The president of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (CIDH), FlorentĂn MelĂ©ndez, interviewed the brothers Flavio and Horacio Sosa Villavicencio, leaders of the Popular People’s Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO), at the maximum security prison of Altilplano, in the state of Mexico, Aug. 8. From there, the CIDH chief traveled to Oaxaca on a fact-finding mission. (La Jornada, Aug. 9) The following day, in Oaxaca City, he issued a statement calling on Gov. Ulises Ruiz Ortiz and Mexican President Felipe CalderĂłn to address the human rights crisis in the state, in compliance with international norms and Mexico’s own stated policies. (El Universal, Aug. 10)
Claims of rights violations persist in Oaxaca. The State Preventative Police (PEP) dney charges that they brutally beat APPO supporter Emeterio Marino Cruz, who remains hospitalized after being arrested at a July 16 protest near Cerro del FortĂn, on the outskirts of Oaxaca City. (La Jornada, Aug. 12) State judicial authorities have meanwhile issued 10 arrest orders against APPO activists for their roles in the Cerro del FortĂn protest. (La Jornada, Aug. 14)
Four Spanish nationals from Catalonia arrested by Mexican immigration authorities in Oaxaca and held for six days at a detention center in Iztapalapa near Mexico City say they were beaten, robbed and sexually abused while in custody. (La Jornada, Aug. 15)
One year after the assassination of APPO supporter JosĂ© JimĂ©nez Colmenares during a march in Oaxaca City, there have been no arrests in the case or advances in the investigation. His widow, Florina JimĂ©nez Lucas, says her search for justice feels like a “cry in desert.”. (Proceso, Aug. 13)
See our last posts on Mexico and the Oaxaca struggle.
FARP rebels: Ulises Ruiz must resign
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of the People (FARP) issued a communique demanding that Oaxaca’s Gov. Ulises Ruiz step down, calling him “the most vulgar card in the entire national political deck.” (La Jornada, Aug. 17)
See our last post on Mexico’s guerilla movement.