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emlev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jul-17-07 05:11 PM
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Oaxaca Government Armed Forces Use Violence to Prevent the People's Use of the Guelaguetza Auditoriu
Source: Narco News

Fighting Erupts on Major Streets and on Fortin Hill



By Nancy Davies
Commentary from Oaxaca

July 17, 2007

“Monday on the Hill,” as it is known in Oaxaca, was banned. One could look up the stairs at nine AM and see the rows of riot police armed and waiting. The stairs to the upper plaza were blocked. The Popular Guelaguetza, sponsored by the movement of Teachers and the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO, in its Spanish initials), were refused use of the public space.

Hundreds of people climbed as far as the military blockade, and then headed off, either south to the Plaza de la Danza where performances were scheduled, or north to where, I was told, the official delegations for the Guelaguetza were marching. It was soon obvious that the delegations had been blocked on the main avenue of Niños Heroes de Chapultepec, about where it changes to the highway, at the big Hotel Fortin. The crowd streamed up toward that spot, and I can verify that although many youngsters were clearly spoiling for a fight, among them were hundreds of women and older men, who simply were angry. Furious.

Another group I did not see stormed up the hill to demand entrance.

The confrontations then began. Niños Heroes Avenue runs an east-west circle, Crespo and Joaquin Amaro go north-south. Standing on Crespo it was possible to see a bus burst into flames on Niños Heroes, to see the clouds of tear gas, to watch the small barricade under construction nearly at my feet, and the riot police stationed one block west at another access to the hill. Youngsters with their faces covered against the teargas were picking up canisters and hurling them, uselessly, back uphill at the police. Others broke up the pavement for stones to throw...

Read more: http://www.narconews.com/Issue46/article2735.html



Here's another article:
Police Attack Oaxaca’s Alternative Guelaguetza, this one from IndyMedia.

This photo is from APPO website:
http://bp3.blogger.com/_VFbRdytBvVU/RpwuFNqpyMI/AAAAAAAAANs/yCJmRdgyJSg/s320/enfrentamientolunesdelcerro+002.jpg
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emlev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jul-17-07 06:14 PM
Response to Original message
1. kick
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Peace Patriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jul-17-07 07:08 PM
Response to Original message
2. What is the status of investigation/prosecution on the hundreds of Oaxacan
kidnapped, raped, tortured, killed, by Ruiz's rightwing paramilitaries, indy photographer Brad Will's killers, and the union leaders and others who were hunted down, arrested, taken to undisclosed locations, etc., by the federal police under orders of Fox/Calderon, when they invaded and cs-gassed Oaxaca?

I haven't checked at narconews lately, and I don't know what's happening now.

It's remarkable how, when you introduce Darth Vader cops in support of a fascist murderer like Ruiz, you can turn an entirely peaceful and non-violent movement into "violent confrontations."

Get ready, folks! The repression tactics used in Oaxaca will be coming to your town soon. They don't mind if you protest the war, but try to create a democratic government, as they did in Oaxaca, or try to create a democratic decision-making process in the WTO (Seattle '99), or try to create fair and transparent elections in the U.S. (or any of its client states)--and you will soon find out what the Corporate Rulers are really interested in controlling.

It's not so much WHAT the people decide, as their power to do so, that is under assault. It's not so much obedience or consumerism that they want from us, as our sovereignty. The Oaxacan movement is about the sovereignty of the people. Not so much about teachers' salaries, or vast poverty, or horrendous corporate exploitation, as about the right of the people to control their own affairs. And THAT is why the repression has been so severe.

