IN SOLIDARITY WITH KIMY PERNIA Friends, Apologies for cross-postings but THIS APPEAL IS URGENT.   Many of you will know that KIMY PERNIA, leader of the Embera Katio indigenous nation in Colombia was kidnapped by paramilitaries last Saturday, June 2.  To date, there has been no word of his whereabouts or his safety.  Many Canadians know Kimy as a result of his two visits to Canada in the past three years.  His people, the Embera Katio, have been adversely affected by a hydroelectric dam project which has flooded their traditional homeland--a project which received Canadian Export Development Corporation funding. As you can see from this updated Urgent Action from the Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA), the pressure is mounting hourly from Canadian organizations, including 52 MPs who signed a letter two days ago. It is critical, as this appeal explains, that we circulate this call to all of our networks and that each one of us take a few moments to send an email to President Pastrana and the CC's listed in this appeal.    In fact, keep sending a letter each day until Kimy's fate is known and his security is ensured.  In the process, we will also be showing the Colombian state how serious we are about our international solidarity with the victims of Colombia's "genocidal democracy". Thanks. In solidarity, Ken Luckhardt Dear friends in solidarity with Kimy Pernia,   Thank to all of you who have responded to the urgent action appeal  regarding the kidnapping and disappearance of Colombian indigenous leader, Kimy Pernia Domico. As we are drafting this, the sad news is that there is still no news of Kimy s whereabouts nor has anyone claimed responsibility for his disappearance. The Colombian Ambassador to Canada has indicated on her website that there is uncertainty about who the perpetrators of this kidnapping are. The  National Indigenous Organization of Colombia has been extremely clear in attributing this act to paramilitary groups, groups which often receive  the direct or indirect support of the state security forces.  A number of encouraging things have happened since we issued the first  call. To date, fifty-two Members of Parliament (from all political  parties) in Canada have sent a joint letter to President Pastrana, calling on the Colombian government to do everything it can to secure the safe  release of Kimy Pernia. On June 6, Bill Graham, Chair of the House of  Commons Standing Committee on  Foreign Affairs and International Trade,  made a statement in the House in which he called on all Members of  Parliament to join him in "condemning his kidnapping, in calling on those responsible to release him immediately and on the government of Colombia to take all steps possible to secure his release."  Yesterday the House Sub-Committee on Human Rights issued a resolution  urging the release of Kimy. The same day the Canadian Embassy in Colombia  (which issued its own statement of concern on Sunday, June 3) joined a  delegation led by the President of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia to Tierralta, the site of the disappearance where they met with the mayor, police and military authorities, once again  urging for action to be taken.  Many churches, unions, and concerned individuals have sent forceful  letters to the Colombian authorities, copying these message to the  Colombian indigenous organizations. Truly these messages of support have been a source of consolation at this difficult moment.  We understand from our contacts in Colombia that government officials and the police are becoming very uneasy because of the quantity of messages  they are receiving from Canadian citizens, churches, Parliamentarians, the OAS, the UN, Amnesty International, and unions. Our partners in Colombia are saying that "if the pressure that you are exerting weakens or  disappears, we are lost."   