Page A 7
October OI. 2003
EL OBSERVADOR
Colombia Confronted
Venezuela to Punish Protesters
Ear-splitting protests
against President
Hugo Chavez and
his supporters have
become so obnox
ious that the
Venezuela Congress
is considering
legislation making
them punishable by
up to five years in
prison. (AP photo)
(A P ) — D ep en d in g o n how y o u d o it,
b a n g in g on p o ts and p an s - a tra d itio n a l
L atin A m erican p ro test a g a in st u n p o p u la r
g o v e rn m e n ts and to u g h tim es - c o u ld soon
land you in p riso n in V en ezu ela.
E a rlie r th ia year, o p p o n e n ts o f P resid en t
H ugo C h a v e z stag ed n ig h tly p ro tests, called
“c a c e ro la z o s,” d u rin g an u n su ccessfu l tw o -
m o n th strik e to o u st th e p resid en t. T h e p ro
te sts d id n ’t seem to faze C h av ez.
R ecen tly , o p p o n e n ts h av e ta rg e te d th e
h o m es o f p e rc e iv e d g o v e rn m e n t su p p o rters,
frig h te n in g fam ilies an d p ro m p tin g C h av ez
to d e n o u n c e w h at he c a lls a n ew fo rm o f
“terro rism .”
Lloyd Axworthy (from left) and Jose Miguel Vivanco
o f Human Rights Watch, and Jorge Castaneda,
former Mexican foreign affairs minister, charge
Colombia with human rights violations. (AP photo)
Thousands o f children cur
rently t ight forColom bia’s ille
gal arm ed groups and some
are forced to w atch prisoners
being tortured. Human Rights
W atch said in a report.
The N ew Y ork-based ad
vocacy g ro u p w arned the
w idespread recruitm ent o f
child fighters isunderm ining
the fabric o fC o lo m b ian soci
ety. "T hesechildren w ill bear
the scars o f their experience
for decades to com e,” said the
report, titled “Y ou’ll Learn Not
to C ry: C hild C om batants in
Colom bia.”
Jose M iguel V ivanco, head
o fth e g ro u p ’s A m ericas D ivi
sion, said about 11,000 ch il
dren are under arms. He said at
least one in every four illegal
com batants in C olom bia is un
der the age o f 18.
R u lin g p arty leg islato rs say th e d e m o n
s tra tio n s h av e b e c o m e so p e rv a s iv e an d
th re a te n in g th ey w an t th em o u tla w e d and
have in tro d u ced legislatio n m ak in g th em p u n
ish ab le by up to Five y ears in prison.
T he p ro p o sed law , acco rd in g to ru lin g party
law m ak e rs, w o u ld ban p o t-b a n g in g p ro te sts
o u tsid e th e h o m es o f p u b lic o ffic ia ls and
th o se th at take p lace o n p la n e s o r lead to
p h y sic a l c o n fro n tatio n s.
“ It w o u ld v io late freed o m o f e x p re s sio n ,”
said G e rald o B lyde o f th e F irst Ju stic e o p p o
sitio n party . H is party is in sistin g on a tw o-
th ird s v o te to pass the m easu re. C h av ez b a c k
ers a re in sistin g on a sim p le m ajo rity .
American in Peru Prison Finds Love
After nearly eight years o f hard living in
Peruvian prisons on terrorism charges,
former New Yorker Lori Berenson hopes to
’ m arry a Peruvian man in a behind-bars
ceremony. (AP photo)
(A P )— A fter nearly eight years in Penivian
prison on charges o f terrorism , A m erican in
m ate Lori Berenson hopes to m arry a Peruvian
man in a behind-bars cerem ony, her m other
said.
T he prospective groom is not a fellow pris
oner.
A spokesw om an from Peru’sN ational Peni
tentiary Institute Prison said prison w eddings
w ere allow ed, but B erenson had not y et filed
the necessary paperw ork.
B erenson, 33, w as convicted by a secret
m ilitary court in 1996 and sentenced to life in
prison for being a Tupac A m aru leader and
plotting the thw arted attack.
T hat decision w as overturned in 2000 and
the follow ing year she w as found guilty in a
ci vi 1 ian court on the lesser charges o f “terrorist
collaboration” and sentenced to 20 years in
prison, including tim e served. B erenson d e
nies the charges.
The w edding w ould be B erenson’s second.
She w as briefly married to a form er Salvadoran
rebel w hen she lived in El Salvador.
At home with Family.
Turning work into play. Connecting on a
different level just by changing scenery.
Hanging out ‘til dark. Outdoor bliss. Home!
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M BM M M M M N H EN EN B D H M M M B N EM N M B H M N I
Grammy Winner
Sings at Cruz Tribute
Pedro Knight,
husband o f the
late salsa
legend Celia
Cruz, waves to
the crowd as
Latin Grammy
nominee Victor
Manuelle, left,
looks on. (AP
photo)
(A P) — Latin G ram m y nominee Victor
M anuelle sang while hundreds danced in a
tribute to “Q ueen o f Salsa” Celia C ruz dur
ing halftime o f an N FL game between M iami
and Buffalo.
C ru z’s husband, Pedro K night, also
received a D olphins jersey during the
cerem ony.
C ruz, 77, died o f a brain tum or on July
16. The C uban exi le w as im m ensely popu
lar in M iam i, so m uch so that C alle Ocho
- the m ain street running through -----
the city ’s C uban com m unity - has
the honorary nam e o f C elia C ruz
W ay.
T he tribute w as part o f a Latin-
them ed night at Pro Player Stadium
in h o n o r o f H ispanic H eritage
M onth. M arty C intron, lead singer
o f the Latin pop group N o M ercy,
p erfo rm ed “T he S tar-S p an g led
B anner” before the gam e on acous
tic guitar.
C ruz cam e to the United States in
1960, a year after the Cuban revolu
tion.
Check your local telephone directory for
the agent nearest you.
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Benefit for
Cuban Musicians
R hythm T raders has arranged
for m ega-talented perform ers at a
benefit for C uban m usicians.
F ie sta del T a m b o r fe a tu re s
G ram m y A w ard w inning Cuban
drum set artist H oracio “ El N egro”
H ernandez, w ith special m usical
guests O hio Ire and A gua M iel. Al I
proceeds from the event w ill be
used to purchase badly needed
instrum ents and accesso ries for
m usicians in C uba.
T he show is from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
T hursday, O ct. 16 at the N orth Star
Ballroom , 635 N. K illingsworth Ct.
T ickets are $10. For m ore inform a
tion, visit w w w .rhythm traders.com
•orcall 503-288-6950.
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