** Topic: The ACTivist, 8#11, November 1992 ** ** Written 11:05 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** Posted as reponses to this topic are the contents of the ACTivist, Vol. 8 #11, November 1992. The ACTivist is published monthly by the ACT for Disarmament Coalition, 736 Bathurst St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2R4, phone 416-531-6154, fax 416-531-5850, e-mail act@web.apc.org. Hard copy subscriptions are available with a donation of $10 or more to ACT for Disarmament. Reprint freely, but please credit us (and send us a copy!) CONTENTS THIS ISSUE 1 -- Innu arrested in new campaign 2 -- "We have not given up" -- statement of 3 Innu women 3 -- Cops Without Hats -- Inside Peace with Jo Peacenik 4 -- Letters to the Editor 5 -- Working Against War in Manhattan ... 6 -- ... and in Austria 7 -- Land and nations in Ecuador 8 -- Shots and operations -- birth control in Ecuador 9 -- Sending Columbus home 10 -- Ghosts of reconcilitation -- El Salvador 11 -- El Salvador peace process in peril 12 -- Hunger threatens Rwanda 13 -- Canadian arms to Burma 14 -- Nitassinan News 15 -- Canada to authorize plutonium shipment 16 -- Oakville Peace Centre opens! 17 -- ACT Guelph ready for ACTion 18 -- The disembodied voice and absolute power -- excerpts from a talk by Anne Primavesi 19 -- Gulf War resister still needs help ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 1 of 19 ** Written 11:06 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** INNU ARRESTED IN NEW CAMPAIGN Five hundred years after the arrival of Columbus in the Americas, the Innu people of Nitassinan (Labrador/Quebec) came to Europe to speak out against the colonization of their land. Four Innu, and 51 Dutch supporters, were arrested on the runways of Volkel Air Force Base in the Netherlands, in an act of non-violent civil disobedience. Meanwhile, 16 Innu women and children were arrested at Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, near the Innu village of Sheshatshit. Dutch, German and British military planes out of CFB Goose Bay made 6,656 low level training flights over Innu territory during the 1991 flying season. The Canadian Department of National Defence, which authorizes the training, expected 8,400 overflights in 1992. The Innu say that the flights interfere with their traditional way of life on the land, and they fear serious damage to the environment. Though the government claims to be studying the environmental impact of the flights, no satisfactory report has yet been released; the research, according to Peter Armitage, "slides forward at a snail's pace." On the afternoon of October 12, Daniel Ashini, chief of Sheshatshit; schoolteacher Mani-Katinen (Kathleen) Nuna; Penote Michel; and Mani-Mat Gabriel, together with Dutch activists, entered Volkel Air Base. They were arrested and held for several hours, charged with mischief, and may have to return in six months for a trial. "Even though many people may feel there's no blame on Columbus and the people who came with him," says Chief Ashini, "for the colonization, the devastation, the genocide, the mass killings and environmental destruction and the diseases that came with them, they may say that's history -- that's like asking the Jews to forget what the Nazis did to them. And the same kind of oppression and violation of the rights of indigenous peoples are still going on today, not so obviously but more subtly ... There are Dutch F-16s practicing over Innu land that are threatening the Innu way of life and the Innu land. The Dutch government is collaborating with the Canadian government in genocide ... If the Dutch people remain silent, to the Innu it will seem they are condoning what is happening. We were encouraging them to speak out and tell their government they do not condone this." A short time later, while about 25 Innu were picketing at CFB Goose Bay, young Janet Gregoire found a hole in the security fence. "I told her there wasn't enough people," says her mother, Rose Gregoire, herself a long-time activist, "but she just said, 'Well, Mom, I'm going anyway', and the kids followed her. She was telling them all to be good and to be non-violent." In all, 16 women and children entered the base. All of them were arrested, but only those over the age of twelve were charged -- Janet Gregoire, Angela Penashue, Pamela Hurley (at 13 years old, the youngest to be charged), Yvonne Nuna, Rose Marie Pokue, and Debbie Webb, an Inuit woman who was visiting the community. Their trial is scheduled to take place on December 1. These actions are seen as a resumption of the Innu campaign against the low level flight training, and an attempt to step up pressure on the governments involved as the date for the renewal of the agreements for allied use of the base draws closer -- the agreements will be either renewed or allowed to lapse in 1996. ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 2 of 19 ** Written 11:06 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** "WE HAVE NOT GIVEN UP": STATEMENT OF INNU WOMEN TO ACT'S OCTOBER 24 RALLY We appreciate the support that you are giving us. We feel that it is very important to preserve and protect our land. We believe that it is important for us as young Innu to learn more about our culture and how our ancestors lived. Our parents have taught us to respect our land and the animals that live on the land. They also have fought for our land for many years. Now it's our turn to keep up the fight to save our land. Not only is low-level flying poisoning our land but it is also poisoning our culture. On October 12, 1992, when we protested on the base in Goose Bay, we felt that it was time to let people know that we have not given up the fight for our land. We were arrested and will go to court on December 1, 1992, but we do not accept that we are guilty because we do not believe that Canada owns Nitassinan. Now we know that there are more people supporting us in our fight. We feel stronger and have more hope for the future. Thank you. Angela Penashue, age 20 Janet Gregoire, age 16 Pamela Hurley, age 13 ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 3 of 19 ** Written 11:07 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** COPS WITHOUT HATS -- INSIDE PEACE WITH JO PEACENIK What are we to make of this odd job action by the Metro Toronto Police? Upset about a provincial government reform that would force them to file a report when their trigger fingers get itchy, Toronto's finest are fighting back by refusing to wear their hats. It's endearing really, this uniquely Canadian sort of strike. They don't look tough any more. Bare-headed and vulnerable, they even look a little (dare we say it?) ... cute? But what if the hatless job action doesn't work? What's next for these born-again labour activists? Will they throw caution and garments to the wind? Is Toronto the Good ready for the sight of naked, gun-toting cops? *** Make love, not war. It's been a peacenik slogan for years. Now, it seems to be a rule for the U.S. military. U.S. forces in the Gulf war gave a whole new meaning to Operation Desert Storm, a new study by Washington's Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces reveals. Two thirds of American troops serving in mixed units whiled away the long hot Saudi nights by having sex with their comrades-in-arms. (The gnomes who run the Pentagon have kept homosexuals out of the armed forces for years, that arguing gays can't stop having sex. Looks like they're not the only ones ...) By branch of the military, 74 per cent of soldiers, 73 per cent of marines, and 64 per cent of air force personnel (but strangely, just 41 per cent of sailors) spent Desert Massacre doing horizontal manoevres. 