Letter from ICUUW Chair Barbara Beach to President Evo Morales, Bolivia

10 June 2009. I have just spoken with Olga who spent this past weekend in the hospital. The women agreed to end the strike on the suggestion of the attending physician. They won recognition by the government which passed a resolution that military archives would be openend to them and that the military would have to meet with them to answer their questions. Olga says this has been a huge stride forward for this issue which exists across Latin America and that because of the international pressure, Latin American activists will no longer feel isolated and alone in their work for justice and human rights. Read details of conversation with Olga...

--29 May 2009. Olga Flores has been on a hunger strike now for 23 days. She and other women are protesting the disappearance of their family members. They have exhausted all remedies available to them to learn what has happened to family members taken by the military dictatorships that committed human rights violations. Our U.S. government recognizes such disappearances as human rights violations and supports the rights of the families of victims to learn what happened to them. Please click here to find out more about what you can do and read the latest update from Olga on her situation and what you can do to support her. Please act quickly!

Phone Conversation with Olga Flores, June 10, 2009

Hello All---

Olga has just returned from the hospital where she recuperated this weekend with her compatriots. She was sitting down to write us when I called and so I promised to send off to you and to her the transcript of our call:

Olga:  The action we performed has given us more influence than we thought possible. We do not have to be in passivity any longer. We could do much more than we are doing now. Charlie Clements of the UUSC wrote to her and she was most appreciative. They did file a complaint three years ago with the Organization of American States, Human Rights Commission. It is a lengthy, formal process which ruled in their favor but it has no specific date or teeth to mandate compliance by the Bolivian government--no sanctions are imposed. They now have new elements that have been added to the complaint and the OAS has promised to take action on these additional elements of the case.

Each day Evo Morales, who offered so much promise at the outset of his administration, becomes entrenched in government and institutional demogogery. He gives nice  speeches…but in practice they are hurting the poorer people. Morales is just a figurehead and they use his image to do colonialism, relying upon the ignorance of indigenous people. Especially the police for human rights. It is very difficult to have clear understanding with double  talk.

Though she is finished with her hunger strike they will continue the work—this is a promise they made before finishing the strike. They will work at three levels: 

Their personal demands. For example the military have opened the archives on her brother. She remains skeptical, but she will go and continue to ask for the release of materials. And this is true for all three compatriots. Marta will go to exhume her father’s remains at Teoponte. The woman whose husband disappeared in Paraguay will go to that government to ask for information.

They will generate a movement against impunity and for justice. She has realized that it is a national problem. The hunger strike increased her awareness of how much they need access to prosecute crimes by the authorities. They will have meetings in the next week. They are generating a movement that goes forward.

Thirdly, they will move at the international level because this most directly impacted the Evo Morales Administration. All of the international letters they received had a very large impact. Many people said that Morales would lose international standing where his administration has received a great deal of support.

OAS Human Rights Commission case will continue and Olga will present a new demand to them pertaining to Bolivia and what happens when a state does not follow its own laws. OAS will punish the state by imposing economic sanctions through the Inter-American court. This approach, where the OAS has imposed economic sanctions, has worked previously in Guatemala and in Bolivia.

Also, it is a very sensitive area but they are negotiating for monetary damages. This is politically very sensitive but the only avenue available to them and the only one which imposes consequences upon those who perpetrated these crimes. It is the only thing that has an impact.

Are there any other demands? Olga:  People say to us that time has passed, this is not important any longer—we should move on, forget it, live in the future. But this is important to know what happened in the past. There is no limit on the time until these cases are resolved. Many women have to raise their children alone. The government says, “we are a young nation, we don’t have money to pay for them.” But we replay that they have to use the money for the right things, and must not be contemptuous of the people and their plight.

