execu-tives, are complicit in the company’suse of death threats and intimida-tion against villagers

Polibio Pérez is president of theCommunity Development Council ofJunín, Ramírez heads two commu-nity groups, the Asociación EcoJunínand Defensoras de la Vida, and IsraelPérez is a local resident.

On December 2, 2006, a group ofarmed men working for the firm

threatened a peaceful, unarmedgathering of local residents, andfired shots. One of the ricochetedbullets hit Israel Pérez in the lowerleg. In addition, Ramírez wassprayed in the face with pepper sprayand Polibio Pérez received deaththreats. Polibio Pérez was laterassaulted on July 31, 2007 by agroup of men with connections toCopper Mesa, the lawsuit also states.

“Something must be doneimmediately, because we are justnow realizing the magnitude of thephenomenon. There are 400 newprojects in the pipeline,” saidStudnicki-Gizbert.

In 2007, the Canadian govern-ment held roundtable sessions withrepresentatives from the miningindustry, activists and academics todiscuss the lack of oversight for theindustry. One of the recommenda-tions was the creation of an oversightmechanism, set up two years later, toallow an independent corporatesocial responsibility counselor toinvestigate allegations against min-ing companies - but only if the com-pany facing accusations agrees tothe inquiry.

The “independent” counselor,named in October, turned out to beMarketa Evans, founding director ofthe University of Toronto’s MunkCenter - named for and funded byPeter Munk, founder of Canadianmining giant Barrick Gold, which isaccused of widespread pollution inPeru and Chile.

“The system is still too lax, com-pared to other activities like industryand the tourism real estate sector. Inthe midst of this mining boom (dri-ven by high prices), full legal com-pliance and enforcement is needed,”said Bravo.

The United Nations Committeeson Economic, Social and CulturalRights and the Elimination of RacialDiscrimination have urged Canadato take measures to prevent abusesabroad by corporations domiciled intheir territory, and to hold themaccountable.


By Leonardo Boff

Among the many problemsthat afflict humanity, twoare particularly grave:social injustice and ecolog-ical injustice. Both must bejointly dealt with if we wantto put humanity and planetEarth on a secure path.

Social injustice is an old mat-ter that derives from an eco-

nomic model that, besides plunder-ing nature, generates more povertythan it can handle and solve. Itimplies, on the one hand, greataccumulation of goods and services,at the expense, on the other hand, ofenormous poverty and misery. Thefacts speak for themselves: there areone billion people who live on theedge of survival, on just one dollarper day, and 2.6 billion people (40%

of humanity) who live on less thantwo dollars daily. The consequencesare perverse. Suffice it to mentionone fact: there are between 350 to500 million cases of malaria, withone million avoidable victimsannually.

This counter-reality has beenkept invisible for a long time, inorder to hide the failure of the capi-talist economic model, made to cre-ate wealth for a few and not for thewell-being of the whole of humani-ty.

The second injustice, the eco-logical, is linked to the first. Thedevastation of nature and currentglobal warming affect all countries,without regard for national bound-aries or their levels of wealth orpoverty. Of course, the rich have bet-ter means of adapting and mitigat-ing the negative effects of climatechange. In the face of extremeevents, they have refrigerators or

heaters and can build defensesagainst the floods that destroy wholeregions. But the poor have nomeans of defending themselves.They suffer the consequences of aproblem they did not create.

Fred Pierce, author of ThePopulation Earthquake, wrote in“The New Scientist”, November2009, that “the 500 million wealth-iest people (7% of world population)are responsible for 50% of the gasemissions that produce globalwarming, while the poorest 50%(3.4 billion of the population) areresponsible for only 7% of the emis-sions.”

This ecological injustice cannotbe kept invisible as easily as theother type, because the signs areeverywhere. Nor can it be solvedonly by the rich, because it is globaland the rich are also affected. Thesolution must be born from the col-laboration of everyone, in a differ-

entiated way: the rich, being themore responsible in both past andpresent, must contribute muchmore with investments and transfer-al of technologies, and the poorhave the right to an ecologicallysustainable development that willlift them out of misery.

We certainly cannot overlookthe solutions, but they alone areinsufficient, because the globalsolution depends on a prior ques-tion: the paradigm of a society thatis reflected in the difficulty ofchanging life styles and habits ofconsumption. We must point to uni-versal solidarity, collective responsi-bility and caring for all that livesand exists (we are not the only oneswho live in this planet and use thebiosphere.) An awareness of theinter-dependency of all, and of theunity of the Earth and humanity, isfundamental.

