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La Jornada

Demand for the Liberation of Santiz and Patishtán Extends Throughout the World

** There have been demonstrations in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the US; many outside  Mexican offices

By: Hermann Bellinghausen

The spread of acts for the freedom of Francisco Santiz López and Alberto Patishtán Gómez, indigenous prisoners in Chiapas, has carried the second worldwide week named ‘Bringing Down the Prison Walls’ to dozens of electronic portals and innumerable Twitter and Facebook accounts, through images that show actions and protests in public places in various state entities, as well as in dozens of cities in Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Unites States and Canada, many outside Mexican embassies and consulates.

Meanwhile, the Undersecretary for Legal and Human Rights Issues in the Interior Ministry fixed his position with respect to the demands for the freedom of the two Chiapas political prisoners that have been presented at the diplomatic delegations of Mexico in different countries: “As for granting immediate freedom to Francisco Santiz López, it is advised that this agency does not have the authority to issue this request.” With respect to the disappearance of Alonso López Luna in Banavil last December, during an attack by armed PRI members, the violent acts of which Santiz López, a Zapatista support base, is accused, the agency simply gives notice that there is an investigation underway “for alleged homicide” of the disappeared. It is signed by Carlos Garduño Salinas, assistant director general for Investigation and Attention to Interior Cases.

It is important to remember that last May 28, the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity permitted Professor Martín Ramírez, representative of the people of El Bosque, to expound on Patishtán’s case in front of the four presidential candidates at the Chapultepec Castle, although no one expressed any commitment in that regard.

This week dozens of images were published wherein people are seen, including large groups, holding signs and pictures of the two indigenous Chiapans and demanding their immediate freedom, in Togo, Holland, Canada, Belgium and Portugal; and from cities like Valencia, Carcasonne, Paris, Seoul, Chicago, Bilbao, Buenos Aires, Turin, Río de Janeiro or Cochabamba.

In its edition this Monday, the electronic weekly Desinformémonos, for example, also gathers solidarity images, the same in Merida as in Los Mochis, Valle de Chalco, Cholula, Unión Hidalgo, the beaches of Huatulco, Cuernavaca, Toluca and the Federal District. Only in Chiapas are public events taking place demanding justice for Santiz and Patishtán in Tapachula, the Home of Mercy, a migrant shelter in Arriaga, the coastal mangrove swamps, San Andrés Larráinzar, El Bosque, Oventic and Acteal. Other demonstrations favorable to this demand have been registered in Totonacapan, Cherán, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Jalapa and Querétaro.

In New York, the groups Women Occupying Wall Street (WOW) and Anti-Racism Allies, both part of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, joined the second Week of Worldwide Struggle for the Freedom of Patishtán and Santiz López.

Nevertheless, neither federal authorities nor Chiapas state authorities have shown a greater  disposition, except for the declarative, to respond to this demand, which is based on the proven innocence of both prisoners.

________________________________________________________________

Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

En español:http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2012/06/12/politica/019n1pol

English translation by the Chiapas Support Committee for the:

International Zapatista Translation Service, a collaboration of the:

Chiapas Support Committee, California

Wellington Zapatista Support Group

UK Zapatista Solidarity Network

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Mujeres Ocupando Wall Street

Mujeres Ocupando Wall Street Exige la Liberacion de Patishtán y Sántiz López

Sorry, this entry is only available in Español. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

Nosotras, como integrantes del Caucus Mujeres Ocupando Wall Street del Movimiento Ocupa Wall Street en la Ciudad de Nueva York, queremos manifestar nuestra solidaridad y apoyo a la “Segunda Semana de Lucha Mundial por la Libertad de Patishtán y Sántiz López: ¡A Tumbar Las Paredes del Calabozo!”, convocada por nuestras hermanas y hermanos del Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio.