At the moment this is a problem all over Latin America. In Brazil they are asking for declassifications of the archives as well. In Chile there are problems, the military is not in the government or seemingly answerable to the government, even when it is a democracy. The judges of Pinochet in Chile say they have to punish the terrorists—Mapuches Indians of Chile, are branded terrorists. And so now these repressive measures of the Bush Administration are suddenly legitimatised and used against indigenous citizens who are standing up for their rights.

We got lots of publicity and so for us it was successful and the government was not expecting this. There were radio broadcasts, news articles here. The government said, “They are poor women who just want to get on TV.” But after this campaign they were afraid to say anything against us. They stopped branding us as protagonistas!

How are you physically?  She joked that she has many reserves, physically. The doctor told them that they could not go on. Their kidneys were at risk Many people who were supporting, begged her to stop. They heard these pleas and were engaged to continue fighting, but after the doctor’s advice and our please, they decided the best way to fight is to live particularly as the dictatorship were not changing.

The international support from our community saved her life. If she had not had it, they would have been absolutely insulated. In their locale—many young people came to support them. Now she knows their history and she is organizing them. This is very important for her particularly for the future of the movement.

The other is the government could not isolate her. They were able to break the negative circle of the government, which knew it had to do something. The government passed a resolution for declassification. It’s not enough according to their legal advisors because it’s not law but only a resolution. However, they are doing something…And the military has to answer to the hunger strikers—they have to meet with them and answer something to them…the hunger strikers are calling themselves Activists for Justice Against Impunity

To have all our community work on this shows sisterhood is in our hearts and that we are not just a faith of proclamation, but a faith of action. Even though we did not have a structure immediately at hand, we all came forward. Bolivia is very isolated from the world, but through this action you have given us perspectives we did not have before.

We did not before trust in our own actions, but now we can do many things in common with Brazil and Chile and this is why it’s important to have this movement active!

I send you all my blessings,
Olga

Posted May 30th
from Olga Flores

My Very Dear Sisters:

Many, many thanks for the wonderful campaign of letters, this is a good measure for pressure, it is having a positive efect.
Consequence of your messages yesterday was the CNN interviewing us. I´ll write a short report about how is going our strike and our difficulties with the government.

In the local level we are making some activities as wakefulness in front of the headquarters of the army.

The government is trying to choke us, that is is why the messages are bounced. So you can send the messages:

Señor Juan Ramón Quintana
MINISTRO DE LA PRESIDENCIA
"Juan Ramón Quintana" <juraquita7@gmail.com>

Señor José Luis Vazquez
PRESIDENTE DE LA COMISION DE DERECHOS HUMANOS DEL SENADO
comision.constitucion@senado.bo

Señora Elizabeth Salguero
PRESIDENTA DE LA COMISION DE DERECHOS HUMANOS CÁMARA DE DIPUTADOS
"Elizabeth Salguero" <apuwara@yahoo.com>

Also will help a lot, communications to the Interamerican Human Rights Commission that follows the case

Señor Santiago Canton
Secretario Ejecutivo Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos OEA
Washington DC
scanton@oas.org
cidhdenuncias@oas.org

Or to the representative in Bolivia of the United Nations
Denis Racicot
REPRESENTANTE DEL ALTO COMISIONADO DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS PARA LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS EN BOLIVIA
dracicot@ohchr.org


WITH COPY TO

director@la-razon.com

bolivianoalaimpunidad@gmail.com

For update information about the hungry strike and the impunity

www.noalaimpunidad.mamametal.com

Thanks so much, with your help we are building a country with out human rights violations, the first step for a peace society.

Olga Flores

Posted May 28th
from Olga Flores

Dear Community of International UU Women:
Thank you very much for your solidarity in this crucial moment of my life.
I am in my 23 day of hungry strike (each day I am becoming weak but my spirit is getting stronger) and it seems that the Bolivian government is still protecting the killers, refuse to accept our petition.

The best thing for help me,  is to send letters to the President Evo Morales and the Bolivian authorities expressing your concern about the 3 women in hungry strike and their demands, that consist in: return to us (relatives of disapperared people) the mortal remains of our loved ones, and to also return their personal belongings that are under military jurisdiction and to dictate an order to the army to open the military files for be declassified for our free  access to the information of what has happened during the dictatorship period.

