THE VIGIL FOR FATHER CARNEY
March 11, 1998
TO: Persons and organizations concerned about the disappeared of Honduras, especially FATHER JAMES (GUADALUPE) CARNEY, a U.S. citizen who "disappeared" in 1983 after entering Honduras as chaplain to a revolutionary group.
FROM: Joe Mulligan, SJ
Apdo 2419
Managua, Nicaragua
tel: (505) 278-6965
email: guvols@nicarao.org.ni
CONTENTS:
1. Announcing a new resource item, "In Search of Hidden Truths," by Dr. Leo Valladares Lanza and Susan C. Peacock.
2. Letter by John Patrick Carney (brother of Father James"Guadalupe" Carney) protesting the application of amnesty to a Honduran colonel charged with human rights violations.
3. Spokesman for Honduran Bishops' Conference gives another statement of support.
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1. IN SEARCH OF HIDDEN TRUTHS
In January the National Commission for Human Rights in Honduras published IN SEARCH OF HIDDEN TRUTHS--An Interim Report on Declassification, by Dr. Leo Valladares Lanza and Susan C. Peacock.
The report is divided into three sections:
---A description of the efforts to obtain human rights information from the U.S. and Argentinian governments;
---An analysis of some of the information which has become public in the case of the disappearance and presumed death of Father James Carney;
---Reflections on the efforts to date to obtain human rights information and recommendations for continued follow-up.
In addition, the 217-page book includes appendices which contain the full texts of declassification requests, diplomatic correspondence, and a chronology of the Honduran Human Rights Commissioner's four-year effort to obtain human rights documentation from the U.S. and Argentinian governments.
The report, which is written in a clear and concise style, can serve as a good introduction as well as a tool for further analysis.
In the U.S. the book can be ordered from Susan C. Peacock
at:
The National Security Archive
Gelman Library, Suite 701
The George Washington University
2130 H St., NW
Washington, DC 20037
tel: (202) 994-7213
fax: (202) 994-7005
Cost: $10. per copy (includes postage). Checks should be made payable to "The National Security Archive."
A Spanish edition is also available; please specify if you would like this edition.
The book is posted in both languages on the World Wide Web site of The National Security Archive (NSA) http://www.seas.gwu/edu/nsarchive
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2. FATHER CARNEY'S BROTHER PROTESTS AMNESTY DECISION
In our news release of Feb. 17 we included a Feb. 7 New York Times editorial, "A Blow to Human Rights in Honduras," which protested the granting of amnesty to Col. Juan Blas Salazar, accused along with other officers of the kidnapping, torture and attempted murder of six students in 1982. (The defendant given amnesty was already in custody for a previous drug conviction.)
John Patrick Carney, brother of Father Carney, has written the following open letter also protesting the amnesty decision:
I am the brother of Father James "Guadalupe" Carney. This letter is to protest the decision of the judge presiding in Criminal Court to end the judicial process begun by the Honduran Justice Department against Colonel Juan Blas Salazar. The Judge says that the colonel is responsible for the disappearance of six university students during the 80s.
Also I take issue with the argument of General Roberto Lazarus when he recommends that efforts to bring unity to the Honduran people be found in forgetting the deeds of the past. This is a travesty of the concepts of truth and justice. When there are crimes committed against fundamental human rights, it is incomprehensible that there be no recourse to the courts.
In 1996 in the town of Tocoa, my sister, Virginia, and I had the privilege of participating in a very important event. The parish of Tocoa made a call to all the faithful of the diocese of Trujillo, and to all the social and grass-roots organizations, to celebrate the violent death at the hands of the military of the Jesuit priest Guadalupe Carney and that of all the martyrs of Honduras. The celebration was to begin with a march and end with an assembly of all. It was to be carried out under the slogan: Truth And Justice: Let Us Break The Silence. There were about 5,000 who participated in this September 21st 1996 celebration.
The march culminated in a Solemn Eucharistic Service honoring the martyrs. Bishop Virgilio Lopez concelebrated with eight Jesuit priests. Behind the altar was a drawing of the face of Father Guadalupe. After songs of love and justice and readings from scripture, there was a very creative ceremony: in front of the altar, Father Ismael Moreno nailed little cards to the crosspieces of a large cross of rough-cut wood. On the cards were written names of disappeared persons, and members of families who had lost a loved one to the struggle for justice presented them. Then, representatives of human rights organizations, COFADEH and CODEH, spoke of the importance of paying tribute to the martyrs publicly and without fear.
We must neither forget nor pardon. Without punishment, investigation, and justice, the seeds of a return of crimes against humanity are being sown.
In my most recent visit to Honduras October 29, 1997, I spoke in secret with an army man. He told me that he knew that the CIA was still paying death squad members so that their positions of power would be a protection against future revelations of the abuses of the 80's. What does it matter that they continue to assassinate? Their acts would be beyond the reach of the laws of the land!
I protest and I oppose the argument of General Roberto Lazaro. The spirits of the lives of the disappeared need to rise from the dead and forgotten. Their lives ought to be recognized by the people of Honduras. Honduras needs its martyrs to truth and justice. The glory of a democracy lies in the history of its heroes. The Honduran people need a government which will not permit an ambience of fear.
John Patrick Carney
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ANOTHER STATEMENT OF SUPPORT BY SPOKESMAN FOR HONDURAN BISHOPS' CONFERENCE
In our news release of Nov. 3 from Honduras we reported:
"Vigilers Receive Communication from Honduran Bishops' Conference" --
With regard to the embassy vigil, Bishop Luis Alfonso Santos, bishop of the diocese of Santa Rosa de Copan, speaking on this matter in the name of the Honduran Bishops' Conference, stated on Nov. 1: "There is a consensus of the Bishops' Conference, at our meeting on Oct. 30, to express our solidarity with the suffering of the relatives and to join in their desire to attain justice."
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In the Nov. 13 issue of Latinamerica Press, journalist Paul Jeffrey reported a further expression of solidarity by Bishop Santos:
"Honduran Bishop Luis Santos said Honduras' Catholic bishops also supported the protesters.
"`Father Carney was a missionary who came here to share our poverty and became one of our disappeared,' Santos said. `The governments should declassify the documents and do all they can to identify who was responsible for his death, give satisfaction to the family and tell us where they deposited the mortal remains of Father Carney and the other disappeared.'
"Santos said those responsible should be tried in court.
"`We bishops have said that those who have committed crimes against humanity, who have tortured and murdered, that these crimes should not go unpunished.'"
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We will soon be announcing our SPRING ACTION CAMPAIGN FOR FATHER CARNEY! Please stay tuned.
Thanks again to all for all your work, support, and commitment!
"The Lord demands an accounting for the blood that is shed; the Lord hears the cry of the poor"--Psalm 9:12.
Sincerely,
Joe Mulligan, SJ
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PS
CIA IS OBSTACLE IN HUNT FOR NAZIS
"There are thousands of Nazis still being pursued for war crimes they committed more than 50 years ago. The CIA is one of the obstacles to finding those who are alive today.
"The agency intervened in October to weaken the War Crimes Disclosure Act, which would have opened U.S. intelligence files on Nazi war criminals to those engaged in hunting them down. Why? National embarrassment. The U.S. helped some Nazis after the war if they were useful in fighting the Communists."
---Parade Magazine, Dec. 22, 1996
END