Friends,

I hate to send out another e-mail distribution only three days after my last one, but I’m afraid the situation in Oaxaca is threatening to become ugly. The newspapers will write about the struggles within the Teachers Union, which look pretty serious right now, but this note is about an overt attempt to frighten a different group of people who were simply engaged in a dialogue. The Urgent Action alert from the Oaxaca Human Rights Network is posted on their website at
www.laneta.apc.org/rodh/spip/article.php3 . The translation is mine.

If you spread the word, and the four parties listed get enough e-mails and/or faxes, it may persuade them to think a military attack would be too costly in terms of world opinion. Thanks for whatever you can do.

All best wishes,

-- George

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A Crime against the Workshops of the “Dialogue for Oaxaca”

The Oaxaca Human Rights Network has given prompt follow-up to the development and coordination of the workshops of the “DIALOGUE FOR OAXACA” whose purpose is to analyze and propose, by means of consensus, alternatives to the situation we are living in, with the participation of citizens, representatives of various organizations and social sectors, as well as municipal and agricultural authorities of Oaxaca State. This work began on 12 October this year.

As part of these activities various workshops for discussion and analysis are developing, however the state government is undertaking illegal acts of intimidation against the free development of this citizen dialogue.

ACTIONS

On Friday 20 October 2006, in the course of the fourth session of the workshops of “Dialogue for Oaxaca”, taking place in the building of the Pastoral Center of the Diocese, at 702 Garcia Vigil Street, corner of Cosijopi Street, Center, Oaxaca, at about 7:00pm, the participants of the dialogue workshops noticed that the building in which we were meeting was surrounded by heavily armed judicial (now ministerial) and municipal police. They were dressed as civilians, with military haircuts, openly displaying high caliber arms at waist height, some of them wearing bullet-proof jackets. They had three vehicles (one white, one red, both Chevrolets and the other a recent model black van with polarized windows, all of them without license plates). What we succeeded in observing is that in those vehicles there were about 18 police. We also observed at that moment that they were communicating by means of radios and cellular phones that they carried.

Facing that environment, those of us participating in the dialogue workshops chose to leave in groups, some of us heading towards the zócalo [the main square in the center of the city], because that’s where the APPO encampment is. However, en route, some of us noticed that the police vehicles were followin us.

Because of this situation, the Human Rights Network of Oaxaca, as well as different organizations of civil society participating in the Dialogue workshops for Oaxaca:

DEMAND ENERGETICALLY:

That the Mexican State, specifically the Federal Government, guarantee the security of the various parties that are participating in the Dialogues for Oaxaca.

That the Mexican government take actions in order to end the strategically organized harrassment by the Oaxaca State government against the parties participating in the Dialogues for Oaxaca. The State government has been turning upside down our fundamental rights such as freedom to meet, freedom of expression, and above all crimes against our personal liberty.

VICENTE FOX QUESADA PRESIDENTE CONSTITUCIONAL DE MÉXICO FAX. + 55 52 77 23 76, vicente.fox.quesada (at) presidencia.gob.mx

LIC. CARLOS ABASCAL CARRANZA SECRETARIO DE GOBERNACIÓN FAX + 55 50 93 34 14, cabascal (at) segob.gob.mx

DR. JOSÉ LUIS SOBERANES PRESIDENTE DE LA COMISIÓN NACIONAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS FAX + 55 56 81 71 99, correo (at) cndh.gob.mx

LIC. ULISES RUIZ ORTÍZ GOBERNADOR DEL ESTADO DE OAXACA Fax: + 951 5020530, gobernador (at) oaxaca.gob.mx

The Human Rights Network of Oaxaca is made up of the Civil Organizations: Centro Regional de Derechos Humanos “Bartolomé Carrasco Briseño”, A.C. Comisión Regional de Derechos Humanos “Mahatma Gandhi”, A.C. Acción de los Cristianos para la Abolición de la Tortura, A.C. Centro de Derechos Humanos “Ñu’u Ji kandii”, A.C. Centro de Derechos Indígenas “Flor y Canto”, A.C. Tequio Jurídico, A.C.

Sector of Civil Bodies

Alternativas para la Equidad y Diversidad, A.C., Cefocom, A.C., Centro de Apoyo al Movimiento Popular Oaxaqueño CAMPO A.C., Centro de Orientación del Migrante de Oaxaca, A.C., Centro para los Derechos de la Mujer Ñääxwiin A.C., Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario Centéotl A.C., Centro de Encuentros y Diálogos Interculturales A.C., Centro de Estudios de la Mujer y la Familia A.C., Centrarte A.C., Chamixezacui, A.C., Coalición de Maestros y Promotores Indígenas de Oaxaca CMPIO A.C., Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca A.C. , Colectivo Huaxyacac, Colectivo Nueva Babel A.C., CODICE A.C., Comité de Vigilancia Ciudadana, Cooperativa de Mujeres Treg, A.C., Enlace Comunicación y Capacitación, A.C., ECCOS A.C., Foro Oaxaqueño de la Niñez, Fundación Comunitaria Oaxaca, A.C., Grupo de Apoyo a la Educación de la Mujer GAEM, Grupo de Estudios sobre la Mujer Rosario Castellanos, A.C., Grupo Mesófilo A.C., Grupo Ocho de Marzo, A.C., Guiariaten, A.C., Ixquixochitl A.C., Iniciativas para el Desarrollo de la Mujer Oaxaqueña IDEMO A.C, Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos LIMEDDH A.C., La Ventana A.C., Ojo de Agua Comunicación S.C., Observatorio por los Derechos Humanos y la Democracia, Organización de Agricultores Biológicos, A.A., PAIR, A.C., Promotora de Servicios para el Desarrollo PRODER S.C., PROCAO A..C., Protección a la Jovén de Oaxaca, A.C., Pueblo Jaguar A.C., PRO-OAX, A.C., Servicios para una Educación Alternativa EDUCA A.C., Sinergia para el Desarrollo Integral Sustentable A.C., Universidad de la Tierra en Oaxaca A.C., Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Zona Norte del Istmo UCIZONI A.C., Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca UNOSJO S.C., Yeni Navan. Ciudadanas y Ciudadanos Adriana Gris Ruiz, Alma Gómez Soto, Fidel Ruiz Jiménez, Francisco Zamora Quiroz, Gerardo Figueroa, Santos Jesús Martínez Salazar, Jorge Herrera Olvera.