If you can ask to some personalities in USA that can send a short letter will help.You can also make calls to the Bolivian embassies or consulates, we don´t have ambassador in USA but Bolivia has a representation in the United Nations, this pressure will help a lot because Evo Morales preserves very much his imagine at the international level.

To send letters to the President Morales :	Most Excellent Mr. Evo Morales Ayma PRESIDENT OF THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA Av. Camacho Number 1485 Casilla 6500 La Paz Bolivia correo@presidencia.gov.bo FAX: from U.S. and Canada dial 011- 591-2-2202321
A copy of your letter please send to this site: Bolivianoalaimpunidad@gmail.com
For more information about the hungry strike: www.noalaimpunidad.mamametal.com

Thanks again, all the best for your work

Olga

You may also want to write to:
Organization of American States, Commision on Human Rights	Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 1889 F Street, N.W. Washington, D.C., 20006 U.S.A. Tel.: 202-458-6002 Fax: 202-458-3992 email through their website at http://www.cidh.oas.org/defaulte.htm
U.S. Embassy in La Paz	The Honorable Krishna R. Urs Charge d'Affaires Embasssy of the United States Avenida Arce 2780 Casilla 425 La Paz, Bolivia Telephone: (591) 2-216-8000 FAX: (591) 2-216-8111 sellerscr@state.gov
Amnesty International	To express a concern about a human rights issue: The International Secretariat is responsible for the majority of the organization's research and leads our campaigning work, based in London, UK. Telephone: +44-20-74135500 Fax number: +44-20-79561157 Address: 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW, UK Email them through their website at: http://www.amnesty.org/
Human Rights Council and Treaties Division Complaint Procedure OHCHR-UNOG	Human Rights Council and Treaties Division Complaint Procedure OHCHR-UNOG 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Fax: (41 22) 917 90 11 E-mail: CP@ohchr.org
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton	The Honorary Hillary Clinton Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520 Clintonhr@state.gov
	Stewartkb@state.gov Kathy B. Stewart Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Bolivian Embassy	Bolivian EMBASSY 3014 Massachusetts Ave, NW Washington, DC 20008 - USA Phone: (1)(202) 483-4410 or 483-4411 Fax: (1)(202) 328-3712 E-mail : Embassy@Bolivia-usa.org URL: http://www.bolivia-usa.org
Vice President of Bolivia	Lic. Álvaro García Linera Vicepresidente del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia Edif. de la Vicepresidencia del Estado Calle Ayacucho esq. Mercado No. 308 Casilla: 7056    La Paz - Bolivia Número Piloto: (591) (2) 2142000 Fax: (591) (2) 2201211
Sample Letter: We are writing on behalf of Olga Flores and two other women who are currently in the third week of a hunger strike in La Paz to protest the disappearance of Olga’s brother, Carlos Flores Bedregal and all those who “disappeared” under the dictatorship of General Luis Garcia Meza Tejada in 1980. Ms. Flores and others have exhausted all remedies available to them in the three branches of the Bolivian government--the judicial, the legislative, and the executive—which have not brought justice to those affected by the capture and murder of dissidents during Bolivian military dictatorships. Ms. Flores is known by us to be a serious woman of deep conviction who has undertaken this most drastic step as a last resort. We exhort you to exhaust every possible remedy in your power to bring her justice on this matter. We know that the U.S. government policy is “to support the rule of law and to seek accountability in cultures of impunity” and to support the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that, “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” Further the Inter-American Convention of the Organization of American States on Forced Disappearance Of Persons states in Article III, “The States Parties undertake to adopt, in accordance with their constitutional procedures, the legislative measures that may be needed to define the forced disappearance of persons as an offense and to impose an appropriate punishment commensurate with its extreme gravity.  This offense shall be deemed continuous or permanent as long as the fate or whereabouts of the victim has not been determined.”
