Chiapas: ejidatario adherent to the Sixth Declaration murdered by gunfire in San Sebastián Bachajón

During the night of 24 April, Juan Vázquez Gómez, former Secretary General of the adherents to the other Campaign in the San Sebastián Bachajón ejido, was murdered by unidentified persons who shot him five times just outside his house.

In an informative note released on 25 April, the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Center for Human Rights condemned the murder of Vázquez Guzmán “who was known for his active defense of the land and territory in light of the government’s looting of the Agua Azul cascades and the imposition of a control point at their entrance.”  It recalled that on 17 April the ejidatarios of San Sebastian “publicly denounced that its territory is being threatened by the official policy of territorial looting, indicating continuity under the present government of the state.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Nota informativa del Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas (CDHFBC, 25 de abril de 2013)

Asesinan a ejidatario adherente a la Sexta declaración en Bachajón (La Jornada, 25 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Adherents to the Other Campaign in San Sebastián Bachajón denounce looting and impunity (22 April 2013)

Chiapas: Denial of motion to ejidatarios who adhere to the Sixth Declaration from San Sebastián Bachajón (7 February 2013)

Chiapas: New denunciation from San Sebastián Bachajón (10 July 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios of San Sebastián Bachajón “occupy” control-point in Agua Azul before being displaced (25 June 2012)

Chiapas: Sit-in of the Front of Ejidos in Resistance in San Cristóbal de Las Casas (6 January 2012)

Chiapas: Press conference by ejidatari@s from San Sebastián Bachajón (20 March  2011)

Chiapas: Special report by Frayba: Government creates and administers conflicts (8 March 2011)

 

Chiapas: Report from the Peace Network Observation Mission to San Marcos Áviles, and denunciation from Oventic

On 25 April, the Chiapas Peace Network, comprised of 10 civil organizations, publicly reported on its findings regarding the situation of the Zapatista support bases (BAEZLN) in San Marcos Avilés, Chilón municipality, following the carrying out of a Civil Mission of Observation and Documentation in this community on 20 and 21 April of this year.  The Mission reports that death-threats and threats of rape continue, as do aggressions and robberies directed against Zapatista families.  During its stay in the ejido, the caravan experienced “a hostile climate,” and party-members threatened to forcibly removed the observers from their vehicles, warning them that if they did not have “good [conclusions], it will be bad [for you] and blood will run, blood will be spilt.”  The official report notes that “there exists an imminent risk that once again (the first time being in 2010) there be a forced displacement [of BAEZLN] by residents of the same ejido who are affiliated with the PRI, PVEM, and PRD.  We alert the government of the gravity and urgency of the situation, and call on it to take immediate actions to avoid the irreparable damage to the lives and physical security of the indigenous who pertain to the EZLN.”The Mission met with municipal authorities in Chilón and with governmental representative Nabor Orozco Ferrer.  The municipal union representative recognized the displacement and looting of lands from the BAEZLN since 2010, noting that “what is clear is that Zapatistas bought land, but these were taken from them because they did not pay taxes [or for] water and electricity.”  Regardless, he denied the existence of a “situation of violence at present.”  The governmental delegate in the zone admitted for his part that “there exist political interests behind these acts on the part of some persons who could be provoking conflictivity.”In previous days, the Zapatista Good-Government Council (JBG) which pertains to the Oventic caracol denounced the numerous aggressions directed at EZLN support-bases in San Marcos Avilés, from July 2011 to mid-April of this year.  The JBG affirmed that  it has “been denouncing all the shameful acts of these party-members who always want to provoke more problems among the indigenous of the same community, organized [as they are] by governors Juan Sabines Guerrero and now Manuel Velasco Coello.  Disgracefully, the three levels of official government have done nothing to arrest the injustices and violations of human rights being committed against our comrades.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Informe de la McO a San Marcos Áviles (Red por la Paz, 25 de abril de 2013)

Comunicado completo de la JBG de Oventic (JBG de Oventic, 20 de abril de 2013)

Denuncia JBG de Los Altos agresiones en San Marcos Avilés (La Jornada, 23 de abril de 2013)

Persiste clima de agresión y amenazas contra familias del EZLN en Chilón (La Jornada, 25 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: “Immediate risk” of expulsion of Zapatista support-bases in San Marcos Avilés (26 February 2013)

Chiapas: Communiqué from the Oventic JBG regarding the aggressions and death-threats on the aprt of persons affiliated with political parties against Zapatistas in San Marcos Avilés(5 July 2011)

