Guerrero: Tlachinollan Responds to CDI Accusations of Misappropriation of Funds

In a press release published on June 12th, the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center denied the claims of the head of the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples (CDI in its Spanish acronym), Lenin Carbajal Cabrera, in the sense that the organization would be implicated in misappropriation of public resources destined to indigenous communities of Guerrero Mountain, after the effects of the hurricanes Ingrid and Manuel in 2013.

Carbajal Cabrera publicly stated that there are no longer funds to support the 16,000 indigenous people affected and that the census that Tlachinollan manages includes officials and people who would not need social assistance.

Tlachinollan, which has accompanied the Council of Affected Communities of the Mountain, denied these allegations and stated that, “the Mexican authorities use slander and defamation against defenders who are uncomfortable for [for those in] power, because they highlight the omissions of the State and defend the human rights of those who have least. ” The Council of Communities for its part denounced that “it is inadmissible that an official who is said to represent the indigenous peoples centers his attack against the same communities that have been defrauded by public officials and construction companies, that after more than four years have not completed the works programmed to become accomplices of this millionaire heist. Now it turns out that they want to audit the poor families of the Mountain and we made to look like fraudsters that handle false data and that we are getting profits of millions from a program of staple grains, whose resources are managed and operated by the same CDI. “

 For more information in Spanish:

Acusa la CDI a Abel Barrera de desviar recursos del Programa Alimentario en la Montaña (Transfondo Informativo, 12 de junio de 2017)

COMUNICADO | ¿Quiénes defraudan y traicionan al pueblo? (Consejo de Comunidades de la Montaña, 13 de junio de 2017)

No desviamos fondos federales de afectados por tormentas: Tlachinollan (Contralínea, 14 de junio de 2017)

 For more information from SIPAZ:

Guerrero: movilización masiva para garantizar los derechos básicos en la Montaña (7 de febrero de 2017)

Guerrero: Se logra acuerdo para implementación de un programa de abastecimiento de granos básicos para los damnificados de la Montaña (22 de febrero 2014)
Guerrero: Damnificados de la Montaña realizan “Peregrinación del Hambre” por falta de apoyo gubernamental (5 de febrero de 2014)
Guerrero: Damnificados de las tormentas migran para poder subsistir (22 de octubre de 2013)

National: “The Offensive of Those Above against the Movement from Below”, CNI Communiqué Reports Intensification of Repression

On June 12th, the National Indigenous Congress (CNI in its Spanish acronym) published a new communiqué titled “The Offensive of Those Above against the Movement from Below” “to repudiate the repressive escalation against compañeros from our peoples where they have been nominating councilors for integration of the Indigenous Council of Government for Mexico, which represents for us an attack against the CNI and our proposal that we have launched throughout the nation.”

It denounced threats, attacks, arrests and a murder in four communities in Chiapas, a community in Queretaro, one in Morelos, one in the State of Mexico, one in Michoacan, one in Campeche, and the situation of Mayan indigenous people in Guatemala who are displaced in Campeche.

The CNI identified these events as part of “the intensification of the war against our peoples, the storm that flashes across the sky and now seeks to end hope for all Mexicans represented by the Indigenous Council of Government and our spokeswoman, of the use of attack groups and paramilitaries to strike at the struggle of the peoples that make up the CNI, of the criminalization and persecution of those who fight for a just world, from below and to the left.”

 For more information in Spanish:

La ofensiva de arriba, ante el movimiento de abajo (CNI, 12 de junio de 2017)

“Escalada represiva” contra pueblos del Congreso Nacional Indígena (Contralínea, 12 de junio de 2017)

 For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas : Aumenta tensión en Tila (9 de junio de 2017)

Chiapas : Allanamiento y robo de información a integrante de Semilla Digna, parte del CNI (8 de junio de 2017)

Chiapas: Asesinan a Rodrigo Guadalupe Huet Gómez(6 de junio de 2017)

Nacional / Chiapas : El CNI conforma su Concejo Indígena de Gobierno y elige a su vocera (31 de mayo de 2017)

National/International: Organizations and Defenders Take Urgent Action

Photo: https://contactohoy.com.mx/onu-mexico-rechaza-reforma-por-derecho-a-la-vida-desde-concepcion-en-veracruz/

Civil society organizations and environmental advocates called for urgent action to be taken by companies and the State following the report presented by the UN Working Group on human rights and transnational corporations.

The organizations recalled that “companies do not report what they do to detect and prevent the negative consequences of their actions on human rights” and the Government “has not yet set clear guidelines nor set definite expectations for companies in relation to their responsibility to respect human rights in all their activities.” This is exemplified, among others, in the case of Rio Santiago River, which, according to the organizations, the companies “throw whatever they want and in whatever quantities they want” with impunity, complicity and protection of the authorities; they recalled that in the area of ​​Rio Santiago, where around 300 industries operate, more than 600 people have died from industrial pollution.

