<html>
<body>
<font size=3><br><br>
International Liaison Committee of Workers & Peoples (ILC)<br>
P.O. Box 40009, San Francisco, CA 94140.<br>
Tel. (415) 641-8616; fax: (415) 824-1072.<br><br>
website: ILC section in
<a href="http://www.owcinfo.org/" eudora="autourl">www.owcinfo.org<br>
</a>--------------------<br><br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><b>First in Multi-Part Series
of Reports:<br><br>
IN THIS MESSAGE:<br><br>
</b>1) Press Release from PHRF: International Tribunal Issues Preliminary
Findings -- Bush, Blanco, Nagin Committed Crimes against
Humanity<br><br>
2) Statement by PHRF: How to Support the International Tribunal<br><br>
3) Message from ILC Coordinator Daniel Gluckstein to International
Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita<br><br>
4) Statement by Tribunal Co-Convener Cynthia McKinney<br><br>
5) Statement by Tribunal Co-Convener Louisa Hanoune<br><br>
<b>********************<br><br>
<br>
1) PRESS RELEASE<br><br>
International Tribunal Issues Preliminary Findings<br>
Bush, Blanco, Nagin Committed Crimes against Humanity<br><br>
</b>People's Hurricane Relief Fund-Oversight Committee<br>
1418 North Claiborne #2<br>
New Orleans, LA 70116<br>
(504) tel. 301-0215 fax 301-0306<br>
<u>tribunal@peopleshurricane.org<br>
</u><b>Contact: Monifa Bandele (917) 407- 3018<br>
</b>New Orleans-<br>
Between August 29, 2007 and September 2, 2007, a Tribunal of 16 esteemed
jurists from nine countries, including Algeria, Brazil, France,
Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, South Africa, Venezuela, and the United
States, convened in New Orleans to hear testimony by experts and
survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.<br><br>
After hearing nearly 30 hours of testimony by hurricane survivors and
experts -- covering government neglect and negligence in 15 areas,
ranging from police brutality to environmental racism, from
misappropriation of relief to gentrification -- the jurists announced
their preliminary findings.<br><br>
Jill Soffiyah Elijah, the Deputy Director of the Criminal Justice
Institute at Harvard Law School and Chief Judge for the International
Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, announced the Tribunal's
preliminary findings "It is our view that the U.S. government has
committed crimes against humanity particularly in relation to its failure
to maintain functional levees that should have protected the City of New
Orleans from flooding; ... it was the reckless disregard and, in some
instances, negligence of the U.S. government, the state of Louisiana and
the city of New Orleans that created the devastation we continue to see
today."<br><br>
Elijah also announced that the Tribunal made preliminary findings that
the federal, state and local governments are guilty of violating the
human rights to life, dignity and recognition of personhood; the right to
be free from racial discrimination -- especially as it pertains to the
actions of law enforcement personnel and vigilantes; the right to return,
resettlement and reintegration of internally displaced persons; the right
to be free from degrading treatment and punishment; the right to freedom
of movement; the right to adequate housing and education; the right to
vote and participate in governance and the right to a fair trial; the
right to liberty and security of person and the right to equal protection
under the law. Both actions and failure to act by the governments had
disproportionate devastating impact with respect to race and
gender.<br><br>
The jurists announced that they would deliver their final verdict on
December 8, 2007 -- the second anniversary of the Katrina Survivors'
Assembly. In the meantime, prosecutors will be submitting
additional evidence and videotaped affidavits from an additional 25
survivors.<br><br>
The prosecution team included experienced attorneys from respected legal
associations around the country: the ACLU of New York, National Economic
and Social Rights Initiative, the US Human Rights Network, the National
Conference of Black Lawyers, the Center for Constitutional Rights,
National Lawyers Guild, the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar
Evers College, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Mississippi
Workers Center for Human Rights, Washington DC Legal Defender,
Mississippi Disaster Relief Coalition, International Association of
Democratic Lawyers, Legal Empowerment Center and the Louisiana Justice
Initiative.<br><br>
The Tribunal Conveners -- representing movements for justice on four
continents -- reminded Tribunal participants and witnesses of the
solemnity of their task. Lybon Mabasa, a founding member with Stephen
Biko of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa, insisted,
"We must hold these criminal governments to account in order to stop
the world from sinking into barbarism and to make the world one where
life is worth living."<br><br>
#<br><br>
For samples of videotaped testimony, contact Monifa Bandele at 917
407-3018<br><br>
************************<br><br>
<br>
<b>2) HOW TO SUPPORT THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL<br><br>
People's Hurricane Relief Fund and<br>
Oversight Coalition (PHRF)<br><br>
1418 North Claiborne Avenue, Suite 2<br>
New Orleans, LA 70116<br>
Telephone: 504 301 0215<br>
Email: phrfoc@gmail.com<br>
International Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita adjourns<br><br>
Preliminary Findings: US Federal, State, and Local governments committed
crimes against humanity.<br>
Final Verdict: Due December 8th, 2007.<br>
</b>Greetings family, friends, neighbors and comrades!<br><br>
Thank you all for supporting the International Tribunal on Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita. Your participation, along with delegations from nine
