News from Lori's Parents
15 May 2000
This is day 1,629 of wrongful incarceration.
"To be silent in the face of injustice is to be an accomplice to evil. I will not be silent." Lori Berenson, January 2000
In this update:- Rhoda and Kathy visit Lori on Mother's Day
- Update on congressional campaign: Targeting particular Senators
Rhoda and Kathy visit Lori on Mother's Day
Rhoda and Kathy were able to see Lori for one hour on both Saturday and Sunday. Although Lori had requested an "up close" visit, as is often granted on Mother's Day, her request was denied. However, she was allowed to hug her mother and sister before they left the prison on Sunday. Even though they were separated by screens the three of them were "together" singing songs that both Kathy and Lori remembered singing as children - "The Gypsy Rover" (an old Irish folktune), "Leaving on a Jet Plane" (Peter, Paul, and Mary), "Country Roads" (John Denver), among others. Apologies if we don't have the titles correct.
Update on congressional campaign: Targeting particular Senators
Please check our website at www.freelori.org to determine if your Senators and Congressional Representative have signed the respective "Dear Colleague" letters that have been circulating. If they have, please thank them. If they have not, please contact them (202-224-3121) and remind them to sign. Instructions and sample Senate and House letters are on the website. The Senate letter urges President Clinton to secure Lori's release on humanitarian grounds. The House letter urges President Clinton to use all diplomatic means necessary short of going to war with Perú to secure Lori's release.
URGENT - This week our Washington DC lobbying efforts are in the U.S. Senate. In particular, the following members of the Senate are being lobbied:
| John Ashcroft (Missouri) | Evan Bayh (Indiana) |
| Robert Byrd (West Virginia) | Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Colorado) |
| Lincoln Chafee (Rhode Island) | Max Cleland (Georgia) |
| Kent Conrad (North Dakota) | Paul Coverdell (Georgia) |
| Tom Daschle (South Dakota) | Mike DeWine (Ohio) |
| John Edwards (North Carolina) | Rod Grams (Minnesota) |
| Charles Grassley (Iowa) | Judd Gregg (New Hampshire) |
| Chuck Hagel (Nebraska) | Tom Harkin (Iowa) |
| Orrin Hatch (Utah) | Jesse Helms (North Carolina) |
| Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) | Herb Kohl (Wisconsin) |
| Joe Lieberman (Connecticut) | Blanche Lambert Lincoln (Arkansas) |
| Richard Lugar (Indiana) | John McCain (Arizona) |
| Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) | Harry Reid (Nevada) |
| Charles Robb (Virginia) | William Roth (Delaware) |
| Rick Santorum (Pennsylvania) | Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) |
| Strom Thurmond (South Carolina) | John Warner (Virginia) |
| Paul Wellstone (Minnesota) | Ron Wyden (Oregon) |
If you are a constituent of any of the above Senators please call their office this week and urge their signature on the Senate Dear Colleague letter sponsored by Senators Moynihan, Schumer, Jeffords, and Dodd that calls upon President Clinton to secure Lori's release on humanitarian grounds.
Many thanks for your continued help for Lori. - Rhoda and Mark Berenson