The Dominion - coup d'etat

Ecuador's Fickle Friend

Martin Lukacs — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 05:25:52 +0000

Canada waffles in its support for Latin American democracies

CUENCA, ECUADOR—Ecuador awoke on September 30, 2010 to police protests. Across several highland and coastal cities, police burned tires, shut down access routes and neglected their posts. They said they were protesting the Public Service Law passed the night before, which would affect economic bonuses based on promotion.

By midday, however, efforts to destabilize the Ecuadorian administration became evident. The security detail at the National Assembly closed various entries to the legislature, while a small contingent from the air force shut down the Quito airport.

The focal point of international attention, however, was on President Rafael Correa, holed up for more than twelve hours in a police hospital after personally confronting police in the capital city of Quito. Police shot tear gas at and roughed up the President who, recovering from recent knee surgery, was escorted to the nearby hospital. Rebel police surrounded the building, at which point the president reported that he was under threat and sounded the alarm on an attempted coup.

With memories of the 2009 Honduran coup fresh in collective memory, Spain, France, more than 10 Latin American countries and several regional organizations were quick to issue declarations of support for the small Andean nation's democratically-elected president, and its constitutional order. Spain, a key investor in Ecuador and home to hundreds of thousands of Ecuadorian immigrants, gave further assurance through its foreign affairs minister that it “would mobilize all of its diplomatic arsenal...so that this revolt stops.”

Canada—another top investor in Ecuador, frequently having high level meetings with the Correa government—responded differently. Canada co-sponsored a mid-afternoon resolution at the Organization of American States (OAS). But it was only after the Ecuadorian military joint command declared its loyalty to Correa, the US State Department issued its own statement of support for the President, and just over an hour before a special military and police operation rescued Correa, that Canadian Minister of State of Foreign Affairs for the Americas Peter Kent circulated an independent statement.

“Canada is concerned about the growing unrest in Ecuador and is monitoring the situation closely,” the statement read. “We call on all parties to refrain from violence and any other actions that could imperil the rule of law and the country’s democratic institutions.”

Critics of Canadian foreign policy see Canada's delayed response as a sign of uneasy relations. Despite Correa's public support for Canadian economic interests in recent years, they suggest Canada's backing is by no means guaranteed. They pinpoint geopolitical and economic concerns as potential culprits.

As Latin America has become a foreign policy priority, Canada has shown conditional support for constitutional democracy and national sovereignty in left-leaning countries aspiring to even moderate change. The Canadian government's hand in facilitating a coup against the popularly elected government of President Jean Bertrand Aristide in Haiti in 2004, and its failure to push for the return of President Manuel Zelaya to Honduras in 2009, are notable examples.

Todd Gordon, Associate Professor in Political Science at York University and author of the forthcoming book Imperial Canada, sees parallels between Canada's response to the coup d'etat in Honduras and the statement regarding Ecuador. Canada's statement on the Honduran coup came fairly late the same day, after other countries and bodies had responded, he notes. Despite largely peaceful protests by the coup opposition, Canada in effect laid some blame on Zelaya and his supporters.

“From the time that [then Honduran President] Zelaya [was] deposed until Lobo [was] elected, Canada consistently [called] on all parties, not just the government and the coup plotters [that were the principle source of aggression and human rights violations], to avoid violence and remain peaceful,” Gordon said.

Gordon points to similar language in Canada's statement on Ecuador when it called “on all parties” to show restraint, not specifying that police were the main aggressors.

“They don't want to come out and say we're pro-coup, but Canada's response is a diplomatic way, I think, to say they're not actually that excited about the government that's being threatened,” he said.

Gordon questions if Ecuador's participation in efforts for more independent regional integration, such as the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean (ALBA), unsettles Canada.

Department of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Priya Sinha, however, says Canada's statement should be interpreted as unequivocal support for Correa and says its position at the OAS backs this up.

“  Canada reacted swiftly and strongly in support of the legitimate government of the Republic of Ecuador when it co-sponsored a resolution at the OAS on the afternoon of September 30th,” stated Sinha by email to The Dominion.

The OAS resolution “repudiated” any attempt to oust the Correa administration and called on governments and multilateral institutions in the region to "stop the coup d'etat from becoming a reality.”

On the national front in Ecuador, Canada wields economic clout. But despite the headway that Canada's corporate and diplomatic lobby appeared to be making to secure investments in mining, oil and infrastructure during Correa's administration, Jeffrey Webber, a researcher and lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, believes Correa has never been Canada's ideal option.

