Four Zapotec Activists from the Isthmus of Oaxaca Detained and Beaten; Whereabouts Unknown

The implementation of wind farms does not only ultimately signify the dispossession of communal land wherever they are installed, but the constant modification of the territory through the change in land use, adapting “modern” jobs by replacing agriculture, fishing and local trade, in addition to the violent process of displacement of the original populations by the transnational companies – in alliance with the repressive powers of the state – as once in place they will become more ambitious to acquire more and more territory at any cost.

In Oaxaca wind power has been there since 1994, with the first “model” inside the community of La Venta, in the municipality of Juchitán, where wind currents reach impressive levels that are not seen in other areas. It is believed that there are currently approximately 25 wind farms as of 2016.

In the community of San Blas Atempa – a town in Tehuantepec – things have generally gotten worse in the territory, Igúu Hill is being devastated as material is being extracted for the construction of a new airport in Ixtepec and a new park financed by Tradeco, a private Mexican construction company. On the morning of Monday, March 27, city police picked up and detained four indigenous Zapotec activists from the region, who two days before had reported the illegal entry of machinery on the hill, without the consent of the land’s communal assembly nor the corresponding legal measures.

We reproduce the complete statement of the defenders of the Isthmus territory:

Formation of Indigenous Peoples of the Oaxacan Isthmus in Defense of the Territory (APOYO)

URGENT ACTION

Arbitrary detention, without communication and possible torture of four indigenous Zapotec territory defenders

• Their whereabouts are unknown and there are fears for their lives and their physical and psychological well-being.
• We demand their immediate and unconditional release.

THE EVENTS

On March 27, around 9:30am, indigenous Zapotec territory defenders Juan LópezLópez, Juan JarquínLópez, Jesús Luis López y David Hernández Salazar (also a municipal agent from Puente Madera, San Blas Atempa, Oaxaca) were physically assaulted and arbitrarily detained by municipal police from San Blas Atempa, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. According to the information currently available, Jesús Luis López is seriously injured and requires professional medical attention immediately. At this moment, his whereabouts are unknown, no contact has been made with them and there is fear for their lives and physical safety.

These incidents occurred in the context of the territorial defense by the indigenous Zapotec community of San Blas Atempa and their municipal agencies, Rancho Llano and Puente Madera. Their violent and arbitrary detention occurred precisely when the four territory defenders went to review the situation on Igúu Hill, which is located on communal lands of the indigenous Zapotec community that inhabit the region and it is also being illegally exploited, without authorization from the communities that will be affected or the community assembly.

On 25 of March, along with 50 other people from the community, the four residents and territory defenders, now arbitrarily detained, went to express their disagreement with the illegal mining on Igúu Hill by the private Mexican company Tradeco. This company has been exploiting the hill in order to extract material for the construction of an airport in Ixtepec, for a Defense Ministry (SEDENA) substation, and for a SEDENA wind farm. It’s important to mention that the company, Tradeco, carries out work for Vestas, a Danish company, and GamesaEólica, a Spanish company, on the construction of wind farms in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, including the one for SEDENA.

Neither these projects of exploitation and extraction on Igúu hill, nor the construction of the substation in the Zapotec territory, in San Blas, have any sort of authorization. The hill is on communally owned indigenous Zapotec territory and the people affected by such work have not been informed, nor have they given their free, prior, or informed consent as required by Mexican law in Article 2 of the National Constitution and Convention 169 of the United Nations International Labor Organization, among other applicable regulations.

The events described came after a strategy building meeting that took place on March 26 in San Blas city hall. Present were: Augusto Acevedo Osorio (also known as Tito Teófilo, who is the mayor of San Blas), Antonio Morales Toledo (leader of the United Front of Communities of Oaxaca and substitute for Federal Deputy José Antonio Estefan Garfias) and leader of the Confederation of Mexican Workers. Augusto Morales and Antonino Morales are both from PRD – Party of the Democratic Revolution.

The Formation of Indigenous Peoplesof the Oaxacan Isthmus in Defense of the Territory (APOYO) urgently and immediately ask for:

1. The appearance and immediate and unconditional release of the indigenous Zapotec territory defenders Juan LópezLópez, Juan JarquínLópez, Jesús Luis López y David Hernández Salazar.

2. That the life and physical and psychological well-being of the incomunicado and arbitrarily detained indigenous Zapotec territory defenders be protected and guaranteed.

3. That immediate, adequate and professional medical care be provided to the detainees due to the physical assaults they suffered during their arrest and their possible torture.

4. That a thorough and immediate investigation be carried out concerning their arbitrary arrest without any communication, the physical assaults they suffered when they were arrested and the possible acts of torture against the three indigenous defenders; this investigation should include forensic medical examinations that fully comply with international standards; the aggressors should be punished for these acts.

5. That the exploitation and extraction work on Igúu Hill be cancelled immediately as it is unauthorized.

6. National and international solidarity by directing appeals with these demands to:

Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico

Fax: (+52) 55 5093 4901

Email: [email protected]

Roberto CampaCifrián, Under-Secretary of Legal Affairs and Human RIghts of the Interior Ministry.

Fax: (+52) 55 5728 7400 Ext. 24586

Email: [email protected]

Alejandro Murat Hinojosa, Governor of the State of Oaxaca

Email: [email protected]

HéctorJoaquín Carrillo Ruiz, Attorney General of the State of Oaxaca

Telephone: (+52) 951 5016900 ext. 2060, email: [email protected]

Dr. Luis Raúl González Pérez, President of the National Human Rights Commission. Fax: (+52) 55 36 68 07 67. E-mail: [email protected]

Jan Jarad, Representative of the High Commissioner Office of the United Nations for Human Rights in Mexico

Email: [email protected]

Michel Frost, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on the Situation of Human Right defenders

Email: [email protected]

José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez, Rapporteur of the Rights of Defenders and for Human Rights Defenders of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Email: [email protected]

For more information, email: [email protected]

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