On May 15, 2012, around 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside Israel's Ofer military prison near Ramallah, Occupied Palestine, to mark the 64th anniversary of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Palestinians during the establishment of the state of Israel. At least 63 protesters were injured as Israeli forces deployed tear gas, plastic-coated steel bullets, "Exact Impact" rounds, skunk water and concussion grenades.

The Murder of Bety and Jyri: We Demand Justice
April 27, 2012, Two Years Since the Murder of Bety and Jyri
By Omar Esparza
[Spanish original]
Translated by Scott Campbell

To Felipe Calderón Hinojosa,
President of Mexico

To Gabino Cué Monteagudo
Governor of Oaxaca

To public opinion

Two years could be called easy for those who have not lost a loved one in a violent way; for those who decide the changes that the masses will face, arguing that they do so for the well-being of the country; for those who claim to represent Mexico and who impose, with arrogance, social control strategies in order to generate fear and, with them, militarize the country and strengthen their policies in order to criminalize society until reaching the point of establishing a terrorist state that persecutes, assassinates, jails and disappears those of us who are not in agreement with them.

This war is a smokescreen that hides what is really happening: the displacement from our territories, the looting of our natural resources, the loss of our sovereignty, the dismantling of all resistance, the rupturing of the social fabric and the dismantling of all the forms of organization that the original peoples have maintained for millennia. All of this seeks to turn our free will into obedience, which has created a deep wound in our country, in our peoples, and has left thousands of orphaned children, widowed women, mothers without children or husbands, women disappeared and violated, all victims of a violence which doesn’t stop and continually repeats itself in this country.

As well, two years later, I cannot speak of Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola without naming and demanding justice for the assassinations of many social leaders, women and men who defended our rights. Children, women and men who today live displaced from their communities for defending autonomy and the self-determination of the peoples; because they proposed a different way of doing politics, that which is born and built from below. All of these women and men at one moment made the decision to not keep quiet and to confront the tyranny which still reigns in our country, something that is not easy, as they are undermined by the orders of those who should be imparting justice, the political class, the political parties, and organized crime. In the end, they are all the same.

Two years since our compañera Bety was stolen from us, the government that Felipe Calderón represents has again and again failed to keep its word. Where are the commitments made by the attorney general, who filled her mouth with claims that those implicated in the murder have been detained? Because those who were there know their names: Rufino Juárez was not detained nor has he been tried for the murder of Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola. They wanted to trick us!

Because today, yet again, two years later, we continue seeing how murderers and tyrants like Ulises Ruiz Ortiz and all those who decided to attack the caravan on the way to San Juan Copala on April 27, 2010 are rewarded and defended.

Given the absence and incompetence of the Attorney General it had to be us, the family members, who investigated and sought out the truth. On the other hand, in recent days, representatives of the federal government tried by all possible means to avoid legal actions against Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. Thus, I ask, where are the commitments you uphold, Mr. President, Mr. Governor, after two years of lies to the Finnish government, to the relatives of Jyri, to the European Parliament members and to a society that demands JUSTICE, as with all the family members of the 60,000 dead during your term? I only wish to say to them that we, like you, know the TRUTH! We know that you don’t want this crime to be solved.

At the same time, for us it is not enough to arrest those who killed Bety: we demand the dismantling of the networks of control and impunity, that all those implicated as responsible be punished, among them those who held posts in the three levels of the previous government of Oaxaca, many of them linked to UBISORT paramilitaries.

And again, we invite you to the mobilization we will hold on April 27 in Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, at the peak of El Chacuaco, at nine in the morning. Relatives of Bety and the Zapatista Indigenous Agrarian Movement hope you will join us, to remember and to say that Bety lives in the memory of those who seek a different world, in the history of a people who continue struggling for their dignity, and in our hearts.

For the demilitarization and deparamilitarization of Oaxaca and the country!

Justice for all of the 60,000 dead in the war against organized crime!

Jail those materially and intellectually responsible for the execution of Bety and Jyri!

Justice for Bety Cariño!

Justice for Jyri Jaakkola!

Justice for our families!

End impunity now!

Omar Esparza
MAIZ
(Zapatista Indigenous Agrarian Movement)

More than 1,000 Palestinians gathered at Qalandia checkpoint in occupied Palestine on March 30, 2012, to take part in a demonstration commemorating the 36th anniversary of Land Day and the Global March to Jerusalem. 

Israeli forces repressed the demonstration with tear gas, plastic-coated steel bullets, skunk water cannons, a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), and concussion grenades. More than 150 demonstrators were wounded.

During the weekly Friday demonstration against land confiscation, settlements and Israel's occupation in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh, a group of women tried to reach the village's spring - seized by the illegal Israeli settlement of Halamish two years ago. While Israeli settlers freely visited the spring, the Israeli army and Border Police repeatedly blocked the inhabitants of Nabi Saleh and their supporters from reaching the spring, using force and threats of arrest.

