June 8: Humanitarian Caravan “Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola”

To the indigenous peoples of Mexico and the world,
To journalists and the media,
To national and international public opinion,
To national and international human rights organizations,
To social movements and democratic organizations of the people of Mexico and the world,
To the Other Campaign,
To the women and men who dream of a better tomorrow and a different world,

The communities, neighborhoods and individuals who comprise the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala in recent months have suffered an escalation of violent attacks, the people involved in this project have resisted bravely and those people who believe in our destiny as an indigenous people have placed themselves at risk alongside us in order to defend it at any cost.

A clear example of this was the tragic loss of Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola in the armed attack on the humanitarian caravan this past April 27, they risked their own lives for the sake of reporting to the world the subhuman conditions which the inhabitants of San Juan Copala live under, besieged by the armed guard of a paramilitary group that day and night lays waste to our comrades.

Because the world needs to know about these conditions and know about the complicity of the Oaxacan government authorities with this paramilitary group, we are again calling on the national and international community, to all the countries of the world, to once and for all break the paramilitary siege under which more than 70 families find themselves, under inhuman conditions and in permanent violation of their rights to practice their own forms of social, political and cultural organizations and to fully control their lives and communal coexistence.

Because silence cannot be imposed through the sound of gunfire: We call for the Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola Humanitarian Caravan which will occur on June 8, 2010, noting that it will not be on May 30 as was published in some media outlets, due to the necessity to find and secure stores of food and supplies sufficient enough for those families for a few weeks more and above all to obtain the security conditions indispensable to carrying out the caravan and to not put any of the people who decide to accompany us at risk.

The humanitarian conditions are extreme and the people cannot bear it anymore, without water, electricity, or food, the families need our support and solidarity, which is why we seek to coordinate with national and international human rights groups and ask that they join the initial call that we asked the Bartolome Carrasco Human Rights Center of Oaxaca to organize, in particular we ask for the inclusion of the All Rights for All National Network of Civil Human Rights Bodies, of the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center, and the National Center of Social Communication, so that together they can provide cover for the caravan and help this humanitarian mission reach its destination.

We also call on the International Red Cross, Amnesty International, Peace Brigades International, and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico to join this caravan to the extent that they are able.

To the national and international media, committed to the truth, that you document and verify the reality of San Juan Copala, that you tell the world how the subjugated and exploited live in Mexico and Oaxaca, that you see firsthand the inhuman conditions that Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola sought to document, losing their lives for it.

The integrity and security of all who accompany this caravan is the responsibility of the Mexican state as a whole, the rights outlined in our constitution and international treaties cannot be circumscribed by paramilitary groups or corrupt governments.

The Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola Humanitarian Caravan will succeed in breaking the paramilitary siege and saving the lives of the more than 70 families who are surviving under inhuman conditions.

Because the rights of the Triqui people are not under the control of any paramilitary group!

Because justice and peace can only be achieved by building from below!

Everyone to San Juan Copala on June 8!