COUNTYWIDE : Columbus Event to Discuss Arhuacoans

Amnesty International will mark the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of the New World with an early-morning gathering for Ventura County residents to call attention to oppressed people in South America.

Participants will meet at 6:45 a.m. today at Plaza Park in Ventura, said spokesman Robert E. Gips. They are gathering to focus attention on the Arhuaco people of Santa Maria, Colombia, who face death at the hands of the military and armed opposition groups, Gips said.

The event will include a recorded greeting from actor Patrick Stewart, star of “Star Trek, The Next Generation,” readings and music specially recorded for the effort, he said. A petition will be signed protesting the plight of the Arhuaco people.

That petition will be forwarded with similar petitions from other Amnesty International chapters throughout the country that are holding their own Columbus Day activities, Gips said. The public is invited.