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Semana de Lucha Mundial por la Libertad de Patisthán y Sántiz López: A tumbar las paredes del calabozo
Convocation for “WEEK OF GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR THE LIBERATION OF PATISHTÁN AND SÁNTIZ LÓPEZ: BRINGING DOWN THE PRISON WALLS”
April 16, 2012
To our sisters and brothers, the family members and allies of Alberto Patishtán Gomez:
To our sisters and brothers, the family members and allies of Francisco Sántiz López:
To our Zapatista sisters and brothers:
To our compañer@s of The Other Campaign:
To our compañer@s of the Zezta Internazional:
To our compañer@s, adherents of the International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio and all our allies from around the world:
To the Civil Society in Mexico and in the world:
The following is an urgent call to action from Movement for Justice in El Barrio, The Other Campaign New York, and supported by the Patishtán Family, to realize the:
“WEEK OF GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR THE LIBERATION OF PATISHTÁN AND SANTIZ LOPEZ: BRINGING DOWN THE PRISON WALLS”
To take place from Tuesday, May 15 to Tuesday May 22 of this year.
Compañer@s:
We send you our affectionate embraces and greetings on behalf of Movement for Justice in El Barrio, The Other Campaign New York.
We wish to share with all of you an urgent proposal from the humble and simple migrant community of El Barrio, New York.
Over here on the “other side,” we find ourselves with relentless anxiety trembling in our skin. We have observed from afar the cases of unjust incarceration of the political prisoners: Alberto Patishtán Gómez, an adherent of The Other Campaign, and Francisco Sántiz López, member of the Zapatista Support Base communities since 1992. For us, the dignified struggles of our compañeros are an occasion to reflect and rebel against a political and legal system that has nothing to do with justice or rights.
We have witnessed with much pain all the attempts to dehumanize Alberto Patishtán Gómez and Francisco Sántiz López – from the false accusations to the legal inconsistencies – of the bad government via its three levels and its rulers from every post, such as the repressor Pres. Felipe Calderón and the repressor Gov. Juan Sabines . They seek to erase the faces of our compañeros to make them invisible. They seek to erase the words of our compañeros to silence them. They seek to eliminate their phyisical freedom so that they cannot fight anymore. Because it is easier to bury beneath prison walls a human body that lacks a face, makes no sound, has no life.
But we continue listening to them from afar, and their dignified cries, their indispensable lives, call us to walk alongside them to obtain their freedom. They call on us to unite our forces in order to knock down the walls that surround them.
The prison system constitutes part of the racist politics of the world capitalist system. We know that it is no coincidence that in Mexico, as well as here in the United States, the jails and prisons are filled almost exclusively with those from below – indigenous, migrants, black, poor, Latino, women and men, and all marginalized groups – since only the true criminals could benefit from this misery: the multinational corporations and their political lackeys. Those from above believe that people who struggle must be crushed and encaged.
Alberto Patishtán Gómez was born on April 19, 1971 in the Chiapas municipality of El Bosque. He was arbitrarily deprived of his freedom on June 19, 2000 for crimes he did not commit. Two years later he was sentenced to 60 years in prison. When this injustice took place, Patishtán was very active in the political life of his community. He had been an outspoken critic of the corruption of politicians and political institutions. Despite the horrific prison conditions and his health problems, Alberto has not given up. On the contrary, he continues fighting from inside. Known as Professor Patishtán, Alberto was an elementary teacher at a local public school and during these past 12 years has continued to be an exemplary fighter for justice for his two children, other prisoners, and his compañeros from around the world. Adherent to The Other Campaign since the release of Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, his dignified example teaches us that the rebel spirit cannot be contained.
Similarly, since December 2011, our compañero Fancisco Sántiz López, member of the Zapatista Support Base communities since 1992, has been unjustly incarcerated and falsely charged with having lead a confrontation, which occurred in the Banavil community of the Tenejapa municipality of Chiapas, in which a member of the PRI party died. The racist and political character of this incident is obvious. As the Zapatista Good Government Council of Oventic explains, “The fabrication of crimes against our compañero comes from Los Pinos [the Mexican presidency], with the end of destroying the resistance of the zapatista communities; they are trying to impede at any cost the construction of the autonomy of indigenous peoples, it is part of a strategy of low-intensity warfare against our communities in resistance.” Recently, on March 22 of this year, our compañero Francisco, as he was about to be released, was hit with another accusation of another false crime. For this reason, he remains at the moment a political prisoner, despite the fact that witnesses have corroborated the fact that Francisco Sántiz López was not at the site of the confrontation. Additionally, the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center has published a report indicating the names of those responsible for the murder. Obviously, the truth, much less justice, means little to the authorities.
