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South America Newsletter September 2017

September 6, 2017 by zarganar

SUMMARY

Lots to report this month, but first we give a warm welcome to a new member of our team: Joe Smith, our new Brazil Coordinator, who has produced the Brazil section of this newsletter.  You will be hearing from Joe himself shortly.  In this newsletter, we report among other things on the continuing deterioration in Venezuela, the disturbing rise in murders of human rights defenders in Colombia and proposals that would seriously reduce human rights protections in Brazil.  There is good news from Chile and Paraguay, advance notice of a new campaign on Peru and a disappearance in Argentina.  You are invited to join the Lambeth Group’s annual Embassy crawl which will include a stop at the Chilean Embassy

COLOMBIA

15 of the 51 HR Defenders killed in Colombia between Jan and June 2017
15 of the 51 HR Defenders killed in Colombia between Jan and June 2017

Many thanks to everyone who wrote to the Colombian authorities about Amnesty’s concerns in Chocó department. We have already received two responses from the Office of the President in reply to your letters. Violence, forced displacements, sowing of anti-personnel mines and recruitment of child soldiers is a continuing concern. Amnesty has a mission there now. The UK embassy in Bogotá sent one of its staff to the Chocó and he has reported back his concerns to the FCO. We have also requested a response from the authorities in Bogotá via their London embassy. For a recent Public Statement by Amnesty on the situation, please download it here.

Huber Ballesteros, the leader of Colombia’s Field-Workers Union, will be visiting us at Amnesty UK’s London office on 6 September. We sent out invitations to you all last week. Huber’s trial was considered to be unfair by Amnesty and he was held in preventative detention for three years, before being finally released. Three months after his release, he received a death threat. Thanks to all of you who wrote on his behalf.

The Colombian NGO Somos Defensores (We are Defenders) report that the number of HR defenders who have been killed in the January-June period of 2017 (51 people) was a sharp increase on the same period in 2016 (35). This increase is entirely due to the activity of paramilitary groups and ‘unknowns’. The full report is in Spanish and may be downloaded here.

Front Line Defenders report that a large paramilitary group threatened five human rights defenders in the region of Barrancabermeja, known as the Oil Capital of Colombia. All five are well-known for their work on the peace process. On 17 August, the daughter of Maria Leonilda Ravelo Grimaldo, one of these HR defenders, was threatened by gunmen while walking her dog.  For the full report please click here.

The Colombian NGO Fundación Paz y Reconciliación (Peace and Reconciliation Foundation) has published an extensive report on the ongoing fighting in Tumaco, Nariño Department between 11 different armed groups. This is a struggle for control of the port and the surrounding coca growing region. The number of murders has increased by two-thirds in the first 6 months of 2017. Former FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)  rebels have joined new armed groups, while members of the ELN (National Liberation Army) belong to others and paramilitaries and gangs from outside the region have now entered it. The local authorities are overwhelmed and the central authorities have not been able to stem the violence. For the full report in Spanish, with map, please click here The violence here, as in Chocó, and the increased killings of HR defenders illustrate the fragility of the peace agreement. [Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international

Group Newsletter August 2017

September 3, 2017 by zarganar

Welcome to the latest newsletter.
The next meeting  is on Thursday 14th September 2017, 7.30pm  at Moordown Community Centre. This newsletter is a bit earlier than usual, to publicise…
Alexander Dakers is a long time Amnesty International supporter; his exhibitions have always encouraged donations to Amnesty.  He was one of the exhibitors at our own Art Exhibition in 2014.  Combining a multitude of artistic techniques and using a variety of subject matter, Alexander provides a reflective outlook exploring the reality of the world we live in and the sins committed against it.
As you can see from the poster, this exhibition is at the BIC, Bournemouth, from 1st to 8th September, open from 9.0 to 5.30pm.  Free entry, but donations to Amnesty International “encouraged”!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international

South America Newsletter August 2017

August 6, 2017 by zarganar

SUMMARY

In this month’s newsletter (from the South American Team of Graham Minter and Richard Crosfield), we have good news from Chile on the decriminalisation of abortion, urgent actions on Venezuela and Colombia, and details of Amnesty’s short campaign on the crisis in Venezuela, where more than 100 people have been killed since April. In Colombia the challenges facing the peace agreement are revealed, while our Americas Director writes a piece on the Peace Community. Two new reports on the Zika virus and domestic violence in Brazil highlight the failure of the authorities to uphold women’s rights. In Peru we report on the harassment of environmental rights defenders and the UN’s concern at the number of social conflicts related to large-scale business operations. Ahead of the UN’s Universal Periodic Review on human rights in Argentina, Amnesty highlights Argentina’s shortcomings.

