Threats & harassment against EZLN El Rosario support bases

Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, A.C.
San Cristóbal de Las Casas
25th February, 2015

Press Release No. 04

Threats and harassment against EZLN support bases in El Rosario

• Pojcol armed group warns of attacks and invasion against the community of Nuevo Paraíso
• Failure by the government of Manuel Velasco Coello

The Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Centre (Frayba,) has information on the serious situation of threats and attacks by the "Pojcol Group" against the Support Bases of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (BAEZLN) in the Community of El Rosario, Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipality (MAREZ) San Manuel; and threats against the community of Nuevo Paraíso, in the official municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas, who belong to the Good Government Junta "The Path to the Future," Caracol III, La Garrucha.

On 12th February, 2015, this Centre for Human Rights documented the destruction of a piece of land belonging to a BAEZLN in the community of El Rosario, and the tense situation that has existed for about 3 weeks due to the incursions of armed people from Pojcol, in the municipality of Chilón, Chiapas, who have fired gunshots into the air during the night.

According to the testimonies, the aggressor group has the collaboration of people from Guadalupe Victoria and El Rosario, who are facilitating the acts of aggression, threats and harassment against the BAEZLN.

On 22nd February, 2015, Frayba received information regarding two letters signed by a "representative of Pojcol group", which warn and give a deadline to the BAEZLN: "[...] that they must withdraw the Zapatista guard from that place (El Rosario) or else we will take Nuevo Paraíso [...] " "To Avoid further bloodshed [...] "

The acts of aggression and threats made by the "group from Pojcol" violate the right to autonomy and self-determination, as well as endangering the life, safety and physical integrity of the BAEZLN community of El Rosario and Nuevo Paraíso. These rights are enshrined in the Mexican Constitution and Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the San Andrés Accords.

This Human Rights Centre has been informing the government of Chiapas about the situation of risk that exists in el Rosario since July 2014, but to date they have taken no effective measures to resolve the conflict.

Therefore, this Centre for Human Rights demands from the Mexican government:

• That the autonomy of the Zapatista Peoples is respected, particularly of the communities of El Rosario and Nuevo Paraíso.
• That the necessary measures are adopted to safeguard the lives and integrity of the people living in the communities of El Rosario and Nuevo Paraíso, preventing the conflict from escalating.
• That the necessary measures are effectively implemented to stop the violence against the BAEZLN.
• That they investigate and punish the offenders of the self-identified group Pojcol, which since July 2014 has harassed and assaulted the BAEZLN and residents of the region.

Background:

On Friday 25th July 2014, 19 armed persons entered the land for regional collective work of the MAREZ of San Manuel, leaving a sign which read: "territory of Pojcol" and threatening the Autonomous Communities of El Rosario and Egypto that they would dispossess them of their lands; later, on 1st August people from the ejido Pojcol forcibly displaced 32 people from the community of Egipto. [1]

On 6th August, 2014, 15 people from Pojcol entered the lands of the BAEZLN from the MAREZ previously referred to, where they felled trees and fired shots into the air. The same day, they also fired shots into the air in communities of El Rosario and Kexil. Due to these facts, the Centre for Human Rights issued an Urgent Action on 7th August, 2014 and updated it on 15th August of that year. [2]

1 Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Centre, press release 22, August 4, 2014. Available at: http://www.frayba.org.mx/ file / newsletters / 140803_ boletin_22_desplazamiento_ baez.pdf

In English: https://dorsetchiapassolidarity.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/32-people-from-the-autonomous-community-egipto-belonging-to-the-caracol-of-la-garrucha-are-forcibly-displaced/

2 Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Centre, urgent action 03 and upgrade, 7th and 15th August, 2014 respectively.http://www.frayba.org.mx/ archivo/acciones_urgentes/ 140613_au_3_bazeln.pdf and http://www.frayba.org.mx/ archivo/acciones_urgentes/ 140815_au_03_actualizacion_ baezln.pdf

In English: https://dorsetchiapassolidarity.wordpress.com/2014/08/16/displacement-risk-of-dispossession-and-threats-to-support-bases-of-the-ezln/

https://dorsetchiapassolidarity.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/death-threats-harassment-with-guns-forced-displacement-and-attacks-on-zapatista-support-bases/

BRASIL 14, BARRIO MEXICANOS, CP 29240. SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS, CHIAPAS, MÉXICO. TELEFAX + 52 (967) 678 3548, 678 3551, 678 7395, 678 7396 www.frayba.org.mx frayba@frayba.org.mx

http://www.frayba.org.mx/archivo/boletines/150225_boletin_04_baezln_el_rosario.pdf

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