We have seen all of this occur with impunity and arrogance. Now is the time to continue increasing the pressure and rebel against so many injustices. That said, we ask that we all join forces, once and for all, to demand that the bad powers of Mexico, particularly the repressors Pres. Felipe Calderón and Gov. Juan Sabines, immediately release our compañeros Alberto Patishtán Gómez and Francisco Sántiz López. Towards this end, with the support of the Patishtán family, we propose the following:
– That together we unite our forces and organize actions – from our particular locations and respective forms of struggle – such as demonstrations, marches, informative street actions, fliering, public forums, theatre, teach-ins, and any other activity to realize
“WEEK OF GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR THE LIBERATION OF PATISHTÁN AND SÁNTIZ LÓPEZ: BRINGING DOWN THE PRISON WALLS”
From Tuesday, May 15 to Tuesday, May 22 of this year.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you accept our proposal and will participate. You may communicate with us via e-mail at: movimientoporjusticiadelbarrio@yahoo.com
FREEDOM FOR THE POLITICAL PRISONERS!
LONG LIVE ALBERTO PATISHTÁN GÓMEZ!
LONG LIVE FRANCISCO SANTIZ LÓPEZ!
LET US BRING DOWN THE WALLS OF INJUSTICE!
We send you embraces of love and solidarity.
From El Barrio, New York:
Movement for Justice in El Barrio
The Other Campaign New York
Therats against environmentalist in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero
COMUNICADO DE PRENSA DEL 15 DE ABRIL DEL 2012
ALTO AL HOSTIGAMIENTO A LA ROGAZ Y CANCELACIÓN DE CONCESIONES A FONATUR S.A. DE C.V. EN ZIHUATANEJO Y BARRA DE POTOSI
En la madrugada de éste sábado 14 de abril nos enteramos de las amenazas que por vía telefónica recibió nuestra compañera Obdulia Balderas Sánchez, Presidenta de la Red de Organizaciones y Grupos Ambientalistas de Zihuatanejo (ROGAZ) con la advertencia de que si no “le paraba a la lucha contra la empresa Fonatur Operadora Portuaria, SA de CV, le darían un chingadazo”. Antes, en el transcurso de la tarde, su hija Hercilia Castro Balderas fue hostigada con agresivos cuestionamientos, perseguida por algunas calles y amenazada con despojarla de su cámara fotográfica por un elemento policiaco al servicio de la empresa FONATUR S.A. de C.V. mientras realizaba su labor periódistica en el muelle del puerto, cerca de la sede de la empresa.
Estas amenazas y hostigamiento nos son nuevas, se suman a otras que ya anteriormente se han dado en contra de la compañera Obdulia Balderas, la más reciente hace una semana cuando fue abordada por secuaces de la empresa Fonatur Operadora Portuaria, SA de CV, quienes a través de ella le advirtieron a los opositores en resistencia, que “pasando las dos semanas de la Semana Santa, les iban a caer” para que suspendan las asambleas informativas en el área del muelle.
ROGAZ tiene una larga historia de lucha en la defensa de la Bahía de Zihuatanejo y en otros movimientos ambientalistas en la Costa Grande de Guerrero, como el que ahora llevan a cabo junto con pescadores, comerciantes, ambientalistas, hoteleros y lancheros, así como ciudadanos solidarios a través del Movimiento de Pueblos Unidos contra la privatización de la Bahía de Zihuatanejo y Barra de Potosí contra la concesión del gobierno federal a la empresa Fonatur S.A. de C.V.
En diversas ocasiones, los opositores a esta concesión que participan en el Frente de Masas Populares de Guerrero, le han planteado de manera directa al Gobernador Angel Aguirre Rivero y a diversos funcionarios de los tres niveles de gobierno, diputados locales y federales y senadores, su desacuerdo con esta concesión. Sin embargo la indolencia y engaño de todos estos funcionarios y “representantes populares” ha sido la respuesta a las justas demandas de nuestros compañeros, mientras que con su apoyo y todo tipo de garantías, la empresa ya se encuentra operando.
El Frente de Masas Populares de Guerrero, reafirma su apoyo incondicional al Movimiento de Pueblos Unidos contra la privatización de la Bahía de Zihuatanejo y Barra de Potosí contra la concesión del gobierno federal a la empresa Fonatur S.A. de C.V. y exige al Gobierno del Estado su intervención inmediata y eficaz ante el Gobierno Federal para la revocación de ésta concesión.
En especial, exigimos a las autoridades federales, de los municipios de Zihuatanejo y Petatlán y principalmente al Gobernador Angel Aguirre Rivero, el respeto irrestricto a la lucha que llevan a cabo nuestros compañeros y la solución inmediata a sus demandas. Los hacemos responsables de la integridad física y moral de nuestras compañeras Hercilia Castro Balderas y Obdulia Balderas Sánchez, así como de todos los compañeros de Rogaz y de los pescadores, comerciantes, ambientalistas, hoteleros y lancheros del Movimiento de Pueblos Unidos contra la privatización de la Bahía de Zihuatanejo y Barra de Potosí.
COMISIÓN DE COORDINACIÓN DEL
FRENTE DE MASAS POPULARES DE GUERRERO
Chilpancingo, Gro. a 15 de abril del 2012


