From: goforth-AT-igc.apc.org
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 19:33:01 -0800
Subject: Social Justice E-Zine #14


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            "Economic justice can be measured by the
             screams of anguish from the very rich."
                -economist John Kenneth Galbraith



                     SOCIAL JUSTICE #14
                       March 4, 1996
                        Kim Goforth
                        Ray Goforth

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IN THIS ISSUE:

1) GUATEMALAN LABOR ACTIVISTS THREATENED

2) INDIAN POLICE TO FACE CHARGES FOR TATTOOING PRISONERS

3) WORKERS AND ACTIVISTS JOIN TO PICKET TRAILMOBILE CORPORATION

4) IRAN: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONCERNED ABOUT POSSIBLE
   GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN DEATHS OF IRANIAN NATIONALS

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   Welcome to the latest issue of SOCIAL JUSTICE E-ZINE.  Yeah,
SJ used to be called Bad Haircut, but the name Bad Haircut was
from a 10 year-old joke and just didn't convey what we were
trying to do with the magazine.  The name Social Justice
encompasses the struggles of people everywhere who work for
gender equality, democratic government, economic opportunity,
intellectual freedom, environmental protection, and human rights.
These efforts manifest themselves in differing ways under varying
circumstances.  We hope to use the magazine to highlight aspects
of these struggles and provide avenues for support when possible.
   Social Justice is an electronic magazine (e-zine) designed for
free distribution through the internet. Feel free to make copies
and share with friends (or enemies).
   Those wishing to be added to the subscription list (or
conversely, those who want off the list) should write to us at: 
goforth-AT-igc.apc.org

Some of our other projects:

Progressive Web Site:  http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/2915
Feminist Web Site:  http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/2995
Ray's Personal Site:  http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/2115

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GUATEMALAN LABOR ACTIVISTS THREATENED

   DEBORA GUZMAN, a Guatemalan labor activist, has received
3 anonymous letters threatening to kill her unless her partner,
FELIX GONZALEZ, renounces his organizing efforts with the workers
from the Lunafil factory in Guatemala. 
   In October of 1994 Debora was the victim of a violent attack
by heavily armed men who were unknown to her. On February 28,
1995 Debora was kidnapped while shopping in the market and
retained for 31 hours by her captors. She was found on the next
day, March 1, drugged, in Totonicopan, nearly 200 km from her
house. During her recent pregnancy, she began receiving threats
against her unborn son.  These continued in November of 1995,
after he was born. During February of 1996, the threatening
letters came more frequently, arriving on the 12th, 15th and 20th
of the month.  In them, the authors reiterated that Felix and his
co-workers from UNSITRAGUA must give up their union work,
reminding Debora of what happened on February 28 of last year.

Those concerned about this can contact:

Licenciado Arnoldo Ortiz Moscoso, Ministro de Trabajo y Prevision
Social, Palacio Nacional, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala, C.A.
FAX: 502  2 51 35 59, TELEX: 305 5704 MINGOB GU
Salutation: Sr. Ministro

Peace Brigades International
pbiusa-AT-igc.apc.org
http://www.igc.apc.org/pbi/index.html

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INDIAN POLICE WHO TATTOOED PRISONERS TO FACE CHARGES

   NEW DELHI, Feb 17, 1996 (Reuter) - Police in the north Indian
state of Punjab who tattooed the word "pickpocket" on several
women's foreheads are to face charges, the Press Trust of India
said on Saturday.  The news agency said a Central Bureau of
Investigation report, handed to the Punjab and Haryana High
Court, confirmed that the four tattooed women had been unmarked
when they were taken into custody.
   The then superintendent of police in the city of Amritsar was
among those to be charged, the agency said.
   The court said it would give details of the case on Monday and
a special judge would preside over the trial. The tattooing
incident, which dates back several years, triggered a series of
protests by women's groups across the country.
   Punjab police, battling a Sikh separatist uprising in the
state, have frequently been accused of human rights violations,
including abductions, rape and torture of militants and their
families.