Can the present generations be

asked to follow such values if theyhave never lived globally before?How can we carry out this change,which must be done urgently andquickly?

Perhaps only after a great cata-strophe that would afflict millionsand millions of people could thisradical change happen, because ofthe survival instinct. This metaphoroccurs to me: if our country wereinvaded and threatened withdestruction by some external power,we all would unite, beyond our dif-ferences. As in a war economy, allwould be cooperative and solidari-an; they would accept shortages andsacrifices in order to save the moth-erland and life. Now the Motherlandis the threatened Life and Earth. Wemust do everything to save them.

Free translation from the Spanish by Servicios Koinonia,http://www.servicioskoinonia.org.

Mining Watch Canada, Logo(MiningWatch Canada)

Canada moves to oversee mining firms in Latin America

Social Justice - Ecological Justice


JANUARY-APRIL2010Haiti 11

The General Secretary hasalso been in dialoguewith key officials of the

Caribbean Community (CARI-COM) Secretariat and other inter-national bodies, including theWorld Council of Churches (WCC)and the Geneva-based Action ofChurches Together (ACT) Alliance.This is with a view to both assess-ing the situation on the ground inHaiti and gauging what the CCC’sbest options might be in terms of arelevant and meaningful responsein the situation.

Like the rest of the world, wehave been deeply saddened andperturbed as we continue to witnessthe pervasive devastation and dis-tress which, sadly, constitutes thereality in which our belovedHaitian sisters and brothers arechallenged to exist currently. Atthis time, we wish to offer ourprayerful support and heart-feltcondolences to the Haitian people– both at home and in the diaspo-ra – and to all those who have lostloved ones in the wake of this terri-ble disaster.

While the current reality isindisputably daunting, we are bothhumbled and edified to witness thetremendous display of courage,resilience and even celebrativehope by the Haitian people as theylend support to one another in theabsence of basic requirements forlife and the lack of appropriatetechnology and expertise in thegiven circumstances. In so manyinstances, powered by determina-tion and love, bare human handshave been the ‘tools’ used to freeseveral persons who would haveotherwise been left to die, trappedunder mountains of rubble. Forthis, we salute our Haitian sistersand brothers.

We also wish to commend allthose nations and agencies thathave rushed to the assistance of thepeople of Haiti with the necessaryexpertise and equipment. We rec-ognize that in the case of some ofthe very agencies involved, theythemselves have suffered the loss ofpersonnel who have so sadly per-ished in the disaster. We hail thesecourageous women and menwhose lives were given in service ofthe betterment of humanity. Wecommiserate with their bereavedfamilies and stand in admirationof their related agencies which –

despite their own loss – are perse-vering in their efforts on behalf ofthe Haitian people.

In applauding the heroicefforts of all concerned, we wish atthe same time to urge that all oper-ations be carried out with dueregard to the dignity of the Haitianpeople. This is at the level of indi-vidual citizens (both living anddeceased), communities, the gov-ernment and the Haitian people asa whole, recognizing their sover-eignty notwithstanding their pre-sent plight. In this regard, we makea special plea for the protectionand care of children and womenwho – in many situations of thiskind – are rendered most vulnera-ble and disadvantaged and who,regrettably, are sometimes subject-ed to unspeakable indignities.

With respect to the execution ofoperations, we also wish to urgethe several actors involved to arriveswiftly – in consultation with thePresident of Haiti and other stateand regional authorities – at a fea-sible co-ordination of efforts whichwill result in the most effective andefficient delivery of services,redounding to the greatest com-mon good. Without such co-ordi-nation, all the goodwill and effortare at risk of degenerating intomassive confusion and wastage ofresources.

Along with our condolencesand prayerful support, we also offerat this time to the Haitian peopleour commitment to work towardsalleviating their present unspeak-able misery, and collaborating withthem in forging a future more wor-thy of their dignity as children ofGod. In this regard, and withoutwanting to detract from the gravity

of the situation at hand, we feel thenecessity to look beyond the situa-tion with a sense of hope andresponsibility. We would thereforelike to view the current situation asa stark indicator to the interna-tional community of the urgentneed to strengthen its resolve tosupport Haiti in its quest forauthentic development.

