We have woven a web of global solidarity that exposes the lies of the international killer elite. We are gathering in this country, in this city, that still remembers the horror of corporatist violence, to condemn the lawless fascists in our midst.

Message from Global Village Tribunal in Genoa
July 18, 2001

The Global Village Canadian media analyst Marshall McLuhan wrote about forty years ago is constelated here today, on the soil of Genoa.

We have woven a web of global solidarity that exposes the lies of the international killer elite. We are gathering in this country, in this city, that still remembers the horror of corporatist violence, to condemn the lawless fascists in our midst.

We convene a court that demands justice. We are here to pillory the global Mafia that prey on our children, that poison our air, our water, our soil; that steal our water, our forests, the sacred seeds of life; that plunder our homes and our lands; that distorts justice, that derails progress and solutions so critical to survival of the village.

We are here to deliver an ultimatum. The villagers will no longer countenance your brutal, criminal regime. You will no longer divide and conquer, colonise and kill. We are here to hang out the Duce.

We demand restitution for the suffering children of Columbia, Iraq, the tortured of Chile, Nicaragua, El Salvador; the martyrs of Vietnam, Cambodia. Ghosts are clamouring for justice. They are gathered with us here in Genoa. They are waiting in the village square.

The will of the people shall prevail. Listen. We address the corporatist CEOs. We expose the squirming managerial class of the plutocratic state. We, the people of the Global Village are gathered in Genoa (and we represent millions more who are watching via "the medium.") to condemn the cult of capital, and to return the commons to its rightful heirs.

We are here to topple the Church of Death. We are in Genoa, not to beg, but to serve a summons.

From here we march forward. We surround every den of thieves. We cordon every retreat. We expose every villainous crime. Your weapons are impotent. Your rationalisations are in vain.

You are Titans no more. We twist the garrotte around your castles, your estates, your towers. We are circling your offices, your factories. We are marching toward your homes. We are unstoppable. We are implacable. We are the Global Village Tribunal.

gaia.gen-next.com

Would translation to common village languages be useful?
Additions, debate. . . .

Sanctinomious sloganeering aside, i am curious what you propose to replace the current structure
with. Perhaps some constructive criticism would be more useful?

Responsible governments have checks and balances built in to their structure. What checks and
balances do these multinationals have?

Everyone's tired, laborer. (We presume by your spelling you are American)After the sloganeering, after the struggle: Rebuilding
The ideas are all out there. Try attending a few people's- summits. We are ready (weary or not) to get to work.
But, for now, back to the Global Village Tribunal. We have work to do here.

Here's that constructive criticism -- courtesy of SOA Watch:
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Colombia Delegation Reports Further Atrocities by School of the Americas Graduates
As 19 Enter Prison, 11 Delegates Arrested for Civil Disobedience at SOA

COLUMBUS, GEORGIA - July 18 - A delegation of 20 US citizens who visited Colombia from July 8th – July 17th, to gather facts and first-hand testimony about the US involvement in Colombia's war, is taking an unusual step. After ten days in Colombia documenting atrocities linked to U.S. military aid and training, the delegates traveled directly to Fort Benning, home of the notorious School of the Americas (SOA), to hold a two day vigil calling for an end to U.S. military aid and training in Colombia and the closure of the SOA. Eleven members of the delegation were arrested at 11:45 this morning after crossing the line onto Fort Benning in an act of nonviolent civil resistance.
The human rights delegation, organized by SOA Watch and Witness for Peace, traveled to Putumayo, a southern state in Colombia reputed to be the source of the majority of Colombia's coca (the plant used to make cocaine). In Putumayo, the delegation observed the impact of US funded aerial spraying, known as fumigation. They met countless people whose homes have been hit by the spraying. They discovered the painful side effects of fumigation, ranging from skin rash epidemics to birth defects, on the people of Putumayo. They witnessed terror in the faces of the people who asked them to return to the US and call for an end to fumigation and US military aid.

The fumigation program in Colombia is managed by 1993 SOA graduate General Montoya. Montoya is in charge of implementing Plan Colombia, the $1.3 billion US military aid package designed to fight the US's War on Drugs. The delegation also met Hector Mondragon who was tortured by graduates of the SOA. The SOA, recently renamed the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation" as part of a Pentagon PR ploy to disassociate the School from its horrific past is increasingly under pressure as new details about SOA violence in Colombia surface .

Delegation member Evan Gentry, of Lancaster, PA said, "In Putumayo, Colombia we spoke to campesino after campesino whose food crops have been fumigated and whose land has been poisoned so that now nothing can grow. We saw epidemics of skin rashes, birth defects, sight problems, chronic headaches and miscarriages, all caused by fumigation. We are here today to deliver a message to the School of the Americas, where 10,000 Colombian soldiers have been trained, that we oppose the violation of the Colombian people."

Referring to the incarceration of 19 SOA Watch activists yesterday*, Ken Crowley of Houston, TX stated before arrest: "After meeting Colombians who have been tortured for their political beliefs, it is shocking to see US citizens jaiIed for speaking out about human rights. I cross the line onto Fort Benning today for the second time, despite the risk of prison, because I promised the victims of SOA graduates that I met in Colombia that I would not be silent while their rights are violated in my name. It is my hope that our action today will contribute to an awareness among the US people and legislators that will force a reassessment of our Latin American policy, especially as it concerns Colombia, the SOA and the ultimate closing of the School."

SOA Watch, a grassroots organization committed to closing the SOA/WHISC, is planning a massive vigil action at Fort Benning on November 16-18, 2001. Despite the attempt to intimidate people with maximum jail sentences, thousands from all over the Americas are expected to engage in various civil resistance actions in order to express their outrage over the continuous existence of the SOA and in solidarity with its victims in Latin America.