WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS ISSUE #712, SEPTEMBER 21, 2003 NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK 339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012 (212) 674-9499 1. Bolivia: Five Die in Altiplano Protests 2. Venezuela: Plot to Kill Chavez? 3. Latin America: Spain Paid for Iraq Mission? 4. Mexico: WTO Talks Collapse in Mexico 5. Brazil: 2 Million Oppose FTAA 6. Colombia: Black Activist Murdered 7. Colombia: Activists Threatened, Abducted ISSN#: 1084-922X. The Weekly News Update on the Americas is published weekly by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York. A one-year subscription (52 issues) is $25. To subscribe, send a check or money order for US $25 payable to Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012. Please specify if you want the electronic or print version: they are identical in content, but the electronic version is delivered directly to your email address; the print version is sent via first class mail. For more information about electronic subscriptions, contact . Back issues and source materials are available on request. If you are accessing this Update for free on electronic newsgroups, we would appreciate any financial support you can contribute. We are a small, all-volunteer organization funded solely through subscriptions and contributions. Please also help spread the word about the Update. If you know someone who might be interested in subscribing, send their email (or regular mail) address to and request a free one-month trial subscription to the Weekly News Update on the Americas. Feel free to reproduce these updates, or reprint or re-post any information from them, but please credit us as "Weekly News Update on the Americas," and include our full contact information so that people will know how to find us. Send us a copy of any publication where we are cited or reprinted. We also welcome your comments and ideas: send them to us at the street address above or via e-mail to . *1. BOLIVIA: FIVE DIE IN ALTIPLANO PROTESTS A clash between Bolivian security forces and campesinos in the community of Warisata in the Altiplano region of La Paz department left at least five people dead on Sept. 20. One of those killed was a soldier; the rest were campesinos. Another 12 campesinos and eight soldiers or police agents were reportedly wounded. According to the government's version of events, the confrontation followed the "rescue" of some 800 Bolivian travelers and 40 foreign tourists by Bolivian police and army forces in the town of Sorata, where a roadblock by campesino protesters had trapped them for five days. As the 60-vehicle caravan entered Warisata, police and army troops accompanying it were allegedly ambushed by campesinos and students from the Warisata rural high school, shooting from the surrounding mountains. The troops returned fire and the conflict continued for several hours, according to the government's version of events. The campesinos say the troops attacked them. On Sept. 21, Minister of Government Yerko Kukoc confirmed that one soldier and three campesinos had died in the confrontation; Sacha Llorenti, vice president of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights of Bolivia (APDHB), said four civilians and a soldier were killed, while campesino leader and legislative deputy Felipe Quispe Huanca said at least five campesinos were killed. The "rescued" travelers arrived in La Paz early on Sept. 21; none were injured. Presidential spokesperson Mauricio Antezana said President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada ordered the "rescue" for "human, moral and legal" reasons. In Sorata, the campesinos reportedly burned down a hotel, a police station, a court building and other properties as road blockades continued throughout the Altiplano region. The campesinos are demanding that the government fulfill a series of 72 commitments agreed to by the previous administration. They are also demanding that Bolivia not export its natural gas--much less through a port in Chile, which took away Bolivia's sea access in an 1879 war--and that it not join the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). [Associated Press 9/21/03; Econoticias Bolivia 9/21/03 via Colombia Indymedia] In addition, nearly 2,000 campesinos began a hunger strike on Sept. 12 at the San Gabriel Catholic radio station in El Alto to demand the release of campesino leader Edwin Huampo, who was arrested recently on murder charges [see Update #711]. By Sept. 19, the hunger strikers at the station were said to number more than 3,000. [La Razon (La Paz) 9/18/03, 9/19/03] Followers of campesino coca grower (cocalero) leader and legislative deputy Evo Morales Ayma are supporting the protests; Morales called a cocalero assembly for Sept. 21 to decide what actions to take. Morales blamed the violence on the government