May, 23 2003

Indigenous protesters in Oaxaca block roads to demand the
immediate release of 3 Zapotec political prisoners.

Contact:Brendan O´Neill, ACERCA, 802-863-0571,
cell-802-598-8373, brendan@asej.org (*Brendan can help
arrange interviews)

A caravan of activists from Oaxaca, Mexico staged a
protest at government offices in Mexico City for an
undefined amount of time demanding a solution to the
recent repression against indigenous activists in the town
of Union Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Mexico. The community is an
indigenous Zapotec fishing village.

On May 15, 2003, 300 people peacefully blocked the Pan
American highway north of the indigenous Zapotec town
Unión Hidalgo. They demanded the immediate release of
political prisoner Carlos Manzo who was illegally detained
the previous day by police forces in the nearby town of
Juchitan. After blocking the road from 10 am to 3pm police
forces fired tear gas on the protesters and began to
brutally beat women and children in an attempt to break up
the protest.

On May 14th, Juchitan police forces detained indigenous
leader Carlos Manzo, member of the Consejo Ciuadadano de
Unihidalguense (CCU). According to eye witness testimony,
Carlos Manzo left a bank in the center of Juchitán (a city
near his hometown of Unión Hidalgo) when 8 police officers
presented a warrant for his arrest, charging him with
robbery and "deprivation of liberty".

Since the police attack on May 15, two other indigenous
activists have been arrested, Luis Alberto Marin and
Francisco de la Rosa, also of the CCU, joining Carlos
Manzo as political prisoners. According to local
indigenous activists the Oaxaca Attorney General's office
has issued arrect warrants for 34 more local indigenous
leaders and environmental activists.

The CCU was formed in February 2003, after a conflict
between Unión Hidalgo community members and the municipal
government, over the suspected misuse of funds by the
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) mayor, Armando
Sánchez Ruiz. On February 13, 2003, the mayor ordered
municipal police to fire into a crowd that was
demonstrating in front of the municipal palace, killing
one protester and injuring nine. The CCU demanded the
mayor leave his post. The ongoing political struggle led
to the Oaxaca PRI state government (known for both
corruption and repression) stepping in to support the
mayor - issuing arrest warrants on trumped up charges for
Unión Hidalgo residents who are active in the CCU.

Many of the indigenous leaders of the CCU have been active
participants in a two-year battle to stop a proposed
shrimp farm from being built in Unión Hidalgo. The farm
would occupy communal lands and destroy local estuary and
numerous mangroves. The proposed shrimp farm - heavily
promoted by mayor Armando Sánchez Ruiz - meshes perfectly
with the industrial development program, Plan Puebla
Panama (PPP), being pushed in the region by the
Interamerican Development Bank. The PPP is a multi-year
billion dollar package of industrial development
megaprojects spanning from Puebla, Mexico to Panama.

Other CCU representatives are currently in Mexico City
demanding an audit and investigation of the role of the
Unión Hidalgo mayor, Armando Sánchez Ruiz, for his role in
the murder and violence that took place on February 13th.
Meanwhile, the CCU demands the release of their imprisoned
comrades Carlos Manzo, Luis Alberto Marín, and Francisco
de la Rosa.

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TAKE ACTION NOW *****TAKE ACTION NOW *******TAKE ACTION
NOW

Mexico Solidarity Network and ACERCA ask that you FAX AND
E-MAIL the following letter (in Spanish) on behalf of your
organization or as an individual to the governor of
Oaxaca. Please send a copy of the text that you fax to the
CCU at: sonseluna@hotmail.com and msn@mexicosolidarity.org

SAMPLE LETTER:

Lic. José Murat Casab
Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Oaxaca
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, México

Fax: 011-52-951-516-3737
E-Mail: gobernador@oaxaca.gob.mx

Me dirijo a usted para deunciar el hecho de que Carlos
Manzo, Francisco de la Rosa Ruíz y Luis Alberto Marin,
zapotecas del Consejo Ciudadano Unihidalguense de Unión
Hidalgo, Oaxaca, se encuentran recluidos, siendo su único
delito el reclamar la destitución de un corrupto
presidente municipal. Le ruego como gobernador del estado
de Oaxaca hacer lo siguiente:

1. Que se lleve a cabo una investigación pronta y expedita
de los hechos a fin de identificar a los responsables y
proceder a su procesamiento y sanción de acuerdo a la ley.

2. Se adopten las medidas necesarias para resguardar la
vida y la integridad de los señores Carlos Manzo, David
Sánchez Alonso, Ausencio Rodríguez Orozco, Sofía Olhovich,
Romel Giovanni Matus Matus, dirigentes y demás miembros
del CCU.

3. La presencia de un visitador de la Comisión Estatal en
la comunidad, a fin de allegarse de los elementos
necesarios para señalar la responsabilidad de las
violaciones de derechos humanos, así como para evitar que
se registren acciones que repercutan en la vulneración de
los mismos. De la misma forma, se solicita la presencia
del visitador en el CERESO de Tehuantepec, para constatar
que se están respetando las garantías de seguridad
jurídica e integridad personal de Carlos Manzo y los demás
presos.

4. Se integren las averiguaciones previas por los hechos
hostiles cometidos en contra de la vida, de la integridad
y la propiedad de los ciudadanos del municipio Unión
Hidalgo y a la menor brevedad se consignen ante el juez
correspondiente.

5. Se respeten las garantías de seguridad jurídica a
Carlos Manzo y los demás presos.

Atentamente,

[Your name and address]


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For more information on the situation in Unión Hidalgo (in
Spanish) go to:

La Jornada (www.jornada.unam.mx)

For Background info on the Plan Puebla Panamá go to:

In English:
http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/plan_puebla_panama.html
www.americaspolicy.org

In Spanish:
www.mesoamericaresiste.org
www.ciepac.org