Angry White Kid

Alberto Patishtán: A Message From the State

By Luis Hernández Navarro
La Jornada
September 13, 2013
Translated by Scott Campbell

Alberto Patishtán is not a French kidnapper like Florence Cassez, nor a narcotrafficker like Rafael Caro Quintero, nor one of the killers from the massacre in Acteal. He is a Tzotzil schoolteacher, a member of the Other Campaign, unjustly imprisoned for 13 years. She, they and he are not the same. For Cassez, Caro Quintero and the paramilitaries from Chenalhó, despite their guilt, justice let them go. For teacher Patishtán, the justice system has him in jail, despite being innocent.

The judiciary recently had the possibility to rectify the damage done to the indigenous Tzotzil man from El Bosque. But this Thursday, the 20th Circuit First Appellate Court in Chiapas declared baseless the evidence with which his attorneys sought to obtain his release.

Under Attack, Mexico’s Teachers Fight Back Against Neoliberal ‘Reforms’

Originally published on El Enemigo Común.

By Scott Campbell
September 12, 2013

On December 1, 2012, while protests were being brutally repressed in the streets, Enrique Peña Nieto addressed Mexico for the first time as the country’s newly-anointed president. He outlined the five main goals of his administration and announced ten “presidential decisions” to achieve them. To reach his third goal of “quality education for all,” Peña Nieto stated he had decided to pursue a program of educational reform requiring the modification of the constitution and the establishment of a national evaluation system for teachers. And in doing so, Peña Nieto — the Butcher of Atenco and the signed, sealed and delivered choice of the ruling elite — made clear his intention to target education and take on Latin America’s largest union, the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE).

He wasted no time in getting to work. The following day, the heads of the three main political parties signed the “Pact for Mexico,” a document committing them to Peña Nieto’s five goals. With such backing, Peña Nieto’s proposed changes to the constitution easily passed both houses of Congress and were quickly approved by a majority of state legislatures. On February 26, 2013, the constitutional reforms related to education went into effect.

Statement on the May Day arrests in Oaxaca

May 1, 2013
Translated by Scott Campbell
[Spanish original]

TO THE PEOPLE OF OAXACA
TO CONSCIOUS PEOPLE AND STUDENTS
TO THE COLLECTIVES AND ORGANIZATIONS IN STRUGGLE AND RESISTANCE
TO ALL THOSE WHO CARRY A NEW WORLD IN THEIR HEARTS

With profound indignation we denounce the aggression we were subjected to this May Day by the state and municipal police in the service of the rich and the state government, under the command of the criminal, murderer, and fascist Gabino Cué Monteagudo (which has been called the “government of change”), showing again the repressive policies guiding the repressive forces of the state and capital, in coordination with the murderer and oppressor of Atenco, Enrique Peña Nieto, not caring that all kinds of people had been participants in the demonstration, from children, elderly, even mothers. This is the change that we have received during the three years of his government, though his actions follow the same repressive policies of the tyrant Ulises Ruiz, without forgetting Peña Nieto who now sitting in the presidential chair continues his dirty, repressive and murderous policies. Today, as yesterday, we remain oppressed, just like the compañeros in Guerrero, Michoacán, DF and other geographic locations and resistance groups.

Three letters from political prisoners David Venegas and Efrén Hernández from Ixcotel Prison in Oaxaca

Efrén Hernández and David Venegas

Translated by Scott Campbell

Letter from David Venegas Reyes and Feliciano Efrén Hernández Pablo from Ixcotel Prison
March 30, 2013
[Spanish original]

Thursday, March 28, we, Feliciano Efrén Hernández Pablo and David Venegas Reyes, were violently detained by members of the State Investigatory Agency (AEI), accused of robbing a taxi driver who minutes earlier had given a ride to David Venegas Reyes and two compañeras, and who tried to rob them but they didn’t allow it. After getting out of the taxi, they arrived at the house of Feliciano Efrén Hernández Pablo, and when we left for the store the agents detained us, and without any explanation, violently put us in police vehicles in spite of the fact that several neighbors tried to stop them because there was no reason for our detention. To avoid more violence, we decided to let them take us. Yet in spite of that, David Venegas Reyes was beaten in the face, back and chest by an agent during the drive to the State Attorney General’s Office (PGJE), in La Experimental, Oaxaca, and later was again beaten in the face and stomach by another agent in the PGJE building.