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WORKERS AND ACTIVISTS JOIN TO PICKET TRAILMOBILE CORPORATION

   Chicago, USA - Two causes joined together in a spirited picket
line today in front of the Amoco Building in downtown Chicago. 
The demonstrators united to protest Trailmobile Corp., which is
headquartered in the building, and which has locked out 1,200
workers from its plant in Charleston, Illinois.
   "We're here to show [Trailmobile CEO Edward] Wanandi that we
are going to be on his case until he ends this immoral lockout
and gives us a fair contract.  We're in this picture to stay
until that happens," said Gary Collins, the president of United
Paperworkers (UPIU) Local 7591 which represents the locked-out
workers.  Trailmobile locked out the workers Jan. 21, just days
after the workers had overwhelmingly rejected a concessions-laden
contract offer.  The company offer would have continued a
four-year wage freeze for three additional years and also
contained significant work-rule concessions.
   Joining the Charleston workers on the picket line were
Chicago-based activists from the East Timor Action Network, which
was formed several years ago to protest the continued occupation
of the tiny island-nation of East Timor by the military
government of Indonesia.  The family of Trailmobile CEO
Edward Wanandi, whose conglomerate the Gemala Group owns
Trailmobile, has had long-standing ties to Indonesia's military.
   "We are proud to join this demonstration in support of the
UPIU workers," said Brad Livingston, a member of the East Timor
Action Network.  "Wanandi's behavior is no surprise to us.  His
family has supported Indonesia's military butchers for the last
20 years as the military invaded East Timor and committed
massacre after massacre.  What is happening in East Timor is,
literally, a crime, and the Wanandis' hands are not clean."
   The picketers carried banners calling for an end to the
Charleston lockout and for an end to the Indonesian occupation of
East Timor.  Later, union members distributed leaflets describing
the Wanandi family's close ties to the Indonesian military
throughout the village of Lake Forest, where Edward
Wanandi maintains a residence.
   The same day, teams of locked out workers distributed the
leaflets at the Midwest Truckers Association trade show in
Springfield, Illinois, and at Trailmobile's other manufacturing
plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

For more information, contact:  Mark Brooks, United Paperworkers
International Union, 615/834-8590

This material came from PeaceNet, a non-profit progressive
networking service.  For more information, send a message to
peacenet-info-AT-igc.apc.org

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FEBRUARY 28, 1996

IRAN: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONCERNED ABOUT POSSIBLE
GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN DEATHS OF IRANIAN NATIONALS

   Following the recent deaths in suspicious circumstances of
three Iranian nationals in Iran and Turkey,  Amnesty
International today called on the Turkish and Iranian
authorities to conduct immediate, thorough and impartial
investigations into the deaths in their territory.
   "We are particularly concerned about these deaths
because of previous allegations of Iranian Government
involvement in the deaths both at home and abroad of Iranians
known or perceived to be opposed to the government," Amnesty
International said.
   Amnesty International is also seeking clarification of
the Iranian Government's position with respect to the deaths
in Turkey.
   Molavi Ahmad Sayyad, a leader of the minority Sunni
community from Baluchistan, was reportedly found dead outside
the city of Bandar Abbas on 2 February 1996, five days after
being arrested at the airport as he returned from a six-week
trip to the United Arab Emirates.  He had previously been
detained for about five years without charge after his return
in 1990 from studying in Saudi Arabia.  After his release
from detention, he had opened a school for Sunni Muslims in
Baluchistan.
   Zahra Rajabi, a former member of the Leadership Council
of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), and
Abdolali Moradi, said to be a sympathiser of the same
organization, were reportedly found dead in Istanbul on 20
February 1996.  
   In 1994, another Sunni leader, Haji Mohammad Zia'ie was
also found dead in suspicious circumstances.  According to
official Iranian sources, an investigation conducted by the
police concluded he had died in a car accident.  However,
this account differs from eye-witness reports which suggested
that his mutilated body was found separately from the car,
which did not bear signs consistent with the alleged
accident.  Amnesty International continues to believe that
the truth surrounding his death cannot be established unless
a full and independent investigation is conducted.  
   A number of Iranian opposition activists have been
killed in Turkey in previous years in circumstances
suggesting that they may have been unlawfully killed by
Iranian Government agents.  For example, in June 1992, Ali
Akbar Ghorbani, also a member of the PMOI, was abducted in
Istanbul.  His body, reportedly bearing signs of severe
torture, was found in late January 1993.  Three members of
the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran were also assassinated
between August 1993 and January 1994.
   Amnesty International also remains concerned over the
fate of Ali Tavassoli, a former leader of the Organization of
Iranian People's Fedaian (Majority) who "disappeared" while
travelling in Baku, Azerbaijan in September 1995 and whose
fate has since been unknown.  Unconfirmed reports suggested
that Iranian nationals, possibly connected to the security
forces, were involved in his abduction.

International Secretariat of Amnesty International,
1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ
(Tel +44-71-413-5500, Fax +44-71-956-1157)
AINS-AT-GN.APC.ORG

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For those who have inquired:  We (Ray and Kim Goforth) spent
several years doing progressive political organizing work in
southern California.  We moved to Seattle, Washington, USA in
1988 where we took positions with different social service
agencies. In 1995, we both completed undergraduate degrees in
political-economy.  We are currently law students.  Kim's area of
interest is women's and children's advocacy.  Ray's is
sustainable development and human rights.  

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