AMICA NGO in support of Women and Children on Atlantic side of Nicaragua

AMICA Monday March `17, 2014

Welcome.  We’re happy to receive you here.  We are an association of indigenous women.  Association de Mujeres Indigenous Costa Atlantica.  I am Doris Borst. 

Telma Correa Tasti Yamilette, a collaborator with AMICA since 1990, the year it was formed.

Mariloo, program “Your Power”, financed by Plan Nicaragua.

Maicla Avalino, “Your Power”

Dia Navajo, Minister for AMICA

The Board of Directors is in  Costa Rica at a round table on protected areas.  They wish they could be here to greet you.

AMICA received legal status with the government in 1991.  It was founded because there was no women’s organization, we were at war in the 1980s and 90s and the situation here was unstable.  Many of our people were in Honduras – single mothers and others were coming home and needed help.  In 1994, we organized to educate the people about laws that affect women and about our people.  In about 1995 we started handling longer projects about women’s rights, family planning, sustainable tourism, and a rotating loan fund.  We offer vocational training such as sewing without a pattern, cooking, and baking.  We had to include educating men about the broader rights of our people. 

We offer leadership training, and training about laws and international treaties.  We have Law 28 and 445, the International Labor Covenant, but the PEOPLE have not been trained except for a few leaders.

At first, we were bringing two or three women from each community to train them about these things including Law 779 to prevent violence against women, but the message was not getting back to the communities from those we trained, so we changed.  Eighty percent of our work now is going out to the communities themselves, two or three at a time, giving workshops.  We had our autonomy, but the men did not accept women into leadership.  Now in many villages, women are leaders, but not in all communities.  In some, access is difficult, there is not much education or leadership for women, and NGOs never go there.  Associations and Governments say that things are getting better, but this is not necessarily true – there are great needs and no one is paying attention.  It is lamentable, and we can’t cover up the sun with one finger.

We have had many legal advances, we have won through long struggle – it was not just given to us.  We struggle as AMICA to keep open and to help all who come.  We have grown in women’s rights and progress against violence against women and walking them through their legal processes.  From the Bilwi neighborhoods women come to us for help.  AMICA is a pioneer against family, women, and sexual violence; we are a coordinator of women’s rights action.  There was a lot of work done before we got special police stations for women and police.  We educate judges about women’s and children’s rights.

Our main focus is women and the family.  We also train to build capabilities.

We have broadened to political, logging, health care, food security, and other issues.  We work with international groups from different countries.  Funding has focused on small pilot projects and some longer projects.  Pilot projects lead to financial problems when they are over, and then we need to figure out how to continue the work.  For example, the World Wildlife Fund project for educating coastal communities to reduce eating the green sea turtle.  We go out and educate people, but the project ended.  It was a ten month project.  The sea turtle project was good – people used to live on them.  We provided people with fishing gear and refrigeration.

Paulette comment – this happens a lot with big NGOs that the projects don’t become self-sustaining.  Speaker continued - The World Bank came around – we said AMICA didn’t have money to continue to visit these communities.  The World Bank told us that the communities required follow up, but they didn’t send their final report back to us.  There have been some continuing projects at universities to see how sea turtle hunting has changed.  The problem is that they stay at the level of studying it.  The Latin American Development Bank and World Bank just study things.  They hire expensive consultants.  But AMICA work in that area has not continued.  Not all is bad, though – just pilot projects.

Longer programs, for one or one and a half years have had good results.  For example, women are organized in every community as members of AMICA with elected leaders, and organized in their community as a basis for us to do our work in the communities alongside the other community organizations.  These are women hat we’ve been training for years, who will now stand up in a community meeting and express themselves in a forceful way that they would not have 15 years ago.  This gives us strength to continue.  I can send the international group into our communities and these women know how to receive them and show them what’s happening in the community.  They also know how to respond to domestic violence to women and get them to the women/children police stations, to the judges, and to AMICA for help.  We train people to understand laws – about natural resources, rights, land, as leaders and community members.

We have outside allies – non-indigenous, men, teens – we educate all of them.  We educate youth about reproductive rights and health and women about leadership.  We teach ancestral tradition, traditional knowledge – which is being lost.  How our resources were managed and our leadership among our people was, traditionally.  We facilitate communication between adults and youth.  We’re weaving together these activities – everything related to family.