WOW (Women Occupying Wall Street) significa Mujeres Ocupando Wall Street. Somos el Caucus de Mujeres de Ocupa Wall Street. Existimos como caucus para crear un espacio seguro para el empoderamiento de personas que se auto-identifican como mujeres, para la concientización comunitaria, y para la acción colectiva sobre las cuestiones que más afectan a las mujeres. Las cuestiones que afectan a mujeres, afectan también a toda la sociedad.http://www.nycga.net/groups/wow/

Esta “Segunda Semana de Lucha,” la cual busca justicia y libertad a estos dos presos políticos indígenas, es una que tiene resonancia con nuestra lucha local por la justicia y en contra del patriarcado.

Como mujeres, entendemos que el patriarcado es un sistema injusto y opresivo que afecta a todas las instituciones políticas, económicas, culturales, y sociales que hay en este planeta. Por lo tanto, está imbricado a todas las luchas por un mundo nuevo y justo.

Como consecuencia, la lucha en contra del encarcelamiento injusto y la respresión política, y de las condiciones que los fomenta, debe ser una lucha en contra del patriarcado y los sistemas asociados basados en la opresión de genero.

Cuando tod@s l@s que luchan y se organizan con sus comunidades por la justicia, democracia, y libertad son castigados por el Estado debido a sus esfuerzos, el patriarcado es reforzado.

Nosotras creemos que las voces de las mujeres, tales como las de nuestras compañeras de Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio y las de todas las mujeres en México quienes están liderando la lucha por justicia para tod@s l@s pres@s polític@s, deban estar en el centro de estas conversaciones y luchas. Afirmamos que nuestras preocupaciones y demandas, como mujeres, son inprescindibles y esenciales.

Por todas las razones arriba mencionadas, vamos a continuar apoyando los esfuerzos organizados por nuestr@s compañer@s de Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio por nuestros hermanos indígenas, Alberto Patishtán y FranciscoSántiz, y las luchas de las que son parte. Saludamos y pedimos a todas las mujeres de todas partes que sigan conduciendo estos esfuerzos.

Mujeres Ocupando Wall Street

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Hugo Blanco

Desde Peru: Hugo Blanco se suma a la “Segunda Semana de Lucha Mundial: ¡A Tumbar Las Paredes del Calabozo!”

Sorry, this entry is only available in Español. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

Saludos compañer@s,

Reciban abrazos desde el este de Harlem en Nueva York de parte de Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio.

