JURY STILL OUT ON RUDD'S APOLOGY TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS

http://www.niufm.com/?t=3&View=FullStory&newsID=2642

Date: 29 November 2007

Auckland 6am: There's mixed reactions from the Aboriginal community to new Aussie prime minister Kevin Rudd.

Rudd swept to power on Saturday, sideswiping Liberal Party leader, John Howard but there's caution from the Aboriginal community.

Some have told Pacific Radio News that Rudd, whose been hailed for speaking Mandarin, is no better than Howard, who sent soldiers and police into the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities, claiming they needed to be controlled because there was widespread child abuse.

But others, like Sydney magistrate, Pat O'Shane, and Sam Watson, a community worker from Brisbane, believe the Rudd administration should be given a chance.

O'Shane says Rudd has already promised to apologise to Aboriginals for the pain and loss suffered at the hands of white Australians and consecutive governments.

She says Australians across the board are happy to see the back of Howard and that the apology will be welcomed in particular by the Stolen Generation. (listen)

Sam Watson is also urging people to allow the Rudd administration to show what it can do to improve the lives of Aboriginals as well as Australia's race relations record. (listen)

But Robbie Thorpe, an Aboriginal activist from Victoria, says the wrongs of the past may be too much for any Australian government to front up to, honestly. (listen)

Sina Brown Davis, a Maori Samoan, from Melbourne, whose been working alongside Aborigines, says both the Labour and Liberal Party have shown their disregard of indigenous communities and can't be trusted. (listen)

A look at the controversy surrounding recent arrests in New Zealand of Maori Activists-AlJazeera English

Tahi



Rua

World Human Rights Day Public Forum andthe Struggle for Indigenous Justice

Self-Determination Not InterventionWorld Human Rights Day Public Forum about the NT Intervention and theStruggle for Indigenous Justice**

Monday 10^th December

6:30pm for a 7pm start

Swanston Hall*, in Melbourne Town Hall,

cnr Swanston St and Collins St CBD

On the 10^th of December

1992 Paul Keating made his Redfern Speech. Asthe Prime Minister of Australia he stated that the first step towardsIndigenous Justice is an “act of recognition” by non-IndigenousAustralia. “Recognition that it was we who did the dispossessing. Wetook the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. Webrought the disasters. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We tookthe children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination andexclusion.”He predicted we would succeed in doing this within the decade.The 10^th of December 2007 marks 15 years on.Two events of the past few months alone represent how wrong hisprediction was.

In September this year Australia became one of the 4 states (out of 147)not to sign on to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights ofIndigenous Peoples because the Government disagreed with the phrase'self-determination'.Right now the Federal Government is implementing an “EmergencyIntervention” into Indigenous Communities in the Northern Territory.This Intervention overrides the Racial Discrimination Act; underminesIndigenous self-determination and Land Rights; has not been developed inconsultation with Indigenous communities and fails to address thecentral issues of poverty, lack of health care, basic services andinfrastructure that the government has been ignoring for so long.We are calling on non-Indigenous people to get serious about these majorhuman rights issues.

Come along on the 10^th of December and learn moreabout Indigenous struggles for self-determination locally, in the NT andbeyond. For Genocide to end, non-Indigenous people must takeresponsibility for themselves and immediately take action to supportIndigenous struggles. The past fifteen years and two centuries priorshow that Prime Ministerial speeches and Government policies are notgoing end it for us.

*Speakers:**Barbara Shaw

*Barbara is a town camp resident from Alice Springs and executive member ofthe Tangentyere Council.

* **Robbie Thorpe*Robbie is a Gunnai-Kurnai/Tjap-Wharrung activist committed to fighting forgenocide to be stopped and for Australia to be taken before theInternational Criminal Court for the war crimes that it has and continuesto commit, for Sovereignty to be acknowledged and for a Treaty to be made.

*Muriel Bamblett*Muriel Bamblett is a Yorta Yorta woman who has been employed as the ChiefExecutive Officer of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency since1999. From 1997-99 Muriel was the Chairperson of VACCA. Muriel is activeon many boards concerning children, families and the Indigenous community. Muriel is the current Chairperson of the Secretariat of NationalAboriginal and Islander Child Care, the peak agency representingIndigenous Child and Family Services nationally.Muriel has been the recipient of a number of awards: Robin Clark MemorialAward for Inspirational Leadership in the Field of Child and FamilyWelfare 2003 and was awarded an AM (Membership in the General Division) inthe Australia Day Honours 2004 for her services to the community,particularly through leadership in the provision of services forAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

*John Langmore*John Langmore is a Professorial Fellow in the Political Science Departmentat the University of Melbourne. He was Director of the UN Division forSocial Policy and Development in New York for five years from 1997 and haspublished extensively on political, economic, social, strategic andenvironmental issues relating to Australia and the global contextincluding the United Nations.-------------------------------------

Organised by the Alliance for Indigenous Self determination - an open,Melbourne-based alliance of groups and individuals..For more information: 0429 136 935 / 0439 891 832

NEVER AGAIN MARCH THIS SATURDAY-Tamakimakaurau

Click on image for a larger version

NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION ON DEC 1. This will be the time to say “NEVER AGAIN! REPEAL THE TERRORISM LAWS NOW”. AOTEA SQUARE 12PM THIS SAT 1ST DEC.

