Indigenous Communities in Guerrero Mobilize to Commemorate Samir Flores

Indigenous Nahua communities of the Popular Indigenous Council of Guerrero-Emiliano Zapata (CIPOG-EZ) mobilized today in Alcozacán, Guerrero, responding to the call for actions in defense of life against megaprojects, and to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the assassination of Indigenous land defender and community organizer, Samir Flores.

The Indigenous communities of the Popular Indigenous Council of Guerrero-Emiliano Zapata have been under constant attack in recent years from narco-paramilitary forces linked with “Los Ardillos,” a criminal organization active in the state of Guerrero. Much like with the murder of Samir Flores in Amilcingo, Morelos, the state is clearly complicit in the violent attacks and assassinations being carried out against CIPOG-EZ in Guerrero.

Below we publish an English translation of the communique CIPOG-EZ released today to accompany their activities.

Communique from CIPOG-EZ:

To the Women that Struggle for Life

To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation

To the Zapatista Communities

To the National Indigenous Congress-Indigenous Governing Council

To the Support Networks

To the National and International Sixth

To the Honest Journalists

To the Free and Autonomous Media

As men, women, boys, girls, grandfathers and grandmothers of the Indigenous Nahua communities organized in the Popular Indigenous Council of Guerrero-Emiliano Zapata (CIPOG-EZ), together with our brothers of the Campesina Organization of the Southern Sierra (O.C.S.S.), we join the activities for life against megaprojects, and for our brother Samir Flores.

In Guerrero, the narco-paramilitary bosses who have assassinated forty of our compañeros—promoters, delegates, and councilors of CIPOG-EZ and CNI-CIG—they continue free, laughing at us and at justice. The federal government knows who they are, yet they don’t do anything to pursue justice for the families and to punish those responsible. Either they are complicit, well organized at all levels of government, or they are complicit, letting them kill us in order to not respond to our demands, for being part of the CNI-CIG and being united with the Zapatista communities of the EZLN. Whatever the case, the bad state and federal governments act in a cruel and inhumane manner, contrary to so-called legality and human rights.

With this mobilization of the communities that make up CIPOG-EZ, we say to the government of Lopez Obrador and Astudillo Flores, that it is you and nobody else who are letting this ethnocide occur. You are letting us be assassinated because we are indigenous. In 21^st century Mexico there is racism, and that racism is very potent. They let us be killed because we are indigenous and we are poor, because we are rebels who will not allow ourselves to be subjugated by criminal groups. Also, we are in struggle together with CNI-CIG. If we were the kind of people who said yes to everything, if we were a bloc of votes for MORENA, PAN or PRI, it would be different. To all our sisters and brothers throughout the world, know this well, here we will continue resisting without selling out or surrendering.

Our Zapatista brothers and sisters of the EZLN are not alone. From Guerrero, the communities of CIPOG-EZ will continue to break the narco-paramilitary siege that for more than a year has been imposed on our communities. We demand an end to the war against the Zapatista communities and the National Indigenous Congress. End the narco-paramilitary war against CIPOG-EZ! Justice for Samir Flores Soberanes!

Sincerely,

Popular Indigenous Council of Guerrero-Emiliano Zapata (CIPOG-EZ)

Regions: Costa Chica, Costa Montaña, Montaña Alta and Montaña Baja of Guerrero
Campesina Organization of the Southern Sierra (O.C.S.S.)
End the paramilitary war against the Zapatista communities of the EZLN!
End the narco-paramilitary war against the Indigenous communities of the CNI-CIG!

Justice for all our prisoners, assassinated, and disappeared of the CNI-CIG!
Never more a Mexico without us!

Photos from Radio Zapatista