November 27th, 31st day of the occupation of Oaxaca by federal forces

TO SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
TO HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS
TO THE PEOPLE IN GENERAL

ULISES RUIZ AND FELIPE CALDERÓN STRIKE HUMAN RIGHTS IN OAXACA WITH THE COUP DE GRÂCE

If by nature the presence of the encampments of the Federal Preventative Police (PFP) in public places and the night patrols of the police forces and paramilitaries was aggressive, now that the patrols are done in the plain of day, this city, declared as a cultural patrimony of humanity, is a true war zone. To Oaxaca citizens, it is now not only that we have been captivated by the right to protest, but that we live in a literal state of siege. The violence in the state is unleashed. The enormous number of vehicles carrying members of the PFP patrolling the city is impressive, in addition to the innumerable personal vehicles without license plates that continue picking up and shooting people.

They have, today, taken away 5 people, with violence. Besides the arbitrarily detained compañeros and compañeros this past Saturday, in a incident of great violation of human rights by the state and federal government, 107 men and 64 women, indigenous and mestizos and mestizas, were transferred to the prison of San José del Rincón, Nayarit, moving them thus away from their families. Today, ministerial police assassinated, at point blank range, a bus driver who was from the Sierra region, and up to now, his name is unknown. Students of the Faculty of Medicine of the “Benito Juárez” Autonomous University of Oaxaca (UABJO) who were giving a press conference to repudiate the current events were attacked at approximately 15:30 today with bursts of fire from high powered weapons. From there, they carried away a compañero. The entrance of the police to Radio Universidad is imminent, to continue with the detainments. Police squads are checking vehicles in the vicinity of the university [UABJO]. Yesterday the building where the offices of the organization ‘New Oaxaca Left’ were located was burned. As night draws near, the denouncements of aggressions and arbitrary detainments increase.

In Oaxaca, there is no freedom for protest, nor for the free expresions of ideas, nor of transit, communications, information and organization…but rather, those that support Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, and his thugs, henchmen and hit men are granted total impunity to hit, kill, take, burn and even have a clandestine [illegal] radio station.

We make a call:

· To international and national human rights organizations to come out against these lamentable events;

· To international organizations to continue protesting at the embassies and consulates of our country and to pressure their governments to break commercial relations with Mexico for being country which openly violates human rights;

· To national syndicates and organizations to carry out conclusive [alt. trans.: convicing; heavy] actions to avoid this situation being provoked further by the arrival of Felipe Calderón.

LEAVE OAXACA, ULISES RUIZ AND THE FEDERAL OCCUPYING FORCES!

IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL FREEDOM FOR THE POLITICAL PRISONERS!

PRESENT, ALIVE, THE DISAPPEARED!

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES IN OUR STATE!

FOR OUR DEAD, PRISONERS AND DISAPPEARED, NOT ONE STEP BACK!

For the Defense of the People, Building the Power of the People!

All the power to the people!

COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE

POPULAR ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLES OF OAXACA