Justin Podur

Required Reading: Stan Goff

I just finished Stan Goff’s fantastic book on the previous US invasion of Haiti, ‘Hideous Dream’. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand:

1) US military policy, and how it plays out on the ground
2) US policy towards Haiti, in the recent past and today

For those who don’t know, Goff was a Special Forces Master Sargent, the head of a team of soldiers in Haiti. When he went, he believed that the mission was what was advertised: disarm the paramilitaries and the army, stop the atrocities, and help the democratically elected regime return. He discovered that the real mission was anything but, but he was spit out by the system for trying to do some decent things locally within the letter of the law. It is an amazing story, extremely revealing on levels that are very difficult to get anywhere else. There is no one as solid politically as Goff who understands the US military as well as Goff and can write about it and talk about it as well as him, as far as I have come across.

This is not to say that I agree with everything he’s said or everything he’s written — just that I read everything he writes, and I read it very carefully, and have learned a lot from each and every piece, and a tremendous amount from this book. Please pick it up. I’m moving on to his ‘Full Spectrum Disorder’ when I get the chance.

Because Israel killed in Gaza, they have killed in Gaza again

Just after they killed Sheikh Ahmed Yassin last month, Israel stepped up its efforts to starve the population of Gaza. This act could be deemed a kind of pre-emptive, mass reprisal, or preventive collective punishment. It is a truly innovative kind of murder and requires imagination to present and racism to swallow. Luckily for Israel, there’s plenty of both to go around.

Well, Israel has done it again. Yesterday they slaughtered 8 people in Gaza, including at least one 13-year old child, to try to prevent reprisal attacks for the killing of Abd-el-Aziz al-Rantisi (and two others who happened to be in his car).

Who needs a ‘cycle of violence’ when Israel can kill using previous killings as stand-alone justification?

Another (2) Coca-Cola Killing(s)

The CSN asks you to sign this petition on US Colombia Policy.

Speaking of the US and Colombia, a certain famous US corporation’s bottlers employ paramilitaries to kill unionists in Colombia. There was recently a hunger strike by unionists whose desperate action result in negotiations with Coca Cola. The reprisals against those unionists have officially begun, with the slaughter of a unionist’s family in their home by machine gunners today. Here is the full note, translated and circulated by the UK Colombia Solidarity Campaign.

————

At 7 am on April 20, 2004, various armed men with machine guns entered the home of the brother of Coca-Cola union leader Efrain Guerrero’s wife in Bucaramanga, and fired indiscriminately at the family, killing Efrain’s brother-in-law, Gabriel Remolina, his wife Fanny and wounding three of their children. One of these children, Robinson Remolina, is in grave condition in the hospital.

This is not the first time that the families of Sinaltrainal union leaders have been the victims of such violence. This happened in the context of the labor conflict against Coca Cola, where we are trying to avoid the firing of workers due to closing production lines. The union is also negotiating a new convention with the company which was presented in March of this year. On April 18, we held the workers’ assemblies where we approved the petitions that we would present to the Coca Cola bottlers in Bucaramanga, Cucuta and Barrancabermeja. We also just had a meeting with the Vice President of the Coca Cola bottlers where we expressed our concern for the security problems. In addition, the lawyers who filed the case against Coca-Cola in the United States, for acts of anti-union violence, just announced they had filed a new brief to reinstate Coca-Cola as a defendant.

We demand an end to the aggression against Sinaltrainal affiliates and our families, and we demand that the authorities investigate and find the material and intellectual authors of these crimes.

Enough already of so much injustice!

Yours,

LUIS JAVIER CORREA SUAREZ

President SINALTRAINAL

20th April, 2004

Guaitarilla, Colombia

Because I never even try to understand anything by myself, I asked one of my trusted Colombian friends to explain the events in Guaitarilla to me. My friend replied: “Guaitarilla? SURE!!!”

