San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas
April 25, 2013
Frayba Urgent Information Note
Ejidatario from The Other Campaign in Bachajón Chiapas is Murdered
The Centre for Human Rights condemns the assassination of Juan Vázquez Guzmán, former Secretary General of the adherents to the Other Campaign (La Sexta) in the ejido of San Sebastián Bachajón, who was noted for his active participation in the defense of Land and Territory against the government plunder of the Agua Azul Waterfalls and the imposition of the Toll Booth at the entrance.
According to information given to this Centre, on Wednesday April 24 at 23:00 pm persons unknown shot Juan Vázquez five times, killing him instantly.
Neighbors say that Juan was attacked just as he was arriving home, the attackers immediately fled in a red van, with a double cab, taking the road to the municipal headquarters of Sitalá, thus also having access to the roads to the municipalities of Ocosingo, Cancúc and Chilón.
Since 2007, Juan Vázquez had been active in the defense of the Land and Territory of San Sebastian Bachajónone, a situation for which they held an order for legal protection (amparo) which is currently being reviewed in the Third Collegiate Court, based in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, under case number 118/2013.
On April 17th the ejidatarios of San Sebastian Bachajón, adherents to the Other Campaign of the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, publicly denounced two that their Territory is being threatened by the official policy of territorial dispossession which is continuing under the current state government.
1 Video of the struggle for the defense of the Territory, available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dcTspD7NKmY #!
2 See note and statement available at: http://sipaz.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/chiapas-adherentes-a-la-otra-campana-de-san-sebastian-bachajon-denuncian-despojo-e-impunidad/
