Oaxaca: Disturbances during May Day march; human-rights defender among those arrested

@ CODIGO-DH

On 1 May in Oaxaca City, there was held a commemorative march for International Workers’ Day which resulted in confrontations between protestors and the municipal police, leaving 34 arrested, including 7 minors.   In a communique, the Committee for Comprehensive Defense of Human Rights Gobixha (CODIGO-DH) reported that the police opened fire with live ammunition, firing into the ground before the protestors and the air above them.  Furthermore, Gobixha demanded the liberation of Susana Ramírez Jiménez, a CODIGO-DH member, who was arrested as she was documenting abuses on the part of the police, having identified herself as a human-rights defender; however, this did not prevent her from being arrested.  Due to the context in which her arrest was performed, and given the lack of communication and violation of the right of habeas corpus, an Urgent Action was released demanding her immediate release, as well as that of those who were “arbitrarily arrested.”  On 2 May, in an update on the situation of Ramírez Jiménez, who at that time still was incarcerated, CODIGO-DH indicated that “our fear is that they could fabricate crimes against her, due to her mere presence at the time and space of the protest, so as to systematically criminalize human-rights defenders and social activists.  We denounce the excessive use of public force on the part of the police, who used their firearms to ‘contain the protestors’ by firing high-caliber weapons, including R-15′s, just in front of the protestors, both into the air as into the ground.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Acción Urgente: Nuevas detenciones arbitrarias en Oaxaca, entre ellas una integrante de CODIGO-DH (01/05/2013)

CODIGO-DH: Defensora de CODIGO DH sigue detenida (02/05/2013)

Ciudadanía Express: Documentan abusos policiales en detención de manifestantes (02/05/2013)

Quadratín Oaxaca: Liberarán a menores que participaron en disturbios del 1 de Mayo (02/05/2013)

Noticias Oaxaca: Violencia opaca Día del Trabajo (02/05/2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Oaxaca: Harassment of the offices of Código DH (8 April 2013)

Oaxaca: Harassment and robbery of offices of Consorcio (14 November 2011)

Oaxaca: new intimidation directed at Alba Cruz (18 January 2011)

Oaxaca: Three-year impunity continues in the case of the murders of Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola

On 27 April, three years passed since the murders of Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola, of Finnish origins, who were attacked by an armed group with presumed links to local and state authorities on this day in 2010, as they were traveling in a humanitarian and observation caravan to the Triqui community of San Juan Copala to document the conditions in which dozens of family had been living under conditions of siege.

Members of the Indigenous Zapatista Agrarian Movement (MAIZ), the Revolutionary Popular Front (FPR), and teachers from Section 22 of the Huajuápan chapter of the National Coordination of Educational Workers (CNTE), together with other social organizations, on 26 April carried out mobilizations and a march to protest the impunity experienced in the case of these murders.

Omar Esparza Zarate, leader of MAIZ in the Mixteco region and widower of Bety Cariño Trujillo, expressed that “These three years have been difficult, because I not only lost a comrade–the pain is there and will always be there–but also because of all the harassment, intimidation, illegal searches of the office, and sensing that one has to always be on edge due to lack of knowledge of when the aggressors will make good on their death-threats.”  Furthermore, he added that “for three years, we have spoken to the lack of interest on the government’s part to see justice done.  We have not perceived any sort of will to resolve these murders, nor for punishment of those responsible for them, in accordance with the law.”  Finally, Omar Esparza lamented that the state authorities have not observed their commitment, nor have they declared responsibility for the intellectual and material authors of the crimes.  Beyond this, he stressed that the deaths of social activists is certainly a constant feature of life in the country.

For its part, the Union of Indigenous Communities of the Northern Zone of the Isthmus (UCIZONI) made public that “with relation to these crimes, 12 arrest-orders have been declared against the presumed murderers, among which is included the leaders of UBISORT which one day before the departure of the caravan made serious threats against the physical integrity of our comrades.  We also indicate that ex-governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz should be considered an intellectual author of these bloody acts, given his public recognition of his having financially supported the paramilitary UBISORT group.”Similarly, Amnesty International and Frontline Defenders have reminded the federal and Oaxacan state authorities of their responsibilities to guarantee that these acts not remain in impunity.