As an organization that hasaccompanied the people of Haiti invarious ways and circumstancesover the last three decades, the CCChas been concerned, for some timenow, with the welfare/aid approachto Haiti that has been the domi-nant one over a protracted periodof its history. Without wanting toeven appear to be minimizing the(very needed) interventions andefforts of so many well-intentionedpersons and groups operating overthe years in Haiti, we are of theconsidered opinion that the timehas now come for all availableresources to be placed at the dis-posal of genuine development co-operation.

Without such a thrust, we shallcontinue – for decades to come –addressing symptoms and not rootcauses of a deep-seated social mal-ady. In the given circumstancesone is constrained to ask, e.g.:“Was all the destruction, death anddistress experienced the result ofthe 7.0 earthquake per se, or wasnot the factor of an over-crowdedcity with weak and compromisedstructures – all due to decades ofcontinued impoverishment andunderdevelopment – a major fac-tor in the equation of devastation?”The answer is clearly self-evident.

In conclusion, the CCC wouldlike to advise its member churchesand ecumenical partners that sub-sequent communiqués will beforthcoming from its Secretariatinforming of more specific lines ofaction/intervention. We wish tofurther urge that in this circum-stance our entire membership, as agroup of churches bonded incovenant, stand firmly together inconsolidating our efforts andresources for the greater good andbenefit of the Haitian people andthe glory of God who is Father and“the God of all consolation.”

May God’s blessing be uponour Haitian sisters and brothersand all those who seek to assistthem as we continue to lift themup in prayer in the months ahead.

Gerard A.J. Granado,General SecretaryCaribbean Conferenceof Churches (CCC)January 15, 2010St. AugustineRepublic of Trinidadand Tobago.

Source: http://www.ccc-caribe.org/eng/index.htm

Statement of the General Secretary of theCaribbean Conference of Churches (CCC)on the occurrence of the January 12,

2010 earthquake in Haitiaffordable Haitian-grown food isone step toward diminishing thatpoverty, while another is rejectingIMF prescriptions.

Agriculture could also offer asolution for the hundreds of thou-sands of internally displaced peo-ple now residing in rural areas. Ininterviews with dozens of Port-au-Prince residents who are takingrefuge in the Central Plateau, mostsay they would stay there if theycould find a way to sustain them-selves. If they could be given theland and resources necessary tobegin farming, they would notneed to return to city sweatshops,with their lack of living wage, jobsecurity, or health or safety protec-tions. Port-au-Prince couldbecome a livable city, without itsovercrowded and inhumane condi-tions, without more than eight outof ten people residing in slums (assuggested by UN HumanSettlements Program reports).

“We are meeting with differentsectors to construct a Haiti whereall Haitians feel like children of theland,” says Sylvain Henrilus of TètKole. Peasant groups – even thosewith historic distrust of each other– and other allies are meeting reg-ularly to plan their advocacy andmobilization for reorienting Haiti’spolitical economy in favor of agri-culture, based on the following pri-orities.

•Food sovereignty, the right ofa people to grow and consume itsown food. With trade policieswhich support local production,Haiti’s levels of self-sufficiencycould increase. Chavannes Jean-Baptiste of the Peasant Movementof Papay and the National PeasantMovement of the Papay Congresssays, “The country has the right todetermine its own agriculturalpolicies, its own food productionpolicies, to produce for family andfor local consumption with healthyand simple agriculture whichrespects the environment, MotherEarth, as the mother of future gen-erations.”

•Decentralization of services.The ‘people outside,’ as ruralinhabitants are known, must haveaccess to services equal to the peo-ple of Port-au-Prince. The abilityto meet their needs where they areis both their right and a way tokeep Port-au-Prince from againbecoming overcrowded. RosnelJean-Baptiste says, “We need todeconstruct the capital, bringingservices into the country and help-ing people find jobs there.”

•Technical support, especiallyfor sustainable, ecological farm-ing. Farmers in the region of theArtibonite, for example, stated thattheir melons, bananas, and toma-toes are not producing well, butthey don’t know what the problemis or how to resolve it. They needadvice from agronomists. Theyalso need credit to help them buyequipment, support with storageand marketing, reforestation, andassistance with irrigation andwater management. Elio Youyoute,a member of a community peasant

association in the South, says, “Weare trying to grow enough food tofeed the cities, but we need helpfrom the state.”