En el marco de la “Segunda Semana de LuchaMundial por la Libertad de Patishtán y Sántiz López: ¡A Tumbar las Paredes del Calabozo!”, el luchador social de Peru, HugoBlanco, envía el siguiente escrito ensolidaridad con nuestra campaña nacional e internacional. En su emocionante mensaje, muestra con claridad penetrante las crueles contradicciones inherentes al encarcelamiento injusto de nuestros hermanos Patishtán y Sántiz López, luchadores sociales, en un país de la “guerra al narco.” Además describe lossueños de los dos compas como si fueran de él. Así nuestro compañero Hugo nos hace recordar que esos sueños – y en particular los esfuerzos organizativos para realizarlos – son la principal razón por la que están encarcelados nuestros compañeros. Son sueños nuestros también. Por ello puede hablar con tanta nitidez y certeza nuestrohermano del Perú. Clausura su carta recordandonos que no basta soñar o pensar—que si compartimos esos sueños, también compartimos la misma responsabilidad de actuar para conseguir la liberación de Alberto y Francisco, que es a la vez la nuestra. Hugo anima a toda gente de buen corazón que se sume a la “Segunda Semana de Lucha Mundial: ¡A Tumbar Las Paredes del Calabozo!”
Así que, es un orgullo poder compartir con ustedes estas dignas y hermosas palabras. Aquí va el texto completo:
A las hermanas y hermanos de México y del mundo:
Ahora México se ha convertido en el país modelo para el país poderoso del norte.
Los Estados Unidos son el país más consumidor de droga, son el país donde radican los grandes barones de la droga. Son el país que envía los insumos químicos para la producción de la cocaína. Son el principal país donde se lava el dinero. Son el país de donde se envía armas a los narcotraficantes.
México sirve de laboratorio para la falsamente llamada “guerra al narcotráfico”. Se ha movilizado al ejército en esa guerra en la que mueren centenares de personasinocentes que nada tienen que ver con el narcotráfico.
El sueño de los barones de la droga deEstados Unidos es extender ese modelo por toda América Latina para así aplastar a los pueblos y ganar mucho dinero.
En México las cárceles no son para los narcotraficantes, sino para indígenas que no han hecho nada malo, como Alberto Patishtán Gómez y Francisco Sántiz López.
¿Cuál fue el “delito” de ellos? Pensar que México debe ser para todos los mexicanos, donde todos trabajen y todos vivan tranquilamente, sin explotar a nadie ni ser explotados, disfrutando de los frutos que nos da la tierra. Un país donde todos puedan educarse, donde todos puedan atender su salud, donde no haya ni millonarios ni mendigos. Un país donde todos se interesen por todos, como en las comunidadesindígenas. Un país que esté formado por comunidades de comunidades, en el campo y en las ciudades. Donde no haya quienes mandan y quienes obedecen, donde todos manden. Un país donde todos sean profundamente solidarios, donde no sea necesario pisar en la cabeza de otro para subir.
Pensaban así, y entendieron que no debían conformarse con pensar, que debían colaborar para construir ese país solidario que viviera en un mundo solidario.
Por eso Alberto adhirió a “la otra campaña” y Francisco fue base de apoyo del EZLN.
Por eso Alberto está 12 años preso y Francisco 6.
Hermanas y hermanos de México y de otros países, con toda justicia piensan que eso debe acabar, que Alberto y Francisco deben salir libres ¡YA!, por eso han convocado a la “Segunda Semana de Lucha Mundial por la Libertad de Patishtán y Sántiz López: ¡A Tumbar Las Paredes del Calabozo!”
Así como Alberto y Francisco no se conformaron con pensar en un México nuevo en un mundo nuevo y trabajaron para conseguirlo, nosotros no debemos conformarnos con desear su libertad, debemos actuar para conseguirla participando en la campaña.
Hugo Blanco
Director de “Lucha Indígena”
Perú
radio
Upside Down World

Struggle for Release of Indigenous Political Prisoners Patishan and Santiz Lopez Continues in Mexico

Written by Jessica Davies
Saturday, 09 June 2012 16:02
“The true word and knowledge are essential to the struggle for justice, democracy, and dignity”.

Following the very successful first “week of worldwide struggle for the freedom of the political prisoners Alberto Patishtán Gomez and Francisco Sántiz López” which took place from the 15th to the 22nd May, a second week is now being organised from the 8th to the 15th of June 2012. There are several reasons for continuing to build on the momentum of the mobilisations and actions of support which spread throughout the first week. First and foremost, although there can be no doubt about the innocence of the two indigenous prisoners, they have not yet been released, and concerns for their physical and mental health are growing. Furthermore, it is clear that the campaign has had an impact, that the Chiapas government has been forced to listen, and that they do not like what they are hearing. New actions are therefore planned, in order to build on this momentum before Mexico is engulfed by the forthcoming elections.

The weeks of action have been called by the Movement for Justice in el Barrio, from the Other Campaign in New York, a Mexican immigrant organisation struggling for dignity and against displacement in East Harlem. Following the example of the Zapatistas, the MJB seek to build solidarity, link struggles and transcend borders. The Movement has a proven track record of campaigning for the release of political prisoners from San Sebastián Bachajón and San Salvador Atenco, and has developed an inspirational way of international organising, involving building strong links and the creative use of multimedia, especially videos featuring the prisoners themselves and their communities, and incorporating messages from groups in struggle throughout the world. This method has been powerfully adopted in their latest campaign.