Here is their request in their own words: “We ask in memory of Maria Luisa Bonadona de Quiroga who almost 40 years ago in a gesture similar to ours was able to recover the bodies of her sons who were immolated in Teoponte, who as a homage to the Bolivian Mothers, who were able to educate their children in the highest ideals, should order the Armed Forces –as their captain general- to return to us the remains of our relatives who are disappeared and that they open the files. Finally, we want to express that we are women who love life and, even though it may appear incoherent, we are ready to die for what we believe to be just. If this is the price that we must pay, we are ready to do it, with that we will at least have contributed to the re-establishment of ethical principles in Bolivian politics to end a double discourse.” We ask that the Bolivian government act as soon as possible to end this hunger strike and the suffering of so many victims of these offenses.
Letter in English and Spanish 28 May 2009 Dear , I am writing on a most urgent matter of life and death to plead for your help for Olga Flores Bedregal who is now on a hunger strike in La Paz with other women who are looking for justice in the case of their family members who disappeared during Bolivian dictatorships. I write on behalf of the 600 Unitarian Universalist women who gathered in Houston earlier this year. Olga has been instrumental in developing Unitarian Universalism in Bolivia. She received a scholarship from us to attend the Convocation and we came to know her as a serious person with deep convictions who would not undertake this action if she felt it were not the only avenue open to her. She has expressed that she is willing to die if the Bolivian government will not turn over what information they have on the disappearance of her brother Carlos Bedregal Flores in 1980. In God’s name we implore you to do whatever you can to gain compliance by the Bolivian government and save Olga’s life. Sincerely, Mayo 28 2009   Querida _______,   Escribo esta carta  con carácter de urgente y rogando por tu ayuda ya que se trata de un caso de vida o muerte. Olga Flores Bedregal quien actualmente se encuentra en huelga de hambre junto con otras mujeres en la Paz Bolivia y en busca de justicia en el caso de los miembros de su familia que desaparecieron durante la dictadura Boliviana. Esta  carta es en nombre de las 600 mujeres de  la comunidad Unitaria Universalista que se reunieron a principios de año en Houston. Olga ha jugado un papel importante en la comunidad Unitaria Universalista en Bolivia,. Ella recibio una beca por parte de nosotros para asistir a dicha convocatoria , y pudimos constatar que es una persona seria con convicciones profundas que no dudaria en tomar una decision asi si no fuera la ultima alternativa para ella. Ella ha expresado que no le importaría morir si el gobierno de Bolivia no revela toda la informacion que tiene relacionada al caso de la desaparición de su hermano Carlos Bedregal Flores sucedida en 1980. En el nombre de dios te imploramos para que hagas todo lo que este a tu alcance para lograr un mejor entendimiento del gobierno de Bolivia y asi poder salvar la vida de Olga.   Sinceramente,

