Guerrero: Police beat journalists during protests for Ayotzinapa

Manifestation in Guerrero (@transfondoinformativo.blogspot.com)

On 11 November, Guerrero state police beat the journalist Carlos Navarrete Rubio from the Diario El Sur, beyond physically and verbally attacking at least 10 journalists who were documenting the violent displacement of at least 500 teachers from the State Coordination of Educational Workers in Guerrero (CETEG) at the state offices of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Chilpancingo.  These teachers were protesting the disappearance of the 43 normalist students from Ayotzinapa.

The next day, media workers protested at the Guerrero Palace of Governance and at the CETEG sit-in to demand guarantees for their journalistic work.  The reporter from El Sur who had been attacked publicly read aloud a letter in which he affirms that “the lack of protocols to dissuade social protests and the lack of training in terms of human rights on the part of state police is now evident, as has been reflected during protests that have taken place in recent days in Acapulco and Chilpancingo (…).  We are clear that we will not allow any other attacks against our media representatives.  Indeed, if this is repeated, we will react using all means we have at our disposal.”

Article 19, an organization that protects the right to freedom of expression, noted that the Guerrero state police must adopt the necessary measures to guarantee effective protection of this right “within contexts of manifestations or public protests, as in the adoption of protocols that are to guide security forces and other authorities in such contexts, toward the end of having them observe their tasks of preventing and protecting against any attacks directed at journalists and those who assist with the realization of coverage of protests, including the mobilization of emergency medical aid in safe conditions rather than criminalization.”

For more information (in Spanish):

ALERTA: Policías de Guerrero golpean a periodistas durante manifestación (Artículo 19, 12 de noviembre de 2014)

Reporteros agredidos por policías reclaman al gobierno garantías para su trabajo (El Sur de Acapulco, 13 de noviembre de 2014)

Llama EU a ‘‘mantener la calma’’ mientras se investigan los hechos ocurridos en Iguala (La Jornada, 13 de noviembre de 2014)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Guerrero: Parents reject PGR declaration (13 November 2014)

Guerrero: Update in the Ayotzinapa case (12 November 2014)

Guerrero: Update in the Iguala case: former Iguala mayor is arrested; governor of Guerrero resigns; European Parliament divided over Ayotzinapa (3 November 2014)

Guerrero: municipal police of Iguala fire on students of the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa. Six have died (11 October 2014)

Guerrero: Parents reject PGR declaration; organizations express concern for disqualification of defenders from Guerrero; HRW considers Tlatlaya and Ayotzinapa to be “State crimes”

March in solidarity with Ayotzinapa in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, 22 October (photo @SIPAZ)

At a press-conference on 7 November, Mexican Attorney General Jesús Murillo Karam reported that the 43 disappeared normalist students from Ayotzinapa were presumed to have been incinerated and their remains thrown into the Cocula river, in accordance with information provided by three members of the “United Warriors” drug cartel.  The remains that have been found will be sent to an Austrian university for a process that will take some time, for, given “their high grade of decomposition, it will be difficult to extract DNA for identification,” argued Murillo Karam.  “We do not accept” the PGR’s conclusions, as it “is attempting to close the case” of the 43 disappeared students, claimed a parent of one of the students, who insisted that “our sons are still alive.”  “Today they want to surprise us saying that they made ashes of our children, so that we could not recognize them,” observed another.  The parents claimed that the intention of this information was to “allow President Enrique Peña Nieto to go on tour and say that everything has been resolved.”  On 9 November, Peña Nieto began a trip to China and Asia, where he will participate in the meeting of the Forum for Asia-Pacific Cooperation and also attend the G-2o summit.

Beyond this, organizations that have followed the fate of the Mechanism of Protection for Human-Rights Defenders and Journalists expressed their concern for the declarations and information that come out in recent days against members of the social organizations who work in Guerrero state.  Their concern was directed in particular against the accusation of the interim governor Rogelio Ortega Martínez, who called into question the work of the Tlachinollan Mountain Center for Human Rights, and against the report of the Mexican intelligence report that was leaked by media, which accuses the technical secretary of the Guerrero Network of having ties with a guerrilla group.  In a document signed by dozens of human-rights organizations, they note that “the recent declarations by the governor […] are immensely worrying, since, amidst this human-rights crisis, he calls on the director of Tlachinollan to join the state government.  It should be stressed that both the José María Morelos Pavón Regional Center as well as Tlachinollan form a part of the ‘All Rights for All’ National Network of Civil Human-Rights Organizations, and are organizations that have been recognized for their dedication to the strengthening of social leaders that are so lacking in the region, as for their juridical defense in cases of serious human-rights violations.”