“Correa was not the preferred candidate of the Canadian state,” Webber said. “Canada has been happy to see Correa's trajectory to the right, but is nonetheless concerned about his vulnerability to the bases that put him into office.”

Correa was elected on his promise to bring an end to Ecuador's “long neoliberal night.” With regard to mining, a key sector for Canadian investment, pre-existing disputes with affected communities gave rise to a national movement urging Correa's administration to look at alternatives to gold and copper extraction. At the time, no large-scale project had reached production.

After 40 years of oil production that left in its wake environmental destruction and social upheaval, Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations demanded their country be off-limits to mostly Canadian companies dominating the nascent sector—companies that arrived in Ecuador under favourable conditions created by earlier World Bank-sponsored reforms.

In April 2008, Ecuador's National Constituent Assembly, which was rewriting the country's constitution, decreed that all large-scale mining be suspended and that most mineral concessions be revoked without compensation, because they overlapped with water supplies and protected areas, and because companies failed to consult with affected communities.

The decision represented an important—albeit short-lived—victory for the anti-mining social movement.

Canadian companies fought back with a well-financed public relations campaign in which they promised Ecuadorians “a fair deal.”

According to one company executive, companies also received “tireless” support from the Canadian Embassy to arrange high-level meetings and influence the new mining law. As large scale mining was suspended, President Correa granted Canadian businessmen a privileged seat during mining law negotiations. The mining mandate was not applied to key holdings of many Canadian companies.

Correa, who has made it clear that he intends to make metal mining a source of future state revenue through bolstered state participation, also abruptly distanced himself from Indigenous, campesino (peasant) and environmental groups critical of such policies. He called them infantile, foolish and the greatest threat to his political project, and helped foment rumours about links between such organizations and imperial interests.

This delegitimization campaign, however, did not quash local resistance. Important mobilizations against mining have taken place over the last year in areas where companies such as Toronto-based Iamgold and Kinross Gold are exploring.

But Priya Sinha says Canada looks favourably upon recent mining reforms and makes no mention of social tensions.

“Canada is encouraged by improvements in the environment for mining investments in Ecuador,” the Foreign Affairs representative stated.

Sinha did add that companies want to know how the government will apply new tax rules.

“Clarity in the tax regime with regard to future investments would allow companies to assess the tax implications for their projects and determine whether they remain economically viable,” he stated.

The new mining law restored royalty payments on mining to a minimum of five percent and established a windfall tax of seventy percent on profits made above a base price.

Canadian diplomats have also indicated concern regarding the future of Canada's bilateral investment agreement with Ecuador.

Reforms passed in Ecuador's 2008 constitution mandate that the government will not enter into agreements that defer to international arbitration, unless the arbitration body is in Latin America. In 2009, Canada's bilateral agreement came up for review.

Canada's Ambassador to Ecuador, Andrew Shisko, indicated that this did not sit well with Ottawa. Revision of Canada's bilateral investment agreement “is causing profound concern in Canada. A stable and transparent investment environment is fundamental for the success of Canadian investment in Ecuador,” he stated in a written message to the Ecuadorian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Guayaquil.

This could still be a concern. During an in-person meeting in Quito in August, Ecuadorian Foreign Affairs Minister Ricardo Patino told Foreign Affairs Minister for the Americas Peter Kent that “Ecuador will not maintain bilateral investment treaties.”

The National Assembly voted in September to denounce similar pacts with the UK and Germany for not being in line with the new constitution.

Challenges for Canadian interests on the domestic front, together with Ecuador's commitment to more independent regional integration efforts, lead Webber to believe that Canada would not be upset to see different leadership in Ecuador.

“Correa has aligned himself with very fickle friends, who are going to abandon him at the first turn because he's not the preferred candidate of transnational capital,” said Webber.

Any potential destabilization on September 30th was averted. But as political tensions persist in Ecuador, it remains to be seen how the uncertain relations will unfold.

From 2007 to 2010, Jennifer Moore reported from Ecuador as a freelance print and broadcast journalist.

Correa and Harper

Popular Resistance in Honduras tells the World: Support us in Self Defense

dawn — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:35:04 +0000

Picture 6.png

The US-backed deal meant to restore a "government of national unity" in Honduras is dead. How dead depends on your taste for dictators.

Totally Dead, if you ask ousted president Manuel Zelaya, who is still holed up in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.

