----- Original Message ----- From: "ANDERSON DAVID" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, July 16, 2001 11:43 AM Subject: [ASDnet] Stop John Negroponte!!! From NicaNet, Quest for Peace, & Witness for > > >>Stop Iran-Contra Criminal John Negroponte! > >>Friday, July 6, 2001 > >>Act immediately to prevent Senate approval of Negroponte for Ambassador to > >>the UN! Hearings may occur as early as mid-July! Make sure your Senator > >>knows the truth about the candidate for this very important position! > >>[This alert is called by the Nicaragua Network, Witness for Peace, and Quest > >>for Peace. Please contact the Nicaragua Network for more information at > >>202-544-9355 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]] > >> > >>Alert includes: > >>1) Introduction > >>2) Background on John Negroponte, nominee for Ambassador to UN > >>3) Suggested Actions (Mailing or Calling Your Senator) > >> > >>1) INTRODUCTION > >> > >>George W. Bush's presidency has begun with a return to the Reagan-era > >>agenda. Of concern to those of us in the Latin American solidarity > >>community has been his unapologetic attempt to revive Cold War diplomacy > >>through the nomination of former Iran Contra criminals to key diplomatic > >>posts. Reagan-era Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams has been > >>selected as the National Security Council's senior director for democracy, > >>human rights and international operations (a post which does not require > >>Senate approval). Some might remember that Abrams pled guilty to two > >>misdemeanor counts of lying to Congress during the Iran Contra hearings and > >>was subsequently pardoned by George Bush, Sr. > >> > >>Though we cannot prevent Abrams' return to prominence, we can keep out > >>former US Ambassador to Honduras John Negroponte who played a significant > >>role in the CIA-sponsored terrorism of Hondurans during the Nicaraguan > >>Contra War. The Bush Administration has officially nominated Negroponte to > >>be US Ambassador to the UN. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is > >>preparing to hold nomination hearings before the close of July! > >> > >>This nomination is particularly egregious now that the international > >>community has issued a vote of no confidence in US human rights promotion by > >>dropping our country from the UN Human Rights Commission. John Negroponte > >>deliberately falsified State Department human rights reports throughout his > >>time in Honduras. US missionaries and many people of faith and conscience > >>were MURDERED by the CIA-trained Honduran Batallion 3-16, which Negroponte > >>at best overlooked and at worst oversaw. His nomination is an outrage, but > >>sadly, it will pass through with minimal resistance unless you as > >>constituents do something about it! > >> > >>2) BACKGROUND ON JOHN NEGROPONTE > >> > >>The New York Times credits John Negroponte with "carrying out the covert > >>strategy of the Reagan administration to crush the Sandinista government in > >>Nicaragua" during his tenure as US Ambassador to Honduras from 1981 and > >>1985. He oversaw the growth of military aid to Honduras from $4 million to > >>$77.4 million a year. In early 1984, two American mercenaries, Thomas Posey > >>and Dana Parker, contacted Negroponte, stating they wanted to supply arms to > >>the Contra army after the US Congress had banned governmental add. > >>Documents show that Negroponte connected the two with a contact in the > >>Honduran military. The operation was exposed nine months later, at which > >>point the Reagan administration denied any U.S. government involvement, > >>despite Negroponte's contact earlier that year. Other documents uncovered a > >>scheme of Negroponte and Vice President George Bush to funnel Contra aid > >>money through the Honduran government. > >> > >>In addition to his work with the Nicaraguan Contra army, Negroponte helped > >>conceal from Congress the murder, kidnapping and torture abuses of a > >>CIA-equipped and -trained Honduran military unit, Batallion 3-16. No > >>mention of these human rights violations ever appeared in State Department > >>Human Rights reports for Honduras. The Baltimore Sun reports that Efrain > >>Diaz Arrivillaga, then a delegate in the Honduran Congress and a voice of > >>dissent, told the Sun that he complained to Negroponte on numerous occasions > >>about the Honduran military's human rights abuses. Rick Chidester, a junior > >>Embassy Official under Negroponte, reported to the Sun that he was forced to > >>omit an exhaustive gathering of human rights violations from his 1982 State > >>Department report. Sister Laetitia Bordes went on