Here we see people with violence problems.  The government office – women’s and children’s police station – report some alarming statistics – As AMICA in 2013 we took care of 135 cases, which is an under-reported number, but the women’s and children’s police stations report 3600 cases.  This includes domestic and sexual violence, much of which is against young girls as young as five years old.  In case of rape of a child, the women take their child directly to the W&C Police Station or to a judge.

We must have an education focus as well.  In cases of abuse over a long period of time, we help with follow up, and help with child support for single mothers.

Nancy Alicia Enriques of the Board of Directors

Welcome.  We would like to maintain contact with you.  We struggle with other groups that are for rights of women and children and indigenous people.  We work on collective and individual rights of indigenous and Afro-Caribbean people. 

We are working with groups from Holland, Germany, Canada, and England.

Please let us know about international meetings and projects you find out about that are appropriate for AMICA.

 

In the evening, Susan, Helen, Kathy and one other visited the director of AMICA.

Susan – in Dario, so many women 14 – 16 years old are pregnant and having babies.

Director – this is typical.  Wedding vows include a vow of using no contraception.  The same problems are everywhere that there is a lack of information.The Morava church, possibly the most popular in indigenous areas, says that you must have as many children as God sends. 

We try to educate the judges, professors, pastors in each community regarding family planning, but it’s still hard, even with contraception available, to convince people.  There is a minimum of health care – one center for each 6 – 8 communities and not much medicine.  The Miskito nurses run out of medicine and may not love their work.  Another problem is malnutrition – people may only eat what they have planted, possibly no fruits or vegetables.  Even in the Bilwi hospital, you may be in the emergency room a long time before you are seen by a doctor.  There may not be enough money for the correct medicine or X-rays.

The free health care and polyclinics are there, but there is a lack of resources and materials.  The doctor might lie and say that they have no birth control pi8lls, but you can buy some from my friend/brother’s pharmacy.

It is 20 – 24 hours to Managua by bus.  Some people can’t even get to Bilwi because they don’t have enough money.

There was a male nurse who was injecting women with water instead of Depo-Provera – almost all of the women in the town were pregnant.  Eventually, people figured out what he had done and he was fired.

Everyone has been tested for HIV, and it came back negative.  They took a whole team, but just for one day.  The took care of all of the medical needs of the community that they could do on that one day.  There was one girl who tested positive, and she was pregnant.  The US military is using prostitutes in Honduras and HIV is coming across the border to Nicaragua.  There are lots of cases where people pass it on, and maybe they even know they have it.  Now the government is providing treatment for HIV+ patients in polyclinics.  There is a shelter for HIV+ people, which is private and the testing clinic is private.

A lot of girls can’t go to school.  The families send them to school somewhere, they come home pregnant, then have to go away to work to support the baby, and come home with another baby to care for.  This goes on and on.

Jazelle – people are losing the knowledge of traditional medicine, including those for birth control.  This implies a larger problem of loss of traditional education.

Meeting with the Council of Elders of the Moskito people

Meeting with the Council of Elders of the Moskito people

Charley Delaney, on behalf of his chief, his King, and his Abanaki tribe, read a message of solidarity with the Moskito people and gave them the document.  He has been here before and 3 of the elders are friends of his.

The Elders thanked all of us who came and those who didn’t come.

The President of the Elders spoke:

I want to speak about our territory.  We have been fighting for our territory for many years.  In the beginning we didn’t have good leaders or good international relations.  We sent a representative to the UN.  We don’t have a relationship with our government – they do not recognize us!  We have been exploited for gold and fish.  No one supports us.

The main problem is that the Mestizo colonizers come and chop down our trees, especially in the BOSAWA preserve.  Help us get the word out and take our claims to the world outside.  We don’t have funds to travel abroad ourselves.  We have treaties within reach and are trying to figure out which is best.  We have titles from the time of our kings.  The land belongs to us.

Before Central American independence, Miskitia was recognized as a nation, but it is not recognized by the nation of Nicaragua.  We as a peaceful nation are not in accord with the land demarcation.

The eldest senior (age 94) of the Council of Elders:

Thank you for coming.  I already knew Charley.  For us to move forward and achieve our goals we need help from outside.

Reforestation – planting is needed to leave inheritance for our children.  We need precious hardwoods and fruit trees for our future.  We need to be able to sell our products in the international market in order to have a true economy.