"No, it's not dead, but maybe sleeping for the time being," if you doubted the US State Department's position on the deal.

Popular organizations around Honduras, after expressing an initial support for the reinstatement of Zelaya, have since denounced the deal.

"Once again, history has shown us that the United States is not anyone's friend; we were once again betrayed when we endorsed an agreement full of gaps and capricious interpretations," Indigenous activist Salvador Zúñiga told IPS.

The Civil Council of Popular and Inidigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) released a statement denouncing the coup and the negotiations on November 4.

In their statement, they "urge the National Front of Popular Resistance to raise an initiative of dialogue and negotiation towards more dignified agreements," call for a popular constituent assembly, and give the following message to international supporters:

Honduras: "After 125 Days of Struggle, Nobody Gives Up"

dawn — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:49:21 +0000

16362_1190203248175_1621175942_495623_1154761_n.jpg

The AP is reporting that Honduran legislators have the final say over a US backed deal that would see the restoration of Manuel Zelaya to power in Honduras.

However, Bloomberg reports that "opposition lawmakers could filibuster Zelaya’s return until after the elections, Antonio Rivera, the second highest ranking lawmaker for the National Party, said in an interview."

According to AP, which posted their most recent update at 0:00 PDT on October 31, the negotiations "drew praise from figures as diverse as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez." TeleSUR noted that while supportive, Chavez has not yet seen the agreement.

The negotiated solution comes as Zelaya and his supporters exhausted the last remaining poses for photographers in the Brazilian embassy. (Just kidding).

Seriously though, the negotiated solutions go along with what was laid out in the San José Accord back in July.

During a United Nations session in September, Zelaya expressed his disagreement with the San José Accord.

Honduras Coup Regime Forces 26 Hour Curfew, Zelaya Remains in Tegucigalpa

dawn — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:12:11 +0000

10334_1236728359148_1257404712_30711996_4287627_n.jpg

"They are sending a message of peace, but they're repressing the Honduran people."

Thousands of people have surrounded the Brazilian Embassy, where it is confirmed that President Manuel Zelaya is located. They are violating a curfew imposed by the military government, originally set from 4pm to 7am, which, according to Radio Globo, was just extended from 4pm today until 6pm tomorrow.

Those traveling towards Tegucigalpa from various routes are being detained by the police and army.

This is the latest on Radio Globo, one of the few radio stations in Tegucigalpa that has not lost all power. Radio Globo is using a generator to power the radio station, and can't receive calls or emails from the outside.

"Honduras is isolated from the rest of the world, because of the coup regime," said a radio host, calling on the world to intervene in Honduras in support of democracy and the restoration of Manuel Zelaya.

"They have converted the entire country into a jail, where there is no free movement, a curfew in the whole country," according to one radio commentator on Radio Globo. He explained that this curfew and the resulting detentions has made Hondurans from other places scared to come to the capital and take the capital.

UPDATE 19:39 PDT: Micheletti coup regime has canceled all flights tomorrow. Zelaya live on Radio Globo orders army back to barracks, says the people lead in Honduras. UN, OAS expected tomorrow. Zelaya calling on Hondurans to converge in Tegucigalpa.

Alternative URL for Radio Globo: http://96.9.147.21:8213

Elites execute plan in Honduras, first world activists stymied

dawn — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:21:42 +0000

Picture 14.png

As the coup regime in Honduras mocks the "rule of law" behind a veil of tear gas, automatic weapons and riot shields, it's business as usual for Canada's junior foreign minister, Peter Kent.

Kent refuses to call for sanctions or to demand the return of President Manuel Zelaya, who was removed after a military coup on June 28, 2009.

I'd like to point readers to a July 5 letter by Colombian doctor and activist Manuel Rozental.

This is how Rozental predicted things would shake down on the day Zelaya was blocked from landing at the airport in Tegucigalpa:

Today Zelaya returns and it would be useful to inform people as there will likely be a staged performance from the media that will go something like:

"There are 2 governments and two Presidents. Both have solid reasons behind them. This is a deadlock that will lead to or has lead to bloodshed. The US and the 'international community' are in a difficult position to intervene. Most countries and governments support Zelaya. The US promotes dialogue."

As we've seen in the months since, Rozental's letter was accurate, to a T. The plan of the transnational elites is being executed.

Rozental's question, "How can we today, invite the defence of social movements?" Is a much more difficult one, which remains to be answered in a meaningful way by activists in North America.