 

Posted May 20th
Dear Online Community—
I have just heard news this week that Olga Flores has been on a hunger strike for 23 days. She has taken this action after trying every channel in Bolivia to try to find out about the disappearance of her brother in 1980. She is not alone--a number of women are seeking justice for family members who were carried off under the brutal dictatorships of that era when there were notorious human rights violations. President Morales seems like he ought to be sympathetic and yet his administration seems to have turned a deaf ear to these protests. I ask you all to pray for Olga. We will post here any additional information we receive. The message below contains links to stories on the website and photos of the women protesting. If you have information to add or suggestions to make, please contribute a blog article on this subject ( link to the blogs may be found on the home page) or email us at admin@icuuw.com.

Below is the complete message sent from Olga.

            Dear fellow Unitarian Universalists,   
            My name is Olga Flores Bedregal, and I am currently on a hunger strike in La Paz, Bolivia.  As I will explain further, I am seeking justice for persons, including my brother, who have been “disappeared” and murdered by Bolivian military governments. I´ll be I have been active in developing the Unitarian Universalist movement in Latin America for many years.  I am the sister of Carlos Flores Bedregal, who was forcibly taken from a political meeting on July 17, 1980 by soldiers during the military dictatorship of Luis Garcia Meza Tejada.  Joining me in the hunger strike is Marta Montiel, 47 years old, the daughter of Sergio “Pablo” Tirso, disappeared on August 31 of 1970 by the military dictatorship of Alfredo Ovano Candia.  Also joining the strike is Hortensia Gutierrez, 69 years of age, whose husband, Rodolfo Flores Sanmillan was disappeared on August 21, 1968 under the dictator Rene Barrientos.  I myself am 52 years old.                    

We are seeking justice for ourselves, our family members, and all of the disappeared during Bolivian dictatorships, of which there are many.  Included in the disappeared are many non-Bolivians killed during military dictatorships, including Argentineans, Chilean, Peruvians, and Brazilians.             

The hunger strike began in the Human Rights Assembly building in La Paz on May 5, 2009.  We have been forced to begin a hunger strike because the three branches of the Bolivian government-the judicial, the legislative, and the executive-have not brought justice to those effected by the capture and murder of dissidents during Bolivian military dictatorships. Not only have those who have committed murder not been properly prosecuted, the bodies of the deceased have not been returned to their families.              

Family members of the disappeared who have sought justice have found a justice system that is so slow and corrupt that there have been no convictions for these murders, even though the cases have been open for more than 10 years.             

Even though the current Bolivian government gives lip service to the concept of human rights, and has promoted a new constitution that contains language prohibiting illegal detentions and torture, nothing has been done to punish those who have committed crimes under prior governments.                  

The hunger strikers seek that the Bolivian government comply with the following demands:                

1. That President Evo Morales order the army give to family members the mortal remains of our loved ones, and to also return to us their personal belongings that are under military jurisdiction. Furthermore, that President Morales order that all military files created during the military dictatorships be declassified so that the public may understand what has happened in their country, and family members of the disappeared will know what happened to them.
            2.  That formal investigations be commenced regarding all of the persons who disappeared during the military dictatorships commencing with the dictatorship of Teoponte.  We also request that, as part of these investigations, the bodies of the disappeared be exhumed and examined.
            3. That the president of the Supreme Court agree to end the delay of justice by prosecutors, and that disciplinary proceedings be commenced against all the judges who have obstructed justice in the cases of Jose Carlos Trujillo Oroza, Renato Ticona Estrada, Juan Carlos Flores Bedregal and Marcel Quiroga Santa Cruz.
            4. That the National Congress of Bolivia open an investigation against the Attorney General of the Republic Mario Uribe Melendrez because in the cases mentioned herein his office has not only failed to comply with its role of representing the interests of society, it has been an accomplice of these crimes by covering them up.    
            5.  That the National Parliament provide funding and legislative authority so that compliance with the constitution, national laws, and international treaties concerning the illegal capture and execution of persons be guaranteed.  Furthermore, that the National Parliament solemnly apologize to our disappeared family members.
            These are the aims of our hunger strike; we also want to let new generations know who our family members were, what heir ideals were, how they saw history, what the historical context of their lives was, what the circumstances of their disappearance were, and who their repressors were.
            Reclamo de los Familiares de Desaparecidos en Bolivia:            http://argentina.indymedia.org/news/2009/04/667839.php
            Video de los familiares de desaparecidos reclamando justicia en la puerta del congreso Boliviano.
            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpBARAqAYR8
            Aparte, les comunicamos que como apoyo a la huelga se ha abierto un sitio web:             www.noalaimpunidad.mamametal.com
            la verdad sobre la impunidad, sus mecanismos, sus cómplices.    