and especially on Defense Minister Carlos Sanchez Berzain, who returned to the cabinet in August. Sanchez Berzain had been ousted from his previous post as presidency minister in February, after being blamed for a crackdown on protesters which left 33 people dead and hundreds wounded on Feb. 12-14 [see Update #682]. He was also associated with violent repression of protesters when he served as governance minister (1995-1997) under Sanchez de Lozada's previous presidency. "Sanchez Berzain returns to the cabinet and the deaths are back," said Morales. [AP 9/21/03; Econoticias Bolivia 9/21/03] Morales insists that Sanchez Berzain was brought back into the cabinet under pressure from the US government, which likes his heavy-handed tactics. [El Diario (La Paz) 8/13/03] President Sanchez de Lozada convened his cabinet late on Sept. 20, and in the early hours of Sept. 21, decided to invite the campesinos to dialogue. [AP 9/21/03] *2. VENEZUELA: PLOT TO KILL CHAVEZ? Left-populist Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez Frias has cancelled a planned Sept. 25-29 trip to Washington and New York, where he had been scheduled to address the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. Venezuelan officials initially said he preferred to pay attention to events at home, but on Sept. 18 Tarek William Saab, head of international relations for Chavez's ruling Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), told Reuters: "For security reasons, the president cancelled his trip." Officials would not explain the nature of the threat. [Reuters 9/18/03] In the early morning of Sept. 19 an explosive was thrown from a vehicle toward the Miraflores Presidential Palace. The blast shattered windows and damaged a guard house, but caused no serious injuries, fire officials said. Chavez was inside the palace at the time. Interior Minister Lucas Rincon said the explosion might be connected to recent telephone threats and intelligence suggesting that there was a plot to kill Chavez. [Miami Herald 9/20/03 from AP] Late on the night of Sept. 19 or early the next morning, a gunfight broke out between municipal and federal police agents near the Plaza Francia (Plaza Altamira) in Caracas' eastern Chacao district. More than 50 agents from the federal DISIP agency had raided a building at the plaza and took an unidentified man into custody without identifying themselves, according to the district's opposition mayor, Leopoldo Lopez. One man was reportedly wounded in the shootout. The plaza is a rallying point for Chavez opponents. [MH 9/21/03 from AP] The English-language website VHeadline.com reported on Sept. 20 that the cancellation of Chavez's trip to the US was due to what security services called "overwhelming evidence" of a plan backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to "bring down" the president's plane during the flight from Caracas. Sources in the Military Intelligence Directorate (DIM) told VHeadline.com there was "overwhelming evidence of Washington's planned attack on the presidential flight." VHeadline.com also reports that the man arrested in DISIP's Sept. 19 raid in Chacao was a suspect in the bombing of the presidential palace, Jorge Rojas Riera. Former military officers who participated in the April 2002 coup against Chavez reportedly joined with municipal police in firing on the DISIP agents during the operation. [VHeadline.com 9/20/03] *3. LATIN AMERICA: SPAIN PAID FOR IRAQ MISSION? On Sept. 15 Spanish foreign minister Ana Palacio and Dominican foreign minister Francisco Guerrero categorically denied reports that the Spanish government was forgiving some of the debts of the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua as a secret payment for agreeing to send troops to support the US-led occupation of Irak. The foreign ministers were speaking at a press conference on the first day of an official visit to Spain by Dominican president Hipolito Mejia. The Spanish-led "Plus Ultra" International Brigade in Iraq includes 1,254 soldiers from Spain, 368 from Honduras, 361 from El Salvador, 302 from the Dominican Republic and 113 from Nicaragua [see Update #708]. The Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and the United Left (IU) have charged that in June Spanish officials worked out a deal with the four countries' governments for Spain to forgive between $180 million and $240 million in debt for "turning [Central American soldiers] into mercenaries," in the words of IU leader Gaspar Llamazares. [El Diario-La Prensa (NY) 9/13/03 from correspondent, 9/16/03 from AFP] On Sept. 3 Honduran Armed Forces spokesperson Col. Rafael Moreno Coello confirmed a report that several officers faced court martials for refusing to join the Honduran group in Iraq, the Xatruch Battalion. The officers--Lt Col. Bayardo Martinez Bardales, Lt. Col. Nunez Pereira (his first name was not