countries, made the Tribunal a success. For the first time, the public --
both in the U.S. and the world -- had the opportunity to hear a
comprehensive account of the crimes committed against the people of New
Orleans and the Gulf. And, for the first time, an esteemed panel of
international jurists gave careful consideration to charges of crimes
against humanity, ethnic cleansing, genocide and other violations
committed by the U.S. government.<br>
<br>
However, if we are to gain restitution, justice and the right of return
for all those displaced and forcibly removed, a tremendous amount of work
remains. Join us in spreading the word about the Tribunal demands and
building a strong reconstruction movement grounded in human rights
principles to win the right to return. Below are a few suggestions
offered by Tribunal organizers -- including the attached petition -- to
advance the reconstruction movement.<br>
<br>
As Lybon Mabasa, Tribunal Convener from South Africa, advised as he
closed the proceedings, "We adjourn the Tribunal for today, but even
greater work lies ahead. Only by committing ourselves to this struggle
will we save ourselves from sinking into barbarism."<br><br>
-----<br><br>
<b>How to Support the International Tribunal<br><br>
</b>1. Build a Solidarity Committee in your city, region or state
to continue the struggle for a just reconstruction and against ethnic
cleansing in the Gulf Coast.<br><br>
2. Join the PHRF action alert network at</font>
<a href="http://www.peopleshurricane.org/register/">
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>
http://www.peopleshurricane.org/register/</a>.<br><br>
3. Conduct a report back about the Tribunal and the Gulf Coast
Reconstruction Movement with your members and supporters. Call
504.301.0215 for speakers and video.<br><br>
4. Organize a teach-in or community forum in your city, region, or
state with members of the Tribunal organizing committee to aid with the
national mobilization effort for the Tribunal and Survivors
Assembly.<br><br>
5. Agitate on the demands and recommendations stemming from the
Tribunal by asking civic, labor, political, and religious organizations
in your area to sign on as endorsers. The prosecution called
for:<br><br>
- Reparations<br>
- Prosecution of Bush, Blanco, Barbour, Nagin, FEMA, the Army Corps
of Engineers, and Homeland Security for crimes against humanity<br>
- International and national support for the right of return and
reconstruction with justice and dignity<br><br>
6. Support the Tribunal Petition Drive to demand the right of
return, adherence to the IDP principles, and federal works project by
asking your members and supporters to gather signatures in your area.
Petitions are available at either</font>
<a href="http://www.katrinatribunal.org">
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>www.katrinatribunal.org</a>
or</font>
<a href="http://www.peopleshurricane.org">
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>www.peopleshurricane.org</a>.<br><br>
7. Contact the various government officials in your city, region,
and state and demand that they support legislation that recognizes the
IDP status of Hurricane Survivors, provides restitution for Hurricane
Survivors, supports the Gulf Coast Civic Works project, and holds all
parties responsible for crimes against humanity liable for their
actions.<br><br>
8. Support the calls for censures, boycotts, and direct action
issued by the Tribunal organizers and Survivors Assembly to pressure the
U.S. government to accept the demands and recommendations of the
Tribunal. <br><br>
9. Support the International mobilization for the Tribunal by
promoting its findings, verdict, and demands to your international
contacts and allied organizations. Encourage them to start resolution
initiatives, petition drives, and calls for international solidarity and
action.<br><br>
10. Demand that all Presidential candidates take a stand in support
of the findings of the Tribunal, reparations, a just reconstruction, and
the right of return for all Gulf Coast IDPs.<br><br>
11. Raise funds to provide ongoing financial support to the
Tribunal organizers to publish and distribute the findings, continuing
raising awareness, and pursue national and international
litigation.<br><br>
In Unity and Struggle,<br>
Kali Akuno<br>
PHRF Executive Director<br><br>
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007<br>
Stay tuned to</font>
<a href="http://www.katrinatribunal.org">
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>www.katrinatribunal.org</a> for
updates. Also please send pictures for thorough documentation.<br><br>
********************<br><br>
<br>
<b>3) Message from ILC Coordinator Daniel Gluckstein to the International
Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita<br><br>
Introductory Note</b>: The following message was sent by Daniel
Gluckstein, coordinator of the International Liaison Committee of Workers
and Peoples (ILC), to the International Tribunal on Katrina. It was read
to the Tribunal plenary session by Prosecution Team coordinator Kwame
Kalimara and submitted to the Tribunal Judges for the record of the
Tribunal proceedings. This message was also submitted to the national and
international media that were covering the Tribunal.<br><br>
-----<br><br>
<b>MESSAGE<br>
</b>Dear Friends, Dear Sisters and Brothers.<br>
It's with great regret that, for reasons totally beyond my control, I was
prevented at the last minute from attending the International Tribunal on
Katrina at which I was given the honor of sitting as a judge. As you know
from the start, the International Liaison Committee of Workers and