On March 22, a small demonstration was held in front of the Palestinian Authority's headquarters (al Muqata'a) to demand the release of the hunger-striking political detainee held by Israel, Hana Shalabi, and to protest the failure of the PA to act on her behalf.

In their limited English (and my non-existent Arabic) the children at the protest shared their demands for the freedom of Hana Shalabi, previous hunger-striker Khader Adnan, and for a free Palestine.

Some of my footage from Nabi Saleh on March 9, where “dozens marched at Nabi Saleh this week, marking Women’s Day and calling for the release of political prisoner Hana Shalabi. One activist was injured by a tear-gas canister, leading to fracture in his knee. Three were injured by rubber coated bullets.” One solidarity activist from the U.S. was arrested.

Women played a lead role in the demonstration and succeeded in repelling one of the army’s invasions of the village. Large amounts of tear gas was fired, as well as rubber coated steel bullets and concussion grenades. On several occasions, soldiers cocked their rifles loaded with live ammunition and aimed directly at demonstrators. Skunk water was sprayed at demonstrators, as well as directly into villagers’ homes.

Some of my footage from February 24, 2012, when thousands of Palestinians, joined by solidarity activists, gathered in Al Khalil (Hebron) in occupied Palestine for the 3rd Annual Global Day of Action to Open Shuhada Street. The central road in the heart of the Old City of Al Khalil, Shuhada Street has been closed to Palestinians since 1994, when Brooklyn-born Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians while they were praying at Ibrahimi Mosque on February 25, 1994.

Israeli Occupation Forces attacked the peaceful marchers with tear gas (including high-velocity rounds), concussion grenades, pepper spray, LRADs, and chemical water cannons (skunk spray). Six demonstrators were arrested and more than 80 were injured.

My footage from the Wednesday, February 15, 2012 National Day of Protest for Khader Adnan at Israel's Ofer Military Prison near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. As of Feb. 15, Adnan, a Palestinian political prisoner, had been on hunger strike for sixty days. He is on hunger strike to protest his torture at the hands of his jailers and Israel's practice of administrative detention, where detainees can be held for up to six months without charge and without being allowed to see the evidence against them. After six months, the administration detention order can be renewed indefinitely.

At Wednesday's demonstration, Israeli forces indiscriminately fired concussion grenades, tear gas, plastic-coated metal bullets, chemically-treated water cannons and live ammunition at the hundreds of Palestinians gathered to protest. Some demonstrators responded by building barricades and throwing rocks. More than 20 demonstrators were injured.

Statement from the Communal Autonomous Council of San Juan Copala on the Caravan and Negotiations
February 3, 2012
[Spanish original]
Translated by Scott Campbell

TO THE MEDIA
TO THE OTHER CAMPAIGN
TO THE PEOPLES OF OAXACA AND MEXICO
TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES

Sisters, brothers, painful is the path of return to our village from which we were displaced by the rancor and hate of those who from afar send the owners of power to our region, but we know well that reconciliation can and should come to our lands. More than 500 years of resisting exploitation, repression and misery have given the indigenous of this country the wisdom necessary to resolve their problems through the word. It is because of this that the displaced communicate to those who have accompanied us that we are doing everything in our power to put into action the Triqui word. We are sure that this will help to solve our differences, that it will ensure peace always exists in our region, but we want to state very clearly that we are not asking for impunity for anyone, those who commit crimes  by following the orders of the powerful should and have to pay, as our lands have been dyed with blood spilled by indigenous who have exchanged their dignity for a few coins or for promises of positions of power (in the state congress, for example) but we will speak of these individuals another time in a more detailed manner and we will do it with names and evidence.

Today we merely want to address you to tell you that we are doing everything in our power to find the path to peace through the word and we want to ask for your fraternal solidarity, which you have always shown us, so that today more than ever, the flower of the word does not die.

It is also necessary to mention that this process of returning has been delayed in part due to the wickedness of some government officials who see a benefit to their own personal interests in this conflict, or at least a means to enhance their standing using our pain. We also recognize, as it is part of our indigenous history and dignity to recognize those who act in a correct manner, that there are officials who have taken on the task of finding the way to a solution where no one’s dignity is injured and who oppose our return taking this into account and being entirely convinced that the only way to resolve our differences is through dialog. Despite the fact that on Thursday, January 26, when we left the city of Oaxaca the state government blocked the caravan of displaced families and solidarity groups on several occasions, we accepted the state of Oaxaca’s proposal that on Sunday, January 29, a group of 20 women would enter San Juan Copala to dialog with those who call themselves authorities and to convince them through the word that all the displaced may enter our village. In no way will we accept that the families return in groups of five as they suggest. Near Yosoyuxi, the site of caravan’s location, while awaiting the officials in charge of transporting the group of women, Oscar Cruz Lopez, the Deputy Secretary of Political Affairs, in an arrogant and rude manner told our representatives that the Copala authorities only agreed that there would be ten women. This created discord, but in the eagerness to move forward, it was accepted on the part of our group.

