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Open Letter to the Mexican Government
An open letter from Independent media organiziations working in Oaxaca to the
Mexican Goverment, Mexican and International Human Rights agencies, and
international civil society.

Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca. 7 de noviembre, 2006.

A Vicente Fox Quezada, Presidente de la República
A Carlos Abascal Carranza, Secretario de Gobernación
A José Luis Soberanes, de la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos
A la Comisión Internacional de los Derechos Humanos
A los Defensores de los Derechos Humanos Independientes
A la Sociedad Civil Nacional e Internacional

Since the beginning of the conflict, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, the
majority of the national and international media have systematically failed to
tell the whole story of what is happening in Oaxaca, and especially with regard
to the acts of violence carried out by the state government, and more recently
by the federal police.

In recent weeks, many journalists covering the conflict for independent
media have been subjected to all kinds of threats and harassment by
paramilitary groups operating on behalf of the state government; by the
pirate radio operating under the permission of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz; and now
by the federal police as well. It’s clear that the work of the independent
media presents an obstacle to the repressive actions carried out by the State.


The death of the North American journalist, Brad Will, at the hands of
municipal functionaries who sympathize with Ulises Ruiz Ortiz is a clear
example of the above mentioned situation. Despite the scandal generated by his
death, the situation has become even more precarious for those of us working as
organizations, collectives, and independent journalists.

Examples are: Calls for aggression against “foreign” reporters, on the
so-called “Citizen Radio,” generating a xenophobic campaign against anyone who
isn’t Oaxacan; direct death threats against journalists; the theft of their
footage; physical attacks and threats with firearms.

As independent journalists we also condemn the interference of University
Radio’s broadcast as a violation of university autonomy and the freedom of
speech protected by the Mexican Constitution and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.

We oppose the differentiation between officially accredited media outlets
and the independent media, because we are all working to provide information.

For the above mentioned reasons, we hold Ulises Ruiz Ortiz and President
Vicente Fox Quesada responsible for anything that might happen to any
member of the below signed organizations and collectives, or to any other
journalist.

Sincerely,

Agencia Popular de Fotografía Lok’tavanej
Bibaani, A.C.
Canal 6 de Julio
Centro de Información y Documentación Comunitaria Yagavila
Centro de Medio Libres DF
Colectivo Chanti Ollín
Colectivo Radio Zapote
Convergencia de Colectivos de la ENAH
Editorial Lucía Zenteno
Estéreo Comunal
Frente Oaxaqueño de Comunicación Alternativa
Indymedia Oaxaca
Kehuelga Radio
Mal de Ojo TV
OaxacaLibre
Ojo de Agua Comunicación
Radio Bemba
Radio Chapingo
Radio Guetza
Radio Maíz
Radio Molocha
Radio Nandiá
Radio Pacheco
Radio Plantón
Radio Reforma
Radio Sabotaje
Radio Tupa Oaxaca
Radio Universidad
Red de Radios Comunitarias del Istmo (Radio Ayuuk, Radio Ikoots, Radio
Umalalang, Radio Totopo, Radio Huave)

Corrugated Films
Indymedia Barcelona
Indymedia NYC
Kaos en la Red
La Haine.org
Organización Inglesa de Periodistas

43 firmas de comunicadores independientes

. . . Read more!


posted by LoZo 10:24 AM

 

Good News from Nicaragua
(Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times, 2 November 2006)
"The Godfather," "Commander Bull's-Eye" and "the Alligator": To a man, they either fought in or backed the contra war that sought to overthrow Ortega's revolutionary Sandinista government in the 1980s. Now all three are working to get him elected president . . . Once the contras' top political negotiator, Morales lost his palatial home in Managua, the capital, when the Sandinistas expropriated it and gave it to Ortega, who still lives there. Morales now is Ortega's running mate in Sunday's presidential election. Across Nicaragua, pictures of the graying Morales occupy billboards alongside portraits of Ortega, a 60-year-old with thinning black hair who bears a diminishing resemblance to the youthful rebel he once was. The Ortega-Morales ticket leads in all polls. . . . No one worries much anymore about communism or a Reaganesque counterrevolution. Instead, people wonder what Ortega stands for and if there's anyone he won't make a deal with. . . . Most observers in Nicaragua agree an economic crisis that has forced thousands of Nicaraguans to emigrate is feeding Ortega's lead in the polls. On the campaign trail, he's portrayed himself as the antidote to the conservative economic ideas backed by the country's past three presidents. . . . "We've had 16 years of these democratic governments, and what have they given us?" Ortega asked in Leon, 50 miles northwest of Managua. "They've turned us into beggars." . . . Unemployment is about 17 percent, and since 1990, 500,000 Nicaraguans have left in search of work in the United States and nearby countries.

. . . Read more!


posted by LoZo 10:08 AM