Oaxaca, Mexico: Repression Against CODEP-APPO (Committee in Defense of the Rights of the People)--Your Solidarity Needed!
June 23,2009
The Campaign for Labor Rights received this alert from our friends at Global Women's Strike:
Dear Friends,
CODEP-APPO (Committee in Defense of the Rights of the People), with which we held an international women's conference in March 2008, is again being targeted for repression. Taxi driver Sergio Martínez Vasquez, was murdered on 7 June, and odontologist Agustin Rios Cruz was beaten almost to death and is now in exile - both were members of CODEP's state council. Others have been threatened, including exiled teachers Jaquelina López Almazán and Samuel Hernandez Morales.
We urge you to write to the addresses below in protest. See model letter below. If you agree, we will also add your name to a list of signatories and send the letter below with all the signatures to the national paper La Jornada and Oaxaca papers. Send your endorsement to:
For more information go to:
http://codepappoenglish.wordpress.com/
Thank you for your support.
Nina López and Didi Rossi
Global Women's Strike
SAMPLE LETTER
TO LA JORNADA:
CC: Felipe Calderón, president of Mexico
and Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, governor of the State of Oaxaca
We have been made aware that the governments of Felipe Calderón and Ulises Ruiz Ortiz are again repressing Indigenous communities, this time in Ocotlán Valley, and targeting members of CODEP-APPO (Committee in Defense of the Rights of the People) and their taxi service which provides transport between communities.
The Indigenous communities have been defending the environment, demanding the closure of mines operated by Canadian-owned-corporation Fortuna Silver which they accuse of polluting water and soil, causing illness and death. Tests carried out by independent laboratory Sanica have confirmed the presence of arsenic, cyanide, lead and mercury stemming from mining activities.
Local newspaper El Imparcial reported that government officials were being paid by the company to maintain their support for the mining project, and that the company has armed paramilitary groups to intimidate people who oppose them.
Paramilitaries have also been used extensively by Ulises Ruiz Ortiz to repress the massive community-teacher movement to which women were central, and which gained national and international prominence in 2006.
A few days ago, on 7 June 2009, Sergio Martínez Vasquez, a member of CODEP's state council, was shot dead (see distressing photos attached). We understand that all signs point to paramilitaries. This is not the first time human rights advocates have been shot in Oaxaca: Marcos García Macedas also of CODEP was shot in his car in November 2006, fortunately he survived. Independent US journalist Brad Will was not so lucky: he was shot dead while filming in October 2006. So have many others. And many more still have been raided and imprisoned. Their families, friends and colleagues are still fighting for justice.
Odontologist Agustin Rios Cruz, another CODEP member, was recently beaten almost to death and is now in exile. Others have been threatened, including teachers Jaquelina López Almazán and Samuel Hernandez Morales who have been in exile from Oaxaca since 2006.
Because of the above mentioned, we urgently demand:
· An immediate public investigation into the murder of Sergio Martínez Vasquez and the assault on Agustin Rios Cruz - the arrest, prosecution and punishment of the culprits.
· An end to the violation of human rights of the Indigenous people of Ocotlan, the members of CODEP and its taxi service, and the teachers who support them - their defense of the environment should be a priority for governments worldwide.
· The immediate and unconditional release of everyone arrested during the protest or in subsequent raids.
· The departure of mining companies which have been contaminating water and soil in the Valley of Ocotlán.
The violations in Ocotlán concern us all and we will continue to keep a watchful eye on unfolding events in Oaxaca.
Send your letters to:
LIC. FELIPE CALDERON HINOJOSA
PRESIDENTE CONSTITUCIONAL DE MÉXICO (President)
FAX (55) 52 77 23 76
felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx
Ministro Presidente Guillermo I. Ortiz Mayagoitia
Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (Supreme Court of the Nation)
FERNANDO FRANCISCO GÓMEZ MONT
SECRETARIO DE GOBERNACIÓN
DIRECCIÓN: BUCARELI 99 EDIFICIO COBIAN PISO 1 JUÁREZ
CUAUHTÉMOC, DISTRITO FEDERAL, 06600
CORREO: secretario@segob.gob.mx
LIC. EDUARDO MEDINA MORA ICAZA
PROCURADOR GENERAL DE LA REPÚBLICA (Attorney General)
TEL. (55) 53 46 09 08
MAIL: ofproc@pgr.gob.mx
DR. JOSÉ LUIS SOBERANES
PDTE. DE LA COMISIÓN NACIONAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS (President of the National Human Rights Commission)
FAX (55) 56 81 71 99,
RPTE. DE LA OFICINA DEL ALTO COMISIONADO PARA LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS EN MEXICO (Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights In Mexico)
FAX: (55) 52812409
MAIL: oacnudh@hchr.org.mx
LIC. ULISES RUIZ ORTIZ
GOBERNADOR DEL ESTADO DE OAXACA (Oaxaca State Governor)
CARRETERA OAXACA-PUERTO ÁNGEL, KM. 9.5,
SANTA MARÍA COYOTEPEC, OAXACA C.P. 71254,
OAXACA MÉXICO
EMAIL: gobernador@oaxaca.gob.mx
Fax: (+52) 951 502 0530
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