Ethan Vesely-Flad's blog

We continue to monitor the grave situation in Honduras with alarm. Our friends at the Quixote Center are doing a great job by regularly posting updates about what's happening in the tense stand-off as well as background materials on many underlying social and political issues in Honduras, such as the divides between poor and wealthy classes, the military and grassroots communities, and more. Together with Witness for Peace (FOR Task Force on Latin America & the Caribbean members helped found WFP in 1983), Quixote cosponsored an emergency fact-finding delegation to Honduras this month. This Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (ET), WFP is offering a free online briefing (via webinar and teleconference) titled "Honduras Coup Exposed" featuring WFP International Team member Galen Cohee Baynes.

On September 11, 2001, I was in Johannesburg, South Africa, nearing the end of a three-week trip to the country. I'd started in Cape Town, attending the 100th anniversary service of St. George's Cathedral -- the site of many anti-apartheid vigils and a sanctuary space for anti-apartheid activists during those traumatic years. Then I traveled to Durban to attend the World Conference Against Racism, joining an amazing gathering of thousands of people representing governments, NGOs, and people's movements from across the world. Unfortunately, the U.S. government boycotted the conference, so it was left to activists like me to "represent" the U.S. voice there.

Two young Israeli women, Maya Wind and Netta Mishly, are coming to the U.S. next week to give talks about their courageous efforts to mobilize young Israelis against military service. Maya and Netta are part of a group called the "Shministim," who are Israeli high-school seniors -- and prospective conscripts into the mandatory Israeli military -- who have been imprisoned for their principled refusal to serve the Occupation of Palestinian territories. What these young conscientious objectors have to say about the occupation and their personal accounts of militarization in Israeli society is of critical importance for U.S. audiences. Please visit their Why We Refuse web site to learn more about their speaking tour, hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace and CodePink, and to support their important work.

Together with more than 100 other national organizations and several hundred regional and local groups, the Fellowship of Reconciliation last week called on the Obama administration to end a controversial program that has been accused of widespread racial profiling and anti-immigrant bias. The 287(g) program, implemented by the Department of Homeland Security during the Bush administration, grants to state and local law enforcement agencies the power of federal immigration enforcement authority, and the program has been accused of serious civil and human rights abuses.

Facilitated by the Detention Watch Network and the National Immigration law Center, the following sign-on letter, to which FOR was a lead signatory, was released on August 27th. The text of the letter follows.

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Several great news stories from the past few days have FOR connections. No less a media source than The New York Times finally gave the anti-war community its due this weekend, profiling several of FOR's key allies in the movement -- including United for Peace & Justice, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and CodePink -- in its almost-alliterative piece "American Antiwar Movement Plans an Autumn Campaign Against Policies on Afghanistan."

This week many universities are beginning their school years, and today I was in conversation with a college professor whose semester began today: a long-time FOR member, Joseph Fahey, professor of religious studies at Manhattan College in New York City. Joseph asked me, "Where did you go to college?" to which I proudly responded, "Wesleyan University in Connecticut." As I often hear when mentioning my alma mater, he replied, "Good school." But then added, "You must know the professor there who played a central role in drafting the Seville Statement on Violence. I regularly use it as a discussion point in the classes I teach."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent public statements that the impact of the proposed use of Colombian military bases by U.S. armed forces will be limited has done little to assuage tensions in the Latin America about the deal. Yesterday, in a meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Latin America presidents from across the continent assailed Colombian President Alvaro Uribé and the U.S. for the deal being negotiated. Lead stories in today's Washington Post, BBC News, Time, and the Huffington Post are among the dozens of international media stories on the situation this weekend.

By Mark Svensson, with Tarik Abdelqader

For over 5,000 years, the practice of slavery has plagued the human species. Today, most people in the United States associate slavery with African-American history, formed by the transatlantic slave trade, and ended by the Emancipation Proclamation. Indeed, a widely accepted notion exists in our nation is that U.S. participation in slavery ended following Lincoln's 1863 Proclamation. Yet this notion could not be any further from the truth.

In mid-November [Ed. Note: on August 25th, shortly after the posting of this message, an announcement was made by conference organizers that the date of the Truth Commission was postponed/changed to March 21-22, 2010 -- please note that change in all future references] a group of religious and peace organizations will host a "truth commission" on the topic of selective conscientious objection. Like "just war theory," the issue of selective C.O. has long been a controversial one, as some pacifists and most military and political leaders alike believe that one must be opposed to ALL war to receive C.O. status. But spurred by the recent success of the documentary film Soldiers of Conscience, and the fact that increasing numbers of the U.S. armed forces have claimed that they would be willing to serve in certain wars, but are morally opposed to the actions in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, this topic has drawn increasing attention.

[Ed. Note: This information was to have been posted two days ago; sorry for the delay.] The sign-on letter from 100+ U.S. organizations and national leaders to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was cited on Wednesday morning on "Democracy Now!" with Amy Goodman. The story, which has been gaining increasing attention in the international media, said:

Clinton Defends US-Colombia Base Deal

Clinton spoke after a meeting with Colombian officials on a plan to
expand the US military presence inside Colombia. Colombia has agreed to
grant US forces the use of three military bases for anti-drug
operations while also allowing hundreds of troops and private military
contractors inside its borders. On Tuesday, Clinton addressed Latin
American opposition to the base plans.