On 16 May was announced the founding of the “Network of Communal Human-Rights Defenders of the Peoples of Oaxaca: Defending Territory, we Plant the Future.” The press-bulletin released by organizations that comprise the Network reported that “in this initiative different processes of the defense of territorial rights in the state participate, especially from the regions of the Coast, Northern Sierra, Mixteca, Isthmus, and Central Valleys.” The organizations stressed that “in Oaxaca it is the communal defenders who confront a situation of greater risk, given that it is they who most directly face the abuses of power on the part of the municipal authorities; they are also the ones who are at the mercy of established powers and regional actors who support projects of looting of their territories and natural resources.” They indicate that the principal goal of the network is to “make visible the work that human-rights defenders carry out in their communities, beyond procuring mechanisms and measures of protection amidst the aggressions to which they are subjected.”
In their first public document, released in observance of the Meeting of Communal Human-Rights Defenders in Oaxaca (17-18 May), the member organizations emphasized that “we see with alarm that the development strategy by means of megaprojects such as mines, wind-energy parks, hydroelectric dams, and highways has created a series of conflicts within our communities. These projects in fact respond to the necessities of the international market and the national economy, but not to the needs of our communities. Our needs are not for megaprojects, but rather for dignified work, health services, and education, so we do not see progress in these megaprojects; instead, these projects have meant the creation of conflicts amidst our own communities.” They also condemned the recent death-threats directed against members of the Coordination of the United Peoples of the Ocotlán Valley (CPUVO), which took place on 16 May.The “Network of Communal Human-Rights Defenders of the Peoples of Oaxaca: Defending Territory, we Plant the Future” is comprised of 60 activists from different organizations, collectives, and groups that work to defend human rights. Some of these groups include the Council of Peoples United in Defense of the Río Verde (COPUDEVER), the Maguey Largo Community, the Coordination for the Defense of the Natural Resources of the Tlacolula Valley, the Indigenous Zapatista Agrarian Movement (MAIZ), the Union of Indigenous Communities of the Northern Zone of the Isthmus (UCIZONI), the Multicultural Indigenous Tianguis, and Services for an Alternative Education (EDUCA), among others.
For more information (in Spanish):
Boletín de Prensa: Frente a Clima de Hostilidad y Amenazas surge en Oaxaca la Red de Defensoras y Defensores Comunitarios (16/05/2013)
Noticias Oaxaca: Conforman red de defensores (16/05/2013)
Enfoque Oaxaca: Crean Red de Defensores y Defensoras Comunitarias ante omisión de autoridades en DH (16/05/2013)
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