Here is my friend’s explanation, complete with an unsolicited and very nice comment. And this story ain’t over, either…

The news in Colombia, everywhere, all media had only one thing to talk about: Guaitarilla. Initially the story is that accidentally at dawn, an army patrol unexpectedly met with a GAULA police team (special forces) and confused them with FARC terrorists and shot them, killing all of them. The Police commander gave this very version on all media. 4 civilans were killed with the 7 policemen. According to this high officer, the 4 were either narcotraficantes or insurgents captured by the police. The army gave a different version and contradicted the police. According to army officers, the GAULA had nothing to do in that area, they did not inform the army about this and that lack of coordination led to the problem. The initial report from the attorney general’s office comes out and the forensic report shows that the victims were shot inside their vehicles, at short distance and that their bodies were moved out of the cars to make them look as though they had been shot outside!

In other words, they were massacred at point-blank range.

Then, a witness shows up, seeking protection. He is an active policeman from the same GAULA unit who was not on duty that day, but who “decided” to accompany the group’s rounds from his own vehicle and was keeping contact with them through his car radio. He was the brother of one of the civilians killed (allegedly criminals according to the National Police Comander).

His brother, he said, was not a criminal, neither were the other civilians, but paid informants of the more than 1 million that Uribe has called the “million friends”. [[NOTE from Justin: this is the network of civilian informers Uribe promised in his election]]

In fact, locals have informed that GAULA does regular rounds with support from informantes in the area because there are drug laboratories in the region. The rounds are to “vaccinate” (get money from, extort from) the drug processing operation. The army intercepted them knowing they had money (and cocaine, as this is better payment) and attempted to have these goods transfered to the soldiers from the Police. The witness said (it was everywhere in the news) that his brother called him to say, we are being stopped by an armed group, stay behind til I tell you what is happening. The next communication was, it’s OK, come over, it’s just army people. We are alright. The man says he was scared and decided no to come closer and then he heard the shots, round after round and ran away only to discover later that his brother and the entire group had been massacred.

This caused a scandal. Even fairly right wing columnists and liberals (Maria Jimena Duzan) commented on their editorials (El Tiempo) that the corruption within the armed forces had gone beyond the wildest nightmare. Everyone wanted the truth. Too many cases of accidents, massacres, confessions, corruption etc. This had to be clarified. The truth had to come out.

Uribe moved swiftly to promise a full report and resolution “punishing those responsible” within a week. The fact is the cover-up is evolving and now “evidence” will point at a “mistake”. A specific commander or two might be destituted for mis-communicating and end of story…..OR IS IT?

Nobody swallows the lies now. The army is irreparably discredited, not because they are corrupt assasins, crooks connected to drug trade and theft of all types, but mostly because they have done things in a way such that everyone knows the truth AND THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. They have to learn to lie better, especially if they are to win the US’s dirty war and advance not only in controlling the whole country through a paramilitary regime lead by a paramilitary president, but because Colombia and the Colombian army of paras and soldiers and policemen are to lead (under the command of General Hill), the attack on Venezuela. So, a clean up is required so that private deals are not tolerated, institutional corruption is well administered and dirty war managed through official lies only.

THERE YOU HAVE IT. tHE FUTURE OF THIS CONTINENT IS BEING WRITTEN IN COLOMBIA AND FEW GIVE A DAMN ABOUT IT. ESTABLISHED LIES, A FASCIST DRUG RELATED PARAMILTARY-CORPORATE GOVERNMENT REGIME AND FULL GUIDANCE FROM us GOVERNMENT, SOUTHCOM AND STATE DEPT. Freedom or free trade through horror. Want a cut on the deal? Easy, write in favour of Uribe, Bush, Plan Colombia, the armed forces and against Venezuela and you are in!!! They need people desperately, especially since types like you keep telling the truth!!!

Some interviews with Chavez

Just reading some interviews with Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, in various Latin American papers. Some quotes from a La Jornada interview are interesting about the conflict the US is trying to sow between Colombia and Venezuela:

On the Colombian Senate declaration against Venezuela:

-“The Colombian Senate is nothing but the firing of a sniper whose mission comes from Washington. I am absolutely sure… Such a stupid, senseless, incredible resolution can’t be explained any other way… a group of the most rancid and ultraconservative oligarchs of Colombia are following an order that came from Washington”

-” It shows the lack of reflection by the US government, which doesn’t understand the strength of this government and its genuine popular support, where the people are defending a peaceful revolution, despite all there remains to be done and all the projects that were foiled by the coup…”

He criticized the Latin American elites, calling them a “fifth column” for US plans. But he pointed out another fact:

“While the Colombian oligarchy attacks Venezuela’s dignity or tries to, here we are, for the first time, giving a just and dignified treatment to millions of Colombians who live in our country, no different from our own Venezuelans. There are 3 million Colombians who are receiving documentation, especally those who have been here over 5 years, fleeing war or narcotrafficking. These are the problems the oligarchy has sown over many years. But they are our brothers and we know that 80% of these Colombians are Bolivarians.”

