INCREASED REPRESSION AGAINST THE CIPO
On March 4, 2003, at 1:30 p.m., in the Attorney General's office, in
Avenida Independencia, in Oaxaca, Mexico, a group of Federal Police
attacked and tried to detain, without an order of arrest, Raul Gatica, a
member of the Popular Indigenous Council of Oaxaca - Ricardo Flores
Magon, CIPO-RFM, after he had finished placing charges
(file:
A.P/IIII/110/2002) against the paramilitary groups of San Miguel
Aloapam, headed by Conrado Garcia and Cayetano Santiago.
ANTECEDENTS: We are the CIPO-RFM, an organization of indigenous
communities that fight for the defence of our collective, human rights,
the development of our peoples, for justice, freedom, the defence of
nature, women, autonomy and practice of helping each other, working
collectively, deciding everything in assemblies and having our own view
of the cosmos. Since our founding, November 18, 1997 until now, we have
suffered repression, jail, murder, disappearances, exclusion,
marginalisation and all types of aggressions from the Federal and State
government, in general, all of the major violations against basic rights:
195 men and 17 women detained (without an order of arrest); 47 members,
all men, kidnapped; 22 members, all men, tortured; 195 men and 82 women
wounded; besides nearly 500 orders of arrest. Some of the most
outstanding are:
a) The arrest and torture of 106 members of our indigenous community on
April 18, 1998, that made the CNDH (the National Commission of Human
Rights) to emit their recommendation of 26/99.
b) The kidnapping and torture of 46 members of our indigenous community
on January 1, 2002 that made the CNDH emit their recommendation of
15/2002
CURRENT SITUATION.
1) On March 4, 2003, around 1:30 p.m., Raul Gatica together with Reyna
Perez Hernandez, Cesar Chavez and Mayolo, of the Teachers Union, went to
place charges (filed as A.P.IIII/110/2002) against the paramilitary
groups of San Miguel Aloapam. After placing the charges, when leaving
Attorney General's office, a group of 6 federal police, without an order
of arrest, without showing any identification, began to interrogate Raul
Gatica with great violence, surrounding and trying to grab hold of him,
saying "you are under arrest." Our comrade made it very clear
that he would not let himself be arrested very easily. There was a lot of
turmoil, as we would not let the police seize him. Before the mayhem got
out of hand, a person who had left to consult came back and shouted
"the order is a 50", and the police said: "go, but we will
arrest you later." Although on this occasion the company of Reyna,
Cesar and Mayolo of the Teachers' Union frustrated the arrest, the threat
continues alive against all the organization.
2) Due to this, and seeing as the following comrades are about to go and
declare in other court cases (Cesar Chavez Garcia, Fernando Torija,
Carmen Perez Chavez and Raul Gatica) together with the following citizens
(Celia Martinez Altamirano, Reyna Perez Hernandez, Gonzalo Santiago
Garcia and Adelina Perez Cruz), we are worried that they might be
arrested when arriving to declare.
3) It is clear that the repression against the CIPO-RFM has become worse
after we denounced the paramilitary groups and the government of Murat,
because it is not just by chance that they wanted to arrest us after
ratifying the charges against the paramilitary groups.
4) Without a doubt this is part of a new wave of pressure and harassment
against our organization and in particular against Raul Gatica who we
fear may be arrested, kidnapped, "disappeared" or murdered in
any moment, or that a wave of repression hits our communities and other
members of the organization, as is suggested by the following facts:
a) On 3 November, 2002, a commission of the CIPO-RFM formed by Reyna
Perez Hernandez, Simon Illescas and Raul Gatica denounced before the
group of experts of the U.N. Working Committee on Arbitrary Arrests,
formed by Louis Joinet, Miguel del Alama, Pierre del Prado and Soledad
Villagra, the endless number of arbitrary arrests that they have been
subjected to as members of CIPO-RFM, with the complicity of Governor Jose
Murat and of the paramilitary groups of Sierra Norte and Tuxtepec, headed
by Jacobo Chavez and Cesar Toimil.
We made the experts aware that we could suffer reprisals for the
abovementioned charges. This situation was summed up when arbitrary
arrests were made against Reyna Perez Hernandez and Raul Lopez in Ixtlan
de Juarez Oaxaca on November 18, 2002; against Luis Rey Matadamas in Sta.