"The Only Crime": Testimony of Marcial Hernandez, beaten, detained and hospitalized in Honduras

Sandra — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:53:10 +0000

IMG_3804.JPG

"The Only Crime": Testimony of Marcial Hernandez, beaten, detained, and hospitalized in Honduras

Text, translation and photos by Sandra Cuffe

San Pedro Sula, Honduras, August 15th, 2009.

Repression against the national movement against the military coup in Honduras has become a daily occurrence. All over the country, police and the army are using tactics of terror and violence to disperse protests and illegally detain demonstrators.

Nevertheless, the resistance actions coordinated by the National Front of Resistance to the Military Coup in Honduras (FNRCGE, for its acronym in Spanish) continue to grow across the nation.

On August 14th, organizations and citizens in resistance from the northwestern region of the country mobilized in Choloma, blocking vehicle traffic along the highway between San Pedro Sula and Puerto Cortés. It was a very strategic choice of location, along the main highway leading to the country's main port. Puerto Cortés has a great volume of exports, principally to the United States, of textile goods from the maquila factories in the northwestern region, as well as the fruits of the Tela Railroad Company, subsidiary of the transnational banana company Chiquita.

Soon after the highway blockade began, there was a negotiation between resistance leaders and police officials, supposedly in order to avoid yet another violent eviction. According to witnesses, a verbal agreement was made between the two parties to allow the protest to continue for another hour and peacefully disperse.

just another day [of indiscriminate police violence] in Honduras...

Sandra — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:46:33 +0000

collage fotos 14 agosto.jpg

Police brutality, militarization, torture, political murders, disappearances, injuries, tear gas, illegal detentions, State forces' use of sexual and gender violence, intimidation, paramilitary activity, death threats, censorship...

...are all becoming DAILY OCCURRENCES IN HONDURAS.

Ongoing international solidarity needed. Now.

Sandra Cuffe
sandra.m.cuffe@gmail.com
http://HondurasSolidarity.wordpress.com
http://flickr.com/photos/lavagabunda

Rights Action in Response to Mr. Peter Kent: Canada's Increasingly Complicit Role in Honduras

Sandra — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:24:21 +0000

fotos carlos 2008 001.jpg

[The communities in the Siria Valley, gravely affected by Goldcorp's San Martin mine in Honduras, would argue with Canadian Minister of State of Foreign Affairs for the Americas, Peter Kent, who stated to CBC that "Canadians should be proud of Goldcorp..." Photo: Siria Valley Environmental Committee.]

***********************************************

[re-posted from www.RIGHTSACTION.org email list]:

IN RESPONSE TO MR. PETER KENT:
CANADA’S INCREASINGLY COMPLICIT ROLE IN HONDURAS

Day 36 of Honduran Coup Resistance, August 2, 2009
(Alert#41)

On July 29, The Current radio program, of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), aired a 2-part discussion about “Canada’s role in Honduras”: part one with Grahame Russell of Rights Action; part two with Peter Kent, Canada’s Minister of State of Foreign Affairs for the Americas.

To listen: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2009/200907/20090729.html

As Peter Kent spoke second, and responded to points Grahame made, we publish this in response to comments made by Mr. Kent.

GENERAL COMMENT: BODY COUNT RISING

Honduran teacher Roger Abraham Vallejo died in hospital on Saturday, August 1, two days after he was shot point-blank in the head by a police officer during a peaceful protest.

As one listens to the 2-part CBC interview and reads the comments below, keep in mind that Mr. Kent represents the government of Canada. He is not speaking in his personal capacity. Keep in mind, also, that the OAS (Organization of American States), one month ago, unequivocally called for the “the immediate and unconditional return” of President Zelaya and his government – “immediate” and “unconditional”.

= = = = = = =
= = = = = = =

Five things the Corporate Media doesn't want you to know about the Coup in Honduras

dawn — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:20:14 +0000

3685604935_59370fc49d.jpg

1. It was a military coup carried out on behalf of corporate, national and transnational elites. "Restoring Democracy" though a military coup is akin to bombing your way to peace.

2. Coup participants were trained by the CIA and at the School of the Americas. Reactionary, anti-democratic US training grounds such as these are responsible for mass murder throughout the Americas.

3. President Mel Zelaya is a centrist, and his movements towards the "left," such as joining the ALBA trade block, are a result of massive popular pressure for change.

