30 October 1997 6:58pm Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Contact: Ann Butwell 202/332-0292

NEW COMMUNIQUE FROM THE FOUR US CITIZENS

WHO ARE FASTING AT THE US EMBASSY IN HONDURAS

What the delegation of four and the family and friends of Padre Guadelupe Carney want to communicate to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Attorney General Janet Reno is:

1. The complete list of demands already forwarded (attached).

2. A written assurance addressed to the delegation of four that the total original documents will be reviewed by Ms. Madeleine Albright and Ms. Janet Reno in their original unexpurgated form (or by an authority that they personally delegate within their respective departments).

3. That the results of the review be communicated to the four family delegates along with a declaration that the review either shows or does not show that the documents reviewed contain material useful to the pursuance of an effort to

a. investigate what happened to Padre Guadelupe in 1983;

b. name who was responsible or who should know who was responsible

Also, if it is something that should be made public at least to select intelligence committees of Congress and/or to the Attorney General's investigative staff.

4. The role of the Secretary of State would be to either clear or give partial clearance to material now erased so that it could be acted upon by proper agencies either in our government or in the Honduran government.

5. The role of the Attorney General would be to decide if there is sufficient cause to prosecute individuals because there has been a criminal act by a known party spoken of in the unexpurgated original version.

6. What the delegation of four is waiting for today is a written response from the State Department that the above will be channeled all the way to the desk of Madeleine Albright and she will be requested to personally respond to it. Moreover, in her response she should say that she assures us that a similar process will be used in the Attorney General's office.

Respectfully,

Sister Jean Brenner

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton

John Patrick Carney

Father Joseph E. Mulligan

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URGENT ACTION ALERT

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Four persons, including Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, entered the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, continue on their third day of a vigil and fast for human rights on the grounds of the U.S. Embassy in Honduras, following an October 29 meeting with U.S. Ambassador James Creagan.

The group met with the Ambassador to discuss human rights issues, especially the case of U.S. citizen Father James Carney who "disappeared" in Honduras in 1983. They presented the Ambassador with a letter addressed to President Bill Clinton, and a set of demands concerning what it considers the "insultingly inadequate and unhelpful" declassification of U.S. government documents concerning Father Carney and other disappeared persons in Honduras.

The visitors, who also include Mr. John Patrick Carney (Father Carney's brother), Sister Jean Brenner of the Sisters of St. Inez (Father Carney's cousin), and Jesuit Father Joseph E. Mulligan, announced that they will remain inside the Embassy "in a peaceful, non-violent vigil" and fast until they receive a "serious response" from the U.S. government to their demands.

Their demands include: a page-by-page explanation as to why large sections of the declassified text are blacked out, a high-level review by U.S. and Honduran officials of the unedited text to rule whether or not the excising of pages was justified, the publication of the entire report by CIA Inspector General on Honduras and technical assistance to locate the remains of Fr. Carney.

Call Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (202) 647-5291 or fax (202) 647-1533 to:

* express support for the religious and relatives vigiling and fasting inside the Embassy;

* ask her to take their demands seriously and to review the documents in question.

Call President Clinton (202) 456-1111 to:

* express support for the religious and relatives vigiling and fasting inside the Embassy;

* ask him to take their demands seriously and to review the documents in question.

Call the US Embassy in Honduras 011 (504) 36-9320 to:

* express your support and concern for the vigilers and their cause. Ask the Ambassador to do everything within his power to reveal the full contents of US documents on Fr. Carney's disappearance.

Call your Members of Congress (202) 224-3121 and urge them to:

* Call US Embassy and express their concern for the US citizens inside;

* Sign onto the Human Rights Information Act (HR 2635, S 1220) which calls for prioritized and thorough declassification of all documents on human rights violations in Honduras and Guatemala.

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SAMPLE FAX

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30 October 1997

Madeleine Albright

Secretary of State

The US State Department

FAX: 202/647-1533

Dear Secretary Albright,

Good evening. I just learned of today's demands from the four Carney Vigilers at the US Embassy in Honduras and wanted to make sure you were aware of their situation.

Yesterday, they peacefully left the Embassy in the evening with the assurance from Ambassador Creagan that they would be allowed to re-enter this morning to continue meeting with him. He was not faithful to his word. When morning came, he only agreed to let in Patrick Carney, the brother of the disappeared Father James Carney, and only under the condition that he would leave the grounds immediately after their one-on-one meeting. He refused since it was a rupture of the agreement made in good faith the night before in front of several witnesses on staff at the Embassy.

Since early this morning, the group has been waiting in the vestibule at the Embassy, not allowed even to use the Embassy facilities. The reality is that they have been waiting fourteen years to learn the truth about what happened to their relative and friend.

The vigilers have said that they will not leave until they get your assurance that this matter will be thoroughly investigated. I have enclosed their request along with this letter.

I would like to request that you take their heart-felt requests seriously, and that the Carney documents be given your immediate attention.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

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