The UN report demands that the right to prior, free, informed and culturally appropriate consultation, in accordance with ILO Convention 169, be respected, stating that “consultations should be carried out as early as possible in the process of designing the projects and should leave open the possibility that some projects are not viable.” Against this, Civil Society reported that 32 of the 68 documented cases of abuse by companies violated the right to land and territory and in 28 cases, access to information.

The UN Working Group also denounced that, “too often attacks on human rights defenders go unpunished, without investigations or effective sanctions being applied.” From the civil society they denounced that the existence of hired assassins and paramilitary forces on the payroll of companies that harass and fracture communities were ignored. Mario Luna, spokesperson for the Yaqui community of Sonora and opponent to the Independencia aqueduct, explained that, “we, in the exercise of our rights, have been criminalized, demonized.” Facing this, defenders and civil society demanded that both the State and the companies carry out the recommendations of the UN Working Group and that “the highest government officials and CEOs should make it very clear that intimidation and attacks against human rights defenders are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

CSO members and defenders pointed out that the UN report addressed very few cases and that it could talk more about how companies and authorities relate, labor rights, tourism projects, environmental impacts and the rights of indigenous peoples, in most cases defenders and guarantors of the environment.

For more information in Spanish:

Urge que Estado y empresas acaten informe sobre derechos humanos realizado por ONU: OSC (CentroProdh, a 13 de junio de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Nacional: Visita oficial del Grupo de Trabajo de la ONU sobre empresas y derechos humanos a México

 

 

 

International/National: Over 100 Guatemalan Campesina Families Take Refuge at Mexican Border

Displaced from Laguna Larga, Guatemala in Campeche (Photo @Radio Pozol)

Since June 2nd, some 120 families of Guatemalan campesinos (between 500 and 700 people) have fled the Laguna Larga community in the Peten area of ​​Guatemala to the Mexican border, where they set up an improvised camp near the El Desengano ejido, Municipality of Candelaria, Campeche on the border line between Guatemala and Mexico. Their forced displacement occurred after the announcement of a massive eviction and the mobilization of more than a thousand members of the National Civil Police (PNC in its Spanish acronym) and the Guatemalan army.

On the Government of Guatemala’s part, according to a Prensa Libre article, the eviction is based on “an eviction order issued by a court in Peten, (where) the National Council of Protected Areas CONAP argues for the conservation of Biosphere as a pretext, but denies and hinders any process or alternative that resolves the recognition of the population that lives within Laguna Larga, Sierra Lacandona and Laguna del Tigre. “

On June 7th, civil organizations conducted an observation and documentation visit and reported “the critical conditions of the camp and the nearly 100 families housed there, and that a preliminary census counts about 450 people. They are conditions that allow us to speak of a humanitarian emergency, which endangers the lives and integrity of children and, in general, of women and all the people settled there.”

They denounced “the grave breaches of the Guatemalan and Mexican governments in the face of a situation of forced displacement and the evident violation of human rights committed by the Guatemalan Army and its government against the population of Laguna Larga, evicted and besieged by security forces of both countries.” They also questioned that “the Mexican government is not responding to the gravity of the situation. Certain food and medical aid, which has been provided by the civilian population rather than by the government, is far from addressing the emergency, to overcome the risk conditions for the vulnerable population under their responsibility.”

For more information in Spanish:

Cientos de campesinos guatemaltecos se instalan en municipio de Campeche (La Jornada,5 de junio de 2017)

Activistas reportan éxodo de 700 guatemaltecos a México (Proceso, 5 de junio de 2017)

Desplazados guatemaltecos quedan varados en línea fronteriza de Campeche (Desinformémonos, 5 de junio de 2017)

Alarma y preocupación ante condiciones de la comunidad Laguna Larga, Petén desplazada forzadamente en la frontera con México (Red TdT, 8 de junio de 2017)

Organizaciones documentan negativa del gobierno a brindar recursos a los desplazados de Guatemala (Desinformémonos, 9 de junio de 2017)

Chiapas: Burglary and Information Theft from Member of Semilla Digna and CNI

(Photo@Web del CNI)

In a bulletin published on June 6th, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (CDHFBC in its Spanish acronym, also known as Frayba) expressed concern about the robbery and burglary at Alejandra Padilla Garcia’s home, a member of Semilla Digna, an organization that forms part of the National Indigenous Congress (CNI), as well as being a collaborator of the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Indigenous Center for Integral Training – Unitierra Chiapas (CIDECI – Unitierra Chiapas).

The events occurred in San Cristobal de Las Casas, on May 28th, 2017 while Alejandra Padilla Garcia was in CIDECI – Unitierra Chiapas, where the General Assembly of the CNI was held for the formation of the Indigenous Council of Government and the election of its spokesperson.

According to documents from the CDHFBC, “the door of Alejandra’s house was found open, as well as that of her room, from which a laptop with important information about the work she does accompanying organizational processes in communities of Chiapas and other states of the Republic”.

