Chiapas: EZLN Announces “The Impossible Cinema”

Photo: SIPAZ

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN in its Spanish acronym) announced the first film festival in Oventik caracol, (with alternate projections in CIDECI in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas). It will be held from November 1st to 5th, 2018 and will be named Puy ta Cuxlejaltic (Caracol de Nuestra Vida).

“The films that will be exhibited and the activities in the aforementioned festival (which apparently include, among other absurdities: a round table, perhaps rectangular, on … football?! But is not it a film festival?; a film that is read and directed by a schizophrenic beetle?), Will be made public in a few days (or so we hope),” according to the festival announcement.

For more information in Spanish:

Una invitación a: “El cine imposible”. Comisión Sexta del EZLN, octubre del 2018, Enlace Zapatista, 4 de octubre de 2018

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas : segunda y tercera parte del comunicado del EZLN compartido durante el Encuentro de Redes en Morelia, (23/08/2018)

Chiapas: Comunicado EZLN (primera parte) UNA FINCA, UN MUNDO, UNA GUERRA, POCAS PROBABILIDADES, (22/08/2018)

Chiapas: Meeting of CIG Support Networks, COMPARTE 2018 “For Life and Liberty” and 15th Anniversary of the Zapatista Caracoles (22/08/2018)

Chiapas/National: Roundtable Discussion “To Watch, to Listen, to Speak: Forbidden to Think?” (05/05/2018)

 

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CHIAPAS: jTatic Samuel janan Lum 2018 recognition is awarded

On January 25th, the jTatic Samuel Jcanan Lum 2018 Recognition ceremony was held at the Samuel Ruiz Memorial Hall of the Institute of Intercultural Studies and Research (Inesin) in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. The event was presided over by Mons, Raúl Vera López, Honorary Chairman of the Convening Committee.

“The Jcanan Lum recognition is a concrete way to encourage the different efforts and paths of liberation that the indigenous peoples and the poor have taken on as protagonists of their own history”, used to say Samuel Ruiz García

This recognition seeks to disseminate and encourage the work of women and men, organizations and collectives that have been characterized by their contribution to the people in the creation of community and / or regional alternatives, as well as their work aimed at building unity and social transformation through peaceful ways.

The jury, which met in November 2017, decided unanimously to deliver the 2018 edition of this recognition to:
-Vidulfo Rosales Sierra, lawyer and defender of human rights, member of the Mountain Human Rights Center, Tlachinollan, Guerrero, for his defense of human rights, walking among indigenous peoples, peasants and relatives of the disappeared who fight for justice in the mountain of Guerrero. This option has led him to be persecuted and threatened with death. He is a protagonist of the history of our country.
– The Committee for the Promotion and Defense of Life Samuel Ruíz, Chicomuselo, Chiapas. Made up of men and women who take their inspiration from jTatic Samuel. They defend and protect the territory against extractive projects that attempt against the life of the mother earth and the organized peoples in the southern border of Mexico.

It is worth remembering that this recognition is given since 2010, making it coincide with the anniversary of the episcopal ordination of D. Samuel Ruíz García as Bishop of San Cristóbal de las Casas.

For more information (in Spanish):

Vidulfo Rosales recibirá el reconocimiento jTatic Samuel jCanan Lum 2018. (Somos el medio, 23 de enero 2018)

Entrega de reconocimiento jTatic Samuel jCanan Lum 2018. (Frayba, 25 de enero 2018)

Recibirá Vidulfo Rosales el reconocimiento jTatic Samuel jCanan Lum. (Tlachinolan,. 22 de enero 2018)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Call for the jTatik Samuel jCanan Lum 2018 Recognition Award February 8, 2017

Oaxaca: Virtual Platform “Femicidal Violence” Launched

Launch of virtual platform “Femicidal Violence in Oaxaca” (@Consorcio)

On December 4th, “given the silence of the governor, impunity, corruption and incompetence of a Secretariat of Women created as a white elephant by this government, as well as public officials who are in charge of the procurement of justice”, members of the Consortium for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity, Oaxaca presented the virtual platform “Femicidal Violence in Oaxaca”, where you can consult the cases of girls and women who were victims of violence from 2016 to date.