Download leaflet for Auckland march
www.unite.org.nz/neveragain.pdf

PICK UP POSTER & LEAFLETS FROM:
Unite House, Level 12, 300 Queen St, City
NDU, 20 Church St, Onehunga
Front Veranda, 4 Ethel St, Sandringham
PHONE PENNY TO HELP LEAFLETTING 09 8469825 / 0212114127

ORGANISING MEETINGS
AUCKLAND: Civil Rights Defence Committee, 6pm, Tuesdays, Unite House, Level 12, 300 Queen St
WELLINGTON: Weekly support group meetings - open to all - 6pm Tuesdays at 128 Abel Smith St

AUCKLAND

Wednesday, November 28, cnr Hobson St and Victoria St
Holding banners advertising Sat march

Saturday, Dec 1, 12 noon, Aotea Square – March to say “Never Again – Repeal the terrorism Laws”

Saturday, December 1, 7pm, PR Bar, 2 Ponsonby Rd
PARTY FOR YOUR RIGHT TO FIGHT!
This work is in the public domain. A crew of Kiwi musicians, writers and political activists is throwing a party next Saturday night to celebrate freedom of expression and raise money for the campaign against the Terrorism Supression Act. Entry is free, and donations will be taken for the Civil Rights Defence Committee. The event will be headlined by Powertools musicians Bill Direen and Otis Mace, who will also use the evening to mark the end of the national tour they started in Dunedin last week. Organisers: Powertool Records, www.powertoolrecords.co.nz ; Titus Books, titusbooks.online.fr
Contact: shamresearch (at) yahoo.co.nz

Monday and Tuesday, December 3 &4, 10am-12 noon, outside Auckland District Court
Rally to give solidarity to the 16 appearing in Court those days

Friday, December 7, 9pm to late, Kings Arms, 59 France St, Newtown
RISE UP! BENEFIT CONCERT FOR THE TUHOE – together with - : DAM NATIVE www.damnative.com/ CORNER STONE ROOTS - UNITY PACIFIC - BATUCADA SOUND MACHINE - NAT ROSE - DAM NATIVE - DLT - MISS B ME - DT - ANTONIO TE MAIOHA - BT - MISS GINGER HAWAIIAN MC; and more. $25 at door. $20 from Real Groovy, Conch Record. www.conscious.maori.nz

Sunday, December 9, 2.30pm, St Columba Centre, 40 Vermont Street, Ponsonby
TERRORISM LEGISLATION, INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND YOU! A Human Rights Network public forum – Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Panel of speakers chaired by Margaret Bedggood with Edwina Hughes –Indigenous Rights/ UN Declaration; Greg Thwaite- Terrorism legislation/ human rights; Tim McBride- NZ Terrorism legislation; Women’s Rights/New Issues-Shila Nair; Kristin Ross and Cicilia Khin-Youth Concerns. For information contact Joan Macdonald email joanmac (at) pl.net. Phone 360 8001

PALMERSTON NORTH

Thursday, November 29, @ Square Edge [Evelyn Rawlins Room], Palmerston North
PUBLIC MEETING: Anti-terror law, dawn raids and human rights
In a wave of massive state repression, 300+ Police, in many cases armed, raided houses around the country making 17 arrests. Search warrants were carried out in Auckland, Whakatane, Ruatoki, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch. The arrestees are all activists in the Tino Rangatiratanga, peace and environmental movements. Find out more on the raids from a panel of speakers including whanau, activists affected by the raids and commentators with an analysis on the events and recent updates. "I weep for what has just happened at Maungapohatu in Tuhoe. The Police raid seems to be about punishing Kenana for questioning the Crown and will only take us back in the mists of fear and doubt…I wonder if we will ever stop worrying when it might happen again". - Karaitiana Rarere, Ngäti Kahungunu, 1916.
For more info see:
www.converge.org.nz/pma/nzterror2.htm
www.conscious.maori.nz
Contact email consciouscollaborations (at) gmail.com phone 027 457 8326

WELLINGTON

Every Tuesday - 6pm - Support Meeting at 128 Abel Smith St.