For more information (in Spanish):

La herida está ahí y siempre va a estar: Omar Esparza (El Imparcial, 27 de abril de 2013)

UCIZONI: Demandamos castigo para los asesinos de Bety Cariño y Jyri Jaakkola (Kaos en la Red, 26 de abril de 2013)

A 3 años de la muerte de una indígena y un finlandés en Oaxaca (E-Oaxaca, 26 de abril de 2013)

Oaxaca: A tres años del asesinato de defensores de derechos humanos seguimos reclamando justicia (Amnistía Internacional México, 27 de abril de 2013)

México: Se cumple el 3° aniversario del asesinato de la defensora de los derechos humanos Bety Cariño (Frontline Defenders, 27 de abril de 2013)

Audio-video:

Entrevista a Bety Cariño: Sembrando sueños, cosechando esperanzas (Código DH, 27 de abril de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Oaxaca: 12 arrest-orders released against presumed material authors of the murder of the Mexican defender Bety Cariño and the Finnish observer Jyri Jaakkola (12 October 2012)

Oaxaca: Meeting in front of the PGR against impunity in the case of Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola, nearly two years after their murders (21 April 2012)

Oaxaca: justice demanded for San Juan Copala (14 December 2011)

Oaxaca: Eurodeputies in the case of Cariño and Jaakkola (17 October 2011)

Oaxaca: following the caravan “Bety Cariño y Jyri Jaakkola” to San Juan Copalá (21 June 2010)

Distrito Federal: visiting Mexico, the parents of Jyri Jaakkola demand justice for the case of their son and that of Bety Cariño (9 September 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)

Oaxaca: Events and marches in observance of International Women’s Day

On 8 March in Oaxaca state, there were had several marches and events to observe International Women’s Day.  The state of Oaxaca is one of the states with the highest increase in number of feminicides.  During the course of the year 2013, the Institute of Oaxacan Women has reported 11 homicides against women.

The march that occurred in Oaxaca de Juárez was carried out by more than 1500 persons, including teachers from Section 22 of the National Educational Workers’ Union (SNTE) and members of social organizations.

In San Pedro Amuzgos, more than 200 women organized to march through the principal streets of the community, demanding respect for their rights and a halt to violence against women.  For its part, the Committee of Comprehensive Defense of Human Rights Gobixha (Código DH) presented the campaign “Pain is never love” as part of its activities to prevent violence against women in the region, given that it maintains an office in San Pedro Amuzgos.

It should be mentioned that in 2012 the Oaxacan state Congress approved the reforms to the Penal Code which classify the crime of feminicide, sanctioning it with 40 to 60 years imprisonment.  However, this law has not been sufficient to halt violence against women, given that every 4 days there is registered a feminicide in Oaxaca.  Over the course of the administration of Gabino Cué Monteagudo so far, there have been observed 176 feminicides, as denounced by the Union of Indigenous Communities of the Northern Zone of the Isthmus (UCIZONI).

For more information (in Spanish):

176 Feminicidios en el gobierno de Gabino Cué: Ucizoni (Frontera Sur, 5 de marzo de 2013)ç

Oaxaca: 11 femenicidios; crece el odio hacia mujeres (Tiempo en Línea, 7 de marzo de 2013)

Desfilan mujeres en San Pedro Amuzgos exigiendo el respeto de sus derechos (CodigoDH, 9 de marzo de 2013)

Obligan a desnudarse a mujeres y niños en cárcel de Oaxaca(Excelcior, 10 de marzo de 2013)

Marchan S-22 y organizaciones sociales hacia el Zócalo de Oaxaca, piden respetar derechos de las mujeres (ADN Sureste, 8 de marzo de 2013 

Oaxaca: PBI calls for strengthening of protection of rights-defenders in the state

Following a meeting with Oaxaca state governor Gabino Cué, representatives of Peace Brigades International (PBI Mexico) reported in a press-release on 19 February some of the challenges for the protection of human-rights defenders in the state, such as “the adequate functioning and strengthening of the institutions and implementation of the Mechanism for the Protection of Rights-Defenders at the state level, in cooperation with those who benefit from this.”

