Songs of Protest and Peace
Scarecrow King
http://www.counterpunch.org/atapattu02012003.html
Songs of Protest and Peace
A Guide to Protest Music, Part One
by DON ATAPATTU
In mid 2002, British pop superstar George
Michael took what he described as the 'biggest
risk of my career' with the release of a single
entitled 'Shoot the Dog'. Despite not being an
entirely accurate statement (most would think
that waving his genitals at an LAPD officer in a
public toilet would be more damaging to a pop
star's livelihood), it was certainly a brave move
as the dog of the title was Dubya's favourite
poodle, Prime Minister Tony Blair. Like many, I
desperately wanted to like the tune as Blair and
Dubya's virtually homoerotic relationship was an
extremely worthy target of satire; the only
problem was that the song wasn't actually much
good. Consequently, I thought that rather than
wasting a good ideal, I would compile an
alternative list of essential protest tunes that
every progressive should own.
'Step On' by the Happy Mondays
'Hey rainmaker, come away from that
man
You know he's gonna take away your
promised land
Hey good lady he's got God on his
side he got a double
Tongue you never think he would lie'
This version of John Kongo's 'He's
Going To Step On You Again' was
surely not picked by intellectually
challenged and pharmaceutically
enhanced Manchester combo 'The
Happy Mondays' for its lyrical content;
but their version is superior
nonetheless. Originally about the
imposition of Apartheid era
Bantustans by South Africa (of which
Kongo was a native), the lyrics are
eerily predictive of occupied Palestine
under Ariel Sharon.
'Stars and Stripes of Corruption' by Dead
Kennedys
'No wonder others all hate us, and
the Hitlers we handpick\ To bleed
their people dry for our evil empire'
raged San Francisco's punk favorites in
1985, with a remarkable insight for
Americans (many of whom were
genuinely baffled during 9-11 that
some foreigners may actually have a
reason to be angry at Washington).
No one could accuse Dead Kennedys
of lack of ambition. Contrary to the 2
minute burst of premeditated idiocy
that typified much of punk rock, this
six minute epic is a scathing, witty
attack on Yankee imperialism abroad
coupled with consumerism induced
apathy at home. Almost like 1970's
progressive rock in its sprawling
length, rambling lyrics, clever time
changes, and tight musicianship; it is
also great fun - never has pissing on
Capitol Hill sounded more exciting.
Like Noam Chomsky, Biafra has made
a career out of being Un-American and
indeed if Chomsky had a sarcastic,
degenerate son that picked up a
guitar, this is undoubtedly what he
would sound like. 'You say you'll fight
to the death to save your worthless
flag\ If you want a banana republic
that bad, why don't you go move to
one?' he spits, and with
Bush/Ashcroft's current dismantling of
the US constitution, this sounds even
more salient today. If you were
allowed to take one Left-wing track to
take to a desert island, make it this
one.
'Strange Fruit' by Billie Holiday
Not many singers could claim to have
'suffered for their art' as Billie
Holiday. Born Elinore Harris in 1915,
Billie certainly knew torment. As well
as growing up Black in the Jim Crow
South; she endured sexual abuse;
extreme poverty; homelessness; and
a stint as a prostitute before she
began recording music at the age of
18. Later in life she would survive
chronic alcohol abuse, heroin addiction
and regular beatings from the violent
boyfriends her masochistic streak
subconsciously picked. 'Strange Fruit'
is the track most associated with
Halliday, mostly due to the huge
publicity given to its unusually
politicized subject matter (the
lynching of Blacks in the American
South). However, the evocative,
haunting piano and brass that back
her world weary vocals (not to
mention the gothic imagery of the
lyrics), make this track a classic even
had there not been such controversy.
'Say it Loud (I'm Black and Proud)' by James
Brown
'We'd rather die on our feet, than be
livin' on our knees.'
Like George W Bush, James Brown is
not what you would describe as
'intellectual', and anyone who has
heard this or any other of his
monosyllabic funky classics would not
describe him as a master lyricist
either. It is a great tune though, and
let anyone who has listened to this
dare deny the righteousness or
sincerity of this particular firebrand.
Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater
Revival
This anti government rant concerns
the hypocrisy of the privileged classes
supporting the Vietnam war while
doing all in their power to secure a
draft dodge for their own children (the
wealthy families of Dan Quayle and
George W Bush being prime
examples). Mystifyingly, this was
often used by American television
networks following 9/11 to shore up
patriotic sentiment, although the
lyrics do not support such a position.
The first verse may start 'Some folks
are born made to wave the flag \ Ooh,
they're red white and blue'; but is
almost instantly knocked aside by the
chorus which repeats 'it ain't me' four
times over. Inevitably this throwback
of Sixties revolt was later used a
commercial for Wrangler jeans, much
to the wrath of the song's writer John
Fogerty who condemned it as 'another
nail in the coffin of the ideals of the
'60s'. Another notable protest tune
from CCR is 'Run Through the Jungle',
which shares 'Fortunate Son's
alternatively grungy and twanging
guitars and R & B drenched rhythm
section. Notwithstanding, the icing on
the cake was always John Fogerty's
gloriously raucous vocals, which
constantly made him sound like he
was gargling 6 inch nails in sulphuric
acid.
'Gimme Hope Jo'anna' by Eddy Grant
This British born, Caribbean based
reggae singer's cheerful sounding
dance-floor smash is actually an
unlikely anti Apartheid anthem (the
Jo'anna in question refers to
Johannesburg). Your feet would have
to be nailed together to hear this and
stand still.
Satisfaction by Rolling Stones
This raunchy sixties classic was
actually a tirade against the vacuous
sedative of consumerism a
sentiment that would be admirable
were it not coming from Mick Jagger.
1968's 'Street Fighting Man' was
written about the near revolution in
France that same year, but fails to
qualify as it is unclear whether the
lyrics are in favour of youthful
idealism or just a good rumble.
We Gotta Get Outta This Place by The
Animals
Can there be anyone who hasn't heard
this song? The 'place' in question is
Vietnam of course.
KYEO by Fugazi
Anti Gulf war anthem from veteran
Leftist hardcore rockers. 'WE WILL
NOT be beaten down' bellows lead
shouter Ian Mckaye, and by God you
believe him.
Rock and Roll Nigger by Patti Smith
Another veteran maverick of the music
scene, Patti Smith started her career
writing poetry and acting in
underground theatre productions in
the New York scene of the early
1970's. After meeting with small time
rock journalist and amateur guitarist
Lenny Kaye, the two performed as a
duo with Kaye providing instrumental
backing for Smith's poetry reading.
This partnership would lead to a
collaboration over 3 decades in what
was to become the Patti Smith Group.
Due to hugely disparate influences on
her work that were musical (Dylan,
James Brown, 'Philadelphia jazz') and
otherwise (the surrealist Antonin
Artaud, the poet Arthur Rimbaud, and
her own abandoned Jehovah's Witness
upbringing), her music was hardly
likely to be conventional. Indeed what
was striking about Patti's records is
how they combined her rambling
spoken word performances with
sometimes quite ferocious guitar
based compositions; and the Patti
Smith Group seemed to straddle the
seemingly contradictory art rock
tradition with that of the emerging
proto punk scene. The PSG's first
release was the typically leftfield
double A side single 'Hey Joe' (a
bizarre cover of the song made
famous by Hendrix, rewritten as a
commentary on the Patti Hearst
kidnapping) and 'Piss Factory' (her
own experience of escaping a grimy
New Jersey assembly line to work as
an artist in Bohemian New York);
which inevitably was an independent
release. Smith's first album 'Horses'
was released by the newly created
Arista label and was one of the most
critically acclaimed and original LPs of
the 1970's, and its follow up 'Radio
Ethiopia' was almost as good.
However, after a couple more less
distinguished records in the 1970's,
Patti made the unbelievably
conformist decision to retire from
music to devote herself full time to
being a housewife and mother (she
had married former Mc5 guitarist Fred
'Sonic' Smith in 1980 to whom she
bore two children). It was 1988 before
there would be another Patti Smith
album with the horribly bland MOR of
'Dream of Life', replete with bright
80's style production and typically
American soft-rock style guitar.
Unhappily it took major tragedy for
Patti to return to form; and 1996's
excellent 'Gone Again' was a bleak,
downbeat reflection on bereavement
and loss following the deaths of her
husband, brother, and her former
keyboard player Richard Sohl. 1997's
'Peace and Noise' continued its
predecessors dark, bleak feel, though
being somewhat harder and more
guitar orientated; while the 2000
release 'Gung Ho' is a homecoming
back to mid 70's eclecticism. Patti
Smith is 57 now and continues to
produce challenging, quality work
which is hardly true for her
contemporaries that are still
recording, and neither have her
politics moved rightwards (she was
one of the celebrity backers of Ralph
Nader presidential bid alongside Jello
Biafra, Bill Murray, Danny Glover, Phil
Donahue, and Susan Sarandon).
'Rock and Nigger' is a more straight
forward rock number from 1978's
'Easter', and is the best track on that
album. What appears at first glance
to be a racist attack on Jimi Hendrix,
is actually a hymn to radicals through
the ages; from Jesus Christ to Jackson
Pollack, to Hendrix himself. It is
probably this song that got Smith
credited with the tag 'the godmother
of punk'.
Fight the Power by Public Enemy
This savage dose of Black nationalist
rage was one of the best songs of
1989 and fittingly was the title track
to the best film of that year - Spike
Lee's stunning racial drama 'Do the
Right Thing'. Main rapper Chuck D's
fierce barks take bitter swipes at
Elvis, John Wayne, and naturally the
American government; over pounding,
dense, bass heavy beats. A musical
call to arms.
Kick Out the Jams by MC5
"We were Punk, before Punk. We were
New Wave before New Wave. We
were Metal, before Metal. We were
even "M.C. before hammer.....We were
the electro-mechanical climax of the
age, or some sort of cruel counter
culture hoax. We were considered
killer, righteous, high energy dudes
who could pitch a whang dang doodle
all night long...." proclaimed MC5 ever
modest vocalist Rob Tyner. 'Kick Out
the Jams' is the title track of their
1969 debut LP, which was recorded
live and was quite possibly the first
'acid rock' album ever recorded. Under
the guidance of their guru cum
manager John Sinclair, they were the
in house band of the White Panther
Party, whose radical manifesto
demanded the abolishing of money;
the ending of national borders; the
freeing of prisoners; support for the
Black Panthers; and a 'total assault
on the culture by any means
necessary, including rock n' roll, dope
and fucking in the streets'. However,
once Sinclair was jailed in 1970 for
marijuana possession the political
militancy fizzled out, and the band
were mostly preoccupied with drug
problems, bankruptcy, and getting
dropped by their various record labels.
The sweaty fury of 'Kick Out the Jams'
keeps it an essential of proto punk
heavy rock, and has been covered in
recent years by Rage Against the
Machine, Henry Rollins, and the
Presidents of the United States of
America. Rob Tyner's trademark yell of
'Kick out the jams motherfuckers!',
also provoked an early example of
lyric censorship after the Hudson's
chainstore refused to stock the record,
and MC5's record company
surreptitiously removed the offending
profanity.
'Hurricane' by Bob Dylan
'Here comes the story of the
Hurricane/The man the authorities
came to blame/For somethin' that he
never done'
A seven minute narrative of the
events leading to the incarceration of
Black middleweight boxer Rubin
'Hurricane' Carter. Carter was
eventually released in 1985 (after 2
decades of imprisonment) after the
appeal judge agreed with Carter's
belief that his conviction 'was based
on racism rather than reason, and
concealment rather than disclosure'.
Dylan was among many celebrity
supporters, and was sufficiently
angered by the injustice to
immortalise Carter in song. With its
urgent pace, funky rhythm section and
fuming vocals (a welcome departure
from his usual nasal whine), it is also
one of the few Dylan tracks that could
be described as danceable. Apparently
it is also the song that inspired Jon
Bon Jovi to pick up a guitar.
'Exodus' by Bob Marley
'Movement of Jah people!'
The title track of the album that Time
magazine described in 1999 as the
most important of the twentieth
century, is a call for Black people to
leave 'Babylon' in favour of Ethiopia
(the 'fatherland'). Although
Rastafarian criticism of the decadence
and immorality of the imperialist West
had a degree of validity, it is
questionable whether the ideal
solution would be for the ethnic
cleansing of all Blacks from within it
(particularly as Marley's own father
was a White Englishman). A great
song though, and his heartfelt passion
is unmistakable.
War by Edwin Starr
This funk masterpiece was later
covered by Bruce Springsteen and er,
Frankie Goes to Hollywood. If only the
youthful Dubya had spent some of his
dope money on this or its follow up
('Stop The War Now') while he was
dodging the draft, history might be
very different.
Leonard Cohen The Future
Brilliantly chilling 'Nineteen Eighty
Four' style warning of a future
totalitarian society built on power
rather than morality. Left-wing it isn't,
but his darkly satirical muttering is
compelling nonetheless. Never have
both notes of Cohen's vocal range
been used to more evocative effect.
RB
Scarecr...@hotmail.com (Scarecrow King) wrote:
> We Gotta Get Outta This Place by The
> Animals
> Can there be anyone who hasn't heard
> this song? The 'place' in question is
> Vietnam of course.
Really? which lyrics suggest that to you? I always thought it was
about poverty...
WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE
(Weil/Mann)
In this dirty old part of the city
Where the sun refused to shine
People tell me there ain't no use in tryin'
Now my girl you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know
Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
Oh yes I know it
(Yeah!) He's been workin' so hard
(Yeah!) I've been workin' too, baby
(Yeah!) Every night and day
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
'cause girl, there's a better life for me and you
Now my girl you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true, yeah
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know it
Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey, yeah
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
I know he's been workin' so hard
(Yeah!) I've been workin' too, baby
(Yeah!) Every day baby
(Yeah!) Whoa!
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Somewhere baby, somehow I know it
We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Believe me baby
I know it baby
You know it too
------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Rintoul
vicious cycle of poverty, along the same general lines as Bruce
Springsteen's "Born to Run" or Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car".
"And I,
Had a feeling that I belonged,
And I,
Had a feeling that I,
Could be someone, be someone, be someone."
I also think Tracy's "Talkin 'Bout a Revolution" should have been on the
list.
"Don't you know,
We're talkin' 'bout a revolution,
It sounds like a whisper!"
Songs of peace and protest don't have to be against any particular war or
other. There is no peace without justice.
--
David Rintoul
david....@sympatico.ca
http://www3.sympatico.ca/david.rintoul
"In prosperity, our friends know us. In adversity, we know our friends."
J. Churton Collins
David Reihmer
Scarecr...@hotmail.com (Scarecrow King) wrote:
> Quite interesting.
>
> http://www.counterpunch.org/atapattu02012003.html
>
> Songs of Protest and Peace
>
> A Guide to Protest Music, Part One
>
> by DON ATAPATTU
>
> In mid 2002, British pop superstar George
> Michael took what he described as the 'biggest
> risk of my career' with the release of a single
> entitled 'Shoot the Dog'. Despite not being an
> entirely accurate statement (most would think
> that waving his genitals at an LAPD officer in a
> public toilet would be more damaging to a pop
> star's livelihood), it was certainly a brave move
> as the dog of the title was Dubya's favourite
> poodle, Prime Minister Tony Blair. Like many, I
> desperately wanted to like the tune as Blair and
> Dubya's virtually homoerotic relationship was an
> extremely worthy target of satire; the only
> problem was that the song wasn't actually much
> good. Consequently, I thought that rather than
> wasting a good ideal, I would compile an
> alternative list of essential protest tunes that
> every progressive should own.
>
>snip
Are you suggesting 'progressive' means hanging on to the 'hope' promised
in ancient songs of the former 'sub-culture'? Or that a mutual respect
between two males is automatically homoerotic?
--
Scarecrow King
Hey I only forwarded what I thought was quite an interesting piece. I
am hardly responsible for its content.
