Chiapas: Call for Justice and the #Release of Patishtán, from 4 May to 19 June

From 4 May to 19 June, relatives of the prisoner Alberto Patishtán Gómez, the Movement of the People of El Bosque in Favor of the Release of Alberto Patishtán, and other organizations have organized a campaign called “For Justice and the #Release of Patishtan.”  In the blog which contains the information regarding Patishtán Gómez, it is asserted that “the lawyers of professor ALBERTO PATISHTAN have been informed at the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation that the resolution is still to be awaited [...].  In light of this, we believe that during this month of May it is possible to remit the case before the FIRST COLLEGIATE TRIBUNAL which will release its decision immediately.  As a consequence, the resolution as to whether his innocence will be recognized or not could be had in the month of June 2013.”

On 19 June will have passed 13 years since the beginning of the incarceration of professor Patishtán, and it is for this reason that the campaign will be launched.  Beyond this, there will be carried out presentations of the documentary “Alberto Patishtan: Live or Die for Truth and Justice.”  In this sense, there will also be a campaign to sign letters directed to the justices of the First Collegiate Tribunal of the Tuxtla Gutierrez Circuit.  Some of the other actions to be included will be a march every Friday from 10-12pm and from 4-7pm, with the Twitter hashtag #ReleasePatishstán.

For more information (in Spanish):

CONVOCATORIA POR LA JUSTICIA Y LA #LIBERTADPATISHTAN del 4 de mayo al 19 de junio 2013 (Blog Alberto Patishtán, mayo 2013)

Documental: Alberto Patishtán; Vivir o Morir Por la Verdad y la Justicia (Koman Ilel, abril 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Pilgrimage of the Believing People for the release of professor Alberto Patishtán Gómez (23 April 2013)

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)

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: Petition from the CDHFBC to release Alberto Patishtán Gómez

Children of Patishtán @ Swefor

On 10 April, some 400 persons marched in the El Bosque municipality to demand the release of professor Alberto Patishtán Gómez, who was “unjustly” been incarcerated in prison no. 5 of San Cristóbal de Las Casas for nearly 13 years, accused of having participated in an ambush that resulted in the death of 7 police officers.  “All indigenous people feel incarcerated, rejected, and discriminated against” with his imprisonment, as protestors noted in a letter directed to the magistrates of the First Collegiate Tribunal of the Twentieth Circuit, which shortly will resolve whether or not to release the teacher.  This letter arrived on 11 April, organized by relatives of Patishtan and the Movement of the People of El Bosque in favor of the release of Alberto Patishtán Gómez; it counted approximately 5000 signatures.  For its part, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (CDHFBC) published petitions for Patishtan on Avaaz.org and Change.org, to be presented before the magistrates.

Several media have noted the juxtaposition of the ordered liberation of 15 persons accused of having participated in the Acteal massacre, as demanded by the First Hall of the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation (SCJN), which rejected a review of Patishtán’s request for innocence on 6 March.  The notes made by Aristegui Noticias indicate that “the news reflect the different modes of justice in Mexico, where those accused of guilt are released and those accused of innocence are incarcerated.”

Beyond this, the actions for professor Patishtán continue.  Within prison no. 5, Patishtán Gómez announced the close of a second week of hunger-strike that will continue with two silent marches within the prison, on 13 and 14 April.  In solidarity, Enrique Gómez Hernández will be participating in the hunger strike from 11 to 19 April in the Amate prison no. 4 in Cintalapa.  On 19 April is planned a pilgrimage in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the day that Alberto Patishtán will have his forty-second birthday.

