La politica es la politica will post periodic English
language translations sourced from the Americas Mexico Blog.
The following come from press reports in English and
Spanish:
Nobel Women´s
Initiative hears testimony of indigenous women of Guerrero
La Jornada:
"Militarization, organized crime, rape by soldiers and police and
impunity, neglectful bureaucracy and abuse of authority, plunder, murder and
extreme labor exploitation, and--as background--the custom that assumes that
women, or "the old women"-to put it on their terms, are useless.
Dozens of women's stories from Mepha (Tlapanecas), Na Savi (Mixteco), Sul Jaá
(Amuzgo) and Nahua (Nahuatl) tumbled out in this morning's meeting of
indigenous women of Guerrero with the international delegation of the Nobel
Women's Initiative, organized by the Tlachinollan organization, based in the
Tlapa Mountain region.
In the dialogue, which seeks to enhance the visibility of
these struggles in North America, narratives of historical cases were shared.
One such is the decades-long pilgrimage of Tita Radilla to
determine the whereabouts of her father, Rosendo Radilla, who disappeared in
the seventies, one among more than 500 victims of the dirty war. Since their
first complaint to the Attorney General's Office (PGR), then the fraudulent
transfer to the military courts (where, despite the case for responsibility
built against a general, he went free), contiuing with a failed Special
Prosecutor for Social and Political Movements (FEMOSPP), not a single case was
clarified until presented to the Interamerican Human Rights Commission. And
although there is a conviction against the Mexican state from that court, there
has not been compliance with any of the actions required by the government, as
there is no political will to enforce it, Tita concludes
... The widows of the two leaders of the Mixteco People's
Organization in Ayutla, also testified, Margarita Martin de las Nieves, wife of
Manuel Ponce, and Guadalupe Castro, wife of
Raul Lopez, murdered in 2009. They spoke not only of the repressive
situation behind the killings, but also of their condition as widows, so
lonely, so abandoned, in a social environment that does not give them any right
to govern their own lives, harassed and discriminated against by their in-laws.
Also, from Ayutla de los Libres came the story of Obdulia
Eugenio Manuel. She tells how in 1994, along with the Zapatista uprising in
Chiapas and a measles epidemic that filled the church in their community,
Guadalupe Canyon, with piled corpses, the military arrived. Years later, in
2002, that same military violently raped the indigenous women, Valentina
Rosendo and Ines Fernandez, which led to another landmark ruling of the
Interamerican Court against the Mexican government. ... Being a defender of
human rights in that community, such as Obdulia is, is seen as a threat to
local authorities, and therefore makes one the target of systematic threats of
death.
"I go and tell the Attorney General the names of those
that threaten me and all they do is send me to testify again and again. And
send me insulting means of security, which are nothing more than video cameras
that monitor the office that we have--she is president of the organization Mepha Women--and they don't work. The last time
I spoke to them, I told them to take their fucking stuff, " she says
without embarrassment.
Worth listening to
Then there are the shared experiences of personal
resilience, such as the women who come from
Metlatónoc and Cochoapa,
considered the two of the poorest municipalities in the country. There young girls,
in order to go to middle school have had to overcome the ancestral resistance
of their parents and siblings, and who,
to express their identity, embroider
huipiles (traditional blouses). They recognize, as does Martina Sierra, head of
the civil association Savi Yoko, that "we love our roots, but we also see
that our ancestors had discriminatory practices against women and we rebel
against it.""
HRW demands that the
next Mexican government review anti-crime strategy
La Jornada:
"The organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), on Monday, called on the next
government of Mexico to review its strategy against organized crime and drug
cartels, which, in its view, increased violence and human rights abuses in the
country. "It appears that the current strategy is not working," the
Americas director for the organization ... José Miguel Vivanco, told a news
conference in Washington.
The future government, which will be elected ... in July,
has to ask itself if it should continue using the Army, currently deployed
within the strategy of the government of Felipe Calderón, "against a
problem which is political and judicial." Is the Army in a position ready
to continue this fight? Or is it an entity that is not subordinate to civil
authority? My opinion is the latter, said Vivanco.
In its global report released on Sunday, HRW reported
serious human rights violations by Mexican military, along with great impunity
in the face of these facts. The Military Attorney opened 3,671 cases regarding possible abuses
between 2007 and 2011, but there have been only 15 convictions, the
organization highlighted .
Mexico's government, on Monday, rejected the accusations,
assuring that the 50,000 soldiers deployed to combat organized crime do their
work in strict compliance with the requirements of public safety.
Vivanco regretted that Mexico continues a general attitude
of inflexibility, blindly going forward with a policy that pays off according
to them, but according to all the figures shows that there is increasing
violence and abuse at the same time.
