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Kairos Times: January 2007. Vol. 6, #1
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| I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, Dec. 10, 1964 |
In this edition:
- Kimy Pernia Domico was assassinated, admits Colombian paramilitary leader
- Mexican community calls for action as mining blast cuts off electricity
- Wade in the Water – Take Action on World Water Day, March 22 2007
- Killers of Congolese human rights defender remain at large
- KAIROS Sunday is coming up!
- Job postings: Ecological Justice Coordinator and anti- poverty program assistant
- acial Justice Week 2007 focuses on slavery—both old and new
- New resources, and events posting reminder
Kimy Pernia Domico was assassinated, admits Colombian paramilitary leader
On June 2, 2001 Kimy Pernia Domicó, Indigenous leader of the Embera Katio in Colombia, was kidnapped and forcibly disappeared. In the following six years, there was no progress in bringing the perpetrators of this crime to justice despite a major international outcry, and efforts to have an investigation into the case were repeatedly stalled by the government.
Sadly, it has now been confirmed that Kimy was murdered. Paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso has admitted to participating in the disappearance and killing of Kimy. Many within the KAIROS network remember Kimy, some of you met him when he came to Canada. Others met his daughter Marta Domicó when she came to Canada to accept the John Humphreys Freedom Award for Human Rights on behalf of her father.
Please go to our website to read KAIROS’ full commentary on this crime against Kimy, his family, his community, and all who long for a just peace in Colombia: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/countries/colombia/kimyUpdate070119.asp
For more information, please contact Rachel Warden, Program
Coordinator, Latin American Partnerships, 416-463-5312 ext 242
rwarden
Top
of pageMexican community calls for action as mining blast cuts off electricity
For years the historic community of Cerro de San Pedro, Mexico, has struggled to stop a proposed gold mine from setting up shop on its doorstep. They have numerous court decisions on their side, but various levels of government in Mexico have not allowed these to halt the march towards full-scale mining operations.
MSX is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian mining company Metallica
Resources. On
January 11th and 12th, MSX began blasting on the village hill, destroying
several homes and the electricity grid and leaving residents without
water or light. To see one of the blasts, check out video footage
at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBAkOB7KZgI
In a related move, the company issued a press release indicating
that it is ready to begin the cyanide leaching process in the first
part of this year, announcing that “the first truck load of
ore has been delivered to the leach pad”. This has been a
tactic used often by the company; as legal rulings systematically
remove its operating permits, it finds new ways to announce next
steps in the mining process, thus giving its share prices a boost
while creating an appearance of legitimacy for its operations.
Community activists and members of the Broad Opposition Front have
not been fooled; they are doing everything they can to stop the
destruction of their village, the surrounding desert eco system,
and the limited water supply. They have denounced the company’s
actions at various levels of government who have been reluctant
to receive their petitions, never mind take action. Residents have
also filed a complaint under the Environmental Side Agreement of
NAFTA.
The people of Cerro de San Pedro have asked Canadians to get involved, and KAIROS and its network members have accompanied the community over the past few years of this thirteen-year struggle. Most recently, we made a submission to the federal government’s national roundtables on mining, entitled The Cerro de San Pedro Case: A Clarion Call for Binding Legislation of Canadian Corporate Activity Abroad. This community struggle is part of the reason that KAIROS is part of a campaign calling on our federal government to hold Canadian companies legally responsible for their actions overseas. See http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/action/campaign.asp and http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/corporate/mining/index.asp for ideas on getting involved, and see also the solidarity banner request, below!
Take the time to write a letter to the new President of Mexico asking that the Mexican state and federal governments enforce the September 1993 State Decree recognizing the area as a fragile eco-system, and force MSX to stop its operations. Call on the Mexican federal government to carry out an immediate investigation of the complicity of state and municipal authorities in advancing MSX’s illegal operations.
Please send your letters to President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon
Felipe.Calderon@presidencia.gob.mx or fax them to (52) 55-2789-11-00
cc-ed to the Canadian Ambassador, Gaetan Lavertu at Gaetan.Lavertu@international.gc.ca
or fax: (52) 55-5724-7985 and to the community of Cerro de San Pedro
at megadial199@msn.com or fax: (52) 444 8 22 75 40. KAIROS is working
on a letter which will be posted shortly under http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/lettersTopic.asp#mining
KAIROS staff Rusa Jeremic and Rachel Warden will be travelling to Cerro de San Pedro in March to visit the community and celebrate their 6th annual cultural festival. We are inviting you to send solidarity banners and messages with them. You can email a message or better yet, create a small banner on lightweight cloth or heavy paper and mail it to KAIROS. Rusa and Rachel will bring the banners to the community heritage celebration as a gesture of solidarity from Canadians.
For more information contact: Rusa Jeremic Global Economic Justice Program Coordinator, rjeremic or Rachel Warden, Latin America Partnerships Program, rwarden . Mailing address: KAIROS, 129 St Clair Aves West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 1N5
Wade in the Water – Take action on World Water Day, March 22 2007
Last year’s World Water Day events, co-sponsored by KAIROS, Council of Canadians, and CUPE, were so much fun –and so successful– that we’ve all decided to come together and do it all over again! This year’s focus will be on two main advocacy points: regulating Canadian corporate activity that damages water supply through overuse, diversion, and pollution; and getting to Canada to acknowledge that access to clean water and sanitation is a human right.
Once again we’d like to offer a range of activities and encourage as much cooperation as possible among KAIROS and other church groups, Council chapters, CUPE locals, and other community groups. Last year, we collaborated on more than 60 events and we hope to do even more this year, and draw in even more people from throughout our communities.