During a conference, the Consortium denounced that the femicide figures have increased by 30% during the first year of Alejandro Murat as governor, which makes Oaxaca one of the 11 most dangerous states in the country for women.

Faced with this situation, they invited citizens to generate “processes of organization that prevent women from losing their lives because of sexist and patriarchal violence. We know that there is still a long way to go but with the creation of this microsite of femicide and femicidal violence in Oaxaca we want to help to build a society [that is] conscious and vigilant of its rights “.

They also urged “the Judicial Branch of the State not to delay the issuance of arrest warrants against the aggressors, as well as to immediately incorporate a gender perspective in its actions, expedite the issuance of condemnatory sentences and dismiss administrators of justice who operate without a gender perspective”; and, “to the Congress of the State to cite the appearances of each and every one of the officials who are involved in the matter, and also direct communication with CONAVIM to inform them about the cause of the delay for the issuance of the Gender Alert in Oaxaca.”

 For more information in Spanish:

Portal Violencia Feminicia en Oaxaca (Consorcio Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca)

COMUNICADO| 120 feminicidios en el primer año de gobierno de Alejandro Murat, el más violento para las mujeres y niñas en la historia de Oaxaca. (Consorcio Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca, 4 de diciembre de 2017))

Primer año de Murat, el más violento contra mujeres en la historia de Oaxaca: Consorcio para el Diálogo (Proceso, 4 de diciembre de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

ENFOQUE: Alertas de violencia de género: entender el problema para poder atenderlo (3 de septiembre de 2017)

Nacional/Internacional: Se lanza la campaña 16 días de activismo contra la violencia hacia las mujeres (30 de noviembre de 2017)

National/International: PBI Publishes “Defending Life” Report

(@PBI)

Peace Brigades International (PBI) published a new publication “Defending Life: People who Defend Land, Territory and the Environment at Risk”, which collects testimonies and analysis that highlight the same reality: the extreme vulnerability of the defenders of the land and the environment in Mexico and the world.

For more information in Spanish:

Defender la Vida: personas defensoras de la tierra, el territorio y el medioambiente en riesgo (PBI, noviembre de 2017)

Defensor ambiental, labor de alto riesgo (El Universal, 6 de diciembre de 2017)

México debe actuar urgentemente para proteger a las personas defensoras del medio ambiente (Global Witness, 6 de diciembre de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ: 

Oaxaca: V Encuentro de defensores y defensoras Comunitarias (29 de noviembre de 2017)

Nacional : informes de organizaciones de derechos humanos contrastan con avances señalados en el Quinto Informe de Gobierno (7 de septiembre de 2017)

México: Amnistía Internacional presenta nueva campaña mundial en contra de la ola de ataques a defensores y defensoras (30 de mayo de 2017)

Nacional: Relator Especial de la ONU visita a México para evaluar la situación de Derechos Humanos (1 de febrero de 2017)

Chiapas: MODEVITE Mobilizes in Defense of Mother Earth and Self-Determination

Authorities from La Candelaria, Municipality of San Cristobal de Las Casas. Photo @: SIPAZ

On November 20th, thousands of indigenous people grouped in the Movement in Defense of Life and the Territory (Modevite in its Spanish acronym) mobilized in 11 municipalities and an ejido of Chiapas in defense of Mother Earth, for a dignified life and to demand respect for the free self-determination of indigenous peoples. In a statement, they explained: “We are one people who today want to express ourselves in each of the 12 fronts where we are. We denounce the constant threat of transnational extractive megaprojects and demand our right to the self-determination of peoples, in order to change the outdated and oppressive system that governs us.”

The event was called on 107 years of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, and stressed that “the marginalization and misery of our peoples persist; violence is the daily bread and insecurity is what is breathed in the environment. Coupled with this, the colorful circus of political parties divides us, and they take advantage of our poverty” while governments at all levels “are accomplices of dispossession, abuses, violence and injustice.”