The Oaxacans are fighting for all of us to have decent, responsive government, of, by and for the people. And we need to learn to fight fascism there, so we don't have to fight it here (--to turn around a Bush phrase). We need to support democracy in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Nicaragua, where it is succeeding, and fight fascism in Colombia and its "free trade" version in Peru, while bolstering the huge democracy movements that are putting up such an awesome fight, in Mexico and Paraguay, and in other places where this great leftist (majorityist) tide is starting to breach the fascist wall (as in Guatemala). Mexico's leftist (majorityist) candidate, Amlo, the former mayor of Mexico City, came within 0.05% of winning the presidency. Fernando Lugo, the "bishop of the poor" just announced his candidacy for the president of Paraguay, and--barring the success of rightwing election fraud and U.S./Bush interference--he will likely win it (--he is VERY popular, on the order of Chavez in Venezuela, Correa in Ecuador, and Morales in Bolivia--and the Kirchners in Argentina).

If all of Latin America goes leftist--toward democracy and social justice--and the trend is pretty overwhelming, at this point--we will have a lot easier time restoring democracy and social justice here. United we stand--as the Andes democracies (Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina) are learning, and pioneering. And, of course, if we can re-establish democracy here, it will make things easier for them there (no more Bush-backed Colombian death squads and Venezuelan military coup attempts) (--not that the Democrats are innocent of these things--they, too, want "free trade"/global corporate piracy domination of Latin America--many of them--but there are some who don't, and some who will oppose fascist violence, at least). One way of look at the Bush Junta is as the last Reagan/Bush/Corporate looting of the U.S., after which the deluge of democracy and social justice that is building up in the rest of the western hemisphere is inevitably going to arise here and sweep this vermin out. The South Americans are doing just that--sweeping the fascist vermin out.

Viva la revolución!

Oaxaca Resiste!

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Peace Patriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jul-17-07 08:02 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. Here's a letter of U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano (D- Bronx, NY) requesting full investigations
of Brad Will's and other deaths in Oaxaca, addressed to Condi Rice. So I guess investigations have been lagging (or non-existent). He also implicates the Mexican government: "The murder of Mr. Will raises a larger issue about the role of the Mexican government in aggressively pursuing a cessation of murder, beatings, and torture carried out by police and paramilitary groups in Oaxaca, Guadalajara, San Salvador, and Atenco."

http://narconews.com/Issue45/article2664.html

Any bets on Condi's prompt action on this request?
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emlev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jul-17-07 11:14 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. I guess no one here cares about this today
:-(
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countryjake Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jul-18-07 03:14 AM
Response to Reply #4
10. thanks for posting this, emlev
I came here wondering if anyone knew anything about these new attacks. Couldn't find anything earlier today, so I appreciate your links and pictures and those videos that others have provided. People must know what our brothers and sisters of America are up against...will spread the word to others who are worried.

Viva Oaxaca!
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emlev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jul-18-07 12:20 PM
Response to Reply #10
11. Thank you for helping spread the word. eom
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Wiley50 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jul-17-07 11:37 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. K and R n/t
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jul-17-07 11:46 PM
Response to Original message
6. Jesus. Here's video -->
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emlev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jul-18-07 01:16 AM
Response to Reply #6
7. Wow. Thank you for posting that.
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emlev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jul-18-07 01:37 AM
Response to Reply #6
8. Here's more video
Longer and perhaps more intense.
At the end of the second one, the woman is holding up something and saying that it's what the police were throwing (or shooting, I think "tirar" could mean either).

video here
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originalpckelly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jul-18-07 01:52 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. That's pretty fucking weird to think that's not going too far from us...
Edited on Wed Jul-18-07 01:53 AM by originalpckelly
especially since I live in Colorado. Those poor dear people, best of luck to them, hopefully they will one day live without oppression.

(Even though Oaxaca is way down in the south of Mexico, it's still fairly close.)
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countryjake Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jul-18-07 02:16 PM
Response to Original message
12. Any more new reports today?


I got this from your last link; was this taken at the same location on the same day as the Guelaguetza attacks, or is it newer from a different region? Have all those people who've "disappeared" been found? Any figures now on the number imprisoned? God, it is so damn hard to get just a little news from our southern neighbor!
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