Jóvenes palestinos apoyan huelguistas de hambre, y condenan el CICR

El Jeque Khade Adnan en una conferencia de prensa
en el interior de las oficinas del CIRC en Ramallah.

Palestin@s por la Dignidad exige apoyo para la firmeza de los presos en huelga de hambre y condena fuertemente el cierre de las oficinas del Comité Internacional de la Cruz Roja en Ramallah.

Nuestros presos valientes, Samer Issawi, Ayman Sharawneh, Ja’far Ezzedine y Tareq Qa’dan continúan su lucha heroica en contra de la ocupación y el terrorismo del estado, así como los crímenes cometidos diariamente contra nuestros presos.

Para apoyar la firmeza y resolución de los presos, en el interior del edificio del CICR en Ramallah, el Jeque Khader Adnan anunció su propia huelga de hambre en el día 11 de febrero 2013. En un paso inesperado y decepcionante, en respuesta, el CICR cerró sus oficinas en Ramallah en la cara de las familias de los presos y detenidos, en lo que constituye un castigo colectivo contra los presos y sus familias.

El cierre de su oficina por parte del Comité Internacional de la Cruz Roja es un acto de provocación y chantaje vulgar. El Comité rechaza su papel de proporcionar servicios como resultado de nuestro pueblo de principios ejerciendo su derecho de apoyarse unos a otros, una acción congruente con las políticas de la ocupación israelí. Estas mismas políticas quitan cualquier valor de la labor del Comité, a pesar de ser una organización internacional que supuestamente, bajo de las leyes humanitarias internacionales, es responsable de la protección del nuestro pueblo y presos.

Palestin@s por la Dignidad afirma su apoyo a los presos en las cárceles de Israel y no abandonará los que están en huelga de hambre. Ni van a dejar que el Jeque Khader Adnan se encuentra solo, y exigen al CICR a tomar responsabilidad y atender al sufrimiento de los presos y sus familias mediante la reapertura inmediatamente de sus oficinas.

Invitamos a nuestro pueblo palestino, tanto en el país como en el extranjero, a permanecer unidos detrás de sus héroes que están creando su propia libertad con su resistencia y orgullo.

Palestin@s por la Dignidad

Libertad para los presos palestinos

Palestinians attempt to return to Bab al-Shams

 

On Friday, January 11, Palestinians established the tent village of Bab al-Shams on Palestinian land recently approved for illegal settlement construction by Israel.

In a pre-dawn raid on Sunday, January 13, hundreds of Israeli forces evicted the village.

On Tuesday, January 15, activists attempted to return to Bab al-Shams.

Read more on Bab al-Shams here: http://electronicintifada.net/tags/bab-al-shams

Perforated Memory: A non-review

Before reading this, you must watch the film.

My subsequent rant:

It's an important reminder of all the anonymous and all the survivors we have, regardless of the place, who risked everything. No one knows the all names of the dead Panthers. No one knows all the names of Che's companions in Cuba, Congo, or Bolivia. No one knows all the names of Abu Ammar's comrades. Even the best educated don't know the names of them all. And here, in the present, they are being forgotten. Only those who lived it keep it alive. And it is a situation that brings disgrace on all of us who strive for freedom. Be it Jordan or Bolivia or the US. And by failing the memory, we fail the struggle. And by failing the past, we fail to learn from it. To romanticize it is not the answer. But to recognize and learn and fight for those who came and fought before us is an essential part of the struggle.

To forget is to lose.

To fail to adapt is to lose.

To compromise is to lose.

To disgrace our elders and our fallen through compromise or collusion, is to lose.

To honor those who falsely claim the mantel of our fallen revolutionaries, is to lose.

The future belongs to those who honor, recognize and reclaim the past; while at the same time adapting, transforming and inspiring our future. Without the past we cannot win. Without the destruction of the present we cannot win. Without the liberation of our future we cannot win. The only step is forward.

Acción Urgente: ¡Actúen ahora para salvar las vidas de Samer al-Barq, Hassan Safadi y Ayman Sharawna!

[Original en inglés]

Samer al-Barq ya ha estado en huelga de hambre durante 111 días, además de los de 30 días que pasó anteriormente en la huelga de hambre masiva del abril-mayo 2012. Ahora es el preso que más tiempo ha pasado en huelga de hambre en cualquier parte del mundo, asumiendo este título de su compatriota, el preso Akram Rikhawi. 

