El Enemigo Común

TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS

We, the undersigned, Abraham Ramírez Vásquez, Noel and Juventino García Cruz, members of the Committee for Defense of Indigenous Rights (CODEDI) and the Popular Anti-neoliberal Oaxacan Coordinating Group (COMPA), denounce the following:

Ever since our arrest in 2005 for the offenses of aggravated homicide and kidnapping, which we never committed and will always insist were fabricated by the tyrant Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, the current governor responsible for the crimes against humanity against our comrades in the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca, we have been subjected to violations of our basic human rights that should be respected.

Read the rest of this entry »

People in the Zapotec community of Santiago Xanica in the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca continue to struggle for their right to choose their municipal president in an assembly by means of traditional practices and customs and to gain the freedom of the first political prisoners of the Ulises Ruiz regime in the face of threats, harassment, and arrest warrants on the eve of the municipal elections of August 26.

August 22nd, 2007 - Carolina writes: The road to Xanica climbs up from Huatulco through a beautiful forest. It’s rough and unpaved, but the driver of our wooden-railed pick-up knows all the ruts and curves, even in the rain. He’s lived there all his life. His name is Isaías.

He talks to the two of us, who were lucky enough to be riding up front, about the woods and the deer and possums and armadillos that live there. Then he says, “See those lights? They’re the lights of Xanica.” On our two-hour ride they look really distant, then closer, then even further away, but there they are, shining clearly through the mist, always visible in this part of the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca. Isaías answers our questions and tells about the state of siege in his town.

Only later did I learn that he’s one of eight people from Xanica with warrants out for his arrest. (en español)

Read the rest of this entry »

02/08/05

URGENT ACTION FAX AND EMAIL FORM LETTER
On January 15, 2005, just weeks after PRI party governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz took office, Oaxacan state police surrounded the community of Santiago Xanica during a communal work day and opened fire in broad daylight upon the villagers. Three people were shot and nine injured. The community members defended themselves with bricks and stones and managed to thwart an attempted massacre. The three wounded community members were arrested and accused of assaulting a police officer. These detainees belong to CODEDI (Committee in Defense of Indigenous Rights), an organization that is part of a state-wide alliance named COMPA, (Oaxacan Anti-neoliberal Popular Magonista Coordination).

Read the rest of this entry »