For more information (in Spanish):

Carta de Avaaz.org para firmar en español

Carta de Change.org para firmar en español

Entregan a tribunal carta con 5 mil firmas para que libere a Patishtán (La Jornada, 12 de abril de 2013)

Con Patishtán en prisión, todos los indígenas nos sentimos encarcelados  (La Jornada, 11 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)

Patishtan y Acteal: las diferentes varas de la justicia (Aristegui Noticias, 11 de abril de 2013)

Entregan 4 mil 736 firmas a favor de la Libertad de Alberto Patishtán (Chiapas Denuncia Pública, 11 de abril de 2013)

Anuncia 9 días de ayuno Enrique Gomez Hernández Solidario de la Voz del Amate (Chiapas Denuncia Pública, 11 de abril de 2013)

Alberto Patishtán anuncia el termino del ayuno y comparte acciónes para el 13 y 14 de abril (Chiapas Denuncia Pública, 11 de abril de 2013)

In English:

Avaaz petition in English

Change.org petition in English

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

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)

Mexico/Chiapas: Alberto Patishtán should be immediately released, notes Olga Sánchez Cordero (5 March 2013)

Mexico/Chiapas: The SCJN admits the Patishtán case (12 October 2012)

Chiapas: SCJN postpones new decision on Tila ejido; ejidatarios denounce harassment by local authorities

March of the ejidatarios in Tila, August 2012 @ archive SIPAZ

On 1 April was expected the decision of the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation (SCJN) regarding the case of the Tila ejido.  The ejidatarios had petitioned the maximum tribunal of justice to restore to them the 130 hectares of the ejido which had been expropriated in 1980 by the state government of Chiapas.  However, following what previously had happened, the SCJN justices decided to postpone their decision.  The request had proposed that the legislative and executive powers in Chiapas nullify the decree of expropriation, but this was rejected by the majority of the ministers.  The case has been reitred and will be presented once again in a few weeks by the justice Olga Sánchez Cordero, who must now unify the arguments of the justices who opposed the motion on this occasion.

The Tila ejidatarios, upon learning of the SCJN’s decision once again to postpone decision on the case, released a communique in which they warned of the possibility that new violations of the rights of the Ch’ol people be prosecuted.  They indicated that the justices “do not know our people [...].  We have already said that the large majority of those who live in Tila are families of ejidatarios that form a part of our assembly, and that those who are not will have their right to possession recognized.  We also want to say that many state and federal constructions are recognized by acts of donation for some time.”  The Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Center for Human Rights (ProDH), making reference to the different arguments presented by the justices in the discussion of the case, expressed that “Deliberations on the nature of an indigenous people should not imply a dichotomy between being ejidatario or indigenous; rather, both dimensions coexist, that is to say, they are both indigenous and ejidatarios.  At the Court there were voices postulating the necessity of defining whether the case of the Tila ejido is an agrarian question or an indigenous question.  Far from being exclusionary, the social regime of ejidal property and the rights contained therein are broadened and strengthened by the exercise of the rights of indigenous peoples, when these be recognized.”In recent dates, the ejidatarios denounced that within the context of the SCJN’s decision, municipal and state authorities have intimidated ejidal authorities.  “In the home of the ejidal commissioner, personnel from the state police with members of City Hall have arrived, waiting to see if the commissioner is at home.  The second time, there were judicial police carrying videocameras, thus communicating to the people that the commissioner feels intimidated.  This occurred at the beginning of the month of March,” as two ejidatarios have said.  During the final week of March, they indicate in a denunciation, harassment worsened: “There is no peace in Tila, but rather violence is beginning, and aggressive behaviors are resurging, as in the period of the numerous massacres carried out by Paz y Justicia.”  In the denunciation, ejidatarios recall several acts of aggression, intimidation, and injustice they have suffered on the part of municipal authorities since the end of the 1970s to date.

