>Tiempos 5/16/00, 5/17/00; ED 5/17/00] > >The attack came as conflicts over forced eradication continued to escalate >in the Chapare. The Self-Defense Committees have been blocking all the >roads in the area since May 3, forcing the government to use helicopters to >bring in troops and supplies for its eradication operations. Several >confrontations have been reported between government troops and cocaleros, >who oppose the forced eradication because coca crops are their only means >of survival. The cocaleros are said to be armed with old rifles and have >allegedly laid homemade landmines in some areas. The government has closed >off the area to journalists and communication has been difficult. Cocalero >leader Eleuterio Colque charged that government troops have been aiming >their weapons at the campesinos, looting their homes, destroying legal >crops and otherwise violating their human rights. Evo Morales denied >government claims that only 5,000 hectares of coca remain uneradicated, and >noted that many families, facing desperate poverty and disillusioned with >alternative development programs, have resumed planting coca crops. [LT >5/17/00; ED 5/17/00] > >* * * >____________________________________________________________________ > >US CONGRESS APPROVES "SOA CLONE" >____________________________________________________________________ > >By a 214 to 204 margin, the US House of Representatives voted Thursday to >close the controversial US Army School of the Americas (SOA) located at Ft. >Benning, GA. But in the same vote Congress approved a Pentagon proposal to >immediately reopen the school under a new name: the Defense Institute for >Hemispheric Security Cooperation (or according to the Miami Herald, the >Institute for Professional Military Education and Training). The school >will continue to provide military training for Latin American soldiers at >Ft. Benning, but will be transferred from the Army to the Defense >Department. The measure, promoted by Army Secretary Louis Caldera, was >approved as part of a defense authorization bill. The bill now goes to the >Senate. > >Rep. Joseph Moakley (D-MA) unsuccessfully tried to defeat the Pentagon >proposal with an amendment, co-sponsored by Reps. Joseph Scarborough >(R-FL), Tom Campbell (R-CA) and James McGovern (D- MA), that would have >closed the SOA and halted opening of the proposed Institute until a >congressional task force reported its recommendations. > >SOA Watch, the group that coordinates protests against the army school, has >called a national day of action for May 24 to protest the "SOA Clone." For >more information, see http://www.soaw.org. [SOA Watch Press Release 5/18/00 >and Action Alert 5/20/00; Miami Herald 5/20/00] > >* * * >____________________________________________________________________ > >PROTESTERS RETURN TO PUERTO RICAN ISLAND >____________________________________________________________________ > >US federal authorities arrested 55 protesters on the night of May 13 in a >restricted area on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, which is used by the >US Navy for bombing practice. The protesters, including former lightweight >boxing champion Jose ("Chegui") Torres, had cut through a fence to enter >the restricted area. This was the largest arrest at the site since May 4, >when federal marshals removed 216 protesters who had camped out in the >range to prevent a resumption of the bombing the Navy has carried out there >for 60 years. The encampments started shortly after when a pilot >accidentally killed civilian guard David Sanes Rodriguez during a practice >run in April 1999. The Navy finally resumed bombing on May 8, four days >after the protesters were removed [see Updates #536, 537]. > >The 55 arrested on May 13 were taken to the Naval Base at Ceiba. All but >one were charged with misdemeanor trespassing and released without bail. >Bail was set at $5,000 for Freddy Toledo, a photojournalist with the San >Juan daily El Nuevo Dia who was accused of aggression. Witnesses said >Toledo had been attacked by members of the Navy, not the other way around. >The protesters could face a fine of $500 and up to six months in jail. >Ismael Guadalupe, one of those arrested and a member of the Committee for >the Rescue and Development of Vieques, said he believed there were still at >least 25 more protesters hidden in the target area. [El Diario-La Prensa >5/16/00 from correspondent; Associated Press 5/15/00; Reuters 5/14/00] > >* * * >____________________________________________________________________ > >FBI STARTS TO OPEN UP PUERTO RICAN FILES >____________________________________________________________________ > >In a meeting with US representative Jose Serrano and four Puerto Rican >senators on May 17, US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Louis >Freeh began the process of releasing secret files--1.8 million >documents--that the agency has kept on Puerto Rican political figures. >Freeh gave Serrano four boxes containing 8,400 pages. Two boxes contained >files on independence leader Pedro Albizu Campos, who died in 1965 shortly >after his release from federal prison; one box held information on >commonwealth supporter Luis Munoz Marin, the first elected governor of >Puerto Rico who was born on the island. > >Albizu Campos' granddaughter, lawyer Rosa Meneses