(CENCOS/IFEX) – The following is an abridged version of a 16 January 2005 press release by CENCOS and other human rights organisations: Unidentified individuals vandalise CENCOS director’s vehicle “for no apparent reason” Tensions rise in Oaxaca state Human rights defender Eréndira Cruzvillegas, director of the Mexico City-based organisation CENCOS, came under attack during a three-day […]
(CENCOS/IFEX) – The following is an abridged version of a 16 January 2005 press release by CENCOS and other human rights organisations:
Unidentified individuals vandalise CENCOS director’s vehicle “for no apparent reason”
Tensions rise in Oaxaca state
Human rights defender Eréndira Cruzvillegas, director of the Mexico City-based organisation CENCOS, came under attack during a three-day visit to Oaxaca city. For no apparent reason, unidentified individuals threw bricks at the windshield of Cruzvillegas’s car.
At 1:00 a.m. on 15 January 2005, the CENCOS director was heading to where she was going to spend the night after having met with the Ricardo Flores Magón Oaxacan Indigenous Council’s Coordinating Committee (Junta Coordinadora del Consejo Indígena Popular Oaxaqueño “Ricardo Flores Magón”). She had just gotten out of her car when another vehicle pulled up. The assailants threw bricks at her windshield then fled at high speed. Although the authorities have been alerted and a complaint has been filed, the identity of the attackers remains unknown.
This latest incident will only further strain the difficult situation civil society organisations have been facing as a result of post-election conflicts that have arisen in this part of the country.
CENCOS’s human rights work of the last four decades, and, in particular, the work that Cruzvillegas has carried out nationally and in Oaxaca State, in defence of local communities could certainly have prompted the attack. CENCOS and Cruzvillegas have worked on issues relating to recent incidents in the community of San Blas Atempa, in addition to defending indigenous and community-based radio stations and urging the Inter American Commission on Human Rights to recommend precautionary measures for human rights defenders and community leaders in Oaxaca.
The authorities have been urged to investigate the attack and identify and punish those responsible.
Oaxaca, Oaxaca
16 January 2005
Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social A.C. (CENCOS)
Comisión Diocesana de Justicia y Paz de Oaxaca (CODIJUP)
Centro de Derechos Humanos “Bartolomé Carrasco” (BARCA)
Red Oaxaqueña de Derechos Humanos A.C. (RODH)
Servicios para una Educación Alternativa A.C. (EDUCA)
Servicios de Asesoría para la Paz A.C. (SERAPAZ)
