Nicaragua Network

On Sept. 13, 2014, convicted Iran-Contra criminal Oliver North will be the key-note speaker at a Dallas, Texas, dinner organized by the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land to benefit persecuted Christians in the Middle East!

Any of us who worked to stop Reagan’s contra war have the right to ask, “What about all those Christians who died in Nicaragua in the 1980s victims of the weapons and supplies that Oliver North illegally sent to the contras fighting to overthrow the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua?” The only reason North did not serve time in jail after he was convicted of violating US law was because the extensive coverage of the Iran-Contra Hearings in Congress was ruled by an appeals court to have prejudiced the jury against him!

In an article in The National Catholic Reporter, Vinnie Rotondaro asks: “Is a polarizing political figure with a bellicose style and history of arms smuggling like North the best figure to represent a cause as serious — and nascent in the public’s imagination — as the plight of Christians in the Middle East? Rotondaro tells us (we who don’t watch Fox News) that North hosts the Fox News military history program “War Stories with Oliver North.” You can see from the web page (http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/war-stories/), which shows North in front of an exploding bomb, that he is not an appropriate speaker for a gathering to raise money for the persecuted.

You can visit the web page of the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land here: http://www.ffhl.org/. They have obviously been receiving inquiries about the appropriateness of North as a speaker because they have released a morally offensive statement about the issue here: http://ffhl.org/newsmanagerdotnet2/templates/pr.aspx?articleid=537&zoneid=7

To read news articles about the dinner, go here: http://ncronline.org/news/peace-justice/oliver-north-raise-money-franciscan-holy-land-foundation and here http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/07/prweb11986117.htm

Contact the Franciscans and tell them that they should cancel Oliver North as their dinner speaker.

If you visited Nicaragua in the 1980s, insert a personal note about your experiences. If you are Catholic or were raised Catholic or have any personal experience with the Franciscans, include that also. If you represent a group or organization, use the letterhead of that group or identify yourself if you contact them by phone.

Contact the president of the Foundation:
Fr. Peter F. Vasko, OFM, President
Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land

You can reach him with a call, an e-mail, fax, or snail mail letter at:

Phone: toll-free (866) 905-3787
E-mail: info@ffhl.org
Fax: toll-free (866) 905-3788 

Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land 
P.O. Box 29086
Washington, DC 20017-9086

Sample script for a telephone call:

Hello, my name is ______________________ and I live in _________________________ and am a member of ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________________. I am calling to protest your choice of Oliver North for keynote speaker at your September 13^th dinner to raise money for persecuted Christians in the Middle East. North was responsible for the deaths of many civilians in Nicaragua in the 1980s with his illegal assistance to the contras for which he was convicted by a US court. He is not an appropriate speaker for your gathering. Please cancel the invitation to Oliver North! Thank you!

Sample letter (for e-mail, fax, or snail mail):

Fr. Peter F. Vasko, OFM, President

Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land
P.O. Box 29086
Washington, DC 20017-9086

Dear Fr. Vasko:

I am writing to protest your choice of Oliver North for keynote speaker at your September 13^th dinner to raise money for persecuted Christians in the Middle East. North was responsible for the deaths of many civilians in Nicaragua in the 1980s with his illegal assistance to the contras for which he was convicted by a US court. He is not an appropriate speaker for your gathering.

[Include a personal statement here about your knowledge of and/or experience in Nicaragua or your relationship with the Franciscans or the Catholic Church.]

Sincerely,

Your name
Your address

This action alert was prepared by the Nicaragua Network, a project of the Alliance for Global Justice. For more information, call (202) 540-8336, ext. 2.