NEWS RELEASE Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Dec. 5, 1997
EMBASSY VIGIL FOR FATHER CARNEY
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"The Lord demands an accounting for the blood that was shed; the Lord hears the cry of the poor" (Psalm 9:12).
SOLIDARITY MESSAGES FROM NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE ADOLFO PEREZ ESQUIVEL AND SISTER DIANNA ORTIZ
COMMITTEE ORGANIZES TO CONTINUE THE VIGIL
THIS PHASE OF THE STRUGGLE IN HONDURAS ENDS, WITH DEMONSTRATION AT EMBASSY
FAST CONTINUES, MULLIGAN AND EISEN TRAVEL TO SAN SALVADOR TOMORROW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE VIGIL AT U.S. EMBASSY THERE
For more information, contact EPICA in Washington, DC, at: (202)332-0292 or COFADEH in Tegucigalpa--country code 504, then 379800.
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From Argentina, Nobel Peace Laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel sent this message of solidarity of Nov. 29, 1997 to the Embassy Vigil for Father Carney:
"I want to tell you of our concern and express to you all our solidarity and support for the fast which you are carrying out at the U.S. embassy for the clarification of the death of Father James Carney and the other 183 disappeared persons in Honduras.
"Every government is responsible for its citizens, even for those who live outside its territory, and thus has the obligation to seek truth and justice in the case which concerns us. "Father Carney took up his commitment as a Christian, together with the people, together with the most dispossessed. We accompany you with our prayers, and we send you the fraternal embrace of all Peace and Good."
Adolfo Perez Esquivel
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The fasters also received a solidarity letter of Dec. 3, 1997 from Sister Dianna Ortiz, who was captured and tortured in Guatemala. The following is an excerpt from her letter, which was addressed to "Father Joe Mulligan, Matthew Eisen, the family of Padre Guadalupe Carney, and most especially the people of Honduras:
My Dear Friends,
I send you Advent greetings. In this season of waiting, what could be more hopeful than those who shine the beacon of justice against the darkness. Your light is seen from afar and we rejoice. Do not doubt for a moment that the leaders of the U.S.government see it as well. Try as they may, President Clinton, the CIA and all their entities cannot extinguish your light nor escape its urgent message, one made all the more compelling by your willingness to offer up your own well-being in the name of truth and justice.
I reach out to you, the family and friends of Padre Guadalupe
Carney and all my sisters and brothers in Honduras. Like many of you, I know what it's like to have one's human rights violated. The crime I committed was to work with indigenous children in Guatemala, a crime that merited illegal detention and torture. For years, my own government has disclosed nothing of what it knows about the countless disappearances, assassinations, and massacres of innocent people, or that of my abduction and torture. Nor will it answer the simple question: Why was a U.S. citizen, "Alejandro," present in a Guatemalan clandestine prison giving orders to the men who tortured me and other innocent people? This must sound familiar to those who know of another North American, "Mr. Mike," who was present in torture chambers in Honduras.
Hard experience has taught me that the leaders of the U.S. government will do anything to protect the true identity of their sources, violators of human rights, in defense of what they claim is "national security." Over a year ago, I sat in front of the White House on a silent vigil and fast for thirty-five days seeking information not only on my case but the role of the U.S. in the torture and disappearances of thousands and thousands of Guatemalans. While I learned little of "Alejandro's" identity, a government report was released which revealed that the CIA hired torturers and murderers to do its bidding in Guatemala. (Unfortunately, no names were mentioned.) The report also admitted that the U.S. government taught torture techniques to members of the Latin American military at the School of the Americas. By now, U.S. involvement in the work of Battalion 3-16 in Honduras is well known.
When I think of you and the suffering you have endured and continue to endure, my heart reaches out to yours. With you, I once again call on President Clinton to issue an executive order for the declassification of all U.S. government documents pertaining to human rights violations involving Hondurans and Padre Guadalupe Carney.
During this season of Advent, I pray with you that President Clinton and other leaders of the U.S. government will have the courage to put aside their fear and greed, and become true messengers of truth and justice.
I carry you in my heart -- Hermana Dianna Ortiz, OSU
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Taking a cue from Dianna, we would ask our friends in solidarity to call on President Clinton to issue an executive order for the declassification of all U.S. government documents pertaining to human rights violations involving Hondurans and Padre Guadalupe Carney.
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The solidarity message from Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum, published in our news release of Nov. 13, was published as an article in The Miami Herald (Dec. 3).
And in El Nuevo Herald of Miami (Dec. 2), Zulay Chirinos, member of the editorial board of the Miami Herald, stated in an article: "Some friends and relatives of Father Carney have been involved in a hunger strike in Honduras and in the U.S. since October 30. They demand that the CIA provide all the information it has on this case, which is now 14 years old. Defenders of human rights in Honduras are also incessantly seeking the truth."
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During this week a committee has been organized in Tegucigalpa to continue the Vigil for Father Carney at the U.S. embassy on certain occasions and to keep track of the steps forward or backward in the investigation of the case of Father Carney and the other disappeared.
This committee, which of course includes a member of COFADEH, will call for public action when appropriate and will inform the public about what needs to be done.
Thus the struggle continues, after having achieved quite a bit during this phase: the cases of Father Carney and the other disappeared are much better known internationally, and many persons and organizations have expressed their support for this cause and are involved in the struggle.
Today the fasters took part in the first-Friday demonstration organized by the Committee of the Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared (COFADEH) in front of the National Congress, and afterwards all went to the U.S. embassy for the last large demonstration OF THIS PHASE OF THE STRUGGLE.
THE FAST CONTINUES. Matthew Eisen and Father Joe Mulligan, SJ, will travel to San Salvador tomorrow, Dec. 6, to participate in a vigil and demonstration in front of the U.S. embassy there. From there, they will send a press release on Tuesday, Dec. 9, keeping in contact with EPICA in Washington and COFADEH in Tegucigalpa.
They wish to extend their deepest thanks to these two organizations for their active support and participation in this work, and to all who have accompanied them in Honduras, the U.S., and other countries.
They say "so long," not "good bye"!
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Mulligan and Eisen can be contacted at the following addresses:
Matthew Eisen
CRISPAZ
Apdo. 2944
Centro de Gobierno
San Salvador
El Salvador
email: pazsal@netcomsa.com
P. Joseph Mulligan, SJ
Apdo 2419
Managua
Nicaragua
tel: (505) 278-6965
email: guvols@nicarao.org.ni
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Comite de Familiares de Detenidos-Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH)
BERTHA OLIVA DE NATIVI
Coordinadora General
lorena@cofadeh.sdnhon.org.hn
Tele(fax): (504) 379800
EPICA
1470 Irving St., NW
Washington, DC 20010
Tel: 202/332-0292
Fax: 202/332-1184
Email: epica@igc.apc.org
Web: www.igc.apc.org/epica