The first week

Support was mobilised during the first week in Chiapas and many other parts of Mexico, as well as in Germany, South Africa, Argentina, England, Scotland, Canada, Holland, Switzerland, Brazil, New Zealand, Austria, France, Spain and the US. Very importantly, the campaign achieved the support of the Zapatistas themselves; Francisco Sántiz López is a support base of the EZLN, and the Junta de Buen Gobierno (Good Government Council) of Oventic, together with the prisoner’s family, gave their word in the week’s first video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj0lUahDzTs .

The second video consisted of a message from the Shack Dwellers Movement (Abahlali baseMjondolo) from South Africa, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96hJz2t2XVA , adding their voice to the demands for freedom for the prisoners. “Our hearts and souls are with you. We feel the same way. Your struggle has been repressed by the oppressors of the freedom of the people. We must make justice. We will struggle to get them out of prison, they are there for telling the truth and struggling with the poor”.

The end of the week brought the release of the third video, a message of support from Brazil’s highly respected Movimiento de Trabajadores Sin Tierra (MST), the Landless Workers Movement, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hUSCv-GPqU . In this video the MST representative declares “if the Mexican government does not want to be judged in international courts for crimes against the population and the popular movements, it must free Professor Alberto Patishtán Gómez and the Zapatista Francisco Santiz López immediately”.

In Mexico, organisations declaring their support for the “Week of Worldwide Struggle” campaign included Las Abejas of Acteal and the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity(MPJD). Elsewhere, the Mexican consulate in New York was stormed by members of Movement for Justice in el Barrio, and actions were held in Madrid, Manchester, Paris and Barcelona. The UK Zapatista Solidarity Network organised a letter-writing campaign, which was taken up with letters being delivered to the Mexican Embassies in London, New Zealand, Canada and Spain.

In addition to the numerous actions that occurred as part of the “Week of Worldwide Struggle,” separate activities in solidarity with Patishtán and Sántiz López took place. In Mexico, for instance, there was a forum in San Cristóbal and a meeting on the esplanade of the Palace of Fine Arts (Bellas Artes) marking the release of a music collection. The Spanish General Confederation of Labour (CGT) organised a petition in support of Sántiz López and against repression against the Zapatista communities. The prominent Chiapas-based Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Centre (Frayba) and Espoir Chiapas are promoting a campaign for people to be photographed in prominent places with their faces hidden by placards calling for freedom for the prisoners. They are requesting that all photos be sent in by June 5.

In more and more towns and cities actions and events were, and continue to be, organised.

The prisoners: Alberto

One of the many results of the publicity gained was that a much clearer picture has emerged of the two prisoners. A huge mobilisation took place in Alberto Patishtán’s home, the indigenous Tzotzil municipality of El Bosque. “The people of El Bosque shout, demand, are full of courage and rage because an innocent man suffers and those who are corrupt, the real criminals, are free”. Over 1,000 indigenous people took part in this event “demanding immediate freedom for their compañero, brother, cousin, teacher, neighbour, imprisoned 12 years ago for a crime that everyone knows he did not commit”, reported Mexican daily newspaper La Jornada, “and chanting ‘Alberto, brother, the people shake your hand, Alberto, friend, the people are with you’”.

Alberto, it seems, as well as a teacher was a well-loved and respected member of his community, whose members have been demonstrating in his favour ever since his first arrest in July 2000. The then Governor of Chiapas, Roberto Albores Guillén, promised to free him after the people had taken over the municipal palace, but instead, in 2002, Patishtán was sentenced to sixty years in prison.

The campaign made very clear that in the case of Alberto, the freedom of an innocent man is in the hands of the President of the Republic of Mexico, Felipe Calderon: “When are you going to listen?” cried the people of el Bosque, “don’t you realize that the protest is now on a worldwide level?”