He issued a challenge to the government of Mexico to explain
how it can say that 95 percent of the nearly 50,000 people who have died from
the violence of organized crime in the past five years are drug dealers, even
though it has opened investigations in less than a thousand cases. The figure
is minimal in relation to the severity and number of violations or abuses or
murders that have occurred in the context of the fight against drug
trafficking.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that Mexico is a country open
to human rights organizations, and related that recently he had a positive
meeting with Calderon, who said he expects real and concrete changes in regard
to human rights in the time that remains for his government."
They have the Mexican government's attention
The Army adheres to
the law in the fight against crime: military prosecutor responds to HRW
La Jornada:
"The Army's commitment to strictly adhere to the law in the war on drugs
has cost soldiers and the institution itself, as more than 100 soldiers have
been "disappeared or seized" after appearing in federal or local
courts to testify regarding their intervention in matters which resulted in
criminal proceedings in civil matters, according to the military prosecutor,
Gen. Jesus Gabriel López Benítez.
After rejecting categorically the contents of the report by
Human Rights Watch (HRW), which states that there is impunity for soldiers who
violate human rights, General López Benítez said yesterday in an interview with
La Jornada that the situation is so delicate that he has requested the
Judiciary of the Federation to allow military personnel involved in criminal
proceedings--because of their being involved in shootings, arrests and searches
involving organized crime--to appear via video conference or to testify before
judges in their own locality.
He revealed that soldiers who took part in high-impact
operations, such as in Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Chihuahua, ... are cited then
to appear as witnesses after they returned to their headquarters in other
states. Months later, when trials are underway, federal judges subpoena them
and the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA), in accordance with the law,
sends the soldiers to their court appearance.
However, he said, is that the vast majority of the 123
soldiers "disappeared or seized" so far in this administration, never
returned home after testifying or afer they had left their barracks. There is
evidence that when the soldiers were heading to the bus station, after having
testified, they were loaded onto trucks by armed men and, after that, nothing
was heard of them. Organized crime solicits the appearance of soldiers who
served in operations against organized crime and make them appear for revenge.
That would not happen if soldiers acted with impunity, he said.
After disqualifying the latest HRW report, the military
regretted that for the preparation of that document the organization did not
take into account even the data that the Department of Defense publishes at its
website.
The prosecutor also said that in every incident involving
civilians, two criminal investigations are immediately opened, one by the
Military Office, and one by the local attorney General's Office, as
appropriate. Once the process is moving forward, the military judge decides
whether to decline jurisdiction, but that does not mean impunity.
The officer reiterated the military's interest in
demonstrating its commitment to legality and respect for human rights."
HRW report does not
reflect real situation in Mexico: Interior Ministry
Milenio: "The
federal government said that the report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on the
status of Human Rights in the World, contains categorical and generalized
statements about the country that do not reflect the real situation in Mexico.
The Secretary of the Interior (Interior Ministry) said in a statement that
"the number of complaints (in the HRW annual report) does not represent in
any way the number of acts that violate human rights."
In response to the HRW report content, the agency said that
of the 98 recommendations issued by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH)
and the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA), 266 soldiers have been indicted
or subject to legal process and 29
convictions have been issued.
The statement further highlighted that on December 9, 2011,
President Felipe Calderón instructed the Federal Executive Counsel and
Secretary of the Interior, Alejandro Poire, to coordinate efforts with the
legislature to move forward an initiative by the President that seeks to amend
the Code of Military Justice, in order to meet the criteria of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) and the Mexican Supreme Court of
Justice (SCJN).
In addition, both the armed forces and the Attorney
General's Office (PGR) are exploring mechanisms for find ing a way--without
violating the law--to transfer jurisdiction from military prosecutors in favor
the Public Ministry and civil judges when military personnel participate in
human rights violations.
... The statement clarified that Alejandro Poire sent a
formal response to the HRW report regarding Mexico, which was presented on the
November 9, 2011, and that "for various methodological reasons discussed
at length there, (the report) does not reflect the real situation in
Mexico."
He said that only in this administration, the National Human
Rights Commission (CNDH) has received 6,065 complaints about operations of the
Department of Defense, of which only 98, i.e., 1.61 percent of the total
resulted in recommendations. One hundred percent of the recommendations have
been adopted by the National Defense and are in process of being fulfilled.
The statement also referred to the President´s commitment to
freedom of expression and ensuring protection of journalists who have reported
threats to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He said that in 100 percent of
the cases of which the Committee is aware, security measures have been
implemented that ensure the security and
integrity of journalists."
'El Chapo' aide killed in gunfight
AP/NPR:
"Members of a Mexican army special forces unit fatally shot a high-ranking
aide to the country's most-wanted drug dealer in a gunfight in the northern
state of Durango, officials said Monday. Luis Alberto Cabrera Sarabia was
responsible for the operations of Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel in Durango and part
of the neighboring state of Chihuahua."
Twitter: @TimothyEWilson
Email: lapoliticaeslapolitica [at] gmail [dot] com
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