In this context, the CDHFBC underscored that during the last three months, “Alejandra and other members of the CNI and the support team of CIDECI – Unitierra Chiapas have been monitored and monitored and followed by several individuals on board suspicious vehicles.”

The CDHFBC repudiated “these types of actions that undermine the security of human rights defenders, whose objective is to fracture the fabric of solidarity with indigenous and peasant communities, as well as instill fear in people who dedicate their efforts to commitment in favor of the rights of indigenous peoples.”

 For more information in Spanish:

Allanamiento y robo de información a la defensora Alejandra Padilla (Boletín del CDHFBC, de junio de 2017)

Allanan y roban domicilio de defensora de derechos en Chiapas (Desinformémonos, 7 de junio de 2017)

Allanan y roban casa de defensora (Cuarto Poder, 7 de junio de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Nacional / Chiapas : El CNI conforma su Concejo Indígena de Gobierno y elige a su vocera (31 de mayo de 2017)

Guerrero: Xochistlahuaca Reporter Shot at in Ometepec

Marcela de Jesus Natalia (Photo @Radio Zócalo)

On the morning of June 3rd, the radio and television announcer from Guerrero (RTG), Marcela de Jesus Natalia, an indigenous Amuzga native of Xochistlahuaca and reporter with Guerrero Radio and Television (RTG in its Spanish acronym), was shot at when she left the radio station in the municipality of Ometepec. She was injured by a bullet and is in a serious condition.

Journalists from the state condemned this “new attack on journalists” and demanded that the State Attorney General’s Office find immediate results, as well as a thorough investigation and punishment of the perpetrators of the attack.

They denounced in a public letter that, “in this climate of violence that prevails in Guerrero, the ineffectiveness of the institutions leaves all the citizens of Guerrero in total defenselessness. Anything can happen in Guerrero because the crimes go unpunished, so it is urgent that the investigating authorities give results.”

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) requested the Secretary General of Guerrero to implement precautionary measures to safeguard the integrity, personal safety and life of Marcela de la Cruz Natalia and her family, as well as guarding the facilities of RTG Of Guerrero, and provide protection to those who work there.

 For more information in Spanish:

Condenan periodistas guerrerenses atentado contra locutora amuzga (Radio Fórmula, 3 de junio de 2017)

Atacan a balazos a locutora de habla ñomndaa. Está grave, informe Ssa (Sur de Acapulco, 4 de junio de 2017)

Atacan a balazos a locutora en el municipio de Ometepec, en Guerrero (Animal Político, 4 de junio de 2017)

Grave, locutora indígena que fue tiroteada ayer en Guerrero (La Jornada, 4 de junio de 2017)

Marcela de Jesús, comunicadora baleada en Ometepec, se encuentra grave: SSA de Guerrero (Desinformémonos, 4 de junio de 2016)

 For more information from SIPAZ :

Nacional/Guerrero: Siguen ataques y homicidios de periodistas y defensores de Derechos Humanos (19 de mayo de 2017)

Guerrero : asesinan al periodista Cecilio Pineda (6 de marzo de 2017)
Guerrero: Asesinaron a periodista en Taxco (26 de abril de 2016)

 

Chiapas: Las Abejas de Acteal Statement for Monthly Commemoration of Massacre

Peaceful protest of Las Abejas Civil Society outside Majomut army barracks, Chenalho, March 2017. Photo @Sipaz

On May 22nd, 19 years and five months after the Acteal massacre, Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society Organization issued a statement to recall that impunity continues and to continue to demand justice, as it has done without stopping for almost 20 years.

They also denounced the situation of violence, “more rampant than ever,” in which Mexico is today. They also remembered journalist Javier Valdez, murdered on May 15th for criticizing and telling the truth “about dirty politics and crimes committed by bad governments and organized crime.”

They pointed out the lack of resources and supplies in hospitals in Chiapas “while with the bad government of Velasco Coello, millions of pesos are spent on advertising, on welfare programs to divide communities and buy consciences and even finance the purchase of arms for paramilitary groups. There is no money for life and health but there is money for death and lies.” They warned that paramilitarism has been reactivated in the same municipality of Chenalho.

Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society Organization concluded its statement recalling that its almost 25-year struggle “is peaceful and non-violent against injustice and exploitation of the bad government of PRI, PAN, green ecologists, PRD and other political party followers.”

For more information in Spanish:

Tenemos que seguir denunciando este infierno en que han convertido a México Enrique Peña Nieto y los ricos y poderosos (Organización de la Sociedad Civil Las Abejas de Acteal, 22 de mayo de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:


Chiapas: lanzamiento de la campaña Acteal: Raíz, Memoria y Esperanza (27 de marzo de 2017)

Chiapas: Conmemoración de los 19 años de la masacre de Acteal (24 de diciembre 2016)