National: CNDH Requests Cautionary Measures for Cristobal Santiz Jimenez

@ Frayba

On March 26th, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) requested that the Governor of Chiapas, the Secretary General of the Government and the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of the state implement precautionary measures for Cristobal Santiz Jimenez, who has been deprived of his liberty since last March 14th at the State Center for Social Reintegration (CERSS) Number 14 “El Amate”. It should be noted that Cristobal Santiz Jimenez is a Tzotzil indigenous originating from the municipality of Aldama and a community defender and representative of the Permanent Commission of Communal and Displaced Peoples.

In this sense, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Frayba) reported the defender’s human rights abuses and violations and requested, after the arrest, precautionary measures before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to protect the life and safety of Cristobal Santiz Jimenez and his family. Likewise, Frayba explains that his arrest “occurs in the context of criminalization and threats to his life, liberty, security and integrity due to the constant denunciations of the omission of the Mexican State in the escalation of violence in the Chiapas Highlands region”, and he has faced threats “from the Mexican State that demanded his silence in exchange for his freedom; as well as death threats by the armed paramilitary group of Santa Martha, Chenalho,” said Frayba on its NotiFrayba news site.

According to the CNDH press release, measures are requested “with respect to acts or omissions that could constitute violations of the victim’s human rights, including protection of life, integrity, personal security and health.”

For more information in Spanish:

Solicita CNDH a autoridades de Chiapas, medidas cautelares en favor del señor Cristóbal Sántiz Jiménez (CNDH, 26 marzo 2020)

CNDH solicita al gobierno de Chiapas medidas cautelares a favor del activista Cristóbal Sántiz (Proceso, 26 marzo 2020)

Urgimos la libertad de Cristóbal Sántiz Jiménez
(Frayba, 15 marzo 2020)

Exhorta CNDH al gobierno de Chiapas a salvaguardar la vida, integridad personal y seguridad de las comunidades indígenas en conflicto por la disputa de tierras
(CNDH, 26 marzo 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Detienen a defensor comunitario de derechos humanos por presunto homicidio (March 17, 2020)

Chiapas: Authorities in Santa Martha and Aldama Denounce New Attacks (March 5, 2020)

Chiapas: National Guard and Police Oppression of Migrants Protesting over COVID-19 Fears

@Conexion Migrante

On March 23rd, between 50 and 70 migrants, mainly from Central American countries, clashed with Federal Police and National Guard agents inside the Siglo XXI Migration Center in Tapachula.

Given the worldwide spread of COVID-19, Guatemala closed its borders on March 17th and asked Mexico to end the deportations of Central American migrants. For this reason, many find themselves unable to return to their countries of origin or continue their journey through Mexico to the United States. They are trapped in Tapachula.

In addition to that, at least two shelters on the border between Guatemala and Mexico stopped their service due to the pandemic meaning that migrants who have not been detained by elements of the National Guard are in a high risk situation as they have no place of refuge.

Information on the events of last Monday at the immigration station was obtained through interviews with witnesses and victims.

They reported that there was a protest by a group of migrants in the courtyard of the men’s module at around 5 pm to express their fear in the context of COVID-19 and demand their release or return to their countries of origin. Previously, they had repeatedly denounced the conditions in the migration station, which has severe overcrowding, food and water shortages, and limited medical care.

In response to the protest, a brigade of Federal Police and some 20 National Guard agents entered, who dispersed the group using pepper spray and water jets. According to what was documented by the Human Rights Observation and Monitoring Collective, they dragged the protesters to the bathrooms, a place without surveillance cameras, to punish them with kicks and punches, as well as Taser devices for electric shocks.

They then led people by bus to an unknown location. “It is urgent to find out how many people were removed from the Migration Center, where they are and what the current physical and mental health situation is,” said Conexion Migrante.

In a statement, the Collective for Observation and Monitoring of Human Rights in Southeast Mexico and the Driving Group against Immigration Detention and Torture expressed that they condemn “energetically all acts of violence and the use of disproportionate force against people, men, women and adolescents in immigration detention.” They demand “that the facts be clarified, those responsible be punished and that the physical and mental integrity of all persons who are in immigration detention or other forms of deprivation of liberty be guaranteed.”

They also pointed out that according to Article 1 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment “the term ‘torture’ shall be understood as any act by which serious pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted on a person; whether physical or mental, in order to obtain information or a confession from her or from a third party.”

For its part, the National Institute of Migration (INM) published a statement stating that “it seeks to implement actions so that migrants of Central American origin, housed in migratory centers and provisional stays of the institute, can return safely to their places of origin.”