It is also very clear that ‘the Professor’, an adherent to the Other Campaign, was and is a political scapegoat. He had been one of the signatories to a document demanding the removal of the very unpopular municipal president of el Bosque, Manuel Gómez Ruiz, who had been imposed following the violent dismantling of the Zapatista autonomous municipality of San Juan de Libertad. The only witness who testified to Alberto being the perpetrator of the ambush on the police patrol in which seven policemen were killed, was Rosemberg, the son of the aforementioned Manuel Gómez Ruiz, who inexplicably was the driver for this “routine” police patrol. Later, Rosemberg was to admit while drunk that he had lied on instructions from his father, and that he received a new pickup truck as a reward. This information was never taken into account, nor was the testimony of at least ten people who confirmed the accused was elsewhere at the time of the attack.

La Jornada has characterized Alberto as “the most important prisoner of conscience in Mexico”. His human rights activism in prison led to the founding of two groups representing political prisoners: La Voz del Amate in prison no 14 at Cintalapa and Solidarios con La Voz del Amate in prison no 5 near San Cristobal de las Casas. It was while acting as the spokesperson for these prisoners, when they were on hunger strike and fast in 2011, that Alberto was transferred to the maximum security prison in Guasave, Sinaloa, where he is now kept in virtual permanent isolation, and denied access to medical treatment for his worsening glaucoma. At the end of the week of solidarity he sent two more letters denouncing the attacks to his dignity perpetrated by the denial of his right to practice his own indigenous customs and traditions. Not only is he not allowed to follow his traditional diet, but he is also forced to have his head shaved, even though this is alien to indigenous custom. Alberto describes this as “just one more torment…..contrary to my dignity as a human being”.

Given that his innocence is widely accepted, Alberto’s treatment can only be seen as punishment for his activism on behalf of the indigenous prisoners and his belonging to the Other Campaign. His prolonged and unjust incarceration was described in La Jornada as “political vengeance”.  “The Mexican governments want to silence me”, wrote Alberto, “I want to say that as long as there is injustice, not even death can silence me, for to die is to live through others”.

The prisoners: Francisco

“Compañeros, compañeras, brothers and sisters:

We, as the Junta de Buen Gobierno of this Highlands zone of Chiapas, headquartered at Caracol II, Oventic, salute the Week of Struggle, convoked by Movement for Justice in El Barrio, of The Other Campaign New York.

…We offer these words to state that our compañero Francisco Sántiz López was unjustly detained six months ago and remains at present imprisoned unjustly. We have already denounced this before national and international public opinion and we demand his immediate release.

However, the three levels of the bad government have stubbornly turned a deaf ear, and are demonstrating that they are willing to continue violating human rights.

We ask all of you, as part of the global struggle for justice, to join us and continue demanding that the bad state and federal governments immediately release our compañero Francisco, as he is unjustly imprisoned for being a member of the Zapatista support base. We know that he is an honest person and always fulfils his responsibilities in the community and the organization.

That is our word for the moment. We hope that we can all continue demanding unconditional freedom for our compañero Francisco Sántiz López.”

“Sisters and brothers, we are family members of Francisco Sántiz López. We want to inform you that our compañero, Francisco, who was detained on December 4, 2011, remains imprisoned unjustly for crimes that he did not commit. He has been in the Penitentiary Number 5 of San Cristóbal de Las Casas for six months now.

As relatives, we have already presented witnesses in support of Francisco, but the bad government refuses to free him, because it knows that he is a member of the Zapatista support base. In addition, we as family members know very well that he has not committed any crime.

The problem in the eyes of the government is that he fights and organizes for justice, democracy, and freedom as part of the EZLN. As family members of Francisco, we know that there are many national and international organizations and individuals who are in solidarity and demanding his freedom as well.