given), Maj. Victor Manuel Ferrari Lopez--were charged with disobedience, which carries a sentence of nine to 12 years in prison. He said they were not imprisoned and were continuing normal duties in a military institution while awaiting trial. The case was first reported by Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH) president Andres Pavon on Sept. 1; the military initially denied the report. [Tiempo (Honduras) 9/2/03, 9/3/03, 9/4/03] *4. MEXICO: WTO TALKS COLLAPSE IN MEXICO The Sept. 10-14 ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held in Cancun in the southeastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo, ended abruptly without any agreement as delegates from developing nations walked out of the last day's sessions. The meeting had already been marked by the formation of the Group of 21 (G-21, given as G-20 or G-22 by some sources), an alliance of developing nations pushing for a rollback of the huge subsidies developed nations pay to large-scale farmers, who then undersell farmers from poorer countries [see Update #711]. The collapse of the talks, following a similar breakdown in Seattle in 1999, probably ends the chances for the WTO to meet its goal of a global trade treaty by the end of 2004. The US and the European Union (EU) downplayed the demand for ending the subsidies. Instead, they pressed for the WTO to adopt the "Singapore issues"--new rules that would govern investment, competition, trade facilitation and government procurement. Many poor nations believe this would amount to surrender of their domestic authority and would leave them without defenses against multinational corporations. More than 90 of the WTO's 148 members objected to introducing the "Singapore issues." According to trade analyst Lori Wallach of the DC-based Citizens Trade Campaign, who was at the convention center, "The US hurled threats and name-calling to try to pressure countries, but I think it backfired.... The Kenyan ambassador, representing the African bloc, walked out, then he was followed by the Jamaican ambassador for the Caribbean bloc. As soon as the Kenyan got down the escalator we could see on his face that it was over... There must have been 150 civil society folks in here, and in short order the Venezuelan, Nigerian, Kenyan, Brazilian and other governments' negotiators who had stuck out the bullying came down, and it was a blur of hugs, crying, hoots, etc." EU and US officials seemed unable to disguise their contempt for dissent by the developing nations. Before the talks, EU agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler accused poor nations of being on a "space odyssey" and advised them to "come back to mother earth." After the collapse, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy called the WTO "a medieval organization," apparently because of a consensus policy that gives developing nations the same weight as the richer countries. "There is no way to structure and steer discussions amongst 148 members in a manner conducive to consensus," he said. "The decision making needs to be revamped." US trade representative Robert Zoellick complained that WTO members needed "a serious disposition to focus on the work at hand and not rhetoric." [Mexico Solidarity Network Weekly News and Analysis 9/16/03; AllAfrica.com 9/16/03; Servicio Informativo "Alai-amlatina" 9/15/03; NY Times 9/15/03] In the absence of a WTO agreement, the US reportedly plans to push ahead with bilateral or regional trade agreements, including the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). In the process it might settle scores over the WTO failure. According to the rightwing DC daily Washington Times, "Many smaller nations could find themselves in the hot seat for joining" the G-21. An unnamed "senior trade official" told the newspaper: "We will be looking at those countries that wanted to move ahead globally, and those that want to move ahead bilaterally." Led by Brazil, China and India, the G-21 includes Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and all of South America except Uruguay. Colombia and Peru are seeking trade agreements with the US, while Costa Rica and Guatemala are planning to be part of CAFTA. El Salvador, also negotiating for CAFTA, joined the G-21 but dropped out on Sept. 13. [WT 9/15/03; Servicio Informativo "Alai- amlatina" 9/16/03] *5. BRAZIL: 2 MILLION OPPOSE FTAA On Sept. 16 Brazilian opponents of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) presented government officials with 2 million signatures calling for an official referendum on the FTAA, an audit of the external debt and suspension of a plan to cede control over the Alcantara rocket launching base to the US. Some 10 million Brazilians voted against the FTAA--a US-promoted plan for establishing a hemispheric trading bloc by 2005--in an unofficial referendum last year [see Update #660]. The