[...]
"Esta es la guerra," (This is war) Luis repeated in my ear all morning long and I believe him. According to people here and based on the events today, the involvement of the Altiplano Aymaras means that everything has changed. It was this group that was primarily responsible for the victorious uprising in October 2003 that overthrew Goni. Their internal coordination and cohesion, their numbers and their knowledge of la tierra (the land) make them extremely powerful. But, right now, it is not just their strength, it is their will. The Aymaras demonstrated today to offer a warning: they are now a part of the uprising.
[...]
More articles and an ongoing watch of the situation are available at the Narco News Bulletin.[...]
This morning the Aymara came down marching from El Alto once again. This time it was a huge group divided into three parts: more than 5,000 rural school teachers from the La Paz department, then the Federation of Neighborhood Committees of El Alto (FEJUVE), and behind, battle-hardened, the Aymara peasant farmers. Downtown La Paz was paralyzed all day long by mobilizations… and all day long one could hear the famous rumor of a civic-military coup looming in Bolivia.
[...]
A little past 3:00 in the afternoon, tired and worried, the main groups demobilized. A young Aymara fighter asked us about the coup as well… this correspondent showed him a flyer that they have been passing out among the mobilizations. Directed to “all Bolivians and Latin American brothers,” and signed by a supposed “Civil-Military Alliance,” the document speaks of how “civilians and young soldiers, ‘BOLIVIANS UNITED,’ will share in the glory of liberating Bolivia from a government that has sold out to foreign interests.”
The young protester, worried like everyone about the tensions we are living through, and faced with the uncertainty created by these soldiers and their civilian allies, bade farewell, saying, “These guys make us look bad.”
At the moment, some parts of downtown La Paz are still tightly guarded by the National Police’s Special Security Group (of whom an intent to mutiny was announced this morning)… the soldiers remain at their posts in Plaza Murillo… the people fighting in this city have returned to their houses or shacks… but despite the calm that has fallen, no one is quite relaxing.
Don’t lose sight of us, because the tide is rising and all this is far from over.
If you're in any position to help support this excellent free news source (mainly, but not exclusively, for what's really happening in South America), visit their site and donate. They do have expenses and don't get hazard pay. In fact, they don't get paid.
Customs Cops Visit Bill Conroy with an Attack on Press Freedom
By Al Giordano,
Posted on Tue May 24th, 2005 at 10:27:40 PM EST
At 5:55 p.m. last night, Monday, May 23rd, in San Antonio, Texas, Agent Carlos Salazar of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, accompanied by a female agent who failed to identify herself, made a surprise visit to the home of Narco News journalist Bill Conroy, a reporter, and author of the online book Borderline Security, who has broken a string of stories about embarrassing and worrisome problems inside Salazar’s agency.
Identifying himself as an agent of “Customs OPR” (short for Office of Professional Responsibility, better known as “Internal Affairs”), Salazar told Conroy’s wife of 23 years, Teddi Beam-Conroy, that he was looking for Bill. “He’s at work,” replied Teddy. Salazar asked when he would be home. “Probably around 7ish,” she replied, asking the agents for a business card. Salazar flashed his badge. His partner never identified herself.
Teddi got a pen and paper and wrote down the agent’s cell phone number, so that Bill could contact Salazar: The number Salazar left was 210-336-0036...
A short while later, journalist Bill Conroy dialed that number – 210-336-0036 – but Salazar did not answer. This was the first sign of deviation from standard operating procedure by the Customs agent: Internal Affairs agents (those who investigate other Customs agents) are supposed to keep their cell phones on at all hours and are aware of all incoming calls. It’s part of the job… but not for Salazar at 210-336-0036 apparently… At least not last night… (Does anyone know if government employee Carlos Salazar is answering his cell phone, 210-336-0036, tonight, unlike last night? Inquiring citizens have a right to know!)
Today, Tuesday, May 24th, after the intimidating visit by cops to the family home – “I had to explain to my son that I hadn’t done anything wrong,” says Conroy - authentic journalist Bill Conroy went to work at his day job, as the mild-mannered and respected editor of a prominent business periodical.
Bill had left his own cell phone number on the voice mail of Agent Salazar at 210-336-0036. But Salazar didn’t bother to call. He preferred, instead, to barge into Conroy’s office at 2:30 p.m.[...]
[...]
The visits by the Customs cops to Bill Conroy’s home and workplace this week confirm the accuracy of his reports: they wouldn’t go fishing for the source of a story that wasn’t accurate. (To paraphrase Homer Simpson: “It hurts because it is true!”) They also confirm that many of our best readers are Homeland Security officials. (Thanks, guys, for your continuing readership.) After all, they, too, have to learn from Narco News what is happening with the security of the homeland along the Border: thus the obsession to try and intimidate our reporters and us into silence.
[...]
Meanwhile, Authentic Journalist Bill Conroy dressed himself in glory today. These goons tried to intimidate his family with slimey underworld “we know where you live” tactics. And they tried to get Conroy fired from his day job by talking to his boss at a newspaper that had nothing to do with his report. And Bill Conroy - even with his livelihood threatened - stood firm.
Conroy protected his sources, as authentic journalists do. Word will now spread far and wide that Bill Conroy is a man that whistleblowers and sources can trust. He was tested today. And he passed the test. And my guess is that in their efforts to destroy a journalist, Agent Salazar and whomever, if anyone, is behind this rogue-style cop action, just made the already formidable Bill Conroy even stronger.
Needless to say, but worth repeating: An attack on one of our journalists is an attack on us all. The entire authentic journalism army stands proud and tall in defense of our colleague Bill Conroy. We will stand with him, nationally and internationally, and in favor of the people’s right to know, to the ultimate consequences. Bill Conroy is not alone tonight, tomorrow night, or forever more.[...]
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated. There may be some delay before your comment is published. It all depends on how much time M has in the day. But please comment!