Estamos haciendo un urgente llamado a la comunidad internacional a unirnos en un ALTO A LA REPRESION que el Estado mexicano ha dado como respuesta a las justas demandas de los maestros y del pueblo de Oaxaca, aglutinados en la Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca (A.P.P.O.).
En las últimas semanas, el gobierno mexicano ha convertido a este Estado en un verdadero campo de guerra, con grupos paramilitares asesinando, secuestrando, encarcelando e intimando a la población; estableciendo cercos militares en diferentes caminos; desplazando miles de elementos militares, policiales y de la marina y ordenando sobrevuelos de aviones y helicópteros militares.
En estos momentos la situación es muy crítica y las consecuencias de una represión de mayor magnitud serian incalculables, así como criminal que el gobierno mexicano dejara caer todo el peso de la violencia del Estado contra un pueblo que precisamente esta luchando contra la violencia en que se le ha sometido ancestralmente.
Ante este ejemplo heroico de dignidad y de lucha por la justicia y resistencia en contra del olvido y la marginación, no los podemos dejar sin el apoyo de la mano solidaria, no importando fronteras ni distancias.
Las organizaciones abajo firmantes nos manifestaremos públicamente por un ALTO a La REPRESION EN OAXACA los días 11, 12, 13 y 14 en nuestras respectivas ciudades, con base en modalidades y capacidades propias.
No permitamos otra historia penosa mas!
No a la pérdida de vidas inocentes!
No a la injusticia!
We are making an urgent call to join us in demanding a STOP TO THE REPRESSION that the Mexican sate is carrying out in response to the just demands of the teachers and people of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico.
As an international community we have observed in the last few months the response of the Mexican government to the just demands of working people.
We saw it against the workers of the Sicartsa factory in Michoacan in which two workers were assassinated by the state police.
We saw it as well in the repression against the flower vendors of Texcoco, campesinos (peasant farmers), workers and students who sympathize and are members of the Other Campaign in San Salvador Atenco, where 2 youths were killed, more than 30 women sexually tortured, dozens injured, and hundreds detained (of which 29 remain unjustly imprisoned.)
On the 14th of June, the government's repression targeted the peaceful protest camp of the teachers of Section 22 of the National Union/Coordination of Education Workers (SNTE/CNTE) in the centre of the city of Oaxaca . Under orders from Oaxaca governor Ulises Riuz Ortiz, widely regarded as corrupt and violent, the police attacked women, children and elderly people, and left a yet unknown number of people dead, tortured and disappeared. Dozens were thrown in jail as political prisoners. This barbaric act created the conditions under which a massive mobilization of the organized movements of Oaxaca took place, creating the Popular Assembly of the People's of Oaxaca ( A.P.P.O) which rejects the legitimacy of state government and whose main demand was, and continues to be, the resignation of Ulises Ruiz as a first step towards resolving the social conflict in the region. Every day more people and organization have joined or support the A.P.P.O., in Oaxaca and in other parts of the country and the world.
As in previous conflicts the government of Mexico is paying close attention to how people are organizing and supporting each other, something that produces discomfort and uncertainty in the hearts of those who would choke the awakening of the historically downtrodden.
In recent weeks the Mexican government has turned the state of Oaxaca into a virtual war zone, training and supporting paramilitary thugs who freely roam the streets killing, kidnapping, detaining, intimidating and provoking the population. It has also set up military checkpoints on various access roads, and has started a military deployment in Oaxaca, sending hundred of elements of the federal counter insurgency special forces (known as the PFP and the AFI), army and navy troops, and state police. Military aircraft have performed low level overflights of the city. In addition to this the government continues an intense propaganda campaign in the media with the aim of discrediting the social movements in Oaxaca and creating the pretexts for violence, while at the same time cynically declaring that it seeks a negotiated solution.
At this time the situation in Oaxaca is critical. Considering that there are thousands of protesters and even more supporters in Oaxaca and surrounding communities, the consequences of a government attack at this time are unimaginable. It would be a grave atrocity for the Mexican government to allow the full weight of its repressive forces to fall on a people who have been struggling to end the culture of violence that characterizes official politics in Oaxaca .