Ben Leather, representative of the PBI, recognized the opening of the Gabino Cué administration in terms of human rights, but he warned of the worrying statistics on assaults registered to date.  The latest report by Urgent Action for Human-Rights Defenders indicated that Oaxaca is the second state in Mexico (after Chihuahua) in the number of attacks on rights-defenders in 2011, and it leads for the first third of the year 2012.  Human-rights defenders continue to report death-threats, harassment, defamation, criminalization, physical attacks, and murder.  Due to the situation of risk confronted by rights-defenders, PBI has maintained a permanent team in Oaxaca since 2008.

For more information (in Spanish):

PBI México llama al gobernador de Oaxaca a fortalecer la protección a personas defensoras (PCI, boletín de prensa, 21 de febrero de 2013)

Oaxaca, el estado con más ataques contra activistas (Proceso, 20 de febrero de 2013)

National: Mobilizations at the national level against high-electricity prices

On 7 February there were carried out protests and blockades in the capital and in several states of Mexico to protest high-electricity prices.  The mobilization had been organized by the National Network of Civil Resistance against High-Electricity Prices, the National Alliance of Electricity Users (ANUEE), and the Mexican Union of Electricians (SME).  The marches and actions were held in Chiapas, Campeche, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Guerrero, Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Chihuahua, and Mexico City.  The principal demand of these protests was a change in energy policy that would include just prices, access to electricity as a human right, and the generation of sustainable energy from the people.  Furthermore, there was demanded the cancellation of wind-energy, mining, and hydroelectrical projects, as well as end to the criminalization of social protest.

It should be mentioned that during these protests in Chiapas, Nataniel Hernandez, director of the Digna Ochoa Center for Human Rights, was arrested while he was in a meeting with the regional sub-delegate for the government.  He was released during the evening, without any sort of explanation regarding the grounds for his arrest.

For more information (in Spanish):

La Jornada: Tarifas justas de luz y fin a la presión, exigen miles en marcha (08/02/2013)

La Jornada: O comemos o pagamos, grito en jornada nacional contra altos cobros (08/02/2013)

La Jornada: Padecen usuarios de la CFE indefensión y maltrato al quejarse por altos cobros (08/02/2013)

Proceso: Policías retienen siete horas al director del centro Digna Ochoa en Chiapas (07/02/2013)

Proceso: Protestan en Oaxaca por altas tarifas de luz (07/02/2013)

Koman Ilel: PRIMER REPORTE MOVILIZACIÓN NACIONAL CONTRA ABUSOS DE CFE (07/02/2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Mexico: National day of protests against high electricity prices (4 April 2012)

Chiapas: PUDEE denounces harassment and electricity cut-off by CFE (24 March 2012)

Chiapas: PUDEE denounces harassment by the CFE (25 February 2011)

Campeche: Arrest of activist campaigning against high electricity prices (26 May 2010)

Mexico: AI Declares Activists against High Electricity Tariffs Prisoners of Conscience (10 March 2010)

 

Oaxaca: Detención y liberación posterior de la defensora Bettina Cruz Velázquez (23/02/2012)

Chiapas: Manifestaciones contra las altas tarifas de la luz (13/09/2011)

National: Female human-rights defenders organize to protect themselves

On 25 and 26 January in Mexico City, female members of the National Network of Female Human-Rights Defenders in Mexico met to analyze the impact of the present socio-political context on their work in defense of indigenous peoples, natural resources, victims of feminicide, sexual and reproductive health, and freedom of expression.  The activists, hailing from states such as Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Baja California, Chiapas, Guerrero, Coahuila, Durango, Oaxaca, and Puebla, presented a protocol of attention to respond to the imminent situations of danger they face.  During two work-days, the defenders joined together their knowledge within the context of violence and concluded that the simply act of supporting a cause makes them vulnerable.  With the creation of a protocol of protection, they now have the basic tools to collect information, establish contacts, and locate emergency services.