Albizu, dismissed the >release as "public relations." Albizu Campos' family has maintained that he >was the victim of radiation torture while in prison. "The North American >government is never going to reveal the tortures to which they subjected >Albizu Campos," Meneses Albizu said. "They would be confessing a crime." >[Serrano Press Release 5/17/00; ED-LP 5/18/00] > >ISSN#: 1084-922X. The Weekly News Update on the Americas is published >weekly by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York. A one-year >subscription (52 issues) is $25. To subscribe, send a check or money order >for US $25 payable to Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette Street, >New York, NY 10012. Please specify if you want the electronic or print >version: they are identical in content, but the electronic version is >delivered directly to your email address; the print version is sent via >first class mail. For more information about electronic subscriptions, >contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Back issues and source materials are available on >request. > >***** > >THE NEW OBSERVER >Japan Watch >P.O. Box 5404 >Tokoyo International Post Office, Japan >E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Web: http://www.twics.com/~anzu/Japanwatch/ >- May 2000 - > >----- >____________________________________________________________________ > >JAPAN AND PROJECT ECHELON >____________________________________________________________________ > >by Jens Wilkinson >http://www.twics.com/~anzu/Japanwatch/Security/Echelon1.html > >In Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, near the northern tip of Japan, lies a >sprawling US Air Force base, best known as the home to the 35th Fighter >Wing and its squadron of F-16 jets. But Misawa is actually a more grandiose >facility. The huge complex includes a host of installations in addition to >the Air Force landing strip. In particular, some six kilometers north of >the airstrip, there is a mysterious array of antennae and radar domes (or >'radomes'), a cornucopia of sophisticated surveillance equipment. > >But surveillance for what? Oficially, the large radar site is operated >jointly by various sections of United States intelligence. On the official >home page of Misawa Base, a host of units are listed -- all military units >of one sort or another. There is an Army unit with some 700 personnel, an >Air Force group with 900, a Navy unit with 700, and even a small Marine >Corps detachment of 70. Somehow, though, with the Soviet Union having >collapsed and the Chinese government doing all it can to ensure it can >enter the WTO smoothly, it is difficult to believe that all that hardware >is focused on the sole 'rogue nation' of the region; i.e., North Korea. > >Intriguingly, among the intelligence groups that use Misawa base, there is >at least one "unlisted" member. It is the US National Security Agency, >headquartered in Fort Meade, near Washington DC. This body was relatively >unknown until very recently. In 1986, however, it gained notoriety thanks >to a young, soft-spoken lieutenant colonel named Oliver North, who made >daily appearances on US national TV, explaining how he had lied to >Congress, how he had sold weapons illegally to Iran, and how he had >funneled the proceeds from these sales to the anti-government Contra >guerrillas in Nicaragua. Today, the NSA even has a home page, though the >site only confirms its existence, as well as the fact that it is involved >in "signals intelligence and communications security." > >As it turns out, the NSA presence at Misawa may be crucial. There was a >series of revelations in 1997 and 1998, primarily from Europe, that the NSA >was operating a global intelligence network, called Project Echelon, with >the goal of monitoring virtually all electronic communications - telephone, >facsimile, satellite, or telephone - around the world. According to the >so-called STOA Report, issued by the European Commission, the core of this >network is at Fort Meade, but there are stations peppered throughout the >global U.S. alliance, with the largest station at a place called Menwith >Hill, in Yorkshire, England. > >The Echelon Project, part of a secret intelligence treaty called UKUSA >(signed by the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), was built >up during the Cold War, primarily for the purpose of intercepting signals >from the Soviet camp. With the end of the Cold War, however, its role has >apparently changed to surveillance of "terrorists," as well as economic >intelligence. > >This network also had a secondary function: to circumvent domestic privacy >laws in the different countries. Many nations have laws protecting their >own citizens from being spied on by their own intelligence agencies (for >example, the CIA is legally prohibited from conducting domestic >operations). But here lies the brilliance of the Echelon logic. If the US >spies on Japanese citizens, and provides this information to the Japanese >government, and the Japanese government spies on US citizens, again sharing >this intelligence, then both sides can claim they are acting within the law. > >Misawa clearly has a major role in this global intelligence network. During >the Cold War years, it was generally believed that the huge radar site was >primarily focused on