And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: This message is forwarded to you as a service of Zapatistas Online. Comments and volunteers are welcome. Write [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send submissions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 09:14:49 -0800 Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Commandante Null <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Multiple recipients of list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: IPS/ Impunity Undermines Human Rights, Says Amnesty Rights-Mexico: Impunity Undermines Human Rights, Says Amnesty Inter Press Service 25-MAR-99 MEXICO CITY, (Mar. 24) IPS - Human rights violations in Mexico will not end as long as violators continue to go unpunished, stated Amnesty International (AI) Secretary-General Pierre Sane. The London-based human rights watchdog cited Mexico as a particular "case country in the Americas," where the legal mechanisms set up to protect human rights victims "are simply sidestepped." And the same judgement was applied concerning the situation in Colombia and the United States. With respect to the Mexican government, the document released by AI on Mar. 9 stated it could not see any official advances toward preventing the violation of individual rights. Mexican authorities "can say what they like," but while "those responsible for the killings" are not either behind bars or standing trial "the situation will remain unchanged," Sane told Mexican daily "La Jornada." The AI Secretary-General referred to the cases of Acteal in Chiapas, and Aguas Blancas and El Carco, in Guerrero, where rural and indigenous people were massacred in recent years by paramilitary groups and army personnel. "What is still respected is not human rights, but impunity," stressed Sane. The relation between the Mexican government and non governmental organizations has always been difficult, but they have become particularly thorny following the emergence of the Zapatista guerrilla group in Chiapas on January 1, 1994. Human rights groups turned all their attention onto the southeastern state of Mexico, where reports have proliferated concerning violations of basic human rights. The biggest massacre referred to by Sane was that of Acteal, in the Chiapan municipal area of Chealo on December 23, 1997, where 45 indigenous people were killed. Sane complained the perpetrators of these crimes had not been brought to justice, even though it was known "that army officers and paramilitary groups protected by official institutions" were involved. Amnesty International stated Mexico's government is not "compromised in human rights violations," but accused it of not carrying out in-depth investigations of cases in order to find those guilty, explained Sane. In the document "Mexico, in the Shadow of Impunity," AI indicated that the National Human Rights Commission is playing the "double role of defending the victims of low-intensity violations and lowering the intensity of criticism of the authorities." >From 1994 to 1998 there was "a serious deterioration in the human rights situation in Mexico," says the report. Torture, extrajudicial executions, disappearances and arbitrary detentions are systematic and occur throughout the country, being "particularly serious in Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca, where armed opposition groups are present," it adds. In Mexico, the "perpetrators of violatory acts frequently act with impunity," it points out. Speaking in an interview published in a Mexican newspaper, Sane also called attention to the U.S. In this country, he said, "violations are persistent, massive and disproportionately affect the ethnic groups and racial minorities." He attributed this to the inherent "racism in the police forces and the legal system," in the U.S., a country where he says women also suffer descrimination. Sane is participating in the United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva, which has been assessing the world human rights situation since Mar. 22. On his last visit to Mexico last year, Sane was snubbed by Pres. Ernesto Zedillo and other government officials who refused to receive him. But Sane stressed that he feels he will always be well received by the Mexican people and that he is very keen to return to the country. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NPC Information Associates "Intelligence for the Underdog!" [EMAIL PROTECTED] 770-457-6758 -- To unsubscribe from this list send a message containing the words unsubscribe chiapas95 to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Previous messages are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html or gopher://eco.utexas.edu. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