For more information (in Spanish):

Defensoras de DH se organizan para protegerse a sí mismas (CIMAC Noticias, 28 de enero de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Oaxaca: First state in attacks on female defenders, denounce organizations (21 December 2012)

National: MPJD criticizes presidential “veto” of Law on Victims (10 July 2012)

National: Approval of Law for the Protection of Human-Rights Defenders and Journalists (16 May 2012)

Oaxaca: Harassment and robbery of offices of Consorcio (14 November 2011)

Oaxaca: new intimidation directed at Alba Cruz (18 January 2011)

Oaxaca: attack on union leader Marcelino Coache (20 May 2010)

Oaxaca: Armed men threaten human-rights defender

The National Network for Communication and Urgent Action on Human-Rights Defenders has denounced the death-threats suffered by Silvia Pérez Yesca, a member of the organization Indigenous Women for CIARENA, together with her son on 16 January.  The Network demanded an immediate investigation and punishment of the intellectual and material authors of these new aggressions, and that the right to defend the human rights of indigenous and non-indigenous activists and human-rights defenders be guaranteed within the state of Oaxaca.  “During the early hours of Wednesday 16 January 2013, close to 20 armed men encircled the home of Silvia Pérez Yescas (located in Matías Romero)…. Despite the precautionary measures which Pérez Yescas has been awarded, being a member of the CIARENA organization, these have not proven sufficient, given that she continues to suffer death-threats at the hands of power groups in the Isthmus region specifically due to her accompaniment of females who have been victimized by violence,” noted a document read in press-conference.

Members of CIARENA explained to Communication and Information for Women (CIMAC) that this is not the first time that Silvia and the organization have been threatened by caciques, landowners, and cattle-ranchers, whose goal is to disrupt their work.  They detail that on one occasion unknown persons left an intimidating message on the wooden door of their offices, fixed with a knife.  To date, the CIARENA activists have decided not to provide more details regarding what has happened for reasons of security; Silvia currently finds herself in hiding.  They have also requested the intervention of the Mechanism for Protection of Human-Rights Defenders and Journalists, as overseen by the Secretary of Governance.

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado de prensa de la Red Nacional de comunicación y acción urgente de Defensoras de Derechos Humanos en México (Revolucionemos Oaxaca, 21 de enero de 2013)

Amenazan a activista de DH; ONG’s exigen seguridad a Cué y Peña Nieto (Página 3, 19 de enero de 2013)

Intimidan hombres armados a defensora de DH en Oaxaca (Cimac Noticias, 21 de enero de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Oaxaca: First state in attack on female defenders, denounce organizations (21 December 2012)

National: MPJD criticizes presidential “veto” of Law on Victims (10 July 2012)

National: Approval of Law for the Protection of Human-Rights Defenders and Journalists (16 May 2012)

Oaxaca: Harassment and robbery of offices of Consorcio (14 November 2011)

Oaxaca: new intimidation directed at Alba Cruz (18 January 2011)

Oaxaca: attack on union leader Marcelino Coache (20 May 2010)

Oaxaca: More feminicides under Gabino Cué than in the final years of Ulises Ruiz

Photo @Ciudadanía Express

At least 173 women and girls were killed during the first two years of the Oaxacan governorship of Gabino Cué, as is revealed by the citizens’ report “Justice Now! Feminicide and violence against women in Oaxaca,” published by the Huaxyacac Collective.  The report stresses that “the political transition in Oaxaca with Gabino Cue has not translated into a decrease in the number of murders of women and girls; on the contrary, in what has passed of the present administration (1 December 2011-30 November 2012) these have in fact increased 50%, to 173 cases.  This compares with 115 reported in the last two years of the governorship of Ulises Ruiz (2009-2010).”