a fact-finding delegation > >>to Honduras in May 1982 to investigate the whereabouts of 32 Salvadoran nuns > >>and women of faith who fled to Honduras in 1981 after Archbishop Romero's > >>assassination. Negroponte claimed the Embassy knew nothing, but in 1996, > >>Negroponte's predecessor Jack Binns reported that the women had been > >>captured, tortured, and then crammed into helicopters from which they were > >>tossed to their deaths. > >> > >>According to the Los Angeles Times, the US government recently revoked the > >>visa of General Luis Alonso Discua Elvir, who was Honduras' deputy > >>ambassador to the UN, after he went public saying he had details about > >>Negroponte's involvement with the rogue Battalion 3-16. General Discua was > >>the commander of the Battalion during Negroponte's tenure as ambassador. > >>His testimony would be invaluable in illuminating Negroponte's collusion > >>with Honduran opponents on Capitol Hill. In 1994, the Honduran Human Rights > >>Commission charged Negroponte personally with several human rights abuses. > >> > >>On August 27, 1997, CIA Inspector General Frederick P. Hitz released a 211 > >>page classified report entitled "Selected Issues Relating to CIA Activities > >>in Honduras in the 1980's." This report was partly declassified on October > >>22, 1998, in response to persistent demands by the Honduran human rights > >>ombudsman. You can read parts of the document on the National Security > >>Archives website at www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/latin_america/honduras/. Only > >>Senators and their staff who have security clearance can read the report in > >>its entirety. It is absolutely critical that every senator read and > >>consider the entire report before approving Negroponte's nomination. > >>Negroponte is highly respected in diplomatic circles as "a man who speaks > >>five languages but knows when to keep silent." Due to his urbane > >>temperament and broad support in the professional diplomatic field, it will > >>be very tempting for senators to whisk his nomination through. > >> > >>3) SUGGESTED ACTIONS > >> > >>In order to effectively oppose Negroponte's nomination and its tremendous > >>repercussions, grassroots activists must be vigilant in persistently > >>communicating their opposition with their senators. As we speak, staffers > >>for Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee are gathering materials and > >>issuing subpoenas for the hearing on Negroponte's nomination. Due to their > >>placement on the Foreign Relations Committee, the following senators' > >>support is particularly important: > >>Joseph Biden (D), <http://www.senate.gov/~biden/> DE, Chair (202-224-5042, > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED]), Paul Sarbanes (D), <http://sarbanes.senate.gov/> > >>MD (202-224-4524, > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED]), Christopher Dodd (D), > >><http://www.senate.gov/~dodd/> CT (202-224-2823, [EMAIL PROTECTED]), > >>John Kerry (D), <http://www.senate.gov/~kerry/> MA (202-224-2742, > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED]), Russell Feingold (D), > >><http://www.senate.gov/~feingold/> WI (202-224-5323, > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED]), Paul Wellstone (D), > >><http://www.senate.gov/~wellstone/> MN (202- 224-5641, > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED]), Barbara Boxer (D), > >><http://www.senate.gov/~boxer/> CA (202-224-3553, [EMAIL PROTECTED]), > >>Robert Torricelli (D), <http://www.senate.gov/~torricelli/> NJ > >>(202-224-3224, [EMAIL PROTECTED]), Richard Lugar (R), > >><http://www.senate.gov/~lugar/> IN (202-224-4814, > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED]), Charles Hagel (R), > >><http://www.senate.gov/~hagel/> NE (202-224-4224, [EMAIL PROTECTED]), > >>Gordon Smith (R), <http://www.senate.gov/~gsmith/> OR (202-224-3753, > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED]), Sam Brownback (R), > >><http://www.senate.gov/~brownback/> KS ([EMAIL PROTECTED], > >>202-224-6521), Craig Thomas (R), <http://www.senate.gov/~thomas/> WY > >>([EMAIL PROTECTED], 202-224-6441), William Frist (R), > >><http://www.senate.gov/~frist/> TN (202-224-3344, [EMAIL PROTECTED]), > >>Lincoln Chafee (R), <http://www.senate.gov/~chafee/> RI (202-224-2921, > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED]). If you don't live in one of these states, > >>please still call your senator as the nomination will go to the Senate floor > >>for debate and vote if it is approved in the Foreign Relations Committee. > >> > >>CALL YOUR SENATOR > >> > >>When you call your senator's offices, ask for their foreign