the Soviet Union and North Korea, and it had the >particular task of monitoring communications from three Soviet satellites >(Richelson, p. 182). > >In recent years, however, a more sinister mission has come to light. Part >of the Echelon mission has come to include the monitoring of Japanese >diplomatic cables, for example, as well as the communications between >trading companies and their branches in other countries. The network has >apparently been used to boost the American position in trade negotiations >with Japan. > >Of course, this puts Japan in an awkward spot. In some cases, it appears, >the array was aimed not at the outside but rather at the inside of Japan. >The array may, in fact, be a huge facility with the primary goal of >intercepting messages - via radio waves, microwaves, even conventional >telephone lines - inside Japan. It is rumored that agencies such as the NSA >may have powerful software that allows them to listen in on telephone >conversations, and then record those which contain certain keywords. > >There has been virtually no debate in Japan about the existence of Project >Echelon, let alone Japan's role in it. Since the release of the European >report, there has been interest among privacy advocates, but this debate >has yet to find its way to the floor of the National Diet. According to >reports, Japan (along with South Korea, as well as Germany and Italy) has >secretly signed the UKUSA treaty, and is now a part of the "undercover >partnership." > >But this is understandable. For Japan, Project Echelon may well be a >double-edged sword. On one hand, there is the danger that it will be used >against Japanese interests, as has happened in trade talks, as well as, >very notably, the 1996 APEC conference held in Seattle. At that time, it >was reported that the US had gone all-out to compile intelligence on the >positions of other members of the group. But on the other hand, the system >clearly allows Japan to gain information on countries around it - such as >North Korea, or even groups within Japan - information that may well be >seen as outweighing these risks. > >In any case, it is a complex issue. The European Commission report saw >great peril in this system, and recommended that, "The European Parliament >should reject proposals from the United States for making private messages >via the global communications network (Internet) accessible to US >intelligence agencies." > >Perhaps there is a lesson for Japan in this. > >References > >Ogura Toshimaru, "Kanshi to Jiyu" (Surveillance and Freedom), in Gendai >Shinso (Contemporary Thought), October 1999. > >Jeffrey T. Richelson, The U.S. Intelligence Community, 4th Edition, >Westview, 1999. > >European Commission, Assessing the Technologies of Political Control, 1997. > >"Spies like US," London Telegraph, December 16, 1997. > >The New Observer is a Kanto-based English language journal of news and >views not usually available in mainstream media in Japan. It is intended to >serve as a noticeboard and discussion forum for the political, economic, >and cultural concerns of foreign residents and workers. It is published >with the generous assistance of the National Union of General Workers >(NUGW), http://www.twics.com/~maxim/nugw-top.html. > >***** >____________________________________________________________________ > >PINOCHET PROBERS TOUT NEW EVIDENCE >____________________________________________________________________ > >THE WASHINGTON POST >Nation and Politics >Sunday, May 28, 2000; Page A01 >http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19724-2000May27.html >By Vernon Loeb and David A. Vise >Washington Post Staff Writers > >Federal investigators have uncovered evidence that some of them believe is >sufficient to indict Gen. Augusto Pinochet for conspiracy to commit murder >in the 1976 car bombing that killed a former Chilean diplomat and >opposition politician, Orlando Letelier, on Washington's Embassy Row. > >Among the evidence is testimony that an angry Pinochet intervened to strip >Letelier of his Chilean citizenship days before the assassination on Sept. >21, 1976, which also killed a 25-year-old American colleague of Letelier's, >Ronni Moffitt. > >Justice Department officials said they do not minimize the difficulty of >indicting Pinochet for acts that took place 24 years ago in a foreign >country. And even if he is indicted, the officials said, a trial in the >United States is highly unlikely because he recently was excused from trial >in Britain on grounds of ill health and has returned to Chile. > >Still, the officials said, Attorney General Janet Reno is committed to >pursuing the investigation of the Letelier assassination, which the Justice >Department considers a state-sponsored act of terrorism on U.S. soil. "She >is extremely committed to seeing that justice is done in the case but has >not reached a decision that the evidence supports an indictment," a senior >Justice Department official said. > >The U.S. government backed the 1973 coup in which Pinochet led a military >junta that took power from Chile's elected president, Salvador Allende, and >human rights groups have criticized the Justice Department for failing to >go after Pinochet before he was arrested in Britain in 1998. But Reno and >seven top aides briefed Letelier's widow, Isabel, on the status