As it happens I always thought the Animals song was about social
deprivation too.
Mad Dan
> Quite interesting.
>
> http://www.counterpunch.org/atapattu02012003.html
>
I thought "Satisfaction" was about wanking - what kind of protest is that?
(If so, BlindWillie must be "protester of the year" already)
Publius2k
>
> Quite interesting.
>
> http://www.counterpunch.org/atapattu02012003.html
>
> Songs of Protest and Peace
>
> A Guide to Protest Music, Part One
>
> by DON ATAPATTU
Most of these were more commercial, pop sings it seems.
For really radical, in your face commentary and protest songs,
ones not likely to ever get played on mainstream radio stations
until after the revolution, I would suggest USA folk singers
David Rovics and Ethan Miller, and Robb Johnson [UK]
http://www.robbjohnson.co.uk/. I am told that Manu Chao who
sings mostly in Spanish but some English is also good.
Also, you gotta love The War of 1812 by the Arrogant Worms,
sorta a parody of the old US pop culture Battle of New Orleans,
with an alternative media twist. "The White House burned,
burned, burned, and we're the ones that did it!"
This link has songs by Rovics and Miller, and others:
http://audio.maineindymedia.org/ MP3 and OGG formats. Go
.ogg! <-- free open source alternative
Ethan's 'anthem' is a must listen:
http://media.maineindymedia.org/content/EthanMiller/Kennebunk-N17/audio/ogg/Ethan_Miller_-_Declaration_of_War_(N17).ogg
[change ogg to mp3 if you can tolerate lower sound quality in a
larger file size :) ]
Ethan's Bombs or Bread, The Other Way, and Invisible Hand are
also superb.
http://ethan.jedcenter.org/lyrics_chords.htm
But Rovics rules. http://www.davidrovics.com
Lyrics to almost all of his songs, including many not yet
recorded, can be found here:
http://members.aol.com/drovics/contents.htm
Hard to choose the best, since he has written more than a dozen
since 9/11
I'll link the lyrics for a few.
"Listen to David Rovics..."
--- Pete Seeger
"If the key to building a mass movement is to make it
'irresistible,' David is opening the flood gates."
--- Medea Benjamin, Founding Director, Global Exchange
If you don't believe David Rovics is a for real revolutionary,
consider his 'in your corporate face' copyleft policy:
"My statement on copying [my] music: FEEL FREE. NO GUILT! I
certainly appreciate your CD purchases and all that, but the
main thing is to get the music out there. You are hereby
encouraged not only to buy CDs, but to COPY THEM in part or
whole, download and distribute MP3's, sing the songs, photocopy
part or all of the songbooks, etc. If you know a radio
programmer or other such person who you'd like to give a CD to,
just ask and I'll send you one, or feel free to copy one you
have and give it to them. Have I made my point clear...?"
Ethan Miller is cut from the same cloth:
"These songs are meant to be shared, sung by anyone and
everyone, altered, rewritten even. And all this, of course,
without permission from "the author". Who is the author, anyway?
Folk music emerges out of our collective struggles and desires;
some of us may weave these ancient threads into new strains of
music, but the songs belong to all of us. This is what the folk
process is all about: people making music together to tell their
stories, pass along their ideas, roar their resistance, sing
their hopes and visions into being. So sing on, friends!"
Publius2k
(w/m by Ethan Miller)
In times of war, the folksingers are supposed to write peace
songs
Go to candlelight vigils and lead all the people in sing-alongs
Say “make love not war! And “have no vengeance on your enemies
Meet violence with love and hatred and anger with empathy”
Now don’t get me wrong, I ain’t got nothing against peace songs
Or goin’ to rallies to call for an end to the guns and the bombs
But in times like these, I feel compelled to declare my support
For the ongoing escalation of the war effort
This ain’t no peace song, this is a declaration of war
This ain’t no sing-along, this is the rise of a mighty roar
When the towers came down, everyone looked around for a culprit
And the media moguls and corporate elites took the pulpit
“Ain’t no fault of ours if all these millions are angry
Living in rubble in crumbling hovels in poverty”
Draped in a flag, they are pointing away at their enemy
“United we stand,” they say, cleverly shirking complicity
“Don’t ask any questions, just follow us, we will show you the
way
Rise up America, come bomb another impoverished nation today”
[c]
Now just look around as the bombs hit the ground, tell me what
do you see?
Are the ones callin’ the shots your friends or your enemies?
Who are the victims? Who are the innocent? And who commits
crimes?
And who gets to spin it the next day on the cover of the New
York Times?
And furthermore, if I may ask, who are they anyway,
Who can give us our freedom and then with one vote they can take
it all away?
Now I do declare they’ve exceeded their share of the oxygen
And we will not stand for one more command from their lips again
[c]
An eye for an eye will leave us all blind, I have heard it said
Yes, but peace without justice and struggle will surely leave a
million more dead
So stand up on your feet and take to the street, this is no time
for fear
Call us traitors or spies, and spread all your lies, but we will
persevere
It’s been said before and I’ll say it once more, let’s bring the
war home
And battle the forces of greed and injustice wherever they may
roam
And united we’ll stand here in this land of hipocracy
To take back our lives from the rulers and build a democracy
[c]
No more will we stand idly by
While they ravage the earth and hurl flame from the sky
No more we’ll be silenced, no more we’ll be still
No more we’ll be pillaged, no more will be killed
No more silent vigils, this time we will roar
We’ll call out the traitors and we will declare war
On the oil executives, corporate elites,
Wall street vigilantes in mountain retreats,
IMF bureaucrats, Monsanto thugs,
CIA agents with tap and with bugs,
Rich greedy landlords and real estate crooks,
Corporate lawyers with corporate lawbooks,
Fascists in the white house and fools on the hill,
Puppets in uniform, guns set to kill,
Racist avengers and pentagon brutes,
Slick politicians and bankers in suits,
Old money, new money, priviledged few,
Owners of Nike, Chevron, and GQ,
Pesticide pushers of chemical war,
Econ departments, Wal-Mart superstores,
Kings and their armies and princes and dukes,
Religious zealots who kill for the truth,
Free trade agreements and global control,
Smokestacks and gasoline and ozone holes…
This ain’t no peace song.
In times of war, the folksingers are supposed to write peace
songs
Go to candlelight vigils and lead all the people in sing-alongs—
But this ain’t no peace song.
Publius2k
(words and music by everyone…write your own!... and
sing it like a RANT!)
D
.............................................G...................D
Here's to all you rich folk who wallow in your greed
.......................................................G..................A
And to all you corporate scum who profit off our
needs
G ...........D ..................G (G/F#) D
FUCK YOU and your money, too!
Here's to the army, navy, air force, and marines
And to all you masterminds who pull the puppet
strings
FUCK YOU and your big guns, too!
Here's to all you terrorists, tearin' up the whole
world
Cutting all the forests down and poisoning the soil
FUCK YOU and your big machines, too!
Here's to corporate media, reportin' on the scene
And to all you stars in Hollywood who make the silver
screen
FUCK YOU and your nosejobs, too!
Here's to all you people who wouldn't pick me up
Danglin' my thumb out at your big 'ole empty truck
FUCK YOU and your empty seats, too!
Here's to all you NGO's, sendin' me your mail
With a free gift plastic travel mug that'll help to save
the whales
FUCK YOU and your free gift, too!
(campfire verse):
Here's to all you secret agents, sittin' round this
fire
If you think we don't know who you are, you might as
well retire
FUCK YOU and Tom Ridge, too!
Here's to all you Wal-Marts pavin' all our towns
Exploitin' workers everywhere to keep your prices
down
FUCK YOU and your smiley face, too!
(the humanure verse, collectively written by
JED):
Here's to all you sewer systems and you septic tanks
And to all you porta-potties all lined up in ranks
FUCK YOU, you're wastin' our poo!
(verse by Fetus):
Here's to all you supermarkets, we think you're really
rude
We're standin' out here starving and your lockin' up
our food
FUCK YOU and your trash compactors, too!
(verse by Quack,Bridge, and Devon):
Here's to all you agribusiness, stealin' all our
seeds
Pushin' the small farmers out with your corporate
greed
FUCK YOU and your GMO's, too!
Here's to all you police with your clubs and guns
And to all you riot cops, just havin' a little
fun
FUCK YOU and your tear gas, too!
Here's to all you lawyers, you judges and you courts
Throwin' us all in jail like it was some new fancy
sport
FUCK YOU and your lawbooks, too!
Publius2k
by David Rovics
We want a safer country
And it's in God we trust
So we'll bomb you during Ramadan
Turn your world into dust
But pull up on your boostraps
And stand on your own two feet
While we blow them off with cluster bombs
Disguised as something to eat
We stand for freedom
And prosperity
So we'll bomb your schools and hospitals
And make sure you live in misery
All you evildoers
And your children and your wives
With our B-52's we'll show you
How we value civilian lives
Give us your hungry, your restless
We'll show you democracy
A military trial
Or detention indefinitely
We'll have homeland security
Thomas Ridge all hail
We may not find the terrorists
But we can throw the left in jail
And we will all be safe
And we shall have no fears
Once our retinas have been scanned
And all the walls have ears
And we're all in good hands
When the FBI is in the know
We're sure they'll look after us
Just like they did with COINTELPRO
(Chorus)
So hang a flag in the window
And all hail to the chief
Follow the leader
And suspend your disbelief
Our country right or wrong
You know what to do
Sing God bless America
Oh that red, white and blue
When facing anyone with boxcutters
We'll say put up your dukes
As we spend fifty billion
On bombers and nukes
We're a beacon of light
And just to make the point
We'll cut taxes on the rich
And throw the poor into the joint
Yes we'll bail out the airlines
Put on your green fedoras
And for all the laid-off workers
We've got maquiladoras
Yes capitalism will save us
For have you ever seen a
More convincing proof
Than Enron and Argentina
(Chorus)
The Axis of Evil
We'll bomb 'em down the skids
There'll be no more terrorists
Once we kill their kids
People may starve
And economies may crumble
But those folks'll just
Have to learn to be more humble
And give us your money
Debt repayments with aplomb
While we scour the map
For some targets left to bomb
And as another city falls
Upon our sacred American soil
At least we got our Daisy Cutters
And that Alaskan oil
(Chorus)
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Publius2k
(words/music: Ethan Miller)
The mighty skyscrapers are thrown to the earth
And thousands lie dead beneath concrete and dirt;
Now know this suffering, now know this pain
How many dreams have been lost in the flames?
No sooner had innocent lives me their end
Compassion was trampled by cries for revenge;
“Our enemies,” cried radios and TV sets
“Are Evil and Hate us and must meet their Deaths!”
“You’re with us or the terrorists,” the president said
With GE and Raytheon nodding their heads;
Hand over your hearts and your minds to the Feds
We’ll kill them with bombs while we feed them with bread
Bombs or bread, you can’t drop both
Offer death or offer hope
300,000 meals tumbling on down
Into the landmine fields, onto the deadly ground;
Pretend to be merciful while the bombs pound
The cycle of suffering goes ‘round and around and around
Bombs or bread, you can’t drop both
Offer death or offer hope
Call it an irony, call it disgrace
It’s oil, it’s profit, it’s vengance, it’s hate;
5 million hungry, 5 million displaced
Call it the Empire showing its ugly face
Call it the Empire showing its ugly face
Bombs or bread, you can’t drop both
Offer death, or offer hope
Publius2k
by David Rovics
International terrorists are scheming
They want to bring the planet to it's knees
They're hiding in their bunkers and they're plotting
With bombs and guns and biological disease
Any means to reach their ends is worth pursuing
If lives are lost then that's the way it goes
It's the game of world domination
The stakes are high as everybody knows
International terrorists are flying in their jets
Looking for the city they want to hit today
For all of the injustice in the world
They are going to make somebody pay
They'll make sure their people will support them
Through the use of their powerful cartel
If you are to prosper this is their decision
Whether you will starve or else live well
And the international terrorists are busy
Trying to win your heart and mind
They're making news and writing press releases
So that you can have your thoughts defined
And they say that they're the voice of reason
And they want to keep the world free
And they will villify, disappear and torture
Anyone who would dare disagree
The international terrorists are many
Every color, size and shape and height
Some are only small and local bullies
Content to bomb a building in the night
While some are in each pocket of the world
Looking for a nation to attack
They're training in their bases somewhere near you
And they're flying in the skies above Iraq
The IMF is the name of their cartel
And CNN's their propaganda arm
And if they don't brainwash and starve you into line
They'll make damn sure all your people come to harm
They'll decimate and carpet-bomb your country
With a million mercenaries and machines
Striking fear into the people of the world
The US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines!
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Publius2k
w/m: Ethan Miller
Well old Adam Smith, he gave us this myth
'Bout how the market will self-regulate
But elite business schemes would still just be dreams
Without the arms of the State
If you want to know that they mean when they say
"We're gonna open up your markets for our free trade"
Well just ask the ghosts of all those who've been killed
For refusing to bow down before the dollar bill
The invisible hand of the market is only one of two
Wielded by the corporate elite and dressed in red, white, and
blue
In one fist an M-16 rifle, in the other fist a thousand dollar
bill
If the right fist doesn't get you, then the other one surely
will
Cargill, Monsanto, Merck, or Union Carbide, they go by so many
names
But for the land and the people destroyed by their greed, the
story is always the same
McDonald's requires McDonald Douglass, United Fruit needed US
Marines
The freedom of their markets supported by fascist regimes
(Chorus)
The rhetoric is so thick as they tell us we're free
And we've got to see right though their lies
It's not freedom to choose our won destinies,
It's freedom to choose our demise
You can die for their money, you can die by their guns
They'll let you choose your own fate
But if you get in the way of their profits
You can be sure you'll be burnt at the stake
(Chorus)
Don't need no great hand comin' down from the sky
Or soldiers in olive drab marchin' on my
To discipline, regulate, liberalize, legislate-we decline
Without you we were just doin' fine
(Chorus)
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Publius2k
by David Rovics
The President got on TV and there was nary a dry eye,
he said he loved his country and mom and apple pie
He said he was a proud man and he liked his home fries grilled,
and as for countries harboring terrorists, those people should
be killed
He said we'd send our bombers to deal with rogue states
and all those evil people would have to meet their fates
So it was with some trepidation that I looked up to the skies,
'cause I was driving past Fort Benning when I came to realize
That I guess we're gonna have to bomb Columbus, Georgia,
home of the infamous SOA
'Cause they train the death squads of Colombia
who commit a massacre every day
Civilians are their targets,
folks just like you and me
I guess that makes them terrorists,
any idiot must agree
And I was heading further south for a vacation
to spend some time hanging on the beach
Soaking up some sun and playing volleyball
with all my troubles out of reach
And then I saw Brothers to the Rescue
flying in the clouds above my head
And I thought this trip might not be too restful
if tomorrow I am dead
'Cause I guess we're gonna have to bomb Miami,
with all those insurgents running loose
Killing Cubans at the Bay of Pigs and elsewhere,
they say they've got some kind of excuse
But isn't terror terror irregardless
if your victim is a fan of Karl Marx
So let's bring on the cluster bombs and napalm,
kill off some people, fish and sharks
Well I thought I would head north,
go someplace where I might feel safe
These thoughts all seemed a bit unsettling,
I was feeling a bit like a lost waif
It was then I thought I'd move to Costa Rica,
though such a thing seemed terribly uncouth
Because I suddenly realized with horror,
the terrifying clear and present truth
I guess we're gonna have to bomb Washington, DC,
'cause terrorists are lurking all around
Sending soldiers, guns and money
wherever death squads and dictators may be found
So let's appreciate the situation,
take your Orwell off the shelves
If we are to listen to our President
then we're going to have to bomb ourselves
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Publius2k
w/m:Ethan Miller
They're building fortresses up in the mountains,
Guarded by soldiers and cops
So they can carry on with their plans and negotiations
About how they're gonna stay at the top
And when they're done they'll release a few statements
About how their charity will feed the whole world
When all they really did was solidify their strategies
To ravage us with exploitation and war
How can we be silent with so much at stake?