Wednesday, November 28, 7pm, Supper Room, Horticultural Hall, (between the carpark and the Town Hall), Laings Road, Lower Hutt
PUBLIC MEETING: ANTI-TERRORISM LAW, DAWN RAIDS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS
with guest speaker Moana Jackson (Ngati Kahungunu / Ngati Porou), followed by a light supper
Organised by a group of concerned Hutt residents, for more information contact tel 382 8129 or email pma (at) xtra.co.nz LEAFLET: www.converge.org.nz/pma/mj281107.pdf

Thursday - November 29 - 7pm - Film Archive Cinema - 84 Taranaki St - The Last Resort

Friday - November 30 - 8:30pm - Paramount Cinema, Wellington: PATU! - 1981 Springbok tour documentary

Saturday - December 1 - FREE CONCERT, Frank Kitts Park, Wellington. You are invited to E tu! A free day concert on Sat 1st December (Sun 2nd if rain) from Noon till 7pm. Come and check out the amazing line up of bands, knowledgeable and insightful speakers, plus enjoy kids activities, food stalls and our Wellington waterfront. E tu! will provide you with the space, time, resources, and relaxed atmosphere to educated yourself, whanau and wider community about the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, its background, global context and implications.

WAIKAREMOANA

December 31 - January 03 - Ten year anniversary of the Waikaremoana occupation

CHRISTCHURCH

Every Friday until Christmas - Vigil in Solidarity with the Tuhoe people: "each week, the vigil will feature a speaker to talk about the issues that have emerged from the raids of the 15 October. On the 15 October 2007, the Tuhoe people of Ruatoki were subject to an unprecedented police raid that targeted all their inhabitants including children and the elderly. These innocent people were subject to abuse, humiliation and terror. The police raids citing the Suppression of Terrorism Act 2002 force us to examine the context in which they occur. One cannot comprehend their implications without looking at the global context of the “war against terrorism”. The “war against terrorism” has divided the world into what US President George Bush has described as “those who are for us and those who are against us”. In the West, it is a simplistic worldview that has been very effective in marginalizing and labeling ‘dissenters' and those engaged in the struggle for self-determination. It has also been effective in creating a climate of fear and suspicion. We ask you respond to this climate by vigiling in a spirit of solidarity with the Tuhoe people who have resisted colonization with great patience and dignity. To vigil means to ‘remain awake’. We must remain awake to the political agendas at work in the current climate of the “war against terrorism” and demand an end to the targeting of sisters and brothers who speak truth to power. The vigil will be a peaceful and prayerful presence." From 5pm to 6pm, in Cathedral Square; for more information contact email moanacole.barrister (at) paradise.net.nz

MAKE A DONATION TO A DEFENCE FUND ONLINE 38-9000-0099726-00: Indentify donation as being for the defence fund. Initial patrons of the fund are Jane Kelsey, John Minto, Simon Oosterman and Mike Treen
Or Use your credit card through Paypal www.civilrightsdefence.org.nz/donate
Send a cheque to GPJA c/o treasurer Brian Van Dam, 16 Browning St Manurewa.

Related

• http://www.civilrightsdefence.org.nz

License

This work is in the public domain.

Indigenous Gathering of the Americas -statement of the north

Introduction to the closing declaration of the pre-gathering at the Rancho Penasco , from October 7-9, brought to the attention of thousands of people at the first indigenous encounter of the Americas, hosted and called for by the National Indigenous Congress, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, and the traditional yaqui authorities.

Death and Sedition in Bolivia

Four deaths in Sucre intensify the confrontation
Luis A. Gómez
November 25, 2007
La Paz -

http://www.latinlasnet.org/node/160

If people are interested: To know further about the last development in Bolivian volatile situation, Rosalio Tinta member of Bolivian social movements currently in Australia is available for interviews and meetings, just write to lasnet@latinlasnet.org or call 0400 914 944, thanks.

It’s possible that it all began in March 2006 when the Evo Morales government negotiated the Constituent Assembly’s representative base. The right-wing parties—defeated from almost every angle by the social movements over the past few years—were allowed new breathing room and maintained, together with the governing party, its monopoly of the political representation in Bolivia.

Or maybe it began in July of last year when the Assembly delegate elections left Evo’s MAS without their hoped for two-thirds majority. At this moment, it was clear that this new body—charged with creating a new carta magna to represent the Bolivia that had risen from the streets and its recent struggles—would become hostage to the country’s rightwing minority via its political parties.

Either way, one thing is clear: the blame for the deaths yesterday and today in the city of Sucre goes to both the right and to the government, perhaps in equal measure.

