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US-Venezuela Coup * Carter Executed * Peltier * Lori's 7th
13 December 2002
"For powerful countries to adopt a principle of preventative war may well set an example that can have catastrophic consequences."
Former US President Jimmy Carter
December 10, 2002 -
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo
1) USA intelligence agencies revealed in plot to oust Venezuela's President
2) Open Letter to Bush on Venezuela from U.S. Congress Members
3) Desmond Carter Executed
4) December Statement of Leonard Peltier
5) Lori Berenson's 7th year of wrongful imprisonment
Editor's Notes:
On Human Rights Day former President Carter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. His statement: "For powerful countries to adopt a principle of preventative war may well set an example that can have catastrophic consequences," is worth repeating, but was weakened when interviewed by the BBC, when he refused to criticize George W Bush's handling of Iraq. "The government has decided that action should be multilateral. The US has taken a completely appropriate multilateral position," he told the BBC's HARDtalk programme. Like his presidency, Carter showed much brilliance and weakness. Item 1 underscores the dangers that democracy is facing. This report states that Uruguayan EP-FA congressman Jose Bayardi says he has information that far-reaching plans have been put into operation by the CIA and other North American intelligence agencies to overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez within the next 72 hours. Yet someone not weakened by the dangers of a democracy running amok, Dennis Kucinich, with members of Congress: John Conyers, Jr., Jose E. Serrano, Barney Frank, and Major R. Owens, signed an open letter to Bush on the crisis in Venezuela and their attempts to preserve democracy not only in that county, but in the US, too. You are encouraged to sign and send this letter to President Bush, making your statement is better than doing nothing! And if you get a hint of cynicism, this next item (3) about the Institutional Supreme Court MURDER and Governor Easely washing his hands of this Human Rights Day Execution, and the rejection of a Judge's stay, may explain, if that is possible. Item 4 is a statement by Leonard Peltier, struggling with life inside, with support still giving him hope. This human rights defender, as declared by the UN, is the canary of American justice. If he goes down, we are all sunk. Item 5 gives a report on the 7th year unjust incarceration of Lori Berenson in Peru. It is not our place to give in to the ruthless savagery of the mix of lost souls seeking oil, power, nukes, and the military embezzlement of what is good in life. Hang in there, and support freedom and justice until our last breath.
Updates on the oil crisis off the Spain coast
Spain says sunken tanker could leak until 2006
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19002/story.htm
Spain says 125 tonnes a day leak from sunk tanker - SPAIN
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19008/story.htm
1) USA intelligence agencies revealed in plot to oust Venezuela's PresidentUSA intelligence agencies revealed in plot to oust
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez Frias
USA intelligence agencies revealed in plot to oust Venezuela's President
report © by VHeadline.com Reporters
Thursday, December 12, 2002 -- Uruguayan EP-FA congressman Jose Bayardi says he has information that far-reaching plans have been put into operation by the CIA and other North American intelligence agencies to overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias within the next 72 hours.
Bayardi says he has received copies of top-secret communications between the Bush administration in Washington and the government of Uruguay requesting the latter's cooperation to support white collar executives and trade union activists "to break down levels of intransigence within the Chavez Frias administration."
In an interview with reporters from the Uruguyan newspaper La Juventud, Bayardi says he observes a domestic-political situation in Venezuela which could easily erupt into a civil war and bloodbath ... "the whole process is a shocking reminder of what happened in Chile in 1973 ... I sincerely hope it does not come to that!"
Bayardi says he does not foresee any immediate foreign military intervention in the Venezuelan situation but warns of a possible escalation if the opposition gets the upper hand over constitutional law and order.
"The problem is that Venezuelan television and major newspapers have been hiding the true fact that there are huge popular uprisings in support of the Chavez Frias government ... now that Venezuelans are beginning to understand that they have been duped by the anti-government media, they are demanding that these information channels should begin to tell the truth!"