….Our compañero Francisco.…was accused of participating in a killing in the community of Banavil, of the Tenejapa municipality. But our compañero Francisco was absolutely not at the location when the incident took place. He is simply being accused of this because he is part of the EZLN. We, as Francisco’s family members, have already been struggling to demand his freedom, alongside the JBG and Human Rights centres, but the bad government does not listen to us—on the contrary, it is fabricating his crime.

For this reason, we ask that you support the efforts being carried out by Movement for Justice in El Barrio, the Other Campaign New York. We, as family members, will not rest until our relative Francisco Sántiz López is set free, because he has not committed any crime and is unjustly imprisoned. This is the word of the relatives of Francisco, our compañero. May all of you who are fighting for our freedom receive our warm greetings. Thank you.”

As with the case of Alberto Patishtan, there can be no doubt that Francisco is innocent. He was running his fruit and vegetable stall in the town market of Tenejapa when the crime took place, as many witnesses can testify. It is also clear that the Chiapas government have been rattled by the campaign. In a statement published in La Jornada on 18th May, they said that they “had made ​​all possible efforts to achieve the release of the indigenous Tzeltal Francisco Sántiz Lopez….however  this is not possible, because in addition to state cases which are now resolved, he is prosecuted for an offence under federal law.” For the MJB, this statement is of the utmost importance, “it is a sign that the bad government feels obligated to speak on the matter, and it is a symptom that the bad government is weakening. Now the whole world is watching”.

The struggle continues

At the end of the week of worldwide actions and protests, the Movement for Justice in El Barrio stated: “there remains a lot of work for us to do, as our two prisoners remain unjustly imprisoned…The pressure and demand for the freedom of Alberto Patishtán and Francisco Sántiz López now has a global reach. Today more than ever we must keep it alive”.

The struggle is not just for the freedom of two men, it is a struggle for liberty, justice and dignity for all prisoners of conscience, a struggle that screams out that men and women must not be persecuted for their political beliefs, that all should be free to walk in dignity towards a better,  more just and peaceful world.

For further information, please see: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/mexico-archives-79/3630-national-and-international-campign-for-the-freedom-of-political-prisoners-in-chiapas-presses-on

http://dorsetchiapassolidarity.wordpress.com/
radio
Radio Zapatista

Voices by prisoners and their relatives from San Sebastián Bachajón

Antonio Estrada Estrada and Miguel Vásquez Deara were detained in 2011, brutally tortured and jailed for made-up crimes, according to their own testimony, for their participation in the resistance of the adherents to the Other Campaign from San Sebastián Bachajón. In 2010, Miguel Demeza Jiménez was unjustly detained, tortured, and accused of a kidnapping he did not commit. All three continue in prison to this day, in the prisons of Playas de Catazajá, Ocosingo, and El Amate, Chiapas. This is their story, told by their relatives and by Miguel Vásquez Deara himself
(Descarga aquí)  
Read the article by Radio Zapatista on the case.

radio
Comunidad de El Bosque

Letter from Alberto Pátishtan’s community of El Bosque, Chiapas

El Bosque, Chiapas, June 6, 2012.

Movement of the People of El Bosque,
For the freedom of Alberto Gomez Pátishtan.

From the community of El Bosque, Chiapas, the birthplace of Professor Alberto Gomez Pátishtan, we thank you very much with all our hearts for the support and solidarity of thousands of compañeros and compañeras who have joined the movement for the freedom of our brother Alberto Pátishtan.

As the Movement of the People of El Bosque, Chiapas, we support the call for the second week of worldwide struggle for the freedom of the political prisoners in Chiapas: Alberto Pátishtan and Francisco Sántiz López (from 8 to 15 June).

We would like to send greetings to the compañeros:

-To the Movement for Justice in El Barrio, New York
-Human Rights Defenders
-International Organizations
-Collectives
-And to all our brothers and sisters throughout the world.

Freedom for Political Prisoners!