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado de los ejidatarios de Tila: Palabra sobre la decisión de suspender la discusión de la Suprema Corte (01/04/2013)

Centro ProDH: Identidades indígena y ejidal no se excluyen, por lo cual debe restituirse territorio al ejido Tila: Centro Prodh (01/04/2013)

La Jornada: Por lo “complejo” del caso, aplaza la Corte fallo sobre recurso del ejido Tila (02/04/2013)

Comunicado de los ejidatarios de Tila sobre hostigamiento de autoridades municipales (31/03/2013)

La Jornada: Ejidatarios de Tila denuncian asedio del ayuntamiento con apoyo de paramilitares (02/04/2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Supreme Court postpones decision on case of the Tila ejidatario (16 August 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios march in Tila and Mexico City (16 August 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios from Tila announce schedule of march to the SCJN in Mexico City (31 July 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios de Tila announce a caravan and march against the SCJN in defense of their land and territory (25 July 2012)

Chiapas: Tila ejidatarios reject compensation and request that the SCJN respects their right to territory (14 February 2011)

Chiapas: Authorities of the Tila ejido denounce negation of their right to land; their lives are threatened (9 September 2010)

Chiapas: ejidatarios march in Tila in defense of their lands (27 April 2010)

 

Chiapas: Suprema Corte pospone fallo sobre el caso de los ejidatarios de Tila (6 de agosto de 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios marchan en Tila y el DF (2 de agosto de 2012)

Chiapas: ejidatarios de Tila rechazan indemnización y piden a la SCJN respeto a su derecho al territorio (12 de febrero de 2011)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios of Tila clarify information published by Cuarto Poder

Sign of ejidatarios of Tila @ SIPAZ

On 2 April, the ejidatarios of Tila clarified information that had previously published by the Chiapas newspaper Cuarto Poder.  The issue has to do with the case of the Tila ejido, given that on 1 April the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation decided to delay its resolution regarding the return of the 130 hectares that the State Executive and Legislative branches expropriated via a decree in 1980.  In their communique, the ejidatarios cited different paragraphs of a note and the editorial of the local newspaper, adding to each clarifications regarding the published information.  They requested that the newspaper allow them space to distribute their communique.

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado de los ejidatarios de Tila (02/04/2013)

Notas de Cuarto Poder, a las que se refiere el comunicado:

Editorial

Nota

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Supreme Court postpones decision on case of the Tila ejidatario (16 August 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios march in Tila and Mexico City (16 August 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios from Tila announce schedule of march to the SCJN in Mexico City (31 July 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios de Tila announce a caravan and march against the SCJN in defense of their land and territory (25 July 2012)

Chiapas: Tila ejidatarios reject compensation and request that the SCJN respects their right to territory (14 February 2011)

Chiapas: Authorities of the Tila ejido denounce negation of their right to land; their lives are threatened (9 September 2010)

Chiapas: ejidatarios march in Tila in defense of their lands (27 April 2010)

 

Chiapas: Las Abejas lament release of yet another of those charged for Acteal massacre

During the religious celebration performed in the most recent monthly commemoration of the Acteal massacre, the Las Abejas Civil Society lamented that the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation (SCJN) has released another indigenous person who had been incarcerated on the charge of having participated in the 22 December 1997 massacre in Acteal.  Las Abejas affirmed that “What we are now living here in Mexico confirms what we Abejas have always said: the organisms of the Mexican justice system do not serve justice but rather the interests of the powerful.”

“As in the case of the paramilitaries released previously, we are told that the reason for his release had to do with failures and violations to ‘due process.’  We think and denounce that this is nothing more than a pretext on the part of the authorities to twist justice in the way that is most convenient to them.”  Demonstrating this claim, Las Abejas indicated that the SCJN had denied review of the case of Alberto Patishtán, given that that case is marked by irregularities; moreover, the SCJN attended to the case of Florence Cassez, who had claimed failures to due process and was so released.  Another example that was mentioned was the “‘false Abejas’ who are playing with Salinas de Gortari so as to avenge Ernesto Zedillo, and a collegiate court immediately grants the motion to permit the continuation of the case against Zedillo in the U.S.”