In a press-conference, José Miguel Vivanco, representative of Human Rights Watch (HRW), claimed the disappearance of the 43 normalist students from Ayotzinapa as well as the murder of 22 persons in Tlatlaya, Mexico state, to have “dragged” the name of Peña Nieto and his government “through the mud” in the international arena.  He mentioned that the federal executive had wanted to show the world a “Mexico that is fictitious,” and that he withdrew from considering questions of human rights and security, holding them to be “toxic” for his international image.  The HRW representative stressed that both cases are “crimes of State” to which the judicial authorities have reacted tardily and inefficiently.  The extrajudicial execution of at least 12 people at Tlatlaya by Army units and the forcible disappearance of the 43 normalist students from Ayotzinapa must be included within the “gravest” cases of violence “in the contemporary history of Mexico and Latin America in recent years.”  He added, however, that these are not isolated events, but rather form part of an atmosphere of impunity and corruption.

For more information (in Spanish):

“No aceptamos” la hipótesis del asesinato de los normalistas, sostienen padres de desaparecidos (Desinformémonos, 7 de noviembre de 2014)

La desaparición de los 43 normalistas de Ayotzinapa pudo evitarse, dice el Frayba (La Jornada de Guerrero, 7 de noviembre de 2014)

Video: Los quemaron 15 horas, con leña, diesel, llantas, plástico.- PGR(Aristegui Noticias, 7 de noviembre de 2014)

Desaparición de normalistas deja “por los suelos” imagen del gobierno, a nivel internacional: HRW (Aristegui Noticias, 7 de noviembre de 2014)

Comienza Peña Nieto su gira de trabajo en China y Australia (Milenio, 9 de noviembre de 2014)

Inaceptable la postura del gobernador y la del gobierno federal, dicen defensores (La Jornada de Guerrero, 10 de noviembre de 2014)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Guerrero: Update in the Ayotzinapa case (12 November 2014)

Guerrero: Update in the Iguala case: former Iguala mayor is arrested; governor of Guerrero resigns; European Parliament divided over Ayotzinapa (3 November 2014)

Guerrero: municipal police of Iguala fire on students of the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa. Six have died (11 October 2014)

Guerrero: CNDH investigates attacks on journalist from the Mountain region of Guerrero

Automobile belonging to journalist Brenda Nava Mancilla (@libertadguerrero.net)

On 19 October, the personal vehicle of journalist Brenda Nava Mancilla, editor of La Noticia en La Montaña in the municipality of Tlapa de Comonfort and also a delegate to the Journalists’ Club of Guerrero A.C., was burned in an arson attack.  Journalistic sources claim that she had been threatened previously for having published reports on the Indigenous Maternal and Pediatric Hospital of Guerrero.  The National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) has launched an investigation into the case.

For more information (in Spanish):

Investiga CNDH agresiones a periodista de Tlapa (Radio Formula, 30 de octubre de 2014)

Indaga CNDH amenazas contra periodista de Guerrero (MVS, 29 de octubre de 2014)

Amenazan e incendian camioneta de periodista en Guerrero (Animal Político, 20 de octubre de 2014)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Guerrero: denunciation of intimidation against Proceso correspondent in the state (2 September 2014)

Guerrero: Attack by governor’s bodyguard on journalist from El Sur (2 May 2014)

National: Harassment of home of director of Article 19 shortly before publication of report “Dissent in silence: violence against the press and criminalization of protest, Mexico 2013″ (28 March 2014)

Oaxaca: Consorcio Oaxaca completes 10 years working for a free life for women

To observe its tenth anniversary of work, Consorcio for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity Oaxaca (Consorcio Oaxaca) has published the book Lines toward New Geographies: Ten Years of Feminist Construction.  Since Consorcio Oaxaca emerged in 2003, with the goal of promoting respect for and exercise of the human rights of women and gender equality, it has been struggling against the criminalization of abortion, denouncing femicide and violence against women, and constantly criticizing racism, injustice, and inequality.  It also has insisted on public policies incorporating gender perspectives and has contributed to the training of judicial officials and public servants.

