October 11th Day of Action – Organizing Packet
Growing a Movement to Combat U.S. Militarism in Latin America
National Day of Action: October 11
Objectives:
1. Cancel the threatening and unnecessary U.S. military exercises in Costa Rica.
2. Close the School of Americas (now Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.)
3. End U.S. military presence on bases in Colombia, Honduras, Guantanamo, and elsewhere in hemisphere.
4. End the Merida Initiative and the increase militarization of the U.S. border with Mexico.
5. Support Rep. Barney Frank’s proposal to reduce the social debt by cutting the U.S. military budget immediately by 25%.
Latin America solidarity organizations across the country can get in on the action! Even if your committee has not begun planning a protest, there are a variety of creative actions that you can organize to raise awareness about these militarization throughout the Americas and beyond as well as increase solidarity with those directly affected by U.S. foreign policy. Your outreach can range from the general public, local coalition partners to Congressional allies. Here are some action and pressure ideas for your committee, with accompanying materials to jumpstart your community organizing.
October 11, 2010 – Day of Action to Confront U.S. Militarism in the Americas
Read the draft Call to Action below and sign on your organization below to become an initial sponsor of the Day of Action to Confront U.S. Militarism in the Americas on Monday, October 11, 2010. The call to action with the signatures of the initial sponsors will be released on August 1. Continue Reading »
LASC workshop at the USSF: Building a Movement to Combat Increased US Militarism
The Latin America Solidarity Coalition’s Peoples Movement Assembly! More info here
Event Date: Wed, 06/23/2010 – 1:00pm – 5:30pm
Event Location: Cobo Hall: D3-19
The greatest threat to world peace in the 21st century is US militarism. Wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan. Threats of war from Asia, Africa to Latin America. Increased military build-up in Latin America with 7 new bases in Colombia and the recommisioned Fourth Fleet patrolling the Caribbean and South America. Training foreign soldiers in schools such as the School of the Americas. The Pentagon consumes half of the US discretionary budget and equals the military spending of the rest of the world combined. The Pentagon is now one of the top polluters in the world.
Discuss building an unstoppable US movement against militarism and militarization at home and interference abroad. Bring your strategy and campaign ideas to this open discussion about how to build a permanent anti-militarism movement that transcends “specific war” anti-war movements. Discuss the military, political, and cultural changes that need to take place to end the dominance of the military-industrial complex in the United States.
submittted by Latin America Solidarity Coalition www.lasolidarity.org
LASC at the US Social Forum!
The Latin America Solidarity Coalition would like to invite you to participate in the US Social Forum scheduled for June 22-26, 2010 in Detroit. We also invite you to collaborate with the LASC and other solidarity and Latin America focused organizations at the Social Forum.
General Space
The Latin America Solidarity Coalition is grateful to the 1st Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit for providing us with a center for LASC organizing at the US Social Forum, June 22-26, 2010. The church is at 4605 Cass Avenue, a 13 min. bus ride or 45 min. walk from Cobo Hall where the main social forum activities will take place.
The church is available to LASC member groups for basic housing, storage of materials, meetings, and social activities. The Alliance for Global Justice will coordinate space usage. Send inquiries to Chuck@AFGJ.org.
Housing
Housing is limited and will be awarded first come first served to members of LASC affiliated groups. The cost will be $5/person/night and will include coffee in the morning and perhaps simple fare such as donuts and bagels although we encourage people to spend their money while in Detroit in support of local businesses. Where possible we will carpool from the church to Cobo Hall. Send your reservation now to Chuck@AFGJ.org including what nights you wish sleeping bag style accommodations and which LASC group you are affiliated with. (The LASC has a voluntary, dues structure: $50 if budget under $200K, $100 between $200-$500K, $150 over $500K)
Networking
Rooms of varying size are available at the church for LASC member groups to have internal or networking meetings. Large rooms are also available for public events. Continue Reading »
Organizational sign-on letter regarding Honduras
The last joined other organizations in signing onto this letter to Members of Congress:
During her trip to Latin America earlier this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that she had sent members of Congress a letter informing them that the administration would be restoring aid to Honduras. “The Honduras crisis has been managed to a successful conclusion” and “without violence”, she told reporters accompanying her on her trip.