-“Today Bush’s government is seeking authorization from Congress to put more troops in Colombia… on the border, there are armed groups doing incursions into our territory… kidnappings and assassinations of leaders… we have had to send two brigades, because it’s an extensive area. We are in a lot of danger: the Bush government is pushing the government of Venezuela and we don’t know where this will end…”

[From La Jornada, April 18, 2004]

Some strange events in Colombia

You can read on ZNet about how the Colombian invasion of Venezuela just got a bit closer, thanks to a pronouncement by the Colombian senate. I wrote a year ago that this would be a disaster for Colombia, but of course Colombia’s not calling the shots here — the US is. And since when did the US care if a course of action would be disastrous for Colombia before embarking on it?

In other Colombia news, El Tiempo reported on April 14 that the head of a murderous gang of sicarios (assassins who work for paramilitaries or drug traffickers) was captured in a Colombian Army Officers’ Club. This gangster, called Jaime Londono, was captured with 20 cellular phones, 2 guns, 4 cars, and the equivalent of $10 000 USD. A retired military officer was detained with him, and another man. The gang is responsible for about 140 killings according to authorities.

Anyone wonder what he was doing there?

There’s more.

A report to the Colombian Ministry of Defense in March, according to El Tiempo, reported the shocking news that the police are linked to the paramilitaries extensively in various regions, including Cauca, Valle, Putumayo, Narino, Casanare, Meta, Guaviare, Bucaramanga…

And there is still more. Two police officers, killed in ‘fighting with guerrillas’ in Guaitarilla, had cocaine in their car. I need to look into this more — and will report once I’ve sorted it out.

Trouble in Chiapas

The Zapatistas in the Altos region of Chiapas report problems with the local municipality that have gotten violent, with 35 people being wounded — 18 by firearms and 17 with rocks, sticks, and machetes. The conflict is between the Zapatista autonomous municipality of Los Altos and the nearby municipality of Zinacantan, which is controlled by Mexico’s ‘left’ political party, the Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD. 109 families have been displaced by this violence against the Zapatistas, directed, according to them, by the municipal president and the municipal police.

The Zapatista response has been first this communique following the investigation (included below in its entirety), but they promise to investigate further. It is a risky situation and it might be part of a strategy by the establishment to try to escalate the conflict with the Zapatistas, as they have done repeatedly over the years.

Originally published in Spanish by the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous
Municipalities
************************************
Translated by irlandesa

Two Statements from the Corazón Céntrico de los Zapatistas Delante del Mundo
Good Government Junta

Corazón Céntrico de los Zapatistas Delante del Mundo Good Government Junta

Snail Tzobombail Yu’un Lekil J’amteletik
Tao’lol Yo’on Zapatista Ta Stukil Sat Yelob Sjunul Balumil.
Los Altos Region of Chiapas, Mexico.

April 15, 2004.

To National and International Civil Society
To the National and International Press

Sisters and brothers:

After calmly investigating the situation, this Good Government Junta is apprising you of the following:

1. – The Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) has joined in with the war which the bad government is waging against the zapatista Indian peoples. Through its municipal presidents and caciques who are affiliated with their party, the PRD has moved from making threats against our compañeros and compañeras to attacks with firearms. The good of the people does not matter to the PRD. They only want to hold positions in order to make money, and that is why they make friends with the caciques and paramilitaries, in order to exploit the people, just like the PRI and the PAN. The only difference is that the PRDs appear in videos.

2. – The PRD are saying that it is a social, not a political, problem, but that is not true. It is obvious that it is a political problem. It is a problem between those who, like the PRD, see politics as merely a business and whoare willing to commit crimes in order to win and those who truly seek the recognition of Mexican indigenous rights and culture.