We have progressed culturally; you can see that I speak in my native tongue.  We have many riches within our territory.  We have petroleum and gold, but we cannot sell them ourselves because of the government monopoly – that is why we are poor.

No one can take our land because we occupy it and know its limits.

We have relationships with indigenous groups in Guatemala and Canada and a voice in Geneva but no money to travel.  We are in touch with other people, too, for example Ethiopia but can’t travel or do much with them.

Our ancestors gave us this land over 200 years ago and we cannot leave it, so for these 200 years we have lived marginalized.  We’ve been invaded by Mestizo people and this is serious because our children will not have peace.  I am 94 years old and have much sadness.

3^rd man: Thank you.  We greet you in the name of over 300 communities.  ?Libro Cox Bonnito?  I am a writer and historian.  We have these problems:  losing land, war between the Miskitu and Mestizos, and Law 445, but things aren’t clear.  We also have border problems with Honduros.  Rio Coco is ?driving? – it gives life to two republics – this can only be faced by countries – regional authorities aren’t doing anything.  We also have drug trafficking problems, especially on the Honduran border.  The two nations aren’t doing anything, so we must get international help.

The youth are losing themselves as consumers of drugs and this destabilizes families.  We are losiing our culture rapidly.  We need support, but not from the Nicaraguan government.

Many families are losing their land and have no place to plant.  We have never begged for food, but now we must; we used to have enough to plant and eat.

More than 56% of Nicaraguan territory is Indian Territory.

We are lovers of nature, but others come to take the land, resulting in historical and cultural chaos.  We need to get our proposals to the UN forum, possibly by means of you.

I’ve been to Geneva and know this UN process, but our people don’t.  We mean tomorrow, not the day after.

We have bad education, health, communication and infrastructure.

Drug traffickers put fear into people and they leave.

In Honduras, their army is less powerful than the drug traffickers.  The army of Honduras has many drug traffickers and the Honduran government can’t do anything.

Ursell Anthony Endoxar Mendosa

Ursell gave Charley a document today and intends to give him another one tomorrow.  The Miskitu need a government that is honest, not corrupt, based 100% in this culture.  The UN gives us support; ancestors left us treaties.  We are restoring the system.  We have been betrayed from within, by those who have tried to change the direction away from the Elders, politics that are foreign to the indigenous model.  Our culture is strong but we are poor.  Our work is done through methods of our culture.  The Council of Elders has called for a Congress of all of the Miskitu peoples of Central America.

We have traitors.  David Watada is tryng to hold a Congress before the Council’s Congress, with permission of the government, administrative and legal structure, but no money slows us down.  We need help from professionals from outside to help our professionals.

Tomorrow’s document is to denounce State genocide.  People can channel resources to us – we have a way.

Benjamin Kristy Knat: I am an elder.  I cannot write, but my ancestors gave me knowledge about where the Miskitu people come from – it is registered in my mind.  When they spoke of the government, they KNOW.  As Don Antonio talked about the treaties.  The Council of Elders is the Miskitu people.  We should go to the Hague.  Antonio and ? should write up documents and get them to The Hague.

Closing ceremony

Question:  Who has helped you?

Answer: No one.  We meet on Tuesdays and Fridays without help.  There is a UN meeting in the US in September in Washington, DC.  We would like to be there.

Working through Ambassadors is not the same – the people need to be there.  The Ambassador of Nicaragua will not represent us, just Nicaragua.

In 1958, 12,000 km of the Rio Coco were given to Honduras.  High military officers of Honduras were drug traffickers.  So are some of the US Military.  They plant marijuana – the owners are from the army.  We have lost thousands of ha with them.

Police in RAAN/RAAS want to come and serve in our area, like there’s a competition to do those jobs, and there is a big difference in their homes between when they come and when they leave.   There’s no reason why there should be drugs here, but police have low salaries – even on low salaries, their situation improves.  They have motorcycles and other things that they can’t afford on their salaries.  We believe they want to keep the people asleep.

In May 2013, I (Charley) was at a ½ day forum on Nicaragua at the UN.  There was no response from James Anaya.  One document to your Council of Elders President concerned that.  I was able to speak with the Nicaragua Embassador to the UN and asked about participation of Moskito in the government, drug trafficking, and land demarcation.  Most of the time, he just smiled, nodded, and didn’t answer.  I also saw Brooklyn Rivera, head of Yatama.  I believe he associates the Moskito with Yatama, which is incorrect.   Yatama gets 0 – 20% of the indigenous vote in RAAN and RAAS.  They pretend that Moskito don’t exist, our talk falls on deaf ears.  They understand your rights to your own resources.

