“Worldwide Echo in Support of the Zapatistas: Freedom and Justice for San Marcos Avilés and Francisco Sántiz López”
http://sanmarcosaviles.wordpress.com/

PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY Sisters and brothers:

Please receive warm greetings and hugs from Movement for Justice in El Barrio, The Other Campaign New York. We would like to share with you this important news report on the progress of our campaign “Worldwide Echo in Support of the Zapatistas: Freedom and Justice for San Marcos Avilés and Francisco Sántiz Lopez”.

To summarize, the first phase, “Walking the True Word”, is being extended until 11 October due to the overwhelming interest generated by it. Immediately after, in recognition of the Day of Indigenous Resistance, October 12, the second stage, that of worldwide action, will begin. Lasting over a month, this second phase will end on November 17, in honour of the historic birth of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), which was formed on that day in 1983.

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, THE FIRST PHASE IS BEING EXTENDED

First of all, we would like to thank everyone who has called for the First Phase, “Walking the True Word”, of the campaign to be extended. Because of this, this phase is being extended and will continue for the entire month of September and until 11 October, to give us all even more time to disseminate information on the situation of San Marcos Avilés and Sántiz Lopez, and to invite others to join this campaign in time for the start of the second phase.
It has been a month now since we started this struggle, and already many “Committees of the True Word” have been born in many parts of our planet, with their main responsibility to carry and sow the names and faces of “San Marcos Avilés” and “Francisco Sántiz Lopez” as seeds of dignity and rebellion.

Day after day, solidarity actions and activities are being carried out in communities, neighborhoods, towns, and villages in many corners of the world. In order to disseminate the histories and realities which our Zapatista compas are suffering, dignified people from many countries have been working on getting the word out and building networks of support and solidarity to contribute positively to the defense of the EZLN Support Base community of San Marcos Avilés and the struggle to free Francisco Sántiz Lopez. We can see that, in this way, we are consolidating our forces and exposing the lies coming out of the mouth of the bad government of Mexico, in order to take concrete action in defense of that other possible world which the Zapatista communities have been building through their project of autonomy.

As mentioned above, the second phase of our international campaign, “Worldwide Echo in Support of the Zapatistas: Freedom and Justice for San Marcos Avilés and Francisco Sántiz Lopez”, will take place from October 12 to November 17. These dates were chosen for their historical significance. They are symbols of our various struggles and a compass pointing towards a dignified future. The peoples of the world, in spite of the more than 500 years of oppression they have experienced, not only still live, but are key players in the struggles for a better, dignified and rebel world. In their resistance and struggle for autonomy, the EZLN are planting seeds and building alternatives to this unjust system which is imposed on us from above. For this reason, they are beacons and examples for us all. With this in mind, let us hope we can all carry on organizing more activities and reaching out to more people to continue to increase the pressure and demand for justice and freedom for our Zapatista brothers and sisters.

To finish, here once more is the link to the video message from San Marcos Avilés, which is at the same time a call and a tool for worldwide solidarity:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY-8CBt3Vkg

Please carry on circulating it.

Well, compas, our hearts are full of emotion, courage, and hope. All the collective efforts we are making together, united, truly touch our hearts and are having an important impact.

We will continue to fight, continue to grow…

With love and solidarity,

Movement for Justice in El Barrio The Other Campaign New York