Your rules were just made for the people to break
You may try to dictate the entire world's fate
But we are six billion and you are only eight
They say liberalized trade, yeah it's been done before
So that they can all profit off the blood of the poor
They say "let market forces do their fine job"
Yeah, so they won't take the blame for the millions they've
robbed
G8, IMF, WTO
FTAA, NAFTA, World Bank, NGO
Clothe it in acronyms, dress it up fine
But it still ain't no more than the worlds greatest crime
(Chorus… "your laws…")
The health of our children, the wealth of our work
Our languages, cultures, all life on this earth
So far from the walls behind which they scheme
To take us and break us and remake our dreams
While they build a world out of money and greed
With their states and your armies and big companies
We'll water the seeds of rebellion and grow
Strong with the weeds that erupt from below
(Chorus… "your walls…")
Publius2k
by David Rovics
I want to write this song
Because it should be written now
And these thoughts should be between us
As far ahead as time will allow
For once the suitcase has exploded
In this country some call free
Thoughts like these might not be tolerated
By the time they nuke DC
By the time they nuke DC
Will it be too late to wonder
If there might have been another path
Than that of rape and plunder
When the mushroom cloud is rising
And it's all revenge and unity
Who will ask these questions
By the time they nuke DC
By the time they nuke DC
And there are millions lying dead
From the radioactive wasteland
Will more angry words be said
Who will recall the empire
The years of global tyranny
The millions slaughtered by our bombers
By the time they nuke DC
By the time they nuke DC
Will it be too late
To stop this vicious cycle
And turn around the planet's fate
If this eye for an eye continues
Will we have security
And will anyone believe that
By the time they nuke DC
By the time they nuke DC
Will the rulers think again
Before they push the button
To kill a billion women and men
Must we wait to find out
Or might we change history
Will we stop the madness
Before they nuke DC
Publius2k
[words and music by Ethan Miller]
There's been rumors circulatin' that the time is comin' round
When the boys in uniform'll be on call
The wheels have started turnin' and the flames of war are
burnin'
And the bombs are once again about to fall
Well the headlines they been sayin' that we'd better start
a-prayin'
'Cause the enemy is nearly quite prepared
If we don't send in the soldiers and leave villages to smolder
They'll attack us all and no one will be spared
Well we've heard it all before from the gentlemen of war
That to follow them is really for the best
But how many millions died believing such a lie
And so I hope it's no surprise when I suggest
Boys you got your weapons pointed in the wrong direction
'better turn them the other way
right towards the generals and the mighty corporations
who have sent you to die while they get paid
--if you look around you'll see just who's your enemy-
it's the one you're working for I am afraid.
Yeah if you've gotta go and fight, then you ought to get it
right
It's not your leaders but yourself you must obey
Turn those guns 'round the other way
And of course retaliation's the salvation of the nation
Only when it's we who've been attacked
But they're the axis of all Evil and its simply inconceivable
That when we punch them first they'll punch us back
So if you really think about it, you might begin to doubt it
And ask yourself whose interests are at stake
If you trace the guns and rockets back to those who make the
profits
There's only one conclusion you can make…
(Chorus)
Well we've heard it all before from the gentlemen of war
That to follow them is really for the best
But how many millions died believing such a lie
Now will you find your fate with all the rest
Oh, can you tell me why you're about to go and die
In some battle in a place you've never seen
Is it really patriotic or just simply idiotic
To be fodder for the corporate war machine?
(Chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
Missiles flying in the Third World
Towards a people stranded on their knees
Bombs falling over Baghdad
Killing children who are starving by degrees
There are those of us who'd question
What's the goal and what's the cost
One million dead, malnourished children
A U.N.-sanctioned holocaust
Missiles flying in the Third World
From Hanoi to Wounded Knee
Bombs falling over Baghdad
And each one shouts, democracy
Contras, kings and generals
Brandish stars and stripes
From Rangoon to Los Angeles
Selling oil, guns and crack pipes
Missiles flying in the Third World
And each one will kill a child
Bombs falling over Baghdad
And hunger and death is running wild
We had to destroy the village
In order to save it
To help this jungle grow
First we had to pave it
Missiles flying in the Third World
But fits and starts are everywhere
From the mountains of Chiapas
To the streets of Central Square
Empires fall
This one will, too
So here's to the day
When this one is through
Publius2k
(words and music: Ethan Miller)
You've got a penthouse in the city
and another home in the hills
You've got a corner office on the fifty-first floor
and you walk on a carpet made of hundred dollar bills
Well I look at you up there in your plush office chair
and I wonder what is going through your brain
As you look outside your window, watch the people moving by
below,
you must be thinking about you capital gains
Now will you look me in the eye
and tell me exactly what it is you do
Correct me if I'm wrong,
but it seems to me that you
Make your money from the grueling work
that other people do
While they're slaving away in fields and factories
you're sipping your coffee on Madison Avenue
Should I call you evil?
Should I call you cruel?
Or did you just come from the right family
and go to all the right schools?
Tell me, what do you think of your life?
Does it feed your soul?
'Cause the life you are making for us
is spinning out of control
You tell me this is fair,
you tell me that they'll get their share
You say that you worked hard
to get there
But I'm asking if you see
from that tinted window in the air
How many people must be poor
so you can be a billionaire?
You say this is the way it has to be
to be competitive in the economy
Poverty is a market incentive
to keep people from being lazy
And I say to you
if you believed that shit they taught you in school
you must be crazy
Sometimes it makes me angry
sometimes I'd like to cry
How many people 'been working all their lives for nothing
they'll be working until they die
[chorus]
Sometimes blame is just like honey
it gets all over everything
And its never enough to be careful
what you buy when you're shopping
In a land known for democracy
its amazing how it comes to be
That freedom is the choice between Coke
and Pepsi
So don't tell me your free markets
will satisfy our needs
Don't tell me that what's good for Monsanto
is good for me
You rob us of our livelihoods
and our grandmother's seeds
Your endless thirst for profit
is a social disease
[chorus]
Publius2k
by David Rovics
Coca-Cola came to Colombia
Seeking lower wages
They got just what they came for
But as we turn the pages
We find the workers didn't like the sound
Of their children's hungry cries
So they said we'll join the union
And they began to organize
So Coke called up a terrorist group
Called the AUC
They said "we've got some problems
At the factory"
So these thugs went to the plant
Killed two union men
Told the rest, "you leave the union
Or we'll be back again"
Now Coke did not complain
About this dirty deed
Why give workers higher wages
When Coke is all they really need
They phoned the AUC
Said "thanks, without you we'd go broke
And to show our appreciation
Here's one hundred cases of Coke"
(Chorus)
The baby drinks it in his bottle
When the water ain't no good
The dog drinks it
But he don't know if he should
Some folks say
It's the nectar of the Gods
But Coke is the drink of the Death Squads
Well the workers wouldn't take
This situation lying down
Some went up to Georgia
Said "look what's happened to our town
You American workers got downsized
And as for us we just get shot
And those of us who survive
Our teeth begin to rot"
(Chorus)
Well now that's the situation
What are you gonna do
'Cause death squads run Colombia
And they're paid by me and you
We can let Coke run the world
And see what future that will bring
Or we can drink juice and smash the state
Now that's the real thing
(Chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
I saw the plane hit the building
The flames and the billowing smoke
I saw the glass, paper, metal and stone
Everything shattered and broke
I was there with my people
Engine Company 24
We rushed into the building
Got as far as the 35th floor
The black smoke and the heat was like nothing
I'd seen in all of my years
With each step in that blazing inferno
You could feel destiny near
In the midst of the falling girders
The sheet rock and God knows what else
I tried to find the survivors
Those who made it to the stairwells
I carried the wounded to safety
If that's what you might call the street
With bodies and boulders and metal
All crashing down by your feet
As #2 was collapsing
When only ten floors still stood
Everything was falling around me
Like it was made out of cardboard and wood
It was just then I heard someone
Trapped underneath the debris
I started pulling at something
And that's when the fire got me
I was pinned 'neath the rubble
And the flames were licking my coat
And the pain, the unbearable agony
And then that was all that she wrote
But I just wish I could tell you
Before I am taken away
That I've seen a lot of this world
And there's something that I gotta say
I don't believe in politics
I believe in the human race
I believe in the goodness of people
In New York or some far-away place
I believe in my daughter
And I believe in my wife
And may nobody's father be taken
To avenge the loss of my life
People may call me a brave man
And this may very well be
But the firefighters of Kabul
Are just as brave men as me
Publius2k
by David Rovics
From Guatemala to Korea
To the tunnels beneath Hanoi
From Tulsa to El Chorillo
Fat Man to Little Boy
We fought them in Nicaragua
And upon the Cuban shore
We killed Khaddafi's daughter
See what the fatwa's got in store
(chorus)
We're gonna bomb our way to freedom
With the cruise missiles of justice
And the spent shells of democracy
Oh, say, can you see
From Kabul to Khartoum
Where Allah's martyrs bled
To the Iraqi desert
Two hundred thousand people dead
(chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
Saddam Hussein gassed the Kurdish people
Killed thousands in a single day
And twelve long years later
Uncle Sam said "you can't treat your Kurds this way
"And furthermore all Kurds are freedom fighters
"Who's resist this Iraqi tyranny
"And Uncle Sam will give them guns and maybe sometimes
ammunition
"So the brave Kurds can fight until they're free"
Meanwhile in southeastern Turkey
The Turkish Army had a unique plan
We'll go in and burn down three thousand villages
Get rid of what they call Kurdistan
Well some of these pesky Kurds decided
That they would rather fight instead of die
So Uncle Sam said, "You are terrorists
"Because Turkey is our ally"
Geopolitics is confusing
In fact, it can be quite absurd
Especially if you value your freedom
You live in Turkey and you are a Kurd
Yes, when Iraqi Kurds are massacred
We say this is genocide
OK, we armed the Army through the eighties
But now we proudly take the Kurdish side
But in Turkey it's an internal matter
And for us to get involved would be wrong
So we'll sell some tanks and 'copters to Ankara
And hope these poor folks can get along
Yes, geopolitics is confusing
And you can't take the Yankees at their word
At least that's distinctly how it looks
If you live in Turkey and you're a Kurd
So when they talk about American interests
And it somehow seems that they're not yours
Going all over the world
Bombing countries and starting up wars
You'd better leave it to the experts
Go on back to your Playstations
'Cause our foreign policy only makes sense
To CEO's of multinational corporations
'Cause geopolitics is confusing
And if you feel like you're not being heard
Just imagine how much worse it could be
If you lived in Turkey and you were a Kurd
Publius2k
by David Rovics
Ford built tanks for the Nazis
And the Nazis used those tanks
To kill off lots of soldiers
In the U.S. Army ranks
Yes, Henry Ford was a fascist
And a nasty one was he
He'd build tanks for anyone
For the proper fee
Henry Ford spoke to his lackeys
And he said, "isn't this great?
"We'll attack our enemies
"And we'll retaliate!"
Henry Ford was a fascist
And a cunning liar, too
A brownshirt with a swastika
Draped in red, white and blue
Henry Ford spoke to his workers
And he said, "you dare not strike!
"You must be patriotic
"And take on my Third Reich!"
Yes, Henry Ford was a fascist
\ And he had not a care
About the dying soldiers
That made him a billionaire
Ford built tanks for the Nazis
And he built many more
To kill off lots of peasants
In Peru and Salvador
Yes, Henry Ford was a fascist
I heard that when he died
The last words to leave his lips
Was "arbeit macht frei"
The dollar was his icon
On whichever shore
And Henry's only motto
Was "make money and make war"
Yes, Henry Ford was a fascist
That's all I have to say
I will spit on Henry's rotting grave
Until my dying day
Publius2k
by David Rovics
The next attack is coming
I heard it on the TV
Some important politician said
We´ve got to drive them into the sea
Round up all the Arabs
Send them back from where they came
Who cares if they are citizens
They´re fanatics all the same
The next attack is coming
Said dictators west and east
And New York can not rest
Until all the rebels are deceased
So send along those helicopters
And we will shoot them all
And we´ll cut social services
And build a shopping mall
The next attack is coming
Said the CEO
So we need to drill for oil
And build more pipelines, don´t you know
If these Arabs do not like it
And we need the military here
The American people will support us
Whether out of greed or fear
The next attack is coming
I heard an Afghan child say
My family was killed
By a plane the other day
And when I grow up
I will get them back
So I say beware, America
Here comes the next attack
The next attack is coming
Said Cheney to his men
And if it doesn´t
We can make one happen again
Every war we´ve ever been in
Was started with a lie
And this war is good business
So today´s the day for you to die
Publius2k
by David Rovics
The clouds gather in your forests
And drift to my desert town
And I think of far-off places
As the rain is coming down
You're bent down in the fields
Picking fruit there from the vine
And it ends up on my table
As it moves on down the line
The moon shines brightly in the night sky
The river flows from south to north
With the changing of the seasons
The birds migrate back and forth
But they say that you can't come here
Not in the light of day
Somebody has got plans for you
Starve at home or hide away
(Chorus)
Will we open up the borders
Tear down the prison walls
Declare that no one is illegal
Watch the giant as it falls
So much travels across these borders
So much is bought and sold
One way goes the gunships
The other comes the gold
Free trade is like a needle
Drawing blood straight from your heart
And the border's like a prison
Keeping friends apart
(Chorus)
Hear the stockholders cheering
The world's getting smaller
Hear the drowning child crying
"Why are the fences growing taller"
Some whisper in the shadows
While others count the dollars
Some have suits and ties
Others, chains and collars
(Chorus)
May the fortress walls come down
May we meet our sisters and our brothers
Stand arm and arm there in the daylight
No longer fighting one another
Will we stand together
For therein lies our might
Will we understand these words
"People of the world unite"
(Chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
They bombed Philadelphia, killed women and children and men
It's an old story, we see it again and again
Shot into houses while people burned inside
So many have fought and so many good people have died
They murdered and put MOVE in prison -- now they're bringing
more forces to bear
Are we gonna let them strap Mumia to the electric chair? Or...
Will we pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living
Stand up on our feet or die in slavery
Is there somebody here whose live is not worth giving?
Who's it gonna be if it isn't you and me?
They killed Crazy Horse, drove his people onto the reserve
Killed children and buffalo, some lower power to serve
The people starved and they died behind the impassable wall
In tipis and churches, even ghost dancers would fall
Now from Ecuador to Big Mountain, relocation is rearing it's
head
Will we turn our backs or recall what the good woman said?
Chorus
They poisoned the water, poisoned the air and the earth
Who here believes that the dollar is all that our planet is
worth
They cut down the forests, cut down the mountains and anything
else they could take
What a cynical greed to do business, knowing all life is at
stake
Now as they destroy all that remains, who here will part with
the last
Will we raise our voice to the madness -- rise up, lock down,
stand fast?
