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News :: Civil & Human Rights |
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Religious Leaders' Lunch Draws Large Crowd In Protest |
Current rating: 0 |
by Peter Miller
(No verified email address) |
24 Oct 2002
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The Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America drew 130 for a lunch today, despite the State Department's denial of a visa for its featured speaker, Rev. Raul Suarez Ramos, of Cuba. New unpublicized anti-terrorism rules prevented him from obtaining a visa. |
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Gerald Paoli of the Wellington Avenue Church (which, in December 1982 became the first sanctuary house for Guatemalan refugees), Rev. Dan Dale of the Agape House at UI Chicago, and CLRN board member Nancy Mikelson join Meridith Kruse of the Illinois Disciples Foundation in Champaign for a photo. The CRLN lunch took place on October 24 at the Episcopal Diocese Church Center in Chicago.
The featured guest speaker, Rev. Raul Suarez Ramos, was to have presented a talk titled, "Economic Justice in Latin America: A Cuban Faith Perspective", however the US State Department refused to issue a visa for travel to the United States in a timely way.
According to CRLN, Rev. Suarez has been subjected to new anti-terrorist regulations, which make securing visas to visit the US from Cuba more difficult than ever. As of August 1, all visa applicants from Cuba and other "terrorist states" must now wait a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks while various US agencies make "security checks".
As a result of these unpublicized and largely unknown anti-terrorist procedures, Rev. Suarez's 9-day visit (10/16-10/24) to 8 cities in Illinois orgnaized by the Illinois Conference of Churches has been cancelled. Rev. Suarez was to have attended two events in Urbana: a lecture in the UIUC Lincoln Hall auditorium, and a reception at the Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church.
At least two other religious leaders from Cuba have also had to cancel planned speaking trips to Illinois dues to indefinite visa delays. Four others are waiting for visas for events that have already happened.
CRLN thanks staff members of both of Illinois' US senators, and of four US representatives from Illinois (including Tim Johnson), and Gov. George Ryan for making inquiries on behalf of Rev. Suarez.
Despite his physical absence, CRLN organizers arranged for Rev. Suarez' presence by obtaining a videotaped and translated version of his presentation. Rev. Suarez made the videotape in his own home, and is available from CRLN.
For more info, contact CRLN at crln (at) crln.org, 773-293-2964 |
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Re: Religious Leaders' Lunch Draws Large Crowd In Protest |
by jennifer hidalgo
dirkmaatj (nospam) cs.uri.edu (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
17 Dec 2003
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I am looking for a photo of Rev. Suarez of cuba to put on our University of Rhode Island Multicultural Center's Website as Rev. Suarez is (hopefully) coming to visit us next year.
Thank you,
Jennifer |
