And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 10:23:39 -1000
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: IITC STATEMENT - MARCH 99
INTERNATIONAL INDIAN TREATY COUNCIL STATEMENT ON THE DEATHS OF INGRID
WASHINAWATOK, LAHE'ENA'E GAY AND TERENCE FREITAS
MARCH 8, 1999
The International Indian Treaty Council is heartbroken and outraged beyond
words at the brutal assassinations of Ingrid Washinawatok of the Menominee
Nation and the Indigenous Women's Network, Lahe'ena'e Gay of the Pacific
Cultural Conservancy International, and Terence Frietas, environmental
activist. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families, friends and co-
workers of these beloved individuals. They were, to the end of their
lives, valiant warriors for peace, human rights and protection of the
natural world.
Ingrid, Lahe and Terence were kidnapped on February 25th by armed gunmen
in Uw'a Indian Territory of North Eastern Columbia. On March 5th, their
brutalized and bullet-riddled bodies were discovered across the border in
Venezuela. IITC is firmly committed to assisting the families in finding
out the full truth about what occurred and bringing to justice those
responsible for this heinous, barbarous act of violence. There are no
words to fully express the extent of our condemnation for those responsible
for this reprehensible act.
Ingrid came to the IITC as a college intern in 1978. IITC was able to
secure a scholarship for her at the University of Havana in Cuba where she
majored in the Spanish language. While studying in Cuba Ingrid met her
future husband, Ali El Issa. Their son Maehki, now 14, traveled with
Ingrid from his birth and was known and loved at the United Nations and by
human rights organizations around the world.
After returning from Cuba, Ingrid worked in IITC's New York office for over
eight years and continued to serve as a member of IITC's advisory council,
as well as on the boards of many community and national-level
organizations. Her bright smile, unforgettable laugh and sense of humor
captured the hearts of all who knew her.
Information which has come to light since the kidnappings raises serious
questions about whether the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Columbia
(FARC), initially implicated in the kidnapping, was in fact responsible.
Many of the facts as well as possible motives for the killings point
instead to the involvement of paramilitary forces operating in the region.
These groups have much more to gain than the FARC by destabilizing the
peace process in Columbia and alienating international human rights
movements through such acts of extreme brutality..
Likewise, the role and involvement of the United States government must be
scrutinized thoroughly if the entire picture is to come to light and
justice served. US Attorney General Janet Reno was reportedly in Bogota
the day before the bodies were found to finalize the transfer of over $230
million from the US to the Colombian government for its so-called "war on
drugs" program. This program is reportedly used by the Colombian
government to wage military operations against the FARC and has been
implicated in widespread human rights violations against the civilian
population.
The ongoing role of US-based Occidental Petroleum in perpetrating violence
in the area must be thoroughly investigated as well. The Uw'a People have
successfully opposed oil development by Occidental on their lands, in part
by building international support and awareness The three slain activists
were visiting and offering support to the Uw'a when they were taken
captive.
The IITC calls upon the United Nations through its appropriate
investigative bodies to assist in expediting the fact-finding efforts
underway. UN involvement would minimize the possibilities for manipulation
of facts to serve the foreign or domestic policy interests of the countries
involved, and provide objective international oversight in this situation
in which the human rights of the three victims were massively and brutally
violated.
The International Indian Treaty Council is calling upon the Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Columbia (FARC) and the Government of Columbia to resume
Peace talks in honor of Ingrid Washinawatok, a Great Menominee Indian Woman
who was loved by Indigenous Peoples throughout the world. To use her death
to undermine the Peace Process in Columbia would be a gross violation of
her lifelong commitment to justice and human rights. The pursuit of peace
is the only logical conclusion to this great loss.
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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