Peoples, of which I am coordinator, and the Workers Party of France, of
which I am general secretary, have brought their unconditional support to
the proposal to build this tribunal.<br><br>
For the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples the
appalling situation inflicted upon the Black population of New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina is an irrefutable indictment
of all those who decided to leave the New Orleans and Gulf Coast people
stranded, to submit them to wholesale devastation, to repression and then
to an unmitigated operation of ethnic cleansing.<br><br>
This recent persecution of the New Orleans Black population is but one
more link in the chain -- in that long chain of oppression, genocide and
persecutions aimed against the Black population.<br><br>
The International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples upholds the
inalienable right of the oppressed and the exploited to organize
independently for their own defense. This is why the ILC recognizes the
New Orleans Black population's absolute right to judge those responsible
for Katrina. It's their absolute right to hold those accountable in
government at all levels -- federal, state and local -- for they all
joined, to varying degrees, to forsake the New Orleans Black population,
to leave them stranded to endure an appalling fate.<br><br>
Likewise, it is the inalienable right of all the oppressed and exploited,
and particularly the U.S. population's Black component, to build their
own forms of political representation, to build if they so desire their
own Reconstruction Party. Who is in a better position than the Black
population to determine how best to organize independently to save and
defend itself? The International Liaison Committee of Workers and
Peoples, because it stands on the ground of the independence of the
workers' movement, has supported and will support any step forward toward
building an authentic party for the liberation of the Black people in the
United States, a party which would represent the interests of the
oppressed and exploited, included those of immigrants from Mexico, the
rest of Latin America and beyond. This party would necessarily converge
with the actions under way to build an authentic Labor Party, a part
which itself defends the independent interests of all workers in the
United States.<br><br>
Likewise, the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples
supports all those fighting back against the atrocious fate reserved for
the populations of Africa. From Darfur to Rwanda, the fate reserved by
imperialism for the African peoples shows the future that imperialism
holds for them: one of plunder, of destruction of nations, a future of
so-called ethnic wars that are artificially provoked from abroad. The
International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples supports the
African peoples' struggles for their sovereignty, for their authentic
independence. It supports in particular the fightback of the South
African workers who brought down the regime of apartheid and who are
bound to continue their struggle today for South Africa to become, in
reality and not just in appearance, an authentic Black Republic where the
majority, the Black majority, holds all elements of power.<br><br>
The International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples supports the
efforts of the Black population in the Caribbean to unite in the
anti-imperialist fightback against French, British and all other
colonialisms, which claim the right to annex certain Caribbean islands
within the framework or what they call "Tropical
Europe."<br><br>
The International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples supports the
fightback of the poor people in Brazil, and in particular the Black
people, to break with debt policies, to break with the U.S. government's
dictate and to oppose the sending of French, Brazilian and other troops
to occupy Haiti against the will of this country's people.<br><br>
From South Africa to the United States, to the Caribbean, to Rwanda, the
plight afflicted upon Black people does not come from any malediction. It
derives from the regime of exploitation and oppression which assails all
the peoples, all the workers, all the oppressed.<br>
This is why the charges the Katrina Survivors have put forward, supported
by a worldwide campaign, will judge those responsible; they will not be
allowed to go unpunished for the appalling assault imposed upon the
peoples of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast two years ago.<br><br>
This Tribunal is a first step toward the judgment of all those
responsible for crimes against the peoples. It's an encouragement for the
oppressed and exploited the world over who are organizing to do away with
the regime of exploitation founded upon the private ownership of the
means of production, for the liberation of workers, youth and peoples of
all continents from the chains of exploitation, war and oppression.<br>
On behalf of the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples,
of the Workers Party of France, and in my own name, I send you wishes for
the full success of the Katrina Tribunal proceedings.<br><br>
In solidarity,<br><br>
Daniel Gluckstein,<br>
Coordinator of International Liaison Committee of Workers and
Peoples<br>
General Secretary of Workers Party<br>
France<br><br>
********************<br><br>
<br>
4<b>) STATEMENT BY TRIBUNAL CO-CONVENER CYNTHIA MCKINNEY TO OPENING RALLY
OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL<br>
</b> <br>
The<i> New Orleans Times Picayune</i> reported recently that Nancy Pelosi
and other Democrats toured New Orleans, including the Lower Ninth
Ward. They "signaled that the federal largesse would have