'Course, it was Iraqi and Kuwaiti civilians who were really getting fucked. *** In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, and by now everybody knows he set off a wave of genocide against the native people of the Americas that makes his name the kiss of death. Would have been a good time, then, for the Knights of Columbus to change their name. That's what the Peace and Justice Commission of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Rock Island, Ill., thought anyway. They suggested the name Knights of Christ would better reflect the 1.5 million-member fraternal organization's charitable goals. They were taken aback when the latter-day conquistadors rejected the suggestion as "ideologically-tainted baloney" and called them communists into the bargain. Spokesknight Russell Shaw damned the idea as part of "the neo-Marxist critique of Western capitalism much favoured in some liberationist circles." With friends like this, the Church Universal doesn't need any enemies. *** Few outside Queen's Park shed a tear when the NDP's $400,000 energy messiah Marc Eliesen left Ontario Hydro for greener pastures in B.C. Eliesen's term as head of Hydro was unhappy for nuclear-heads and environmentalists alike. Now it's up to Premier Bob Rae to pick a new czar for the electric empire. In the finest traditions of objective journalism, the Toronto Star last month launched a campaign for Maurice Strong to be made next chair of the provincially-owned utility. Strong, who the newspaper calls an "environmentalist and businessman," is currently at loose ends after presiding over the spectacularly mediocre Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Only a cynic would suggest Strong was a self-promoting dilletante unsuited for this (or any) job. Look at his work as head of Petro-Canada, the government-owned oil company that caused only minor environmental damage by its oil drilling in Canada, barely disturbed the Lubicon Cree by drilling on their land without permission, and contributed just pennies to the treasury of the military dictatorship in Burma. Premier Bob's PR wizards might also want to consider that the supposedly anti-nuke Strong oversaw the El Dorado uranium mine. *** Toronto will be graced with the presence of former U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Pat Buchanan in November. Buchanan made a name for himself this fall by blaming homosexuals, women and foreigners for all of America's problems. But wait -- why is The Globe and Mail, Toronto's national newspaper, involved in promoting this hatefest? Inquiries to Globe editor (and noted bachelor) William Thorsell, 585-5300. ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 4 of 19 ** Written 11:09 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Laughter, even derision, may indeed be among the best responses to the paranoid fantasies of the Trotskyist League, whose leaflet you published in the September issue. A group that looks back with regret to the Stalinist dictatorships of Honecker, Ceaucescu and Brezhnev, and argues that they were somehow workers' states, clearly has a rather tenuous relationship with reality. The unfortunate truth of the incident "described" in the leaflet is that the International Socialists were forced to physically remove members of the T.L. from a building at Ryerson when they attempted to disrupt an I.S. meeting. This incident, and the way in which the T.L describes it, will come as no surprise to those familiar with the T.L.'s sectarianism, in which attacking other left groups is treated as the first step to fighting exploitation and oppression. In the I.S. we have no problem with people voicing opinions with which we disagree. In fact, we actively encourage debate among socialists and other left activists. The meeting in question was a debate between an I.S. speaker and Leo Panitch, co-editor of Socialist Register. We do not, however, feel compelled to provide a forum for sectarian grand-standing. The comic value of the T.L. leaflet notwithstanding, it would be truly unfortunate if such incidents were to divert attention away from the important questions facing radical activists today. Just a few short years after it was proclaimed, George Bush's "New World Order" lies in tatters. The scale of the economic crisis is putting the lie to all the propaganda about "free market prosperity." Having gotten rid of the old regimes, workers in the former U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe are facing the same kind of vicious attacks on living standards that the I.M.F. and the World Bank have been dishing out in Latin America and Africa for years. In Canada, big business and the Tories are also trying to make working people pay for the recession. Other products of the global crisis include the famine in Somalia, civil war in ex-Yugoslavia, and the re-emergence of fascism within living memory of the Nazi holocaust. The current world order seems all too old and familiar. At the same time, there are thousands who want to fight back. From last spring's uprising in Los Angeles to the general strike against South Africa's apartheid regime, from recent strikes against austerity in Poland to last fall's P.S.A.C. strike against Mulroney's agenda, the potential for radical social change is clear. In the I.S. we think that revolutionary socialism has a lot to offer to activists looking for a strategy to achieve real change. The fight against racism, sexism, homophobia, environmental destruction and war will ultimately be successful when we also look to building a united fight against the system that breeds them. But we have to know what we are fighting for as well as what we want to end. The I.S. rejects the idea that the Stalinist states had anything in common with socialism. We also believe that NDP-style reformism has shown itself to be a complete dead-end. We think that workers and the oppressed are capable of overthrowing the existing system and establishing democratic workers' control of society, that is, socialism from below. We look forward to joining together with other socialists and activists whenever there is a fight against one or another aspect of the system. We also look forward to discussing and debating the ideas of socialism from below, ideas that we think can be real weapons in the struggle. Myles Magner, International Socialists Toronto The following letter, signed by a coalition of groups, was sent to Russian President Boris Yeltsin in October Dear Mr. Yelstin, We in the peace and disarmament community in Toronto view the seizure and detention of the Greenpeace research ship MV Solo as a frightening and deplorable action against the Earth. As you are well aware, the communist governments preceding your government had little or no regard to the environmental consequences of the nuclear arms race. The existence of radioactive materials and potentially leaking reactors in the Arctic region severely threaten the ecological well-being of the planet, and by extension the lives of yourself, the Russian people and all our