VENEZUELA                             

Controversial elections for a new Constituent Assembly took place on 30 July.  The Assembly will have the power to rewrite the country’s constitution. Ahead of the elections, the government imposed a ban on protests and announced the deployment of military personnel and experts to deal with electoral and military crimes. However, this did not stop the protests and it is reported that at least 10 people died in a series of clashes with police. Since the latest wave of protests began in April, more than 100 people have been killed and more than 1,400 injured, according to official sources. This news report contains a series of graphic images of the protests.

As already reported, Amnesty has launched a short campaign aimed at conveying a clear message to senior Venezuelan Government figures that if they promote or implement a policy of illegal use of force, they may be subject to prosecution under international criminal justice. Amnesty considers that the recurrent attacks against the population and speeches inciting violence by the authorities indicate a premeditated policy of violent repression of any form of dissent. See Amnesty statement here.

The British Foreign Secretary has issued a statement on the situation, calling on the Venezuelan Government to refrain from divisive and inflammatory action.  You can read it here.

Human Rights Watch have released disturbing video footage of the clashes, which you can see here.

Amnesty has issued an Urgent Action concerning 14 police officers who have been arbitrarily detained for politically motivated reasons since June 2016 despite a court order that they should be released. They are on hunger strike to demand that the authorities execute the release warrant. You can call for their release here.

Leopoldo López, who had been transferred from prison to his home, has been arrested and returned to prison. The Foreign Secretary has demanded his release.  [update 6.08.17, CNN report that Leopoldo, our Case File, was returned to house arrest yesterday]  [Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international

Group Newsletter 9th July 2017

July 9, 2017 by zarganar

Hello
Welcome our the latest newsletter.
The next meeting  is on Thursday 13th July 2017, 7.30 at Moordown Community Centre. We will have an update/letter on Cuba, photo action on Japan, letter to USA re Guantanamo prisoner, working on our Case Files and have continued planning and review of events.

We don’t have any events planned over the next few months, having had a busy few weeks. A reminder we don’t have a meeting in August.

Bournemouth Pride Festival July 1st

For the third year running we were involved in the local Pride festival – both taking part in the parade and having a stall in the gardens. We got around 150 postcards signed campaigning against the abduction and killing of gay men in Chechnya.
As you can see from the photograph below we used some of our Marsh award money to have two selfie frames created.  These proved quite successful as most people were quite happy to be photographed in the frame – either by us or with their own cameras.  We have put about 50 photographs on our facebook page, if you’d like to check them out. But we’ve put a few on the video above.

Amnesty International Stall at BourneFree 2017
Stall at BourneFree 2017

[Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international

South America Newsletter July 2017

July 8, 2017 by zarganar

SUMMARY

In this month’s newsletter (from the South American Team of Graham Minter and Richard Crosfield), we report on the recent visit to the UK of Esperanza Huayama, a leading campaigner for justice for the thousands of indigenous women submitted to forced sterilisation in Peru in the 1990s.   We report further on the crisis in Venezuela where 80 people have been killed in anti-government protests in the last three months and the Attorney General has been banned from leaving the country.  There is good news on the peace process in Colombia but major challenges remain as threats to communities continue.  Brazil remains in turmoil and we highlight reports on police killings, violence against women and attacks against human rights defenders.  In Chile we have a new Individuals At Risk case (Rodrigo Mundaca) that you can opt into and there are concerns that the law partially decriminalising abortion may be watered down.  In Paraguay, President Cartes has threatened two journalists with imprisonment.

PERU

In June we were delighted to co-host, with the University of Kent and the Peru Support Group, the visit to the UK of Esperanza Huayama, President of the Association of Forcibly Sterilised Women in the province of Huancabamba and Vice-President of the National Association.  The programme included an event at the Human Rights Action Centre (photo), where we presented a documentary on the subject and heard from Esperanza about her own experience and her work to campaign for justice.  We also accompanied Esperanza to meetings at parliament, the FCO, CAFOD and Equality Now.  For a fuller report, see here.

 VENEZUELA

At least 80 people have been killed in anti-Government protests in the last three months.  Amnesty has warned that “the increased deployment of military forces to repress protests, the rise in excessive use of force against protesters and others, and the use of military courts to try to silence dissenting voices illustrates a terrifying shift of the Venezuelan authorities’ approach to the human rights crisis wreaking havoc across the country”. For a fuller report, see here.

The Attorney-General, Luisa Ortega  Díaz, has asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for protection, after the Supreme Court barred her from leaving the country and ordered her bank accounts to be frozen.  Ortega  Díaz’s office had just announced that it was summoning the chief of Venezuela’s intelligence agency, Gustavo Gonzalez, to appear before them on suspicion of “committing grave and systemic violations of human rights”.  Ortega  Díaz, one of the few critical voices in the current government, had earlier contested a Supreme Court decision that would have dissolved the opposition-controlled National Assembly, the decision that sparked the current wave of protests. [Read more…]

Filed Under: amnesty international

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