In Nov 2013 I was accredited by the Honduran government to take human rights testimony and be an election observer.  They are treating indigenous the same as here.  I went to Rio Blanco when two tribal leaders went missing.  We try to help them, too, through AfGJ.  Drug traffickers prevented polls from opening.  Senator Leahy of Vermont withheld 33% of the US money, $144 million, from the Honduran military.  But the US government knows that $144 million is small to drug traffickers.  The US DEA has made a deal with the largest cartel to police the smaller cartels.  The US is now a drug broker.

Question – can we solve issues, and work together?  The governments let the Indians fight each other.  We must have an objective – the cause is Moskitia, not people – we must organize morally and with great guarantees from the people.  We cannot be under orders from political parties – we have our own.

Constant observation – the history Miskia is 1000s of years, but the Nicaragua nation is young, 400 years.  They have tried to destroy us.

In the war with Zalaya, they sent ships to our land.

We are lacking in technology and education, which hurts our chances for employment.

A $400 billion project – they went to the Wihta Tara, and convinced him that he could be head of RAAN/RAAS – but the law of 2000 said they can only rule us partly.  We have limited sovereignty, the Nicaragua government can have over these territories.

Ortega is letting the Russians come in and have businesses here.

We need other countries to know about the problems, but our youth believe in getting info from the government rather than from our own culture.

The Wihta Tara is the executive of our Councils (?) David Webster advises – he has betrayed Misurasata – he wants to arrange a different authority, like a King, changing the agreement between the Moskito Nation and Nicaragua.  Webster is spreading lies.

We could have an indigenous stock market – they have one in the US, but Ortega blocked having one in Nicaragua.

Mark Rivas is a 26 year old lawyer, and an advisor to the Council of Elders.  He talked about other problems – malnutrition, lack of health care, occupied lands, and the need for education based on indigenous culture.  The history taught in schools is about Nicaragua colonization, not our own history.  That’s why we’re losing our culture.

Some groups are trying to make themselves representatives of our people, including the Yatama political party and the Wihta Tara, which was created by the Council of Elders to watch over our resources and guide us to our independence.  But the Wihta Tara put aside the Council of Elders because our objective is our land.  The Wihta Tara has gotten money to against our community.  The Council of Elders had an advisor who took advantage of us.  This creates division and poverty.  We don’t have a true leader with a love for indigenous people – all of those that we placed as leaders have betrayed us.  We have re-organized ourselves to fight for our rights, culture, and land.

The UN thinks that we have good rights, but we don’t see it.  That’s why we’re trying to join all indigenous of the Caribbean – to fight for our rights, but the Council of Elders doesn’t have (financial?) support. 

Our people are not familiar with international rights or how to take advantage of them.  Oscar Hodson, a Sandinista, used the Council of Elders for self benefit and betrayal.  I present to you this plea for the rescue of indigenous people.

Delia Coleman, 40 years old, came to the Council of Elders in 1994.  The problem is individualism.  There are three political groups:  Political party Yatama, the Council of Elders, the Wihta Tara.  If we can write, the nation can change.  Let’s unite the three – we are all indigenous people.  Political parties are taking over and selling the land, even though they come from here, not Managua.  We need to try again, and have an assembly.  It is not true that the Wihta Tara has taken money.    Arcano is a commission that investigates and that is where the accusations come from.

Isabel Herman We have a problem of lack of education.  Our eyes and ears are closed.  Help us with education for adults, youth, and children.  See how they are taking the precious hardwoods from the BOSAWAS.  Who is taking it?  ALBA Forestry, Petroleum interests, Mining Companies.  For me, we cannot work with other indigenous organizations – we must work with the Council of Elders.

I want peace, tranquility, and understanding.  The Wihta Tara was created by the Council of Elders in 1998 and the Council of Elders number was increased from 12 to 24 people and made a lifetime appointment.  The Wihta Tara is elected every two years.  But we have had no assembly, so the same one is still in office.  He needs to be more organized.  The problem is not with the Wihta Tara but with his advisor who doesn’t want to recognize the Council of Elders.

Charlie – proposed an international petition to support our struggle

Someone  - we need scholarships for youth to study international agreements.