Chorus
From Manilla to Managua, how many have died in our names
From Santiago to Santo Domingo, it is a murderous game
From Baghdad to Belgrade, mass murder from ten thousand feet
But from Hanoi to Havana, there is talk of the tiger's defeat
Will we wait for the next time, to kill kids on some far-away
shore
Or will we throw a wrench in the gears as we shout, "no mas, no
more"
Chorus
Publius2k
by David Rovics
You can say that it's about the savages
You can say you have a better way to live
You can call it Manifest Destiny
You can talk of all your civilization will give
You can say that we're a thing of history
And progress is the future you will bring
You can send your armies to these mountains
You can say we'll prosper beneath your king
(Chorus)
But there will always be resistance
The next battle will always be near
As long as you have everything
There will be those who have nothing to fear
And little by little, or maybe all at once you will lose
Because our future is not yours to choose
You can say that you've got to stop the communists
You can say that our ideals can't succeed
You can say that competition is the only way
And a global system based on greed
And you can call yourself a democrat
You can call yourself whatever you will
And you can keep on stamping out the fires you start
So you might stay on top of the hill
(Chorus)
You can say that all of us are traitors
Because we oppose your wars of conquest
And your scheming corporations
And all the crimes that they have not confessed
You can say that we are not patriots
Because our nation is not your empire
Because we refuse to stand idly by
As our cities are rising up in fire
(Chorus)
And you can say that all of us are terrorists
Madmen bent on destroying all that's free
You can say that we are building weapons
As your bombers fly from sea to bloody sea
You can say you're with us or against us
And to die quietly is what we now must do
You can maintain your innocence
You can say that you are many, as you represent the few
(Chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
If I could sing a song for every bomb that flies
I'd sing each and all the days
If there were to be a verse for every dying child's cries
For every helpless father's gaze
If I wrote a love letter to each corpse as it is carried
I'd never still my pen
If I had to stop a moment for each one that's been buried
I'd never move again
And the stocks are going up in some safe place in America
Sing a song for Basra
If I could shed a tear for every home that bombs destroy
I'd never stop crying
If every broken brick were a heart of a little girl or boy
All the world's children would be sighing
If I could hold each shattered body, each baby stilled at birth
I'd have no time for loneliness
I'd spend all my time embracing the people of this savaged earth
Feeling the poisoned wind's caress
And the billionaires are laughing in some safe place in America
Sing a song for Basra
If each barren pharmacy were a woman's shining eyes
I'd fall in love forever
If every bombed-out kindergarten were a factory in disguise
Wouldn't that be clever
But bricks are only bricks, and dust is only dust
And death is all around
Each day another missile falls and sometimes the only thing to
trust
Is the shaking of the ground
And they're loading up the warplanes in some safe place in
America
Sing a song for Basra
Publius2k
by David Rovics
Our grandparents were born here
Their ancestors lived on this earth
The land is the people and the people are the land
And this is the land of our birth
But now you want to move us off this mesa
As if you can take a body from a soul
You want to take from us our paradise on earth
And trade it for a mountain of coal
(chorus)
What if they were coming for your grandma
What if they were coming for your child
What if they were tearing up the land beneath your feet
Even taking the rivers that were once running wild
What would you do
If they were coming for you?
The coal is the liver of our Mother
And it must remain in the ground
The trees are her lungs and the rivers are her blood
And they should all be left as they were found
But now you slurry coal across these pastures
And your trees all go to feed your hungry mill
You would have us live in rows of shacks without our sheep
On your Church Rock uranium spill
(chorus)
Like some cancer spreading ever westward
Coming to knock down our hogan's door
And we will say to anyone who'll listen
Relocation, nevermore
So won't you come to Big Mountain
Bring everything you can, but come today
This is the land where we belong
And this is the land where we will stay
(chorus)
http://members.aol.com/drovics/bigmtnl.htm
http://members.aol.com/drovics/contents.htm
Song for Big Mountain
David Rovics
Hi folks,
David Rovics here. Taking a day for checking email after a week
more or less away from electricity and phone lines... I thought
I'd send out the lyrics to a song I wrote after listening to the
people of Big Mountain talk about their situation, and I thought
I'd share a few other thoughts, too. (For one thing, if you're
in the area tomorrow night -- Tuesday, February 8th [2000] --
I'll be part of a concert in the army tent at Camp Anna Mae.)
What I've been seeing at Big Mountain is some really beautiful
stuff, along with the really disturbing stuff, like the strip
mines and the planned "relocation" of the Dineh elders and their
families living there.
On the beautiful side first, it's wonderful to see the support
that's coming in from all around the world. (On February 1st,
there were several hundred people present, including dozens from
Japan, a dozen or so from Germany, as well as people from
Sweden, France, Italy, Denmark, and all over Canada and the US.)
Of course it'd be nice if the numbers were greater and the
activists coming in had bigger loads of supplies and other
things necessary for the struggle, but so many of the folks I've
met who are coming in to help out are really good people, who
give me hope.
And continuing with the beautiful side, there are the Dineh
people, and the land, the hogans, the stars at night, the
sheep...
I, like many readers, have long ago realized that the lies I
learned in school about many things were just that. I have known
for some time that the genocide here on Turtle Island was far
from complete, and that millions of American Indians still live,
work, play, rot away in the prisons, and otherwise continue to
make their lives on the land now known as the United States.
But it is something entirely new for me to see communities of
Dineh (Navajo) people, with old, middle-aged, and sometimes
young people speaking the Dineh language as a first language,
with many elders not speaking a word of English, and even many
younger people only somewhat fluent in a language other than
Dineh. And to see not only this linguistic element, but so much
of the traditional life continuing. Herding sheep, living in
hogans, gathering wood for the fire, having sweats, singing,
drumming, and perhaps most powerfully, identifying with the land
with such emotion, such passion, so completely. Opposing the
coal mining and the relocation with every fiber of their being.
I think of so many people I know, and I think of what a gift it
could be for them to come help the elders at Big Mountain.
Because of the current situation with the authorities forcing
people to move off their land, many younger people are no longer
on the land, and the elders need help with their sheep, with
cutting wood, and with other aspects of daily life. Of course
people should come prepared, and only those should come for whom
the primary interest is to help the elders in their struggle to
survive and to resist relocation (and to help the planet, by
extension). But the gift you will inadvertently receive will
probably seem so much greater than the gift of your time and
energy...
On the negative side (which I already touched on, hope you'll
excuse my circuitous writing here), it's kind of mind-boggling
to see first-hand that pretty much every aspect of what we know
of as the genocide of the native people of this land is
continuing right now, as I write. Even for a relatively cynical
leftist such as myself, it's shocking to see these elderly Dineh
women, dressed in their colorful skirts, with their old eyes
that seem to take in so much, gathering together to talk to a
lawyer (daughters and sons translating from Dineh into English)
about their legal chances to be able to remain on the land that
they've lived on for generations, so that it doesn't turn into a
coal mine.
I guess some part of my suburban Connecticut high school
education is still with me. This idea that the theft and
destruction of the land, the culture (either by extension, from
taking the land, or also overtly, through the infamously savage
boarding schools), and in so many cases, the lives of American
Indians was terribly wrong, but was a thing of the past, some
kind of awful "mistake" never to repeated. Not by the more
civilized, less racist, "modern" white people and corporations.
So when it's happening in front of my eyes, it's still a bit
staggering. And it should be. (And, of course, it should be no
less horrifying to see this same pattern repeating itself in
Colombia, Burma, Nigeria, or anywhere else, often instigated by
the same corporations. But I haven't been there yet...)
I continue to hope and feel that if more people really knew
about what was happening, things would be more likely to change,
through the involvement of those people affected by this
knowledge. On that note, one way to get more information about
what's going on is to contact Black Mesa Indigenous Support
(www.blackmesais.org).
Publius2k
by David Rovics
You can load us in your buses
And behind your prison door
And when you think you've silenced us
There will be a thousand more
(chorus)
We are gathered here today
To put our bodies in harm's way
At this school of death and shame
No more murder in our name
From Panama to Georgia
We'll be ever in your sight
With so much blood upon your hands
How do you butchers sleep at night?
(chorus)
You dare to call them freedom fighters
Call the butchers what you will
But from Jara to Allende
It is freedom that you kill
(chorus)
People want land and justice
And they answer freedom's call
If you try to feed your people bullets
Someday soon you all will fall
(chorus)
All across this country
The news spreads from town to town
Every day a new voice shouting
Shut this school torture down
(chorus)
(chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
Well I pulled up there at the gate
Had to come and keep a date
With ten thousand of my friends
Here to right some wrongs and make amends
Folks came in buses, bikes and cars
With voices, fiddles and guitars
And all kinds of people, shapes and styles
Burned those frequent flyer miles
First thing I see's a singing nun
At the frisky age of 91
She's here fresh out of jail
Told the judge "I ain't got no bail
"I'm bearing witness right here and now
'Cause we've got to change the world somehow
So with you all right here I pray
WE'LL SHUT DOWN THE SOA
There's this year's crop from Oberlin
And there's the folks from Warren-Wilson
But they're not all eighteen to twenty-two
They brought along their neighbors too
There's grandpa, baby, mom and dad
An ARA kid, fighting mad
What are we gonna do today?
WE'LL SHUT DOWN THE SOA
There's some in pink, some in black
There's one wrapped in a coffee sack
There's t-shirts, stickers, pins and more
Saying we don't want your oil war
There's a labor lawyer from Walla Walla
With some Mayan folks from Guatemala
See, north and south the people say
WE'LL SHUT DOWN THE SOA
Pouring blood, crossing lines
Holding crosses, making signs
There's priests and punks in groups and pairs
Along with a gang in wheelchairs
There's Josh and Abi, Bill and Sue
Charlie, Tao and you know who
Giant puppets, paper mache
Saying WE'LL SHUT DOWN THE SOA
Yes, we'll keep coming to this town
Til this torture school's shut down
Then we'll march as we intone
You do not walk alone
To the next symbol in our sights
In the global fight for human rights
But for now we're here in this Georgia clay
Saying WE'LL SHUT DOWN THE SOA
Publius2k
by David Rovics
Night-time comes and everybody wonders
Will tomorrow bring the light of day
Will our house be rubble blown asunder
In the cellar we will hide ourselves and pray
Will the smoke clear in the morning?
Will the city all go down in flame?
Will the factory be standing?
Will life here ever be the same?
(Chorus)
There's terror in the skies of this city
Fear is in the hearts of children, women and men
And you never see the faces of the killers
As the smart bombs fall again
Will there be a job for me to go to?
Will there be food upon my plate?
After many, many years of hungry sanctions
What did my child do to earn this fate?
(Chorus)
The Yankees talk of Gaza and of Algiers
They wring their hands when Irish shoppers die
But if you want to know a life of terror
Look up at night into the Baghdad sky
(Chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
The Army commander spooke to the media
He said, "We are a nation of laws
"We do not target civilians
"And we only bomb with cause"
And he said as he looked into the camera
With a cold, bone-chilling stare
"As for the village of Kama Ado
"Nothing happened there"
In the village where nothing happened
Most people had risen from bed
Women were preparing to cook
And make sure every mouth would be fed
Just before the beginning of Ramadan
Water was set out to boil
Little fires were heating tin kettles
Upon the dry Afghan soil
In the village where nothing happened
Children played in the street
Men were bending in prayer
Some with no shoes on their feet
It was another day like so many
That had gone down before
And nobody told Kama Ado
Just what horrors lay in store
In the village where nothing happened
Nobody knew
That this place would be changed forever
By an American B-52
The bombs fell all around them
So many a deafening blast
And the people of Kama Ado
Learned that life can end so fast
In the village where nothing happened
The houses collapsed in the morn
Not one terrorist died there
But maybe some were born
In the village of Kama Ado
There are no underground caves
There's just rubble and dust and craters
And 115 new graves
Publius2k
by David Rovics
When I say the hungry should have food
I speak for many
When I say no one should have seven homes
While some don't have any
Though I may find myself stranded in some strange place
With naught but a vapid stare
I remember the world and I know
We are everywhere
When I say the time for the rich, it will come
Let me count the ways
Victories or hints of the future
Havana, Caracas, Chiapas, Buenos Aires
How many people are wanting and waiting
And fighting for their share
They hide in their ivory towers
But we are everywhere
Religions and prisons and races
Borders and nations
FBI agents and congressmen
And corporate radio stations
They try to keep us apart, but we find each other
And the rulers are always aware
That they're a tiny minority
And we are everywhere
With every bomb that they drop, every home they destroy
Every land they invade
Comes a new generation from under the rubble
Saying "we are not afraid"
They will pretend we are few
But with each child that a billion mothers bear
Comes the next demonstration
That we are everywhere
Publius2k
by David Rovics
I landed in Denmark and there was Burger King
And a red and white sign saying "Coke´s the real thing"
The Titanic was sinking at the local cineplex
And the kids were chomping on corn chex
In the city center the stores were closing down
Things just haven´t been the same since the Wal-Mart came to
town
In the growing suburbs folks were driving minivans
And it´s all gone according to the best-laid plans
(Chorus)
Welcome to the European Union
It´s evolving every day
Getting more and more like the USA
Well I thumbed a ride to Hamburg, saw the homeless in the street
The mayor had to build more houses to make room for the elite
The cops were rounding up the immigrants, sending them to other
places
It was plain to see the desperation on their faces
When I got to Brussels you could feel the scheming in the air
Corporate executives in suits were everywhere
And they were very happy for all the plans they made
And you could hear them chanting, "free trade free trade free
trade!"