Wasted Time

Months of deliberation spent on securing procedural measures that no one even respects. Months of debate, physical beatings, screaming matches, marches and vigils in favor of and against. The result? After a full year of work, not a single article, not one solid agreement was made between the government and the opposition regarding the country’s new constitution. Thus, it was decided that the Assembly’s sessions be extended until December 14th of this year. Nothing has been achieved since.

The struggle around whether articles ought to be approved by simple majority or two-thirds of the delegates’ votes allowed the rightwing to consistently block and blackmail. The opposition party PODEMOS took charge of impeding the Assembly’s every step—at times with a solid right hook to the chin of a fellow delegate. More recently, they found another stalling mechanism: the semi-colonial Capital Wars, putting the question of whether La Paz or Sucre was to hold the honor of seat of government forever.

The days passed and millions of Bolivians filled the streets of Sucre, Santa Cruz and La Paz demanding that the capital move, that it stay, that the Assembly be allowed to decide matter, that the decision should be in the public’s hands. Bolivia’s struggle was thus reduced to this: the capital’s location and the defense of a building in which 255 non-functional delegates would session with the grand result of never agreeing on anything.

Approval at any cost

Yesterday, under orders from President Evo Morales, MAS delegates moved the Assembly to Sucre’s military barracks. The street mobilizations backed by right-wing Santa Cruz leaders for the past few months had made it impossible for the Assembly to continue its work in the public theater where they had been held since August 2006.

The normally quiet streets of this small colonial city became a battlefield on November 24th: students and citizen groups went at the police with escalating intensity while the latter responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

During the confrontation, 29 year old lawyer Gonzalo Dúran was killed by a bullet to the chest. His comrades in sedition became enraged. The body was placed in a coffin and all seemed to have reached a boiling point. Accompanied by a member of Bolivia’s Human Rights Assembly, Sucre’s governor, MAS party member Daniel Sánchez, entered the barracks where the delegates were meeting in desperation.

Sánchez asked Assembly President and former coca-grower leader Silvia Lazarte to stop the session. Lazarte refused. Shortly after, the MAS-proposed version of the new Constitutional text was approved “in full.”

This approval of a new Constitution at any cost, this conceit on the part of the ruling party, may have caused the flood waters to spill. As a colleague in Sucre recounted to us via telephone, “the people have now seriously mobilized against the government.”

The Media’s Attack

The rightwing media are sending reports from all corners of the country. In Sucre, they give us democracy’s heroes: an angry mob that has vandalized the city and stormed a local prison letting lose dozens of felons.

Since yesterday, television networks such as Unitel and ATB (both owned by the Spanish media group PRISA), are blaming the government for Sucre’s state of siege. They claim that Dúran’s death was police repression and that yesterday’s delegate session was illegal and is evidence of a dictatorship. They fail to report that Dúran’s forensic report finds that the fatal bullet comes from a gun-type not used by the police. Not to mention the fact that, as the Minister of the Presidency Juan Ramón Quintana points out, the police were not armed this weekend in Sucre.

In between repetitive images of Sucre’s streets as battlefields, the networks broadcast the event’s rippling effects nationwide. They report on aggressive and premeditated acts as if they were spontaneous occurrences—the most notable of which occurred in Santa Cruz at dawn this morning. An angry group appeared in front of the house of MAS politician Osvaldo Peredo where several Cuban doctors also live. After screaming insults against the government, the group threw a Molotov cocktail towards the residence. Fortunately, there was only material—not human—damage. Similarly, TV images show groups of young Santa Cruz residents violently attacking the regional tax office headquarters.

In a most non-spontanteous way, the media went on to interview every conceivable opposition politician across the country, including ex-President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga and Santa Cruz governor Rubén Costas—who dared the government to respond and spoke seditiously on behalf of all Bolivians.

An interesting side-note: some of Bolivia’s independent media outlets are having transmission problems. The internet signal of Radio Erbol (owned by the Catholic Church) is unavailable in certain parts of the country where there is normally a signal. Many journalists—employees of Erbol and its affiliate station in Sucre—have received death threats. Many of Sucre’s few independent reporters, according to UB sources, are in hiding.

Evo Defends His Project

Sucre’s air is heavy with gas and people are mobilized in the streets. A few hours ago, the city police chief announced the withdrawal of police forces in the city because of a lack of safety guarantees: not only had his officers been assaulted, but also one of their own had been lynched and thrown into a ravine early this morning. Transit Police headquarters were burned throughout the day and mobs went around lighting on fire any state vehicles that crossed their path.

It was in these fateful moments, that the President of Bolivia appeared serious and somber before his nation to defend his project and his government. Just after 3pm, Evo Morales explained the minutea of the recently approved Constitution in painstaking detail. He spoke for over 10 minutes without mentioning the four deaths on the other side of the country.

Once getting to the topic of the confrontations, he asserted that his government would convene a full investigation into the weekend’s incidents and reiterated that the government had not instructed the police to use lethal weapons against the population.