opposition is led by the Campaign Against the FTAA National Coordinating Committee, which includes the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil and the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST). [Boletin Informativo Campana Continental contra el ALCA 9/17/03] Meanwhile, the government of leftist Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is pushing ahead with a plan to pull together a South American trade bloc by as early as Jan. 1. The new bloc would bring together Mercosur (composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Bolivia and Chile as associate members) and the Andean Community of Nations (CAN, made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela). Brazil reportedly sees the projected South American bloc as a counterbalance to the US plans for FTAA, especially following the collapse of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks on Sept. 14. The bloc would have a population of 370 million people and a combined gross product of $1.2 trillion. Peru signed on as a Mercosur associate on Aug. 25, and on Aug. 26 Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez Frias announced that Venezuela might join by the end of the year. Colombia and Ecuador have also agreed in principle to join by Jan. 1, but Colombia is closely tied to the US and may resist the plan. [New York Times 9/17/03] *6. COLOMBIA: BLACK ACTIVIST MURDERED On Aug. 31, unidentified assailants murdered Afro-Colombian leader Jose Luciano Castillo Alegria, an activist with the Process of Black Communities (PCN), while he was riding in a boat on the Ispi river in Roberto Payan municipality, Narino department. The family has been unable to retrieve Castillo's body. Diario del Sur, a newspaper based in the departmental capital, Pasto, reports it is not known who killed Castillo, although a brief undated communique attributed to the PCN's Human Rights Team and posted on the Colombia Indymedia website Sept. 3 reported that the 29th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was responsible. Castillo had recently been chosen by the municipality's local community councils as their candidate for mayor for Colombia's upcoming local and regional elections, scheduled for Oct. 26; he was running on the ticket of the Regional Integration Movement (MIR). The opposing candidates quickly issued statements condemning the killing. Castillo was extremely popular and had reportedly not received any threats. He had been actively protesting the high price of gasoline in the region and the government's campaign of indiscriminately spraying herbicides on the countryside to kill drug crops. [PCN Communique, undated, via Colombia Indymedia 9/3/03; Diario del Sur 9/2/03, 9/3/03] *7. COLOMBIA: ACTIVISTS THREATENED, ABDUCTED On Sept. 2, a handwritten letter believed to be from army-backed paramilitaries was left at the office of National Association of Campesina, Black and Indigenous Women of Colombia (ANMUCIC) in Bogota. The letter stated that Ruben Antonio Diaz, the son of an ANMUCIC activist, was being held captive on a farm somewhere in La Guajira department; it also made threats against ANUMCIC president Leonora Castano Cano. Diaz is the son of Blanca Nubia Diaz, an ANMUCIC activist from La Guajira who was displaced to Bogota in 2002 following the May 2001 killing of her 16-year-old daughter, Irina del Carmen Villeros Diaz. Blanca Nubia Diaz was abducted briefly by paramilitaries in Bogota on Aug. 1 of this year. On July 21, Nohora Cecilia Velasquez, vice president of ANMUCIC's national board and president of the group's Cundinamarca sector, was detained in Puerto Salgar municipality, Cundinamarca, by paramilitaries who beat and tortured her, demanding to know Leonora Castano's whereabouts. [Amnesty International Index 9/9/03; Banco de Datos de Derechos Humanos 9/10/03 via Colombia Indymedia] Appeals demanding a full investigation into the abduction of and threats against ANMUCIC members and their families, and that those responsible to be brought to justice, can be sent to President Alvaro Uribe Velez (fax 571-337-5890/342-0592, auribe@presidencia.gov.co); Minister of Interior and Justice Fernando Londono Hoyos (fax 571-566-4573, ministro@minjusticia.gov.co, mininterior@myrealbox.com); and Attorney General Luis Camilo Osorio (fax 571-570-2022 / 2017, contacto@fiscalia.gov.co, denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co); with copies to Defender of the People Eduardo Cifuentes Munoz (secretaria_ privada@hotmail.com). END ======================================================================= Weekly News Update on the Americas * Nicaragua Solidarity Network of NY 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012 * 212-674-9499 fax: 212-674-9139 http://home.earthlink.net/~nicadlw/wnuhome.html * wnu@igc.org =======================================================================