affairs staff > >>person. Tell the aide that you are calling to state your opposition to > >>Negroponte's nomination and that you would like to know what they have done > >>to investigate Negroponte's past. We need to make sure that senators 1) > >>obtain a copy of the CIA inspector general's report, 2) call Rick Chidester > >>and Efrain Diaz to testify at Negroponte's hearing, 3) pursue the > >>appropriate diplomatic channels to make it possible for General Discua to > >>testify. The full title of the CIA inspector general's report is "Report of > >>Investigation: Selected Issues Relating to CIA Activities in Honduras in > >>the 1980's, 96-0125-IG." Ask the aide if the senator has ordered a copy of > >>the report. If not, verify that the aide knows where to get it. If not, > >>tell them to contact the Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staffers, > >>both of whom have read the report. IMPORTANT: please demand a written > >>response to your call stating the senator's position on the Negroponte > >>nomination and explaining what steps s/he has taken to investigate the > >>background. Otherwise, your opinion may not be counted. > >> > >>MAIL YOUR SENATOR A SAMPLE LETTER > >> > >>The standard mailing address for letters to senators is Office of Senator > >>[Name], US Senate, Washington, DC, 20510. You can send emails to the > >>addresses above but you should check your senators web-page to see if > >>there's a special form that they like for you to use. Hand-written letters > >>receive a whole lot more attention than emails. Here's our sample letter. > >> > >>Dear Senator ________: > >> > >>Former Ambassador to Honduras John Negroponte has been nominated for the > >>position of US Ambassador to the United Nations. With the recent ejection > >>of the United States from the UN human rights panel, it would be highly > >>egregious for the US to make a known human rights obstructer our > >>representative to the UN. I write to express my absolute opposition to > >>Negroponte's nomination. > >> > >>As US Ambassador to Honduras from 1981 and 1985, Negroponte oversaw the > >>cover-up of human rights violations by Honduran military and CIA in the > >>region. In particular, he helped conceal from Congress the murder, > >>kidnapping and torture abuses of a CIA-equipped and trained Honduran > >>military unit, Batallion 3-16. No mention of these human rights violations > >>ever appeared in State Department Human Rights reports for Honduras. > >> > >>Honduran Congressman Efrain Diaz Arrivillaga complained to Negroponte on > >>numerous occasions about the Honduran military's human rights abuses to no > >>avail. Rick Chidester, a junior Embassy Official under Negroponte, was > >>forced to omit all human rights violations from his 1982 State Department > >>report. Former Battalion 3-16 commander General Luis Alonso Discua Elvir > >>was kicked out of the US in February after he went public stating his > >>detailed knowledge of Negroponte's connection to the battalion. > >> > >>I urge you to use your good offices to make possible the testimony of these > >>three individuals, in particular General Discua, and proactively research > >>others involved whose testimony might be valuable in Negroponte's > >>confirmation hearings. In addition to their testimony, I insist that you > >>consult the classified 211 page report entitled "Report of Investigation: > >>Selected Issues Relating to CIA Activities in Honduras in the 1980's, > >>96-0125-IG," which CIA Inspector General Frederick P. Hitz released on > >>August 27, 1997. > >> > >>Though John Negroponte has support from the diplomatic community, his > >>actions as Ambassador to Honduras render him completely unqualified for the > >>post of ambassador to the international body which was founded to end > >>conflicts and promote international law and human rights. The facts will > >>speak for themselves. I urge you to take the time to consider them. > >> > >>Truly Yours, > >>Your Name > >> > >><To subscribe to the Nicaragua Network hotline, send a blank email message > >>to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "subscribe hotline" in the subject header> > >><To unsubscribe from the hotline, send a blank email message to > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe hotline" in the subject header> > >><If you are subscribed to the hotline and would like to receive only the > >>hotline and no other forwards or alerts, send a blank message to > >>[EMAIL PROTECTED] with "subscribe digest" in the subject header. THIS ALERT > >>IS NOT A DIGEST EMAIL> > > The preceding is a personal opinion. 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