Serving Goni
The former President of Bolivia, Gonzalos Sanchez de Lozada (Goni) has been requested by the Bolivian Government to return to give testimony in a case against him for the murder of up to 60 people during the October 2003 uprising.
So far the US govnt has been impeeding the process to serve him with the nesecary papers, so a group of dedicated residents from Washington DC decided to take matters into their own hands.
On the night of November 1, Todo Santos, where the spirits return to earth to be with their loved ones, 6 amazing acitivsts went to a wine and cheese function held by Princeton University where Goni was due to speak to serve him with the papers, the US govnt had neglected to. Here are the photos and the account of the event.
Goni must not get away with what he did in Bolivia.
http://genuineimagephotography.com/sanchezdelozada/
Dougs Account
A group of 6 people gathered in a cafe nearby about an hour before the event at the DACOR House in downtown Washington not far from the White House and State Department. Its a well preserved luxurious old house near the World Bank, owned by the Association of Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired. Five of us took copies of the subpoena (Imputacion Formal). Sara was designated as the person who would make the attempt to serve the documents first, and the rest of us were to be backups. We agreed to serve him as soon we could get a clear opportunity for a good picture. Some of us also carried leaflets.
We went to the DACOR House separately. I was the fifth to enter. There was no real security. Just someone from Princeton checking off the guest list, handing out nametags, and taking payment from those who hadn't yet paid. An a capella choir of university students were singing on the stairs. I am not good at estimating crowds but I bet 50-100 people, mostly in suits were there.
Sara had already spotted Goni talking with 2 diplomatic types near the wine and cheese, but it was a narrow room and Conrad wasn't sure he could get a good shot.
Then Goni began to move toward the room where the audience was and I was standing in the doorway when he stopped right next to me a someone greeted him. I looked at Conrad who was pulling his camera out.
I turned to Goni, held out the envelop and touched it to his chest. He took it in his hands, and I said a statement that I had memorized beforehand "Mr. Sanchez de Lozada, I serve you with legal documents from the Government of Bolivia, which require you to appear in Court in Boliva to answer questions regarding the wrongful deaths of 2003."
Goni did not say a word. He just looked stunned. The man to my left in the photograph said "Guys, No! Don't do this." and I believe that he took the envelop from Goni. He told Conrad and I to "leave now! Get out of here!" and along with another man, began pushing us toward the door. We left because we wanted to get away with the pictures.
Meanwhile, (according to other witnesses) Sara also served Goni with the copy of the papers that she had. He refused to take them and they fell to the floor. Another man who was with our group picked up the envelope and served it to Goni, and Goni shoved the activist (I believe this is on the video). The activist then pulled out the documents and began reading the memo from Nestor Salinas to the audience. Four men dragged him through the door expelled him from the house, but he was able to read most of the memo in a loud voice before he was pushed from the room. The person who was taking the digital video was also expelled.
In this commotion, Sara sat down in the audience as was undectected by event organizers. She listened to Goni's speech in which he said nothing particularly new. She then left the room, passing out flyers on the way out. Another person in our group remained in the audience and witnessed an unexpected protest during the question and answer period. An activist in the audience who we were unaware of, stood up and made an impassioned please for justice. She was also physically removed from the room. The last person in our group waited until the end of the event and passed out flyers as the audience was leaving.
So far the US govnt has been impeeding the process to serve him with the nesecary papers, so a group of dedicated residents from Washington DC decided to take matters into their own hands.
On the night of November 1, Todo Santos, where the spirits return to earth to be with their loved ones, 6 amazing acitivsts went to a wine and cheese function held by Princeton University where Goni was due to speak to serve him with the papers, the US govnt had neglected to. Here are the photos and the account of the event.
Goni must not get away with what he did in Bolivia.
http://genuineimagephotography.com/sanchezdelozada/
Dougs Account
A group of 6 people gathered in a cafe nearby about an hour before the event at the DACOR House in downtown Washington not far from the White House and State Department. Its a well preserved luxurious old house near the World Bank, owned by the Association of Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired. Five of us took copies of the subpoena (Imputacion Formal). Sara was designated as the person who would make the attempt to serve the documents first, and the rest of us were to be backups. We agreed to serve him as soon we could get a clear opportunity for a good picture. Some of us also carried leaflets.
We went to the DACOR House separately. I was the fifth to enter. There was no real security. Just someone from Princeton checking off the guest list, handing out nametags, and taking payment from those who hadn't yet paid. An a capella choir of university students were singing on the stairs. I am not good at estimating crowds but I bet 50-100 people, mostly in suits were there.
Sara had already spotted Goni talking with 2 diplomatic types near the wine and cheese, but it was a narrow room and Conrad wasn't sure he could get a good shot.
Then Goni began to move toward the room where the audience was and I was standing in the doorway when he stopped right next to me a someone greeted him. I looked at Conrad who was pulling his camera out.
I turned to Goni, held out the envelop and touched it to his chest. He took it in his hands, and I said a statement that I had memorized beforehand "Mr. Sanchez de Lozada, I serve you with legal documents from the Government of Bolivia, which require you to appear in Court in Boliva to answer questions regarding the wrongful deaths of 2003."
Goni did not say a word. He just looked stunned. The man to my left in the photograph said "Guys, No! Don't do this." and I believe that he took the envelop from Goni. He told Conrad and I to "leave now! Get out of here!" and along with another man, began pushing us toward the door. We left because we wanted to get away with the pictures.
Meanwhile, (according to other witnesses) Sara also served Goni with the copy of the papers that she had. He refused to take them and they fell to the floor. Another man who was with our group picked up the envelope and served it to Goni, and Goni shoved the activist (I believe this is on the video). The activist then pulled out the documents and began reading the memo from Nestor Salinas to the audience. Four men dragged him through the door expelled him from the house, but he was able to read most of the memo in a loud voice before he was pushed from the room. The person who was taking the digital video was also expelled.
In this commotion, Sara sat down in the audience as was undectected by event organizers. She listened to Goni's speech in which he said nothing particularly new. She then left the room, passing out flyers on the way out. Another person in our group remained in the audience and witnessed an unexpected protest during the question and answer period. An activist in the audience who we were unaware of, stood up and made an impassioned please for justice. She was also physically removed from the room. The last person in our group waited until the end of the event and passed out flyers as the audience was leaving.
posted by Paula Pfoeffer at
2:14 am