Unsatisfied, this individual who calls himself an official, ordered Cesar Alfaro, State Police Commissioner, to arbitrarily and unjustly detain our compañero in solidarity, David Venegas, in order to later tell all those present that if they wanted to enter Copala they would do so without any security because he was leaving. There is the evidence that this man had orders to lay waste to all that we had worked and agreed to on our part with the State Government Human Rights Commissioner and the Secretary of Indigenous Affairs. Since that time, many denouncements have been made by those who sympathize with our struggle, something that we look gratefully upon, but it is necessary to mention that as of this statement, the Communal Autonomous Council of San Juan Copala, which represents the displaced and the communities pushing for autonomy in the Triqui region, has not put forward its word as the conditions did not exist in order to do so. We thank those who have raised their voice in protest for us and have done so in good faith, and we say to them that this is our true word and to those, abusing our limitations, send statements in our name to alleviate their ideological frustrations, we ask them in a fraternal manner for respect and common sense, as a misinterpreted word could place in serious danger those who will live permanently in a community where wounds are very recent, but above all in a region where many criminals operate with impunity.

Finally, we inform you that in the desire to advance our struggle in a peaceful manner we accepted the reestablishment of the dialog that was put off on January 29 and that it is in this manner that an agreement with the federal and state governments will be reached. And to those who present themselves as the authorities of our village, on Saturday, February 4 at 10am the commission of ten women will enter, to dialog and search for ways to arrive at the necessary agreements to allow for return, putting above all the dignity of our movement and justice for those who tried to reach this dream of freedom and died in the attempt.

Media who wish to accompany the commission on Saturday may do so without risk; it is an agreement made by both parties with the state and federal government.

R E S P E C T F U L L Y

COMMUNAL AUTONOMOUS COUNCIL OF SAN JUAN COPALA

February 3, 2012

An abridged version of the following article appeared in the print edition (issue 3) of the Occupied Oakland Tribune.

by Scott Campbell

Sitting in solitary in Glenn Dyre jail after being arrested during the first raid on the Occupy Oakland camp at Oscar Grant Plaza, I had no idea what was playing out on the streets just blocks away. Not until getting out the following day did I see footage of the massive police violence that was unleashed on the evening of October 25.

As someone who has worked in solidarity with Palestinians for years, that footage reminded me of scenes that play out frequently in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Villages there whose land is being taken for the construction of Israel’s illegal separation wall hold weekly nonviolent protests against their continued dispossession. As happened on October 25 in Oakland, these peaceful rallies are met with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets from Israeli forces. Often live ammunition is deployed and since 2004, 22 Palestinians, almost half children, have been killed by Israeli forces while protesting against the usurpation of their lands and livelihoods.

• After being arrested outside of Copala on Sunday, today David Venegas was released without paying bail and with all charges dropped, again emphasizing the false and illegal nature of his detention.


• Today at 1pm, a delegation from the displaced was to meet with government officials in the city of Oaxaca regarding the implementation of protective measures for the displaced families ordered by the Inter-American Human Rights Commission. The government was mandated to implement these measures by January 20, yet has still failed to do so.


• The displaced have agreed that ten of them would enter Copala under government protection to meet with 10 of the occupiers to see if the displaced would be allowed to enter. This meeting was to occur on Sunday as has still not happened, with the government continually postponing. The displaced have given the government until 2pm on Thursday to facilitate their entry. If the government does nothing by then, the 10 representatives will enter without government protection.

More information at El Enemigo Común.

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The Caravan of the Displaced Returns to Yosoyuxi
January 30, 2012
[Spanish original]
Translated by Scott Campbell

As a security measure and to avoid the great risk that remaining isolated and out in the open near La Sabana (UBISORT territory), four kilometers from San Juan Copala, represented, the displaced from San Juan Copala, members of the Autonomous Municipality, and solidarity organizations returned to Yosoyuxi near nightfall.

We woke up here and the displaced and the autonomous authorities decided to establish a blockade of the highway the runs from Juxtlahuaca to Jalatlaco, at the turnoff for Yosoyuxi, while a commission of 20 compañeras and compañeros traveled to the city of Oaxaca to demand information as to the location of David Venegas Reye “Alebrije” and his immediate release. 

We again condemn the state government authorities (deputy secretaries) for their inability to facilitate the arrival of the commission of the displaced, to which they had already agreed, to the assembly that took place this Sunday in San Juan Copala, and who were only able to manage the deceitful and illegal arrest of David Venegas.

It was agreed upon that 10 representatives of the displaced would be at the assembly, but something very shady happened with the government “negotiators,” as with the arrest they prevented the meeting that would have occurred in said assembly.

The displaced have agreed to give the government’s representatives until Thursday one final chance to mediate. If, upon receiving no response, the displaced will enter San Juan Copala that morning, knowing that they are risking their lives and that this is due to the irresponsibility of the government, which has only managed to maintain checkpoints on the highway from Juxtlahuaca to Yosoyuxi, in order to keep watch, as a means of intimidation and surveillance. 

Communal Council of the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala