And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: International Action Center 39 W. 14th St. #206, New York, NY, 10011 Tel: 212-633-6646 Fax: 212-633-2889 Web site: http://www.iacenter.org email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * * FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE * * * Attention: Assignment Editor Contact: Sara Flounders, Brian Becker (212) 633-6646 Three U.S. activists killed in Colombia: "THEIR DEATHS MUST NOT SERVE THE PENTAGON'S WAR PLANS" The International Action Center mourns the loss of Native American activist Ingrid Washinawatok and her colleagues Terence Freitas and Lahe'ena'e Gay. Ingrid Washinawatok worked closely with the IAC on international campaigns through the years, including the War Crimes Tribunal investigating the U.S. war against Iraq. She was well known for her work in defense of the rights of indigenous peoples in the U.S and throughout Latin America, and for working with joy and determination. The three have joined the estimated 40,000 Colombians killed in the last decade_the vast majority at the hands of right-wing death squads and the Colombian military. Although it is not known at this time who killed Ingrid Washinawatok, Terance Freitas and Lahe'ena'e Gay, the killings have all the marks of the government-linked death squads. But the U.S. State Department has tried to link the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia-People's Army (FARC-EP) with their deaths. Concerning these allegations, Sara Flounders, a Co-cordinator of the International Action Center stated, "We mourn the death of these three courageous activists who dedicated their lives to the progressive movement. But their deaths must not serve the cause of war in any way." Flounders explained that the killings occurred in a zone rife with right-wing paramilitary activity. "Even the major corporate press like the New York Times has noted that the FARC-EP has nothing to gain by the deaths nor does it seem consistent with their past operations. "It is the Pentagon and the death squads that benefit from the death of the three U.S. activists," Flounders noted. "We cannot let this tragedy allow the Colombian government to break off talks with the insurgency, or allow the U.S. government to increase its intervention in Colombia." "The FARC-EP has won the respect of millions of Colombians with their struggle for peace with social justice in Colombia," Gloria La Riva the West Coast Co-ordinator of the IAC noted. "The dialogue that opened between the FARC-EP and the Colombian government in January showed that the guerrillas are a legitimate force in the struggle for peace in Colombia. "Washinawatok and her colleagues were investigating the situation of the U'wa indigenous people in Colombia. The U'was have waged a tremendous legal and political battle against Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum, which has tried to exploit U'wa land. Oil companies in Colombia often fund private armies to battle against the people's movement there_armies which are intimately connected to the paramilitary death squads and U.S. military funding." Following a series of political and military victories by the FARC-EP and the National Liberation Army, the U.S. government intervention in Colombia has grown tremendously. U.S. Military aid has tripled in the last year alone, to nearly $300 million. U.S. Special Forces are training the Colombian army in counterinsurgency tactics. Human rights groups have documented Pentagon and CIA support for the death squads in Colombia. "We are confident that the FARC-EP will carry out a responsible investigation of the claims," La Riva said. "Until that time, we need to remember that the U.S. government and their Colombian proxies have the blood of tens of thousands of Colombian trade unionists, indigenous people and other progressives on their hands. We also call for a full investigation of Occidental Petroleum and the U.S. military and CIA to determine any links between them, the death squads, and the killers of Washinawatok, Freitas and Gay." Policy Office Music Industry Human Rights Association http://www.cerbernet.co.uk/mihra US Satellite http://www.212.net / [EMAIL PROTECTED] General Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mihra was founded during UN50 to advance and protect creators rights in a cultural market monopolised by the recording / publishing Grand Cartel. Mihra's roots are in music and anti-racism and it has called for a sports boycott of Burma for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. ======================== &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