limits." One Louisiana Democratic Representative indicated
that they were "here to differentiate the needs from the
wants."<br>
<br>
However, the Democratic Congress has failed to differentiate Bush
Administration needs from its wants and has granted the Administration
legalized spying on the American people; funding for the surge and the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and maneuvering room to do all this and
more by taking impeachment "off the table."<br>
<br>
Katrina survivors, through their People's Hurricane Relief Fund, are no
longer willing to wait for justice; they have formed the Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita International Tribunal to hold all levels of the
government accountable for massive failures.<br>
<br>
I have joined their call for justice and am proud to serve as a Convener
of the Tribunal -- a huge undertaking with significant implications for
an unresponsive government. Perhaps it will be the Katrina and Rita
survivors who will finally put brakes on a government that is out of
control in its utter disregard of the American people.<br>
<br>
The world's generosity toward Katrina and Rita survivors was shunned even
as today's needs go unfilled and under-funded. It is to that same
international community that survivors now turn. I believe their cries
for justice will be heard.<br><br>
********************<br><br>
<br>
<b>5) STATEMENT BY TRIBUNAL CO-CONVENER LOUIS HANOUNE, Deputy in the
National Assembly of Algeria for the Workers Party, at closing of
International Tribunal<br><br>
</b>[<b><i>Note</b>: This statement was delivered on Sept. 2 as an amicus
solidarity statement to the Tribunal after the final witnesses had
presented their testimonies and before the chief prosecutor's closing
statement.</i>]<br><br>
I would like to express all my gratitude to the Tribunal organizers for
allowing me to participate in these proceedings. Reality surpasses
fiction in all we have seen and heard. Yesterday, we visited a ghost
town, a city where most of the houses are empty. This has only added salt
to the horrific wound inflicted since August 2005 upon the Survivors and
upon that part of humanity that resides in all of us.<br><br>
I stand in solidarity with you today because two years after the
hurricane struck, it is unacceptable that the Survivors should go on
enduring this nightmare.<br><br>
I come from a country in Africa. I have seen the effects of catastrophes,
earthquakes, and floods. But I have never seen anything like this. What
we are witnessing here is ethnic cleansing!<br><br>
So, yes, I stand in solidarity with you because I come from Africa, a
continent that is sinking into chaos and whose survival requires the
united efforts of all women and men of good will.<br><br>
I stand in solidarity with you because throughout the testimonies
presented to this Tribunal we heard war cries and words that recall the
plight of the Palestinian people. They, like their counterparts here in
the Gulf Coast, have the inalienable Right to Return.<br><br>
I stand in solidarity with you because I come from the labor movement,
where we learned to come to the immediate rescue of the most vulnerable
among us.<br><br>
As a women's rights activist, I am in solidarity with the Black women
because they are, like their counterparts in Palestine, among the most
vulnerable. They have been deprived of all they possess in life, even
their role in binding their families together.<br><br>
I will go back to sound the alarm against the oppression of the women in
New Orleans, which is no less heinous than the oppression and double
discrimination faced by the Palestinian women.<br><br>
I am very proud and honored to have been here among you, and I give
heart-felt thanks to those who allowed me to meet and hear the
Survivors and witnesses who today, as the proud heirs of their
ancestors, are waging a momentous fightback against the assaults they
face day after day.<br><br>
If you agree, I will be your spokesperson in my country and beyond -- in
the Maghreb and the Middle East. I will report the facts that were
delivered here, the testimonies presented, and the disaster that we
witnessed first hand.<br><br>
The Workers Party Parliamentary Group will organize parliamentary
hearings on the Katrina Tribunal in Algeria.<br><br>
I also stand here to support the proposal made by my Brazilian colleague
earlier in our proceedings when he called on us to get more elected
officials around the world to support the Tribunal verdict and its
demands. I would thus like to make a proposal: Would it be possible to
convene an International Parliamentary Conference on Katrina? It could
take place in Brazil -- but if that were not possible, it could be held
in my country.<br><br>
To conclude, I would like to quote the Lebanese thinker and writer Jibran
Khalil Jibran who wrote the following at the beginning of the last
century: "Woe be it to any nation where one single component
claims to represent the entire nation."<br><br>
Of course, we do not wish misfortune on any nation! That is why I join
Tunisian poet Abu Kacem Chaabi in affirming the following in relation to
our struggles for national independence: "When the people
decide to live, the night must disappear, the dawn will rise and the
chains will be broken."<br><br>
Yes, hand in hand, we will join our efforts to break the chains of
oppression and exploitation, to champion the right of the Black people to
live, the right of all to live in dignity, to live from their work, and
to proclaim that the future belongs to us!<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#0000FF">
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.Freedomarchives.org</a></font><font size=3> </font></body>
</html>