Cruz Huatulco on November 19, 2002; against Juan Diaz and Elizabeth Luna
in Sta. Cruz Huatulco on November 20, 2002; and the attempt to arrest
Raul Gatica on that same day, in front of the palace of government of
Oaxaca. In all the cases, the policemen who arrested our comrades said:
"this is to remove the trouble makers so they stop speaking badly
about the Murat government."
b) On January 29, 2003, a Commission of the CIPO-RFM, formed by Carmen
Perez, Leonor Heredia and Abundio Bautista, met the UN Commissioner for
Human Rights, Andres Compass, to denounce the climate of aggressions that
we are suffering in San Isidro Aloapam by paramilitary groups and the
Murat government, as well as the climate of repression that has become
worse against the social organizations and its representatives,
particularly against the members of the CIPO-RFM and its representatives
c) As an answer to this, on February 11 at 1:30 p.m. troops of the
national special preventive police forces went to the community of Sta.
Maria Yaviche, entering through the forest and invading the community,
intimidating all the community members. They asked for the authorities
and for the representatives of the CIPO-RFM. As nobody helped them, they
said: "if you continue speaking badly about the paramilitary groups
and don't respect the government, we are going to 'chingar' you."
Then they left along the mountain paths and returned to the highway where
patrol cars 845 and 846 were waiting for them.
d) From February 14 until March 3, at the entrance to the town of Juquila
Vijanos, parked next to the church, 3 patrol cars of the special
preventive police forces have remained in the community, asking for and
investigating the representatives of the CIPO-RFM.
e) On February 17, 2003, a group of armed people of Sta. Lucia Monteverde
who had invaded our lands and are at the service of Governor Jose Murat,
attacked the community of Plan de Zaragoza, Nuyoo, Tlaxiaco, a member of
CIPO-RFM, with very powerful firearms
f) On March 2, patrol car number 478 of the national Preventive Police
based in Tlacolula went to Santa Maria Yaviche, Ixtlan, Oaxaca, looking
for the municipal authorities to arrest them.
For all the above-mentioned we request that you:
Firstly, spread information about the situation the indigenous peoples of
CIPO-RFM are suffering.
Secondly, send letters to the representatives from Mexico in each one of
your countries demanding an end to the violence against the CIPO-RFM and
a solution for their just demands of justice, lands and means of
production, etc.
Third, make a phone call asking for the situation of Raul Gatica and the
other members of the CIPO-RFM, requesting precautionary measures for all
of us.
Fourth, collect signatures to send to the government of Mexico and the
mass media, demanding an end to the repression of our peoples.
Fifth, request measures to avoid any type of repression against us.
For the rebuilding and the free association of our peoples!
For the Organizing Committee of the CIPO-RFM: Cesar Chavez Garcia, Carmen
Perez Chavez, Reyna Perez Hernandez, Leonardo Lopez Sarabia, Fernando
Torija, Gonzalo Santigao, Leonor Heredia Marin, Dolores Cuamatzi, Procoro
Pascual Lopez, Martial Perez Sarabia, Luis Rey Matadamas, Raul Lopez Diaz
PROPOSED E-MAIL:
The undersigned have received information from Oaxaca, Mexico, and are
writing to you to express our concern for the many occasions that the
individual members and communities that are members of the Popular
Indigenous Council of Oaxaca - Ricardo Flores Magon (CIPO-RFM) are
harassed and attacked, particularly their representatives. Especially
since we have recently been informed about the harassment and threats
that the federal police are showing against Raul Gatica and the true fear
of the organization that something might happen to him, due to the
charges he has placed against the paramilitary groups that operate in
Oaxaca.
For the above-mentioned reasons, we request that you take the pertinent
measures to assure that their rights are respected, because if something
happens to Raul Gatica, we will be certain that the government has given
its consent.
Sincerely,
Signed:
Date:
Send protest e-mails to:
*Jose Murat, Governor of the State of Oaxaca:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Felipe Sardain, Secretary to the Governor:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Hector Anuar Mafud, Secretary-General of the Governor:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Carlos Moreno Derbez, Sec. of Indigenous Affairs of Oaxaca:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Vicente Fox Quezada, President of M�xico:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] and
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Santiago Creel Miranda, Home Secretary:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] and
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Rafael Macedo de la Concha, Attorney General of the Republic:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi Ambassador of Human Rights:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Jose Luis Soberanes, President of National Commission on
Human Rights: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Sergio Segreste Rios, President of the Commission on Human
Rights in the State of Oaxaca:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Sergio Santib��ez, Attorney General of Oaxaca:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
And messages of support to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
