10/21/08: Letter of Support for Guatemalan activists + Troy Davis update

Hey everyone,

Two items to note this week:

This week we will be learning more about human rights violations in Guatemala, including political repression, disappearances, kidnapping, extrajudicial killings, and ethnic cleansing. Many of these abuses occurred during Guatemala's long civil war and were the result of "counter-insurgency" operations by the Guatemalan military. Today many of these abuses continue, although at much lower levels and with less intensity. Furthermore, justice and truth continues to be denied to many victims and their family members due to the structure of the peace accords concluded last decade ending the civil war. Our letters for the week will be addressed to human rights activists working to bring remaining human rights violators to justice, including officials who continue to hold important posts in the Guatemalan government.

We will also be completing new petitions on Troy Davis' behalf. Last Tuesday, October 14th, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Troy's cert petition, clearing the way for his execution. The execution is now scheduled, in all likelihood, for the 27th. We are in a very difficult position, but Troy cannot afford for us to stop advocating on his behalf now. For more information, please go to amnestyusa.org and gfadp.org.

We hope to see everyone Tuesday night at 5:30pm back in our normal room, Sanford 112.

In the next two weeks, we will have two major events focusing on the War on Terror and Amnesty Counter Terror with Justice campaign so please stay tuned for updates.

Zach