For more information in Spanish:

Comunicado de las organizaciones de derechos de migrantes (25 de marzo de 2020)

Guardia Nacional reprime violentamente protesta de migrantes en Tapachula, Chiapas (Conexión Migrante el 25 de marzo de 2020)

Activistas mexicanos denuncian violencia contra inmigrantes que protestan por temor a coronavirus (Infobae el 26 de marzo de 2020)

Migrantes quedan atrapados en México por COVID-19 (Chiapasparalelo el 25 de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas/International: Caravan of 4,000 Reaches Southern Border – Stopped by National Guard (January 21, 2020)

Chiapas: Migration Authorities Stop Migrant Caravan in Tapachula (October 17, 2019)

Chiapas: African Migrants Clash with National Guard in Tapachula

(October 8, 2019)

International/National: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ends Mexican Visit while African Migrants Protest in Tapachula (October 7, 2019)

Chiapas: Federal Police Attack Migrants and Journalists at Migration Center in Tapachula (September 2, 2019)

Chiapas/National/International: Human Rights Organizations Demand End to Child and Adolescent Migrant Detentions (May 26, 2019)

National/International: CNDH Requests Special Measures for Migrants (May 8, 2019)

Chiapas: IEPC Approves Regulations to Deal with Indigenous Consultations in Electoral Matters

Photo @ Bajo Palabra

On March 20th, the General Council of the Institute of Elections and Citizen Participation (IEPC) of Chiapas announced that they approved the regulation to meet requests that are submitted to their institution that are submitted to their institution for indigenous consultations on electoral matters.

They reported that the regulation establishes the requirements that the citizens interested in requesting a consultation must determine to determine the origin of the change in the electoral system, which may be political parties or internal regulatory systems. “In order to guarantee that the request for consultation has the support of a significant part of the citizens of the municipality, the request must be endorsed by at least 25 percent of the communities that make up the municipality and that, in turn, represent the same percentage of the citizenship registered in the nominal list of the municipal district.”

They consider that the “regulatory attribution guarantees the right to consultation and self-determination of indigenous peoples and communities (…) complies with the principles established in Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries: endogenous, free, peaceful, informed, democratic, equitable, socially responsible, self-managed and prior.”

They highlighted that “among the actions carried out to comply with the aforementioned principles, consultation forums were held in the municipalities of Ocosingo and San Cristobal de Las Casas, on November 28th and December 5th, 2019, in which the the opinion of authorities and citizens of indigenous peoples and communities was recorded, to include it in the construction of the regulation.”

For more information in Spanish:

APRUEBA IEPC EL REGLAMENTO PARA ATENDER SOLICITUDES DE CONSULTAS INDÍGENAS EN MATERIA ELECTORAL (IEPC, 20 de marzo de 2020)

REALIZAN IEPC E INPI: FORO DE CONSULTA Y ELABORACIÓN DE LA PROPUESTA DE REGLAMENTO PARA ATENDER SOLICITUDES DE CONSULTAS INDÍGENAS EN MATERIA ELECTORAL (IEPC, 28 de noviembre de 2019)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Gobiernos Comunitarios de Chilón y Sitalá denuncian obstaculización de su derecho a la libre determinación (21 de noviembre de 2019)

Chiapas: Creciente polarización en Chilón ante posible cambio de modo de elección, del sistema oficial al por usos y costumbres (15 de agosto de 2019

Chiapas: Inicia INAH estudio cultural en Sitalá y Chilón para determinar posibilidad de pasar a elecciones municipales por la vía de los usos y costumbres (11 de mayo de 2019)

Chiapas: Prisoners Start Three-day Fast to Demand Freedom

The prisoners, members of the organization Solidarios de la Voz de Amate, announce three days of fasting to demand their freedom:

“Indigenous Prisoners “Solidarios de la Voz de Amate” adherents to the Sixth Declaration of the EZLN Lacandon Jungle, held in CERSS Number 5 in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas.

Once again, we raise our voices because of the wave of injustices that exist in this state of Chiapas. Here we continue waiting for the “Fourth Transformation”, since we are still unjustly deprived of our freedom.

Enough mistreatment and discrimination against all of us who demonstrate peacefully to demand justice! Today, Wednesday, March 18th, 2020, we celebrate exactly one year of fighting for our freedom.

Here we continue with our family members, compañeros, and different organizations that have dignifiedly accompanied us in search for our freedom. For a year, the government of the state of Chiapas pledged before them that there would soon be a clear solution for our freedom. This promise has not come to this day, but on the contrary, it is a mockery and a deception.