“Those who want to bet on our Bolivia, on the Bolivia of change,” said Evo, are more than welcome. He critiqued those who impeded this process of change, specifically those in Santa Cruz united behind the infamous Civic Committee and its President Branco Marinkovic. “They can’t accept that we the poor people can govern ourselves,” he snapped, after going over the long list of obstacles the Constituent Assembly has confronted over the past 16 months.

Evo also pleaded the Bolivian people to remain calm, warning that the new constitution must now be approved by national democratic referendum, as legally stipulated. “We will continue working together with the social forces and with the people of this country who want change,” he stated while refuting the right-wing’s accusations that he is a dictator and an assassin.

“I want to ask the Bolivian people for serenity and the Bolivian authorities for their support in securing peace and social justice,” the Head of State concluded. He had spoken for almost 30 minutes yet practically no major television channel broadcast Evo’s words. Almost all were carrying their normally scheduled programs.

Despite it all, there are four (perhaps five) dead in Sucre. The principle opposition leaders are already calling for Evo Morales’ head. The government insists on moving forward with its Constitutional project regardless of its less than two-thirds majority in the Assembly. We will continue informing.

If people are interested: To know further about the last development in Bolivian volatile situation, Rosalio Tinta member of Bolivian social movements currently in Australia is available for interviews and meetings, just write to lasnet@latinlasnet.org or call 0400 914 944, thanks.

Recents Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET) updates

Death and Sedition in Bolivia

Venezuela-Colombia hostage release and peace talk

URGENT ACTION FROM THE WAYÙU PEOPLE TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Upcoming events

NOV. 27 LASNET Meeting

DEC. 01 Saturday Solidarity Movie Night

DEC. 13 - Inspiring... Resisting... Creating

Colombia - Urgent Action for Wayuu people

Kia ora ano whanau

Met a Columbian Wahine Toa at the recent Latin /Asia Pacific
solidarity gathering, she warned of this. Sis was staunch and strong
woman, a testament to her people the targets of this Colombian State
Sponsored Terror against indigenous peoples.

na

Ana

URGENT ACTION FROM THE WAYU PEOPLE TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNITY

The displaced community of Baha Portete found in the Alta Guajira
once again denounces the latest incursion of the paramilitary group
CONTRAINSURGENCIA WAYUU under command of the alias " PABLO " into
their ancestral territory that has once already been bathed
in blood. This time the unfortunate victims of these mercenaries were:
CHICHI EPINAYU of 35 years of age that was horrbily killed yesterday
November 23 and JULIAN EPINAYU of 68 years of age who was kidnapped
for who knows what purpose or if he is even dead or alive. After
being subject to the tortures and brutalities that these murderers use
to cause terror in our families and acheive their criminal objectives,
MASPARRAY EPINAYU, was able to survive and is currently with serious
condition due to bullet wounds from the firearms that these
assassins used to victimize families of the EPINAYU and URIANA clans.
The same clans that were massacred in the April 18th, 2004 massacre.

Once again we are reassured that the stories that are illustrated to
us by the states authorities regarding our community s right to return
are very far away reality. This is because of the lack of guarantee
from the state that our community will not be again victmized upon
return to the lands that we should have never left.

There is nno denying the permenant prescence of these "paracos"
(paramilitaries) who now go by "AGUILAS NEGRAS" and continue
plundering with out their primary sponser , THE STATE, be affected at
all. According to authorities, there are no more paramilitaries in the
Alta Guajira or in Colombia. What will be said this time too justify
these crimes against humanity that wound our people with great pain
and helplessness? Perhaps that we are kidnappers and theives the way
the mercenary JORGE 40 freely said on November 8th, 2007 in
Barranquilla or this time again that we wer targetted.


"Today there is no paramilitarism - Pres. Uribe. El tiempo. Saturday,
July 21st, 2007.



We urge for a comission of the following to go to the area:

Defensoria del pueblo.
Fiscalia General de la Nacin.
Procuradura General de la Nacion.
OAS.
CNRR.
UN.
ONIC.


Please direct urgent actions and letters of solidarity to:

Presidencia de la RepblicaDr. lvaro Uribe Vlez,Cra. 8 No..7-26,
Palacio de Nario, Santa
fe de Bogot.Fax: (+57 1) 566.20.71

E-mail:
auribe@presidencia.gov.co

Vicepresidencia de la Repblica
Dr. Francisco Santos
Vicepresidencia de la Repblica
E-mail:
fsantos@presidencia.gov.co

Presidencia ECOPETROL S.A.
Dr. Javier Gutierrez Pemberthy

Javier.Gutierrez@ecoeptrol.com.co

Programa Presidencial de Derechos Humanos y de Derecho Internacional
Humanitario.
Dr. Carlos Franco
Calle 7 N 5-54
TEL: (+571) 336.03.11
FAX: (+57 1) 337.46.67
E- mail: cefranco@presidencia.gov.co
E-mail:
fibarra@presidencia.gov.co

Comisin Interamericana de Derechos Humanoscidhoea@...