of the >probe earlier this month and promised to pursue Pinochet and other possible >suspects for as long as it takes to close the case, according to Samuel J. >Buffone, an attorney for the Letelier family. > >Buffone declined to comment on the briefing but said Isabel Letelier >thanked Reno for reviving the probe. He quoted Reno as saying that she and >her top deputies were "satisfied with the investigation" and were >"proceeding with vigor." > >At one point during the briefing, Buffone recalled, Reno gestured to a >1930s mural on her conference room wall depicting "Justice Denied" and told >Isabel Letelier that she had been denied justice for too long. The attorney >general then glanced over her shoulder at "Justice Granted" and said that >is what she is trying to achieve in this case, according to Buffone. > >"Does the United States government have the will to prosecute Pinochet? >Yes, it does, and I do not hesitate in that at all," Buffone said. > >While prosecutors still have no direct evidence that Pinochet ordered >Letelier's assassination, they believe the former dictator's effort to >strip Letelier of his citizenship goes a long way toward showing that >Pinochet had a motive for the murder of the well-known leftist. > >E. Lawrence Barcella Jr., a former federal prosecutor who two decades ago >won convictions against low-level Chilean operatives in the assassination, >said the government's evidence detailing Pinochet's obsession with Letelier >immediately before the bombing--evidence prosecutors did not possess when >the case first went to court--is extremely valuable. > >"You build a case against the head of a criminal organization piece by >piece, and circumstantial evidence is how you build the case," Barcella >said. "What was important to me about the stripping of his citizenship was >the timing of it--just 10 days before the assassination. It clearly showed >that the efforts Letelier was making to bring pressure on Chile were >working. He was getting under the junta's skin." > >The government's new understanding of Pinochet's personal involvement, >Barcella said, comes on top of solid evidence that Letelier's assassination >was masterminded by Manuel Contreras, the former head of Chile's National >Intelligence Directorate, or DINA. > >Contreras, convicted of the crime by Chilean prosecutors in 1993, claimed >in a recent clemency petition that he met daily with Pinochet around the >time of the assassination and that Pinochet approved and supervised all >major DINA operations, Barcella said. > >A federal grand jury in Washington initially indicted Contreras and seven >others in 1978 on charges of killing Letelier as part of a global operation >to eliminate exiled critics of Pinochet's junta. Evidence at the time came >close to implicating Pinochet, and former prosecutors say they remain >convinced that Pinochet authorized Letelier's murder. > >In trials between 1978 and 1990, two DINA operatives and two Cuban exiles >were convicted and imprisoned in the United States for the bombing. Pedro >Espinoza, the DINA's operations director, was convicted with Contreras in >Chile, and both remain in prison there. > >According to evidence in the various trials, DINA operatives destroyed >Letelier's car with a remote-control bomb. Sitting next to him in the front >seat was Moffitt, a colleague at Washington's Institute for Policy Studies, >who was hit in the neck by a metal shard. Michael Moffitt, her husband, >survived in the car's back seat, only to see his bride of four months die >on the street. > >The Justice Department reopened its long-dormant investigation, code-named >CHILBOM, after Pinochet was arrested in Britain 19 months ago. > >On March 3, Pinochet, 84, made an emotional return to Chile from Britain, >where authorities had released him on grounds of poor health. But he now >faces charges in Chile of involvement in thousands of murders and incidents >of torture during his rule from 1973 to 1990. > >U.S. prosecutors first found evidence of Pinochet's effort to strip >Letelier of his citizenship when they began reviewing classified cables in >the files of the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency this year. The >cables from 1976 provided a wealth of information about whom Pinochet met >and what he was reported to have said in the days before Letelier's >assassination. > >That information enabled a team of prosecutors and FBI agents--including a >lawyer from the Justice Department and one from the U.S. attorney's office >here, several investigators from the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the >FBI's Washington Field Office and the FBI's legal attache in Santiago--to >search for new witnesses during a month-long visit to Chile in March and >April. They were allowed to submit questions through a Chilean attorney >during court proceedings in which a Chilean judge questioned 42 people >subpoenaed by Chile's Supreme Court at the request of the U.S. government. > >Numerous witnesses interviewed inside and outside the court proceeding >provided valuable information about the activities of Pinochet, his aides >and other top Chilean officials around the time of the assassination, often >without realizing the importance of what they were saying, officials said. > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
