First Campaign of GOM@ (Global Organization of Mail Artists)
ACCION URGENTE

November, 26, 1998
INFORMATION ABOUT PINOCHET, JUSTICE AND HUMBERTO NILO:

Approximately a year ago, the Director and Academic of the Arts School of the University from Chile, Humberto Nilo Saavedra, promoted a Mail Art call to please the freedom in education for the arts. Months later, he was expelled from his chair. The dictatorship continued operating. Now, the ex-dictator and Chilean life senator, Augusto Pinochet, has been arrested . In such an unexpected way, he is in the custody of the court in England as a result of the request for extradition from a Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzón. The charges are for more than 90 crimes of genocide, international terrorism and tortures. Faced with the danger that the process can be stopped by Spanish reactionary forces, we asked for solidarity to all the mail artists for justice to be strictly applied.

Report of the action

17-10-98 First news of the arrest of Augusto Pinochet in England.

18-10-98 Sending of an official notice from Boek861 to 10 mail-artists.

19-10-98 Clemente Padín, Tartarugo and Vortice answer this notice and give the approval to it.

20-10-98 The manifesto is immediately translated to English

21-10-98 Hans Braumueller adds to the organizing group:

Cesar Reglero/Boek861/Spain,
Tartarugo/Spain
Clemente Padín/Uruguay
Fernando García Delgado/Vortice/Argentine
Hans Braumueller/Germany

The manifesto is sent to the respective mailings of each one of us.
Immediately the first adhesions between mail-artists and the universal group of the world of the arts and the culture begin.

22-10-98 We consider to spread the official notice between all the people who not have an e-mail: the postal addresses of the organizers and the well-known "copy and pass" motto are inserted within the notice. Also letters are sent to networkers to be redistributed.

23-10-98 The contacts with mass media begins to spread the manifesto.

24-10-98 The group put contacts in place with parallel networks to catch adhesions by other channels.

25-10-1998 Websites which spreads and treats aspects related to the Humberto Nilo case are included in the official notice.

26-10-1998 The group considers the form in which the adhesions to the official notice must arrive at international organisms.

28-10-1998 The sentence from London Court is announced today: denying the extradition. Great surprise for the organizers who had not considered this possibility. The manifesto was directed against the infiltrated reactionary forces in Spanish Justice. An official notice is emitted to redouble efforts before the pertinent appeals.

29-10-1998 Deliberation of the Spanish Law Court. After the London affaire, the organizing equipment had few hopes.

30-10-1998 Beautiful surprise. Fulfilled objective. The Spanish Law Court establishes that Spain is competent to judge Pinochet and, consequently, to ask for its extradition. At the same time, the crimes of genocide and international terrorism of Pinochet are implicity recognized. Applicable also to the case of Argentina and, by extension, to a more of fifty involved persons.

31-1-1998 It is necessary to reconsider new objectives. In the eleventh day of campaign, the organizing group is enough disorganized. It has been too much information, in very just a short time. The certain thing is that the results are satisfactory as soon as, we have jointly worked four countries and two continents, without to have organized nor to have anticipated nothing prior to day 19 of October of 1998. Completely spontaneous and, as Padín says: " the formation of a group from the roots impelled by the necessity of a fair and just cause".

1,11,1998 Several days without contact with Fernando García Delgado constitutes a serious preoccupation for the group. Tartarugo becomes the general database and, robbing sleeping hours, data are updated.

2,1,1998 – He was not been kidnapped by any pinochetista virus, Fernando García Delgado was travelling to the Museum of Modern Art of Mendoza to the Biennial of Experimental Art. -
The group begins to lay the foundations of a network of urgent actions of mail-artists. Location of electronic directions of international organisms. The group try to send the manifesto to the international organizations before wednesday (beginning of the process in the Chamber of Lords)

3-1-1998 Day of the electronic addresses. All the group searching a final official notice to send to the international organisms. Once again, the objective is fulfilled and the Presidencies of Chile, England, España... the UN, the EU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Commissions, etc will receive the manifesto

4-11-1998 - - Sending the manifesto supposes an extraordinary work for Tartarugo (database of the group). Its statistical control announces surprises before the reception of the message. – At the same time, and while we are waiting to the decision of the Chamber of Lords, we are looking for a name and logo for this group arisen " from the necessity ". –

" AU x MA"/ Urgent Action of Mail Art is, in first instance, the chosen name and, on the other hand, we received the design of several logos made by Fernando García Delgado. Hans Braumueller provides an innovation with the idea of " Global Organization of Mail Artists" (Gom@)

5-11-98- Day of crossed archives. While we are waiting to the verdict of the Chamber of Lords, an authentic war of archives crosses the continents. We take advantage of impass to update the hundreds of accumulated messages and to finish the design of the logo. At the same time, the first rough draft of the objectives of " AU X MA " is sent.

6-11-98- - Day begins with the bad news. Tartarugo announces to us that he must leave three days us because an urgent trip. Horror! The data base goes away. Only three days, but in three days anything could happen. Fernando García Delgado replaces him. –

A translation of Guy Ferdinande, puts the manifesto in a third language, French. In his honor it is decided to work with the three languages. It is not a will problem, but a problem of lack of translators (urgent channel). We was working with both languages that group knows, Spanish and English. –

First adhesions by ordinary mail begins to arrive. –

The Spanish Government begins " the official " proceedings to ask for the extradition of Pinochet. Chamber of Lords takes the case easy and what it seemed that was going away to solve quickly, it seems now that goes for length.

7-11-98 Fernando García Delgado assumes the database during the days in wich Tartarugo is in Madrid.

8-11-98 – 25-11-98 Waiting for the Chamber of the Lords’ sentence. The group become more relaxed as we can note for a smaller number of e-mails than last weeks. The basis for the future group AU MA + Gom@ are established but it’s obvious than the adrenaline went down after a lot of work during the last days. Conclusion: a group formed "in the action" needs action to go on . However, two proposals within the group needs an answer. On one hand a proposal by Elías Adasme, a Chilean artist friend of Humberto Nilo who lives in Puerto Rico, for to make a mail-art project supporting Nilo and linking his case with the Pinochet affaire. On the other hand, Clemente Padín shows his concern about the case of the American journalist Muama Abu-Jamal who has been condemned to death. They were refused his last appeal and he could be executed in the next 30-60 days. Oddly, César Reglero have showed his concern about the case in the December issue of Boek861. The material for the next urgent action of AU MA + Gom@ is ready.

25-11-98 PINOCHET HAVE NOT INMUNITY, the Lords says. The best end for all the process. Rigth now, we can to thank all the people who have shows their support and above all CONGRATULATIONS!

AU MA + Gom@ will continue its own way.

Signatures

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT Pinochet, Justice and Humberto Nilo:


Vortice Buenos Aires, Argentina
BOEK 861 Tarragona, Spain


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