Victor Campos of the Humbolt Center, Sat March 15, 2014

Victor Campos of the Humbolt Center, Sat March 15, 2014  

Centro Humboldt, Busto José Martí 5
cuadras al este/arriba. Bº Largaespada,  Tel: 2248 7149-51 subdireccion@humbolt.org.ni www.humbolt.org.ni

Victor has had over 30 years of experience working on environmental and indigenous rights issues in Nicaragua.

He showed us a slide show that he has recently created, analyzing the situation of the indigenous territories and BOSAWAS bio-reserve. 

Marco Juridico Relevante, 2006 to present, new recognition of indigenous rights.  There are 300,000 indigenous people who have 21,000 sq. km. of land, which is about the size of El Salvador.

Law #28 from 1987, Article 11 – recognized the rights of the indigenous to have access to water, forest and lands in a communal way.

The North and South Regional Atlantic Autonomous Zones (RAAN and RAAS) each have their own regional governments (each?) with 45 elected representatives, based on the autonomy statute.  They have the right to make laws for their own region and propose laws for the Nicaragua National government.  Their laws cover misdemeanor offenses such as neighbor and family violence and abuse, but not felonies such as murder, which fall to the National court.

Law #445 says that the indigenous territories belong to the communities, not to individuals.  Various communities have title to land.  Families have land for use and production but cannot sell the land because it belongs to the larger community.  The process that Law #445 put in place is ongoing.  Previous land titles, which belonged to the state, were sold or given to individuals.    Now, we recognize that the lands have always belonged to the people.  We are authenticating it and titling it. 

Susan pointed out that the land for Lake Apenas was taken from the indigenous people of Jinoteca.  On the Pacific side, in Jinoteca, people bought land from the King of Spain, so a more European kind of title and recording process was used.  On the Atlantic side, the government recognizes the eternal, inherent rights of the people to the land.

 “Convenio 169 de la oit (2020)” International Organization of Labor was on a slide – look this up.

To acknowledge rights of Pacific and Caribbean to rights of their territory was recognized most widely.  In 2010 Nicaragua acknowledged the Convenio, so could give rights to the Pacific side as well.  The Atlantic side already had them.

Maps were shown

* The 15 tribal lands were titled between 2007 and 2012, and some before that.  Much has been titled since.  10 – 20% is all that is still left to be titled.

The non-indigenous people of Bilwi must pay rent to the indigenous whose land they live on.

In Pearl Lagoon, the keys and islands, mi-Tsocos(?) took over and sold land to people, and this is still a problem.  The keys were declared National territory, but some people did buy some land, so there is a conflict.  Although the Nicaraguan government recognized that the sale took place, the “owners” can’t legally sell the land, nor can they pass it to their children.

* Overlay of indigenous lands and protected land/sea areas.  The protected areas extend around the keys, which are for the common use of the coastal tribes.  Communities fish and catch lobster there.  There is definitely a problem of over-fishing.

* Hurricanes, tropical storms, tropical depressions – there are lots of high-risk areas on the Atlantic side, because of the hurricanes and because they are among the most impoverished areas of Nicaragua, so the communities don’t have the resources to withstand the weather nor to recover.

* Flooded areas

* Minerals and mining concessions – these overlap a lot with indigenous lands.  Who controls these concessions?  The central government must get the OK from the regional government, which must consult with the communities, but this doesn’t really happen.

* BOSAWAS – has a nucleus and a buffer zone.  The buffer zone includes parts of RAAN, Jinoteca and Nueva Segovia.  The nucleus is divided into National Park and National Reserve lands.  In the area encompassing both the nucleus and buffer zone, 67% was forest in 1987.  (Presumably it was even greater in the past).  In 1999, it was 63% and in 2005 had dropped to 54%.  It is expected that much more had been lost by 2010 and by 2035 it is predicted that there will be only 33%.

Campesinos come in from the South.  The forest is mostly gone in the non-indigenous buffer zone.

Zalaya declared State land and settlers were allowed – in part of the nucleus zone.  There is no real protection except where the indigenous are.  People think they have rights to state land and campesinos also come in from the West.

This forest is very bio-diverse.

* Growth of DRY forest, which is advancing from SE to the North and East.

* Mining concessions – are in the buffer zone but not the nucleus.  However, there is the problem of contamination flowing from the mining areas into the nucleus area.  They mine gold, silver, and nickel.