 

Most Recent News Posting--May 20th 3229-BOLIVIA-DISAPPEARANCES MOD-DATE: 05/20/09 22:19:03 LATIN-MAY20-3229-BOLIVIA-DISAPPEARANCES LATIN: STORY   3229 3229-BOLIVIA-DISAPPEARANCES LA PAZ, BOLIVIA MAY 20, 2009 MAY 19, 2009 FILE  NATURAL WITH SPANISH SPEECH DURATION:02:28 SOURCE:REUTERS / PAT INTRO: HEADLINE: Bolivia orders declassification of dictatorship documents. TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~**NONE**~ Bolivia says will open archives to help find the bodies people killed during the dictatorships.   SHOWS: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (MAY 19, 2009) (PAT - NO ACCESS BOLIVIA) 1. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PROTESTING FOR DECLASSIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS 2. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS GUARDING BUILDING 3. PROTESTERS OUTSIDE BUILDING 4. WOMAN PAINTING GRAFFITI READING: NO IMPUNITY 5. PROTESTERS CHANTING: TRUTH AND JUSTICE 6. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PROTESTING 7. SIGNS WITH NAMES OF DISAPPEARED LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (FILE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 8. VARIOUS OF FORMER DICTATOR HUGO BANZER ASSUMING PRESIDENCY IN 1971 9. FORMER DICTATOR LUIS GARCIA MEZA READING PROCLAMATION IN 1980 LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (MAY 20, 2009) (REUTERS ACCESS ALL) 10. VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF GOVERNMENT HOUSE 11. DEFENSE MINISTER WALKER SAN MIGUEL AT NEWS CONFERENCE 12. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DEFENSE MINISTER WALKER SAN MIGUEL SAYING:     "There's already an agreement that has been ratified by government resolution so that this procedure is immediate, so it's expedited and the archives can be accessed." 13. PERSON FILMING 14. VARIOUS OF WOMEN CARRYING OUT HUNGER STRIKE 15. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OLGA FLORES BEDREGAL, RELATIVE OF DISAPPEARED PERSON, SAYING:     "Right now we think it's a clear sign that the government intends to clear up this dark time in Bolivia's history and answer our questions about where our relatives are." 16. VARIOUS OF THREE WOMEN AT HUNGER STRIKE 17. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OLGA FLORES BEDREGAL, RELATIVE OF DISAPPEARED PERSON, SAYING:     "Once we see the results and it's what we want we will lift the strike. If not, we willing to die. What we are asking for, no less or no more, is that they follow the law, that they comply with the Inter-American convention against the disappearance of people." 18. VARIOUS OF SIGNS ON WALL STORY: Bolivia passed a resolution on Wednesday (May 20) ordering the Armed Forces to declassify archives that could lead to information about people who vanished during bloody military dictatorships from 1960 to 1980.     The decision came as women whose relatives and husbands disappeared during the regimes held an ongoing hunger strike demanding the documents be released.     Three women are on the 15th day of a hunger strike, demanding information on people like Marcelo Quiroga, a socialist party member from Santa Cruz who was killed in 1980 during a coup by Luis Garcia Meza.     People also disappeared under the rule of military leader Hugo Banzer.     Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Defense Minister Walker San Miguel said a deal had been made with the Armed Forces and the government to release any unread documents immediately.     "There's already an agreement that has been ratified by government resolution so that this procedure is immediate, so it's expedited and the archives can be accessed," San Miguel said.     Olga Flores Bedregal, one of the women on the hunger strike, said it looked like a step in the right direction.     "Right now we think it's a clear sign that the government intends to clear up this dark time in Bolivia's history and answer our questions about where our relatives are," she said.     However, Bedregal added that the women are prepared to continue their strike.     "Once we see the results and it's what we want we will lift the strike. If not, we willing to die. What we are asking for, no less or no more, is that they follow the law, that they comply with the Inter-American convention against the disappearance of people," she said.     San Miguel has said that leftist President Evo Morales is interested in clearing up the details of the disappearances, but the leader came under fire last week when he said there was nothing to declassify because the no further information existed.