children. To clean up the legacy left behind by previous generations will require a global effort and must include the co-operation of world governments. Organizations such as Greenpeace are presently conducting research to identify the problems which will challenge us in the future. This research will prove invaluable and must be acted upon by the world body as a whole. As world citizens, we implore you and your government to cease impeding the efforts of Greenpeace and to focus your strategies towards environmental initiatives. We further ask you and your government to put pressure on Western governments to accept the sacrifices we must make if we are to ensure our chances of survival. ACT for Disarmament Canadian Peace Alliance Earth First! Earthroots Peace Magazine Toronto Disarmament Network My name is Josephine Durante and I'm an OAC student. Recently I picked up an issue of The ACTivist. The first article I saw concerned the Innu of Nitassinan. I am in anguish that the low-level flying is still occurring. Furthermore, that the period has been lengthened a month longer. About two years ago, I attended a rally in Ottawa in protest of the low-level flights. Students for Global Awareness is a grassroots organization consisting of youth activists. We have a radio show on our local university station and for Oct. 24 we would like to discuss the low-level NATO flights. Let's put an end to the low-level flights! Josephine Durante Windsor, Ont. ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 5 of 19 ** Written 11:10 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** WORKING AGAINST WAR IN MANHATTAN ... By Dorie Wilsnack Peace News Many Canadians wonder what we can do about the war in former-Yugoslavia, taking place thousands of miles away. Dorie Wilsnack, of War Resisters' League in New York, shares some of her experiences working with the immigrant community in the United States -- work that could be done in Canada as well. The US government loves to boast that the USA is a nation of immigrants, a melting pot of many cultures. There is some truth to this, but the real story is that the cultures never melt. And this is never more clear than when immigrants' homelands go to war. Last December, a New York-based peace organisation held a forum on the war in former-Yugoslavia. Before the evening was over, the Serbs and Croatians in the audience were out of their seats, interrupting each other, yelling and even hissing when the other side spoke. There was no outright violence, but in every other sense the war was raging right there on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The lack of bloodshed in that scene might lead us to regard the evening as just so much melodrama. We must remember, however, that the US immigrant communities from former-Yugoslavia have been major financial backers of the warring parties there. In August 1991 alone, Croatia collected $300 million from fundraising in the USA and other countries for the procurement of arms. With this background, efforts to do peace work among the Balkan ethnic communities in the USA not only addresses their immediate pain, but may create some helpful ripples. >>> Talking to one another In New York City, a conflict resolution dialogue group has been operating among local Bosnians, Serbs and Croats since the beginning of the war in Bosnia. We meet regularly to talk about the war and look for points of common agreement. After five months and seven meetings, it would not be exaggerating to say that the sessions have changed everyone's perspective. We are about 20 people; an equal number from each nationality, plus four facilitators, including myself, from outside. The facilitators prepare agendas in advance, set up exercises to help the group get through tough spots and, when appropriate, provide feedback on the group process and patterns we observe. But during the three-hour sessions, the floor belongs to the former-Yugoslavs. Given the amount of distrust and anger in the room at times, their openness to our outside guidance sometimes comes as a surprise. I think that many participants feel so tangled up in the maze of emotion and opinion about the war, that they find a safety in our detached presence. This group was set up by staff at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which has had a long-standing interest in using group dialogue to address serious regional conflicts. The initial idea, however, came from a young Croatian-American woman, led by her own need to talk out the conflict with others, and her special interest as a graduate psychology student in how both families and nations heal after violent clashes. In the early sessions, group members were locked in fearful cycles. No one could emotionally afford to listen to the other side. And many felt compelled to talk nonstop when they had the chance, knowing that no one was listening to them. We have used an array of methods to break through this: smaller group discussions along ethnic lines, listening games, writing exercises, and a two-minute stop watch. These have helped, and so has the natural process of familiarity. But I think a key factor in the group's progress has been everyone's deep desire to understand the war and to end it. No matter how heated or vitriolic a session has been, when it's time to set the next meeting date, people want it soon, within one or two weeks. For every participant, this group has become a place where they can trust that everyone cares about the war and the region, even if they differ on who started it. >>> The facilitator's part As one of the facilitators, my role is to be sensitive to the group's progress, but increasingly the group has become self-policing. A nonstop-talker calms down and begins speaking with more care and compassion. A Bosnian tells a Serb that she can understand a point in his political analysis. In recent meetings, an even bigger change has emerged. The whole group is becoming more eager to do an action together to help end the war. They are not sure how they got to this point, but they recognise that they have developed some level of trust and respect for each other and that a similar process needs to take place among the negotiating parties overseas. So our facilitating has entered a new stage. While we used to come up with listening games, now we are introducing negotiation exercises and discussions on action strategies! >>> Meeting needs The former-Yugoslav participants keep returning to the group because the war is a very real emotional pain in their lives. My participation as a facilitator meets a different set of personal needs, ones that may run just as deep. The coverage of the war in our media leaves most peace activists feeling powerless and demoralised. It is tempting to just skip the news articles. In the US peace movement today, the end of the Cold War has produced a relooking at priorities. There is a new attempt by peace groups to address what is referred to as "the war at home," meaning the growth of racist violence in American cities and the decay in our militarised economy. This is an important and valuable political development. But in our nation of immigrants, the "war at home" also carries another connotation. There is a role for peace activists to play in helping exile communities heal the wounds of wars that are far away. Earlier this year, New York City was rocked by a peculiar racist attack where a white gang assaulted some African-American children and sprayed them with white paint. The gang called itself "The Albanian Bad Boys," and their parents were Kosova Albanians who came to America to escape the ethnic violence they experienced under the Serbian government. What's the lesson here? That the cycles of violence will spread like a flu epidemic, turning victims into new perpetrators, until we find ways to stop them. And that the opportunities to help end wars raging abroad can often be found in our own backyards. Reprinted from _Peace News_ 2360 (November 1992). Peace News and War Resisters' Intl, 55 Dawes St, London SE17 1EL, England (tel +44 71 703 7189; fax 708 2545, email peacenews@gn.apc.org or peacenews@gn.uucp) ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 6 of 19 ** Written 11:11 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** ... AND IN AUSTRIA By Peter Steyrer Peace News Peter Steyrer works with the Austrian peace group AWG. There are 50-60,000 war refugees in Austria. Many of these are deserters. Half of them are in private accommodation with relatives or friends. Nearly 30,000 are in public refugee assistance programmes or waiting to be granted asylum. In mid-September, the Austrian government closed the borders. So everyone from the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia", Macedonia, and Bosnia now needs a visa. An earlier attempt to restrict entry was defeated after mass protests, but by the end of the summer all the energy and solidarity for the refugees seemed to be exhausted. In our work against war, we concentrate on counselling deserters from the former-Yugoslav republics. We started this project in January 1992. At first we only wanted to provide legal help, but since February psychological advice has been offered as well. From the beginning, we have tried to be open or all the problems that deserters in Vienna face. There are the troubles which all refugees have -- accommodation, jobs, money ... we have tried to solve these problems as well, even if the authorities do not. The international network of WRI, especially DFG-VK Frankfurt and the Alba Circle in Budapest, has also functioned very well. These organisations published an advertisement in favour of the refusal of any armed service in the Belgrade weekly Vreme. If borders are closed, solidarity has to be found for the free movement of people within Europe. Our idea was to create a place in Vienna where deserters can meet and exchange their experiences and self-organise against the war. So far, however, daily questions of survival have been too overwhelming and have prevented the realisation of this goal. But a start has been made. Five deserters are now themselves counselling new refugees. We have published anti-war poems by one deserter, and have hosted demonstrations and a press conference where deserters have spoken openly rather than anonymously. This autumn, perhaps, deserters who served at the frontlines (about 10 per cent of the 500 we have counselled so far) will tell about their war experiences. Vietnam veteran Greg Payton met with some deserters in October, giving them a strong impulse to speak out. For deserters, the question of how to stop the war is always on their minds. Very often they have to fight against their own feelings of guilt and inferiority. Sometimes, they see themselves, by not fighting, as traitors to their people. Something like a self-help and communication group of the kind set up by Vietnam veterans -- and possibly supported by a psychologist -- would be valuable. Reprinted from _Peace News_ 2360 (November 1992). Peace News and War Resisters' Intl, 55 Dawes St, London SE17 1EL, England (tel +44 71 703 7189; fax 708 2545, email peacenews@gn.apc.org or peacenews@gn.uucp) ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 7 of 19 ** Written 11:12 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** LAND AND NATIONS IN ECUADOR By Vannina Sztainbok Special to the ACTivist Protests took place around the world in commemoration of Columbus' invasion of the Americas, on and around Columbus Day, Oct. 12. In Ecuador, the protests were violently repressed by the government. On Oct. 9, soldiers fired on demonstrators in the province of Imbabura, killing one man and wounding six others. In other provinces, demonstrators were arrested; a 13 year old girl was among those held in prison. CONAIE, the indigenous peoples' network, called for continuing protests but renounced any use of violence. ACTivist writer Vannina Sztainbok is currently travelling in South America; in August, she was in Ecuador. While there, she interviewed Luzmila Vasquez, "a staunch feminist and native rights activist" who works for the organization Inca Pirca. Inca Pirca is a native-run group promoting self-development in native communities, helping to set up projects such as the building of latrines, cholera injection campaigns, guinea pig farms so that women can be self-sufficient, and promotion of bilingual (Spanish/Quechua) education. In the interview, they explore the situation of native peoples in Ecuador today, and the tensions that led to the October demonstrations and shootings. I talked to Luzmila at the office of Inca Pirca. We sat in the shadow of Imbabura, aware that, on the other side of that great volcano, in the 500th year after the invasion, there are Quechua people still living under the hated "huasipungo" system. They work on the owner's land during most of the day, then try to eke a living out of the inhospitable bits of land given to them for subsistence. The landowner's huge hacienda lies in the fertile valley, the huasipungos are located higher up, where crops struggle to grow at challenging angles. Though the system was officially ended in the 1960s, it still persists. Some communities were able to buy back their land at reduced rates -- this was the case in La Bolsa, where they set up a semi-coop and gained ownership of their land about ten years ago. But many are still struggling for their bit of land. In early August, over 250 people took their land claims to the streets of Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. Natives from the Yuracruz area in the province of Imbabura marched to Quito and set up camp in Parque El Ejdo, in the city's central area, demanding a full review of their land situation. By early September, there were still several families camping in the park. They were hoping to get some kind of action our of the newly-elected government of Sixto Duran Ballin. But the attitude of the new government had been quickly established in August when the President declared, "I will not permit the existence of a nation within a nation." This was a clear stab at the indigenous nations of Ecuador (Siona, Secoya, Cofn, Huaorani, Shuar, Tsachila, Chachi, Awa and Quechua), who want to be recognized as distinct nations, not parallel states, desiring self-determination but not separation from Ecuador. Conservative estimates put the indigenous population of Guatemala at 10% of the total. Luzmila and other believe it's over 50% -- a census hasn't been done in a long time, probably because the results would be upsetting to the status quo. Native nations are not waiting to be officially recognized. Native Parliaments are in the process of being formed all over the country. There is the Parlamento Indio y Popular de