* ATENCO UPDATE: MEXICO HID POLICE RAPES OF PROTESTERS, AMNESTY SAYS
* ZAPATISTA COMANDANTES ARRIVE IN ATENCO, CARACOLES RE-OPEN
* OAXACA UPDATE: TEACHER HACKED TO DEATH
* BORDER NEWS I: GOV'T WARNS U.S. OF REFERRAL TO UN OVER BORDER FENCING PLAN
* BORDER NEWS II: TEXAS GROUP SPLITS FROM MINUTEMEN
* IMMIGRATION NEWS: MAYOR DECLARES [NATIONAL] CITY 'SANCTUARY' FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Committee of Indigenous Solidarity (CIS). CIS is a Washington, D.C.
based activist group committed to the ongoing struggles of Indigenous
peoples in the Americas. CIS is actively supporting the struggles
of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico while simultaneously combating
related structures of oppression within our own communities.
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http://lists.mutualaid.org/pipermail/mexico-week/
"Para Todos, Todo; Para Nosotros Nada"
ATENCO UPDATE: MEXICO HID POLICE RAPES OF PROTESTERS, AMNESTY SAYS
Police who beat, sexually abused and raped women arrested after riots
in a rebellious town near Mexico City have not been punished and
authorities hid what happened, Amnesty International said The rights
group interviewed women who say they were abused when they were
arrested after disturbances in San Salvador Atenco in early May.
Amnesty wants federal justice officials to take over the
investigation, saying state authorities have ignored the claims, and
in some cases covered up evidence.
"These crimes are acts of torture under international law and the
authorities must ensure that those responsible are held to account,"
said Kerrie Howard, deputy directory of Amnesty's Americas Program.
"It is high time for the federal prosecutor on crimes against women
to take over," he said.
In the San Salvador Atenco case, the women were arrested after a
police attempt to evict flower sellers got out of hand and ended with
hundreds of protesters fighting police. Two protesters were killed
and several police were beaten or taken hostage. The worst violence
happened when police stormed the town the next day, Amnesty said.
Police arrested more than 200 people, severely beating many of them.
The women allege they were punched and kicked and had their sexual
organs grabbed in trucks taking them to prison. Some said they were
raped or forced to have oral sex with agents. State of Mexico Gov.
Enrique Pena has said the abuse claims were a tactic by "subversive
groups" to discredit his government. Investigations could not take
place until official complaints were filed, he said. Amnesty said the
state government first prevented the women from giving evidence,
either through intimidation or by refusing to record what happened,
and has since failed investigate the complaints. One woman told
Amnesty an official in prison ripped the paper from his typewriter
when she started talking about rape.
Source: Reuters: 10/05
====
ZAPATISTA COMANDANTES ARRIVE IN ATENCO, CARACOLES RE-OPEN
Six EZLN Comandantes accompanied Marcos to San Salvador Atenco on
Friday, marking a new chapter in efforts to win the freedom of
political prisoners held since the May 3rd and 4th police actions in
Atenco. Comandantes Gabriela, Zebedeo and Miriam will remain in
Atenco for the foreseeable future, Comandante Hortencia and her
daughter Lupita will accompany Marcos as he renews the Other Campaign
tour through northern Mexico, and Comandantes David and Tacho and
Compañera Gema will return to Chiapas after spending time with the
Atenco-based People's Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT).
Twenty-nine members and supporters of the FPDT remain in prison after
federal, state and local police rampaged through Atenco in early May,
beating hundreds of people and raping or sexually molesting at least
45 women detainees. The presence of the Comandantes in Atenco
promises to breathe new life into an international campaign to win
the release of the Atenco political prisoners.
Meanwhile, the five Zapatista Caracoles in Chiapas re-opened for the
first time since a Red Alert took effect on May 4. The Red Alert
apparently remains in effect, but the Caracoles will resume their
normal functions. The only official information came from Comandante
David during a speech in Atenco on Saturday. Referring to the May 3
and 4 police repression, David said, "So that the whole world can
understand what you've experienced, what you live here in San
Salvador Atenco, everything that has happened, we are going to try to
open the Caracoles, so that from these centers, we can spread
information. We are going to spread the word about your struggles,
your resistance." Hundreds of Zapatistas celebrated the re-opening
of the Oventic caracol on Sunday.
Source: Mexico Solidarity Network Weekly News Summary: 09.25-10/01
====
OAXACA UPDATE: TEACHER HACKED TO DEATH
A teacher was hacked to death in Oaxaca city that has been paralyzed
for months by protests and violence, police said. Victor Alonso
Altamirano of the Oaxaca state police said teacher Jaime Rene Calva
Aragon was on his way to a meeting when he was killed by two
assailants wielding hefty ice picks.
Fellow teacher Alma Rosa Fernandez accused militant leftists of
killing Calva for opposing a statewide teachers' strike that was a
catalyst for the wider protests. Fernandez, who also opposes the
strike, said the dissident teachers have been receiving death
threats. "We blame this murder directly on the radical teachers'
wings," Fernandez said.
Florentino Lopez, a spokesman for the protesters, denied the
accusation and instead blamed the governor. "This is a plan by Ulises
Ruiz to provoke the intervention of federal forces," Lopez told
reporters and protesters in Oaxaca's main square.
The protests began when thousands of teachers went on strike to
demand higher pay. After Ruiz sent police to try to dislodge the
camps in June, the teachers were joined by a broad coalition of
leftists, students, anarchists and Indian groups. Ruiz denies the
protesters' accusations against him and has repeatedly called for
federal troops to restore order.
