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Subject: Re: Statement From Indigenous Women's Network
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Statement By
THE INDIGENOUS WOMEN'S NETWORK
March 8, l999
RE: Killings of Indigenous Activists
We the members of the Indigenous Women's Network address our comments
to the world. On February 25, we received word that our sister
Ingrid Washinawatok, the Co-Chair of The Indigenous Women's Network and
Lahe'ena'e Gay and Terence Freitas ,two other members of a humanitarian
delegation to the U'wa people of Colombia were kidnapped. It was during the
end of their visit that our sisters and brother were kidnapped by hooded men
in civilian clothing from the car they were traveling in. The three were part
of a delegation that had been invited by the U'wa People to join in prayer and
solidarity. The purpose of the trip was to assist the U'wa People in
establishing a cultural education system for their children and support their
continuation of their traditional way of life.
The morning of March 5, the U.S. Embassy contacted the families of
Ingrid, Lahe'ena'e and Terence informing them their bodies had been found in
Venezuela about 30 yards from the border of Colombia. They had been bound,
blindfolded, beaten, tortured and shot numerous times. It was through Ingrid's
credit cards, which were still in her possession that they were able to
trace their identity so rapidly.
The Indigenous Women's Network, joining with the Menominee Nation,
and other Indigenous Nations, is calling for a full prosecution of those
responsible, and an investigation into the actions of the US State Department
in reference to this incident. We believe that the US State Department
destabilized negotiations and ultimately cost our sisters and brother their
lives, in a possible attempt to gain financial support for US policies in
Colombia. We attribute this assertion to the fact that exactly during the
negotiations for the release of the three humanitarian workers, the US State
Department released approximately $230 million in military support for
the allegedly Anti-Drug War in Colombia. The Colombian government then
attacked
and killed over 70 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or
FARC in an orchestrated attack. We believe that those two overt acts may have
destabilized any hopes for the release of our sisters and brother.
The U'wa People live in the Arauca province in Northeastern Colombia.
The U.S. oil multi national corporations, Occidental Petroleum and Shell Oil
had been carrying out oil exploration in the area know as the Samore block, the
ancestral homelands of the U'wa People. It is estimated that these
oilfields hold less than l.5 billion barrels of oil, equating to less than a
three month supply for the US. The U'wa people had threatened to commit
masssuicide if these oil companies were successful in their exploitive
endeavors.
US and Colombian government Officials were prompt to lie blame on the
left wing guerrilla forces of FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).
This situation is not one that blame can be established through words of
Government officials without conducting an investigation. It is a much more
complex crime.
The reality is that the Indigenous community and the US State
Department had both been involved in negotiations for the release of these
three humanitarian workers. Apesanahkwat, Chairman of the Menominee Nation
was
active in attempting to negotiate the release of the hostages as soon as he
heard of their capture. "I sent a direct communiqu� to the leadership of FARC
two days after she was captured. ..The FARC leadership had sent a response by
e-mail the morning of the hostages' death," Apesanahkwat said. "They sent
greetings to us as a relative indigenous group, and said they were optimistic
about seeking her release," he said. Yet, as Apesanahkwat noted, the US
government sent money for arms to the Colombian government four or five days
after the kidnappings, knowing that those arms might be used against the
rebels
who may have held the kidnap victims, and that the kidnap victims might
well be
executed in retaliation. Seventy FARC rebels were killed in a government-led
attack just before the kidnap victims were executed.
We, the Indigenous Women's Network join with the Menominee Nation
in calling for a congressional committee inquiry into the State Department
actions in Colombia, with regards to this incident. We also request, on behalf
of our sister Ingrid, that her death not be used to forward political ends of
the US State Department, but that instead, it be recognized as a crime, a
continuation of the Indian wars.
It is a crime against humanity. Against the mothers who's daughters and
son's moccasins walk no longer walk on our Mother Earth. It is a crime
against the sane, the Indigenous Peoples and all peaceful citizens of the
world. This crime was committed by the insane, the greedy, the corrupt and
those that will ignore the exploitive trade agreements which allow and accept
these practices as business as usual ,all in the name of protecting "National
Interests",and subsequently the interests of multinational corporations. We
believe that responsibility for these deaths rests with all of these parties.
Ingrid and her companions gave the ultimate sacrifice - their lives -
in the struggle for the attainment of human rights for Indigenous Peoples.
State Department support will increase the militarization of a country already
fraught with one of the highest rates of violence in the western
hemisphere, and a state continuing violence against Indigenous peoples. It is
against violence, and for the life of the people and the land, that Ingrid, and
the others stood. Ingrid as well as her companions viewed the situation of
the U'wa as a part of the global struggle for Indigenous self determination as
well as the preservation of the natural environment. The deaths of our three
companeros must be understood as having a direct relationship to the
many thousands of deaths of those who seek human justice not only in
Colombia but throughout Latin America and other parts of the world.
We who work for social justice must ensure that further repercussions
do not fall on the U'wa community simply because they sought and received
international solidarity and support from groups like Project Underground,
the Indigenous Women's Network and the Pacific Cultural Conservancy
International. The Indigenous Women's Network and others will do our
utmost to
see that justice is done and that we will continue Ingrid's fight in her
support of the U'wa Peoples and all those who work for social justice.
The history of violent repression in Latin America against
Indigenous Peoples would lead us to believe that right wing governments, and
their death squads supporting the interests of resource companies and those
wanting to interrupt the peace process are more likely to have been
involved in
the deaths of our three companeros. We also demand that financial support to
theColombian military be withdrawn until the true facts surrounding the deaths
are revealed.
As Women, we are the Mothers of our Nations. We share the responsibility of
being life-givers, nurturers and sustainers of life- as Mother Earth is a life
giver. The Indigenous Women's Network is committed to nurturing our children
and planting seeds of truth for generations to come. We do not want
to repeat past mistakes. We will continue our work to eliminate the oppression
of colonization, and to end the Indian wars.
The Indigenous Women's Network demand that the parties responsible for
the abduction and execution of Ingrid Washinawatok,Terence Freitas, and
Lahe'ena'e Gay, be brought to justice, they must make themselves known and not
hide behind the corrupt plunders of those that rape our Mother Earth of her
blood and the parties that protect them.
In the Spirit of Mother Earth,
The Indigenous Women's Network
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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