The Movement of the People of El Bosque is with you both here and there.

radio
Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio

Movement for Justice in El Barrio: Raúl Zibechi for the freedom of Patishtán and Sántiz López

“They are two justices for two opposed worlds. One day our justice shall judge those from above…”:

From Uruguay, Raúl Zibechi issues his support for the “Second Week” in new letter

Compañeras and compañeros:

On behalf of all the immigrant members of Movement for Justice in El Barrio, The Other Campaign New York, we send you affectionate greetings.

In many corners of Mother Earth, the multiple actions planned as part of the “Second Week of Worldwide Struggle for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López: Bringing Down the Prison Walls!” begin today and last until next Friday, June 15. It gives us great pleasure to welcome you to this second phase in our struggle to free our compañeros, unjust prisoners and hostages of the ambitions of the capitalists and their bad government of Mexico.

To begin this week, we wish to share with you a profound and powerful letter that our Uruguayan comrade, Raúl Zibechi, has written for this occasion. The letter tears apart the unjust punitive logic of those from above and reveals the existence of the two “justice” systems of inequality between those from above and us, those from below. The full text of this moving letter is attached below.

During the following seven days, our dignities will manifest in sync and stronger than ever, echoing the just call that now has a global reach and historical resonance.

More so, we send you once again the most recent message from our sisters and brothers of the Zapatista Good Government Council of Oventic. In this message, our compas demand that the three levels of bad government in Mexico immediately release our compañero Francisco Sántiz López, who has been imprisoned for six months and is a member of the Zapatista support base. The full message is available here:

For more information regarding the history of this national and international struggle, see the video, “Bringing Down the Prison Walls!: The Fight for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López available here:

We ask that you all please circulate widely the letter and the videos—because the only remedy to the bad government’s lies is the true word touching new hearts of our people.

Our thanks go out to all those who are set to mobilize their honorable efforts to achieve the fulfillment of our shared demand. We want to remind you as well to please keep us all abreast of the activities you are carrying out by sending us updates and chronicles. You may do so via:

Movimientoporjusticiadelbarrio@yahoo.com

With love and solidarity,

From El Barrio, New York.

Movement for Justice in El Barrio
The Other Campaign New York.

radio
Raúl Zibechi

Letter from Raúl Zibechi: Campaign of struggle for the freedom of Patishtán and Sántiz López

To the compañeros of Movement for Justice in El Barrio:
To the Worldwide Struggle Campaign for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López:

“The color of the jail cell is the marking on the body of the place that was ocupied in history,” states the compañera Rita Laura Segato.

Those from above are criminalizing the place occupied by the people who are the color of the earth. That is the justice of the State and the bad government. A “justice” that imprisons the children of Pachamama and those who defend and care for her, but rewards with freedom those who destroy her in order to turn her into a commodity.

The international campaign to free Patishtán and Sántiz López is revealing the true reasons behind their imprisonment. When those from below stand up, when the poor of the world speak out and organize, they are systematically labelled “terrorists” and “violent” and are turned into the targets of defamation campaigns, with all the machinery of repression thrown upon them.

When those from above steal public resources, when bankers appropriate the money and labor of everyone else, they are rewarded with positions in the bad governments and utilize state money to save their dirty businesses.

These are not errors or abnormalities, but rather the true notion of justice held by the State: To protect those from above and condemn those from below. In this world two forms of justice exist: One for the governments and one for the people. The former is implemented by rich, white men who are protected by armed guards, and who hide in palaces to make decisions. The latter is community justice that is decided in assemblies of common people–the people who are the color of the earth–whereby every can debate because neither lawyers nor experts are required to distinguish between good and bad.

They are two justices for two opposed worlds. One day our justice shall judge those from above; and on that day, they shall be condemned to live off their work, to care for the common good. They shall be condemned to live as we, the 99% of humanity, do.

That day, which is not far off, we will remember our brothers, Patishtán and Sántiz López, as two of the many midwives who made the birth of a new world possible.