In recent days, helicopters and military planes have flown over the
protesters while thousands of state police have gathered outside the
city. Protesters broadcast alerts from occupied radio stations,
fearing an onslaught was imminent. Enrique Rueda, head of the Oaxaca
teachers union, traveled to Mexico City and met with Interior
Secretary Carlos Abascal to try and resolve the conflict. After the
meeting, Rueda said Abascal promised he would not order soldiers to
move against the protesters. "We have the guarantee from the interior
secretary that there will be no military incursion in Oaxaca," Rueda
told a news conference. The Interior Department later released a
statement saying "the conflict in Oaxaca will be solved via the law
and institutions." It did not comment on the use of soldiers.
Source: Associated Press: 10/06
====
BORDER NEWS I: GOV'T WARNS U.S. OF REFERRAL TO UN OVER BORDER FENCING PLAN
The Mexican government warned that it may refer Washington's plan to
building fences on the U.S.- Mexico border to the United Nations. The
U.S. plan to build about 1,125 km of new fencing along the U.S.-
Mexico border was an "offense," Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto
Derbez told a news briefing here. When asked if the Mexican
government would refer the issue to the United Nations, he said it
was "examining with the foreign relations legal team what options are
open at an international level, and we will take them." He said the
fences would hurt the bilateral relations. "Just the idea of a wall,
a fence ... is an insult to good neighbors."
The plan has aroused strong opposition from Mexico. The outgoing
Mexican President Vicente Fox called the fence plan "shameful," while
President-elect Felipe Calderon said the fences were not the solution
to illegal immigration. Fox's spokesman Ruben Aguilar said the fences
would not be built as the U.S. Congress was unlikely to provide
enough funding to finish the project. "There is no money to build it,
so it will not be built," he told reporters.
Despite Mexico's efforts to lobby for a veto, U.S. President George
W. Bush signed a bill, which had been passed earlier by the U.S.
Congress and will pay for the new fences which are aimed at
preventing illegal immigration. Under the bill, about 1.2 billion
U.S. dollars would be spent during the fiscal year that began on Oct.
1 for southwest border fencing and other barriers. However, no one
knows how much the proposed project will cost. A 23-km segment of
fencing under construction in San Diego has been priced at 126.5
million dollars.
Source: Xinhua: 10/05
====
BORDER NEWS II: TEXAS GROUP SPLITS FROM MINUTEMEN
The former leader of the Texas branch of the Minuteman Civil Defense
Corps said that he and other members split from the national watchdog
group last month to form their own private patrol organization
opposing illegal immigration: the Texas Border Volunteers.
Mike Vickers, a Falfurrias veterinarian and rancher, had been state
director of the civil defense corps since March. He said the new
group, which he heads as chairman, will focus its efforts in Texas
and form a political action committee to influence statewide
elections and public policy. The committee will ask the Legislature
to approve Gov. Rick Perry's request for $100 million next year to
continue state efforts to fortify the border. Vickers is the
Republican chairman in Brooks County "We didn't want to be under the
leadership that really didn't understand how the Texas border works,"
Vickers said of the split from the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps,
which was founded by Chris Simcox in Arizona and claims to have
250,000 members, volunteers and donors nationwide.
The Texas Border Volunteers, with about 500 members, want to avoid
confusion with what Vickers called more aggressive offshoot watchdog
groups using the Minutemen or Minuteman name. "This has been a
problem for us," Vickers said. Members, most of them military
retirees, will undergo background checks, he said. Vickers, 57,
stressed that the Texas Border Volunteers patrol only private
property, including remote ranchlands used by smugglers and
immigrants to skirt immigration checkpoints. "We're not enforcers of
the law; we just report criminal activity," he said, adding that the
volunteers will work closely with the U.S. Border Patrol and local
and state law enforcement agencies. A spokeswoman for the Minuteman
Civil Defense Corps said chapters remain active in Texas and that
Vickers' successor had already been named.
Source: Austin American-Statesman: 10/05
====
IMMIGRATION NEWS: MAYOR DECLARES CITY 'SANCTUARY' FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
NATIONAL CITY – Mayor Nick Inzunza declared this small city just a few miles from the
Mexican border a "sanctuary" for illegal immigrants. Inzunza made the
proclamation at City Hall as a few hundred supporters rallied on the
sidewalk outside, said police Lt. Lanny Roark. Backers were met by a
smaller group of anti-illegal immigration protesters, including
members of the Minutemen civilian border patrol group, Roark said.
The rallies were "loud and tumultuous" but peaceful, he said. There
were no arrests.
As a result of the declaration, city funds will not be used to
enforce federal immigration laws. The city already practices the
policy, but Inzunza said he wanted to underscore that fact. "The
mayor is sending the message that migrants are welcome in the city,
which is one of the most diverse in San Diego County," said Enrique
Morones of the group Border Angels, who advocated for the
proclamation. "We want the whole country to see that this is a
pro-migrant gesture and it's just the beginning. We're pushing for
this nationwide." Other California cities have similarly named
themselves sanctuaries, including Maywood, Pomona, Huntington Park
and Coachella. Inzunza irked some members of the city council when he
announced his plans during a radio interview earlier this month. The
council members were upset he didn't discuss the proclamation with
them. The mayor said he didn't need council approval since he's not
enacting any new laws, only reaffirming the city's current practice.
The Minutemen denounced the mayor's decision and made a proclamation
of their own. "We proclaimed National City as an anti-sanctuary,"
said Jeff Schwilk, founder of the San Diego Minutemen. "We think our
proclamation is more in line with the opinion of the people. We
welcome all legal immigrants, but we're not in favor of any city
being a sanctuary for illegals."
Source: Associated Press: 10/02
====
The above articles were originally published and copyrighted by the
listed sources. These articles are offered for educational purposes
which CIS maintains is 'fair use' of copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
end: Mexico Week In Review: 10.02-10.08
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