On 15 October, the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Center for Human Rights publicly denounced the harassment to which Cideci-Unitierra Chiapas has been subjected in recent days on the part of presumed members of the Federal Commission of Electricity (CFE).
It should be mentioned that Cideci-Unitierra has engaged in resistance to the payment of electricity since 1995, when its location was found elsewhere. Due to threats and harassment received, the center decided to establish its own electricity-plant, which has been operational for 4 years.
The denunciation claims that Cideci has constantly been “watched by CFE trucks located at the center’s outskirts that observe the activities that go on inside” since last July. Last week a man was identified taking photos of Cideci. This harassment, notes the CDHFBC, “is yet another expression of the context of criminalization on the part of the state and federal governments of organizations that are working to construct autonomy-projects according to the San Andrés Accords, Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization, and the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
For more information (in Spanish):
Cideci denounces harassment by the CFE (La Jornada, 17 October 2010)
CFE employees harass Unitierra (Cuarto Poder, 17 October)
Bulletin: the CFE harasses Cideci-Unitierra Chiapas (Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Center for Human Rights, 15 October 2010)
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