Special Bulletin

observation caravan attacked in Oaxaca leaves two dead and four wounded

As an international organization that accompanies peace-building processes and supports transition toward a society that allows its members to fully realize their human rights, the International Service for Peace (SIPAZ) expresses concern about a recent attack on a mission promotive of such rights that left two people dead and four wounded.

Events

On April 27th, a human rights observation caravan was attacked in the community La Sabana, presumably by members of  the Union of Social Welfare for the Triqui Region (Ubisort), on their way to the municipality of San Juan Copalá. The mission sought to provide humanitarian aid to the inhabitants the municipality and document their situation, as they have been for months under blockade by members of Ubisort. The caravan included members of the Center for Community Support A.C. (CACTUS), Oaxacan Voices Constructing Autonomy and Liberty (VOCAL), the council of the Popular Peoples’ Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO), members of  the Section 22 Union of National Education Workers (SNTE), as well as observers from Germany, Belgium, Finland, and Italy. 

The caravan, which had 22 participants, left the same 27 from Huajuapan de León heading south to San Juan Copalá, when at approximately 2:30 p.m. it was ambushed and attacked with firearms in La Sabana, presumably by members of Ubisort, an organization linked to Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and claimed to be a paramilitary group. Caravan members, Beatriz Cariño Alberta Trujillo, director of CACTUS, and Finnish human rights observer Jyri Jaakkola died in the attack. Also shot was Monica Santiago Ortiz, who was treated on the same day in a hospital in Juxtlahuaca. The whereabouts of David Venegas and Noé Bautista of Oaxacan Voices Constructing Autonomy and Freedom (VOCAL), as well as reporters Erika Ramirez and David Cilia of the journal Contralínea were unknown until Thursday the 29th. The two activists from VOCAL managed to reach Juxtlahuaca and the two journalists were rescued after hiding for two days in the mountains. David Cilia and Noé Bautista also received gunshot wounds. Due to the impact of the aggression, the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) has decided to launch an investigation into the events.

Background

It should be noted that for years the indigenous Triqui region, located in the Northwest of the state of Oaxaca, has suffered a high level of violence within the context of a dispute for political, social and economic control of the region—a situation that, according to several organizations of Oaxaca, has not been fully addressed by the state authorities. The accusations between the organizations Movement for the Unification and Struggle of the Triqui (MULT), Movement for the Unification and Struggle for Triqui Independence (MULT-I), and Ubisort of being responsible for the deaths and injuries seen in the region in past years have been a constant in this conflict region. It should also be emphasized that the attack occurred shortly after the start of statewide election campaigns, which have in the past resulted in a worsening of social and political tensions.

National and International Denunciation

The attack on the observation caravan has spurred strong denunciations at national and international levels from both non-governmental and supranational bodies. Thus, the National Network of All Rights for All (RedTDT), consisting of over 60 civil-society human rights organizations in Mexico, issued an urgent action demanding that state and federal governments conduct a full and impartial investigation of the attack and bring those responsible to justice. In addition, Amnesty International, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations in Mexico (OHCHR) condemned the attack on the mission.

The Governor of the state of Oaxaca, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (PRI), distanced the state government from all responsibility for the attack that occurred on 27 April. He also called into question the participation of foreigners in the caravan, recommending that their immigration status be investigated. In its statement released shortly after the attack, the Peace Network emphasized that “the government of Oaxaca is questioning international observation, a peaceful mechanism of intervention that has been proven instrumental in stopping violence in various places and contexts.” Finally, it is regrettable that the government of Oaxaca’s statements are made without taking into account the right of all persons to inquire into the situation of human rights everywhere, as established in the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Human-Rights Defenders, signed and ratified by Mexico.