Sun, 4 Jun 2000
The Burn web-server based at the University of California at San Diego has been shut down as the result of a campaign by right-wing Colombians. The Burn server hosted the web site of the FARC, the major left-wing guerrilla organization in Colombia. It also hosted web sites dedicated to the Zapatistas in Mexico, a variety of other revolutionary groups around the world, and a number of progressive/radical groups in the U.S. that would otherwise not have a presence in cyberspace. It is a vital resource for many activists and organizers.
A statement from BURN! had this to say:
"BURN! has survived many attempts at censorship since we came online in March 1993. About 2 weeks ago, the Colombian Right began an organized campaign to get the UCSD communication department to shut us down. They have succeeded for now, as the chair of the department, Carol Padden, has ordered our machine disconnected.
"We believe she can be influenced (obviously!!) and we are asking for letters and phone calls to the chair of the department, Carol Padden, to express dismay at her willingness to aid attempts to censor dissenting voices, and pointing out the value to academics and others of the web pages and mailing lists on burn. If BURN is to survive, we need to be twice as loud as the Right!!"
Please take a minute to drop a note or make a call to the head of the UCSD Communications Department and request that they reverse this decision.
Carol Padden, Chair Department of Communication, 0503 UCSD 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093 phone: (858) 534-2843 e-mail: cpadden@weber.ucsd.edu
SAMPLE LETTER
I'm very concerned about your decision to shut down the BURN! web-server. It is my understanding that you have submitted to the demands of right-wing Colombians who disagree with some of the material hosted on burn.
No media source should submit to that kind of censorship, but especially an academic institution. Many University of Minnesota students rely on resources, like those on the Burn server, to access information about the social conflicts in Colombia, Mexico, and elsewhere.
Specifically, the site that Burn hosted for the FARC (Colombian guerrilla organization), should not be kept off the web because of pressure from those who oppose them. The FARC is recognized by most nations in the world as a legitimate "belligerent force," meaning they have a legitimate political claim and the right to have diplomatic relations with the world, on par with organizations like South Africa's African National Congress under apartheid.
Moreover, the FARC is a significant force that is shaping the history of Colombia, and Sout h America. Students of Latin America, political science, peace studies and related areas will benefit greatly from access to information directly from the FARC about their plans for Colombia, and, for example, the peace process there.
I urge you to act QUICKLY to put the BURN server back on-line.