Raleigh, NC: Protestors Occupy Mexican Embassy in solidarity with Oaxaca, in memory of Brad Will

October 30th, 2006 – Protestors and friends of Brad Will occupied the Mexican Consulate in Raleigh, NC for over 3 hours today to demand justice for the people of Oaxaca, Mexico and immediate reprisals against the paramilitary death squads who kill with impunity.

Around thirty people showed up to the consulate at 9am chanting “Oaxaca unida, jamas sera vencido” to the beats of drums and banners reading “Justice for Oaxaca” and “Brad Will: Murdered by the Mexican Government” As the crowd reached the front of the building an advance group entered and eventually made their way to the second floor where the administrative offices reside. Some engaged the head of the consulate and presented him with our list of demands, while others entered un-occupied offices and used the consulates computers and telephones to contact media and Mexican government officials. One of the consulates computers was set to the electronic civil disobedience website (www.mountainrebel.net/oaxaca) which was designed to shut down the Mexican governments websites.

Meanwhile around 10 people with drums and noisemakers occupied the main lobby of the conference filling the air with chants and rhythmic beats. Flyers in Spanish explaining the situation in Oaxaca were distributed to people waiting in lines.

The demands presented to the Mexican consulate included: Immediate withdrawal of federal forces from Oaxaca, amnesty for all protestors currently in jail, the immediate ouster of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, meet all demands of APPO, that those behind the government sponsored death squads be brought to justice, and that the consulate officially endorse our demands and present them to President Vicente Fox.

The consulate workers were unsure what to do as they were very reluctant to call the police and bring the unwanted attention to their offices. As a result protestors were able to hold the second floor for 3 hours until police arrived.

Once police began to clear the second floor, one protestor locked his neck to a wall mounted television and refused to leave. Unfortunately within a half hour the police found where the key was hidden and unlocked him. Amazingly there were no arrests made, and the demo came to an end with lively drumming and calls for solidarity.

This is just the beginning in our solidarity with the Oaxacan people and in honor of Brad. We are calling for continued resistance to the Mexican governments massacre in Oaxaca. We will settle for nothing less then complete justice for Brad Will and all the other fallen companer@s and autonomy for the people of Oaxaca

Brad Will, Presente!

source: http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/78154.html

One comment

  1. Mexico’s Lower House of Congress Calls on Oaxaca State’s Embattled Governor to Resign

    MEXICO CITY, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Mexico’s lower house of Congress called on Oaxaca state’s embattled governor to resign on Monday to end months of violent protests that led riot police to seize control of the state capital over the weekend.

    Gov. Ulises Ruiz has been under fire for five months, with leftist protesters in the popular tourist city of Oaxaca accusing him of corruption and repression and demanding his ouster.

    Federal riot police broke up the demonstrators’ barricades and took control of the colonial city on Sunday. Ruiz had repeatedly called for federal forces to step in.

    The Chamber of Deputies voted overwhelmingly in favor of a motion calling on him to step down.

    Ruiz has flatly refused to resign. Lawmakers from his own Institutional Revolutionary Party failed to back him, with most abstaining and only a few voting against the motion.

    by Reuters, posted on NYC-IMC:
    http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/78153.html

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