(Chorus)
And in London men were saying, "We need more fighter planes
And we need more motorways with some exra lanes
We need Washington to teach us how an economy runs
And spend lots more money on cars and bombs and guns
When Euro-Interests are threatened we must be prepared
To invade some backward country if the United States is scared
Africa may shake and the peaceniks will glower
But what the world plainly needs is another superpower"
(Chorus)
Once we were so proud of social democracy
Welfare for all and long vacations by the sea
But now we have seen the errors of our ways
There is no alternative, no way back to the old days
If you want a living wage, we´ll tell you where to go
As we welcome China into the WTO
Yes if you want an honest job your prospects might not look
sunny
But there´s never been a better time if you´ve got lots of money
(Chorus)
Yes in the halls of power from Athens to Par-ee
You can hear the rulers shouting "no more subsidy
So fuck off all you workers, farmers, greens and all
It´s time to turn the world into a giant shopping mall"
From Rasmussen to Shroeder, Blair to Berlusconi
It´s all the same old show, same old dog and pony
If you need me to spell it out, what´s the matter with them
It´s called C-A-P-I-T-A-L-I-S-M
(Chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
When we're living in the White House
And debating on the hill
Of all your crazy antics
We'll all have had our fill
We'll be closing down munitions plants
And Old Glory will be furled
'Cause we don't want your big machines
We just want the world
And a bill will be proposed
Section number one
We're shutting down the oil rigs
And turning towards the sun
The air will be clean
For all the boys and girls
'Cause we don't want your oil tankers
We just want the world
Face the executioner
Shut the logging camps all down
Get busy planting hemp
Leave the trees there in the ground
Life is so precious
On this little, spinning pearl
We don't want your bulldozers
We just want the world
We'll be closing down the jails
Fixing up the schools
Distributing those stocks and bonds
Changing all the rules
We'll elect a CEO
Maybe a rabbit or a squirrel
'Cause we don't want your money
We just want the world
We'll be swimming in the rivers
And running to the hills
Reading in the history books
Of wars and oil spills
If it's linear we'll bend it
If it's a straight line it'll curl
'Cause we don't want your dead-end highway
We just want the world
(Repeat first verse)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
See the man in his limosine
In his tie and well-pressed shirt
Hoping that he's not been seen
On the lookout for desert
He knows that he is guilty
And a visit might be paid
By the vegan vigilantes
Of the Biotic Baking Brigade
(chorus)
What's that sailing through the air
In the boardrooms see them shiver
You can spend your life hoping for pie in the sky
But the Baking Brigade delivers
If you sell your city's soul
To the landlords' greedy pack
You my friend have earned yourself
A tasty pastry snack
You can call yourself a liberal
And hope your crimes will fade
But your sell-out soul will be exposed
By the Biotic Baking Brigade
(chorus)
So if you cut down the last of the forests
Spew poison in the air
Don't you be surprised to find
That cheesecake in your hair
Yes if you are a corporate criminal
You've surely made the grade
To receive a fresh-baked goody from
The Biotic Baking Brigade
(chorus)
Beware all you scoundrels of industry
We know of your disgrace
So smile for the camera
With the cream pie in your face
You can hope that we won't find you out
As you're hiding in the shade
But someday soon you'll live to meet
The Biotic Baking Brigade
(chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
It was on one summer evening
When I sallied forth
Headed up to Calgary
On the road up north
The leaders of the free world were meeting
To decide the planet's fate
So there were some things I wanted to mention
To this Group of Eight
I went up to the border
And was greeted with a smile
Until they looked my name up
And showed to me my file
The guard said that freedom
Canadians hold dear
But it says right on this paper
That we don't want your kind around here
(Chorus)
So I feel I should inform you
In case it's something that you missed
Now it is official
And I'm on the list
If you've ever wondered what they look like
Then let me take a bow
'Cause I'm an outside agitator
You're looking at one now
They said I had no record
Of crimes that they could find
But their data told them
That I might have some in mind
They copied all my papers
Searched all around my truck
Took my picture and informed me
That I was out of luck
(Chorus)
Now I'm no Emma Goldman
Or Commandante Che
But someone up in Ottawa
Said I should be turned away
So it leaves me wondering
What have I done wrong
Perhaps it is a crime
I committed in a song
Outside Agitator
by David Rovics
[Outside Agitator in SPANISH]
It was on one summer evening
When I sallied forth
Headed up to Calgary
On the road up north
The leaders of the free world were meeting
To decide the planet's fate
So there were some things I wanted to mention
To this Group of Eight
I went up to the border
And was greeted with a smile
Until they looked my name up
And showed to me my file
The guard said that freedom
Canadians hold dear
But it says right on this paper
That we don't want your kind around here
(Chorus)
So I feel I should inform you
In case it's something that you missed
Now it is official
And I'm on the list
If you've ever wondered what they look like
Then let me take a bow
'Cause I'm an outside agitator
You're looking at one now
They said I had no record
Of crimes that they could find
But their data told them
That I might have some in mind
They copied all my papers
Searched all around my truck
Took my picture and informed me
That I was out of luck
(Chorus)
Now I'm no Emma Goldman
Or Commandante Che
But someone up in Ottawa
Said I should be turned away
So it leaves me wondering
What have I done wrong
Perhaps it is a crime
I committed in a song
http://members.aol.com/drovics/outsidel.htm
http://members.aol.com/drovics/contents.htm
Publius2k
by David Rovics
My daddy was an Arab from Beersheva
A situation so unkind
My momma was a refugee from Ramallah
Had to leave her land behind
I grew up in this refugee camp
In this unwelcome land
In this little parcel of Lebanon
We were dealt a losing hand
Then one day the soldiers came
A tired old refrain
I'll try to tell you what happened next
But there's no way to explain
The soldiers raped my mother
Then they killed her dead
Along with the rest of the Shatila Camp
While I hid beneath my bed
(Chorus)
Now I'm a-wanderin', I'm a-wanderin'
No place to call my home
Palestine, Palestine
All around the world I roam
My aunt came over from Jordan
Brought me there to live
And together we've moved to half the world
Oh for peace what I would give
In Beirut, Greece and New York town
I've watched the world churn
But my home is Palestine
Someday I will return
(Chorus)
Now here I am in Washington
Heart of the empire
That sends the 'copters and bulldozers
That turned Ramallah into a funeral pyre
Well you've heard my story
And time will not allow
Soon my visa will expire
What will you do now
(Chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
This is how it started
It's not hard to understand
From coast to coast they're lying
At a CEO's command
From Nationalist Public Radio
CNN and ABC
Big Brother's spewing propaganda
From the Disinformation Ministry
They say the economy is booming
We hear the homeless beggar's cries
They say we help poor countries
We see bombs falling from the skies
Reality doesn't exist
They're trying to say
But some of us decided
There is another way
(Chorus)
Seize the airwaves
Seize the time
Lying to the people
Is the real crime
When it's all owned by corporations
And theirs is the only word
We will seize the airwaves
Speak freely and be heard
Someone got a transmitter
Started up a station
Then the idea spread
Right across the nation
Like the land and water
The air must be free
So let us shout together
"Fuck the FCC"
(Chorus)
And we'll do it all together
In a grassroots style
Breaking down the fences
Throughout this whole square mile
It's the new Town Meeting
It's the way the news should be
The rulers call it chaos
We say it's democracy
So when you turn on the radio
And you've had it with this shit
From 88 to 107
Makes you want to have a fit
When you listen to the music
And it's all the same pop song
Start up a pirate station
'Cause that's where you belong
(Chorus)
Publius2k
by David Rovics
Francoise Ducros lost her job
As Director of Communications
She was representing Canada
At a meeting among the NATO nations
When she had the gall
To say what was very clear
Something everybody knew
Which they didn't want to hear
In the global mafia
There's no doubt who's the Don
But everybody knows
That George Bush is a moron
Maybe you voted for him
'Cause you like to shoot your gun
Or perhaps you own an oil company
And you're happy that he won
But if that is the case
You know you've got to take it on the chin
And thank the Gods
For the doctors of the spin
'Cause if it weren't for soundbytes
Then just like his Uncle Ron
There'd be no one left who could deny
That George Bush is a moron
Perhaps you protested
And said it wasn't fair
He didn't even win the vote
He should not be in there
But maybe you still have some dignity
And you try to put on the best face
'Cause you just can't come to grips
It seems like it just shouldn't be the case
It's as if there's this really stupid cop
With a nuclear baton
Not only is he evil
But George Bush is a moron
Well perhaps you are hoping
You can make it to the end
Just a few more years
And we'll be around the bend
If the world is still standing
And not yet blown up into pieces
With a rally at the ballot box
We can see that this nightmare ceases
Until you look over your shoulder
At what might happen when he's gone
Once it captures your attention
That Tom Daschle* is a moron
*Insert here the name of whichever moron
appears to be the Democrats' lead candidate.
mattchu
I was enjoying a cool glass of lemonade when Publius2k <Pub?*@?*li.us>
stumbled in completely drunk and shouted:
> Also, you gotta love The War of 1812 by the Arrogant Worms,
> sorta a parody of the old US pop culture Battle of New Orleans,
> with an alternative media twist. "The White House burned,
> burned, burned, and we're the ones that did it!"
The Arrogant Worms are an interesting band. I have a MP3 of their's on my
PC and I do enjoy it.
--
best regards, mattchu
np: the velvet teen - milo 7
http://www.northwestconcerts.com/
*subtract foureleven to reply*
Publius2k
A village is destroyed. And America says nothing happened
by Richard Lloyd Parry in Kama Ado, Afghanistan 04 December
2001, www.independent.co.uk
The village where nothing happened is reached by a steep climb
at the end of a rattling three-hour drive along a stony road.
Until nothing happened here, early on the morning of Saturday
and again the following day, it was a large village with a small
graveyard, but now that has been reversed. The cemetery on the
hill contains 40 freshly dug graves, unmarked and identical. And
the village of Kama Ado has ceased to exist.
Many of the homes here are just deep conical craters in the
earth. The rest are cracked open, split like crushed cardboard
boxes. At the moment when nothing happened, the villagers of
Kama Ado were taking their early morning meal, before sunrise
and the beginning of the Ramadan fast. And there in the rubble,
dented and ripped, are tokens of the simple daily lives they
led.
A contorted tin kettle, turned almost inside out by the blast;
a collection of charred cooking pots; and the fragments of an
old-fashioned pedal-operated sewing machine. A split metal chest
contains scraps of children's clothes in cheap bright nylon.
In another room are the only riches that these people had, six
dead cows lying higgledy-piggledy and distended by decay. And
all this is very strange because, on Saturday morning - when
American B-52s unloaded dozen of bombs that killed 115 men,
women and children - nothing happened.
We know this because the US Department of Defence told us so.
That evening, a Pentagon spokesman, questioned about reports of
civilian casualties in eastern Afghanistan, explained that they
were not true, because the US is meticulous in selecting only
military targets associated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida
network. Subsequent Pentagon utterances on the subject have
wobbled somewhat, but there has been no retraction of that
initial decisive statement: "It just didn't happen."
So God knows what kind of a magic looking-glass I stepped
through yesterday, as I travelled out of the city of Jalalabad
along the desert road to Kama Ado. From the moment I woke up, I
was confronted with the wreckage and innocent victims of
high-altitude, hi-tech, thousand-pound nothings.
The day began at the home of Haji Zaman Gamsharik, the
pro-Western anti-Taliban mujahedin commander who is being
discreetly supplied and funded by the US government. The
previous day I had followed him around Jalalabad's mortuary,
where seven mutilated corpses were being laid out - mujahedin
soldiers of Commander Zaman who had been killed when US bombs
hit the government office in which they were sleeping. And now,
it had happened again,
There they were in the back of three pick-up trucks - seven
more bloody bodies of seven more mujahedin, killed when the
guesthouse in which they were sleeping in the village of Landi
Khiel was hit by bombs at 6.30am yesterday morning.
Commander Zaman is a proud, haughty man who fought in the
mountains for years against the Soviet Union, but I've never
seen him look so vulnerable. "I sent them there myself
yesterday,'' was all he could say. "I sent them for security.''
But the commander provided us with mujahedin escorts of our
own, and we set off down the road to Landi Khiel. We found the
ruins of the office where the first lot of soldiers had died,
and the guesthouse where they perished the previous morning. And
there, in the ruins of a family house, was a small fragment of
nothing. It was the tail-end of a compact bomb. It bore the
words "Surface Attack Guided Missile AGM 114", and a serial
number: 232687. It was half-buried in the remains of the straw
roof of a house where three men had died: Fazil Karim, his
brother Mahmor Ghulab, and his nephew Hasiz Ullah. "They were a
family, just ordinary people," said Haji Mohammed Nazir, the
local elder who was accompanying us. "They were not terrorists -
the terrorists are in the mountains, over there.''
So we drove on in the direction of the white mountains, where
hundreds of al-Qa'ida members, and perhaps even Osama bin Laden
himself, are hiding in the Tora Bora cave complex. A B-52 was
high in the sky; a billow of black smoke was visible, blooming
out of the valley. Something, surely, was happening over there.
And then we reached the ruins of Kama Ado. among the pathetic
remains I found only one sinister object ? An old leather gun
holster with an ammunition belt. It is conceivable that a
handful of al-Qa'ida members had been spending the night there,
and that US targeters learnt of their presence.
But after 22 years of war, almost every Afghan home contains
some military relic, and the villagers swore they hadn't seen
Arab or Taliban fighters for a fortnight. Certainly there could
not have been enough terrorists to fill the 40 fresh graves. One
person told me a few holes contained not intact people, but
simply body parts.
We had been warned that white faces would meet an angry
reception in the village where nothing happened, but I
encountered despair and bafflement. I had only one moment of
real fear, when an American B-52 flew overhead. We halted our
convoy, clambered out of the cars and trotted into the fields on
either side. The plane did a slow circle; I was conscious of
electronic eyes looking down on us, the only traffic on the
road. Then, to everyone's relief, the bomber veered away.
Before we left the city, an American colleague in Jalalabad
telephoned the Pentagon and informed them of our plans to travel
to the village where nothing happened. I can't help wondering,
in these looking-glass times, what that B-52 would have done to
our convoy if that telephone call had not been made. Perhaps
nothing would have happened to me too.
http://www.left-turn.org/feature/archive/kamaado.html
Scarecrow King
> Scarecr...@hotmail.com (Scarecrow King) wrote in message news:<4be8bf6d.0302...@posting.google.com>...
> > Quite interesting.
> >
> > http://www.counterpunch.org/atapattu02012003.html
> >
>
>
> I thought "Satisfaction" was about wanking - what kind of protest is that?
>
> (If so, BlindWillie must be "protester of the year" already)
No it isnt actually. However, if that is your forte than this site
might be good for you.
http://www.masturbateforpeace.com/
Ant
bogus address
Publius2k <Pub?*@?*li.us> writes:
> For really radical, in your face commentary and protest songs,
> ones not likely to ever get played on mainstream radio stations
> until after the revolution, I would suggest USA folk singers
> David Rovics and Ethan Miller, and Robb Johnson [UK]
> http://www.robbjohnson.co.uk/. I am told that Manu Chao who
> sings mostly in Spanish but some English is also good.
Or Anne Feeney, who seems to be on a permanent stomp round America
with Chris Chandler at the moment doing good stuff.
I've only heard one of Rovics's songs, and it *was* on the radio
(Andy Kershaw's programme on BBC Radio 3): "The City of Jenin".
Fine sentiments, good text, well performed, but not the world's
most interesting tune.
Has Brian McNeill written anything about the present international
political situation? - there's somebody who can write a political
song and give it a real tune.
========> Email to "j-c" at this site; email to "bogus" will bounce <========
Jack Campin: 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU; 0131 6604760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/purrhome.html> food intolerance data & recipes,
Mac logic fonts, Scots traditional music files, and my CD-ROM "Embro, Embro".
Keynes
For the older folks, there's always Dylan,
and that great old Woody Guthry.
"This land is your land. This land is my land.
From California to the New York Island.
From the redwood forests to the Gulf Stream waters.
This land was made for you and me."
Woody had a slogan on his guitar -
"This machine kills fascists"
Of course in the 50's the fascists won.
In the 60's there was another revolt
and the fascists won again.
Now we are in the midst of a complete
fascist takeover of the courts,
the government and the media.
Proud ditto heads are marching together
into barbarism and crime, most of them
ignorant of what they are doing and
where they are going.
Where is the resistance today?
-----------------------------------------------------
"Should we let the ravening roots of the weeds of war
strangle sweet freedom in it's innocent cradle?
Hell, NO! Let's kill somebody and take their stuff."
-- Major D. Zastre USCG retired.
"Mine, mine, mine. All mine."
-- Ayn Rand "The Politics of Chimpanzies"
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself" -- FDR
T.Carr
> For the older folks, there's always Dylan,
> and that great old Woody Guthry.
>
> "This land is your land. This land is my land.
> From California to the New York Island.
> From the redwood forests to the Gulf Stream waters.
> This land was made for you and me."
>
> Woody had a slogan on his guitar -
> "This machine kills fascists"
>
> Of course in the 50's the fascists won.
> In the 60's there was another revolt
> and the fascists won again.
> Now we are in the midst of a complete
> fascist takeover of the courts,
> the government and the media.
The all knowing, all powerful "keynes" has spoken
Ignore that man behind the curtain
T.Carr
Keynes
Shut UP! Shut UP!
I'll get you and your little dog too!
(Unless Ashcroft and his flying monkeys stop me.)
bjork
with the corpse of my dead brother to the sacrificial beat.
Boyscouts and the Legionaires are home from overseas,
singing glory hallelujiah to the swanky southern beat.
hallelujiah,
hallelujiah,
Give me a reason,
to give up my life,
for unintelligent sacrifice.
He came home in a bag,
the american flag was draped,
around the box,
the coffin lid was locked,
and a note said thanks alot"
Lyrics from Janis Ian's "Dancing in the Streets"
freecubanow
the Rescue were victims of an act of Cuban State Terrorism. Here's the
real story about what happened:
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CIDH
OAS/Ser.L/V/II.104 Doc. 10
September 29, 1999
Original: Spanish
104th Period of Sessions
Report No. 86/99
Case No. 11,589
CUBA
Approved by the Commission at its Session 1447
Held on September 29, 1999
GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006
Internet: http://www.cidh.org
REPORT No. 86/99
CASE No. 11,589
ARMANDO ALEJANDRE, JR., CARLOS COSTA, MARIO DE LA PEÑA AND
PABLO MORALES
REPUBLIC OF CUBA
September 29, 1999
I. SUMMARY
1. On February 25, 1996, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(hereinafter "the Commission" or "the Inter-American Commission")
received several complaints against the Republic of Cuba (hereinafter
"the State," "the Cuban State," or "Cuba"), according to which a
MIG-29 military aircraft of the Fuerza Aerea Cubana (FAC) [Cuban Air
Force, or CAF] brought down two unarmed civil small aircraft of the
organization known as "Hermanos al Rescate" [Brothers to the Rescue].