For this reason they propose “creating another system that promotes the community rather than individuality, that looks at the earth as a Mother and not as merchandise, that embraces the cultural diversity rooted in the spirituality of our ancestors to make way for the reconstruction of the fabric of social community”. They intend to promote “community governments that renew social relations among indigenous peoples, mestizos, diverse religions, adults and youth; community governments that renew politics by exercising the right to elect the authorities according to the indigenous normative systems of each people, to combat corruption and division of bad governments and thus ensure the defense of our Mother Earth and community harmony.”

More specifically, they asked the authorities to respond positively to the requests presented by the Community Government Commissions of the municipalities of Chilon and Sitala to the Electoral and Citizen Participation Institute (IEPC in tis Spanish acronym) of Chiapas, on November 17th for that they can govern themselves according to their own indigenous normative system.

For more information in Spanish:

Indígenas de Chiapas denuncian amenaza constante de megaproyectos y ambición de trasnacionales (Proceso 20 de noviembre de 2017)

MODEVITE se expresa en sus 12 frentes y afirma su apoyo a los municipios de Chilón y Sitalá en su búsqueda del gobierno comunitario (MODEVITE 20 de noviembre de 2017)

Pronunciamiento de las Comisiones de Gobierno Comunitario de Chilón y Sitalá (Boletín de prensa del MODEVITE 18 de noviembre de 2017)

Comisiones de Sitalá y Chilón exigen al IEPC respetar su derecho al Gobierno Comunitario, sin partidos políticos (Anuncio de Conferencia de prensa del MODEVITE 17 de noviembre de 2017)

Para más información de SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Pronunciamiento de MOVEDITE ante las campañas políticas anticipadas (22 de agosto de 2017)

Chiapas : Culmina peregrinación de 12 días del Movimiento de Defensa de la Vida y el Territorio en San Cristóbal de Las Casas (29 de noviembre de 2016)

Chiapas/International: The Zoque Believing People to Receive 2017 Nobel Peace Prize

Photo:@Chiapas Denuncia Pública

On October 18th, 2017, a press conference was held in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, to announce that the Indigenous Movement of the Zoque Believing People in Defense of Life and the Earth (ZODEVITE in its Spanish acronym) will receive the 2017 International Peace Prize. from the hands of the international organization Pax Christi, on October 29th in Rome, Italy.

In its press release the Zoque Believing People recognized that this peaceful movement is a call to stop the crisis of our civilization that threatens our world: “The Zoque peoples have declared themselves in permanent defense of our territories so that the different ways of life (human, animal and nature) are respected and revalued for the survival of humanity “

Their way of seeing this reality has been worthy of this award: “extractive megaprojects represent death and devastation for land and life, which is generated from above, that is, by the interests of transnational companies in their desire to accumulate material riches that only bring environmental, economic and political problems.”

They pointed out that: “For a decade now, have been trying to install mining, hydroelectric, geothermal and hydrocarbon extraction projects our Zoques in Chiapas that threaten to destroy a large part of the biocultural heritage, especially symbolic places such as the Chichonal Volcano – the house of the Piogba chuwe – and the mist mountains of Rayon and Tapalapa, but mainly large areas of corn crops, where the Zoques sustain their life, their cosmovision and love for the land are at risk because of the tender and concession of more than 160,000 hectares of land to private and foreign companies from several countries “.

This award “represents an encouragement in our journey and recognition of children, women, men and elderly Zoques who have decided to raise their voices to show the world their indignation and deep love for the land, which commits us to continue building the resistance of indigenous peoples, but it is also a message of peace and hope for all those peoples of Latin America who fight for life, water, land and territory.”

