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Projects
Action Agenda for Electoral Reform
Ecotourism and Sustainable Development
Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards
New Internationalism -- U.N. and the Middle East
Social Action and Leadership School
Sustainable Energy and Economy Network
IPS
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Graphics adapted from work by Naul Ojeda. Click here to see more of his work.
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Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards 2000
The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards honor two IPS colleagues who were murdered on September 21, 1976 by agents of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Orlando Letelier, the target of the car bomb attack, was a former Chilean ambassador and well-known critic of Pinochet. Ronni Karpen Moffitt was a 25-year-old IPS development assistant and committed peace activist. Their murder on Massachussets Avenue remains the only proven act of state-sponsored terrorism in our nation's capitol.
Bringing Pinochet to Justice Project
Winners, 1978-2000
2000 Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award Winners
International Award: Oscar Olivera
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| Oscar Olivera presents his award medallion to his son Diego, after accepting on behalf of the people of Cochabamba. Linda Chavez-Thompson of the AFL-CIO presented the award. More pictures |
Oscar Olivera leads a coalition that has successfully fought off an initiative to privatize the public water system in Cochabamba, Bolivia, initially pushed by the World Bank, and in which the Bank imposed rules that all but ensured that people would get hit with massive price hikes. In 1999, the Bolivian government transferred the system in a 40-year concession to a private consortium, including a subsidiary of U.S.-based Bechtel, which quickly hiked rates for local water users by as much as 200 percent. Olivera, a long-time labor leader, became the spokesperson of the Coordinator in Defense of Water and Life, a coalition of workers, environmentalists, artisans, peasants, and others who believe that water is a critical public good and should not be privatized.
The Bolivian government responded to the coalition’s protests with force, resulting in significant civilian injuries and the death of one protestor. After four days in hiding, Olivera emerged to lead negotiations that resulted in 1) the withdrawal of Bechtel and the military troops surrounding the city, 2) the reform of laws pertaining to water services, and 3) the release of persons detained during the conflict. According to IPS Director John Cavanagh, "The Coordinator, with Olivera at its head, is an inspiring symbol of the growing international resistance to the devastating impacts of World Bank and IMF-promoted policies throughout the world."
Olivera entered the workforce at age 16 as a machine operator and has been a leader in the Bolivian labor movement for over 22 years. He is currently the Executive Secretary of the Federation of Factory Workers of Cochabamba, an umbrella organization comprising over 50 unions and 6,000 workers. Olivera has assumed a prominent role in the creation of education and training opportunities for workers, including the establishment in 1999 of the May 1st Union School.
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| Nora Callahan of the November Coalition accepts the Domestic Award from the Honorable John Conyers (D-MI). More pictures |
Domestic Award: November Coalition
The November Coalition, founded in Colville, Washington in 1997, has exploded into a national organization with a membership of thousands of prisoners, their loved ones and other concerned citizens dedicated to ending the racist and failed policies of the U.S. "War on Drugs." Director Nora Callahan founded the Coalition along with her brother (currently serving a 27 1/2-year sentence in a federal penitentiary) and a few other prisoners to raise public awareness about the injustices of the Drug War. The Coalition’s "Razor Wire" newspaper and web site publicize shocking personal stories of many of the millions of individuals convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are now serving draconian mandatory sentences with no hope for earned release.
In 1999, the November Coalition initiated the National Vigil Project to bring Drug War victims face to face with the public. Regional volunteers have organized public vigils to denounce the impact of current drug policies in their own communities and to present plans of action for distraught family members angered by loss and government indifference. The November Coalition’s ultimate goal is to turn that rage and sorrow into dignified, effective civic resistance.
According to Sanho Tree, Director of the IPS Drug Policy Project, "As with political prisoners the world over, the thought that keeps many other prisoners going is the knowledge that they have not been forgotten by the world they were forced to leave behind. The November Coalition reminds us of our war against our fellow citizens – and our common obligation to seek their freedom."
2000 Letelier-Moffitt Awards Selection Committee
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