Representante Permanente de la OIT en Colombia
Dr. Marcelo Castro Fox
Direccin: Av. 82. No. 12-18 Oficina: 504.Telfono: 623 75 86.Bogot D.C.
E-mail:
castrofox@oit.org.pe

Procuradura General de la Nacin

Dr. Edgardo Jos Maya VillaznCarrera 5 No. 15-80Santa Fe de Bogot.

Fax: (+57 1)342.97.23

E-mail:
reygon@procuraduria.gov.co;


anticorrupcion@...

Fiscala General de la Nacin

Dr. Mario Iguarn Diagonal 22 B No.52-01Santa fe de Bogot.

Fax: (+571) 570 20 00

E-mail:
contacto@fiscalia.gov.co;


denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co

Unidad de Derechos Humanos y de Derecho Internacional Humanitaria

E - mail:
elbsilva@fiscalia.gov.co

Defensora del PuebloDr. Volmar Antonio Prez Ortiz.Calle 55 No. 10-32
Santa Fe de Bogot.
Fax: (+571) 640 04 91

E-mail:secretaria_privada@hotmail.com

Organizacion Wayuu Munsurat

wayuumunsurat@yahoo.com
Dirigente Wayau - Guajira - Colombia.


http://organizacionwayuumunsurat.blogspot.com

http://organizacionwayuumunsurat.blogspot.com

Bunjileenee Justice for Indigenous Australians

Bunjileenee

The whanau was out with the mob yesterday when the Gubbas voted for one arse cheek instead of the other. What we are witnessing in Fitzroy is the resurgence of Grassroots Indigenous Self Determination, of the love of never ever leaving any of our brothers and sisters behind as they battle the river of tears and hurt that colonisation has and still continues to inflict on Indigenous Peoples.

The reclamation of the Old Victoria Health on Gertrude is a struggle to restore pride and self determination, its a protest against the kupapa bureaucratic collaborators that all Indigenous peoples face, all those that make a sweet living on the misery of our peoples suffering & pain.

If you reside in Melbourne and want to support our brothers & sisters struggles for self determination come down to 136 Gertrude Street Fitzroy, if you are serious about justice and respect for Indigenous peoples in Melbourne come and tautoko the mob and get the word out, and show some love & solidarity. See ya round the sacred fire then.

http://uriohau.blogspot.com/2007/11/stop-ongoing-genocide-in-victoria.html

The Change of Wind is Coming...

by Kevin Buzzacott
(Arabunna Nation)


The change of wind is coming. Brace yourself for the big change - get ready. The Fire Creator for Justice is awoken. The power of the fire is alive and moving and rekindling the fire of the spirit. The time has come to cure the evil, right the wrongs. The Whiteman came to Australia the wrong way. When he entered our waters and our land he came the wrong way. Coming the wrong way was like starting off on the wrong foot. He brought with him the evil. If he had come the right way, the massacres, the poisoned water, the stolen generations, the deaths in custody, the pain and misery, the land theft... would not have happened.

...The time has come to face reality - you cannot hide the truth any more. The Old Spirit and the old, old Ancient Country are about to unleash an awakening energy. You have your ancient responsibility and obligation to right the wrongs of the events that took place since Invasion. Do not feel threatened. All people should come and participate, share and experience the changes and end the jurisdiction of the occupying power which tries to dominate our lives.

We have the right to live, the right to life, the right to self-determination, the right to decolonization, the right to sovereignty for certainty. We encourage people to come forward... Those with this churning feeling for change.

Since Invasion all we've seen is the Crown and paper and oppression. But we have the key for survival in this land. Our ancient knowledge is like an untapped resource for survival. It can take us all home.

The Old Country is talking now. The Old Spirit is stirring, singing up the country, empowering the fire of the Spirit, curing the evil.

The Fire will burn until Justice prevails.

The Fire is the thing that will make or break you. The Fire is the healing that can take all lost souls home, that will fix you up and enable [you] to share the responsibility to care for our Ancient Country.

If you are sincere you should support us. Stop running around in circles

.

Rua kura-hikoi in Whakatane

Watch More Videos Uploaded by www.bebo.com/Fattyboy03

This was a awesome response from the youth of Tuhoe, responding to the police and political terrorism that had been spitefully inflicted on the Tuhoe peoples of Ruatoki.

I know for sure our Whenua( lands) and future is in safe hands with awesome young warriors like this.

