Lawrence Rockwood

Template:TOCnestleft Lawrence Rockwood (born September 27, 1958), is a human rights and democratic socialist activist who is a former U.S. Army counterintelligence officer. He was separated from the US Army because of his action as a military intelligence officer. Concerned with human rights violations occurring in the proximity of US forces in Haiti in September 1994 and perceiving what appeared to be indifference on the part of his command toward those suffering from these violations, he conducted an unauthorized survey of the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince for which he was court martialed and dismissed from active service. Dr. Rockwood is now an expert on the relationship between military doctrine and human rights standards.

DSA comrade

From Organizing Upgrade:

I was very proud of DSA in 2020. I left DSA in the 1990s over it support of Clinton and will do so again in a second. After supporting Howie Hawkins for years, I voted for Biden in the general election.

I did not need to have DSA condescending, and patronizing to tell me to pick Wall Street over Fascism. If it did, I would have left again in a second.

If a DSAr wants to support a non-progressive Democrat, they can do it without dragging in DSA.

DSA support

In 2004 Democratic Socialists of America targeted local races where control of state houses were up for grabs and where statewide electoral-vote outcomes hinged on successful local district turnouts.

San Diego DSA is supporting Green candidate Lawrence Rockwood in this race. They are also targeting a number of City Council and state Assembly races..”

In Democratic Socialists of America's Democratic Left Winter 2004/2005, Theresa Alt wrote;

We reported on the candidates that DSAers were supporting in the last issue of Democratic Left. How did they do?

In San Diego, longtime progressive Congressman Bob Filner won handily. Third-party candidate Lawrence Rockwood got 3.3% in his protest run against a centrist. And the San Diego mayoral race got really interesting...

Socialist Party USA support for OWS

Members of the Socialist Party of New York City were arrested October 2, 2011, during a march over the Brooklyn Bridge as part of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street demonstration. Arrestees included Billy Wharton, co-chair of the Socialist Party USA, Lawrence Rockwood, chair of the Socialist Party of New York State, Kristin Schall, chair of the Socialist Party of New York City and SP-NYC members Nick Pelman and Nick Daka. The group faces misdemeanor charges for disorderly conduct and one felony charge for criminal riot. Court dates were set for mid-November.

Haiti delegation

On May 18th 2004 , a 21-year-old truck driver was on a shopping trip for his mother, when the bus he was on wasstopped at a police checkpoint in Portail St. Joseph in Haiti. Police let all the women off the bus and arrestedall the men, without warrant and without charge.The next day this man, who asked that his name not be revealed, saw a judge, who sent him to see aprosecutor. The prosecutor told him he would send his case to another judge to decide whether to hold trial orrelease him. He has not heard from anyone since, and as of Sept. 4 was still locked up in the National Penitentiary at Port-au-Prince. He says he still doesn't know why he's in prison.

This is just one of countless stories delegates on a four-day fact-finding delegation in Haiti heard about thedeteriorating human rights situation in that country.From Sept. 3-6, delegates from both coasts of the United States met with political prisoners, internal exiles, women's groups and labor leaders, who all told of a worsening of conditions since the Feb. 29 U.S. "coup-knapping" of democratically-elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.The Caribbean nation is now occupied by a United Nations "peacekeeping" force dominated by the U.S. and France. Josue Renaud of the New England Coalition for Human Rights in Haiti, a member of the delegation, told Workers World: "We are very concerned about the situation of these political prisoners, including Sò Anne, Neptune and Evert, arrested without warrants, under false charges. The government needs to release themimmediately.

"Kim Ives of Haiti Progres and the Haiti Support Network said, "Our visit helped reveal the depth and breadthof repression in Haiti today. The mainstream press, if they mention Haiti's political prisoners at all, focus juston two: constitutional Prime Minister Yvon Neptune and Lavalas activist So Anne. Our delegation revealed thatthere are scores of prisoners in the National Penitentiary alone, not to mention the other prisons around thecountry."We also uncovered that the problem of internal exile is much more prevalent than generally known. We learned that violence ranging from targeted killings to government-incited gang wars is driving thousandsfrom their homes.

"Also participating in the delegation were Haitian journalist Robert Benjamin, Catholic activist Kathy Boylan,radio program hosts Karine Jean-Pierre and Joseph Chery, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, SteelWorkers Local 8751 President Steve Gillis, filmmaker Katherine Kean, Haitian unionist Ray LaForest, former U.S. Army Capt. Lawrence Rockwood and LeiLani Dowell, who represented the International Action Center.

The delegation met with approximately 35 political prisoners, including Annette "SÒ Anne" Auguste, well-known Haitian singer and Lavalas activist; Prime Minister Yvon Neptune; and Minister of the Interior Jocelerme Evert.

References

Template:Reflist