A DAY OF JUDGMENT A call for an International Tribunal to address the US Governments human rights violations responsible for the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the ill treatment of the Internally Displaced People, and rebuilding plans that seek ethnic cleansing and political disenfranchisement of historically majority Black communities in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Why a Tribunal “They left us here to die†is the clear charge against the United States government by the peoples’ of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast region displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Between August 29th and September 5th, 2005 the world witnessed the monumental failure of the US government to protect and respect the lives of Blacks and the poor. This failure is the direct result of the institutional dimensions of race, class, and gender oppression inherent in the US government and social structure’s treatment of Blacks throughout its 230 year history. Since Katrina and Rita the government has politically disenfranchised tens of thousands of Blacks, refused to adhere to its own polices and procedures pertaining to the security and well being of the Internally Displaced, mismanaged resources for the reconstruction of the region, including awarding no-bid contracts to big corporations connected to the Bush administration, eliminated environmental and worker protection laws, unjustifiably criminalized thousands of the Displaced people, set up a process for reconstruction that excludes effective input, major decision making and control by the majority Black population, and targeted large portions of New Orleans for ethnic cleansing to prevent the right of return of the Black majority. And this is just a short list of the countless abuses being actively committed against the Internally Displaced of the Gulf Coast by the US government. The US government must be held responsible for these crimes against humanity and summarily brought to justice. This is why we are calling for an International Tribunal for justice, reconstruction and reparations.Background On December 8th and 9th, 2005 hundreds of Internally Displaced People from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita gathered in Jackson, Mississippi in a Survivors Assembly to demand accountability, reconstruction and restitution from all levels and departments of the US government. The Survivors Assembly was convened as a democratic institution to provide the Internally Displaced impacted by Katrina and Rita and the US government’s destruction, particularly the Black and working class majority, with a vehicle for self determination that voices, organizes and mobilizes for a just reconstruction. Their demands were in response to the government’s deliberate indifference to the fate of Katrina victims and survivors. Katrina was a category 5 hurricane that hit the Gulf Coast of Mississippi on August 29, 2005 and left over 2,000 dead or missing and over 800,000 without homes, jobs or help. It is the largest and most inhumane internal displacement of Blacks since the end of the 19th Century following the Civil War. On December 10, 2005 over 5,000 survivors and their supporters marched on City Hall in New Orleans demanding the right to return with dignity to their homes and their communities. The Survivors Assembly was facilitated by the Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversight Coalition (PHRF-OC), the Mississippi Disaster Relief Coalition (MS-DRC), the Black Activists Coalition on Katrina, and over 50 coalition partners from a broad range of political, religious, and social sectors in North America. The tragic scenes of Katrina victims and evacuees facing death, destruction, abandonment and eventually relocation at gunpoint in herds like animals gave rise to outrage across the globe. The events of December 8, 9, 10, 2005 signaled the first phase of turning this outrage to action. Now the voices of the Displaced and their supporters are fighting to reclaim their homes and organizing for self-determination in the reconstruction process. From these voices came a cry to put the American Government on trial for its Katrina related crimes against humanity. The Charges Katrina survivors have serious charges against the Federal, State and local governments for violating and negating their fundamental human rights. The charges can be divided into three categories: (1) Pre-Katrina abuse and neglect, (2) Katrina storm, flood, rescue and evacuation related abuses, and (3) post-Katrina related abuses. A sampling of these charges include:1. The government, on all levels, knew for years that the levee system in New Orleans was inadequate to withstand the impact of a storm as powerful as Katrina and yet did little or nothing to fortify or update the levee system. This left thousands at risk particularly in poor and predominantly Black communities where the levee system was in the worst condition. 2. Waited four days before coming to the aid of Katrina Victims after the storm hit, and made little or no preparation to deal with the storm although it was forecast days before it hit. 3. Left Black women, children and men begging for help on roof tops, trudging thru filthy and contaminated water, locked in their homes, locked in jails, stranded at the convention center, the Superdome and on bridges without medical treatment, food, clean water, restroom facilities and other necessities for days. Meanwhile helicopters and ambulances rushed passed Black victims in order to attend to whites and upper middle class neighborhoods. 4. Ordered the National Guard and police to shoot to kill survivors for taking necessary food items and clothing from abandoned stores. There are reports that some were indeed shot and killed by these forces. 5. Treated evacuees with disdain and disrespect when buses were finally sent in to transport survivors out of New Orleans. Most were relocated at gunpoint, and often separated from their children or other love ones.6. Refused to allow critical medical and emergency rescue aide from foreign countries and the international community to help save lives in the Gulf Coast.7. Disenfranchised tens of thousands of Black voters in the New Orleans elections by refusing to establish and implement satellite voting in major centers where displaced survivors were temporarily living (like the system in place for Iraqis living in the U.S.), and made the process of obtaining absentee ballots prohibitively restrictive.8. Have refused to designate the Survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita an Internally Displaced People, and failed to comply with its own laws and policies on the provision of emergency relief, international aid, and long-term development assistance as contained in the “USAID Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons Policyâ€.9. Ethnic Cleansing of the historic Black majority of New Orleans via threats of imminent domain, denial of vital resources for reconstruction, and the systematic denial of social services in predominantly Black neighborhoods. The Call The Black Activist Coalition on Katrina and the Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversight Coalition are launching a campaign to convene an International Tribunal on Katrina and the human rights abuses of the US Government. This tribunal will be held in New Orleans in Friday, April 6th through Sunday, April 8th, 2007. The tribunal will expose to the world the evidence with respect to the racism and lawlessness of the U. S., State and Local Governments in the Katrina tragedy. We call on organizations, individuals and governments throughout the US and internationally to sign on as endorsers of the International Tribunal and to contribute time, resources and funds to help organize this important undertaking. To participate in the Tribunal organizing process or for further information contact the Katrina Tribunal at (601) 353-5566 or write Katrina Tribunal at 440 North Mill Street, Jackson, MS 39202. You may also email Kai Abiodun at [email protected] or Chokwe Lumumba at [email protected] or visit www.peopleshurricane.org for more information.