3. – It is not a problem of just the Zinacantán PRD, but of the entire national PRD. For some months now the national press has been reporting the human rights violations in Zinacantán, with the cutting off of the water and the threats. The state and national PRD did not say anything, and they continued to support the bad governments and the caciques in their party. The PRD only do something if they have to fix things when a video appears on television or if there are elections, but the people do not, in reality, matter to them.

4. – The work of the Good Government Juntas is not to make money, to engage in business or to violate human rights, but to seek resolution through dialogue when there are problems between zapatistas and non-zapatistas and between the autonomous and the governmental municipalities.

5. – That is why, following the path of respectful dialogue, the Good Government Junta of Los Altos of Chiapas went to great effort, from the inception of the problem, to seek a civil and peaceful agreement with the official authorities of the chiapaneco municipality of Zinacantán. However, the PRD Municipal President of Zinacantán, the first councilperson, the commander of the Municipal Police, the leader of the PRD and members of the Democratic Revolutionary Party refused to reach an agreement, and they continued to harass our compañeros and compañeras, violating their human rights by leaving them without water and threatening them. All of this was because the zapatistas did not want to be part of the PRD’s scams and thefts. The bad PRD governments just laughed every time the Good Government Junta invited them to engage in dialogue.

6. – Seeking at all times to avoid a violent confrontation, on February 12 the Good Government Junta of Los Altos of Chiapas and the zapatistas mobilized in order to bring water to our compañeros. After that it continued to insist on reaching an agreement through dialogue, but the PRD authorities continued to refuse, and they kept up with their threats.

7. – On April 10 of this year more than 4000 EZLN support bases organized a peaceful mobilization in order to deliver 45,000 liters of water to the zapatista families who had been affected, and we demonstrated peacefully in the municipal seat of Zinacantán.

8. – At that point, the PRDs began bothering the zapatistas and displaying pistols. In order to avoid a problem, the event was concluded, and we began withdrawing. It was not possible, however, because the Municipal Police had blocked the road with their patrol cars and with rocks and logs. As we were making our way, we were attacked with firearms, rocks and sticks. There are photographs and videos which show what took place.

9. – As a result of the attack, 35 compañeros were wounded, 18 by firearms and 17 by rocks, sticks and machetes. Two compañeros are still in serious condition. The names of the injured are:

By firearms:

1. – Isidro Ruiz Díaz, with a gunshot wound to the chest.
2. – Guadalupe Díaz Hernández, wounded in the back, legs and hands from a shotgun.
3. – Francisco Javier Cruz Díaz, with a gunshot wound to the left chest.
4. – Lorenzo Pérez Díaz, with pneumothorax injuries due to gunshot wounds.
5. – José Pérez Pérez, with a gunshot wound to the left knee.
6. – Daniel Ruiz Cura, with a gunshot wound to the left thigh and a fractured femur.
7. – Abelardo Gutiérrez Árias, with a gunshot wound to the right leg.
8. – Rulfo Gutiérrez Díaz, with a gunshot wound to the leg.
9. – Hermenejildo Hernández Nuñez, injured by a gunshot wound to the left cheek.
10. – Mario Sánchez Hernández, with a gunshot wound to the left ear.
11. – Carmelo González Sánchez, with a gunshot wound to the left ear.
12. – Pascuala Santiz Pérez, with a gunshot wound to the thigh.
13. – Felipe Hernández Pérez, with injuries from blows and a bullet in the leg.
14. – José Antonio Ruiz Gómez, with blows and gunshot wounds in the right arm.
15. – Vicente Ruiz Hernández, with blows and an injury from gunshot wound in the left shoulder.
16. – Rufino Hernández López, with blows and gunshot wounds.
17. – Lorenzo Pérez Gómez, with a gunshot wound to the right arm.
18. – Rufino Hernández López, with gunshot wounds to the gluteus which exited through the muscle.
19. – José Manuel Gómez Espinoza, with various machete wounds and a gunshot to the head.