4. The constitutional referendum was not focussed on extending Zelaya's term limit. The referendum on the constitution marked the beginning of a popular process of participative democracy, which is extremely threatening to local and transnational elites.

5. Transnational corporations support the coup. Goldcorp has been bussing employees to pro-coup marches, other Canadian companies have stayed silent and are complicit in the coup.

Photo of demonstrators in Tegucigalpa by Sandra Cuffe

Gildan Activewear, from Haiti to Honduras

dawn — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:03:56 +0000

h6.jpg

Following a media blip after the 2004 coup in Haiti, Montreal's Gildan Activewear has again scored media attention in Canada, this time for its operations in post-coup Honduras.

The National Post reported today that:

While the day-to-day operations of Gildan’s manufacturing facilities are unlikely to be affected, an estimated 60% of its activewear and more than 50% of its socks are made in Honduras.

So after 30 years of peaceful democracy, [Desjardins Securities analyst Martin Landry] now believes investors will apply a geopolitical risk discount to Gildan. The analyst sees little risk that the country’s assets will be nationalized and suggested the coup may turn out to be a positive for Gildan if it brings back a more business-friendly government.

(Emphasis mine). I think it's time to set the Canada Haiti Action Network's team of intrepid researchers on Honduras, following the scent of a sweatshop-made t-shirt.

[Photo of street fighting in Tegucigalpa immediately following the coup by Oswaldo Rivas.]

Intellectual Author

dru — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Michael Ignatieff's potent mix of imperialism and human rights

HALIFAX–During his time as a professor of human rights at Harvard, Michael Ignatieff became something of a sensation in the US foreign policy establishment and elite circles. He wrote frequently for The New York Times Magazine, where his articles were featured on the cover no less than four times, with titles like "Could We Lose the War on Terror?," and "American Empire: The Burden."

Ignatieff's articles for the Times take the view that US military operations constitute an "Empire Lite," and "America's entire war on terror is an exercise in imperialism."

His written work strikes the tone of an unflinching observer, describing power relations in their stark reality. "The relationship between the locals and the internationals is inherently colonial," he writes of NGOs and troops in Afghanistan in "Nation Building Lite" in 2002.

"The unpleasant underside of nation-building is that the internationals' first priority is [...] increasing their budgets and giving themselves good jobs. The last priority is financing the Afghan government."

Following his usual pattern, after identifying the problem, Ignatieff goes on to endorse this reality as the only apparent recourse for "failed states."

"Imperialism used to be the white man's burden. This gave it a bad reputation. But imperialism doesn't stop being necessary just because it becomes politically incorrect," Ignatieff writes in the same article.

"Nations sometimes fail, and when they do, only outside help – imperial power – can get them back on their feet."

It is, he concludes, the "kind of imperialism you get in a human rights era."

At that time, Ignatieff backed the US bombing and invasion of Iraq, and repeatedly made the case for it by invoking human rights as a motivating factor.

In 2007, after he began his political career in Canada, and after close to a million people were killed in Iraq, he nominally recanted his views – again in the Times Magazine.

Concluding his apologia, Ignatieff recasted his support for the invasion and occupation of Iraq as a pitch for his political leadership. "Democratic peoples," he writes, "should always be looking for something more than prudence in a leader: daring, vision and – what goes with both – a willingness to risk failure."

During the same period, Ignatieff was intimately involved in developing the "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P), a doctrine guiding the use of "humanitarian intervention" in "failed states." According to one insider, Ignatieff was one of three who drafted the initial R2P report. In a 2008 promotional video, Ignatieff explains that R2P is "the idea that if a country is unwilling or unable to protect its own people, if it's responsible for ethnic cleansing or massacres, or if it's denying relief aid to its own people, then another country should step in and help."

While R2P is theoretically intended to prevent genocidal massacres, critics maintain that giving powerful countries the go-ahead to invade "failed states" will inevitably be abused.

In a long exposé published by UpsideDownWorld.org, Researcher Anthony Fenton makes the case that the overthrow of Haiti's democratically elected government was actually the first "test case" of R2P. Fenton points to a history of activities aimed at destabilizing Haiti's government – which had resisted the excesses of externally imposed "reforms" – undertaken by US and Canadian governments. During the campaign of destabilization, Fenton notes, R2P was frequently invoked in discussions about Haiti.

