 Water
Pressure Group NetNews |
______________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E
W S S E R V I C E
http://www.ainfos.ca/
________________________________________________
JUNE 13TH
EMERGENCY SOLIDARITY ACTIONS FOR KIMI PERNIA DOMICO
AND THE EMBERA PEOPLE!
In this post :
#1 June 13th Day of Solidarity
#2 Canada-Colombia Solidarity Campaign Action Alert
#3 Crisis for the Embera Katio People of Colombia Fact Summary
**************************************************
#1
TAKE ACTION!
On June 13th show the Colombian government that they must take
action to
free kidnapped Embera Katio leader Kimi Pernia Domico. Organize
a solidarity
event at a Colombian consulate/embassy or at your local community.
All of us
who care about peace and justice in Colombia will show our support
by acting
on the same day as the Embera people begin their march in Colombia
for his
release to be carried out on Wednesday, 13 June.
BACKGROUND
On 2 June 2001, three armed gunmen --thought to be army-backed
paramilitaries belonging to the United Self-Defence Groups of
Cordoba and
Uraba (ACCU)-- abducted Colombian indigenous leader Kimi Pernia
Domico, in
the municipality of Tierralta, department of CÛrdoba.
Kimi Pernia Domico is a leader of the Embera-KatÌo indigenous
people, who
live along the rivers Sin™ and Verde in the department of CÛrdoba.
He has
played a leading role in the indigenous communities' campaign
against
construction of the Urr· dam. In recent years, several
Embera-KatÌo
indigenous communities campaigning against the construction
of the Urr·
Dam --which has destroyed much of their ancestral lands-- have
been targeted
by
paramilitary forces working in alliance with the security forces.
Community
leaders have also been killed by guerrilla forces, who have
accused them of
siding with the paramilitary or security forces.
The March
Starting on Wednesday, 13 June, a group of Embera people will
leave
Tierralta to march toward MonterÌa, the capitol city
of the department of
CÛrdoba. They will be protesting Kimi's abduction and
demanding that he be
released. The organizers of this march have sent out a request
for
international solidarity, in the form of funds to cover their
projected
costs, physical presence on the march, and other forms of accompaniment
and
solidarity.
International Response
To date, the international response to Kimi's abduction has
been
overwhelming. Actions taken in Canada, the United States, and
Europe
include a letter sent by 50 Canadian Parliamentarians to President
Pastrana
on this case. But the pressure must continue to grow until Kimi
is
released alive!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
We propose three days of coordinated actions across the United
States (and
hopefully across the world) in solidarity with next week's march
for Kimi.
Already there are plans underway for events in San Francisco
and Washington
DC. We need core groups to start organizing in other localities,
however.
These actions could be demonstrations at Colombian consulates,
vigils,
fund-raising drives, media work, petitioning, among others.
Cities in the US with Colombian consulates : Boston, New York,
Washington
DC, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Chicago,
Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles
For more information, contact :
Sandra Alvarez (Global Exchange) 415.255.7296 x228 or
sandra@globalexchange.org
Monti Aguirre (International Rivers Network) 510.848.1155 or
monti@irn.org
Andrew Miller (Amnesty International USA) 202.544.0200 x251
or
amiller@aiusa.org <mailto:amiller@aiusa.org>