San Juan Copala: On the second caravan and the autonomous project

TO THE HONEST STATE, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
TO THE OTHER CAMPAIGN
TO THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO
TO THE NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

Twenty days after the brutal murder of our comrades ALBERTA CARIÑO TRUJILLO AND JYRI JAAKKOLA, along with others wounded by high-caliber weapons in the hands of groups completely identified with the state, there has been no justice. This impunity has favored this paramilitary group which calls itself a “SOCIAL ORGANIZATION” (UBISORT), so that it again commits another attack against the inhabitants of the AUTONOMOUS MUNICIPALITY, obeying the orders issued from the halls of government, kidnapping on May 14 comrade MARGARITA LOPEZ MARTINEZ and SUSANA MARTINEZ, holding them for approximately two hours during which they received all kinds of threats, and on May 15, this same group, commanded by RUFINO and ANASTACIO JUÁREZ HERNANDEZ, kidnapped twelve inhabitants of the AUTONOMOUS MUNICIPALITY of San Juan Copala for an entire night; during which time they were beaten, threatened and stripped of all their belongings, including the food which they had previously bought in Juxtlahuaca, as well as money, most of it which was to pay for the Opportunities program. They are: FELIPA DE JESÚS SUÁREZ, JOAQUINA VELASCO AGUILERA, MARTIMIANA AGUILERA, ISABEL BAUTISTA RAMÍREZ, MARCELINA RAMÍREZ, LORENA MERINO MARTÍNEZ, LETICIA VELASCO AGUILERA (CHILD), ROSARIO VELASCO ALLENDE (CHILD), JOSEFA RAMIREZ BAUTISTA (CHILD), TWO CHILDREN OF FOUR YEARS OF AGE AND A ONE-YEAR-OLD BABY.

AS A RESULT OF ALL THIS WE ANNOUNCE:

FIRST.- That from this date, as a result of the permanent and continued attacks that have been committed against the population of the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala and those who act in solidarity with us; we are postponing the negotiations that we have been holding before these events, as well as all possible dialogue with the state government, until such a time when it administers justice in a transparent manner against those materially and intellectually responsible for this massacre and ceases to allow, cover up, and conceal the paramilitaries who publicly announce and carry out their threats.

SECOND.- We understand that, as a communal movement which struggles to decide freely, without having to live under the yoke of caciques who manipulate us and live off of our impoverishment, that many times we have made mistakes on our path, not out of malicious intent but out of inexperience. It is because of this that from this date forward we want you to know that all the actions we undertake to consolidate OUR AUTONOMOUS MUNICIPALITY will be determined by OUR COMMUNAL COUNCIL in consultation with the community assemblies; we are now working on the creation of a structure which will be made up of different commissions which we will make you aware of at the appropriate time.

We make clear that this resistance struggle has as its final goal to recuperate our history and culture, with a great respect for our mother earth; to achieve development towards the dignified life that we all desire, where peace and justice reign, which is why our reference point for struggle is without a doubt the ZAPATISTA MOVEMENT, WHICH REACHES ITS UNDERSTANDINGS IN THE GOOD GOVERNMENT COUNCILS, this is what we want for our people and we know that sooner or later we’ll reach that horizon.

Due to this, we call on all our brothers and sisters, indigenous and non-indigenous, who make their struggle as part of the Other Campaign, to accompany us without haggling, on this road that is also the road you walk, and when we are wrong, help us in a fraternal and supportive manner, as we understand that only disinterestedly united, those of us who walk from below and to the left, will we reach the dawn of this long night of pain.

THIRD.- We also make clear that faced with the incessant criminal acts that this group continues carrying out in our communities, with all that it implies, we have decided to issue a new callout for a SECOND CARAVAN OF OBSERVATION AND SOLIDARITY which will travel to San Juan Copala on June 8, 2010 and break the informational, paramilitary, and hunger siege which this group of gunmen has brought upon our community; for this we confirm that we have asked for the help of the DIOCESAN COMMISSION OF JUSTICE AND PEACE and the BARTOLOMÉ CARRASCO BRISEÑO REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER, so that our commission, together with them, may coordinate this event where we will take all the security measures possible and where we will assemble a large number of LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIOAL OBSERVERS, as well as media outlets and comrades who want to act in solidarity with our people, which for many years the people in power have filled with pain and death.

Finally, we want to clarify that some journalists have insisted in making us out to be people who use high-powered weapons. We want to make clear that this is not the case. Because our communal struggle, through a peaceful organization, seeks to do away with the repression, imposition and cruel treatment to which we were subjected, first by the governments and then by “organizations” which, rooted in lies and corruption, have taken from us our word, our decisions and have taken our right to live as first peoples; we don’t have weapons, we don’t need them: we know that with organization and with the solidarity of the people of MEXICO and OF THE WORLD we will soon attain a life of PEACE, with JUSTICE and DIGNITY.

May 18, 2010

RESPECTFULLY,

AUTONOMOUS MUNICIPALITY OF SAN JUAN COPALA

http://autonomiaencopala.wordpress.com

translation from: http://angrywhitekid.blogs.com