According to a report from the Organización de Aviación Civil
Internacional (OACI) [International Civil Aviation Organization, known
as ICAO], the events took place on February 24, 1996 at 15:21 and
15:27, respectively, in international air space. The air-to-air
missiles fired by the MIG-29 disintegrated the civil small aircraft,
producing the instantaneous deaths of Armando Alejandre, Jr., 45 years
of age; Carlos Alberto Costa, 29 years of age; Mario Manuel de la
Peña, 24 years of age; and Pablo Morales, 29 years of age. The
complaint concludes with a petition to the Commission to institute
case proceedings in accordance with Articles 32 et seq. of its
Regulations and to declare Cuba responsible for breaching its
international obligations set out in the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man (hereinafter "the Declaration" or "American
Declaration") due to the violation of the rights to life and to
justice contained in Articles 1 and XVIII of said international
instrument.
2. The Commission, upon receiving several complaints concerning the
same facts and persons, joined them in Case No. 11,589, in accordance
with Article 40(2) of its Regulations. Consequently, the petitioners
in the present case comprise the members of the immediate families of
the victims (Marlene Alejandre, Marlene Victoria Alejandre, Mirta
Costa, Osvaldo Costa, Miriam de la Peña, Mario de la Peña, and Eva
Barbas), Dr. Haydée Marín (Institute of Human and Labor Rights of
Florida International University), Dr. Claudio Benedí (Junta
Patriótica Cubana [Cuban Patriotic Group]), and Mr. José J. Basulto
(Hermanos al Rescate).
3. Since the commencement of the processing of the present case-March
7, 1996-the Cuban State has not responded to the repeated requests for
information made by the Commission with respect to the admissibility
and to the merits of the case. Therefore the Commission, on the basis
of an exhaustive analysis of the bases of fact and of law, and in
accordance with Article 42 of its Regulations, deems that the
complaint complies with the formal requirements of admissibility set
forth in the Regulations, and concludes that the Cuban State is
responsible for the violation of the rights contained in the American
Declaration which were set out by the petitioners in their complaint
of February 25, 1996. Based on the analysis and conclusions of the
present report, the Commission recommends to the Cuban State an
exhaustive investigation of the facts complained of, and the
prosecution and criminal penalization of those responsible for the
several violations here established, as well as adequate and timely
reparation that includes payment of a just compensatory
indemnification for pecuniary and extra-pecuniary damages, to the
members of the immediate families of the victims.
II. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION
4. The Commission, by note of March 7, 1996, commenced the proceedings
in the case and requested of the Cuban State the relevant information
concerning the facts forming the subject of the said note, as well as
any other element which might assist it in forming an opinion so as to
make it possible for it to determine whether all stages of the
domestic jurisdiction had been exhausted in the case. Since that date,
the case has been dealt with in accordance with Article 32 et seq. of
the Commissions Regulations. As has been stated, Cuba never replied to
the requests for information from the commencement of the proceedings
to the date hereof, notwithstanding the fact that notice, including a
warning as to the applicability of Article 42 of the Commission's
Regulations, was delivered to it on repeated occasions. As a matter of
fact, the Cuban State was notified on March 7 and April 19, 1996;
February 4 and September 25, 1997; January 21 and 30, 1998; and June
12, 1998. The Commission, at its Session 1432 of the 103rd Regular
Period of Sessions held on May 5, 1999, approved Report No. 81/99 on
the present case, in accordance with the provisions of Article 53,
Subsections (1) and (2) of its Regulations. By note of May 19, 1999,
the Commission forwarded the said report to the Cuban State with a
deadline of two months for it to carry out its recommendations. The
time period granted to the Cuban State expired on July 19, 1999,
without its having filed comments on the Commission's report.
III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
A. THE PETITIONERS
5. THE FACTS. Alejandre, Costa, De la Peña, and Morales were members
of the "Hermanos al Rescate" organization based in the city of Miami,
Florida, United States of America. On the morning of February 24,
1996, two of the Cessna 337 small aircraft of "Hermanos al Rescate"
took off from the Opa-Locka Airport, in South Florida. Costa was
piloting one aircraft, accompanied by Pablo Morales, a citizen of Cuba
who had also been a rafter. De la Peña was piloting the second
aircraft, with Alejandre as a passenger. Before taking off, the
aircraft notified the air-traffic controllers at Miami and at Havana
of their flight plans, which would take them south of the 24th
parallel.
6. The 24th parallel is located a fair distance north of Cuba's twelve
miles of territorial waters, and it is the northernmost limit of the
Havana Flight Information Region. Commercial and civil aircraft carry
out routine flights in this area, and aviation practice demands that
they notify the air-traffic controllers of Havana if they pass
southward of the 24th parallel. The two "Hermanos al Rescate" aircraft
followed this custom by communicating with Havana, identifying
themselves, and stating their position and altitude.
7. At a time when the two aircraft were still north of the 24th
parallel, the Air Force of Cuba ordered the take-off of two military
aircraft, a MIG-29 and a MIG-23, operating under the control of the
military station on Cuban land. The MIGs carried artillery pieces,
short-range missiles, bombs, and rockets, and they were being piloted
by members of the Cuban Air Force. Excerpts from the radio
communications exchanged between the MIG-29 and the Military Control
Tower of Havana provide the details which are set out below:
MIG-29: OK, the target is in sight; the target is in sight. It is a
small aircraft. Copied, small aircraft in sight.
MIG-29: OK, we have it in sight, we have it in sight.
MIG-29: The target is in sight.
MILITARY CONTROL: Go ahead.
MIG-29 The target is in sight.
MILITARY CONTROL: Aircraft in sight.
MIG-29: Is it coming again?
MIG-29: It is a small aircraft, a small aircraft.
MIG-29: It is white, white.
MILITARY CONTROL: Color and Registry of the aircraft?
MILITARY CONTROL: Comrade.
MIG-29: Listen, the registry, too?
MILITARY CONTROL: What type and color?
MIG-29: It is white and blue.
MIG-29: White and blue, at low altitude, a small aircraft.
MIG-29: Give me orders.
MIG-29: Orders!
MIG-29: Listen, authorize me...
MIG-29: If we fly over it, it will complicate things. We are going to
fly over it. Since a few boats are approaching there, I am going to
fly over it.
MIG-29: Come in, come in.
MIG-29: I have a fix on it, I have a fix on it.
MIG-29: We have a fix on it. Give us authorization.
MIG-29: It is a Cessna 337. That's it, that's it. Give us
authorization, fuck it!
MILITARY CONTROL: Fire.
MIG-29: Give us authorization, fuck it, we have it.
MILITARY CONTROL: Authorized to destroy.
MIG-29: We copy. We copy.
MILITARY CONTROL: Authorized to destroy.
MIG-29: Understood, I'd already received it. Leave us alone for now.
MILITARY CONTROL: Do not lose it.
MIG-29: Fire one.
MIG-29: We busted his balls! We busted his balls!
MIG-29: Wait, look and see where it fell.
MIG-29: Let's go! Let's go! Fuck, we hit it. Fuck!
MIG-29: Mark the place where we shot it down.
MIG-29: We are above him. This guy's not going to fuck with us ever
again.
MILITARY CONTROL: Congratulations to both of you.
MIG-29: Mark the place.
.....
MIG-29: We are ascending and are on our way back.
MILITARY CONTROL: Stay there, circling overhead.
MIG-29: Over the target?
MILITARY CONTROL: Correct.
MIG-29: Shit, we told you, comrade.
MILITARY CONTROL: Correct, the target is marked.
MIG-29: Go ahead.
MILITARY CONTROL: OK, go up to 3,200, 4,000 meters over the target
destroyed and keep a low speed.
MIG-29: Go ahead.
MILITARY CONTROL: I need you to stay...there. Which direction did you
fire in?
MIG-29: I have another aircraft in sight.
MIG-29: We have another aircraft.
MILITARY CONTROL: Follow it. Do not lose the other small aircraft.
MIG-29: We have another aircraft in sight. It is in the area where
[the first aircraft] went down. It is in the area where it went down.
MIG-29: We have the aircraft in sight.
MILITARY CONTROL: Stay there.
MIG-29: Comrade, it is in the area of the event, where the target went
down. They are going to give us authorization.
MIG-29: Listen, the SAR is not necessary. There is nothing left,
nothing.
MILITARY CONTROL: Correct, follow the aircraft. You are going to stay
over it.
MIG-29: We are over it.
MILITARY CONTROL: Correct...
MIG-29: What for?
MIG-29: Is the other one authorized?
MILITARY CONTROL: Correct.
MIG-29: Great. Allow us to go, Alberto.
MIG-29: Understood; we are going to destroy it now.
MILITARY CONTROL: Do you still have it in sight?
MIG-29: We have it, we have it, we are working. Allow us to work.
MIG-29: The other one is destroyed; the other one is destroyed.
Country or death, fuck it! The other one went down, too.
8. The air-to-air missiles from the MIG-29 disintegrated the "Hermanos
al Rescate" aircraft, instantly killing their occupants and leaving
almost no recoverable remains. Only a great sheet of oil marked the
spot where the aircraft went down. The Cuban Air Force never notified
nor warned the civil small aircraft, did not attempt to make use of
other methods of interception, and never gave them the opportunity to
land. The first and only response of the MIGs was the intentional
destruction of the civil aircraft and of their four occupants. Such
conduct clearly violated the established international rules, which
require that all methods be exhausted before aggression is resorted to
against any aircraft, and totally prohibit the use of force against
civil aircraft. Several essential rights of the person as set out in
the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man have also
been violated by agents of the Cuban State.
9. THE VICTIMS. Armando Alejandre, Jr., was 45 years of age at the
time of his death. Although he was born in Cuba, at an early age
Alejandre took up residence in the city of Miami, Florida, and became
a United States citizen by naturalization. Alejandre served in the
military for eight months during the war in Viet Nam; he completed his
higher education at Florida International University; and was working
as a consultant to Metro-Dade Transit Management. He is survived by
Marlene Alejandre, his wife of 21 years, and his daughter Marlene, a
college student.
10. Carlos Alberto Costa was born in the United States in 1966 and
lived in the city of Miami. He was only 29 years of age. Costa, who
was always interested in aviation and hoped some day to supervise the
operations of a major airport, obtained his degree at the Embry-Riddle
University of Aeronautics and was working as a training specialist in
the Dade County Aviation Department. He is survived by his parents,
Mirta Costa and Osvaldo Costa, and his sister, Mirta Méndez.
11. Mario Manuel De la Peña was also born in the United States, and he
was 24 years of age at the time of his death. De la Peña lost his life
while he was completing his last semester at the Embry-Riddle
University of Aeronautics with the aim of becoming a professional
airline pilot. During that semester, he had obtained a much
sought-after and competed-for position at American Airlines. The
University conferred a degree in Professional Aeronautics on De la
Peña, posthumously. He is survived by a younger brother, Michael De la
Peña, and by his parents, Mario T. De la Peña and Miriam De la Peña.
12. Pablo Morales was born in Havana, Cuba, on May 16, 1966. On May 5,
1992, he fled Cuba on a raft and was rescued by the "Hermanos al
Rescate" organization, which is the reason that he joined the group as
a volunteer to fly as a co-pilot. Morales studied Cartography and was
graduated as a Geodesics Technician.
13. The petitioners further state that the responsibility of the Cuban
State consists, first, in the fact of firing--without prior
provocation--lethal rockets against a defenseless and unarmed civil
aircraft meets the definition of extra-judicial execution. This term
is defined with reference to its use in the Ley de Protección a las
Víctimas de Torturas (TVPA) [Law for the Protection of Torture
Victims], which provides that the expression extra-judicial execution
means a deliberate murder not authorized by a prior sentence
pronounced by a regularly-constituted court, which provides every
procedural guarantee se forth in the international instruments on
human rights and in particular in the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man. The actions of Cuba in this case match this
definition. The occupants of the two unarmed civil aircraft did not
receive any kind of warning concerning their imminent destruction.
14. The Cuban Air Force (CAF) was acting as an agent of the State when
it committed the murders. The evidence submitted shows how the pilots
of the Cuban MIGs obtained authorization from functionaries of the
State before the shoot-down of each aircraft, as well as sincere
congratulations from the said functionaries after the aircraft were
destroyed.
15. The events in which death was dealt to the victims took place in
international air space. The report of the ICAO concluded that the
aircraft were over international waters when they were shot down. The
first aircraft was 18 miles from Cuban shores and the second aircraft
30.5 miles offshore when they were destroyed by the missiles of the
Cuban Air Force. These numbers place the aircraft very far from the
twelve miles of Cuban territorial waters which international law
permits. Moreover, the evidence contributed by the crew and passengers
of a cruise ship which was in the vicinity, namely the "Majesty of the
Seas," and by a private fishing boat, namely the "Triliner,"
established that the civil aircraft were flying in international air
space towards Florida and were moving away from Cuba when they were
executed by the agents of the Cuban State.
16. The practice of summary execution has been firmly condemned by the
world community. Many international human rights agreements and
declarations proclaim the right of all individuals not to be deprived
of live without reason or arbitrarily. So widespread is the consensus
against extra-judicial execution, that each instrument or agreement
which has attempted to define the scope of international law on human
rights has recognized the guarantee of due process in order to protect
that right. The proscription of extra-judicial execution thus raises
to the level of imperative law a standard of international law so
fundamental that it is mandatory for all the members of the
international community. The human rights standards which have been
generally accepted and which, therefore, are incorporated into the
laws of nations include basic rights such as the right not to be
murdered, tortured, or in any way subjected to cruel, inhumane, or
degrading punishment, and the right not to be detained arbitrarily.
The proscription against summary execution is universal and compliance
with it is mandatory for the States. A State violates international
law on human rights if, as a matter of State policy, it practices,
fosters, or condones homicide, or gives rise to the disappearance of
individuals. Consequently, the extra-judicial executions committed by
the agents of the Cuban State to the detriment of De la Peña, Costa,
Alejandre and Morales make it the international responsibility of the
said State for the violation of the rights to life recognized in
Article 1 of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.
And by denial of justice, the Cuban State is responsible for disregard
of the right to justice set out in Article XVIII of the said
international instrument.
B. THE STATE
17. The Cuban State did not respond to the repeated requests for
information from the Commission asking for its comments concerning the
admissibility and the merits of the complaint. The Commission has also
found that the State has not to date disputed the facts set out in the
complaint, despite the several notes from it so requesting.
Consequently, the deadlines set out in the Commission's Regulations
for a State to provide information on the case sub lite have more than
expired.
IV. ANALYSIS
A. THE COMMISSION'S COMPETENT AUTHORITY AND THE FORMAL REQUIREMENTS
FOR ADMISSIBILITY
18. The Commission has competent authority ratione materiae to take
cognizance of the present case, since it concerns violations of rights
recognized in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of
Man. The competent authority of the Commission arises out of the terms
of the Charter of the OAS, its Statute, and its Regulations. In
accordance with the Charter, all the member States agree to respect
the fundamental rights of individuals, which, in the case of the
States which are not parties to the Convention, are those set out in
the American Declaration, which constitutes a source of international
obligations. The Commission's Statute makes it incumbent upon it to
give special attention to the task of observance of the human rights
recognized in Articles I (Right to Life, to Liberty, to Security, and
to Personal Integrity), II (Right to Equality Before the Law), III
(Right to Freedom of Religion and of Worship), IV (Right to Freedom of
Investigation, Opinion, Expression, and Diffusion), XVIII (Right to
Justice), XXV (Right to Protection against Arbitrary Detention), and
XXVI (Right to Due Process).
19. The Commission has dealt with the present case in accordance with
the provisions of Chapter III of its Regulations and Articles 1, 18,
and 20 of its Statute. Article 51 of the Commission's Regulations
provides that "[t]he Commission shall receive and examine any petition
which contains a complaint concerning alleged violations of the human
rights recognized in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties
of Man with regard to the member States of the Organization which are
not parties to the American Convention on Human Rights."