Las Abejas assert that “the lack of justice and the means in which the authorities use law only for their benefit have resulted in the fact that throughout Mexico, some communities organize themselves for armed self-defense, as in the case of our friends from the Regional Coordination of Communal Authorities of the Mountain and Costa Chica of Guerrero.”  Distinguishing their perspective from that of many authorities and media, Las Abejas noted that “One thing is that people amidst total impunity organize themselves to apply justice according to their own methods, and another very different thing is seen when the government, unsatisfied with using its own repressive apparatus, resorts to using a part of the people who are tricked into repressing their own brothers.”

Finally, Las Abejas closed with saying that they are “seeking other means to obtain the justice that is denied us by the government, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.  But for now we will say that we reject the ‘friendly’ calls made by the Mexican government through the IACHR to our brothers and sisters in Atenco, who have rejected these proposals with the same dignity we shall employ.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado completo (Sociedad Civil Las Abejas, 22 de marzo de 2013)

Los grupos de autodefensa, resultado de la impunidad en el país, aseguran Las Abejas (La Jornada, 26 de marzo de 2013)

Confían en nuevo Papa (Cuarto Poder, 23 de marzo de 2013)

Abejas lamentan más liberaciones por Acteal (Noticiasnet.mx, 25 de marzo de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

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)

National-International: Zedillo obtains immunity for the Acteal case(19 September 2012)

 

Chiapas: “Justice is its opposite,” declares Alberto Patishtán

“Justice is its opposite, given that those who have committed crimes such as those accused over the Acteal case are free while those like me who are innocent continue to be imprisoned by the government,” noted Alberto Patishtán Gómez, a prisoner who had been incarcerated now for 12 years, in an interview with La Jornada.  ”It would seem that one has to kill in order to leave prison,” he reiterated, referring to the mode of resolution taken by the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation (SCJN), which newly ordered the release of another prisoner who had been held for presumably having participate din the 1997 Acteal massacre.  It should be recalled that now a total of 58 of the accused for this massacre have been released.  Noé Castañón, secretary of governance, has announced that in this way that it has been done with all, there will be a convention made to provide them with lands so that they do not return to Chenalhó, so as to avoid problems in the area.

Alberto Patishtán recalled that, differently, the SCJN decided not to review his own case, instead noting that the Primary Tribunal in Tuxtla Gutiérrez will be the one to decide whether or not the motion requested by his lawyers be reviewed.

For its part, the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Center for Human Rights affirmed that the primary hall of the SCJN’s action represents a negation of justice to the thousands of people who processes have been replete with irregularities.  Leonel Rivero, laywer for Patishtán, notes that regardless there is the possibility that the tribunal give him his reason and so immediately provide him his liberty.

For more information (in Spanish):

La justicia está al revés, “pareciera que hay que matar para salir de la cárcel”: Patishtán (La Jornada, 14 de marzo de 2013)

El centro Frayba demanda la libertad inmediata del tzotzil Alberto Patishtán(La Jornada, 15 de marzo de 2013)

Aún existen posibilidades de que se reconozca la inocencia de Patishtán(La Jornada, 15 de marzo de 2013)

Liberan a indígena acusado por la matanza de Acteal(La Jornada, 15 de marzo de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

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

Mexico/Chiapas: Alberto Patishtán should be immediately released, notes Olga Sánchez Cordero (5 March 2013)

Mexico/Chiapas: The SCJN admits the Patishtán case (12 October 2012)

Mexico/Chiapas: Postponement of the SCJN’s decision on the Patishtán case (12 October 2012)

Chiapas: Alberto Patishtán loses his sight, and request on his part (28 September 2012)

Mexico/Chiapas: Request for recognition of innocence of Alberto Patishtán before the SCJN (19 September 2012)

Mexico/Chiapas: SCJN rejects review of case of Alberto Patishtán

Image @ Koman Ilel

On 6 March the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation (SCJN) decided not to review its competence regarding the case of professor Alberto Patishtán Gómez, from the El Bosque municipality of Chiapas.  The decision was taken on the basis of the project of the justice Olga Sánchez Cordero, who had suggested new hope to favor the cause of Patishtán, given that, if he had been judged according to the criteria approved by the Primary Hall in recent years, surely he would have been released due to the grave violations of due process which occurred during his trial.