Imbabura, which will be composed of different native organizations, clubs, activists, etc. Eventually other sectors of the population, who share their goals, will be invited to participate; for example, blacks, and environmentalists. Luzmila pointed out that one of the big problems is that when the government does return land, it gives individual titles to small pieces of land, not a general title and stewardship of the territory, to the indigenous nation. She and other activists see that as the priority. As long as the government hands out parcels of land, native stewardship is not established. The land is still fragmented and open to selling and exploitation. It can be lost from native hands once more. Luzmila emphasized the need to talk about territory, not land. A current example is the Oriente (the Amazon region of Ecuador). In April, there was a 13-day, 500 kilometre march from Puyo to Quito by 1,300 natives from the area, young and old. They were demanding legal recognition of ownership of their ancestral territory, and reform of the constitution. The government responded by giving individuals titles to some pieces of land. The government emphasized that they were giving rights to the surface of the land, and that the state maintained its right to exploit the subsoil. Organizers of the march were opposed to this. They were also against the giving of titles to the "colonos", mestizos who are opposed to indigenous claims and own large tracts of land, often involved in exploitation of the environment. Oil exploitation is one of the main culprits in the Oriente. It is, of course, causing great harm to the environment. On July 26, about 5,000 barrels of oil were spilled in the river Napo, contaminating at least 60 km, at a conservative estimate. One anonymous official of Petro Ecuador admitted that a huge ecological disaster is just waiting to happen in the Oriente, since most installations are over twenty years old and don't receive adequate maintenance. Of 364 oil wells in the area belonging to Petro Ecuador, 59 have been abandoned, and 221 leak oil to surrounding areas due to improper drainage. There are 30 other, foreign-owned, oil companies working in the area. An estimated 250,000 people live in the Oriente, of whom at least 100,000 are native. They often clash with oil companies which are destroying their ancestral territory. In the aftermath of the July 26 spill, CONAIE (the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador) called for a halt to all oil exploration until native demands were met. These demands included reparations for damages from Petro Ecuador, and a requirement that all oil companies show their plans for exploration and exploitation, as well as stricter environmental regulations. "We don't trust the environmental promises of oil companies," said a CONAIE statement. "It's time to put an end to the aggressive destruction of our land." They are calling for the immediate passage of environmental legislation. Luzmila put it best when she said, "We have to stop this wrongly-called 'development'." *Inca Pirca Casa Comunal de Peguche Casilla 55 Otavalo, ECUADOR ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 8 of 19 ** Written 11:13 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** SHOTS AND OPERATIONS One of the big problems for women in Ecuador is contraception. Our next door neighbour dropped by one night, and, upon discovering I had no children, inquired about what kind of birth control I used -- their method was abstention. She had never heard of condoms. She is 37 and has four kids; after her last child, her doctor had suggested she have an operation. She and her husband were terrified of an "operation". They had heard of people dying from it. I tried to tell her that it was relatively simple for a man to have a vasectomy. I gave her a few condoms and found a few places in town where they were available. On our last night in La Bolsa, I asked her how it was going. She replied sadly, "There's no way." Lack of cooperation from the males seems to be the biggest birth control problem. Education is the next; not accessibility, since I noticed several clinics, ads, etc. I ran into another group of women who started quizzing me on different methods of contraception. They were more knowledgeable, had heard of most, but were wary of certain methods (diaphragms, pills, tubal ligation) and had a hard time getting the men to do anything about it. Something really worrying is that Depo Provera seems to be in use in Ecuador; they mentioned injections, of which they were justifiably frightened. Depo Provera and Norplant are both used in Bolivia -- I just saw them listed on a poster in a family planning clinic. What surprised me most was their eagerness to discuss the topic with a complete stranger. But I guess being 26 and childless made me seem like an expert on birth control to someone who has had 15 children, 11 still living, as one woman did. -- Vannina Sztainbok ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 9 of 19 ** Written 11:14 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** SENDING COLUMBUS HOME 'Columbus Day' 1992 saw protests throughout the Americas against the 500 years of colonization, and in celebration of native survival and resistance. In Toronto, some 500 people attended a rally at Queen's Park, organized by a broad coalition of groups, then marched to the Bickford Centre for an indoor rally and feast. Similar events took place across Canada. In the United States, the most dramatic protest took place in San Francisco, where a march of over 7,000 people prevented Columbus from landing. Originally, the city had planned to welcome the 'Columbus ships', the replicas of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, which have been receiving less than enthusiastic welcomes on their year-long tour; but the ships cut short their journey, afraid of further protests and bad publicity. They were replaced by a costumed man on a smaller boat. But he was turned back by a flotilla of sailboats calling themselves the 'Peace Navy,' and no landing finally took place. Denver, Colorado, cancelled their annual Columbus Day parade; instead, there was a march and rally in honour of the native peoples of America. In New York, 3,000 people marched on the United Nations building, demanding that indigenous nations be given seats at the United Nations. This was not only a Columbus Day protest, but also part of the build-up for 1993, the United Nations 'Year of Indigenous People'. Protests also took place in Central and South America. In San Salvador, El Salvador, alongside an official government ceremony in which Columbus' arrival was referred to as "a transcendental occasionS, there was a people's march of some 15,000, marking Columbus Day with less fervent admiration and also drawing attention to government failings in the peace process. There was no confrontation between the two groups. Six "marches for dignityS arrived in Teotihuacan, Mexico, commemorating the survival and traditions of the native peoples of the Americas. Events took place even as far away as Australia, where, in Melbourne, Australian indigenous people, from the Yarra Yarra tribe of the Koori, welcomed a representative from the Mapuche people of Chile. ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 10 of 19 ** Written 11:15 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** GHOSTS OF RECONCILIATION By Margaret Sumadh The ACTivist with files from Radio Venceremos In 1981, Francisco, at 10 years old, witnessed the massacre of his family by the military in Santa Barbara, a village in central El Salvador. Warned that the military were approaching their house, his young cousin closed the door. She was shot dead through the door. Asking, "Why?", their grandfather led them in prayer. Meanwhile their grandmother hit the soldier with a broom and was instantly cut down. Soon the grandparents and cousins were hacked to death in their own home with machetes. "I saw all of this," relates Francisco. "It wasn't until later that I found myself cowering in a corner, with their blood on my clothes. I realised that I was alive and I began to wonder why ..." Francisco fled to Costa Rica. Eight years later, in Costa Rica, Francisco began to have nightmares, and in June 1992 he returned to Santa Barbara. On foot, he passed a fork in the road where 'death squads' had once left a dead man by the bus stop, tied up and wrapped in a sack. There remained only a 30 cm. rock to mark the place of his burial. The village is almost totally destroyed, empty places where houses used to be, sometimes only cement foundations. Despite this desolation, some people had sown their corn seeds. They no longer live there, but they come to work their fields. Ironically, those people living closest to the village are mostly people displaced by the war. Francisco found the remains of his grandparents home and entered the only room remaining -- that in which, on February 14, 1981, he and other children had witnessed his family being murdered. "Inside the room, I felt as if my heart was being crushed. With my eyes closed, I recalled everything from that afternoon. "I walked to the place where Nora, my sister, told me that she had buried the five bodies, putting them in three separate holes in the ground. "I stayed about 15 minutes by my grandparents' unmarked grave, then I went back to the house. This time, I took some photos that might possibly be used in a judicial investigation of the massacre and a future exhumation of the victims of that anonymous grave." Francisco's story is not over. His process of recuperation has just begun -- as the process of reconciliation in El Salvador has just begun. Only one of hundreds of thousands, Francisco is presenting his case to the 'Truth Commission', via CDHES, a United Nations Human Rights Commission in El Salvador. The Truth Commission's mandate is to examine crimes and human rights violations since 1980. This story is emblematic of the human trauma that huge sections of the Salvadoran society are going through and will have to go through before reconciliation is possible. Salvadorans must go and face their ghosts -- as victims of government, para-military and military repression. Similarly, Salvadoran society as a whole -- particularly the economic, government and military sectors that control most of the real power and are responsible for most human rights violations -- has to accept responsibility for its past, for crimes committed against hundreds of thousands of its own citizens, leaving over 70,000 dead and 7-8,000 disappeared. During the next months, international pressure must be kept up so that the Truth Commission, set up by the January 1992 Peace Accords, can fully carry out its mandated investigation. U.S. government agencies have much information on Salvadoran military officers. We must demand that the U.S. government to release information on Salvadoran officers. The process of reconciliation and recuperation will take years. The Truth Commission can only deal with a small percentage of the suffering caused by 12 years of military and state violence. Over the next few years, pressure must continue to allow the thousands of survivors like Francisco to go and meet their ghosts and put some of their mourning to rest. ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 11 of 19 ** Written 11:15 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** PEACE PROCESS IN PERIL The FMLN, the Salvadoran guerrilla army, went on 'general alert' on October 20, due to fears that the Cristiani government is trying to derail the peace process and break the ceasefire. Final demobilization of the FMLN was originally scheduled for October 31 of this year. The Salvadoran business, government and army leaders are campaigning for this deadline to remain in force. The confrontation is critical Q final FMLN demobilization is expected at a time of increased death squad attacks, torture and death of FMLN and union leaders. The government forces will not be completely demobilized until 1994, with the Elite Battalion demobilizing earlier. Talks were underway about extending the deadline for FMLN demobilization; however, President Alfredo Cristiani withdrew from these talks, and also suspended demobilization of the Atlacatl Battalion of the government army. This U.S.-trained unit is accused of numerous massacres Q the murder of 1,000 people at El Mozote, 300 people at Sumpul River, and six Jesuit priests and two women at the University of El Salvador in 1989, among others. Government instances of non-compliance with the Peace Accords are numerous, including refusal to deliver to the United Nations a report on human rights violations by army officers, failure to transfer land to demobilized FMLN soldiers, delays in the dismantling the Armed Forces Intelligence Unit and lack of support for the civil police. The FMLN also says the the government has failed to help them in their transition from a guerrilla army to a non-military political party. Cristiani's stalling tactics, some think, are an attempt to achieve FMLN demobilization with a minimum of reforms. However, a United Nations proposal (backed by the United States) is expected shortly and could cause a crisis for him and his government if it goes against his actions. El Salvador solidarity groups are asking supporters to write or fax President Cristiani and demand that he comply with the Peace Accords (Presidente Alfredo Cristiani, Casa Presidencial, San Salvador, El Salvador, fax: 503-71-0950, telephone: 503-71-1555); and to ask the United States to end their support for the Cristiani government and to support the peace process in El Salvador (Bernard Aronson, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20250, telephone: 202-647-5740, fax: 202-647-0791; U.S. Dept. of State El Salvador Desk, 202-647-4000) ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 12 of 19 ** Written 11:16 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** HUNGER THREATENS RWANDA The people of Rwanda are going to suffer from a severe famine unless international food aid is dramatically increased during the coming weeks, Medecins sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warns. They are particularly concerned about the 350,000 displaced persons in camps in the north of the country. According the MSF's latest nutritional survey, malnutrition rates have reached alarming levels. In the camps, the displaced persons receive only a third of the basic food rations recommended by the World Health Organization. The people survive in huts made of leaves, sewage control is difficult, and clean water is scarce. Diarrhoea and respiratory infections are taking a heavy toll among the refugees. The first few cases of meningitis were reported in early October, and now there are fears that an epidemic will break out. The situation in the towns is also worrisome. As the country's food stocks dwindle, food prices are becoming increasingly prohibitive for many. Rwanda cannot rely on neighbouring countries for emergency supplies because the food crisis in the Horn of Africa is mobilizing all available resources. It is feared that the famine in Rwanda will be easily overshadowed. MSF has been running meningitis vaccination programs and working to assist in improving the water supply in Rwanda since early April. Plans are underway to open intensive feeding centres for the malnourished children in the camps and to set up a field hospital and health centres. Currently there are three Canadians in Rwanda with MSF. Pierre Laplante is a nurse working with displaced persons in the camps near the northern city of Byumba. Two members of the administrative staff are also on site. Inquiries or donations can be directed to MSF Canada, 56 the Esplanade, Suite 202, Toronto, Ont. M5E 1A7, 416-366-6702. ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 13 of 19 ** Written 11:17 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** CANADIAN ARMS TO BURMA Project Ploughshares has revealed that Canadian arms components continue to reach the military dictatorship of Burma, supposedly a country to which Canadian companies may not export arms. The parts are reaching Burma via China, a permitted customer despite the numerous human rights violations of the Chinese government. Burma has been on an arms-buying spree for several years, preparing for a major offensive against the Karen rebels, who control considerable territory in the south of the country. It is the Karen-controlled areas that offer refuge for student dissidents, Buddhist monks, and others persecuted by the ruling junta known as SLORC. The SLORC has massacred unarmed, nonviolent student protestors, and continues to hold thousands of 'political prisoners', including 1991 Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. In a report on indirect Canadian weapons sales to the Third World, (Ploughshares Monitor, September 1992) Ploughshares states that, in 1991, Burma obtained, from China, Y-12 military planes. The planes were powered by Canadian-made Pratt & Whitney engines -- adding one more point to Pratt & Whitney's record-breaking achievements in selling arms to every military dictatorship in the world. This is not the first time Canadian-made weapons parts have travelled from China to Burma -- Pratt & Whitney engines also reached Burma in 1990, in Swiss Pilatus combat aircraft. 1991 recipients of indirect sales of Canadian arms and arms components, as well as Burma, included Indonesia (waging genocide in occupied East Timor), and Peru (involved in a vicious war with Sendero Luminoso guerrillas, in which both the government and the guerrillas are subjecting civilians to massive violations of human rights). Direct Canadian sales to the Third World included such favoured customers as south Korea, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. Ploughshares estimates that 92% of our military exports to the Third World went to countries with a record of "official violence against their people." ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 14 of 19 ** Written 11:17 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** NITASSINAN NEWS Actions in support of the Innu took place in three Canadian provinces, over the weekend of October 24-25. In Toronto, a crowd of over 50 people marched from City Hall to Progressive Conservative Party Headquarters. Statements from Peter Penashue, President of the Innu Nation, Napess Ashini, an Innu hunter, and three of the young women arrested on October 12 were read to the demonstration. Signatures were collected on ACT's 'Support the Innu' petition in Oakville, Guelph and Peterborough. In Montreal, the Centre de ressource sur la nonviolence organized a series of public forums for Disarmament Week, addressing the Innu issue among many other. And in St. John's, Newfoundland, some 50 people demonstrated at the St. John's City Hall. Meanwhile, it has been discovered by supporters of the Innu that the town of Happy Valley/Goose Bay has hired a public relations firm to help 'sell' low level flight training to the people of Labrador. The firm, Strategic Concepts Ltd., has received at least $28,328 from the town council. The company was hired to prepare a promotional package on military flight training, prepare a response to the environmental assessment process, and do general PR work on the military flight training issue. Strategic Concepts has links with Saga, a company that has done public relations work for John Crosbie, for a waste disposal site for American garbage at the old Allbright Wilson phosphorus mine at Long Harbour, for the Roman Catholic Church in Newfoundland since Mount Cashel sex abuse scandal, and other unsavoury customers. Finally, in community news, the Innu Nation held elections in August. Peter Penashue was re-elected as President. In an interesting and encouraging development, the organization decided that their board should include an equal number of male and female members (it had previously been made up mostly of men). ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 15 of 19 ** Written 11:18 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** CANADA TO AUTHORIZE PLUTONIUM SHIPMENT Canada seems to be on the verge of authorizing the first large international shipment of plutonium. The plutonium -- some 1.5 tonnes of it, spent fuel from uranium-powered reactors -- will travel, on the freighter Akatsuki Meru, to Japan from a refining plant in France. The shipment requires authorization from Canada because some of the original uranium came from Canadian mines. The ship has been called "a floating Chernobyl" by Plutonium Free Future, a group of Japanese and American citizens opposed to the shipment. If an accident occurs in during the ship's voyage, and plutonium is released, enormous damage could result. Plutonium is the most deadly substance known -- just one millionth of an ounce is lethal, and it has a half-life of 24,000 years. Plutonium Free Future is also concerned about the Japanese government's plans to pursue plutonium-based electric power generation. A nuclear plant under construction in Rokkasho village will produce 200 tonnes of plutonium over the next 30 years. This is as much plutonium as contained in the combined nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and the former USSR. And sending huge amounts of weapons-grade plutonium travelling halfway across the world creates an extreme risk of terrorist attacks and theft. Nevertheless, says Hugh Spence of the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada, the shipments will almost certainly be authorized. Plutonium Free Future is organizing a campaign against the shipments. They are asking supporters to sign a formal Petition of Objection addressed to the Japanese government. Canadians can also write letters of complaint to Energy Minister Jake Epp, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6. Plutonium Free Future can be contacted at 2018 Shattuck Ave, Box 140, Berkeley, CA, 94704, USA. ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 16 of 19 ** Written 11:18 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** OAKVILLE PEACE CENTRE OPENS! A long time goal to establish a Peace Centre in Oakville has been realized! Local activists now have a store-front, wheelchair accessible, location in downtown Oakville to organize campaigns for peace, ecology and human rights. Oakville activists are now planning a busy schedule to ensure the greatest possible use of the Centre by many people. There will be regular film nights, speakers forums, poetry and other literary readings, and occasional acoustic cafes. We look forward to seeing many of you at the Centre. We are located at 148 Kerr St., Oakville, L6K 3A7. This is 60 steps north of Lakeshore Road and just south of Rebecca St, on the west side of Kerr St. Call us at (416) 849-5501. All are welcome to attend our official opening on Thursday, November 5, from 6 to 9 p.m. ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 17 of 19 ** Written 11:19 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** ACT GUELPH READY FOR ACTION By Aloz The ACTivist It seemed like months of planning, amidst other activism, but finally the day had arrived for the ACTivation of the Guelph chapter of ACT for Disarmament on October 10. As I reflect back, I remember how decisions were made on the structure of the founding meeting, which videos to screen and which matters to discuss. Over 2,000 flyers were posted around the city and inserted in copies of The ACTivist. It was advertised on the alternative radio station at the University of Guelph and the locals newspapers and television. Special thanks to Eric Jensen of ACT Oakville, who came early to help with organizing the meeting. We started the morning at the Guelph Farmer's Market, handing out copies of The ACTivist stuffed with invitations to the founding meeting. We provided information about ACT and how people could get involved. Then we met with members of ACT Oakville for an afternoon petition drive, which was very successful thanks to the enthusiasm of the ACT Oakville activists. After a potluck dinner which was enjoyed by all, Stephen Dankowich presented a brief history of ACT for Disarmament. After we screened Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and the Environment, Don Glover spoke on General Electric Canada's involvement in the nuclear cycle and the destruction of the environment. Next we showed Hunters and Bombers, the National Film Board video about the Innu, and Steve /// spoke about the upcoming Day of Action planned by ACT. Finally, Maggie Helwig spoke about ACT's campaign on violence against women, and on the work of the East Timor Alert Network. ACT Guelph carried out its first official action on October 24, as part of the Day of Action for the Innu (see pg. 3). We can be contacted at 519-767-0313. note: Steve ///// should be Steve Haufek ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 18 of 19 ** Written 11:20 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** THE DISEMBODIED VOICE AND ABSOLUTE POWER In an age when religion is too often used to justify war, a dissenting voice spoke at Hart House, at the University of Toronto, on October 21. Author and theologian Anne Primavesi's talk was sponsored by the Student Christian Movement, ACT for Disarmament, OPIRG-U of T and other groups. An excerpt is printed below. "War, no matter how it is presented, ultimately brings injury to bodies. That is what war, militarism, is about. And if you'd like to extend that notion, then the image of war is very much part of our relations with the planet -- the images of invasion, taking over, stripping, denuding, all these images that are part of the militarist mindset, have to do with injuring bodies ... In the narratives that I have alluded to, the God that wields this power of life and death over bodies, that God has no body; that God has or is only a disembodied voice. The voice of command is literally that, nothing more. There is apparently no appeal to compassion, to experience, or to identification with bodily suffering, against that voice. "This disembodied male voice has ruled women's lives throughout the history of Christianity. It has ruled our military structures, it has ruled our governments, it has acted as the controlling instrument within our societies. ... We must extend that awareness and see how it has also controlled our relationships with the planet. The male scientific voice, the male military voice, the male political voice ... "[In the early history of Christianity] there was a different understanding of the power of the spirit, as a power which empowered women, and empowered communities, and was not power over other bodies. Around 310 A.D., Lactantius of Bithynia said, 'It would not be lawful for a just man to serve as a soldier, nor to accuse anyone of a capital offense. Because it makes no difference whether you kill him with a sword, or with a word, since killing itself is prohibited.' "That comes from a time when Christianity believed in an incarnate God who was the victim of military power, who died on a cross erected by military power, and who refused to wield power over anybody, who only exercised the power of healing and reconciliation. But there was a tragic change, and we have been wrestling with this duality of our vision of the Messiah, the suffering Messiah who came to bring peace ... that vision was exchanged for that of a triumphant Messiah, who would come back at the end of time to destroy the wicked, and to wield a sword. "We live with this idea of a God of unaccountable power, who exercises coercion over bodies, we live with that deeply planted in our understanding and our psyches, and yet we struggle towards the vision of an embodied God, a God embodied in Jesus and in the body of the earth." ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters ** ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== Response 19 of 19 ** Written 11:21 pm Oct 26, 1992 by act in web:gen.newsletters ** GULF WAR RESISTER STILL NEEDS HELP Though Gulf War resister Yolanda Huet-Vaughn has been released from prison (see The ACTivist, May 1992), her struggle is not yet over. Huet-Vaughn, a medical doctor from Kansas, refused to serve in the Gulf War and was sentenced to 30 months in prison -- she was released after eight months due to a strong international support campaign organized by Citizen Soldier in the United States, and led by ACT for Disarmament in Canada. However, the Kansas Board of Healing Arts is now hearing a case that has been launched against Dr. Huet-Vaughn in an attempt to take away her medical license. Dr. Donald Bletz, who initiated the case against her, says that because she has been convicted of a 'crime' -- specifically, desertion from the army -- she should have her license to practise medicine revoked. Yet Dr. Huet-Vaughn has made it clear, in many public speeches, that it was precisely the obligation she felt, as a doctor, to preserve life and not to take life, that led her to refuse service in the Gulf. Huet-Vaughn is currently working in a Kansas City clinic for low-income patients, one of the few sources of decent and inexpensive medical care in the city. Support is still needed to let Yolanda Huet-Vaughn keep her license and continue to practise medicine. Letters can be sent to: Debra Billingsley, Disc. Counsel, Kansas Board of Healing Arts, 235 S. Topeka, Topeka, Kansas, 66603, USA. ** End of text from web:gen.newsletters **