LAWG celebrates—and I personally celebrate—that yesterday the
U.S. House of Representatives approved H.Res. 761, introduced by Rep. Jim
McGovern and 33 co-sponsors. This resolution remembers and
commemorates the lives and work of the six Jesuit priests and two women
who were murdered in El Salvador nearly twenty years ago, on November
16, 1989.
Soon after its world premier at the Sundance Film Festival this past January, multiple awards began recognizing Crude
as one the most poignant documentaries hitting theaters this year. For
all of you deeply concerned about human rights violations, the
displacement and destruction of indigenous cultures, increased
environmental degradation, or irresponsible development by
multinational corporations, Crude is being recognized as an
artistic masterpiece that tells the story of the “Amazon Chernobyl” case
in which all these areas of concern intertwine. The final result is the
creation of a powerful message for increasing awareness among
individuals of how the gas they pump has tangible effects on
individuals in other parts of our world.
As international and domestic concern mounts over the suspension of
constitutional rights declared by de facto Honduran President Roberto
Micheletti on September 26th, the government promises to restore
rights, but does not yet act to do so, and human rights violations
continue.
Despite the Micheletti government’s announced intention following
international and national pressure to lift the state of siege, the
notice has not yet been published in the official gazette, and rights
violations continue. The de facto government issued a new decree
allowing the government’s telecommunications agency to revoke licenses
for radio and television stations that transmit messages that promote
“social anarchy,” ensuring that censorship can continue. Police
continued excessive use of force against protestors, and some
protestors remain in detention. Meanwhile, hopes for dialogue increased
as the Organization of American States negotiators arrived, but no end
to the crisis is yet in sight.
On September 21st, President Manuel Zelaya returned clandestinely to
Honduras and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in the capital city
of Tegucigalpa. Honduran police fired tear gas to disperse Zelaya’s supporters gathered around the embassy. They alsolaunched tear gas at the human rights group COFADEH,
where men, women and children had taken refuge after the attack at the
embassy. People detained for violating a newly established curfew are
being held at the football stadium, where observers saw people who had
been severely beaten. The situation in the capital and elsewhere is
extremely tense.
After a long life, touching millions of people with her powerful voice
and commitment to social justice, Argentine folksinger Mercedes Sosa
passed away on Sunday, October 4th, 2009. Sosa set an incredible
example of how music can change the world.
Her deep, rich voice and emotionally charged performances became the
rallying cry for a generation of Latin Americans oppressed by
dictatorships. In a time of terror, she chose to be “the voice for the
voiceless ones” and sing words that were forbidden. In her more than
fifty-year career, she pioneered a new movement in music, which buried
itself deep into the soul of every listener, as personal as it was
political.
The Latin America Working Group mourns the passing of Senator Edward
Kennedy, a crusader for human rights and social justice in our nation
and around the world. As the Woodrow Wilson Center's Cynthia Arnson describes his remarkable efforts in Latin America, including his
outspoken efforts to denounce human rights abuses following the 1973
coup in Chile, “His name is recognized and revered among a whole
generation of Latin Americans who were persecuted or forced into exile
during the years of the dictatorships.”
Action Center