The document also refers to intrafamilial violence, given that from December 2010 to November 2012, local newspapers have registered 458 cases, though the State Attorney General’s Office reports 2910 cases during this time.  It is worrisome that despite the fact that the law establishes that these are criminal matters that on many occasions destroys the lives of girls, adolescents, youth, and adults, domestic violence is not considered to be a serious crime.Regarding sexual violence, the report stresses that during the first year of Cué’s administration there were registered 183 attacks against females and girls, with 172 sexual attacks during the second year.  The most common form of violation is rape.  This type of violence is much more frequent than the statistics show, notes the report, and it is one that is least denounced.The Collective called on Gabino Cué’s government to act and guarantee the respect for the lives of women and girls in Oaxaca, advocating public policies of “zero tolerance for gender violence,” including the forced resignation of violent public officials and especially those responsible for sexual harassment at the workplace.

For more information (in Spanish):

Más feminicidios en los dos primeros años de Cué, que en los dos últimos de Ulises Ruiz (Página 3, 22 de enero de 2013)

Reportan 173 asesinatos de mujeres y niñas en Oaxaca en sólo dos años (Proceso, 21 de enero de 2013)

Exigen en Oaxaca se erradique la violencia contra las mujeres (Milenio, 21 de enero de 2013)

Aumentan feminicidios en el gobierno de Gabino Cué:Huxyacac (Ciudadanía Express, 21 de enero de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Colem Group of Women takes action against feminicide (19 October 2012)

Chiapas: Press-conference by Group of Women COLEM denounces violence against women (9 February 2012)

Chiapas: social organizations present report regarding situation of women in Chiapas (16 August 2012)

National: Amnesty International publishes report on violence against women in Mexico (20 July 2012)

Chiapas: Justice is demanded in the case of the feminicide of the youth Itzel Yanet Méndez Pérez (16 May 2012)

Chiapas: activities on the International Day against Violence against Women (28 November 2011)

Oaxaca: Harassment and robbery of offices of Consorcio (14 November 2011)

Demand for end to feminicide in Oaxaca (8 September 2011)

Guerrero – briefs – Tierra Caliente is second-highest national location in number of feminicides (14 September 2010)

México: Record histórico en número de feminicidios en 2010 (15 de enero 2011)

National: Criticism of naming of Ardelio Vargas Fosado as head of the National Migration Institute (INM)

Photo @ Zona Franca

Father Alejandro Solalinde, who received the national migration prize in 2012, has rejected the nomination of Ardelio Vargas Fosado as head of the National Migration Institute (INM).  Solalinde expressed that the nomination is a “slap in the face” for Central Americans and human-rights defenders in Mexico.  He added that some days previously he had met with Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, federal secretary of Governance, to ask that someone who had a background in human rights be nominated rather than a police officer with the INM.  The father indicated that the INM should be an administrative institution because migrants are irregulars rather than criminals.  For other activists, the profile of the official has more to do with questions of repression than the sensitivity required in these matters.  It should be stressed that during the past two years, Vargas Fosado was secretary of Public Security in Puebla, under the management of the PAN governor Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas.

For more information (in Spanish):

Ardelio Vargas en el INM, bofetada a defensores de derechos: Solalinde (La Jornada, 17 de enero de 2013)

Nombramiento de Ardelio Vargas en el INM es una “bofetada”: Solalinde (El Sol de Puebla, 17 de enero de 2013)

Peña Nieto designa a Ardelio Vargas nuevo comisionado de Migración (La Jornada, 16 de enero de 2013)

Nombramiento del titular de INM causa indignación de activistas pro migrantes (Zona Franca, 17 de enero de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Oaxaca: Padre Solalinde receives 2012 National Prize on Human Rights for his work in favor of migrants (21 December 2012)

Oaxaca: Padre Solalinde returns to Mexico (20 July 2012)

Oaxaca: Padre Solalinde leaves the country temporarily due to death-threats (21 May 2012)

Oaxaca: Aggressions continue against migrants and Father Solalinde (19 April 2012)

Oaxaca: Father Solalinde denounces detention by local cacique (16 January 2012)