P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
Email: jdav@igc.org
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9. MEXICAN MILITARY THREATENS ACTIVISTS AFTER SOLDIERS ARE ACCUSED
OF GANG RAPE
By Allen Harris
Mexican military personnel have put two people from the southern
Mexican state of Chiapas -- and peace activists there -- under
constant surveillance after complaints were filed that federal
troops gangraped three local women at a military roadblock,
according to an urgent dispatch received recently by the People's
Tribune.
The dispatch from the Coalition of Non-governmental Organizations
for Peace (CONPAZ) also says that the military is harassing its
own people after CONPAZ filed a complaint against the Mexican
Federal Army (MFA) "for the crimes of gang rape, abuse of
authority, violation of duty, intimidation and threats" in
connection with the rape charges.
The two people in question are Yolanda Castro and Roger Maldonado,
who charge that MFA troops committed the atrocity against three
women of the Tseltal people at a roadblock in Altamirano, Chiapas,
on June 4.
The Mexican National Secretary for Defense issued a press
statement denying the charges and threatening the accusers, saying
it reserved "the right to legally proceed against the people or
entities that defame our institutions."
CONPAZ reports that the military threat "is already taking the
form of constant surveillance by plainclothed military personnel
of offices of non-governmental organizations.
"Additionally," reports CONPAZ, "representatives of NGOs
[nongovernmental organizations] have been harassed, as in the case
of the indigenous women's weaving cooperative, J'Pas Joloviletik."
CONPAZ urges that faxes and telegrams to Mexican President Carlos
Salinas de Gortari and the Mexican Secretary of National Defense
Gen. Antonio Rivielo Bazan demanding the end of the harassment
"and the guaranteeing of the physical and psychological integrity"
of Castro and Maldonado "as well as all representatives and
consultants of non-governmental organizations in Chiapas."
CONPAZ urges letters and faxes be sent to the following addresses:
Lic. Carlos Salinas de Gortari
Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Palacio Nacional
Mexico, D.F.
Fax: 2-71-17-64
Gral. de Div. Antonio Rivielo Bazan
Secretario de la Defensa Nacional
Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional
Mexico, D.F.
Fax: 5-57-79-04
The address of CONPAZ is:
Chiapa de Corozo 19 El Cerrillo
San Cristobal de las Casas
C.P. 29220 Chiapas, Mexico
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This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition),
Vol. 21 No. 31 / August 1, 1994; P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654;
Email: jdav@igc.org. Feel free to reproduce and use unless marked
as copyrighted. Please include this message with reproductions of
this article. The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE depends on donations from its
readers -- your generosity is appreciated.
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