[Events] FW: Please show your solidarity with Latin America dennouncing the violation of human rights in Mexico. We need the international pressure to stop these murderers.

Wed May 5 14:29:08 IST 2010

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From: Azucena Bermúdez Pérez [mailto:azu at lasc.ie] 
Sent: 01 May 2010 00:26
To: Nancy.Serrano
Subject: Bety Cariño murdered. Vigil today Friday.

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BETY CARIÑO MUREDERED IN PARAMILITARY ATTACK

Vigils today Friday at 1pm and Wednesday 5th at 6pm in front of Mexican Embassy, 19 Raglan Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 (see below)

Many of you met Beatriz Alberta Cariño Trujillo (Bety) from Oaxaca, who was one of Latin America Week's speakers in 2009. Some of you met her again last February, when she was in Dublin invited by Frontline Defenders to speak at their conference.

I am very sorry to tell you that Bety has been murdered along with Finnish Human Rigths observer Juri Jaakkola. There is an unconfirmed number of wounded and at least 6 more people missing and believed to have been disappeared by the paramilitaries. They were all part of a peace caravan bringing solidarity, food and clothes to the besieged Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala when they were ambushed. 

Survivors and local people - as well as Omar Esparza Zárate, Bety's partner and father of her children - blame members of the PRI backed paramilitary group UBISORT for the attack. UBISORT is at the service of the government of Ulises Ruiz Ortizto, Oaxaca Governor. PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) wielded power in the country for more than 70 years until the year 2000 and it currently governs in 19 states (including Oaxaca).

Omar Zárarte he has pointed out that the state police did not go in to help the injured and the survivors. There are also reports that the paramilitaries turned away at gun point an ambulance that was trying to reach the victims of the attack.

On Tuesday the 27th of April 2010 the caravan of solidarity and support left the Oaxacan city of Huajuapan de Léon. This caravan consisted of activists from various Mexican grassroots organizations, international observers and members of the media. The caravan was on route to the autonomous community of San Juan Copala when it was ambushed and attacked by at least 15 paramilitaries who were armed with high calibre assault rifles. This attack and violation of basic human rights resulted in the murders of Bety and Jyri Jaakkola. 

The lives of these people should weigh heavily on the Mexican government as their inability to protect the lives of their own citizens and that of foreign visitors is a reflection of their policies and attitudes to political opposition not just in Oaxaca but right across Mexico. Over the last few years right wing paramilitaries have been responsible for the deaths and disappearances of many people in Oaxaca and throughout Mexico with impunity. Massacres and acts of intimidation carried out against indigenous and campesino movements in Mexico are not a new occurrence and there has been a systematic attempt to wipe out any form of opposition. We have the 1995 Aguas Blancas massacre in the state of Guerrero in which 17 campesinos were murdered; we have the 1997 massacre of 45 indigenous people in Acteal in the state Chiapas and then in 2005 there was shooting of protesters from the balcony of the town hall in the municipality of San Blas Atempa, Oaxaca where 4 innocent men were wounded. In all these acts of murder and attempted murder both law enforcement officers and (or) paramilitaries have been involved. And now Oaxaca in April 2010 we have the same horrific situation. This was a cold hearted and murderous attack which will not pass unnoticed. The current state of rampant murder and intimidation of political activists can not go on. And it is with these ideas in mind that we support the denouncements and demands of our brothers and sisters in Oaxaca. These are their words: 

"WE EMPHATICALLY DENOUNCE the fact that this armed attack is the product of the conditions of institutional violence and impunity enjoyed by paramilitary groups in this region of our state and directed against different expressions of the social struggle in Oaxaca, specifically the construction of autonomous processes.

This aggression takes place in the circumstances of isolation and the state of siege imposed on the municipality of San Juan Copala, where children have been deprived of their classes since January. Furthermore, the electricity has been turned off and the community has no access to drinking water or medical personnel. It is subjected to permanent harassment from military troops that have set up a roadblock just outside the town".

"WE DEMAND: that the government of Ulises Ruiz in Oaxaca put an end to all paramilitary attacks in the Triqui Region, and to the financing, provision of arms, and impunity enjoyed by these paramilitary groups. This demand is also made to the Federal government of Felipe Calderon. We also demand the immediate presentation of our disappeared friends. "

We must not allow the perpetrators to escape justice. 

LASC demands of the of the federal government of Mexico to end the reign of terror to which the region has been subjected and that there be full investigation of all murders and harassment of the inhabitants of San Juan Copalá.

BETY PRESENT IN OUR STRUGGLES AND OUR HEARTS!

ACTIONS

1. Please ring the Mexican Embassy in Dublin on 01 6673105 to demend that the perpetrators of this crime be brought to justice.

