Lori Berenson Update - July 15, 2005
[Mark and Rhoda Berenson are NYC academics who retired from their positions early to focus on rescuing their daughter, Lori, from the clutches of the corrupt Peruvian political/penal system where a secret military tribunal charged her with assisting one of the 'terrorist' labor union based now destroyed groups there, the Tupac Amaru:
http://cfrterrorism.org/groups/shiningpath.html
There is no evidence that Lori, a poverty worker in Latin America, had any direct involvement with this organization:
http://www.freelori.org/whoislori.html
but she has been trapped in the cruel Peruvian penal system now for nearly a decade. President Clinton and a number of our Congressmen appealed for the release of Lori, but the Bush administration has washed its hands of Lori's case. Ed Kent]
Friday, July 15, 2005
To Friends and Supporters of Lori Berenson:
VISIT WITH LORI
July began with a visit by Lori's uncle Ken who accompanied Mark to Cajamarca. It was Ken's first visit to Peru since Lori's trial in April 2001. Lori celebrated the occasion by baking a belated father's day all-chocolate cake in a heart shape which she decorated with the words "Yo amo Tio Ken y Dad." The visit with Lori was wonderful - she was in very good spirits and really excited to see her uncle after all these years. Mark and Ken spent time with Lori in the bakery where she works daily and also in the yard. Winter has arrived in Peru and, despite a very sunny day, it became quite cold in the late afternoon. They spent many hours reminiscing.
LORI SENDS GREETINGS FROM PERU Lori gave Mark and Ken the following letter to update you on what is going on in Peru and neighboring countries. She refers to corruption in Peru that has been front-page news for several weeks. To put her comments in context, it must be mentioned that the Peruvian Congress had passed a law, now rescinded, enabling those awaiting trials of sentencing for other than terrorism-related charges to serve their time under house arrest instead of spending that time under harsh prison conditions. In addition, despite Peru joining the US in the global war on terrorism and on narco-trafficking and despite Peru recently being authorized to receive over $100 million dollars from the US Congress to fight drugs, President Toledo recently decided to commute the six-year eight-month sentence of a young woman after she had served only one year following her conviction for drug trafficking - trying to leave Peru with 10 pounds of cocaine. President Toledo then gave this young woman a humanitarian release. She happens to be the daughter of an ambassador from a country allied with Peru.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1, 2005
Dear friends,
Thank you so much for your continued interest in my situation here in Peru.
Since the years are most certainly passing by, the certain monotony of prison life is ot really that fundamental an issue, albeit everything you can see in jails and the judicial system (abuses, injustices) is a mere reflection of how the society is doing in general.
These have been times of turmoil - massive protests in neighboring Latin-American countries Ecuador and Bolivia. The ruling classes of each of these countries found a way to temporarily calm the situations through the calling of new elections, putting in transitional governments. However, the real social demands, which had more to do with social and economic policies, weren't touched at all; thus the time-bomb keeps ticking away.
In Peru, although there have continued to be a lot of protests by certain sectors (including important mobilizations against foreign-owned mining companies), there has been no national movement to oust the present government, perhaps since no one thinks its replacement would do anything differently. However, things are not going well. The economic and political crisis is quite serious; the percentage of Peruvians that don't have stable, formal employment is well over 50% of the economically active population. Corruption scandals of this and former governments continue to come to light. Polls show that people have little or no faith in the political class.
As I said earlier, jails mirror society. Constructed and constricted with a limited budget, they've been converted into warehouses that house humans. The judicial system does not treat equally. There's a huge backlog and the courts are overwhelmed with cases. That is reflected in jails which are filled with people who are "unsentenced." The laws that govern the processes are established by political conveniences; thus there are those who are practically denied prison benefits while new laws are equalizing house arrest with time served in jail, which only benefit the corrupt. There are apparently special considerations given in the reducing of sentences through presidential "humanitarian" decrees. However, I doubt they are truly humanitarian, they appear to be mere and pure politics. Where was "humanity" when the government doesn't pardon the terminally ill? Or when it refuses to look at completely disproportionate sentences? It's not "humanity," it's political interests.
This is reality here and in many places. I much doubt it will change for the better if society doesn't change in a big way, but these are all part of social processes that move on their own time lines. I am again grateful for your continued interest in this situation over the years. It's a big help for me and my family.
Sincerely,
Lori Berenson
Huacariz Prison
Cajamarca, Peru
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Rhoda and Mark Berenson
English Website: www.freelori.org
Spanish Website: www.lorilibre.org
PS If you no longer wish to receive the Lori Updates and want to unsubscribe, please send email to announcements-list-request@freelori.org with a subject line of
"unsubscribe."
