Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice

Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Winner, Supports Fundació S'Olivar Accused by UN Experts

By oscar Nkurunziza
Democracy Human Rights Group
November 26, 2009

Dear Juan - I send you an embrace of peace and goodness.

I hereby express to you my entire solidarity and support to Fundación S Olivar's commitment and active involvement in advancing the well-being of peoples on earth. Those seeking impunity will put up a fight against those denouncing the massacres perpetrated against the people of Rwanda and Congo.

The many years of your involvement and commitment to those peoples are witness of your non-violent action. It's wrong to accuse you and accuse those who work with you of supporting the armed struggle. Your action and deeds have always followed the path of Truth and Justice.

I wish you and all those at your side a great deal of strength and hope; know too that you are not alone. A lot of organizations are aware of the current situation in the world.

The only way of stopping those crimes against humanity from continuing is insisting on the right to Justice.

Fraternally yours,

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

24/11/2009


Benvolgut Joan. Una abraçada de Pau i Bé.

Vull expressar-te tota la meva solidaritat y recolzament al compromís i l’acció de la Fundació S’Olivar, en bé dels pobles. Aquells que busquen la impunitat exerciran resistència enfront les denúncies de les massacres contra els pobles de Ruanda y la RD del Congo.

Els llargs anys de compromís al costat dels pobles testimonien la teva acció no-violenta. Mal poden acusar-te i acusar als qui t’acompanyen de recolzar la lluita armada. La teva acció sempre va ser mitjançant la Veritat i la Justícia.

Et desitjo a tu i a tots els qui t’acompanyen molta força i esperança i que sàpiguen que no esteu sols. Moltes organitzacions estan veient la situació en el món.

La única forma d’impedir que els crims de lesa humanitat continuïn cometent-se és el dret a la Justícia.

Fraternalment,

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel


Cher Juan, la Paix et le Bien sont avec toi.

Je tiens à t´exprimer toute ma solidarité et mon appui à l´engagement et à l´action de la Fundació S´Olivar pour le bien des peuples. Ceux qui recherchent l´impunité vont exercer une résistance face aux dénonciations des massacres commis contre les populations du Rwanda et du Congo.

Les longues années pendant lesquelles tu t´es engagé aux côtés des populations témoignent de ton action non violente. Ils peuvent difficilement t´accuser et accuser ceux qui t´accompagnent de soutenir la lutte armée. La Vérité et la Justice ont toujours présidé à ton action.

Je te souhaite à toi et à tous ceux qui t´accompagnent beaucoup de force et d´espérance. Sachez que vous n´êtes pas seuls. De nombreuses organisations voient ce qui se passe dans le monde.

La seule façon d´empêcher que de nouveaux crimes de lèse-humanité ne soient commis est de défendre le droit à la Justice.

Bien fraternellement,

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (sé)


Estimado Juan. Un abrazo de Paz y Bien.

Quiero expresarte toda mi solidaridad y apoyo al compromiso y acción de la Fundación S’Olivar en bien de los pueblos. Aquellos que buscan la impunidad ejercerán resistencia frente a las denuncias de las masacres contra los pueblos de Ruanda y la RD del Congo.

Los largos años de compromiso junto a los pueblos testimonian tu acción no-violenta. Mal pueden acusarte y acusar a quienes te acompañan de apoyar la lucha armada. Tu acción siempre fue a través de la Verdad y la Justicia.

Te deseo a ti y todos los que te acompañan mucha fuerza y esperanza y sepan que no están solos. Muchas organizaciones están viendo la situación en el mundo.

La única forma de impedir que los crímenes de lesa humanidad continúen cometiéndose es el derecho a la Justicia.

Fraternalmente,

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

About Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel was born in Buenos Aires in 1931. After training as an architect and sculptor he was appointed Professor of Architecture.

In 1974 he relinquished his teaching post in order to devote all his time and energy to the work of co-ordinating the activities of the various non-violent elements in Latin America. It was at a conference in Montevideo in 1968 that the decision was made to set up a joint organisation covering all non-violent elements throughout Latin America.

At a conference in 1974 it was decided to give the organisation a more permanent form, and Pérez Esquivel was appointed its Secretary-General.

In 1976 he initiated an international campaign aimed at persuading the United Nations to establish a Human Rights Commission, and in this connection a document was drawn up recording breaches of human rights in Latin America.

In the Spring of 1977 Pérez Esquivel was imprisoned without cause being shown. In May 1978 he was released, but with the obligation to report to the police as well as being subject to various restrictions. These have subsequently been allowed to lapse, and in 1980 he had an opportunity of visiting Europe.

The organisation of which Pérez Esquivel is the leader, Servicio Paz y Justicia, is a well-established one. Latin America is divided into three regions, each with its own offices, and under these come the national organisations. Their activities are co-ordinated from Pérez Esquivel's office in Buenos Aires.

The organisation is based on a Christian view of life, and enjoys close contact with clergy and bishops critical of present-day conditions in Latin America. The chief task of the movement is to promote respect for human rights, a phrase that is intended to include social and economic rights.

On the practical level this means that Servicio provides assistance to the rural workers in their struggle for land, and to the trade unions in their struggle to protect the rights of their workers. This is done inter alia in the form of legal aid.

Despite the opposition he has encountered, Pérez Esquivel insists that the struggle must only be waged with non-violent means.

From Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1980, Editor Wilhelm Odelberg, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1981

This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/Nobel Lectures. The information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.

Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1980


Juan Carrero Saralegui
Human rights activist and president of the S'Olivar Foundation.

Juan Carrero Saralegui was proposed as a candidate for the 2000 Nobel Prize for Peace (the award finally went to Korean president Kim Dae-jung) for his efforts to denounce genocide in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Carrera is the president of the S'Olivar Foundation in Estellencs, on the island of Mallorca. In 1999 he was given the Courage of Conscience Award granted by the Peace Abbey organization of Massachusetts.

Juan Carrero Saralegui was born in Arjona (Jaén) on February 18, 1951. At age 19, after three years of Philosophy studies at university, he and a group of friends established a commune on the S'Olivar farm in Mallorca and spent the following four years devoted to meditation, prayer and the study of Theology. In 1974 he became one of the first conscientious objectors in Spain.

An admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, he spent three years in the Andes teaching children of the Quechua tribe in Argentina, near the border with Chile, along with his wife Susana, whom he'd met at the L'Arch community in France, and an Argentinian friend, future Nobel Peace Prize-winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel. At that time the military coup in Argentina took place, and because of their work they were at the risk of reprisals from the new regime.

Since 1994 Carrero and his foundation, which was established in 1992, have actively denounced the massacres of Hutus in Rwanda and Burundi. In 1996 he walked one thousand kilometers (more than 600 miles) to Geneva to draw attention to the situation in the Great Lakes region of Africa. One year later he went on a 42-fast in front of the European Union Council headquarters. His campaign was supported by 19 Nobel Prize winners including Rigoberta Menchú, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his friend Adolfo Perez Esquivel.

From Spaniards for the 21st century

Related Materials:
UN Experts' Report: Failure In Congo

posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 6:58 AM