2. Attend one or both VIGILS which will take place in front of the Mexican Embassy in Dublin - 19 Raglan Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4:

*	Today Friday 30th April at 1pm (you can leave with us from LASC at 12:30) 
*	Next Wednesday 5th April at 6pm (we'll leave LASC at 5:30pm)

Please bring candles and banners demanding justice for the victims of the peace caravan and for the people of San Juan Copala.

3. Send Letter to Mexican ambassador in Dublin demanding justice for the victims of the paramilitary ambush and the people of San Juan de Copola. Follow link below to print, sign and send to Mexican Embassy in 19 Raglan Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 http://www.lasc.ie/urgent-actions/Bety'sMurderLettrToAmbassador.doc <http://www.lasc.ie/urgent-actions/Bety'sMurderLettrToAmbassador.doc>  

Please see below the press release that Bety sent on the 26th, in advance of the peace caravan:

Solidarity Caravan to the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala

Today, 26th of April 2010, San Juan Copala is besieged; the community
does not have electricity, the water pipes have been cut, the schools
have been shut down since January and there are no doctors. When the
women leave the community in order to look for water a food
they are hassled by paramilitaries. The constant control and the siege
delimit life in the community. For this reason due to the permanent
violation of elemental human rights, the climate of hostilities and to
the continuous aggressions against the Autonomous Municipality of San
Juan Copala, we are organizing a Solidarity Caravan to cover and support
the process of autonomous organization and self-determination of the
Municipality of San Juan Copala.

Today, one part of the Caravan, consisting of the local commission of
VOCAL as well as a group of Human Rights Observers from different
European countries (Finland, Germany, Italy and Belgium), arrived in the
city of Huajupan de Leon in order to head to the Autonomous Municipality
of San Juan Copala tomorrow.

Furthermore, tomorrow more people and organizations that are members of
the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) and of the section
22 of the teachers' union of Oaxaca, as well as a broader delegation of
international observers, will arrive.

The caravan's objectives are providing active support to the
self-organization of the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala and
its struggle to unify the Triqui people, as well as contributing to
avoid any kind of aggression against the Triqui community.  The Caravan
also aims to document and to break the media silence on the prevailing
situation in the area. For this reason the Caravan is realized by
comrades from the social movement in Oaxaca, with the participation of
international Human Rights Observers and local Mixtec organizations,
especially the Centre for Communal Support (CACTUS) and the network of
radios and indigenous media from the Mexican South-East.

At the same time Rufino Juárez, head of UBISORT (local paramilitary
group), declares to media that under no circumstances they would allow
the entrance of any caravan and that they would not take responsibility
for any possible occurrences. Given the circumstances, we hold the
government of Ulises Ruiz responsible for any aggression any
representative of the media or human rights observer could face. Hence,
we demand Evencio Martínez and the government to guarantee the transit
of the Caravan and the media without any trouble or threats like the
ones coming from UBISORT.

We are calling for the media, the civil society and the general public to
stay informed and alert about the Caravan and its journey across the
Mixtec region of Oaxaca towards the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan
Copala.

We do not consider the struggle of the autonomous municipality of San
Juan Copala as being an isolated struggle, but rather as part of the
struggle for land and territory that is going on throughout the our
state of Oaxaca against the violent appropriation carried out by the bad
government and transnational corporations.

Oaxacan Voices Constructing Autonomy and Freedom (VOCAL)
Centre for Communal Support (CACTUS)
Commission of international Human Rights Observers
Network of radios and indigenous communicators of the Mexican South-East

MORE INFORMATION

In English:

http://elenemigocomun.net/3444/x/en#more-3444

http://www.casacollective.org/story/urgent-actions/paramilitary-attack-leaves-two-dead-and-three-disappeared

In Spanish:

http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2010/04/27/atacan-a-una-caravana-de-observacion-de-derechos-humanos-en-oaxaca-companeros-adherentes-fueron-baleados/

http://enmexicoseviolanlosderechoshumanos.blogspot.com/

http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=503116

http://www.adnsureste.info/index.php/notas-del-dia/11783-medios-nacionales-senalan-dos-muertos-en-san-juan-copala-reportera-de-televisa-herida-0708-h

http://www.nssoaxaca.com/regional/41-cat-reg-mixteca/35695-se-deslinda-oaxaca-de-ataque-a-appo

http://proceso.com.mx/rv/modHome/detalleExclusiva/78839

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Latin America Solidarity Centre

**************************
The Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) is an initiative
for Development Education, Cultural Promotion and
Campaigning Solidarity, linking Ireland and Latin America

5 Merrion Row - Dublin 2, Ireland
Phone+353 1 676 0435
Fax +353 1 662 1784
Website www.lasc.ie <http://www.lasc.ie/> 

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