WHAT TO DO NOW   Many of you who sent your message to the Colombian President will have  received a form response from Maria Ines Viallamil Flores, the assistant  private secretary of President Pastrana. The letter notes that your  concerns have been referred to Doctor Juan Francisco Mesa Torres, Director  of the National Fund for the Defense of Personal Freedom in the Ministry  of National Defense. No further information is given.   THIS IS SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE IN THE LIGHT OF THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION.  WE NEED YOU TO WRITE ANOTHER LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT, RE-ITERATING YOUR  CONCERN FOR KIMY, ASKING FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON WHAT HE IS PERSONALLY DOING TO ENSURE HIS RELEASE, NOTING THAT WE EXPECT HIS LEADERSHIP IN SECURING THE SAFETY OF KIMY GIVEN THE BROAD AND PROFOUND INTERNATIONAL CONCERN FOR HIS LIFE.   We must remember that one letter is rarely enough. It is the second, third and fourth letters that send the strong signal that this pressure and concern will not stop until Kimy is back with his family and community.   The President s e-mail address is [email protected]. Please send copies of your message to Colombian Ambassador in Canada, Fanny Kertzman at [email protected]; to Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John  Manley at [email protected] and to ICCHRLA at  [email protected]. Also, please check the following list of MPs who have signed the letter to the President of Colombia. If your MP s name is there, please contact and thank him/her. If the name is not there, please urge your MP to sign  immediately by sending an e-mail message to [email protected]   LIST OF MPS WHO HAVE SIGNED THE LETTER TO PRESIDENT PASTRANA (AS OF 5:00 PM JUNE 7, 2001)      * Carole-Marie Allard (Lib.) Laval East, PQ      * Sarkis Assadourian (Lib.) Brampton Centre, ON      * Jean Augustine (Lib.) Etobicoke-Lakeshore, ON      * Larry Bagnall (Lib.) Yukon      * Roy Bailey (CA) Souris-Moose Mountain, SK      * Susan Barnes (Lib.) London West, ON      * Colleen Beaumier (Lib.) Brampton-West, ON      * Carolyn Bennett (Lib.) St. Paul s, ON      * Robert Bertrand (Lib.) Pontiac-Gatineau-Labelle, PQ      * Bernard Bigras (BQ) Rosemont-Petite-Patrie, PQ      * Bill Blaikie (NDP) Winnipeg Transcona, MB      * Bonnie Brown (Lib.) Oakville, ON      * Charles Caccia (Lib.) Davenport, ON      * Aileen Caroll (Lib.) Barrie-Simcoe-Bradford, ON      * Yvon Charbonneau (Lib.) Anjou-Riviere, PQ      * Joe Clark (PC) Calgary Centre, AB      * Joe Comartin (NDP) Windsor-St. Clair, ON      * Irwin Cotler (Lib.) Mount Royal, PQ      * Libby Davies (NDP) Vancouver East, BC      * Bev. Desjarlais (NDP) Churchill, MB      * Stan Dromisky (Lib.) Thunder Bay-Atilolan, ON      * Antoine Dube (BQ) Levis-et-Chutes, PQ      * Yvon Godin (NDP) Acadie-Bathurst, NB      * Bill Graham (Lib.) Toronto-Centre Rosedale, ON      * John Harvard (Lib.) Charleswood St. James, MB      * Ovid Jackson (Lib.) Bruce-Grey Owen Sound, ON      * Marlene Jennings (Lib) Notre-Dame-de-Grace, PQ      * Karen Kraft Sloan (Lib.) York North, ON      * Gar Knutson (Lib.) Elgin-Middlesex-London, ON      * Rick Laliberte (Lib.) Churchill River, SK      * Francine Lalonde (BQ) Mercier, PQ      * Wendy Lill (NDP) Dartmouth, NS      * Clifford Lincoln (Lib.) Lac-Saint-Louis, PQ      * Alexa McDonough (NDP) Halifax, NS      * John McKay (Lib.) Scarborough East, ON      * Pat Martin (NDP) Winnipeg Centre, MB      * Dennis Mills (Lib.) Toronto Danforth, ON      * Deepak Obhrai (CA) Calgary East, AB      * Pierre Paquette (BQ) Joliette, PQ      * Jerry Pickard (Lib.) Chatham-Kent Essex, ON      * Dick Proctor (NDP) Palliser, SK      * Geoff Regan (Lib.) Halifax West, NS      * Svend Robinson (NDP) Burnaby-Douglas, BC      * Yves Rocheleau (BQ) Trois-Rivieres, PQ      * Andy Scott (Lib.) Federicton, NB      * Judy Sgro (Lib.) York West, ON      * Peter Stoffer (NDP) Sackville-Musquodoboit, NS      * Patricia Torsney (Lib.) Burlington, ON      * Stephan Tremblay (BQ) Lac-Saint-Jean-Saguenay, PQ      * Maurice Vellacott (CA) Saskatoon-Wanuskewin, SK      * Judy Wasylycia-Leis (NDP) Winnipeg North Centre, MB      * Bob Wood (Lib.) Nipissing, ON