From rocks, sticks and machetes:

1. – Modesto Hernández Jiménez, with multiple blows to the head and the ear,
from rocks.
2. – Juan Díaz Díaz, with multiple blows from cement blocks and rocks.
3. – Maximilano Bautista Díaz, with multiple blows from rocks and a fracture
of the left forearm.
4. – Miguel Núñez Ruiz, with blows to the back from rocks.
5. – Hilario Cruz, with blows to the left arm from rocks and sticks.
6. – Edmundo Díaz Gómez, with blows to the forehead.
7. – Victorio Ruiz Jiménez, with injuries to the leg from rocks.
8. – Lorenzo Méndez Ruiz, with injuries to the forehead from rocks.
9. – Manuel Ruiz Gómez, with injuries to the head from rocks.
10. – Hernesto Díaz Díaz, with injuries to the head from rocks.
11. – Arnulfo López Gómez, with cuts to the head and multiple blows.
12. – Mariano López Pérez, with injuries to the head, back, forehead and
leg, from rocks and sticks.
13. – Marcos Pérez Hernández, with injuries to the face and left shoulder
from rocks and sticks.
14. – José Díaz Hernández, with blows to the face and thorax from rocks.
15. – Amparo Alvarez, Solis, with blows to the head and face from rocks.
16. – Martha Martínez López, with blows to the arm and head from rocks.

Several vehicles belonging to the zapatistas were also damaged.

10. – Out of fear of being attacked again, zapatista support bases from the communities of Jechbó, Elambo Alto and Elambo Bajo moved out. There are 109 families (a total of 484 persons, men, women, children and old ones) who are unable to return to their communities of origin. There homes were looted and destroyed by the PRDs, the water tanks were destroyed and they stole from the stores.

11. – The principal authors of this cowardly attack are:

Martín Sánchez Hernández, Municipal President
Mateo Pérez Sánchez, First Councilperson
José López González, Chief of the Municipal Police.
José Pérez Conde, leader of the Zinacantán PRD.

12. – We are waiting for justice to be done and for the punishment of those who attacked our peaceful zapatista demonstration and of those who have been harassing and attacking the zapatistas of Zinacantán for the last few months. Instead of making stupid statements, like those made by the Secretary of the State Government of Chiapas, the authorities should detain the aggressors.

13. – The Good Government Junta of Los Altos of Chiapas will move forward with the investigation in order to learn the names of those who, along with the PRD President of Zinacantán, the Municipal Police and the PRD, attacked the EZLN support bases. If justice is not served, the Good Government Junta of Los Altos of Chiapas will forward the results of the investigation to the Comandancia General of the EZLN, accusing the attackers of being paramilitaries who attacked the zapatista peoples.

14. – The Good Government Junta of Los Altos of Chiapas is calling on national and international civil society to mobilize, in demand of the punishment of the attackers and of the conditions for the return of the displaced to their communities, and in repudiation of those who make politics a criminal business.

Sincerely,

From the Resistance and Rebellion for Humanity Caracol II. Corazón Céntrico de los Zapatistas Delante Del Mundo Good Government Junta of Los Altos of Chiapas. Oventik, Chiapas. Mexico.

April of 2004.

[Embossed seal stating: Corazón Céntrico de los Zapatistas Delante del Mundo Good Government Junta, Oventic, San Andrés Sackamch’en de los Pobres Municipality, Chiapas”]

[Four signatures of members of the Good Government Junta]

Caracol: Resistance and Rebellion for Humanity, Ta Tzikel Vocolil Xchiuc Jtoybail Sventa Slekilal Sjunul Balumil.

San Andrés Sakamch’en de los Pobres, San Juan de la Libertad, San Pedro Polhó, Santa Catarina, Magdalena de la Paz, 16 de Febrero, San Juan Apóstol, Cancuc.

**************************************************************

Corazón Céntrico de los Zapatistas Delante del Mundo Good Government Junta

Snail Tzobombail Yu’un Lekil J’amteletik
Tao’lol Yo’on Zapatista Ta Stukil Sat Yelob Sjunul Balumil

Investigation of the Good Government Junta,
Corazón Céntrico de los Zapatistas Delante del Mundo,
Caracol 2.

Oventic, Municipality of San Andrés Sakamch’en de los Pobres,

Concerning the Attack on EZLN Support Bases

April of 2004.