In memos sent by the Canadian Embassy in Porte-Au-Prince in the weeks leading up to the coup acquired by Fenotn via an access to information request, Ambassador Kenneth Cook speculated that the international community "will have to consider the options including whether a case can be made for [R2P]."

The government of Canada has refused to release uncensored memos from the time of the coup itself.

In February 2004, Canadian troops invaded Haiti while President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was physically removed from the country by US Special Forces. Most elected officials were forced into hiding. The violence that followed dwarfed even the most puffed-up human rights concerns cited to justify the coup.

A study by The Lancet, a top international medical journal, estimated 8,000 people were murdered and 35,000 were raped in the post-coup period. During the same time, Canada had been overseeing Haiti's police force, which was a principle source of post-coup violence.

Since the 2004 coup, Haiti is seldom mentioned by R2P advocates. Fenton writes, "Dozens of papers, panels, symposiums, and conferences seem to have studiously avoided Haiti when discussing R2P [since the coup]."

One exception to the silence about R2P in Haiti stands out.

"Stabilization efforts in Afghanistan, Haiti and Iraq are testing grounds," writes policy analyst and R2P advocate Stephen Baranyi, "for fourth generation peace operations and approaches in fragile states."

"One problem is that the strategic interests of major Western powers – and not R2P criteria like massive human rights violations – drove decisions to intervene in these cases."

The credibility of R2P is "damaged," writes Baranyi, by "de facto collaboration with paramilitary leaders" and a lack of "open debate."

In calling for an "open debate," Baranyi is alone.

Ignatieff has been applauded by some for his candor in examining the results of the Iraq invasion he once backed. In the case of Haiti, however, there has been none of the introspection or public self-questioning that have proven to be such an effective component of Ignatieff's rhetorical arsenal.

As Liberal leader, Ignatieff continues to advocate for R2P. He now mentions Burma, Zimbabwe and Sudan as possible candidates for R2P interventions. The "test case" of Haiti is no longer cited.

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin remarked of Ignatieff, with unwitting insight: "Michael has inherited both a very deep understanding of Canada's role in the world and of, in fact, the kinds of upheavals that the world is capable of thrusting upon unsuspecting populations."

Dru Oja Jay is an editor with The Dominion.

Ignatieff at Conference

Bolivia is popular, Bolivia is strong!

dawn — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:29:14 +0000

37936590.paley60277.JPG

Bolivia on edge after martial law declared screams a headline in today's Toronto Star. The Reuters piece blasts President Evo Morales for "banning protests," obscuring the cause of the violence inside of Bolivia almost completely.

Manuel Rozental, Colombian surgeon and activist, stated this morning that right wing groups [led by opposition regional governors] in Bolivia are hoping to pull off a "mediatic coup."

"Bolivia is popular, Bolivia is strong, the truth, the official truth will only come from the Government and popular organizations and their guidance must be sought," he wrote.

In a separate story, Reuters reported today that "Officials said at least 15 people -- mostly pro-government peasant farmers -- had been killed in clashes on Thursday with backers of the opposition regional governor."

Olivia Burlingame Goumbri wrote in Alternet that "Despite the fact that [Morales] represents the majority of Bolivians, refusals to recognize President Morales and his legitimate policy initiatives since he was first elected in 2005 have been a growing problem, and one that reflects racism."

Refusals to recognize Morales don't stop with the Bolivian elite, but reverberate through western government policies and the media.

Political Street Theatre at Indian Affairs

Courtney Kirkby — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:29:09 +0000

ABL_004.jpg

As the day dragged on, Algonquins of Barriere Lake community members and supporters moved north to Gatineau and performed political street theatre in front of the Department of Indian Affairs. The scene depicts Chief Norman orchestrating a coup d'etat on Michael Wernick's territory with help from an Ontario police officer.

*Photo taken by Charles Mostoller

Letter Delegation

Courtney Kirkby — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:27:03 +0000

ABL_003.jpg

A delegation including Louisa Ratt, Norman Matchewan, and some children from Barriere Lake delivered a letter to Michael's house. The package contained a press release from the event and a letter, addressed from Grand Chief Norman Young of the Tribal Council to Indian Affairs Minister, Chuck Strahl, calling for Indian Affairs to oversee and respect the outcome of a new leadership selection in Barriere Lake.

*Photos taken by Charles Mostoller

Algonquins of Barriere Lake hold up posters outside of Wernick's home

Courtney Kirkby — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:24:47 +0000

ABL_002.jpg

*Photo taken by Charles Mostoller