On Sunday, June 6, the Ministerial Investigative Police (PIM) detained Álvaro Ramírez Concepción, a leader of the Organization for the Future of the Mixteco People (OFPM), in the zócalo of Ayutla de los Libres. He is accused of the murder of Andrés Feliciano Modesta and the attempted murder of Policarpo Patriarca Agustín, events of November 15, 2009 in the vicinity of Ayutla de los Libres. The Tlachinollan Human Rights Center of the Montaña declared that the accusations were fabricated and that the judge, Alfredo Sánchez Sánchez, denied adequate defense to the Mixteco leader. They charged that the judge rejected evidence in Ramírez Concepción’s defense and that the copies of the dossier arrived 24 hours late after the request of Tlachinollan.
There are also arrest warrants for Luis García Catarino, treasurer of the OFPM, as well as Victoriano y Alicio Ponce Lola, brothers of the human rights defender, Manuel Ponce Rosas who was disappeared, tortured and murdered in February of 2009. Tlachinollan released an Urgent Action asking for the immediate release of the Mixteco leader and an end to the repression against indigenous organizations OFPM and the Organization of the Me´phaa Indigenous People (OPIM).
Furthermore, on June 7, an event was organized to commemorate the 12 year anniversary of the massacre at El Charco (also in the municipality of Ayutla de los Libres), in which 11 peasants were killed by the Mexican Army. Various indigenous, peasant, social and human rights organizations participated, such as Tlachinollan, the Workshop for Community Development (TADECO), OPIM and OFPM. The director of Tlachinollan, Abel Barrera Hernández, lamented that 12 years after the massacre of El Charco, “they continue to encourage the presence of the military to end the lives of indigenous peoples and peasants”.
For more information:
– Detiene la policía de Ayutla al dirigente mixteco de la OFPM Álvaro Ramírez (La Jornada, 10 de junio)
– Fabrican acusación de homicidio contra un dirigente mixteco de Ayutla, denuncia Tlachinollan (El Sur Acapulco, 11 de junio)
– Irregularidades y omisiones en juicio de indígena defensor Na´savi en Ayutla (Boletín de prensa /Tlachinollan, 10 de junio)
– A 12 años de la masacre de El Charco, Guerrero (Boletín de prensa /Tlachinollan, 8 de junio)
For more information from SIPAZ:
Guerrero: Torreblanca acepta revisar la investigación del asesinato de Raúl y Manuel (9 de enero 9 de 2010)
Guerrero: ONGs denuncian graves negligencias en la investigación de las ejecuciones de 2 lideres mixtecos (5 de enero de 2010)
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