News from Lori's Parents
21 January 2000
This is day 1,514 of wrongful incarceration.
In this update:- Lori completes 11 days on hunger protest
- Urgent Action: Continue telephoning and e-mailing the White House
- Nobelist Elie Wiesel joins Advisory Board of Committee to Free Lori Berenson
Lori completes 11 days on hunger protest
The U.S. Embassy in Lima has been monitoring Lori's hunger protest closely, speaking to her every few days. As she completes her 11th day this afternoon, the U.S. Embassy officials reported that she remains in relatively good physical health and in excellent spirits psychologically, but she has weakened somewhat since the last report on Tuesday. Peruvian doctors are monitoring Lori daily and report that her blood pressure remains normal. However, Lori said she has reduced her activity to reading. She has made no demands and has not stated when she plans to cease this protest. We hope it is soon.
As Lori ends her 11th day of protest, this must be a serious time of reflection for her as she looks inward and attempts to draw from within herself the strength, courage, and perseverance to continue, alone. She is determined to demonstrate to both the Peruvian and U.S. governments her frustration at their acceptance of laws that remove human dignity from an individual and are inappropriate to a civilized society.
This has been a difficult period for us and we are thankful to all of you for your letters, e-mails and expressions of concern for us and for Lori.
Urgent Action: Continue telephoning and e-mailing the White House
As noted in our last update, it is essential that President Clinton be continually reminded of his duty to seek Lori's release because she is a wrongfully incarcerated American citizen.
The email to fax address is:
Please include the < and > symbols to begin and end this address in the "To field."
A direct fax number to the White House is 202-456-2461.
The White House "hot line" number is 202-456-1111. Ask for a "hot line" operator and urge the President to use his power to bring Lori home.
Nobelist Elie Wiesel joins Advisory Board of Committee to Free Lori Berenson
Elie Wiesel, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has joined the Advisory Board of the Committee to Free Lori Berenson. Professor Wiesel joins other prominent individuals who have deep concerns for human rights, civil liberties, and social justice. The Board includes other notable educators Noam Chomsky (MIT - Linguistics and Philosophy), Matthew Goldstein (Chancellor, CUNY), Stephen Jay Gould (Harvard - Zoology), and Blanche Wiesen Cook (CUNY -- History). In addition, there are the following notable members of the religious community: Rabbi Balfour Brickner (Stephen Wise Free Synogogue, NYC), Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton (Archdiocese of Detroit), Reverend James Lawson (Holman United Methodist Church, Los Angeles), and Reverend Lucius Walker (Director if IFCO/Pastors for Peace, NYC). The other members are all prominent human rights activists: moral dissenter and 60's activist David Dellinger, former U.S. Congresswoman and Vice-Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, business executive Maurice Paprin (founder, Fund for New Priorities in America), journalist Katha Pollitt (Associate Editor, The Nation) and musician and song writer Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul, and Mary).