September 26, 1999

Dear GVCP Member:

NEXT GVCP MEETING: POTLUCK on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16th, 5:00 PM, 2290 Anderson Rd, Linwood, NY. Please join us to greet NJOKI NJOROGE NJEHU who will be speaking in the evening at SUNY Geneseo. Bring a dish to pass. [Anderson Rd runs west from Route 36, one road south of Route 20. 2290 is 1.7 miles west of Route 36, on the left.]

"50 YEARS IS ENOUGH: INTERNATIONAL DEBT AND HUMAN MISERY." TALK GIVEN BY NJOKI NJOROGE NJEHU, DIRECTOR OF THE "50 YEARS IS ENOUGH" CAMPAIGN. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16th, 7:30 PM, SUNY GENESEO STUDENT UNION, HUNT ROOM. Free and open to the public. [Njoki Njoroge Njehu's visit to the Genesee Valley is supported by funds from the 1st Unitarian Church of Rochester and the Presbytery of Genesee Valley. Her visit to SUNY Geneseo is co-sponsored by SUNY Geneseo Multicultural Affairs Office and by GVCP.]

Save the Dates: Friday, October 1st through Thursday, October 7th, Little Theatre, Rochester. "A Place Called Chiapas." Award-winning documentary by director Nettie Wild. Exclusive showing at the Little. SPECIAL BONUS: Tom Hansen, Director of the Mexico Solidarity Network, will be present at each showing and will introduce the film. Extra contributions welcome: tax-deductible checks made out to Mexico Solidarity Network. Show times approximately 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM each evening; not certain about weekend matinees. Please call Gail & Peter Mott for more information: 716-381-5606. DON'T MISS THIS FILM!

Saturday, October 2nd: "Day Without the Pentagon." Hank Stone will set up his bumper sticker table in Ionia. No word yet whether any Rochester group will organize an action. For national info call Chris Ney at WRL 212-228-0450.

Sunday, October 10th: "Free Lori Berenson." Vigil at Lafayette Park, Washington, D.C.**CANCELLED**CANCELLED**CANCELLED**CANCELLED**

Friday evening, October 15th, Saturday morning, October 16th, Sunday morning, October 17th: Economic Crisis at Home and Abroad Njoki Njoroge Njehu, will be speaking at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 North Fitzhugh St., Rochester. Please call Helen Rice at 716-544-4769 if you wish to attend.

Sunday, October 17th, 6:00 PM: Metro Justice Annual Dinner. 1st Unitarian Church, 220 S Winton, Rochester. Stephanie Luce, UMass, "Building a Fair Economy: The Living Wage." $25.00/$10.00 student. 716-325-2560.

Friday, November 19th--Sunday, November 21st: "Close the School of the Americas." Fort Benning, Georgia. November marks the 10th anniversary of the assassination of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter in El Salvador. Nineteen of the 26 Salvadoran officers cited for this atrocity were trained at SOA. ¡Nunca Mas! Never Again! SOA Watch--202-234-3440.

This Month's Letter: East Timor. The situation in East Timor is not only disastrous, but we are yet again faced with a disaster that the U.S. helped to cause. As pointed out in a D&C op-ed piece (9/21/99), the U.S. accepted the invasion of East Timor by Indonesia's army. President Suharto of Indonesia, was another right-wing dictator much favored by President Ford and Secretary of State Kissinger. Since this brutal 1975 invasion, the East Timorese have struggled for their freedom. The UN appears to share in the blame, in my opinion. It was naïve (at best) to call for a referendum for independence, and then not protect the East Timorese from the violent repercussions of their vote. Nonetheless, the UN force appears to be keeping the peace as this newsletter is written. This hardly helps those Timorese who have been slaughtered over the past few weeks, let alone all those who have died since 1975. Still, at present we must support this UN initiative. Please WRITE to Hon. Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General, NY, NY 10017. Tell him you applaud the UN peacekeeping in East Timor, and urge a broader role for the UN in the weeks and months to come. Also, WRITE to Hon. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600, Australia. Thank him for providing Australian forces for the UN peacekeeping effort. Please write now!


Peace,

LORI BERENSON--IMPRISONED FOR 46 MONTHS! HER FAMILY TELLS US SHE IS GETTING SICKER. HOW LONG CAN SHE SURVIVE? WRITE TO PRESIDENT CLINTON. TELL HIM TO INSIST ON IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR U.S. CITIZEN LORI BERENSON. [WHITE HOUSE, WASH, DC, 20500]