The book presents personal reflections of Consorcio members regarding their experiences, such as “when we fight against injustice it is impossible to separate this from our emotions,” and they called for a “will to actively participate and not allow oneself to be defeated, though it may seem that the fight has already been decided.”  For the female authors, the daily work of each woman is the first step to achieving change, given that the “struggle begins the life of each person.”

For more information (in Spanish):

10 años de Consorcio Oaxaca: “Mujeres que rompen el silencio” (30 de agosto de 2014)

Libro: Trazos hacia Nuevas Geografías. Diez años de construcción feminista (Consorcio Oaxaca)

Mujeres que rompen el silencio (E-Oaxaca, 31 de agosto de 2014)

Van 74 feminicidios en ocho meses (Noticias Net, 31 de agosto de 2014)

Trazos hacia nuevas geografías: Consorcio Oaxaca 10 años de construcción feminista (Las Caracolas, 4 de septiembre de 2014)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

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

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

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

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

Guerrero: denunciation of intimidation against Proceso correspondent in the state

On 15 August, the Proceso magazine denounced in an editorial note that a presumed representative of the Agency of the Public Military Ministry, which is contained within the Secretary for National Defense (SEDENA), attempted to hand over a summons to appear to its correspondent in Guerrero, Ezequiel Flores Contreras. The note detailed that, “in accordance with a report published by the daily newspaper La Crónica, Vespertino de Chilpancingo, at around 8:00 PM on Thursday 14 August, a man dressed in civilian clothes though with military features was making rounds in the SUSPEG district, located in the capital of Guerrero. Identifying himself as Israel Martínez, he asked in several houses about the location of the reporter’s home. The motive of the search, according to the claims he provided to neighbors, was to submit to Flores Contreras a summons to appear before the military courts, even though he is a civilian.”

Some hours previously, Ezequiel Flores had published a digital report in Proceso regarding the violence experienced in the state’s capital on Wednesday night. The correspondent confirmed that the SEDENA had not advised him of an agent visiting his home, such that he suspected that the military is after him.

In this sense, Article 19, an organization that defends journalists, published an alert for this, “which increasingly seems to resemble an attack on freedom of expression, insofar as the publication of information on organized crime cannot be reason for investigation or judicial processing.” The organization has called on SEDENA to clarify the events in question, recalling that this is not the first time that the correspondent has been harassed by the authorities, given that last year, Governor Ángel Aguirre Rivero “defamed and denigrated his labor.” Article 19 stressed that, so far this year, Guerrero has seen 15 attacks on journalists and communication media.

For more information (in Spanish):

Presunto militar busca entregar citatorio a corresponsal de Proceso (Proceso, 15 de agosto de 2014)

Alertan por acto de intimidación contra el corresponsal de la revista Proceso en Guerrero (El Sur de Acapulco, 17 de agosto de 2014)

Emiten alerta por presunto acoso a un comunicador (La Jornada, 17 de agosto de 2014)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Guerrero: Attack by governor’s bodyguard on journalist from El Sur (2 May 2014)

National: Harassment of home of director of Article 19 shortly before publication of report “Dissent in silence: violence against the press and criminalization of protest, Mexico 2013″ (28 March 2014)

Oaxaca: the Mexican state with the highest number of attacks on women human rights defenders and journalists (June 10, 2014)

Oaxaca: One of the most violent and dangerous states for the exercise of journalism (May 16, 2014)

National: According to the pre-audience for the People’s Permanent Tribunal (TPP), simulation and impunity prevent the eradication of violence against women

TPP Pre-audience (@Cencos)