•Land reform. Those whowork the land need secure tenure.Otherwise they will continue to beunable to support themselves onwhat Haitians call ‘a handkerchiefof land,’ plots sometimes no largerthan 15’ x 15’. Land reform mustbe not just a one-time hand-off,which would quickly revert to itsprevious concentration as strug-gling farmers are forced to selltheir small gardens, but a changein tenure laws accompanied bytechnical support. Sylvain Henrilusof Tèt Kole says, “The land reformwe need is not what Préval did inhis first term, which was to justdivide a bit of land into very smallplots without any support, butwhere those who work the landhave the right to that land with allthe infrastructure and means - notjust to adequately feed the peoplebut to export as we used to do, tohave our sovereignty in all dimen-sions.”

•Seeds, what Doudou Pierre ofVía Campesina’s coordinating com-mittee calls “the patrimony ofhumanity.” Haiti’s seed stock is notgoing towards the March plantingseason as intended, but rathertoward feeding the flood of internal-ly displaced people. Farmers needhelp in procuring seed supplies,which they insist not be geneticallymodified. Chavannes Jean-Baptisteinsists that “If people start sendinghybrid, NGO seeds, that’s the end ofHaitian agriculture.”

•A ban on food aid in themedium- to long-term. U.S.A.I.D.alone is giving $113 million infood aid this year, according to anAssociated Press article onFebruary 26. Farmers agree thataid is critical in this moment ofcrisis, but say that the governmentneeds to quickly do everything itcan to shore up production so thatdomestic agriculture can beginreplacing the aid. Otherwise, Haitiwill grow even more dependent,and multinational food and seedcompanies will overtake Haiti’smarket even more.

The challenges are many. Theyinclude advanced environmentaldestruction and concentration ofland. The chief challenge is secur-ing the state’s commitment of thepriorities outlined above. The gov-ernment has a long history ofresponding not to peasant farmersbut to the needs of the largelandowning class and more recent-ly, to the U.S. and other foreignpowers looking to dump or sellfood in Haiti.

Farmer after farmer inter-viewed indicated a resolve to workto change this state of affairs, rec-ognizing that it will be a longhaul. Says Tèt Kole’s Rosnel Jean-Baptiste, “It’s up to us social move-ments to put our heads together tochange the situation of food pro-duction and the model of the statein Haiti.”

Source: Upside Down World: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/

A future for agriculture…From page 4

Like the rest of the world, we have been deeply saddenedand perturbed as we continue to witness the pervasivedevastation and distress which, sadly, constitutes the real-ity in which our beloved Haitian sisters and brothers arechallenged to exist currently. On the afternoon ofTuesday, January 12, 2010, what can only be described asthe most terrifying and perilous catastrophe in the livingmemory of the Caribbean Region was visited on the peo-ple of Haiti. Over the last two days, the Secretariat of theCaribbean Conference of Churches (CCC) has been fol-lowing closely all pertinent developments.

Haitiquake (CCC)

Honduras and Human Rights12LAT

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Tegucigalpa, February 14, 2010(ALC/Honduras Resists)

The resistance in Hondurasdelegation met with mem-bers of a coalition of differ-

ent Christian groups against thecoup including the ChristianPopular Movement, the Network ofPastors in Resistance, Agape, theEcumenical Human RightsObservation, and others. They told usthat the church hierarchies, bothCatholic and Protestant, were clearlyfor the coup. In the base communi-ties of the protestant churches, therewas a lot of confusion. There was asector that did not accept support forthe coup and a sector that followedthe leaders blindly. Some of the peo-ple who did not accept supportingthe coup, while not a part of anyhierarchies, are leaders of the basecommunities.

So under this situation of thecoup we took the brave and riskyposition to be on the side of justice,on the side of persecuted, sufferingpeople, and denounce those whoused weapons against the peoplewith the blessing of the church hier-archies. Those of us here representChristians who have a clear theolog-ical position about what is happen-ing in Honduras. The PopularChristian Movement is ecumenicaland includes Protestants, Catholics,and those who are not of any partic-ular faith. Our fundamental theolo-gy is the theology of liberation.