# # # #
For the originally posted article and links, see:
http://www.vheadline.com/0212/14248.asp
2) Open Letter to Bush on Venezuela from U.S. Congress MembersSend your signature with U.S. Congress members in favor of Authentic Democracy
December 13, 2002
Hon. George W. Bush
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC, 20500
Dear President George W. Bush,
Given the high level of political tension in Venezuela, and recognizing that part of the leadership of the opposition is determined to depose President Hugo Chavez by any means, we, the undersigned organizations and persons, urge you to declare unequivocally that the government of the United States is opposed to any unconstitutional or coup attempt against the democratically elected government of Venezuela. Also, the White House should affirm that the United States will not recognize diplomatic relations with a government installed by means of a coup.
We believe that the silence of the White House after the April 11th coup d'etat, which the Administration appeared to congratulate, is generally seen as a support for a coup. We are concerned by the fact that this perception diminishes the incentives for the opposition and the Chavez government to seek dialogue or a peaceful solution to the current crisis.
We are also concerned that, while the top officials of the White House have remained silent, Otto Reich, the Special Envoy for the Western Hemisphere of the State Department, recently denounced the Venezuelan government, saying that, "the existence of elections is not enough to say that a country is democratic." This is a strange departure from diplomatic protocol, and in the light of what happened during the April coup, it has risen the level of suspicion that Venezuelan officials have about Washington's motives.
The role of the United States government in the April 11th coup is not clear. We know that some United States officials met with the coup leaders in the months before the coup. Groups involved with the coup also received financing from the United States government. At the same time, the Bush Administration openly expressed its hostility toward the government of President Chavez. According to the office of the Inspector General of the State Department, one of the reasons for this friction was "the participation (of President Chavez) in the affairs of the Venezuelan oil company and the impact this could have on the price of oil."
Also, the Office of the Inspector General of the State Department, after investigating the role of U.S. officials before and after the April coup, concluded that U.S. warnings against the coup "were perhaps not critical enough. Among these warnings, few went beyond the formulation of common and ritualistic opposition to ‘anti-democratic or unconstitutional change.' Any warning of non-recognition of a coup installed government, economic sanctions or other punitive and corrective actions were few and far between. Retrospectively, this has also been recognized and lamented by some high United States officials."
The Inspector General's report also noted that "the fact of having met frequently with those interested in toppling the Chavez government could have been seen as United States backing for their efforts, notwithstanding our ritualistic denunciation of anti-democratic and unconstitutional measures."
Given those circumstances, the current silence by the White House about its opposition to a coup d'etat or other unconstitutional defeat of a democratically elected government in Venezuela is seen throughout Venezuela and elsewhere as support for those illegal actions. The opposition leaders, determined to defeat a government, have few incentives to seek a peaceful solution via dialogue if they believe that the United States government would support whatever happens. The government of the United States must demonstrate its current and active support for democratically elected governments. Only a strong statement of condemnation by the White House explaining that the U.S. is opposed to violent or unconstitutional actions, that it will not tolerate a coup government and that it will impose sanctions on any government installed by coup measures, would send the correct and democratic message to the Venezuelan political actors and the other Latin American governments.
Therefore, we urge the White House to clarify its position, before Venezuela goes to Civil War.
Sincerely,
U.S. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio
U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Michigan
U.S. Rep. Jose E. Serrano, New York
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts
U.S. Rep. Major R. Owens, New York
[Jonathan Mark, publisher, FlybyNews.com]
# # # #
Please copy/paste and sign this letter and send to President George W. Bush by snail mail at top, but even better, send by Email fax, and/or telephone calls.
Email:
president@whitehouse.govThe White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111
FAX: 202-456-2461
Also, if you can access this page, to sign the letter on the Washington DC IndyMedia site, click the link that says "add your own comments" posted directly under the copy of this letter that is posted there.
http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=42466&group=webcastFor late breaking details, including a link to the White House Statement (and analysis by Al Giordano), visit:
http://www.narconews.com/Issue26/article563.htmlhttp://www.narconews.com
3) Desmond Carter ExecutedFrom NBC17.com –
Desmond Carter Executed
POSTED: 8:57 a.m. EST December 10, 2002
RALEIGH -- A man who brutally stabbed his elderly neighbor over a few dollars for drugs died peacefully Tuesday in the state's execution chamber after last-minute appeals failed.
Desmond Keith Carter, 35, was executed hours after the U.S. Supreme Court twice declined to stop his execution. Gov. Mike Easley also declined to change the death sentence to life in prison without parole.