Chiapas: death-threats to Zapatista support-bases in San Marcos Avilés (5 July 2011)

Chiapas: Return of displaced Zapatista support-bases to San Marcos Avilés (18 October 2010)

Chiapas: Denunciation of the Oventic JBG regarding violent expulsion of Zapatista support-bases in San Marcos y Pamala (14 September 2010)

Guerrero: Members of the Popular Movement of Guerrero destroy state offices of different political parties

Photo @El País

On 24 April, members of the Popular Movement of Guerrero (MPG), including dissident teachers, destroyed state offices of the PRI, PAN, PRD, and Citizens’ Movement in Chilpancingo.  The National Coordination of Educational Workers (CNTE) called these acts “desperate,” and for this reason it expressed its “total support” for the teachers of the State Coordination of Education Workers in Guerrero (CETEG).  Union leaders reported that a commission of teachers had entered the state to attempt to defuse tensions and seek a peaceful solution to the conflict, stressing that “as teachers we have never elected violence, though it is the State which is generating with its aloofness and lack of capacity for dialogue conditions of desperation and surfeit.”  Juan Melchor, member of National Political Direction (DPN), stressed that they would work “in the construction of an alternative proposal to the neoliberal educational model that the administration seeks to impose upon us.”

President Enrique Peña Nieto expressed to the state governor of Guerrero, Ángel Aguirre Rivero, all his support for “maintaining the State of Right” and avoiding a repetition of the violent acts perpetrated last Wednesday by thousands of teachers.  For his part, Aguirre reported that there have been issued 39 arrest-orders (still without execution) against members of the teachers’ movement who have installed a permanent sit-in in downtown Chilpancingo.  The governor also rejected the idea that the educators blockade the Sol highway as protest.  The teachers, who have since February been organizing mobilizations against educational reform, reacted violently on 24 April after the approval by the state Congress the previous day of a ruling that contradicted their demands.

For more information (in Spanish):

‘‘Acto desesperado’’, la violencia del miércoles en Chilpancingo: CNTE (La Jornada de Guerrero, 26 de abril de 2013)

PRI condena violencia contra su inmueble en Chilpancingo (Milenio, 26 de abril de 2013)

Presidente de México condena violencia de los maestros en Guerrero (Telesurtv, 26 de abril de 2013)

Los maestros de Guerrero presionan al Gobierno mexicano con violencia (El País, 25 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Guerrero: Teachers’ megamarch ends with the occupation of Congress (23 April 2013)

Oaxaca: March-meeting of Section 22 of the SNTE in commemoration of 25 November (30 November 2012)

Guerrero: Briefs – Reactivation of arrest-orders against CETEG members (10 November 2010)

 

Chiapas: Denunciation of death-threats and fabrication of evidence on part of PGJE made by those displaced from the Busiljá and Cintalapa ejidos

On 23 April, families who have been displaced from the Busiljá and Cintalapa ejidos (Ocosingo municipality), publicly denounced that agents of the Public Ministry (which belongs to the State Attorney General’s Office of Chiapas, PGJE) in Ocosingo had pressured and threatened Mrs. Elena Morales Gutiérrez to sign a document affirming knowledge of the whereabouts of her daughter Gabriela Sánchez Morales, who was kidnapped in 2011. Regardless, in a denunciation the families claim now that the girl still has not been located.  It should be noted that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has awarded the precautionary measures requested by the family of the minor.  Furthermore, those displaced expressed their disappointment with the lack of execution of penal action against the presumed kidnappers.  In this sense, they indicate that “the PGJE seeks to trick the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,” given that the PGJE must inform the IACHR on progress in the investigations.

For more information (in Spanish):

Denuncia de los desplazados de Busiljá y Cintalapa (23/04/2013)

Proceso: Procuraduría de Chiapas falsea pruebas sobre el plagio de una niña indígena (25/04/2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Civil society expresses its concern for the situation of those displaced from Busiljá (26 February 2013)

Guerrero: Release of police charged for the murder of students from the Rural Normal of Ayotzinapa

Photo @SIPAZ

On 23 April, two police officers from the Ministerial Police of the state of Guerrero were released, having been incarcerated for the homicides of the students Jorge Alexis Herrera Pino, 22 years old, and Gabriel Echeverría de Jesús, 21, which took place on 12 December 2011.  These murders took place amidst the violent operation undertaken by the federal, state, and municipal police to suppress a peaceful student march in Chilpancingo, Guerrero.