The pastors involved with theEcumenical Human RightsObservation told us, “We accompanythe resistance; we are in the streets,we march with the resistance, wepray with the resistance and we singwith the resistance, and we are beat-en and swallow tear gas with theresistance because we see the Christwho walks with the people. But alsowe provide humanitarian help, med-ical help, food, and lodging whenthe resistance has needed it. AsChristians we are on the side ofhuman rights for those who havebeen persecuted by the de facto gov-ernment. We are few but with Jesuswe are many.”

The Network of Pastors inResistance is composed of pastors ofdifferent denominations with thewish to serve the community withsocial consciousness. Their mostimportant ministry is the medicalbrigades. “That has helped us seethat this country needs structuralchange and that the church has aresponsibility to obtain thesechanges.” After the coup, the groupissued a communiqué that washeard on the radio by others whothen joined the movement.

The Church hierarchies accusethe resistance Christians of gettingmoney from Hugo Chavez. “Theonly money that we receive is moneythat God sends through our mem-bers. We are independent because wehaven’t sold our conscience to any-one.”

The Ecumenical Observatory ofHuman Rights is part of a larger pro-ject. In August, the World Council ofChurches and the Latin AmericanCouncil of Churches came toHonduras and they recommended abroader commission to documentthe situation and cases of humanrights violations. In Honduras, thereis a national roundtable of the LatinAmerican Council of Churches madeup of 5 churches, the historicchurches such as the Lutheran,Episcopal, Methodist, reformedchurch, Mennonites and others.

The project of the Observatory isto get information out to the rest ofLatin America and Europe and todevelop campaigns on human rightscases. Part of the human rights workalso included not recognizing theelections on November 29th anddemanding the restitution of Zelaya.

The project visits police facilities andhas helped liberate detained persons.The organization has also visited thefamilies of the killed, detained anddisappeared and offers help to thosewho have to leave the country.

“We suffer a lot, this is hardwork. We don’t know if the police ormilitary will assassinate or repressus. We have had the great satisfac-tion to feel free when we are able tohelp someone.”

We asked what has been theresponse of the church to their orga-nizations. The Agape Church pastoranswered that Agape is a member ofthe Confraternity of Churches. “Wehave been strongly questioned with-in this organization and there is theidea that we receive money to sup-port the resistance. In thisConfraternity, Agape and theNetwork of Pastors are considered

subversive. In some radio stations,they say that we are supportingdelinquents. The response of thebelievers who belong to the churchesvaries. There are 3 responses. “Idon’t want to hear anything; I wantto pray in the temple.” A smallergroup has said, “good for the coup”because Chavez (Satan) will comeand bring communism so then thecoup is from God”. A third group,which is our group, says we want toreject the coup. And we have raised aprophetic voice in favor of the poorand the neediest.”

The pastors said that there hasalso been pressure from the U.S. reli-gious leadership on Honduranchurches not to oppose the coup.There has also been repressionagainst religious figures in resis-tance. “Father Tamayo had his citi-zenship nullified by the coup plottersand he was expelled fromHonduras.” (Note: Father Tamayo isa prominent resistance priest whowas originally from El Salvador andbecame a Honduran citizen.) “Wewant to establish relationships withchurches outside of Honduras toassist the resistance from a perspec-tive of faith and to support our pro-jects of theological meetings todevelop faith committed to the peo-ple. The resistance does have God.The resistance knows it but themedia says that God is on the side ofthe coup.”

Source: Honduras Resists: http://hondurasresists.blogspot.com/

Pastors in resistance (HondurasResists)

By Thelma MejíaTegucigalpa, March 31, 2010

(Inter Press Service NewsAgency)

But local and internationalhuman rights groups warn

that since the June 28, 2009 coupthat overthrew then presidentManuel Zelaya, the wave of repres-sion targeting the movementagainst the coup, as well as journal-ists, has not let up, despite theNovember elections and the Januaryinauguration of right-wingPresident Porfirio Lobo. Nor has theclimate of polarization betweensupporters and critics of the coupdisappeared.

“It would appear that there aregroups interested in seeing thedeaths of journalists portrayed as anormal phenomenon, so that thereis no investigation and the murders

go unsolved and unpunished,”Professor Juan Ramón Durán of theSchool of Journalism at theAutonomous National University ofHonduras told IPS. The Loboadministration has an obligation“to investigate and identify who wasresponsible for the murders and whythey were committed,” because ifthe government “keeps silent, ithurts freedom of expression and theright of citizens to be informed,”said Durán.

