United in Opposition: the D.C. Community Protests Georgetown’s Appointment of Álvaro Uribe

[Judi Lynn]

September 1, 2010
5:14 PM
United in Opposition: the D.C. Community Protests Georgetown’s Appointment of Álvaro Uribe

WASHINGTON - September 1 - Professors, students and alumni of Georgetown University met with a diverse group of activists last night, the 31st of August, to plan their protest of the school’s hiring of Alvaro Uribe, the ex-president of Colombia. The university will also award Uribe a “Distinguished Scholar” fellowship.

At the end of July, the university announced that Uribe would be teaching a seminar in September and October in its School of Foreign Service on the theme of Global Leadership. Organizations in Washington, D.C. working for peace and justice want to make sure to educate Georgetown students and the surrounding community about the atrocities committed during Uribe’s presidency—including the displacement of over 3 million Colombians, the persecution of journalists and human rights activists, and the murder of over 3,000 and civilians in the now-infamous “false positives” scandal. Shortly before Uribe left office, authorities uncovered a mass grave containing 2,000 bodies, leading them to believe that the practice of forced disappearance continues unabated in Colombia today.

During the long and energetic meeting, which took place in the Casa de Pueblo in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the coalition discussed what form their protest should take in order to be most effective.

Organizations represented include the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Foundation, Witness for Peace, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and No War on Cuba, among others.

“I’m ashamed that a U.S. university would hire someone like Uribe, but after the meeting I felt hopeful,” said Becca Polk, an intern with SOA Watch, “not only because of the incredible turnout but the energy and dedication demonstrated in working for human rights.”

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/09/02

[naaman fletcher]

1. let me guess:

"During the long and energetic meeting, which took place in the Casa de Pueblo in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the coalition discussed what form their protest should take in order to be most effective. "


Let me guess, they will settle on marching around in a circle chanting "hey hey, ho ho, this fascist killer has got to go", or some other form of the "hey hey ho ho" chant.

Every now and then they will yell "what do we want - Justice for indigenous peoples! When do we want it? Now!"


Anyone want to take me up on a bet?

[Peace Patriot]

3. Worried, are you, that they might just be effective at exposing this CIA-protected narco-thug?

Your post must be a hoot for sniggering rightwingers, who couldn't care less about how this rotter, Uribe, gained and kept power.

People who live in a country where war criminals get rewarded--whether it is Colombia or the USA--don't have a lot of options as to how to object to it. In Colombia, they may be forfeiting their lives--getting themselves put on one of Uribe's "lists" for targeting by the "Black Eagles." Here, they suffer marginalization, ridicule and sometimes police brutality and jail. The corpo-fascist press ignores them; rightwing operatives demean them; the political system just proceeds with its support of monsters like Uribe, rewarding him and our own war criminals with fat paychecks, protection and respectability and honor, even "Medals of Freedom."

Your implicit support for this disgusting evidence of the corruption of our own political system and government makes me want to

:puke:.

Why don't you, instead, try to understand what these people are protesting? Or, if you are a Uribe fan, explain your views, instead of ridiculing their efforts to expose Uribe in a political environment where mass murder is acceptable--is, indeed, government policy?

This is lame, naaman fletcher, very lame. Is it that Uribe is indefensible? Is that why you resorted to this tactic of ridiculing protestors? Or do you agree with Uribe that all protesters--and, indeed, all opposers of fascist rule--teachers, academics, human rights workers, trade unionists, journalists, peasant farmers--are "terrorists"? In that case, perhaps we should see your ridicule as restrained. You use ridicule. Uribe uses a bullet in the head. I guess these protestors should be grateful for mere marginalization and ridicule. Hm?

[naaman fletcher]

4. No,

I was making the point, in a sarcastic manner, that the left has gotten very lame and repetitive. All protests are the same "hey hey, ho ho.." which is why they are ignored.

My post is not implicit support. You see, I search for the truth. Sometimes the truth is negative to one you support, and sometimes is is positive to an enemy.

So for example, Chavez, who I was once a supporter of and still am but I think he is on the wrong track and probably has to go: It is a fact that crime is up in VZ. So I say so. You guys obfuscate and deny it even thought its true.

For Uribe, who I detest: It is a fact that crime is down under him (despite all his crimes). I say that. You guys deny it even though it is true.

You and I have a different approach. I look for facts and than make an opinion. You guys make opinions and then try to make the facts support the opinion.

So do you want to take me up on my bet that the protest will primarily be "hey hey, ho ho" and every now and then a "what do want... when do we want it"?

[Judi Lynn]

6. Someone is out of viable ammunition when he reaches to mock people protesting

a sadistic, dishonest, treacherous, greedy, utterly filthy piece of crap like Uribe, or his death squad loving brother, or cousin, or major criminal-connected sons, all following in the steps of Uribe's dirty father.

[naaman fletcher]

8. so,

because Uribe is bad, don't you want there to be an effective protest instead of "hey hey ho ho" that everyone ignores because it is so over played?

[EFerrari]

2. Fantastic! Thanks, Judi Lynn.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Thank you, EFerrari. I hope his days here will give him something to think about.

He'll have a harder time trying to bump off so many protesters in their OWN country. :hi:

[VioletLake]

7. This is on CommonDreams today:

Georgetown’s appointment of Uribe is “shameful,” Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino said last week in El Salvador. “Uribe is a symbol of the worst that has happened in the tragic conflict in Colombia. There is a great deal of blood involved here, a very great deal. ”

“Does this appointment reflect the mission and the Catholic and Jesuit identity of Georgetown?” Fr. Dean Brackley, a Jesuit professor at the UCA in El Salvador, writes. "This will, literally, cause scandal. The U.S. Congress has held up passage of the trade agreement with Colombia because it is a place where the government, under Uribe, has consistently failed to defend labor unionists from death squads. Uribe is widely accused of having had direct links to the paramilitary groups who have massacred countless innocents. Whether or not those charges are true, he has irresponsibly and cruelly accused human rights activists in Colombia of collusion with ‘Communist terrorists,’ endangering their lives."

A few years ago, I traveled to Colombia to see for myself. There I learned about the U.S.-backed war against the poor waged by Uribe under the guise of a “war on drugs.” I learned how the repressive Colombian government, under the democratically elected but dictatorial President Uribe, a drug benefactor and close friend of George W. Bush, killed some ten thousand people a year, leaving 200,000 dead in the last twenty years. This war isn’t about drugs but about expropriating Colombia’s rich land and natural resources, from the indigenous people to the U.S. and multinational corporations.

In Bogota, Colombia, I met one of the world’s leading voices for human rights, Fr. Javier Giraldo, a Jesuit priest whose institute has documented all the killings and massacres in Colombia. For his efforts, he’s suffered countless death threats, especially under the Uribe regime. Last week, my friend Fr. Giraldo wrote to me about the situation, and I share his letter here, so we can all learn about Colombia and the disgrace of Georgetown’s hiring of Uribe:

Georgetown University Welcomes Colombia’s Ex-Pres. Uribe
by John Dear
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/07-0

[Judi Lynn]

9. This statement from Jesuit John Dear should be seen by as many people as possible.

He did a superior job bringing deadly facts about this sociopath together in ways Georgetown should NEVER dismiss. Their decision to invite this mass murdering monster to influence young adults is unforgiveable.

Why not cross post it in Editorials, after you post it by itself here? It's tailor made for people who STILL don't know about Colombia under Uribe.

This is an invaluable message to the Einsteins at Georgetown. If they are formally served this statement and don't have a decent response, they are outing themselves as the people many have suspected they are for many years.