Manuel Velasco Coello, governor of Chiapas, affirmed that the Tzotzil indigenous man Alberto Patishtán Gómez, who had been imprisoned since 2000, “should be released.”  In a communiqué, he assured that Patishtán Goméz, who has been sentenced for 60 years, “should be granted a recognition of his innocence.”  ”The SCJN’s decision should have favored the release” of Patishtán, reiterated the governor.

Now, the case returns to a court in Tuxtla Gutiérrez.  “There still remains racism within Mexican justice,” claimed Patishtán’s defense team.  It is hoped that the new process will last three weeks in arriving to the tribunal in Tuxtla.  All indications show that this court could decide on the resource of innocence.

For more information (in Spanish):

Patishtán debe ser puesto en libertad: gobernador de Chiapas (La Jornada, 7 de marzo de 2013)

SCJN: Doce años de injusticia son insuficientes para Alberto Patishtán(Centro de Medios Libres, 7 de marzo de 2013)

“Estamos gobernados por la injusticia”: Patishtán tras negativa de la Corte (La Jornada, 6 de marzo de 2013)

Rechaza la SCJN resolver el caso del profesor indígena Alberto Patishtán (La Jornada, 6 de marzo de 2013)

Rechaza el caso de alberto la SCJN (Blog de Alberto Patishtán, 6 de marzo de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Mexico/Chiapas: Alberto Patishtán should be immediately released, notes Olga Sánchez Cordero (5 March 2013)

Mexico/Chiapas: The SCJN admits the Patishtán case (12 October 2012)

Mexico/Chiapas: Postponement of the SCJN’s decision on the Patishtán case (12 October 2012)

Chiapas: Alberto Patishtán loses his sight, and request on his part (28 September 2012)

Mexico/Chiapas: Request for recognition of innocence of Alberto Patishtán before the SCJN (19 September 2012)

Mexico/Chiapas: Alberto Patishtán should be immediately released, notes Olga Sánchez Cordero

Image @ Pozol.org

The First Hall of the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation (SCJN) has planned on 6 March to address the motion requesting the recognition of innocence of the Tsotsil professor Alberto Patishtán Gómez, given that the justice Olga Sánchez Cordero will present the project that would allow for the decision of whether the SCJN has the ability to begin profoundly studying the requested motion.  The project elaborated by Olga Sánchez indicates clearly that Alberto Patishtán should be immediately released.

The officials have reported to the media regarding the move by the justice, adding that the project notes that if the accused (of 60 years of age) had been judged in light of the recent constitutional reforms on human rights and the new decisions taken by the First Hall on due process and presumption of innocence, Patishtán would already be freed.It was explained that juridically the affair is very complicated, because the sentence that has Patishtán incarcerated has an indefinite timewindow.  It is for this reason, they added, that a favorable decision for the teacher would be very difficult to approve, given that he must be supported by at least two other justices to receive his freedom.  Furthermore, during the course of its history, the SCJN has on occasion recognized innocence of prisoners; it has done so only rarely because new and irrefutable evidence is required to demonstrate that the accused is not responsible for the crime for which s/he has been charged.  This is the move that has been made by the lawyers of Patishtán Gómez.For more information (in Spanish):

Boletín: En manos de la SCJN asumir el caso de Alberto Patishtán Gómez y crear un referente en la administración de justicia a favor de los derechos humanos en nuestro país (Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, 28 de febrero de 2012)

Patishtán debe ser liberado de inmediato, según proyecto de la ministra Olga Sánchez (La Jornada, 28 de febrero de 2013)

Palabra de Alberto Patishtán Gómez sobre próxima decisión de la SCJN sobre su caso (Chiapas Denuncia Pública, 4 de marzo de 2013)