Raúl Zibechi
Montevideo, June 7, 2012.

radio
Radio Zapatista

Alberto Patishtan, light and struggle

¿Who is Alberto Patishtán? ¿Why was he imprissoned for over 12 years?

En esta cápsula escucharemos sobre la vida del Profesor Alberto Patishtán, luz y guía de pueblos y conciencias. También escucharemos sobre su encarcelamiento injusto e infame y de las muchas formas en las que su pueblo ha luchado por su liberación. (Descarga aquí)  

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La Jornada

The Oventic Good Government Junta Demands the Liberation of Francisco Santiz López

* More than 13 countries have adhered to the campaign to bring down the prison walls

* In a message the Junta greets the Worldwide Week of Struggle for the Freedom of Political Prisoners in Chiapas

By: Hermann Bellinghausen
Periódico La Jornada

The Good Government Junta (JBG) released a message from the Caracol of Oventic, in los Altos (the Highlands) of Chiapas, demanding the immediate and unconditional freedom of Francisco Santiz López, a support base of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (Ejército Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional, EZLN), “detained unjustly six months ago” and currently a prisoner in San Cristóbal de las Casas due to actions by “the bad rulers of our country.”

The message points out: “We have already denounced and demanded his freedom from the three levels of bad government who want to continue to violate human rights. Our  conpañero Francisco is completely innocent, the only “crime” that he has is being a Zapatista support base.”

At the same time it greets the second week of worldwide struggle for the freedom of Chiapas political prisoners: “To all of you in your efforts to struggle for justice, we tell you to continue onward, because the bad state and federal governments are clear that they are going to continue their war against us the Zapatistas and against all the people who struggle for justice and to defend their rights.”

The new week Bring down the prison walls, to be celebrated from June 8 to 15, convoked by the Movement for Justice in the Barrio of the Other Campaign in New York, already has adherents from India, Peru, Uruguay, South Africa, Canada, Brazil, Spain, England, Scotland, Austria, New Zealand, United States and Mexico, to demand the liberation of Santiz López and of professor Alberto Patishtán Gómez, punished with medieval anger by the Chiapas government in a federal prison in Guasave, Sinaloa.

The organizers demand: “of the repressor president Felipe Calderón Hinojosa and the repressor governor Juan Sabines Guerrero” the freedom of those indigenous. They insist that after the first week of struggle, held in May, “some cracks have been made in the unjust prison walls.”

Meanwhile, the Anti-Racism Allies Group of the Occupy Wall Street Movement in New York demonstrated its support for the renewed protests.

At the same time, in a letter delivered directly to Rosaura Leonora Rueda Gutiérrez, the Ambassador of Mexico in the capital of New Zealand, the Wellington Zapatista Solidarity Committee, the program “¡Oye Latino!” on Wellington Access Radio and the Latin American Solidarity Committee showed “profound concern and indignation” for the way in which Mexico punishes with imprisonment “those who are organizing to defend their rights”.

The governments “try to condemn them to oblivion, silence and submission, but their voices and examples reach us clearly through our brothers Alberto and Francisco. We know that they are not guilty, but rather are defenders of social guarantees.” Santiz López, a native of Tenejapa, “was not even present at the acts of which he is accused, in the community of Banavil, as has been widely demonstrated.”

As for Patishtán, “for his dignified rebellion” in the prisons where he has been confined since 2000, “the Mexican State treats him with particular brutality.” The New Zealand activists demand freedom for all the political prisoners in Chiapas: “Prison, repression and impunity cannot and should not continue to prevail in Mexico.”

Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada
Wednesday, June 6, 2012

En español:http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2012/06/06/politica/021n1pol

English translation by the Chiapas Support Committee for the:
International Zapatista Translation Service, a collaboration of the:
Chiapas Support Committee, California
Wellington Zapatista Support Group
UK Zapatista Solidarity Network