From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: BRITAIN: Columbus celebrations meet resistance in Liverpool
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1992 20:42:47 GMT

/** native.1492: 173.0 **/
** Topic: Britain: Resistance to Columbus **
** Written 12:17 am  Aug 18, 1992 by josefina in cdp:native.1492 **
From: Josefina Velasquez <josefina>
Subject: Britain: Resistance to Columbus

/* Escrito 12:08 am  Aug 18, 1992 por newsdesk en cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "BRITAIN: Columbus celebrations meet" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: BRITAIN: Columbus celebrations meet resistance in Liverpool

liverpool, aug 15 (ips/lucy johnson) -- resistance leaders from
the southern hemisphere saturday pledged to continue fighting
against the north's long-standing exploitation of the developing
world.

''we are here to celebrate 500 years of resistance against
slavery, against poverty and against misery,'' said jean bertrand
aristide, exiled president of haiti, while addressing liverpool's
tall ship regatta, commemorating the 500th anniversary of
christopher columbus' voyage to the new world.

the celebration of columbus' 'discovery' of the americas has
incensed indigenous leaders who point out that when columbus
arrived, the new world was already populated by 10 million native
indians -- many of whom were massacred by spanish
'conquistadores'.

''in the first one hundred years they killed 90,000 people,''
said aristide. ''this was the beginning of a genocide not the
beginning of a free time.''

the columbus regatta has caused acute embarrassment to the
liverpool council, which may have overlooked the significance of
celebrating a voyage that also indirectly stimulated the slave
trade. it was from liverpool that the slave ships sailed bearing
human cargo to run cotton plantations in north america.

''the voyage of the tall ships is a symbolic replica of the slave
traingle,'' said adam hussein, a liverpool resident of african
descent. ''columbus' trip was economic and it's these same
economic policies in the north that go on exploiting and
plundering southern countries.''

in 1789 liverpool slave traders sold an estimated 32,000 slaves
for over a million pounds, an untold fortune in those days. money
from the sugar plantations in the caribbean also largely paid for
europe's industrial revolution.

drawing a parallel between the spanish in south america and the
dutch in south africa, moses mayekiso, a member of the african
national congress (anc) told the rally: ''these so called
'discoverers' came and usurped our land, manipulated our people
and destroyed our environment ... i call them invaders.''

the resistance leaders all spoke of an inequitable sharing out of
land in their countries, where they said the lion's share goes to
the fairer skinned families of spanish descent. in guatemala, for
instance, 70 percent of arable land is concentrated in the hands
of two percent of the population. (more/ips)

britain: columbus celebrations meet resistance in liverpool(2-e)

britain: columbus (2)

they also argue that their countries' crippling debts are
exacerbating an already harsh situation and forcing them to over-
exploit their resources for timber and precious metals.

''(but) we are not just here to criticise.'' said rigoberta
menchu, an exiled guatemalan resistance leader. ''this anniversary
is a gift from god because it gives us a voice to speak of our 500
years of resistance.''(end/ips/ip/lj/cpg/92)

** End of text from cdp:native.1492 **

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