Audio-Video:

Entrevista a Abogados de Alberto Patishtan (Koman Ilel, 12 de febrero de 2013)

Entrega del Amicus Curiae ante Suprema Corte de la Nación (Blog Alberto Patishtán, 4 de marzo de 2013)

Programa Especial sobre Alberto Patishtán (Blog Alberto Patishtán, febrero de 2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Mexico/Chiapas: The SCJN admits the Patishtán case (12 October 2012)

Mexico/Chiapas: Postponement of the SCJN’s decision on the Patishtán case (12 October 2012)

Chiapas: Alberto Patishtán loses his sight, and request on his part (28 September 2012)

Mexico/Chiapas: Request for recognition of innocence of Alberto Patishtán before the SCJN (19 September 2012)

 

Chiapas: Ejidatarios of Tila release a communique and a letter to SCJN judges, on eve of decision in their case

On 26 February, ejidatarios of Tila who adhere to the EZLN’s Sixth Declaration of the Lacandona jungle released a communique reporting that the court case regarding the fate of the Tila ejido is about to be resolved before the Supreme Court of Justice in the Nation (SCJN).  The ejidatarios indicated that they had won a motion allowing them to recover the lands that the state-government of Chiapas expropriated via decree in 1980.  They emphasized that “the mayor who is protected by the state-government [used] this illegal decree of 1980 [such that he has been] selling and appropriating our lands.  The motion clearly states that the lands pertain to the ejido and that the decree is illegal.  They wanted to take over 130 hectares, 52 of which are occupied by the town of Tila and 78 of which are worked and cultivated.  Now we can see how they desire to continue privatizing and enriching themselves.  They want to continue with their corruption and looting of our people.  This is the root of the problem and its injustice.”Furthermore, on 28 February it was announced in a press-conference that the ejidatarios had written a letter to the SCJN’s judges.  “We want our right as ejidatarios to be respected, because we do in fact have rights, and we want justice to be done.  This justice must be done according to the law, because we are not taking away lands, but they are taking ours.  We request justice because it is our right as Mexicans, and it makes no sense that those who have no juridical standing be favored in this process.”  The female ejidatarias emphasized that “as women we want our lands to be returned, because this way we maintain our sons and daughters and our own selves.  We do not want them to expropriate our lands because then our children left for the cities, becoming criminals, all due to the injustice and violation of our rights as Ch’ol indigenous women.”Separately, there was made public a letter written by academics, intellectuals, and artists who support the ejidatarios of Tila.

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado del 26 de febrero en su versión completa

Carta de hombres y mujeres del ejido Tila a los ministros de la SCJN y carta de intelectuales en respaldo al ejido Tila

Más detalles sobre el caso de Tila: Enfoque del Informe de SIPAZ de febrero de 2013

Blog de los ejidatarios adherentes a la Sexta del ejido de Tila

La Jornada: Aguardan indígenas Ch’oles fallo de la Corte que les resituya tierras (28/02/2013)

La Jornada: Pueblos indígenas: escenas de un mismo Estado (26/02/2013)

Nexos: El derecho de los pueblos indígenas a la tierra y el territorio. Caso Ejido Tila (27/02/2013)

Centro ProDH: SCJN discutirá el derecho indígena a la tierra: Ejido de Tila (25/02/2013)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Supreme Court postpones decision on case of the Tila ejidatario (16 August 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios march in Tila and Mexico City (16 August 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios from Tila announce schedule of march to the SCJN in Mexico City (31 July 2012)

Chiapas: Ejidatarios de Tila announce a caravan and march against the SCJN in defense of their land and territory (25 July 2012)

Chiapas: Tila ejidatarios reject compensation and request that the SCJN respects their right to territory (14 February 2011)

Chiapas: Authorities of the Tila ejido denounce negation of their right to land; their lives are threatened (9 September 2010)

Chiapas: ejidatarios march in Tila in defense of their lands (27 April 2010)