On 21 October was inaugurated the Mexican chapter of the Permanent Tribunal of the Peoples (TPP). This international institution is the heir of the “Russell Tribunal,” which was established to judge the crimes against humanity committed int he Vietnam war and afterward Lain American dictatorships. In the inauguration participated representatives of dozens of popular, communal, and social movements from Mexico. the Mexico Chapter of TPP will develop its work over the next two years with the title “Free-trade agreements, dirty war, impunity, and rights of peoples.”
In its letter, the TPP defines itself in the following terms: “given its characteristics, origins, and composition, it is an expression of the ethical conscience of humanity which founds its legitimacy in its moral force. It has as its specific mission the permanent transformation of conditions that would guaurantee a space of visibility, regard, and judgment of massive human-rights violations, both individual and collective, and of the rights of peoples that find no institutional representation at either the national or international levels.”
At its site in the Mexican capital they expand: “The call for the TPP to open a chapter in our country has as its end the visibilization of the structural violence that holds sway in Mexico due to the numerous free-trade agreements as well as to unmask the mechanisms of obfuscation and deviation of power that are systematically exercised by the Mexican State to maintain this economic policy.” The title of the Mexico Chapter of the TPP will be that of “Free Trade, Dirty War, Impunity, and Rights of Peoples.” The themes to be addressed will be the following: Dirty War; Migration and forced displacement; Feminicide and gender violence; Violence against workerss; Violence against maize, food sovereignty, and autonomy; Environmental devastation and rights of peoples; Dis-information, censorship, and violence against communicators; and possibly there will be added Violence against indigenous peoples.
For more infornation (in Spanish):
Tribunal Permanente de los Pueblos México (website of the Mexico TPP)
Mensaje de Raúl Vera en la Sesión Inaugural del Capítulo México del Tribunal Permanente de los Pueblos, D.F. 21 October
Un tribunal para los pueblos del maíz (La Jornada, 22 October 2011)
For more information from SIPAZ (in English):
Seventh National Assembly of the Environmentally Affected; Mexico will be judged before the Permanent Tribunal of the People (18 August 2011)
sipazen.wordpress.com 