Democracy Now! (7/7/17)
Last week, there was an attempted assassination on the life of Bertha Zúniga Cáceres, the daughter of murdered Honduran indigenous and environmental leader Berta Cáceres. Bertita Zúniga Cáceres was driving back with two colleagues from a community visit in central Honduras when a black pickup truck blocked their path. Three assailants jumped out of the truck and attempted an attack, but Zúniga and her colleagues narrowly escaped. The incident comes just weeks after Zúniga was named the new leader of the indigenous rights group Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). She recently demonstrated in support of pending U.S. legislation to suspend U.S. military aid to Honduras. Her protest was a part of a week of action coordinated by the U.S.-based human rights group Witness for Peace. We speak with Bertita Zúniga Cáceres at her home in La Esperanza, Honduras.
Also joining the conversation is Chicago-based Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle, who has done solidarity work in support of COPINH and translations for COPINH over the last 17 years.
Link to Story and 11-Minute Video
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Bolivia’s Evo Morales to G-20: Stop Attacking Migrants, Destroying Nature
tleSur (7/8/217)
Bolivian President Evo Morales took to Twitter on Saturday to offer strong words against the Group of 20, or G-20, which held its twelfth meeting in Hamburg, Germany.
Criticizing increasingly harsh immigration policies in the Global North, the Indigenous socialist leader called for an end to the criminalization of migrants and refugees.
The world does not want “walls against migrants, nor nuclear weapons against life and humanity,” Morales wrote.
“We join the call of Pope Francisco to leaders of the G-20 to solve the struggles of the poor, refugees and excluded.”
Last Month, Morales launched the World Peoples’ Conference for a “world without walls” in Cochabamba, calling for an end to anti-immigrant discrimination and hate around the globe. He also demanded respect for the right of all people to benefit from citizenship status.
“Humanity has an immense debt to Mother Earth, she gives everything to help us live, but we consume and overexploit without limits.”
The Bolivian leader has also participated in the reactivation of a regional fund meant to provide legal advice and financial support to immigrants living in the United States amid growing crackdowns by President Donald Trump. The fund was launched by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, known as ALBA.
Morales also called on G-20 nations to step up to the plate and address global issues.
“We believe that richer countries must reduce conflict and war that only increases world poverty,” Morales wrote.
“Humanity has an immense debt to Mother Earth, she gives everything to help us live, but we consume and overexploit without limits.”
Slamming Trump, Morales said his Republican-led government needs to do more to address climate change, mentioning that the United States is the most industrialized country in the world.
He also called on the former reality TV star to “open his eyes” to ongoing environmental decay.
Last year, Morales launched a campaign to replant six million trees across Bolivia as part of the “Mi Arbol,” or “My Tree,” program combating deforestation and climate change.
Since taking office in 2007, Morales has actively defended the rights of immigrants and has called for global action on climate change.