On 19 April, judge Arístides Marino Santos accepted the motion calling for the recognition of innocence of the two ministerial police held responsible for these acts, and he instructed the relevant authorities to release them within three days’ time.  The release of the two police officers confirms the fears expressed from the beginning of investigations undertaken by the Tlachinollan Mountain Center for Human Rights and the victims’ relatives, due to the fact that the first investigations were carried out by authorities themselves associated with the acts and experts who could hardly be said to be independent.  Vidulfo Rosales Sierra, lawyer for Tlachinollan, who represents the Ayotzinapa case, noted that the release of these two police shows the high degree of impunity in Guerrero.  “In grave cases like this one where there was a violent repression and excessive use of force, it is not possible to release these subjects, thus illustrating the prevalence of authoritarianism [in the state], especially given the repressive acts of the past.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado de prensa (Tlachinollan, 23 de abril de 2013)

Liberan a policías ministeriales por caso Ayotzinapa (El Universal, 23 de abril de 2013)

Liberan a los ministeriales acusados de asesinar a los dos normalistas (La Jornada de Guerrero, 24 de abril de 2013)

Liberan a policías ministeriales por caso de alumnos de Ayotzinapa (El Sur de Acapulco, 23 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Guerrero: normalists commemorate first anniversary of repression in Ayotzinapa (21 December 2013)

Guerrero: New aggressions against students in Ayotzinapa (26 November 2012)

Guerrero: “The Ayotzinapa case cannot remain in impunity” – OMCT (16 August 2012)

Guerrero: Ayotzinapa denounces impunity six months after the deaths of two students (17 June 2012)

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)

 

Chiapas: Las Abejas denounce lack of justice in the Acteal case

(@Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas)

On 22 April 2013, in observance of the monthly commemoration of the Acteal massacre of December 1997, members of the Las Abejas Civil Society denounced the “impunity and lack of justice” exercised by the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation (SCJN) in the case, as newly illustrated with its liberation of 15 Tsotsil individuals who had been imprisoned for participating in the massacre on 10 April.

Las Abejas affirmed that “as survivors of the massacre we clearly know that they were participants; we know their faces, and we clearly know their first and last names.  Although the mass media denies that they have returned to their communities of origin, we ourselves have seen them with our own eyes.”  They noted, “They are liberating the paramilitaries, and so: who is it who massacred our brothers?”  It should be recalled that a total of 73 indigenous persons have now been released where previously they had been incarcerated for the massacre–not because they are innocent, but because there were violations to due process.  Now there remain just six people in prison for the crime.

Las Abejas concluded that they would not demand justice from the SCJN or the authorities from the three levels of government, affirming instead that “Our hope is with international human-rights organizations.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado completo de la Sociedad Civil Las Abejas (22 de abril de 2013)

Reclama Las Abejas a la Corte impunidad en caso Acteal (Proceso, 22 de abril de 2013)

Libres por orden de la Corte, otros 15 indígenas implicados en el caso Acteal (La Jornada, 11 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Las Abejas lament release of yet another of those charged for Acteal massacre (27 March 2013)

Chiapas: New communique from Las Abejas de Acteal (24 January 2013)

Chiapas: Commemoration of 20th anniversary of Las Abejas and coming 15th anniversary of the Acteal massacre (21 December 2012)

Chiapas: Survivor of Acteal massacre dies (16 November 2012)

Chiapas: the Las Abejas Civil Society denounces reactivation of paramilitaries in its community (12 October 2012)

 

Chiapas: Pilgrimage by the Believing People for the release of professor Alberto Patishtán Gómez

On 19 April, on the birthday of professor Alberto Patishtán Gómez, some 8,000 people participated in a pilgrimage for the release of this Tsotsil teacher in the capital city of Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez.  This was a pilgrimage organized by the Believing People, a Tsotsil team from the San Cristobal de Las Casas diocese, and the Movement of El Bosque for the Release of Alberto Patishtán.  The march was accompanied by teachers from Section 7 of the National Union of Educational Workers (SNTE); the route was to end at the First Collegiate Tribunal of the Twentieth Circuit, where there may be held discussions regarding the liberty of Patishtán in the next few days.  Beyond this, there was held a rally at the Council on Federal Judiciary in Mexico City, besides the protests held outside Mexican consulates and embassies throughout the world.