Tātou katoa. Tātou kā toa
A united front. Liberation for all.
http://tuhoe.net/

Masiofa Lauded As Pacific Government And Community Pioneer

(Counterpart International)

Her Excellency Masiofo La'ulu Fetauimalemau Mata'afa, who died in Apia, Samoa this week, was lauded as a pioneering parliamentarian who also championed the cause of women and of non-governmental organizations.

"She was known to most of the world as Fetaui Mata'afa and we will remember her as a key mover in the establishment and growth of the FSPI network, which now spreads across Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Southeast Asia," said Lelei LeLaulu, chairman of the Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International (FSPI) adding, "Much of what we learned in our early days and applied in other parts of the world we learned at the feet of this remarkable women - who more than any other individual - improved dramatically the role of women in Pacific societies, governments and communities."

"Fetaui, who was elected for two terms to parliament, was a champion of the rights of non-governmental organizations like FSP, Counterpart International, and others because she recognized the value of communities in enhancing the health, wealth, education and culture of islands," said LeLaulu, who is also president of Counterpart International, formerly known as FSP.
Mrs. Mata'afa was a long-serving member of the Counterpart International Advisory Council and was a member of the Eminent Persons Group for the 1994 United Nations Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States in Barbados. "Her work on the world stage was recognised by the United Nations Secretary General who appointed her to the Eminent Persons Group which among other things placed the issue of climate change firmly on the international agenda in the early '90s," said LeLaulu.

"She will be remembered and revered for doing so much to empower women many years before it was acceptable and Fetaui always eloquently articulated the need to educate and train Pacific women. Her appointment as Pro-Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific recognised her tremendous contributions to education in the wider region," recalled LeLaulu.

Mrs. Mata'afa who held the Chiefly Orator's title, La'ulu, from the Lotofaga community, was the widow of Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II, who led Samoa to independence from New Zealand in 1962. Her father, Le Mamea Matatumua Ata, was a framer of the Samoa Constitution. Her daughter, the paramount chief, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, was one of the youngest members elected to parliament and is now a senior cabinet minister. In addition to serving as the Samoa High Commissioner to New Zealand, Mrs. Mata'afa was also the leader of the National Council of Women for many years.

http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2007/11/23/masiofa-lauded-as-pacific-government-and-community-pioneer

The struggle continues...

Tuhoe nation describes the culture, language and identity of a people who still have a memory, through oral tradition, of pre-european Tuhoetanga and remember that free people don't volunteer to be slaves. - Te Mana Motuhake o Tuhoe: A united front. Liberation for all!

http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/74253/index.php

The 17 people who were arrested in the raids of 15th October are all out on bail now and charges under the Terrorism Suppression Act will not be laid. However, 16 people - people from Tuhoe, Te Atiawa, Maniapoto, Pakeha; indigenous activists, anarchists, environmental and anti-war activists - are still facing charges under the Arms Act. Here is a list of upcoming solidarity events, information on donating money to the various funds and links to various groups. The struggle continues…

Upcoming Events | Donations for whanau support | Links | Aotearoa IMC Features

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Upcoming Events

Auckland - Tamaki-makau-rau

• Saturday - Dec 1 - 12 noon - Aotea Square – March to say "Never Again – Repeal the terrorism Laws"
• Monday - December 3 - 9am - outside Auckland District Court: Rally to give solidarity to the 16 appearing in Court that day
• Friday - December 7 - Benefit Concert - at the Kings Arms, 59 France St, Newtown, with Dam Native, Cornerstone Roots, Unity Pacific and Batucada Sound Machine, DLT and more, to support Tuuhoe.

Waikaremoana

• December 31 - January 03 - Ten year anniversary of the Waikaremoana occupation

Wellington - Te Whanganui-a-Tara

• Every Tuesday - 6pm - Support Meeting at 128 Abel Smith St.
• Thursday - November 29 - 7pm - Film Archive Cinema - 84 Taranaki St - The Last Resort
• Friday - November 30 - 8:30pm - Paramount Cinema, Wellington: PATU! - 1981 Springbok tour documentary
• Saturday - December 1 - FREE CONCERT, Frank Kitts Park, Wellington. You are invited to E tu! A free day concert on Sat 1st December (Sun 2nd if rain) from Noon till 7pm. Come and check out the amazing line up of bands, knowledgeable and insightful speakers, plus enjoy kids activities, food stalls and our Wellington waterfront. E tu! will provide you with the space, time, resources, and relaxed atmosphere to educated yourself, whanau and wider community about the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, its background, global context and implications.

