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Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 02:03:41 -0500
From: irlandesa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: translation: enlace denuncia re: secondary school
Sender: irlandesa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Originally published in Spanish by Enlace Civil A.C.
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
__________________________
Translated by irlandesa
Date: Thursday, February 25, 1999 19:55:57
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
AGAINST THREATS TO OVENTIC SCHOOL
LETTER OF DENUNCIATION
Oventic, San Andres Sacamch'en, Chiapas, Mexico.
February 25, 1999.
TO PUBLIC OPINION
TO THE STATE, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESS
TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS CENTERS
TO INDEPENDENT SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
TO DEMOCRATIC TEACHERS AND HONEST STUDENTS
TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY
TO THE PEOPLES AND GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD
TO ALL THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF MEXICO AND OF THE WORLD
The undersigned EDUCATION COMMITTEES OF THE PRIMERO DE ENERO
SECONDARY SCHOOL, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COMMUNITY OF OVENTIC, MUNICIPAL
AGENT OF THE BAYA LEMO PARAJE AND THE MUNICIPAL AGENT OF THE TRES PUENTES
PARAJE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF SAN ANDRES SACAMCH'EN
wish to vehemently condemn and reject the wave of threats and statements
being unleashed against our secondary school which we have established in
Oventic, and we categorically reject the statements made by the State
Secretary of Education, Pedro Rene Bodegas Valera.
1. - This February 11, Rene Bodegas Valera made statements and threats,
saying that subversive education had been increasing in the conflict zone,
in order to creat destabilizing agents against the State. He said that
subversive education was being provided for the purpose of instigation,
which is an absolutely false accusation and total lie on the part of
Bodegas Valera.
2. - On February 16, he once again declared at the Government Palace that
investigations were being carried out into the providing of subversive
education in the Oventic school. This time he said that institutional
structure was going to be restored there in that school, through the
dismantling of our "PRIMERO DE ENERO" autonomous secondary school
facilities.
3. - The threats against our school have not come just through Mr. Bodegas'
words, but there has also been an increase in the last few days of threats
from military helicopters and low overflights by war planes. This occurred
on February 20, as well as on other days, when a military war plane flew
very low (at about 15 meters height) at extremely high speeds over the
roofs of the educational center.
It is for this reason that today we want to inform the people of Mexico and
of the world that, if something happens to the school, we hold Rene
Bodegas, along with the state and federal governments, directly
responsible.
We want to tell them that people are not being trained for destabilizing in
this school, even less for subversion, against anyone, as the Secretary of
Education would like to have it manipulated.
We have seen the need for the creation of a secondary school such as
Oventic for many years, so that our children might have the opportunity to
continue preparing themselves a bit more. This is because there are no
secondary schools in our communities, and because we are completely without
the financial resources for our children to receive their secondary
educations in the cities.
And we believe that we are not violating any institution, because the San
Andres Accords, signed by the federal government, are quite clear: that our
indigenous peoples can establish our educational centers in accordance with
our manner of living. Mr. Valera should know that Article 3 of the
Constitution tells us that each individual has the right to receive an
education: something which the state has denied.
In this school we harmoniously develop all our faculties as human beings,
and we encourage the love of our Mexican patria and the consciousness of
our international solidarity in Independence and Justice.
The educational orientation in this school is based on scientific progress,
which is the struggle against ignorance.
This school is oriented in a democratic manner, where we believe that
democracy does not serve as merely a legal structure and a political
regime, but rather as a system for life, based on the continuous economic,
social and cultural improvement of our peoples. Therefore, we are not
violating anything that is not proper, and nor are we outside the
institutional structure. Bodegas Valera should set himself to study the
San Andres Accords in educational matters. We invite Mr. Bodegas to read
the Mexican constitution. Nor should he throw away his professional
ethics, that is, if he has any. The problems of educational disadvantages
will not be resolved through threatening those institutions who are not
doing anything.
The Secretary should also have a quick look at the legislation concerning
the International Treaties (International Labor Organization), where the
FIRST article states that we indigenous have the right to determine our own
institutions, as well as to decide our economic, social and cultural
development. In this way we can maintain our identity, through our
educational systems and institutions relating to matters which belong only
to us to solve locally, such as Education, information, religion, health,
ecology, housing and social wellbeing.
For this reason we denounce today that nothing the Under Secretary for
Education for the State has said is true. We will not allow him to
continue punishing with his threats and statements.
We ask all our Mexican brothers to pay attention to what might happen to
our only School Education Center located in Oventic.
We demand respect for our autonomous school.
We ask INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY TO REMAIN AWARE OF WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO
THIS SCHOOL, WHICH IS EVERYONE's.
SINCERELY
SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEES
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