GN summer fall09 Digital.indd - National Lawyers Guild

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009GIVE BACK TO THE GUILDDo you value the work that the National Lawyers Guild does? Has a Guild attorney helped you orsomeone you know? Won’t you reach out and help the Guild continue its work? For over 70 years,the Guild has fought to defend civil and human rights. As long as we are needed, we’ll be there.BequestsInclude the National Lawyers Guild in your willor estate plan, and leave a legacy of defendingcivil rights and civil liberties to future generations.Request information on making gifts oflife insurance, retirement plan benefits, stock,property, cash or proceeds from a charitable trust.Stock GiftsSave on capital gains taxes, and make yourcontribution with stock or mutual fund shares,instead of cash. If you have appreciated securitiesworth more than you paid for them, you gaina charitable deduction for the full fair marketvalue of the shares and avoid capital gains tax.For more information about opportunities to support the Guild through planned giving, contactMarjorie Suisman, Esq. at (617) 589-3869 or msuisman@davismalm.com.New NLG PublicationLuis Posada Carriles: Notes from a TribunalNow available in both print and electronic formats.The booklet contains the proceedings of a forum held atNew York University Law School featuring several authorities onCuba: Jane Franklin, renowned historian; Wayne Smith, professorat Johns Hopkins University and Senior Fellow at the Centerfor International Policy in Washington, D.C.; and Brian Becker,National Coordinator of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition. New York attorneyand author Michael Steven Smith moderated the event.The National Lawyers Guild published Luis Posada Carriles: ATribunal to educate the public about the crimes of Posada Carrilesand about this nation’s selective terrorism prosecutions.To order a free copy, call 212-679-5100 or send an email tocommunications@nlg.org.To download an electronic version, go to www.nlg.org.▪ 12 ▪
International WorkDelegation monitors El Salvador’s historic electionby Chris Ford, Katie Glynn, SusanScott, and Judy SombergSince as early as the 1980s, theNLG has been engaged in accompanimentwork with the people of El Salvador.Accompaniment has taken manyforms, including: the physical accompanimentof refugees fleeing the bloodycivil war that plagued the nation from1980-1992; the zealous advocacy andrepresentation of Salvadoran asylumseekers who reached the United States;and, in recent years, the monitoring ofEl Salvador’s electoral process.On March 15, 2009, a delegationof 20 Guild members joined severalthousand international observers inmonitoring the presidential electionpolls from set-up to ballot count. Postedat voting centers in San Salvador and inthe state of Sonsonate, Guild memberswere witness to the historic election ofMauricio Funes, candidate of the FaribundoMartí National Liberation Front(FMLN), and to the end of the 20-yearreign of the ultra-rightwing Alianza RepublicanaNacionalista (ARENA) party.During the five days leading up tothe election, Guild members receivedtraining on the mechanics of the votingprocess and learned from various constituenciesthe threats to a transparent election.The identified injustices included:ARENA’s manipulation of and refusal todisclose the voter registry; the bussingin of citizens from neighboring countriesand assigning them voting credentials;the carrying out of political violencewith impunity; the threatening of voterswith termination from employment uponfailure to provide proof of a ballot castfor ARENA; and the politicization of theSupreme Electoral Tribunal.Significantly, the Guild delegationwas able to respond to an overblownmedia campaign regarding thepotential response of the U.S. to anFMLN victory. Guild members held apress conference to protest the amplificationof public statements made byRepublican U.S. Representatives Dana(Above) NLG delegates with Salvadoran colleagues. Photo by Judy Somberg.(Below) FLMN supporters celebrate. Photo by Emily Achtenberg.Rohrbacher and Dan Burton that anFMLN win would result in the end ofthe temporary protected status (TPS) ofthousands of Salvadorans in the U.S., aswell as in the declaration of El Salvadoras a “terrorist state.” Such a designationwould block receipt of the remittancessent home by the Salvadoran populationin the U.S.—funds that constitute a vital18% of El Salvador’s GDP.Guild members demanded thatthe U.S. State Department clearlyand publicly declare the neutrality ofthe U.S. in the Salvadoran electoralprocess as well as its intention to workconstructively with whichever partywon the election. Two days before theelection, the U.S. Charge d’Affaires,Robert Blau, announced that the U.S.would remain neutral, and distanced theObama administration from the threatsof the Republican representatives. Theissue disappeared from the headlines ofthe local print and broadcast media theday before the election.The Guild is proud of its role inpressing the State Department to issuea statement of neutrality. We hope thatour presence as certified observers onElection Day contributed to a climate inwhich people could vote as they wished.Our Salvadoran colleagues reported thatthe presence of international observers,in particular U.S. attorneys, played avital role in protecting the right to freeelections and transparent results. □▪ 13 ▪
Page 1 and 2: Guild Notesa publication of the nat
Page 4 and 5: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009NLG
Page 6 and 7: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009D.C
Page 8 and 9: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009San
Page 10 and 11: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009Kee
Page 14 and 15: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009Goo
Page 16 and 17: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009A b
Page 18 and 19: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009Maj
Page 20 and 21: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009200
Page 22 and 23: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009San
Page 24 and 25: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009Sou
Page 26 and 27: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009Hug
Page 28 and 29: Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009Dor
Page 30 and 31: Party, the latter replied, “We th
Page 32: national lawyers guild foundation13

GN summer fall09 Digital.indd - National Lawyers Guild

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?