Different communication media made public the state government’s intention to cancel this pilgrimage, given that it coincided with the visit of Enrique Peña Nieto and the former president of Brasil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to relaunch the National Crusade against Hunger in Navenchauc, Zinacantán, which is not far from Tuxtla Gutiérrez.  These pressures were communicated by the subsecretary of governance, Moisés Zenteno, from the mayor of El Bosque, Orlando Martínez, and two residents of the community who “only want money,” as professor Martín Ramírez said, being a member of the Movement of El Bosque for the Release of Alberto Patishtán;  he added that he had replied by saying that he could not “arrest the mobilization, given that it is a national and international affair,” to which was replied that “the mayor threatened that Patishtán could be held longer in prison if the march in fact took place.”  Subsequently, Martín Ramírez received a call from Moisés Nimrod, warning him that the pilgrimage had to be canceled “because the governor will release Patishtán.”  Requesting that the official confirm this deal, Nimrod reneged and recognized that it was not in the hands of the government, but that “he will see what he can do.”

In other news, the governor of Chiapas, Manuel Velasco Coello, visited Alberto Patishtán Gómez in prison no. 5 in San Cristóbal de Las Casas a day before the pilgrimage, and he committed himself to promoting the release of Patishtán and a new review of the cases of the other prisoners from the organizations the Voz del Amate and those in solidarity with the Voz del Amate. Accompanying the governor were the state attorney general, Raziel López Salazar, and teh state secretary for public security, Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca. Before Alberto Patishtán, Velasco Coello expressed his personal interest in the case, declaring that he believes in his innocence, and committing himself to discuss the case with president Enrique Peña during his visit the following day.

Víctor Hugo López, director of the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Center for Human Rights (CDHFBC), indicated that the government “demands a cancellation of the pilgrimage programmed for this Friday, because it wants to demonstrate a scene cleansed of social protest; this would be the first mass-mobilization in the state capital during this new administration.”  He also added that the CDHFBC was concerned for the security both of Patishtán and Martín Ramírez, “because the tone of the demand changed from request to threat and, as we have seen in other cases, repression can be used after negotiations fail to achieve what is desired.”

Lastly, the Believing People published a communique during the pilgrimage, expressing that “Today the federal and state governments [...] have proposed strategies of a crusade against hunger.  That is not true in their words; we believe and are convinced that it is in fact a CRUSADE AGAINST THE HUNGRY; we indigenous and campesino peoples ARE HUNGRY, but we have hunger for the truth and justice in the Acteal case, and HUNGER FOR THE IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF OUR BROTHER ALBERTO PATISHTAN.”  It continues: “Mssrs. Justices of the First Collegiate Tribunal of the Twentieth Circuit, do not continue staining your dignity and prestige maintaining imprisoned our brother.  Within the historical memory of the Mexican people the decision that you take regarding this innocent person will remain forever remembered.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Tzotziles y maestros marchan por la libertad de Patishtán (La Jornada, 20 de abril de 2013)

Peregrinan tzotziles por libertad de Patishtán (El Universal, 19 de abril de 2013)

Palabra de Pueblo creyente en la peregrinación por la Libertad de Patishtán (Chiapas Denuncia Pública, 19 de abril de 2013)

Se compromete Manuel Velasco a gestionar la libertad de Patishtán (La Jornada, 18 de abril de 2013)

Presiones para detener las movilizaciones a favor de Patishtán por visita de Peña Nieto (Desinformémonos, abril 2013)

El Gobernador de Chiapas Manuel Velasco Coello reconoció inocencia de Patishtán (Chiapas Denuncia Pública, 19 de abril de 2013)

Liberación Inmediata e incondicional a nuestro hermano Alberto Patishtán Gómez (Blog Las Abejas de Actea, 19 de abril de 2013)

Audio-video:

Retransmisión de la peregrinación y entrevistas (Koman Ilel, 19 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Petition from the CDHFBC to release Alberto Patishtán (15 April 2013)

Chiapas: Forthcoming actions for the release of Alberto Patishtán (8 April 2013)

Chiapas: “Justice is its opposite,” declares Alberto Patishtán (20 March 2013)

México/Chiapas: SCJN rejects review of case of Alberto Patishtán(20 March 2013)

Chiapas: Civil Observation Mission on Human Rights to San Marcos Avilés, Chilón municipality, Chiapas, on the part of the Peace Network

On 18 April 2013, the Chiapas Peace Network announced it would carry out a Civil Observation Mission to San Marcos Avilés, Chilón municipality, in the coming days.  Its public letter explains that:

“We members of the Peace Network in Chiapas would like to report that on 21 and 22 April 2013, we will carry out a Civil Observation Mission for documentation in the community of San Marcos Avilés, Chilón municipality, toward the end of collecting testimonies following the recent threats of forced displacement directed against Zapatista support bases (BAEZLN) on the part of residents of the same ejido who are affiliated to different political parties.  In this sense, we also hope to meet with the mayor of Chilón, Leonardo Rafael Guirao Aguilar, and the delegate for the zone, Nabor Orosco Ferrer. Upon finishing this visit, we will produce a report which we will then present.