For more information in Spanish:

El Premio Internacional de Paz representa un aliento en nuestro caminar: Pueblo Creyente Zoque. (Chiapas Denuncia Pública, 18 de octubre de 2017)

Pueblo Zoque en Defensa de la Vida recibirá Premio Internacional de Paz. (CDH fray Bartolomé de las Casas, 5 de octubre de 2017)

Por qué el Pueblo Creyente Zoque marcha a favor del Agua, la Tierra y la Vida. (Otros Mundos Chiapas, 19 de junio de 2017

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: El pueblo Zoque se está movilizando contra los mega-proyectos en Chiapas. (29 de junio de 2017)

Chiapas: machan ejidos y comunidades de la zona zoque contra los proyectos extractivos. (3 de mayo de 2017)

Chiapas: Libre activista zoque, Silvia Juárez Juárez. (4 de julio de 2017)

San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, October 12th, 2017.

Joint communiqué.

International accompaniment and observation of human rights

The Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights, (Frayba) and the International Peace Service (SIPAZ) report that they will be accompanying the caravan organized in the framework of the tour of the National Indigenous Congress and the Indigenous Council of Government, which will take place from October 13th to 19th of this year in the state of Chiapas according to the following announced program:

Friday, October 13th, 2017.- Start of caravan to Las Margaritas.

Saturday, October 14th, 2017.- Village of Guadalupe Tepeyac.

Sunday, October 15th, 2017.- Morelia Caracol.

Monday, October 16th, 2017.- La Garrucha Caracol.

Tuesday October 17th, 2017 .- Roberto Barrios Caracol.

Wednesday, October 18th, 2017.- Palenque.

Thursday October 19th, 2017.- Oventik Caracol.

The objective of the accompaniment will be to provide a presence for observation and documentation for the respect of human rights in the course of the caravan and in the planned events. Regrettably, in the face of the denunciations made by the National Indigenous Congress (CNI in its Spanish acronym) in recent months, which have included threats, attacks and aggressions, we see this deterrent presence as necessary. We consider it important that these activities be carried out with peace of mind, as part of a peaceful organizational effort aimed at defending the rights of indigenous peoples in the country.

The present communiqué is to inform the Mexican authorities and international human rights bodies, so that in their area of ​​competence, they provide guarantees of protection to the caravan, which we reiterate, is a civil and peaceful action.

In the same way, we ask for guarantees of respect and protection of the integrity and safety of the members of the caravan, the right to life, and individual and collective rights and freedoms, guaranteeing in the immediate future the necessary conditions to carry out the caravan, without police accompaniment being considered in the activities.

The members of SIPAZ will be present in the activities wearing vests with the organization logo and the text ‘international observer’.

The members of the Frayba will be accompanying the Caravan as human rights observers.

See: https://www.congresonacionalindigena.org/

We call for permanent accompaniment by international human rights organizations.

We call for national and international solidarity to demand the Mexican State in its three levels of government:

1.- Guarantee the work of human rights defenders in Mexico.

2.- Immediately adopt appropriate measures to guarantee the safety and physical integrity of the members of the Caravan of the National Indigenous Congress as well as the Indigenous Council of Government.

3.- Ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9th, 1998.

4.- In general, ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards ratified by Mexico.

We declare that we will be attentive at all points of the tour, with the aim of ensuring respect for human rights and documenting any security incident.

This communiqué has been sent to the authorities of the Mexican State, as well as to international human rights bodies.

For more information:

Congreso Nacional Indígena (CNI)

Este sábado se registra Marichuy, la aspirante presidencial zapatista (El Proceso, 6 de octubre de 2017)

La aspirante indígena a la presidencia de México rechaza dinero público para su campaña (El País, 9 de octubre de 2017)

Para más información en ingles:

Mexico’s Indigenous Congress: Decolonising politics (Al Jazeera, 27 de septiembre de 2017)

Zapatista-Backed Indigenous Woman Registers to Run for Mexican Presidency (teleSUR, 7 de octubre de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas/Nacional : Candidata presidencial “no es decisión de una persona” (Subcomandante Moíses) (15 de noviembre de 2016)

Chiapas / Nacional : CNI y EZLN realizarán consulta para nombrar a una candidata indígena hacia las elecciones presidenciales de 2018 (15 de octubre de 2016)