Christchurch - Otautahi

• Saturday - 24 November - Solidarity benefit dinner to raise funds to support those arrested in the October 15th raids, stop the terror raids! Nau mai, haere mai. Vegetarian smorgasbord, live music, and a speaker from the Christchurch crew who has recently been to Auckland for the November 3rd hearings. Starts 6pm, Otautahi Social Centre, 206 Barbadoes Street; $10 entry, kids free - limit 60 tickets, to book yours please phone (03) 366 7247 or email demozone@... We would love your help with cooking! If you are able to bake a cake, make a salad, a main, bring bread/dips/vegies etc then please email demozone(at)slingshot.co.nz

Donations for whanau support

To help with court costs for the accused, and food, travel and accommodation for their families

• Ngai Tuhoe fund:

  Cheques - Please make your cheque payable to 'Te Kotahi a Tuhoe' and post to: Te Kotahi a Tuhoe, PO Box 47, Taneatua, Whakatane.

  Wire or Transfer Details - Bank: ASB, Account name: Te Kotahi a Tuhoe, Account Number: 12-3253-0032178-50, Bank address: ASB Bank, Whakatane Branch, 202 The Strand, Whakatane or PO Box 682, Whakatane 3158.

• National fund:

  Cheques - Please make your cheque payable to 'Conscious Collaborations', and post to Conscious Collaborations, PO Box 91, Bulls.

  Wire or Transfer Details - Wire or Transfer Details - Bank: Kiwibank, Account name: Conscious Collaborations Charitable Trust, Account Number: 38-9005-0969057-00, Bank address: Kiwibank Limited, 155 The Terrace, Wellington 6332. SWIFT: bknznz22

• Rotorua regional fund:

  Cheques - Please make your cheque payable to 'Nga Tai o te Reinga', and post to Nga Tai o te Reinga, 61B Iles Rd, Lynmore, Rotorua.

  Wire or Transfer Details - Bank: Kiwibank, Branch: Te Ngae, Account name: Nga Tai o te Reinga, Account Number: 38-9002-0653401-00, Bank address: Kiwibank Limited, Te Ngae Branch, Te Ngae PostShop, Shop 7, 512 - 518 Te Ngae Road, Rotorua.

• Wellington based fund:

  Cheques - Please make your cheque payable to 'Peace Action Wellington', and post to Peace Action Wellington, PO Box 11-964, Wellington, New Zealand.

  Wire or Transfer Details - Bank: BNZ, Branch: North End, Account name: Peace Action Wellington, Account Number: 02-0536-0458570-00, Bank address: BNZ, North End Branch, Pastoral House, 100 Lambton Quay, Wellington. Particulars/Code/Reference: Legal Def

• Auckland based fund:

  Cheques - Please make your cheque payable to 'Global Peace and Justice Auckland', and post to GPJA, PO Box 7175, Wellesley St, Auckland.

  Wire or Transfer Details - Bank: Kiwibank, Account name: Global Peace and Justice Auckland, Account Number: 38-9000-0099726-00. Particulars/Code/Reference: Defence Fund

Links: Te Mana Motuhake o Tuhoe | Te Kotahi a Tuhoe | Tuhoe: History of resistance | Civil Rights Defence Committee | Peace Action Wellington | Global Peace and Justice Auckland | Peace Movement Aotearoa | Maori Independence Site | Aotearoa Anarchist Network | Anarchist Groups in Aotearoa | a space inside

Aotearoa IMC Features: Police raid houses across Aotearoa under anti-terrorism legislation, at least a dozen arrests (15 Oct. 07) | 17 activists arrested, denied bail. 300+ Police raid houses across the country (15 Oct. 07) | Solidarity with the Urewera 17! Free them now! (17 Oct. 07) | Stop the Terror Laws! Free our Friends! (19 Oct. 07) | "Raise your voice before you lose your soul" - protests across Aotearoa (20 Oct. 07) | Urewera 17 Update: Bail Denied, Another Police Raid, Another Activist Named, Wellington Activists Moved (26 Oct. 07) | Across the world, people demand freedom for political prisoners! (27 Oct. 07) | Urewera 16 in court - 2 more bailed (2 Nov. 07) | 150 People Protest Labour Conference in Tamaki Makaurau (3 Nov. 07) | Two more prisoners lose name supression (7 Nov. 07) | No terrorism charges for the Urewera 16! (8 Nov. 07) | Tuhoe Hikoi Arrives at Parliament (14 Nov. 07)

Aotearoa IMC Features: Tühoe: Te Ahikaa roa a Mihi ki te Kapua 2007/2008 (Aug. 07) | Confederation members set up road blockades and fight for their forest (Oct. 06) | Ko Te Manamotuhake Oo Tuuhoe - Maintaining the mana of Tuuhoe (Jun. 06) | The Ruatoki valley blazes as Tuhoe stands tall (Jan. 05)

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Related

• http://tuhoe.net