20. The procedure applied to the present case has been that provided
in Article 52 of the Commission's Regulations, which states verbatim
as follows: "The procedure applicable to the petitions regarding the
member States of the Organization which are not parties to the
American Convention on Human Rights shall be that set out in the
General Provisions contained in Chapter I of Title II; in Articles
32-43 of these Regulations; and in the articles which are indicated
below."
21. The submission of the petition meets the formal requirements of
admissibility contained in Article 32 of the Commission's Regulations,
the procedure contemplated in Article 34 of the Regulations having
been exhausted. Moreover, the complaint is not pending another
proceeding of international settlement, nor is it a duplicate of a
prior petition already examined by the Commission.
22. The Commission also has competent authority ratione personae,
inasmuch as Article 26 of its Regulations provides that "[a]ny person
or group of persons or non-governmental entity legally recognized in
one or more of the Member States or the Organization may submit
petitions to the Commission, in accordance with these Regulations, on
its/their own behalf or on behalf of third persons, with regard to
alleged violations of a human right recognized, as the case may be, in
the American Convention on Human Rights or in the American Declaration
of the Rights and Duties of Man." Within this context, the Commission
cannot but repeat that the procedural silence of the Cuban State
contravenes its international juridical obligations to provide
information with respect to the petitions and other communications
which contain alleged violations of human rights. The Commission has
already indicated on several occasions that the purpose of the
Organization of American States "in excluding the Government of Cuba
from the Inter-American system" was not to leave the Cuban people
without protection. The exclusion of the said Government from the
regional system does not in any way imply that it can cease to comply
with its international obligations in the area of human rights.
Consequently, the Commission carries out its analysis on the basis of
the elements of conviction made available to it, while taking due
account of Article 42 of its Regulations.
23. With respect to competent authority ratione loci, it is evident
that the Commission has competent authority as regards facts involving
human rights violations which take place on the territory of the
Member States of the Organization, whether or not these are parties to
the Convention. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to note that in
certain circumstances the Commission has competent authority to
consider communications which complain of a violation of human rights
protected under the Inter-American system by agents of a Member State
of the Organization even though the facts which constitute such
violation may have taken place outside the territory of the said
State. In effect, the Commission believes it pertinent to note that,
in certain circumstances, its exercising competent authority over
facts which have occurred in an extra-territorial location not only is
consonant with but is required by the relevant provisions. The
fundamental rights of the person are proclaimed in the Americas on the
basis of the principle of equality and non-discrimination: "regardless
of race, nationality, creed, or sex." Since individual rights are
inherent to the human person, all the American States are obliged to
respect the protected rights of any person subject to their
jurisdiction. Although this ordinarily refers to persons who are
within the territory of a State, in certain circumstances it can refer
to behavior having an extraterritorial locus, where a person is
present on the territory of one State, but is subject to the control
of another State, generally through the acts of the agents abroad of
the latter State. In principle, the investigation has no reference to
the nationality of the alleged victim or his presence in a given
geographical zone, but rather to whether in those specific
circumstances the State observed the rights of a person subject to its
authority and control.
24. The European Commission on Human Rights spoke on this issue on the
occasion of the inter-state complaint filed by Cyprus against Turkey
following the Turkish invasion of that island. Cyprus alleged in its
complaint that violations of the European Convention had taken place
on the portion of its territory occupied by the Turkish forces. For
its part, Turkey maintained that under Article 1 of the European
Convection, the competent authority of the Commission was limited to
an examination of the acts allegedly committed by a State Party on its
own national territory and that it could not be found liable for
violating the Convention since it had not extended its jurisdiction to
Cyprus. The European Commission rejected this argument in the
following terms:
In Article 1 of the Convention, the High Contracting Parties undertook
to secure the rights and freedoms defined in Section 1 to all persons
"within their jurisdiction" [in the Spanish text, this expression
"dentro de su jurisdicción," is followed by its equivalents in
English,"within their jurisdiction," and in French "relevant de leur
juridiction"]. Contrary to what the defendant State alleges, the
Commission considers that this term is not limited to or the
equivalent of the national territory of the High Contracting Party in
question. As clearly appears from the wording, and in particular the
French, and from the object of this Article, as well as from the
purpose of the Convention taken as a whole, the High Contracting
Parties are under the obligation to secure such rights and liberties
to all the persons under their actual authority and responsibility,
whether such authority is exercised within their own territory or
abroad [...]
25. In the case sub lite, the petitioners stated that their complaints
were governed by the provisions of the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man. In analyzing the facts, the Commission finds
that the victims died as a consequence of direct actions of agents of
the Cuban State in international air space. The circumstance that the
facts occurred outside the Cuban jurisdiction does not restrict nor
limit the Commission's competent authority ratione loci, for, as has
already been indicated, when agents of a State, whether they be
military or civil, exercise power and authority over persons located
outside the national territory, its obligation to respect human
rights, in this case the rights recognized in the American
Declaration, continues. In the opinion of the Commission, there is
sufficient evidence to show that the agents of the Cuban State,
despite being outside its territory, subjected to their authority the
civil pilots of the "Hermanos al Rescate" organization. Consequently,
the Commission has competent authority ratione loci to apply
extraterritorially the American Declaration to the Cuban State for the
events which occurred on February 24, 1996, in international air
space.
26. As far as the requirement of prior exhaustion of domestic
procedures is concerned, Article 37(1) of the Commission's Regulations
provides: "[i]n order for a petition to be admitted by the Commission,
it shall be required that the procedures of the domestic jurisdiction
shall have been pursued and exhausted, pursuant to the generally
recognized principles of international law." The Inter-American Court
of Human Rights has ruled in this respect:
From the generally recognized principles of international law it
appears, in the first place, that this is a rule the assertion of
which can be waived either expressly or tacitly by the State which is
entitled to assert it, which has already been acknowledged by the
Court on a prior occasion (cf. Matter of Viviana Gallardo and Others,
Decision of November 13, 1981, No. G 101/81. Series A, para. 26). In
the second place, that in order for the plea of non-exhaustion of
domestic procedures to be timely, it must be asserted in the early
stages of the proceeding, as otherwise there may be a presumption of
the tacit waiver of assertion of it by the State concerned.
27. In the case sub lite, the Cuban State did not assert the plea of
non-exhaustion of domestic procedures at the time when it received
formal notice of the petition as a means of challenging admissibility,
nor did it respond on several occasions to the request for information
from the Commission in the course of the proceeding. In such
circumstances, and with no more evidence than that set out in the case
file, the Commission concludes that the Cuban State has tacitly waived
assertion of the plea of non-exhaustion of domestic procedures.
B. THE ELEMENTS OF CONVICTION IN THE CASE SUB LITE
28. The Commission will go on to present the documents and other
evidence which has been exhaustively examined and which has provided
the elements for the formation of an opinion concerning the events
which occurred in the afternoon of February 24, 1996, namely the date
on which the four civil pilots of the "Hermanos al Rescate" lost their
lives, allegedly as a consequence of actions originated by agents of
the Cuban State. Thus, among the documents and other elements of
conviction submitted to and carefully processed, analyzed, and
evaluated by the Commission are: 1) Report of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) dated June 28, 1996; 2) Descriptive
summary of the facts prepared by the victims' families; 3) Written
transcript of the testimony of the victims' families given to the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on March 3, 1997; 4)
Brochure with biographical data and photographs of the four dead
pilots, with other particulars; 5) Report of the Special Rapporteur of
the United Nations for Cuba; 6) Final Judgment against the Republic of
Cuba delivered by Judge King of the District Court of the United
States, Southern District of Florida, in the civil complaint; 7)
Testimony of Captain Charles F. Leonard, aviation expert, given during
the civil complaint before the United States Court; 8) Testimony of
Professor Stephen J. Schnably, expert in international law, given
during the civil complaint before the United States Court; 9) Copy of
the United States 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Actual Death Penalty Act;
10) Copy of the United States 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act; 11)
Article from the Times Magazine of March 11, 1996, entitled "The Cold
War is Back"; 12) EFE cable dated March 5, 1996: Decision to shoot
down was taken to avoid further humiliation; 13) EFE cable dated March
5, 1996: Pilot admits he exclaimed scornful expression in shoot-down;
14) Transcript of the interviews, as televised by Cubavisión, with
General Rubén Martínez Puente, Commander of the Cuban Air Defense
Force, Havana, on March 6, 1996; 15) Audio tape recording from the
cockpit of the 2506 small aircraft on February 24, 1996; and 16) Scale
models of the Cessnas and the MIGs involved in the shoot-down.
C. ANALYSIS OF THE EVIDENCE WITH RESPECT TO THE ACTUAL PERPETRATORS OF
THE FACTS
29. Once the elements of conviction have been evaluated, the
Commission must analyze the facts which took place on February 24,
1996, and determine whether they involve the international
responsibility of the Cuban State for the alleged violations of the
rights recognized in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties
of Man. In other words, the Commission must elucidate whether the
Cuban State is responsible for the deaths of the four civil pilots
and, consequently, whether the three elements which involve the
international responsibility of a State are present, namely: i) The
existence of an act of commission or omission which violates an
obligation set out in a rule of international law in force, which in
this case would be the American Declaration; ii) The immutability of
such an act of commission or omission to the State as a juridical
person; and iii) The producing of a loss or an injury as a result of
the unlawful act.
30. One of these elements of conviction which throws light on the
facts complained of is the Report of the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), which is present in the case file of the present
case. As a matter of fact, in light of the facts, the Council of the
ICAO during its 147th period of sessions, on March 6, 1996, adopted a
resolution concerning the shooting down of two private civil aircraft
of United States registry by Cuban military aircraft on February 24,
1996. The ICAO took this matter up for consideration in response to a
request from the Security Council of the United Nations on February
27, 1996, and by virtue of the petitions from the Governments of the
United States and of Cuba for the carrying out of an exhaustive
investigation of the facts. In fulfillment of that petition, on June
28, 1996, the ICAO submitted a report to the Security Council entitled
"Report on the Investigation concerning the Shooting Down of Two
Private Aircraft Registered in the United States of America by a Cuban
Military Aircraft on February 24, 1996."
31. With regard to the facts, the ICAO report establishes that the
pilots and supporters of "Hermanos al Rescate" met at the hangar of
the Opa-Locka Airport, located in South Florida, on the afternoon of
February 24, 1996, and that at 09:12 the pilot of the Cessna 337C,
registration number N2456S, who was the head of flight operations of
the said organization, commenced the filing of the flight plans in
accordance with visual flight rules (VFR), with the intention of
making a flight to rescue rafters. However, because of other
commitments of some of the pilots, the intended flight did not leave
at 10:15 as had been planned. The pilots returned to the hangar after
11:00 and decided to eat lunch before starting the flight. At 13:01,
the three Cessna 227 aircraft, registration number N2506 (José
Basulto, Arnaldo Iglesias, Andrés and Silvia Iriondo), N2456S (Carlos
Costa and Pablo Morales), and N5485S (Mario De La Peña and Armando
Alejandre) departed in a westerly direction at 13:11, 13:12, and
13:13, respectively. After takeoff, each one of the three Cessna
aircraft established contact with the AIFSS of Miami (call words Miami
Radio) in order to activate their flight plans. At 14:39, the Cuban
air defense radar detected aircraft north of the 24th parallel North.
At 14:43, two military interceptor aircraft were immediately prepared
at the air base of San Antonio de los Baños. The aircraft were armed
with air-to-air missiles equipped with heat-seekers and guns. These
aircraft, one two-seat MIG-29 UB and one MIG-23 ML, took off at 14:55
to patrol 15 to 20 kilometers north of the coast at altitudes of
between 200 and 500 meters. The ICAO then concludes, among other
things, the following:
- At 15:21 on February 24, 1996, the N2456S was destroyed by an
air-to-air missile launched by a Cuban MIG-29 military aircraft
- At 15:27 on February 24, 1996, the N5485S was destroyed by an
air-to-air missile launched by a Cuban MIG-29 military aircraft.
- The positions and ship's course recorded from the Majesty of the
Seas, the observations of its crew and passengers, the position of the
Tri-Liner relative to the Majesty of the Seas, and the resulting
estimated locations of the downings are considered the most reliable
reckonings of position.
- No evidence was obtained which would corroborate the position of the
Majesty of the Seas. Subject to this, and on the basis of the recorded
positions of the Majesty of the Seas, the N2456S was shot down at
approximately position 23 29 N 082 28W, 9 nautical miles outside the
Cuban territorial air space, and the N5485S was shot down at
approximately position 23 30, 1 N 082 28, 6 W, 10 nautical miles
outside the Cuban territorial air space (emphasis added).
- Cuba had methods other than interception available, such as radio
communication, but it did not employ them. This was not compatible
with the ICAO principle that the interception of civil aircraft is to
be carried out only as a last resort.
- During the interceptions, no attempt was made to direct the N2456S
or the N5485S beyond the limits of the national air space, to conduct
them out of the prohibited, restricted, or dangerous area, or to give
them orders to make a landing at a designated airfield.
- When carrying out the interception, the intercepting military
aircraft did not follow the standard procedures for maneuvers and
signals in accordance with the provisions of the ICAO as published in
the AIP of Cuba.
- The Protocol which incorporates Article 3 bis of the Chicago
Convention had not entered into effect. Neither Cuba nor the United
States had ratified it.
- The rule of consuetudinary international law whereby States are to
refrain from resorting to the use of arms against civil aircraft are
applicable irrespective of whether or not the aircraft in question is
within the territorial air space of the State concerned.
32. The ICAO also stated that "[t]here were several eyewitnesses to
the event. The personnel and passengers aboard of the [vessel] Majesty
of the Seas, of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and the crew of the
fishing boat Tri-Liner, observed the destruction of one aircraft
(N2456S) and the subsequent destruction of the other aircraft
(N5485S). One observer who was working at an observation post on the
Havana coast and the crewman of the sailing ship heard and saw an
event, but none of them could say whether he had seen the destruction
of the first or of the second aircraft. According to the ICAO, the
Majesty of the Seas had an automatic system for recording the time,
position, speed, course, relative wind, and depth every five minutes,
on the basis of a worldwide system for determining position, GPS
(global-positioning satellite), and other sensing devices.
33. Again with regard to the witnesses, the ICAO states that at 15:23
the look-outs on the bridge of the Majesty of the Seas observed an
explosion in the air and the remains of the destroyed aircraft which
were falling to the sea. Several passengers and other members of the
crew also saw the explosion and the fall of the wreckage. The event
was recorded in the ship's log. The ICAO also notes that one crewman
of the fishing boat Tri-Liner heard and saw the explosion directly
over his head and called the captain, who was below deck. The two of
them saw the aircraft fall to the sea in flames some 200 to 400 yards
behind their vessel. The fishing boat went about, approached the
location of impact, and noted a few small bits of wreckage and an oil
stain. A square-shaped orange box or float, 1.5 feet per side, to
which was attached a yellow rope, was seen but could not be recovered.
The boat stayed on the scene some ten minutes; nothing else come to
the surface. The Tri-Liner then resumed its northerly heading. The
captain afterwards reckoned that the time of the explosion had been
15:15 at position 23 30N 082 17W.
34. The Commission has also been able to determine that the excerpts
from the radio communications exchanged by the MIG-29 and the Military
Control Tower of Havana, as supplied by the petitioners, match those
included in the ICAO report, and also, in this connection, the
adjectives employed by the pilots of the Cuban Air Force before
shooting down the civil small aircraft, as well as the orders received
through their superiors from Havana, Cuba.
35. The International Civil Aviation Organization refers to the
injuries sustained by the civil pilots and the damage to their
aircraft in the following manner:
The pilot and the other occupant of the Cessna 337C N2456S (Carlos
Costa and Pablo Morales) have disappeared and are presumed dead. The
pilot was a citizen of the United States and the other occupant was a
legal resident of that country.