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort
to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy)
--
Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
--
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeaceEfforts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndingPoverty
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/440neighborhood
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StudentConcerns
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AcademicFreedom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivacyRights
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net/blognews.asp
http://cfrterrorism.org/groups/shiningpath.html
There is no evidence that Lori, a poverty worker in Latin America, had any direct involvement with this organization:
http://www.freelori.org/whoislori.html
but she has been trapped in the cruel Peruvian penal system now for nearly a decade. President Clinton and a number of our Congressmen appealed for the release of Lori, but the Bush administration has washed its hands of Lori's case. Ed Kent]
Friday, July 15, 2005
To Friends and Supporters of Lori Berenson:
VISIT WITH LORI
July began with a visit by Lori's uncle Ken who accompanied Mark to Cajamarca. It was Ken's first visit to Peru since Lori's trial in April 2001. Lori celebrated the occasion by baking a belated father's day all-chocolate cake in a heart shape which she decorated with the words "Yo amo Tio Ken y Dad." The visit with Lori was wonderful - she was in very good spirits and really excited to see her uncle after all these years. Mark and Ken spent time with Lori in the bakery where she works daily and also in the yard. Winter has arrived in Peru and, despite a very sunny day, it became quite cold in the late afternoon. They spent many hours reminiscing.
LORI SENDS GREETINGS FROM PERU Lori gave Mark and Ken the following letter to update you on what is going on in Peru and neighboring countries. She refers to corruption in Peru that has been front-page news for several weeks. To put her comments in context, it must be mentioned that the Peruvian Congress had passed a law, now rescinded, enabling those awaiting trials of sentencing for other than terrorism-related charges to serve their time under house arrest instead of spending that time under harsh prison conditions. In addition, despite Peru joining the US in the global war on terrorism and on narco-trafficking and despite Peru recently being authorized to receive over $100 million dollars from the US Congress to fight drugs, President Toledo recently decided to commute the six-year eight-month sentence of a young woman after she had served only one year following her conviction for drug trafficking - trying to leave Peru with 10 pounds of cocaine. President Toledo then gave this young woman a humanitarian release. She happens to be the daughter of an ambassador from a country allied with Peru.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1, 2005
Dear friends,
Thank you so much for your continued interest in my situation here in Peru.
Since the years are most certainly passing by, the certain monotony of prison life is ot really that fundamental an issue, albeit everything you can see in jails and the judicial system (abuses, injustices) is a mere reflection of how the society is doing in general.
These have been times of turmoil - massive protests in neighboring Latin-American countries Ecuador and Bolivia. The ruling classes of each of these countries found a way to temporarily calm the situations through the calling of new elections, putting in transitional governments. However, the real social demands, which had more to do with social and economic policies, weren't touched at all; thus the time-bomb keeps ticking away.
In Peru, although there have continued to be a lot of protests by certain sectors (including important mobilizations against foreign-owned mining companies), there has been no national movement to oust the present government, perhaps since no one thinks its replacement would do anything differently. However, things are not going well. The economic and political crisis is quite serious; the percentage of Peruvians that don't have stable, formal employment is well over 50% of the economically active population. Corruption scandals of this and former governments continue to come to light. Polls show that people have little or no faith in the political class.
As I said earlier, jails mirror society. Constructed and constricted with a limited budget, they've been converted into warehouses that house humans. The judicial system does not treat equally. There's a huge backlog and the courts are overwhelmed with cases. That is reflected in jails which are filled with people who are "unsentenced." The laws that govern the processes are established by political conveniences; thus there are those who are practically denied prison benefits while new laws are equalizing house arrest with time served in jail, which only benefit the corrupt. There are apparently special considerations given in the reducing of sentences through presidential "humanitarian" decrees. However, I doubt they are truly humanitarian, they appear to be mere and pure politics. Where was "humanity" when the government doesn't pardon the terminally ill? Or when it refuses to look at completely disproportionate sentences? It's not "humanity," it's political interests.
This is reality here and in many places. I much doubt it will change for the better if society doesn't change in a big way, but these are all part of social processes that move on their own time lines. I am again grateful for your continued interest in this situation over the years. It's a big help for me and my family.
Sincerely,
Lori Berenson
Huacariz Prison
Cajamarca, Peru
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Rhoda and Mark Berenson
English Website: www.freelori.org
Spanish Website: www.lorilibre.org
PS If you no longer wish to receive the Lori Updates and want to unsubscribe, please send email to announcements-list-request@freelori.org with a subject line of
"unsubscribe."
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort
to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy)
--
Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
--
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeaceEfforts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndingPoverty
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/440neighborhood
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StudentConcerns
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AcademicFreedom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivacyRights
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net/blognews.asp
posted by Ed Kent at 9:16 AM
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