Carter's father, William Conway, and defense lawyer Bill Osteen sat sandwiched between two detectives on the front row of the execution witness room. Two relatives of Carter victim Helen Purdy, 71, of Rockingham County, watched intently from the second row where they sat between a detective and a prosecutor.
Lawyers have said Carter was intoxicated on alcohol, crack cocaine and tranquilizers when he stabbed Purdy 13 times with a butcher knife and took $15.
"I love you, pop," Carter mouthed to his father as a drug put him to sleep before a powerful muscle relaxer stopped his breathing.
In a last statement recorded by warden R.C. Lee of Central Prison, home of the state's death row, Carter said:
"The only thing I would like to say is that I apologize to the victim's family of Ms. Purdy and I would like to apologize to my family for the disappointment and pain I have caused them throughout my life."
No one from the Purdy or Carter families spoke to reporters after the execution. Carter's half brother, Tryone Wallace, stood with death penalty protesters outside the prison.
Carter's last meal consisted of two cheeseburgers, a steak sub and two Cokes from the prison canteen. He declined to ask for a special last meal and paid $4.20 from his prison account for the food, said Pam Walker, a Corrections Department spokeswoman.
Defense lawyers' appeal to the nation's highest court challenged a state Supreme Court rejection of a stay that was issued last week by a lower court judge. The Supreme Court turned down the request without comment.
Spokesman Ed Turner said the U.S. Supreme Court also denied a second appeal filed late Monday on the grounds that some jurors used a Bible during deliberations.
In the first high court appeal, the defense asked for review of Carter's case on three issues: racial bias in the death penalty, lack of prosecutorial discretion to seek a life in prison sentence for first-degree murder and the state's indictment form that doesn't list all factors against a defendant.
Carter's lawyers said the death sentence was flawed by racial bias because his victim was white and he is black. Prosecutors have in recent years had the option of seeking a life sentence since the Legislature changed the law.
Carter was the 23rd person executed in North Carolina since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977. The last execution was Friday, when Ernest Basden was put to death for the 1992 murder-for-hire of a Kinston insurance agent.
For this originally posted article with links to the following previous stories, see:
http://www.nbc17.com/news/1829303/detail.htmlDecember 10, 2002: Carter Denied Clemency
December 6, 2002: Ernest Basden Executed
December 5, 2002: Judge Issues Stay Of Execution For Desmond Carter
December 5, 2002: Religious Group Excluded From Basden Clemency Meeting
December 3, 2002: Carter Lawyers Seek Execution Stay
December 2, 2002: Juror Denies Pressure To Vote For Death In Carter Case
November 7, 2002: Dec. 6 Execution Date Set For Ernest Basden
October 23, 2002: Dec. 10 Execution Date Set For Desmond Carter
Copyright 2002 by NBC17.com
4) December Statement of Leonard Peltier ///\\\=====///\\\=====///\\\=====///\\\=====///\\\
Greetings Friends & Supporters:
Well here we are once again, at the end of my 26th year behind these prison walls. As I reflect back on this past year I am amazed to see all the legal motion that is now happening in my case. After Clinton walked out on us in 2001, I almost felt that I didn't have any avenues of redress left and I wasn't sure if the campaign for my freedom could continue. I wasn't really sure that there would be any more options to pursue. There was the office transition and a lull in activity this past summer. But now, thanks to my great legal team I see that there are still more battles to be fought and if fought hard enough, won. And I hope you are all ready to continue this work because I sure am ready for the next go round.
I know that the political climate, the impending war and the state of the economy is going to make this work a lot more difficult for all of us. However, we must remember that the people have always had to struggle for every little gain that has been won and it isn't going to be any different this time. We must continue our work to expose the FBI's illegal conduct not only in my case, but also for all the people who are unjustly incarcerated for their political beliefs.
This past summer I put out a call for Native youth to come out and take on some responsibility for the movement to free me and to make sure Indigenous issues are kept alive. I am happy to report that a number of students from Haskell Indian Nations University took up the challenge. They have formed the Peltier Indigenous Justice Alliance (PIJA). This endeavor by these students makes me feel proud. I hope that others will join them to carry on the work of those who have already worked so tirelessly all their lives for justice. Remember it was a hand-full of students from the Bay Area who helped organize the takeover of Alcatraz, which gave spark to the movement, which led to many of the demonstrations that would bring our issues before the public.
