Faceless Justice and
Colombia Human Rights Conference:
University of Wisconsin-Madison
March 2-3, 1997

Faceless Justice:
The new face of political repression in the Americas

The purpose of this Conference is to draw attention to the little know phenomenon of "faceless justice" which has been established with the support of the U.S. government in two nations (Colombia and Peru), has been attempted in El Salvador, and has features currently being attempted in Mexico.

"Faceless justice" entails an overturning of established legal proceedings with extreme curtailment of defendantŐs rights -- witnesses and evidence are hidden from the defendant and his/her attorney, making defense (discovery, rebuttal) virtually impossible. Colombia and Peru's experiences are unique, but the US and local governments have used "extraordinary conditions = narco/guerrilla terrorism" -- as an excuse for these draconian tactics that would seem more at home in a totalitarian society, than, say, the 'model democracy of Colombia'.

Colombia, Peru, and Mexico do have longstanding social and political turmoil, to which faceless justice presents a new modality of political repression -- but it is aimed not at druglords or guerrillas, but rather at a growing civil society. In Colombia, in particular, this has been clearly aimed at the third party known as the Patriotic Union, as well as trade unionists (Telecom workers).

In Peru, the recent case of Lori Berenson, a NorthAmerican woman sentenced to life imprisonment for 'terrorism' is just the tip of the iceberg of faceless justice in Peru. The U.S. attended to put Faceless Justice into effect in El Salvador in 1995, but was rebuked. In Mexico, the uprising in Chiapas and the falling apart of the traditional political setup have provoked repression by the state, with apparent "faceless justice" features. And in the U.S. we see the same rationale, "stopping the drug- dealers" and "catching the terrorists before they bomb again" being used to ease in aspects of faceless justice into the US legal system.


Schedule
University of Wisconsin-Madison
March 2-3

Events March 1-2 in Memorial Union; March 3 in UW Law School and Memorial Union (T=tentative scheduled speaker)

Saturday March 1

4-7 PM registration
7-9 PM videos and discussion: Colombia--Getting Away with Murder (by AI); War on Drugs (by Colombia MultiMedia Project)

Sunday March 2

8:30-10:OO AM Registration
10:00-10:30 Tammy Baldwin (T), WI State Representative-- Opening remarks: overview of the situation in Colombia.
10:30-10:40 Cecilia Zarate-Laun, CSN and WILPF: Introduction for Hernando Valencia Villa.
10:40-11:30 Hernando Valencia Villa, exiled former Procurador de Derechos Humanos of Colombian Government: The human rights situation in Colombia
11:30-12:00 Questions and comments
12:00 - 1:00 Catered lunch; networking
1:00 - 2:00 Michael Lopez, CSN and Justicia y Paz: The dangers faced by human rights, labor and third party activists in Colombia
2:00-3:30 Panel on Faceless Justice and its Victims in Colombia and Peru
Moderator: Matt Rothschild, The Progressive
Jack Laun, CSN: cases of Telecom workers, USO oil workers, Jose Antonio Lopez and other Union Patriotica victims from Apartado
Mark Berenson: case of Lori Berenson in Peru
3:30-3:45 Break
3:45-5:00 Organizing against Faceless Justice and for human rights in Colombia/Peru
Moderator: TBD
Cecilia Zarate-Laun, Michael Lopez, Mark Berenson
7-9 PM Reception with Chomsky, Valencia Villa and Berenson

Monday March 3

10-11:30 Constitutional issues around Faceless Justice in Colombia: Is Colombia Really the Democracy touted by the US Government?
Moderator: Joe Thome, UW Law School (T)
Panel: Jack Laun, CSN; Hernando Valencia Villa
12-1: Michael Lopez: Brown Bag at Law School: A UW Law School grad's tale: Doing human rights work in Colombia
1:30 - 3:15 U.S. Government Support for Faceless Justice: abroad and in the U.S.A.: domestic inroads into fundamental freedoms
Moderator: Judi Munaker (Dane County District Atty's Office)
Panelists: Gilliam Kerly (NLG-T), Noam Chomsky, Mark Berenson, Harry Salzberg (Salzberg Foundation-T), rep from Senator Feingold's office (T), Krista Ralston (UW Legal Defense Fund-T)
3:15-3:30 break
3:30-4:30 Role of the legal community in organizing against Faceless Justice and for human rights
Moderator: Hector Momparler, UW Law School (T)
Panelists: Michael Lopez, Jack Laun, others to be announced
5-7 PM CSN-The Progressive Fundraiser
7:30-9:30 State Historical Society: Key Note address by Noam Chomsky: "Is Faceless Justice in Colombia an experiment for the New World Legal Order",
followed by reception
Current Endorsers and Sponsors: Colombia Support Network, The Progressive Magazine, Latin American and Ibo-American Studies Program of UW- Madison, Community Action on Latin America, Dane County-Apartado Sister Communities Project, Wisconsin Interfaith Committee on Latin America, Peace Action Center (Milwaukee), Pledge of Resistance (Milwaukee)

Registration Fee: $25, includes Lunches both days and literature packet; Reduced rate - $10 (literature packet only)

Housing: There will be a limited number of rooms available at the UW conference center; also, space will be provided in private homes.

Please review the attached information. We would ask that you consider:

If you would interested in participating as a panelist, please contact Jack Laun at1-800-596-2254.
Colombia Support Network, PO Box 1505, Madison WI 53701, (608) 257-8753 fax 255-6621, email csn@igc.apc.org

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