Students of Ayotzinapa. Photo @SIPAZ
On 15 and 16 June 2012, communities and peoples of the Montaña, the Costa Chica, traditional authorities, civil and social organizations, human-rights defenders, and resistance movements that give life and strength to the tradition in Guerrero of struggle met in observation of the XVIII Anniversary of the Tlachinollan Mountain Center for Human Rights to carry out the forum “From the heart of the struggle.” Several collectives and organized groups discussed their histories of defense of human rights, resistance to exploitation and the expropriation of land, and the struggle for better access to services in different panels. There were participations from, among others, comrades of Cherán, Tecoanapa, Ojo de Agua, Carizalillo, Petatlán, and Ayotzinapa. There was emphasized the importance of the role of women in the struggle for human rights and the initiative to defend these. On Saturday morning a traditional ceremony from Cherán was celebrated to express thanks for the energy of the four elements: fire, water, land, and wind. Other moments of conviviality included the celebration of mass on Saturday afternoon and a dance festival with traditional and modern singing on Saturday evening.
Notably absent from the celebration was lawyer Vidulfo Rosales Sierra, member of the Tlachinollan team, who has left the state of Guerrero to seek out security due to a death-threat he received some weeks ago. The final declaration of the event notes that “From the heart of the struggle we energetically demand that guarantees be made so that our comrade Vidulfo Rosales Sierra […], a close friend and an example for his commitment to all our struggles, can return immediately to Guerrero under conditions of security.” Regarding the two persons who have been disappeared in the Petatlán sierra, the declaration mentions that “From the heart of our struggles, we demand the immediate presentation with life of Eva Alarcón y Marcial Bautista, ecologists from the Sierra de Petatlán who were disappeared on 7 December 2011, with whom we have shared work and struggle. The pain of their relatives is ours and the demand for justice is also ours.”
For more information (in Spanish):
PRONUNCIAMIENTO XVIII Aniversario Tlachinollan
Exponen el el aniversario de Tlachinollan la situación de los derechos humanos en el estado (Sur Acapulco, 18 de junio)
For more information from SIPAZ (in English):
Guerrero: CNDH confirms serious rights-violations against students of Ayotzinapa (16 January 2012)
Guerrero: Extrajudicial execution of students from the Rural Normal of Ayotzinapa (21 December 2011)
Guerrero: Spanish lawyers confirm the innocence of Maximino García (12 March 2012)
Guerrero: briefs – Attack on OPFM leader (3 September 2011)
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