From: "joycelang"
"Friday Fax"
Subject: Friday Fax/UN Delegate Fired for Pro-Family Views
Date: Thursday, March 01, 2001 12:35 PM
Dear Colleague,
Pro-family advocates have long awaited a "smoking gun" that would reveal the undue pressure placed on government officials to accept radical UN social policy. The "smoking gun" comes in the guise of a man, a hero, Max Padilla. Today we report on his story.
As the other side would say: "Justice for Padilla!"
Spread the word.
Yours sincerely,
Austin Ruse President
Action Item: Save this story and show it to those who insist this type of thing never happens. Write a letter to the editor. Write to your elected representatives. Tell Padilla's story everywhere.
______________________________________________________________________
FRIDAY FAX
March 2,2001 Volume 4, Number 11
NICARAGUAN DELEGATE FIRED FOR PRO-FAMILY VIEW/BRIEFS POLICY MAKERS
* Max Padilla, a former Nicaraguan Cabinet officer, toured Washington DC this week telling policy makers his story of being fired from his job as head of the Ministry for the Family because of his conservative views on abortion and family matters.
* Padilla, who reported to the president of Nicaragua, came under criticism when he headed the Nicaraguan delegation to both the five-year review of the Cairo Conference on Population and Development (Cairo+5) and the five-year review of the Beijing WomenÆs Conference (Beijing+5). At both conferences Padilla and his colleague Elida Solorzano assertively supported positions unpopular with the Clinton Administration, the European Union and radical non-governmental organizations.
* It was at Cairo+5 and Beijing+5 that the western states attempted to expand access to abortion, redefine the family to include homosexual couples, and redefine gender from ômale and femaleö to a ôsocial constructö that could be changed at will. Nicaragua, led by Padilla and with instructions from his countryÆs president, actively supported the resistance to these measures. For his work, Nicaragua was labeled by the prestige media as part of the ôunholy allianceö between Catholic and Muslim states.
* Things heated up for Padilla prior to the final session on Beijing+5 last spring when he came under fire from the Scandinavian governments. At the time Nicaragua was negotiating to be named a ôhighly indebted countryö and have its debts either eliminated or restructured. Nicaragua had been placed in an untenable financial position after the devastation of Hurricane Mitch. The ôdonor countriesö of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and others ordered Padilla to change his governmentÆs definition of gender to say that it was only a social construct. They threatened withdrawal of many millions in much needed financial assistance if Padilla did not follow their directive. [It is reported that at the same time the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) also threatened Nicaragua with the loss of $11 million for its positions at UN conferences.]
* In a letter from seven Scandinavian Ambassadors in January, 2000, Padilla was taken to task for his refusal to change the definition of gender. The Ambassadors insisted the Beijing Platform mandated the change of definition. [Nicaragua signed the Beijing Platform for Action but with formal reservations.] The Ambassadors either lied or were misinformed because Annex 4 of the Beijing Platform for Action explicitly states that gender ôwas intended to be interpreted and understood as it was in ordinary, generally accepted usage.ö
* Padilla refused to make the ordered change and was fired by the Nicaraguan president last spring. Within weeks Solorzano was also fired. PadillaÆs story has circulated in international pro-family circles for months. This week, hosted by Focus on the Family, the Heritage Foundation, and Family Research Council, Padilla told his story to members of Congress, representatives of the Bush Administration and other policy-makers. ôPadilla is a folk hero,ö said one observer. ôHis story deserves to be told all over the world.ö
Copyright û C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute). Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.
Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 4038 New York, New York 10017 Phone: (212) 754-5948 Fax: (212) 754-9291 E-mail: c-fam@c... Website: www.c-fam.org
Date: Thu Mar 1, 2001 4:49pm
Subject: Nicaraguan Delegate Fired for Pro-Family View/Briefs Policy Makeers