For this reason, starting today, Wednesday the 15th, we announce that we will be fasting for three days, to demand once again our immediate freedom from the governor of the state of Chiapas, Rutilio Escandon Cadenas, as he is aware of each case and he knows that we are innocent, he clearly knows the violation of our rights at the time of our arrest, as well as in the trials.

Furthermore, to remind the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, of his promise of “No more political prisoners.” One year and three months of his government, we continue waiting for this promise.

Our families have gone out knocking on doors at the state and federal levels, they have witnessed false promises, so we have decided to carry out this action.

Our 29-day strike last year will not go unpunished.

We will never be silent!

Freedom, freedom!

Finally, we invite the different local, national and international organizations to unite to demand our freedom, as well as that of the country’s political prisoners.”

The prisoners are: Mariano Perez Velasco, Martin Gomez Lopez, Marcos Gomez Lopez, Mariano Gomez Lopez, Felipe Diaz Mendez, Mario Diaz Rodriguez, Roberto Martinez Perez, Mario Gomez Lopez held at the State Center for Social Reintegration for Sentenced Persons Number 5 in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas.

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Exigen libertad para las 9 presos solidarios de la Voz del Amate, (6 /11/2019)

Chiapas:Presos del Cerss 5 son amenazados de ser reubicados si no detienen su protesta (6 de septiembre de 2019)

Chiapas: After over 100 Days on Hunger Strike, Prisoners Need Appropriate Medical Attention and Continue to Demand Freedom (June 27, 2019)

Chiapas/National: Petition in Support of Injunction against Maya Train

© Sipaz

On March 16th, a press conference was held by the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Frayba), in which members of the Regional Indigenous and Popular Council of Xpujil (CRIPX), the municipal seat of Calakmul, Campeche, were present, as well as members of the Diocese of San Cristobal.

A pronouncement was made whereby they demanded that the federal authorities respect the rights of the Choles, Mayans, Tzotziles and Tzeltal communities affected by the Maya Train megaproject, which have been violated since the informative phase by not complying with international standards and by not presenting a study of the environmental, economic, social and cultural impacts of the projects.

In this sense, the human rights sector of ​​the diocese of San Cristobal launched an initiative in a show of support and solidarity with which 12,124 signatures were collected from 15 municipalities of Chiapas. When delivering, Virginia Diaz Rojas expressed: “we have become aware of the effects that all these projects bring […] In this way we are joining together to face all these projects that come to destroy our Mother Earth, our territories, to our cultures…”. Faced with this response, Ernesto Martinez Jimenez, member of the CRIPX, was very grateful and happy and affirmed that Chiapas was the first state to support them and made a call to the rest of the peninsular states to join the injunction case.

For more information in Spanish:

Comunidades Mayas rechazan megaproyectos que amenazan la Vida(CDH Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, 16 de marzo de 2020)

Entregan firmas en solidaridad para juicio de amparo del Tren Maya (La Jornada, 16 de marzo de 2020)

Respaldan chiapanecos suspensión del Tren Maya (Diario de Chiapas, 17 de marzo de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ :

National: Huge Contrast between Study of Maya Train Commissioned by National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) and Discourse of AMLO Government (March 19, 2020)

National/International: Consultation on Maya Train did not Meet International Standards (January 4, 2020)

National: Indigenous Consultation Participants Accept Maya Train Project; Convention 169 of ILO not Respected (January 4, 2020)

National: Bidding Process Begins for Maya Train without Previous Consultation with Indigenous Peoples (May 10, 2019)

Mexico: Consultations on Maya Train and Nine “Priority” Projects of New Government (December 13th, 2018)

National: AMLO Announces Consultation for the Construction of the Maya Train (November 14th, 2018)

Chiapas: EZLN Closes Caracoles Due to Coronavirus and Calls on People to Continue Struggle

On March 16th, 2020, the EZLN published a communiqué about the actions that they are going to take against the Coronavirus and a strong call not to give up the struggle:

“CONSIDERING THE REAL, SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN THREAT TO HUMAN LIFE THAT  COVID-19, ALSO KNOWN AS “CORONAVIRUS” PRESENTS;

CONSIDERING THE FRIVOLOUS IRRESPONSIBILITY AND THE LACK OF SERIOUSNESS OF THE BAD GOVERNMENTS AND OF THE POLITICAL CLASS IN ITS ENTIRETY, THAT MAKE USE OF A HUMANITARIAN PROBLEM TO ATTACK EACH OTHER, INSTEAD OF TAKING THE NECESSARY MEASURES TO CONFRONT THE LIFE-THREATENING VIRUS, WHICH ENDANGERS EVERYONE IRREGARDLESS OF NATIONALITY, GENDER, RACE, LANGUAGE, RELIGIOUS BELIEF, POLITICAL AFFILIATION, SOCIAL CONDITION OR HISTORY;

CONSIDERING THE LACK OF TRUE AND TIMELY INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCOPE AND GRAVITY OF THE VIRUS, AS WELL AS THE ABSENCE OF A REAL PLAN TO CONFRONT THE THREAT;

CONSIDERING THE ZAPATISTA COMMITMENT IN OUR FIGHT FOR LIFE;

WE HAVE DECIDED:

FIRST.- DECLARE A RED ALERT IN OUR VILLAGES, COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS, AND IN ALL THE ZAPATIST ORGANIZATIONAL BODIES.