To the People of Mexico and of the World
To National and International Civil Society
To the National and International Press

Sisters and Brothers All

This Good Government Junta is informing you that the war which has been
planned by the bad governments along with their local caciques like the Municipal Presidents and their paramilitaries is continuing to grow. Their threats and their attacks against the communities in resistance and their autonomous authorities are increasing. As a very clear example of this:

We have the communities of Jechbó, Elambo Alto and Elambo Bajo, in the municipality of Zinacantán, where they cut off the water supply in December of 2003.

They cut the water hose, took away the well and tank they had in the community, and the problem has continued to worsen at the present time. The zapatista bases continue without the right to have their water, because the PRD municipal official, his municipal agents and his local caciques are not allowing the zapatista bases to collect water. Nor are they allowing anyone to store water for those families. Their only crime is that of being zapatistas, of fighting for their rights, of being in resistance, of not taking handouts from the bad government and of not belonging to any political party.

The Good Government Junta of Caracol 2 sent a letter to the Municipal President of that municipality, telling him to resolve the problem in a proper manner and to give the zapatista support bases the right to water, but that Municipal President did not respond positively.

That is why the Good Government Junta sent, on February 12, a commission of the Autonomous Municipalities of Los Altos of Chiapas in order to carry thousands of liters of water to those families who had been affected. They also old the communities and their Municipal President to not take the right to water away from the zapatista bases of that municipality, that they should not cause trouble among the very brothers of the community, and that they should have respect despite their differences of ideas, of organization, of party or of the religion they have. If there is a problem, it can be resolved properly, without reaching the point of confrontations among brothers of the same municipality.

Why did they kill Rantisi?

A friend recently asked in the ZNet forum system for some answers about why Israel killed Abd-el-Aziz al-Rantisi, and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. I didn’t have anything profound to say, unfortunately. I suspect the most useful answer is that they killed him because they could. When the US-Israel gets a chance to kill, it will. That’s a fairly safe assumption to go on.

For example, on April 16, a 17-year old Palestinian child was shot dead by the Israeli Army in Beitunia, near Ramallah in the West Bank. It was a protest against the wall. Apparently there was rock throwing at the protest, sufficient reason to kill a child.

On April 18, De’yaa Abdul Karim Abu Eid died in a hospital in East Jerusalem. He was 23. He was shot in the chest by an Israeli soldier — you guessed it — protesting the wall in Biddu. He was 400 meters (that’s a quarter of a mile) from the nearest soldier. That means, just for clarification, that it wasn’t crossfire. It was assassination.

The point of pointing out these killings is just to remind readers that probably most of the killing that Israel does in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is just flat out murder of plain civilians, without even a pretense having a mafia-like logic behind it like that against Rantisi.

Israel kills Rantisi

Israel and the US are competing for the most shocking atrocity, and are managing to keep up with one another quite well. Israel killed Hamas’s leader, Rantisi, today. Remember that when they killed Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, they promised that they would kill everyone, and named specific people including Rantisi, Nasirallah in Lebanon, Arafat…

Not much else to be said, though it is in the fitness of things to mention that like most of these killings, the Israelis killed more than just the person they intended to illegally assassinate, but also his son, his bodyguard, and an unknown number of civilians (the early reports are that people were wounded).

Irony, anyone?

Okay, so what is the textbook, classic example everyone thinks of first when they think of a US-sponsored coup in Latin America to install a murderous dictatorial regime?

Hint: Castro told Chavez not to become the assassinated President of this country on the phone during the April 2002 coup in Venezuela.

Hint #2: Kissinger said, about this country: “I don’t see why we have to sit back and let a country go communist just because of the irresponsibility of its own people.”

Answer? The same country that is sending more troops to help the US with its post-coup occupation of Haiti, of course!

Yes, it’s true. Chile, the country that suffered so brutally under Pinochet’s dictatorship, is now sending soldiers to occupy Haiti, or so said Chile’s ambassador to Haiti Marcel Young, today. There are over 300 Chilean troops in Haiti, along with US Marines, Canadians, and French soldiers.

(On the hints: Castro apparently told Chavez ‘No seas un Allende’, or ‘Don’t become another Allende’: Salvador Allende was the president who was murdered during the 1973 coup in Chile — on 9/11, as I’m sure most people reading this blog know. The Kissinger quote comes via Noam Chomsky, of course, so I’m sure most have read that one as well!)