Humbolt Centro has recommendations for the territorial government.

The invasion of campesinos into the Basawas that is presented in the media is simplistic – we need to all come together to understand the situation.  We have worked with indigenous and the campesinos.  The rights of indigenous are not up for discussion.  But Humbolt Centro listens to both and works with both.

Bosawas is our primary national wealth, but the population has very little contact with this forest.

We must maintain the right to a dignified life for ALL people, including both the indigenous AND the campesinos.  The autonomous regions must also have a right to self-determination.  The indigenous people are a fundamental part of our National identity.

Indigenous vs Mestizo peoples

An indigenous people has a common language, history and cosmovision. They live in communities and have family links, and they are aware that they are part of nature.  They are harmonious with nature and have communal identity in movement, towards territorial identity.  Indigenous people have personal identity rooted in communities where they live, with wider reality of bigger territories coming into their sense of self.  Election of leaders for communities and territories are sometimes more, sometimes less democratic.

Mestizos / campesino characteristics – weaker social bonds, more separate, dug up their geographic roots, no unity of who they are, only a little understanding of the land.  They were mostly plantation workers.  They come in from the outside and demand education, land, health care and a house.  Most desire to be cattle ranchers. 

Co-existence:  These differences produce conflict between marginalized peoples.  They have different histories, but both have the right to a decent life.  In trying to solve the conflict, we get an opportunity to find long-term solutions. 

The government must renew their commitment to preserve BOSAWAS productively.  The National Council on BOSAWAS hasn’t met since 2007.

Victor made some distinction between the UNESCO biosphere reserve, where mixtos and campesinos live and they can produce but not exploit, and the National Park, where nobody is supposed to live.

People have a right to a dignified life, to produce but not exploit.  The campesino movement has been going for a long time.  The rule was that if you possess the land for more than 10 years you had a right to keep it.  People who have arrived in the last two years can be expelled.

What about big mining and forest companies?  The law of demarcation is difficult to apply – money for compensation (to get them to leave) may not be available.

Co-habitation – there is not enough money to recompense everyone, those who invaded, so we might have to allow them to co-habit the land.

Indigenous people must now enforce their laws, but training and the means to do so are limited.  Amplification of the sense of self has not been assimilated yet, and there is a lack of resources for training.  We need a dialog with all – campesinos, indigenous, and government.  In 2006, they got rid of a campesino who set the forest on fire in retaliation.  So now we must be more sophisticated and careful.  We can’t make broad generalizations.

The government must make funds available for solutions, considering the high cost of logistical processes.

They must define policies to include everyone, including forest and mining companies.

We must revitalize campesinos of TOSAWAS to get them to protect the forest.

We need more coordination between the BOSAWAS Ecological brigade and civil authorities.

We also need to focus on the growing threats of organized crime and narco-trafficing. 

One campesino group, in defense of BOSAWAS, has protected against new incursions.

Susan – This govertment has worked hard to resolve land title problems all over the country, not just BOSAWAS.  My husband has a title on one property, to use and enjoy this land, but not pay taxes to the government, but instead to the indigenous who own it.

The Canal is a huge environmental threat – it is politically delicate.  The government decided to just do it.  This government concession is damaging to Nicaragua sovereignty and the whole natural environment is under serious threat.  Very little real information was given and long term implications were not set out for the people.  John Negroponte, infamous on many fronts in Latin America, Vietnam and Iraq, is Vice President of one of the two companies that have the contract, McKenzie.  The other company is McClarty.  We’re studying the environmental impacts.  We’re appalled that the contract gives these companies rights but no obligations.  Businesses in the concession cannot be challenged – they are immune.

This is like David and Goliath – this was negotiated with Chinese businessmen with good lawyers.  Who represents Nicaragua?  We don’t have those resources.  MORENA is the government and is helping with the (not independent) study.  Humbolt is doing an independent study and presenting to universities, but this is a thorny issue.

The environmental study and report to MORENA took only 8 months to produce.  The company gave the report to MORENA, who has 14 days to revise it – if they disagree, the company can take Nicaragua to international court and sue for loss of profit.

Although we ran out of time, Victor said that GMO crops are now being re-introduced in Nicaragua.

March Forward and Veterans For Peace are reaching out to Fort Hood soldiers this week, the beginning of an ongoing campaign here. Please get in touch if you would like to join us.  www.ourlivesourrights.org