MEXICO
Amnesty International is gravely concerned about the reported extrajudicial killing of Marcos Olmedo Gutierrez, the wounding of at least nine people (named above), and for the safety of 34 members of the Comite de Unidad Tepozteca (CUT), Committee of Tepoztecan Unity, an indigenous peasants' organization, who were arrested and are reportedly held at the dependencies of the Policia Judicial de Morelos, Judicial Police of Morelos.
On Wednesday 10 April 1999, at around 3.45pm, as a caravan of 15 minibuses and some private cars were travelling on the road near the village of Cruz de San Rafael, Ayala-Tlaltizapan, towards Chinameca, 300 members of the Judicial Police of Morelos together with some other security forces stopped the vehicles. They reportedly knocked the windows out of the vehicles with stones and forced the passengers out; some of the police officers then reportedly started to shoot at them. Latest reports confirmed the death of Marcos Olmedo Gutierrez, a 64-year-old man who after the attack was seen lying and bleeding on the ground and then pushed by police officers into one of their vehicles. An undetermined number of people were also reported gravely injured.
There are growing fears for the safety of all members of the CUT, in Morelos particularly of those 34 being held in detention, as this is often when most human rights violations such us torture and ill-treatment occur.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The state of Morelos has long been the scene of human rights violations allegedly carried out by the security forces, mainly in the context of land disputes. The most frequent victims of this violence are indigenous people and peasants. The frequent association of powerful landowners (caciques) with local authorities seriously undermines the legal rights of the peasants and place them at a higher risk of human rights violations. (See Human Rights Violations in Mexico: A Challenge for the Nineties, p. 5, AI Index AMR 41/21/95).
A development company, in association with the governor of Morelos, Jorge Carrillo Olea, has been attempting to build a multi-million dollar golf course and houses on common land. The inhabitants of Tepoztlan have opposed this development which has threatened their common land with they regard as sacred. Recent reports seem to indicate that, due to increased pressure by NGOs, the project has been postponed.
For months, local people from Tepoztlan including women children and elderly, some of them members of the CUT, had been organizing a march to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the assassination of the Mexican Revolution hero Emiliano Zapata, a native of Morelos, and to take this opportunity to present to the President Ernesto Zedillo a letter outlining their problems, in particular their grievances with the governor of Morelos regarding the construction of a golf course on their land.
+-----------------------------------------------------------+ + Supporters of Amnesty International around the world are + + writing urgent appeals in response to the concerns + + described above. If you would like to join with them in + + this action or have any queries about the Urgent Action + + network or Amnesty International in general, please + + contact one of the following: + + + + Ray Mitchell, rmitchellai@gn.apc.org (UK) + + Scott Harrison, sharrison@igc.apc.org (USA) + + Guido Gabriel, ggabriel@amnesty.cl.sub.de (Germany) + + Marilyn McKim, aito@web.apc.org (Canada) + + Xavier Zeebroeck, xzeebroek@aibf.be (Belgium) + + -----------------------------------------------------------+
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION BULLETIN + +
Electronic distribution authorised + +
This bulletin expires: 28 May 1996. + +
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