The Peace Network in Chiapas was created at the end of 2000.  It is a space for reflection and action comprised of 10 civil organizations that maintain a permanent analysis regarding the local and national context, using punctual actions that can be used in light of grave actions, observation missions, or thematic meetings in terms of human rights.  We see it as important to carry out this mission and meet with authorities to put an end to the escalation of death-threats and their possible realization, especially taking into consideration that between August and October 2010, 170 BAEZLN persons from the ejido of San Marcos Avilés had already been displaced, and that presently many are living in precarious conditions, since they are displaced from their lands and work, and constantly must face threats to their personal safety.

To national and international human rights organizations, to national and international communication media, to the public, we ask that you remain attentive to whatever may happen in terms of this Mission, and to share the content of the information once it is published.”

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: “Riesgo inminente” de expulsiones de bases zapatistas en San Marcos Avilés. (23 de febrero de 2013)

Chiapas: Comunicado de la JBG de Oventic con respecto a las agresiones y amenazas de personas vinculadas con los partidos políticos en contra de zapatistas en San Marcos Aviles (4 de julio de 2011)

Chiapas: amenazas a bases de apoyo zapatistas en San Marcos Avilés (29 de junio de 2011)

Chiapas: Retorno de los bases de apoyo desplazados a San Marcos Avilés (14 de octubre de 2010)

Chiapas: Denuncia de JBG de Oventic por expulsión violenta de bases de apoyo zapatistas en San Marcos y Pamala (11 de septiembre de 2010

National: Peace Brigades International presents report on situation of human-rights defenders in Mexico

Photo @PBI

On 8 April, Peace Brigades International (PBI) presented its new report on the work of human-rights defenders in Mexico, called “Panorama of the Defense of Human Rights in Mexico: Initiatives and Risks for Mexican Civil Society.”  The publication demonstrates the actions and initiatives of social and human-rights organizations in Mexico, and it considers 25 cases.  The report is the product of an exploratory mission carried out during 2012 in six Mexican states, in addition to the experience accumulated by PBI during its 12 years of accompaniment work in Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Mexico City.In the roundtables organized by PBI, representatives of civil-society organizations shared their concerns regarding the situation of human rights in Mexico.  Rights-defenders agreed that the greatest obstacles for better security and participatory spaces are impunity, slander, lack of adequate protection, and lack of spaces for consultation and dialogue.  They called on the Mexican government and diplomatic corps to take actions to transcend these issues.

For more information (in Spanish):

PBI México: Nueva publicación sobre personas defensoras; organizaciones y autoridades acuerdan dar seguimiento a su situación de riesgo (PBI, 8 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Oaxaca: PBI calls for strengthening of protection of rights-defenders in the state (26 February 2013)

National: Article 19 receives death-threats

On 19 April, the organization Article 19, whose task it is to denounce abuses and intimidations against freedom of expression, received an anonymous message at its offices in Mexico City.  The message threatens the organizations’ director, Darío Ramírez, and his collaborators with death.The organization reported that it had presented the corresponding denunciations to the Federal Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City, who is responsible for the crime of death-threats.The same day, the organization Freedom House indicated that so far in the term of Enrique Peña Nieto (since 1 December 2012), there have been registered 26 cases of aggressions against journalists and communication media in Mexico, thus expressing its concern for the “impunity” evinced in these attacks.

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado de prensa (Artículo 19, 19 de abril de 2013)

Amenazan al director de la organización Artículo 19 (Proceso, 20 de abril de 2013)

Exigen a autoridades indagar amenazas contra Artículo 19 (Proceso, 22 de abril de 2013)

Freedom House registra 36 ataques al periodismo desde el 1 de diciembre (CNN México, 19 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Mexico: 172 aggressions against journalists in 2011 – Article 19 (2 April 2012)