 Between August 4 to 6, there was held in Mexico City the pre-audience “Gender Violence and Femicide” of the the Peoples’ Permanent Tribunal (TPP), Chapter Mexico. This time 18 cases were analyzed and the different types of violence against women that happen in the country, such as femicide, discrimination, criminalization, labor violence, attacks on journalists and presenters, obstetric violence and human trafficking, were demonstrated. The jury accused the Mexican government of not fulfilling its obligation to eradicate violence and discrimination against women. According to the jury, laws, institutions and state actions do not generate concrete results in combating violence, and especially do not guarantee neither protection nor effective access to justice. It declared: “Legal changes are achieved, yes […] but in the end, the State justifies itself and doesn’t assume the contents of those law […] and that is serious, because it undermines the right of women to live without violence”. Besides the Jury stressed that in all cases reported to the TPP, there have been no follow-up, penalty or damage repair and in some cases, victims have been criminalized. The Mexican government, it said, through “simulation and impunity,” violates international treaties it has signed and ratified, affecting the right of women to a life free of violence, and therefore all their rights.

Finally, it recalled that the final hearing of the axis “Femicide, family and sexual violence, disappearance and human trafficking, women in war, defenders and structural violence” of the TPP will be held in September. In November, after three years of work, the TPP Mexican Chapter will conclude with a final hearing, in which the Mexican government will be judged by a national and international commission.

For more information (in Spanish):

Termina Preaudiencia Violencia de Género y Feminicidio DF del TPP (Noticias MVS, 6 de agosto de 2014)

Simulación e impunidad impiden erradicar violencia contra mujeres: TPP (Sididh, 13 de agosto de 2014)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: TPP pre-audience judges Mexican State for crimes against humanity (July 27, 2014)

National: Activists denounce increase in violence against women (July 19, 2014)

National: the Mexican government does not comply with the recommendations of the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (23 June 2014)

Oaxaca: new journalist’s murder

Octavio Rojas Hernández (El Buen Tono)

On August 11, the director of Social Communication of the municipality of San José Cosolapa, Oaxaca and collaborator of the newspaper “El Buen Tono” in Veracruz, Octavio Rojas Hernández was shot dead. His recent articles were about “Chupaductos” referring to a band that was “milking” Pemex pipelines. His research pointed that among those responsible were policemen from the municipality. The chief information officer of El Buen Tono said that this murder has to do directly with these notes. He thus demanded that the police investigation considers this line of research: “For us, the family and even sources within the city council, we all believe it is because of his articles. The Attorney should deepen that line of investigation, investigate well and deal with the consequences. “

Darío Ramírez, Director for Mexico and Central America of ARTICLE 19, an organization that protects the rights of journalists, “the murder of Octavio Rojas is a sad reminder of the latent danger to those who do journalism in Mexico. The murder must not go unpunished, even though all indications are that it will, according to previous cases. If we want a secure and free press, the first thing we need to do is to fight the most poignant sign of encouragement for future aggressions: impunity. “

In an alert related to the case, ARTICLE 19 said they it has documented “from January 1, 2007 to the first semester of 2014, at least 139 attacks on the press in Oaxaca, which stand out as one of the three Mexican states with more aggression against reporters in seven years (the first place is the Federal District and the second, Veracruz). Of the total of agressions, four have been murders, 75 physical attacks, 27 threats, 13 acts of intimidation and six arbitrary arrests, to name a few of them. In 58 percent of cases, the alleged perpetrators of the attacks are public officials. “

For more information (in Spanish):

Ejecutan en Oaxaca a funcionario y corresponsal del diario “El Buen Tono” (Proceso, 12 de agosto de 2014)

Asesinan a balazos funcionario en Oaxaca (El Universal, 12 de agosto de 2014)

Otro periodista fue asesinado: Van 79 homicidios contra periodistas desde 2000 (Animal Político, 13 de agosto de 2014)

ALERTA: Procuraduría de Oaxaca no debe descartar vínculo profesional de comunicador asesinado (Artículo 19, 12 de agosto de 2014)

Página http://www.elbuentono.com.mx/

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Oaxaca: the Mexican state with the highest number of attacks on women human rights defenders and journalists (June 10, 2014)

Oaxaca: One of the most violent and dangerous states for the exercise of journalism (May 16, 2014)