I also want to tell you how proud and happy to have my daughter Marquetta working in the office coordinating my campaign and being on the speakers' bureau. She has taken on a tremendous responsibility is doing a fine job. Thanks to her this Christmas I will be able to have more of my grandchildren with me. It hasn't been easy watching my children and now my grandchildren grow up through photos. Now I can actually have them with me and be able to spend some time talking and playing with them for a few hours a week. Believe me this is a welcome break from this daily oppressive life I live in here.
Now that the holidays are once again upon us I would once again ask you to support the Christmas Drive for the children of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. So many children would have gone without a gift, had it not been for your generosity these past years. And last but far from least I want to thank each and every one of you for hanging in there with me through the good and the hard times. I am counting on all of you to be with me for this next campaign. No effort can move forward without your continued support. Together we can and will succeed. And in closing I want to wish you and yours safe and happy holidays and a prosperous New Year.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
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Annual Christmas Drive 2002
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Indigenous Political Prisoner, Leonard Peltier, has organized his annual gift drive for the children of the Pine Ridge Lakota Nation in South Dakota. This is one way Leonard continues his humanitarian work for his people despite his incarceration. Help Leonard Peltier reach out beyond the bars that imprison him. You can send gifts such as new toys and practical, new winter clothing (gloves, jeans, thermal underwear, sweaters, socks, hats, scarves, jackets, boots, and blankets, etc.) to the addresses listed below.
Your gifts will be distributed to the people of Pine Ridge in Leonard's name. Thanks to Peltier's supporters, last years gift drive was very successful. Many families wrote Leonard to both thank him and tell him how the gifts brightened the families' holidays. Some supporters collected donations from stores who were willing to help after learning that Pine Ridge continues to be the most impoverished community in the United States. Some organized collections by asking friends and co-workers to sponsor a child by contributing a gift. Others simply purchased gifts out of pocket. The gift drives don't only help the families, but also help Leonard keep his spirits strong through the difficult holiday season.
Gifts may be sent to the persons listed below. They will be responsible for the distribution of these gifts to different areas of the community. Thank You and have a safe holiday!
Geraldine Janis
Box 525
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
Fedelia Cross
Box 42
Oglala, SD 57764
Roslyn Jumping Bull
Box 207
Oglala, SD 57764
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Until Freedom Is Won!
The New Leonard Peltier Justice Campaign
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
PO Box 583
Lawrence, KS 66044
785-842-5774
http://www.freepeltier.org
5) Lori Berenson's 7th year of wrongful imprisonmentSaturday, November 30th marked the seventh anniversary of Lori's arrest on a bus in downtown Lima. She has now spent 2,557 days wrongfully incarcerated and our struggle for her freedom from this injustice continues.
An interview with Lori
Journalist and author Peter Laufer visited Lori in Huacariz Prison in late April and interviewed her over a two-day period, taking notes with pencil and paper. The resulting article, now published, is almost entirely in "Lori's voice."
Internet poll shows Peruvians ready to accept Lori's release
In a two-day Internet write-in poll conducted September 14 and 15 by El Comercio, Peru's largest circulating newspaper (which has always been wrongfully critical of Lori), the respondents overwhelmingly indicated that they would accept an Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling that called for Lori's release. The final results show that 67.3% would accept a decision for Lori's release.
Human Rights Court accepts Lori's case for review
President Toledo states Peru will abide by court ruling
On September 6, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose, Costa Rica notified the involved parties that it admitted for review the petition filed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Lori's behalf against the government of Peru. In a blow to the government of Peru, however, the Court refused to treat, as a separate case, Peru's counter-petition against the Commission's recommendation in favor of Lori. Peru must now convince the Court that the Commission's recommendation was incorrect.
In a press conference held September 14 in Washington DC, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo declared that his government will fully adhere to the ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Lori's case.
For information on these above and other related developments, visit the
Committee to Free Lori Berenson - web site -
http://www.freelori.org/
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Your feedback, networking Flyby News, and forwarding us articles of interest, are welcomed and appreciated. You can write to the publisher/editor Jonathan Mark
info@flybynews.com
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