Open letter

Examples

OPEN LETTER from the Society for Threatened Peoples to the members of the South Tyrolean state parliament:

Rigoberta Menchù in Bozen

Bozen, 8.6.2000

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

Rigoberta Menchù has experienced racism and genocide at the closest quarters. Her family and relatives were killed by killer commandos form the Guatemala's government. Partly because they were members of Indigenous people's groups. Those at the top of Guatemala's government, the white elite, have been carrying out a policy of extinction against the country's indigenous peoples for decades. During the so-called civil war in the 80s, soldiers, police and paramilitary units murdered more than 150,000 indigenous people, a further 50,000 are regarded as missing and more than a million people have been out of the country.

Despite demands from the Truth Commission, the murderers have not been prosecuted for the horrors they committed. The promised land reform (70 percent of the arable land is owned by only two percent of the population) is being held up, the same applies to the recognition of the multi-lingualism of the indigenous peoples. We would therefore like to ask you to support the demands from Nobel Prize laureate and goodwill ambassador of UNESCO, Rigoberta Menchù:

	Demand that the Italian government ratify ILO convention 169 for the protection of indigenous peoples. This is also a demand of the international climate convention, which in the middle of May held its 10th anniversary in Bozen
	Pressurize the Italian government to commit itself to the declaration prepared by the UN working group for indigenous peoples' rights by the UNO
	Appeal to Italy's members of the EU parliament, Italian representatives in the EU Commission and the Italian members of the Council of Ministers to commit themselves on an European level for the rights of indigenous peoples (the creation of a co-ordination office for indigenous peoples in the EU; the adoption of indigenous peoples' rights in EU contracts).
	Protest to the Italian government about its efforts to prevent the planned EU convention on bio-diversity. The Italian government justified its stance in rejecting the convention by saying that there were no indigenous people in the EU.

Please write and fax (00502/2214537) the Guatemalan President and demand punishment for the murderers, the unrestricted return of refugees, the return and legal security for indigenous territories and full recognition of Indian culture and language. This is the kind of solidarity that can help.

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Subjects: Human Rights I Democracy  I Parties I Examples I Europe I Globalisation I United Nations I Sustainability

Methods:    Teaching Politics    II    Peace Education    II    Methods

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