Statement from the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala regarding the massacre in Agua Fría Copala by MULT-PUP

by Municipio Autónomo de San Juan Copala
August 6, 2011

Translation by Scott Campbell

TO THE HONEST MEDIA
TO SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
TO THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF MEXICO
TO THE OTHER CAMPAIGN

Compañeras, compañeros – again, the blood of our people becomes the spoils of those who in their infinite greed care not about the pain of a son, of a sister, of a mother, of a wife, so long as it achieves their ambitions.

Yesterday, as with anticipation we previously denounced, another massacre was carried out in our lands, which casts a pall over and fills with pain three homes of dignified men and women who as of January 2007 decided to stop being a number in a clientelist organization, with a puppet leadership for the bad governments and the rich of this country, who care only about plundering the natural wealth of our peoples.

Because of that, and only that, MULT never forgave our movement, for having returned the word to our people so that they may decide their own destiny with dignity, which by nature we Triquis have. Many denials may be spoken with mouths full of lies, but the reality is that ever since we split from MULT and UBISORT, many of our brothers have died by their criminal hands because it is they, and only they, who have always been behind the attacks on our Autonomous project, it is they who used the name of UBISORT, together with several criminals, to attack San Juan Copala without mercy and to displace an entire town, it is they who today occupy our community and our homes, and it is they who, with the complicity of some government officials want to make it look like all is calm in San Juan Copala and one can live in peace, it is they who have taken Toño Pajaro and his group of criminals under their protection in order to clothe them with impunity.

This cowardly and criminal action was prepared days beforehand with lies that those criminals had spread through some media outlets where they accused our organization of shooting at the community of Cieneguilla. With this wicked campaign of defamation they merely created the conditions to massacre our brothers and to continue enjoying the impunity which the state government affords them. Because we want to make clear that in spite of the existence of arrest warrants against the murderers of our people, these have not been acted upon because the power of the MULT leadership is superior to that of the state government and it is because of that they have the permission to massacre with impunity, and not only this, but they are awarded with small bonds of 50 million pesos handed out by the governor, money which their social base will never see, given that in spite of the time this organization, led by people from outside of our culture and history, has held such power, every moment the Triqui communities are further exploited and plundered while the pockets of those leaders grow fatter every day.

Yesterday at five in the afternoon, our brothers: ALVARO JACINTO CRUZ, FRANCISCO RAMIREZ MERINO, JOSE LUIS RAMIREZ, 18, 37, and 39 years old, respectively, came to be victims of the impunity that this government of change has allowed in the lower Triqui region, also of course, with the complicity of some distinguished government officials, PRI members such as representatives, municipal presidents or government secretaries, our compañeros were cowardly attacked with high-caliber weapons, leaving them dead on the roadway from San Pedro Chayuco, five minutes from Agua Fría Copala when they went to buy some groceries.

It is because of that, compañeras, compañeros, that we call for solidarity from all of those who have a good heart, that you support us to demand justice and that you accompany us on this long path that as Triquis we are ready to follow until achieving PEACE WITH JUSTICE AND DIGNITY that the first peoples of this country deserve, at the same time we ask that you support us so that we can inter our brothers with dignity, as we all know that we are an independent movement that does not receive small bonds nor sits with the state Secretary of the Interior to beg for handouts.

ENOUGH WITH IMPUNITY!

August 6, 2011

RESPECTFULLY

COMMUNAL AUTONOMOUS COUNCIL OF SAN JUAN COPALA