Marlen Zelaya, the director ofthe online news journal ProcesoDigital, said “it’s time for journaliststo join together and for our unionsto be strengthened, to keep thesemurders from being ignored, as iso-lated incidents,” she told IPS.

On March 1, gunmen on amotorcycle opened fire on the car inwhich journalist Joseph HernándezOchoa was driving his colleague

Carol Cabrera home. HernándezOchoa was killed and Cabrera waswounded but survived. When theattack happened, Cabrera wasreporting live for the nightly newsprogram of the Radio Cadena Vocesstation. In the recording, the volleyof gunfire and her frantic shouts forhelp can be heard.

Cabrera’s pregnant 16 year-olddaughter had been shot and killedwhile riding in her mother’s car inDecember 2009. At the time, thereporter was working for the publicTV station Canal 8 controlled by theregime of Roberto Micheletti, whowas named president after Zelaya’s(2006-2009) ouster. It was initiallyreported that youth gangs wereinvolved in the young woman’smurder. But since the March 1attack on Cabrera, “the investiga-tion has taken a new direction,based on leads that we cannotreveal,” police spokesman LeonelSauceda commented to IPS.

Cabrera has taken refuge in amilitary hospital, saying a week agothat she will not leave the building“until I have guarantees that I willnot be killed, because I am stillunder threat.” She did not identifythe source of the threats. The U.S.embassy has offered her asylum.

On March 11, David Meza, areporter for two national media out-lets, the Tegucigalpa-based RadioAmérica and the TV news programAbriendo Brecha, was shot to deathin the northern city of La Ceiba. A

week before his death, Mezadenounced that he had receivedthreats from drug traffickersbecause of his reporting on themurder of an unknown Mexicanman in that vicinity.

Ombudsman Ramón Custodiotold IPS that the day after Meza waskilled, journalist Carlos GeovanyAlfonso Streber - director of Canal36 of La Ceiba, where the slainreporter had a news program - fledinto exile. “Streber called me as hewas boarding a plane to leave thecountry out of fear of meeting thesame fate as his colleague,”Custodio said.

And on March 14, NahumPalacios was killed as he was dri-ving home in the town of Tocoa,around 100 km southeast of LaCeiba. Seven months earlier, theInter-American Commission onHuman Rights (IACHR) had urgedthe Micheletti regime to provideprotection for the reporter, who hadreceived death threats. But no suchmeasures were taken. Palacios hadreported that he was threatened andharassed by the security forces forhis critical coverage of the coup. Hishome and office had been raidedand equipment was seized, in anattempt to intimidate him, accord-ing to press reports.

On March 16, Custodio askedthe IACHR to extend precautionarymeasures to all journalists inHonduras.

Five days after Palacios’ mur-

der, two other reporters, JoséBayardo Mairena and ManuelJuárez, were shot and killed in thenortheastern department (province)of Olancho, while investigating adrug trafficking case, journalistswho asked to remain anonymoustold IPS.

Security Minister Óscar Álvareztold IPS that “although we alreadyhave some clear leads on themotives in at least two cases, we arewaiting for some final verificationsin order to capture the perpetratorsbefore the end of April.” Álvarezadded that rewards have beenoffered “to those who provide infor-mation on the deaths of the jour-nalists or on other threats faced byjournalism.”

In a statement issued on March29, the French government con-demned the murders and urged theHonduran government to guaranteerespect for human rights, and inparticular the safety of reporters.

On March 3, HRW addressed aletter to Attorney General LuisAlberto Rubí, urging him “to active-ly support the investigations” intocrimes like “killings, rape, torture,kidnapping and assault” againstmembers of the National PopularResistance Front Against the CoupD’etat (Frente Nacional deResistencia Popular contra el Golpede Estado).


Christians in resistance in Honduras:January 26, 2010 gathering

Deadliest month ever for reportersReporters in Honduras have long complained about gaglaws, threats, exile and attacks. But never before have somany journalists been killed in one month. The deaths offive reporters in this impoverished Central Americancountry in March drew expressions of concern frominternational organizations like Reporters withoutBorders, the International Press Institute and HumanRights Watch. Along with its neighbors Guatemala and ElSalvador, Honduras is one of the most violent countriesin the world, with 14 deaths a day blamed on organizedcrime and youth gangs. Many of the bodies turn up withsigns of torture, and bound at the hands and feet.

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