We’re still working out the details but we can tell you that the options will include:
- An updated “Walk for Water” – we’ll post it as soon as we have it ready but in the meantime, feel free to access the 2006 version to get some ideas
- If you haven’t already done so, get your municipality to sign on the Water Declaration.
- Visit your MP to talk about water issues – specifically the impact of Canadian corporate activity on water, and water as a human right. What if there’s an election? Sponsor an all-candidates debate on water issues!
- Book Club on Water, Inc. by Varda Burstyn: a fictional tale of bulk water exports by a Canadian author. This is an easy event to hold in your home, church, or community center – the book is widely available in paperback, and we’ll provide discussion questions.
- Film viewings and discussions – stay tuned for more information!
- Book launches! Work with your local bookstore to launch Thirst, the book about the movie that was the focus of many WWD events in 2006. Again, this is a developing idea, so stay tuned for details!
And of course every public event will include opportunities for participants to sign the Counting on Water action!!
No matter what you decide to do, keep us posted! Once again we’ll
be coordinating a list of events across the country. Contact Campaigns
Coordinator Sara Stratton at
sstratton
or at 1-877-403-8933 x 241.
Killers of Congolese human rights defender remain at large
KAIROS remains concerned that the killers of human rights defender Pascal Kabungulu Kibembi remain at large in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On July 31, 2005, Mr. Kabungulu, then-Executive Secretary of the organization Héritiers de la justice, a partner of KAIROS, was assassinated in his home in front of his family. His organization had uncovered grave human rights abuses by armed groups in eastern DRC and called on the government to put an end to the impunity with which these groups operated.
KAIROS has written once more to Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs requesting Canadian officials to meet with the members of Héritiers de la justice to ensure justice is pursued in this case and that the organization’s staff is protected.
We urge the Canadian government to request from the newly elected Congolese government a new, complete and independent investigation into Mr. Kabungulu’s death and the prosecution of individuals involved in the murder, including those accused of obstructing justice.
We at KAIROS see the Canadian push for justice in the case of Mr. Kabungulu’s assassination as a means of beginning to address the much larger culture of impunity in the DRC that has been made much worse by the recent war and the subsequent unrest. In total, nearly 4 million lives have been lost by the fighting: the most in any country since World War II.
To view the letter, please see http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/letters/ltrPascalKabanguluKilling070112.pdf
To find out more, please contact John Lewis, Program Coordinator
for International Human Rights at
jlewis
or 416-463-5312 ext. 224.
Job postings: Ecological Justice Program Coordinator and Anti-Poverty Assistant
Please help KAIROS spread the word about both of these positions (également disponibles en français.) See the detailed job descriptions at http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/support/jobs.asp
The closing date for the ecological justice position is Friday,
February 16th, 2007. Please send your applications by mail or in
person only to: Therese Dineen, KAIROS: 129 St. Clair Ave West,
Toronto, Ontario M4V 1N5.
KAIROS Sunday is coming up
KAIROS Sunday is your chance to promote social justice in your faith community. You can hold a service or event at any time, of course, but many churches find the last Sunday before Lent (February 18, 2007) a good moment to reflect on the Christian call to peace with justice. KAIROS Sunday worship materials and a poster are available at http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/network/sunday/index.asp
Let us know what you do in your faith community, and please give
us feedback—drop Julie Graham (education and Network Coordinator)
a line at
jgraham
or 1 877 403 8933 x233.
Racial Justice Week 2007 focuses on slavery—both old and new
From Chains to Freedom: Journeying Towards Reconciliation is the 2007 resource from the Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network (CEARN), of which KAIROS is a member. 2007 marks the 200th anniversary of the end of the Atlantic slave trade in the British Empire, but the effects of slavery remain to this day, while forms of modern-day slavery are appearing. This resource will help you commemorate the past struggles to end slavery, and join in our common resistance to any form of enslavement and racial discrimination.
All congregations, parishes and communities are invited to hold an event or worship on the theme of racial justice, and this resource is set up to help your plans. Please share this flyer widely with all those in your networks who would be interested. The resource will be available in English and French by late February, and can be used at any time of the year. CEARN is part of the "Undoing Racism in Canadian Churches" program of the Canadian Council of Churches.
Order information is on the flyer, at http://www.ccc-cce.ca/english/justice/racism.htm
Just download it and send it in by fax or mail; or type the needed
information into an email message. The full resource will also be
available in PDF format on this page.
New resources….
Check out the latest KAIROS Policy Briefing Papers. Number 5 - "Measuring the Federal Government’s Commitment to Aboriginal Rights" examines the current federal government’s position on the Kelowna Accord and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a way of measuring its commitment to Aboriginal peoples’ rights. To download the PDF click here: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/resources/policyBriefing5AboriginalRights0612.pdf
Policy Briefing Paper # 6 - "Free Trade at the Crossroads: Time For a New Approach" looks back on the failed experiments of the past decade of trade negotiations and calls on the Canadian government to adopt a rights-based approach to trade rooted in transparency, accountability and the principles of just and sustainable development. To download the PDF see http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/resources/policyBriefing6TradeCrossroads0612.pdf
For a Canada without Poverty forum report is available in our anti-poverty
section:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/antipoverty/analysis/rptVisiontoActionForum0612.pdf
Send us your events! The KAIROS events posting website is open 24/ 7 at http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/events/index.asp ! Please send your event poster to info so we can publicise your event. We know many groups are holding water-related events and other exciting initiatives, so let’s have the details!
You’ve been reading Kairos Times, a monthly e-bulletin from
KAIROS, the social justice organization of eleven Canadian churches
and church agencies. Sign up for this free bulletin and occasional
urgent actions or contact us at
info
, or toll-free 1 877 403 8933 Check out our website
at http://www.kairoscanada.org
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