Displacement, risk of dispossession and threats to support bases of the EZLN

 

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The Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Centre

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas

August 15, 2014

Urgent Action No. 03

Updated

 

The Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Centre has documented further acts of aggression perpetrated by members of the Regional Organization of Coffee Growers of Ocosingo (ORCAO) against support bases of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (BAEZLN) which occurred on the land for collective work (1) of the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipality (MAREZ) San Manuel (official municipality of Ocosingo), belonging to the Good Government Council (JBG) “The Way of the Future”, of Caracol III, La Garrucha, Selva Tzeltal Zone, Chiapas .

 

• On August 13, 2014, by agreement of the Zone of the JBG, nine families of BAEZLN built nine houses (one of them containing a grocery shop) and in this way founded Nuevo Poblado “San Jacinto” on the reclaimed lands for collective work belonging to the MAREZ of San Manuel, which adjoin the communities of Egipto and El Rosario; on that day 250 BAEZLN were also present to perform clearance tasks to prepare the ground for planting.

• On 14 August, at approximately 3.50 am, a group of 18 people armed with shotguns and .22 calibre weapons, from the community of Pojcol, municipality of Chilón, belonging to ORCAO, surrounded the field and lands for collective work and began firing their weapons into the air for about 40 minutes. According to testimonies of the people who slept there that night, the attackers shouted “these weapons we use are from the government”, “this land is ours and does not belong to those fucking Zapatistas”, warning the BAEZLN at the same time that they had 6 hours to leave the place.
• To avoid being attacked, the nine families (a total of 40 people, including girls, boys, women and men) together with 250 BAEZLN who were resting there, decided to leave in different directions. After the displacement, the members of ORCAO from the community of Pojcol destroyed the nine houses (including the grocery shop), stealing the merchandise that was in the shop and the cash that was in the houses; they also burned the clothes left by all the people who were at the scene, destroyed 150 nylon and canvas roofs, and stole the machetes with which they were working the land. The assessment of the damage so far has not been completed.
• The same August 14th, at approximately 20.30 pm, information was received that the women and children of El Rosario community, belonging to ORCAO, had abandoned the community leaving only the men, while, according to testimony, the BAEZLN were being threatened with immediate eviction. As a result, the women and children from the same community, but belonging to the BAEZLN, also decided to leave due to the risk of a possible attack, also leaving only the men.

 

During the last few hours it has been reported to us that the threats from ORCAO against the BAEZLN of the community of El Rosario are intensifying and threatening to potentially result in dispossession.

In this situation, we express our concern at the imminent risk to the life, personal integrity and safety of the BAEZLN of the communities of El Rosario, Kexil, Egipto and Nuevo Poblado San Jacinto, belonging to the MAREZ of San Manuel.

Faced with the displacement of the BAEZLN communities of Egipto, Nuevo Poblado San Jacinto and El Rosario through acts of harassment, threats, aggression and destruction of their property, we hold the government of Chiapas responsible for ignoring the facts which were initially reported, allowing a gradual continuation of increasingly serious flagrant Human Rights violations to be committed.

 

Given these facts, this Human Rights Centre calls on the authorities of the state and federal government to:

1. Stop the death threats, harassments, assaults, damages and attempts at dispossession which have led up to now to the displacement of the three BAEZLN communities.

1. Guarantee to take the necessary measures and investigations aimed to promote conditions to protect the life, personal integrity and safety of the BAEZLN from the MAREZ San Manuel, respecting their process of autonomy which they are constructing under the right to self-determination of the peoples, referred to in the San Andrés Accords, and established in international treaties such as Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

To national and international civil society we repeat the call to solidarity to circulate the denunciations and express outrage at the systematic attacks against the BAEZLN belonging to the JBG of La Garrucha (official municipality of Ocosingo).

 

We thank you, in solidarity, for sending your appeals to:

Lic. Enrique Peña Nieto

Presidente de la República

Residencia Oficial de los Pinos

Casa Miguel Alemán

Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, México DF

Tel: (52.55) 2789.1100 Fax: (52.55) 5277.2376

 

Lic. Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong

Secretario de Gobernación

Bucareli 99, 1er. Piso, Col. Juárez,

Del. Cuauhtémoc, C.P. 06600 México D.F.

Fax: (52 55) 50933414;

Correo: secretario@segob.gob.mx

 

 

Lic. Jesús Murillo Karam

Procuraduría General de la República

Av. Paseo de la Reforma #211-213 Col. Cuauhtémoc, Deleg. Cuauhtémoc

Distrito Federal CP. 06500,

Teléfono: 5346-0000 ext. 0108 Fax: 5346-0000 ext. 0908

 

Lic. Raul Plascencia Villanueva

Presidente de la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos

Periférico Sur 3469, Col. San jerónimo Lidice,

Delegación Magdalena Contreras, C.P. 10200, México D.F.

Teléfonos: (55) 56 81 81 25 y (55) 54 90 74 00

Lada sin costo 01800 715 2000

E-mail: correo@cndh.org.mx

 

Lic. Manuel Velasco Coello

Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Chiapas

Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas, 1er Piso
Av. Central y Primera Oriente, Colonia Centro, C.P. 29009
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México

Fax: +52 961 61 88088 – + 52 961 6188056; Extensión 21120. 21122;

Correo: secparticular@chiapas.gob.mx

 

Lic. Oscar Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar

Secretario General de Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas

Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas, 2do Piso

Av. Central y Primera Oriente, Colonia Centro, C.P. 29009

Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México

Conmutador: + 52 (961) 61 2-90-47, 61 8-74-60; Extensión: 20003;

Correo: secretario@secgobierno.chiapas.gob.mx

 

Lic. Raciel López Salazar

Procuraduría General de Justicia de Chiapas

Libramiento Norte Y Rosa Del Oriente, No. 2010, Col. El Bosque

C.P. 29049 Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas

Conmutador: 01 (961) 6-17-23-00. Teléfono: + 52 (961) 61 6-53-74, 61 6-53-76, 61 6-57-24.

Correo: raciel.lopez@pgje.chiapas.gob.mx

 

Lic. Octavio Elías Albores Cruz

Presidente Municipal de Ocosingo

Domicilio Conocido , Centro C.P. 29950 Ocosingo, Chiapas.

Teléfono: (919) 67 3-05-06, 67 30015, 67-30500 Fax: 67-30015

 

Lic. Leonardo Rafael Guirao Aguilar

Presidente Municipal de Chilón

Domicilio Conocido S/N, Presidencia Municipal C.P. 29943 Chilón, Chiapas.

Teléfono: (01 919) 6710115, 6710230, 6710116, 6710030, Fax: 6710034

 

Send a copy to:

Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, A.C.

Calle Brasil 14, Barrio Méxicanos, CP: 29240 San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México

Tel: 967 6787395, 967 6787396, Fax: 967 6783548

Correo: accionesurgentes@frayba.org.mx

 

• See Urgent Action No. 03 available at: http://www.frayba.org.mx/archivo/acciones_urgentes/140613_au_3_bazeln.pdfand Bulletin no. 22: http://frayba.org.mx/archivo/boletines/140803_boletin_22_desplazamiento_baez.pdf

 

 

Translated and posted by

Dorset Chiapas Solidarity 16/08/2014

 

 

25 AÑOS CAMINANDO CON LOS PUEBLOS

BRASIL 14, BARRIO MEXICANOS, CP 29240. SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS, CHIAPAS, MÉXICO.

TELEFAX + 52 (967) 678 3548, 678 3551, 678 7395, 678 7396

www.frayba.org.mx  frayba@frayba.org.mx

 

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