The pilot and the other occupant of the Cessna 337B, N5485S (Mario De
La Peña and Armando Alejandre) have disappeared and are presumed dead.
The two occupants were citizens of the United States.
The Cessna 337C, N2456S, and the Cessna 337B, N5485S, were destroyed
by an air-to-air missile fired from a Cuban MIG-29 military aircraft.
The two Cessna aircraft broke up in the air as a result of the
explosions of the missiles, the wreckage fell to the sea and sank. At
May 31, 1996, the remains of the four occupants of the two Cessna
aircraft had not been recovered.
36. As for the pilots of the Cuban Air Force MIGs who took part in the
events of February 24, 1996, the ICAO states as follows:
Pilot of the MIG-29. The pilot of the MIG-29 was qualified in
accordance with the current Cuban air defense and Air Force
regulations. The pilot, of the male sex and 44 years of age, held the
rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His total flight experience was more than
1,000 hours, 500 of them in MIG-29 aircraft. He had been a MIG
aircraft pilot for 19 years and had taken part in three international
missions, including 74 combat missions.
Co-pilot of the MIG-29. The co-pilot of the MIG-29 was qualified in
accordance with the current Cuban air defense and Air Force
regulations. The co-pilot, of the male sex and 44 years of age, held
the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel. His total flight experience was more than 1,800
hours. He had been flying for 26 years and had taken part in
international missions, including 30 combat missions.
Pilot of the MIG-23. The pilot of the MIG-23 was qualified in
accordance with the current Cuban air defense and Air Force
regulations. The pilot, of the male sex and 35 years of age, held the
rank of Major. His total flight experience was more than 800 hours. He
had been a MIG aircraft pilot for 15 years and had taken part in two
international missions which included some combat missions.
37. The Inter-American Commission, on the basis of the foregoing
considerations and on the elements of conviction made available to it,
sees fit to make the following points with respect to the events which
took place on February 24, 1996:
i. The facts complained of by the petitioners, and the evidence
submitted by them, fully coincide with the investigations carried out
by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as regards the
description of the facts and material perpetrators thereof.
ii. The destruction of the civil aircraft in international air space,
as well as the deaths of their four occupants by agents of the Cuban
Air Force constitute flagrant violations of the right to life.
iii. The fact of using weapons of war and combat-trained pilots
against unarmed civilians demonstrates not only a lack of proportion
in the use of force, but also the intent of putting an end to the
lives of the said persons. Moreover, from the excerpts from the radio
communications exchanged between the pilots of the MIG-29 and the
Military Control Tower, it appears that the said servicemen acted with
advantage, premeditation, and contempt for the human dignity of the
victims.
iv. There is abundant evidence in the present case to demonstrate the
configuring of the three elements which involve the international
responsibility of the Cuban State for the deaths of the four pilots
which took place in the afternoon of February 24, 1996.
D. THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CUBAN STATE
EXISTENCE OF AN ACT OF COMMISSION OR OMISSION
WHICH VIOLATES AN OBLIGATION STIPULATED BY A
PROVISION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN FORCE
38. THE RIGHT TO LIFE. The first article of the American Declaration
of the Rights and Duties of Man recognizes the right to life when it
states that "[e]very human being has the right to life, liberty, and
the security of his person." For its part, the Inter-American
Commission has also held that the right to life is "the foundation and
support of all the other rights", by holding that
it can never be suspended. Governments cannot under any circumstances
employ illegal or summary execution... Methods of this type are
proscribed in the Constitutions of the States and in the international
instruments which protect the fundamental rights of the human being.
39. The Commission has also stated that "the obligation to respect and
protect the right to life is an obligation erga omnes, that is to say,
it must be assumed by the Cuban State--as by all the Member States of
the OAS, whether or not they are parties to the American
Convention--vis-à-vis the inter-American community as a whole and
vis-à-vis the individuals subject to its jurisdiction as the direct
beneficiaries of the human rights recognized by the American
Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man." In this connection, the
Inter-American Court has stated that for the States "the American
Declaration constitutes (...) a source of international obligations.
The circumstance that the Declaration is not a treaty, then, does not
lead to the conclusion that it lacks juridical effects..."
40. In addition, the doctrine of the specialists on public law in the
matter of international law on human rights is very broad when it
comes to analyzing the obligations which States have to see to
respecting the right to life. Thus, for example, the Venezuelan jurist
and professor of the Central University of Venezuela, Héctor Faúndez
Ledesma, states:
In essence, the right to life attempts to protect the citizen from
capricious action by those who hold the power of the State and who, in
abuse of that power, may feel the temptation to do away with the lives
of those who may be troubling to it...
...it is to be noted that it [the right to life] entails for the State
two different obligations: On the one hand, the obvious consequence is
that the State authorities, and in particular the police and the
military forces, must refrain from causing arbitrary deaths; on the
other hand, this guarantee entails a duty of the State to protect
persons from the acts of private parties who may arbitrarily make
attempts on their lives by punishing them in such a manner as may
dissuade or prevent such attempts.
41. In this connection, the Commission considers that in this case
there has been sufficient proof of the first element which involves
the international responsibility of the Cuban State, consisting of the
existence of actions originating in its agents, who violated the first
obligation recognized in the American Declaration: The right to life
of Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña, and Armando
Alejandre during the events which took place on February 24, 1996.
42. The Commission cannot but comment, also, on the conclusions of the
ICAO with respect to the fact that the agents of the Cuban State did
nothing to employ methods other than the use of lethal force to
conduct the civil aircraft out of the restricted or danger zone. The
Commission considers that the indiscriminate use of force, and in
particular the use of firearms, is an attack on the life and on the
integrity of the person. In this case in particular, the military
aircraft acted in an irregular fashion: Without prior warning, without
proof that its action was necessary, without proportionality, and
without the existence of due motivation.
43. The Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on Summary or
Arbitrary Executions has stated that "if an agent of the policing
services employs force greater than that needed to accomplish its
lawful objective and a person dies as a result, this would be the
equivalent of an arbitrary execution." In the case sub lite, the
pilots of the civil small aircraft offered no danger to the national
security of Cuba, nor to the Cuban people, nor to the military pilots.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, with regard to the
disproportionate use of force and the arbitrary deprivation of life,
has stated that:
It is beyond all doubt that the State has the right and the duty to
guarantee its own security. Nor is it open to discussion that every
society suffers from violations of its system of laws. But, no matter
how serious certain actions may be, it cannot be accepted that power
can be exercised without any limit whatever or that the State can make
use of any procedure to accomplish its objectives without being
subject to law or morality. No activity of the State can be based on
contempt for human dignity.
44. On the same subject, the European Court of Human Rights has stated
that:
...soldiers are trained to continue firing until the suspect dies.
With this background, the authorities are under the obligation to
respect life and to exercise the greatest prudence in evaluating
information before issuing orders to the soldiers, whose use of
firearms automatically implies shooting to kill.
45. Given the circumstances which surrounded the facts which took
place on February 24, 1996, the disproportionate and indiscriminate
size and use of lethal force which was employed against the civil
small aircraft, and the manner in which the authorities at the
Military Control Tower of Havana congratulated the pilots of the
MIG-29 after they carried out their orders, the Commission considers
it sufficiently proven that Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La
Peña, and Armando Alejandre were the subjects of an arbitrary or
extra-judicial execution on the part of agents of the Cuban State.
Consequently, the Cuban State is responsible for the violation of the
right to life recognized in Article I of the American Declaration of
the Rights and Duties of Man.
46. THE RIGHT TO JUSTICE. The American Declaration recognizes the
procedures to which any person must have access who considers that his
rights have been violated by the State authorities. Thus, Article
XVIII provides that "[e]very person may have recourse to the courts in
order to assert his rights. Moreover, he must have available to him a
simple, brief procedure by which the courts protect him against such
acts of authority as, to his detriment, violate any of the fundamental
rights recognized in the constitution."
47. There is nothing in the record which would make it possible to
infer that the victims' families have attempted to exhaust Cuban
domestic procedures in order to prosecute and penalize criminally
those responsible for the facts forming the subject-matter of this
case. However, the Inter-American Commission has at all times
considered that in the case of offenses of public action--and even
those which arise out of private action--it is not valid to demand
that the victim or his family exhaust domestic procedures, since it is
the function of the State to preserve public order and, therefore, it
is its obligation to enforce the criminal laws by bringing the
procedure or by pursuing it to the end. That is, the obligation to
investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible for violations of
human rights is an indelegable duty of the State. One consequence of
this is that a public functionary, as distinct from a private person,
has the legal obligation to report any offense of public action which
comes to his attention in the course of his work. The foregoing
statement is confirmed in those procedural systems which deny the
victim or his family procedural standing, with the State holding the
monopoly on criminal action. And in those others in which such
standing is provided for, the exercise of it is not mandatory for the
injured party, but optional, and it does not replace action by the
State.
48. Nor is there anything in the record which demonstrates that the
Cuban State--since February 24, 1996--has made any effort to
investigate the facts, determine responsibility, and penalize
criminally the Air Force pilots who executed the victims, or the
authorities who authorized the use of lethal force against defenseless
civil aircraft. The European Court of Human Rights has stated in this
regard:
The general juridical prohibition on arbitrary death by action of
agents of the State would in practice have no effect if there were no
procedure whatever for review of the lawfulness of the use of lethal
force by the authorities of the State. The obligation to protect the
right to life in accordance with this provision, construed jointly
with the general obligation of the State contemplated in Article 1 of
the [European] Convention [on Human Rights] to guarantee to all
citizens under its jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in the
Convention, requires by inference that there should be some form of
real official investigation if there have been deaths caused by the
use of force by agents of the State.
49. The fact that for more than three years no exhaustive
investigation has been commenced within the Cuban domestic
jurisdiction to review the lawfulness of the use of lethal force
against the civil aircraft; that neither the material perpetrators nor
those who gave the orders from the Military Control Tower have been
tried; and the absence of a fair reparation to the victims' families;
all this makes it the responsibility of the Cuban State for violation
of the right to justice recognized in Article XVIII of the American
Declaration. Theo Van Boven, the Special Rapporteur of the
Sub-Commission for the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations,
analyzed the question of impunity thus:
Persons who commit violations of human rights, whether they be civil
or military, become more audacious if they are not held accountable
before the courts. In a social and political atmosphere in which
impunity prevails, it is likely that the right to reparation of the
victims of flagrant violations of human rights and basic freedoms
would be a mere illusion. It is difficult to imagine that a judicial
system which protects the rights of victims can at the same time
remain indifferent or inactive in the face of the flagrant offenses of
those who have violated them.
IMMUTABILITY OF THE ACT OF COMMISSION OR OMISSION TO THE STATE
50. Once it has been shown that in the case sub lite the first element
is present which involves the international responsibility of the
Cuban State, namely actions violating the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man, the Commission also deems it fully proven
that such unlawful actions are imputable to the State, since the
agents responsible are functionaries of the Cuban Air Force and,
therefore, acted while clothed with an official function. In effect,
the version of the eyewitnesses, the investigations of the
International Civil Aviation Organization, and the transcript of the
recordings between the Control Tower of Havana and the pilots of the
aircraft which perpetrated the facts confirm the foregoing.
Consequently, the events which took place on February 24, 1996, are
imputable to the Cuban State.
DAMAGE CONSEQUENT UPON THE UNLAWFUL ACTIONS
51. The final element which involves the international responsibility
of the Cuban State is the damage produced as a consequence of the
unlawful actions committed by its agents in the afternoon of February
24, 1996. In the opinion of the Commission, the damage produced as a
consequence of the unlawful actions committed by the Cuban State is as
follows: a) Irreparable physical injury, consisting of the deaths of
the four occupants of the civil aircraft; b) the pain and suffering
and psychological injury caused to the victims' families, consisting
of the emotional suffering for the loss of loved ones, the trauma
arising out of the events, and the impossibility of recovering the
bodies in order to give them a decent burial, all this, together with
the knowledge that they have not received justice; that is to say,
that the deaths caused by agents of the Cuban State have gone
unpunished; and c) the physical damage consisting of loss of earnings
and consequential damages.
52. Consequently, the Inter-American Commission considers that the
Cuban State is under obligation: i) to investigate the facts; ii) to
adopt appropriate measures in this regard; iii) to prosecute the
agents of the State and/or other authorities who are responsible for
the facts; and iv) to pay adequate reparation to the victims'
families.
V. CONCLUSIONS
53. The Cuban State is responsible for the violation of the right to
life--Article I of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties
of Man--to the detriment of Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La
Peña and Armando Alejandre, who died as a result of the direct actions
of its agents in the afternoon of February 24, 1996, while they were
flying in international air space.
54. The Cuban State is responsible for the violation of the right to
justice--Article XVIII of the American Declaration of the Rights and
Duties of Man--to the detriment of the families of Carlos Costa, Pablo
Morales, Mario De La Peña and Armando Alejandre, whereas the Cuban
authorities, to date, have not conducted an exhaustive investigation
in order to prosecute and penalize criminally the parties responsible
therefor, nor have they indemnified said relatives for the damages and
injuries which they have suffered as a result of the said unlawful
acts.
VI. RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the analysis and conclusions of the present report, the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommends as follows to the
Cuban State:
1. Conduct a complete, impartial, and effective investigation in order
to identify, prosecute and penalize criminally the agents of the State
responsible--materially and intellectually--for the deaths of Carlos
Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario De La Peña and Armando Alejandre, for the
events which took place in international air space on February 24,
1996.
2. Ratify the Protocol to the Agreement of the International Civil
Aviation [Article 3 bis], an international agreement to which Cuba has
been a Party since December 7, 1944.
3. Adopt the necessary measures so that the families of the victims
receive appropriate and timely reparation that includes full
satisfaction for the violations of human rights established herein, as
well as payment of fair indemnification for patrimonial and
extra-patrimonial damages, including moral damages.
VII. PUBLICATION
The Commission, by note of May 19, 1999, forwarded to the Cuban State
Report No. 81/99 concerning the present case, with a deadline of two
months to comply with its recommendations, all this in accordance with
Article 53 (1) and (2) of its Regulations.
The Cuban State did not submit comments, nor did it comply with the
recommendations of the Commission.
On the basis of the foregoing considerations and in accordance with
Article 53 (3) and (4) of its Regulations, the Commission decides to
reiterate the conclusions and recommendations of the present report,
to make it public, and to include it in its Annual Report to the
General Assembly of the OAS. The Commission will, in compliance with
its mandate, continue to evaluate the steps taken by the Cuban State
with respect to the said recommendations until they have been complied
with in full.
The Commission resolves to forward this report to the State of Cuba
and to the petitioners in accordance with Article 53(4) of its
Regulations.
Issued and signed at the seat of the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights in the city of Washington, D.C., on September 29, 1999.
(Signed) Robert K. Goldman, Chairman; Helio Bicudo, First Vice
Chairman; Claudio Grossman, Second Vice Chairman; Commissioners Jean
Joseph Exume, Alvaro Tirado Mejía, and Carlos Ayala Corao.
I, the undersigned Jorge E. Taiana, in my capacity as Executive
Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (known as
CIDH), hereby certify in accordance with the provisions of Article 53
of its Regulations that these presents are a true copy of their
original stored in the files of the Secretariat of the CIDH.
/s/ (illegible)
Jorge E. Taiana
Executive Secretary
Publius2k <Pub?*@?*li.us> wrote in message news:<2rM%9.1126$Ck1...@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com>...
> Bomb Ourselves
> by David Rovics
>
>
> And I was heading further south for a vacation
> to spend some time hanging on the beach
> Soaking up some sun and playing volleyball
> with all my troubles out of reach
> And then I saw Brothers to the Rescue
> flying in the clouds above my head
> And I thought this trip might not be too restful
> if tomorrow I am dead
>
> 'Cause I guess we're gonna have to bomb Miami,
> with all those insurgents running loose
>