SECOND.- TO GOOD GOVERNMENT COUNCILS AND AUTONOMOUS REBEL ZAPATISTA MUNICIPALITIES, WE RECOMMEND THE TOTAL AND IMMEDIATE CLOSURE OF THE CARACOLES AND CENTERS OF RESISTANCE AND REBELLION.

THIRD.- WE RECOMMEND THE SUPPORT BASES AND ALL THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE TO FOLLOW A SERIES OF SPECIAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND HYGIENE MEASURES THAT WILL BE SENT TO THE ZAPATIST COMMUNITIES, TOWNS AND NEIGHBORHOODS.

FOURTH.- IN THE ABSENCE OF THE BAD GOVERNMENTS, WE URGE EVERYONE, IN MEXICO AND THE WORLD, TO TAKE THE NECESSARY WITH SCIENTIFICALLY-BASED SANITARY MEASURES THAT WILL ALLOW US TO SURVIVE THIS PANDEMIC.

FIFTH.- WE CALL ON YOU NOT TO CEASE THE STRUGGLE AGAINST FEMICIDAL  VIOLENCE, TO CONTINUE THE STRUGGLE IN DEFENSE OF TERRITORY AND MOTHER EARTH, TO KEEP UP THE STRUGGLE FOR THE DISAPPEARED, MURDERED, AND IMPRISONED, AND KEEP THE FLAG OF THE FIGHT FOR HUMANITY RAISED HIGH.

SIXTH.- WE CALL ON YOU NOT TO LOSE HUMAN CONTACT, BUT TO TEMPORARILY CHANGE THE WAYS WE RELATE TO EACH OTHER AS COMRADES, SISTERS, BROTHERS, SISTERS.

THE WORD, THE EAR, AND THE HEART, HAVE MANY ROADS, MANY WAYS, MANY CALENDARS AND MANY GEOGRAPHIES TO MEET. THIS FIGHT FOR LIFE MAY BE ONE OF THEM.”

For more information in Spanish:

POR CORONAVIRUS EL EZLN CIERRA CARACOLES Y LLAMA A NO ABANDONAR LAS LUCHAS ACTUALES, Enlace Zapatista, 16 de marzo de 2020

EZLN decreta “alerta roja” por coronavirus y cierra sus centros de autogobierno en Chiapas, Aristeguinoticias, 17 de marzo de 2020

EZLN cierra sus centros de reunión, por COVID-19, Chiapasparalelo, 16 de marzo de 2020

EZLN decreta “alerta roja” en sus pueblos, comunidades por Covid-19, La Jornada, 17 de marzo de 2020

Chiapas: Alberto Patishtan Denounces Threats after Arrests for Son’s Kidnapping

Alberto Patishtan (@El Sie7e de Chiapas)

On March 15th, the former political prisoner and activist for the release of unjustly detained detainees, Alberto Patishtan Gomez, publicly denounced that he and his family were threatened by phone, when he was asked him to withdraw the complaint against Antonio N, one of the alleged perpetrators of the kidnapping of his son Jacinto “N”, on March 9th, near the municipality of El Bosque where he is from. His son was kidnapped by four people, but after a mobilization he was rescued.

Given this, Patishtan asked the Mexican State to implement mechanisms to safeguard his integrity and life, as well as that of his family. He also demanded guarantees to be able to continue his work as a defender of human rights, particularly for the freedom of the indigenous people Solidarios de Voz del Amate, unjustly imprisoned.

For more information Spanish:

Denuncia amenazas el activista Alberto Patishtán después del secuestro de su hijo (El Heraldo de Chiapas, 16 de marzo de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas/International: Solidarios de la Voz del Amate Seeks Alliances with Other Processes in Latin America (December 6, 2019)

Chiapas: Exigen libertad para las 9 presos solidarios de la Voz del Amate (6 de noviembre de 2019)

Chiapas: Six Prisoners Resume Indefinite Hunger Strike in San Cristobal and Comitan Prisons (May 17, 2019)