Secretary Clinton also stated that the government of Porfirio Lobo had “moved quickly to implement many of the recommendations that (…) were incorporated into the [Oct. 30] Tegucigalpa accord”, including “a truth commission that will be set up.”
In order to put these statements into perspective, we would like to share with you a few short but important recent documents published by respected international and Honduran human rights organizations. They present a picture of recent developments in Honduras that contrasts sharply with Secretary Clinton’s characterizations, and also raise important issues surrounding the current proposal for a “truth commission”.
· Although Secretary Clinton declared that the Honduras crisis has been “without violence”, the unfortunate reality is that violent attacks directed at groups and individuals opposed to the coup d’état have been a regular occurrence since the June 28th coup and continue to this day. Continue Reading »
Military Coup in Honduras
Stand in Solidarity with the People of Honduras
The Latin America Solidarity Coalition (LASC) condemns the military coup against the democratically elected Honduran President Zelaya. The Honduran social movements, who are courageously resisting the military take-over through protests, occupations and strikes, are calling on the international community to speak up in defense of real and direct democracy, for life, justice, liberty, dignity and peace.
Call the State Department and the White House and ask for actions, including:
• unequivocal denunciation of the military coup and no regognition of the Honduran November election if President Zelaya is not reinstated as president by October 15, 2009
• no recognition of this military coup and the ‘de facto’ government of Roberto Micheletti
• withdraw U.S. ambassador Hugo Llorens from Honduras, investigate his actions and the actions of US government agencies in the lead-up to the coup
• unconditional return of the entire constitutional government
• concrete economic, military and diplomatic sanctions against the coup regime
• respect for safety and human rights of all Hondurans
• application of international and national justice against the coup plotters
• reparations for the illegal actions and rights violations committed during this illegal coup Continue Reading »
Videos from the Not Just Change But Justice teach-ins!
Plenary panel at LASC-NACLA Teach-In at Univ. of CA, Berkeley.
From left to right: Christy Thornton, NACLA; Maria Lya Ramos, NISGUA; Eric Holt-Giménez, Institute for Food & Development Policy; Kathy Hoyt, NicaNet; David Bacon, journalist; and Martin Sanchez of the Consulate of Venezuela.
Between February and May 2009, the Latin America Solidarity Coalition (LASC) and the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) held a series of three teach-ins in Washington, DC, in Chicago, IL, and in the San Francisco Bay Area in CA. The title of the teach-ins was: “Not Just Change, But Justice” and each had a separate focus. The focus of the Washington, DC, teach-in was on U.S. militarization in Latin America, the second in Chicago was on issues of sovereignty and democracy manipulation and the third in California was on U.S. Trade Policy and its Impacts on Food, Land, and Immigration in the Americas.
Click here to view videos from the Washington, DC teach-in.
Click here to view videos of the plenary of the Bay Area teach-in.
Not Just Change but Justice! LASC & NACLA events, Spring 2009
The election of Barack Obama provides an opportunity for the United States to change its relationship with the other nations of the hemisphere. It is up to us, as advocates for justice in the hemisphere, to push the Obama administration to end the long legacy of using Latin America’s blood and gold for U.S. ends. Now is the time to ensure that the next administration brings to the Americas not just change, but justice.During the presidential campaign, the LASC sent a letter to Obama in which it articulated 11 policy changes we would like to see happen under the new administration. The January/February issue of NACLA Report on the Americas will also feature articles advocating a new U.S. relationship with Latin America. The LASC and NACLA realize that in order to achieve these goals, it will take more than a change in the White House — it will take the kind of hard and persistent grassroots organizing that has brought the victories that we are seeing in Latin America.
The two organizations have decided to combine their efforts to organize three events featuring activists and scholars aimed at building grassroots power and educating the public and policy makers.