Está en huelga junto con Hassan Safadi, quien ha resistido durante 81 días, sumados a los 71 días de su previa huelga de hambre, y con Ayman Sharawna, quien ha estado rechazando comido durante 71días. Los tres están sufriendo complicaciones médicas muy graves, incluyendo problemas de riñón, de perdido de conocimiento, y de sistemas inmunes suprimidos, confirmado por Addameer, Médicos para Derechos Humanos – Israel y al-Haq. Actuén ahora para llamar a su libertad inmediata y salvar las vidas de Samer al-Barq, Hassan Safadi y AymanSharawna!

Tuitea Ahora: Act now for #PalHunger strikers #SamerAlBarq #HassanSafadi #AymanSharawna Lives on the Line for Palestine! Act: http://samidoun.ca/?p=1456

Los tres hombres se están manifestando contra el incumplimiento israelí con el acuerdo del 14 de mayo (y acuerdos previos) entre el movimiento de los presos y el Servicio de Prisiones Israelí. Una de las provisiones de este acuerdo era que el castigo de detención administrativa no seria renovado. Sin embargo, el 21 de mayo – solo una semana después del acuerdo – la detención administrativa de al-Barq fue renovada y él empezó de nuevo su huelga de hambre. Safadi se unió a la huelga el 21 de junio, cuando su orden de detención administrativa fue renovada.

Por otro lado, dejaron en libertad a Ayman Sharawna en octubre de 2011 como parte del acuerdo de intercambio de los presos. Sin embargo, le detuvieron de nuevo en enero de 2012 y desde entonces él ha estado detenido sin cargo. Ayman inició su huelga de hambre el 1 de julio, seis meses después de su detención.

Acción urgente es necesario para proteger las vidas de estos presos palestinos. Han sido encarcelados juntos en una celda de aislamiento que mide 1.8 metros por 1.5 metros, sin espacio por una silla de ruedas, y actualmente están encadenados de manos y pies a sus camas de hospital, a pesar de que sus doctores informan de las graves amenazas médicas ocasionadas por estas condiciones. Es urgente que actuemos ahora para liberar a Samer, Hassan y Ayman y asegurar la atención medica que necesitan.

¡TOMA ACCION!

1. Firma una carta exigiendo que el estado israelí traslade inmediatamente a Samer al-Barq, Hassan Safadi y AymanSharawna a un hospital y que les dejan en libertad. Haz un click aquí para firmar.
2. Firma una carta a la Comité Internacional de la Cruz Roja para exigir que se cumple con sus obligaciones a los presos palestinos y que se actúe para salvar las vidas de Samer al-Barq, Hassan Safadi y AymanSharawna. Haz un click aquí para firmar.

Nakba Day Protest at Ofer Prison

On May 15, 2012, around 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside Israel's Ofer military prison near Ramallah, Occupied Palestine, to mark the 64th anniversary of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Palestinians during the establishment of the state of Israel. At least 63 protesters were injured as Israeli forces deployed tear gas, plastic-coated steel bullets, "Exact Impact" rounds, skunk water and concussion grenades.

The Murder of Bety and Jyri: We Demand Justice

My translation of a letter from Omar Esparza, the husband of Bety Cariño, assassinated by paramilitaries in an ambush on the way to the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca, two years ago today. For more background on San Juan Copala and the continued impunity that reigns in Mexico, see my post from the same time year.

The Murder of Bety and Jyri: We Demand Justice
April 27, 2012, Two Years Since the Murder of Bety and Jyri
By Omar Esparza
[Spanish original]
Translated by Scott Campbell

To Felipe Calderón Hinojosa,
President of Mexico

To Gabino Cué Monteagudo
Governor of Oaxaca

To public opinion

Two years could be called easy for those who have not lost a loved one in a violent way; for those who decide the changes that the masses will face, arguing that they do so for the well-being of the country; for those who claim to represent Mexico and who impose, with arrogance, social control strategies in order to generate fear and, with them, militarize the country and strengthen their policies in order to criminalize society until reaching the point of establishing a terrorist state that persecutes, assassinates, jails and disappears those of us who are not in agreement with them.

This war is a smokescreen that hides what is really happening: the displacement from our territories, the looting of our natural resources, the loss of our sovereignty, the dismantling of all resistance, the rupturing of the social fabric and the dismantling of all the forms of organization that the original peoples have maintained for millennia. All of this seeks to turn our free will into obedience, which has created a deep wound in our country, in our peoples, and has left thousands of orphaned children, widowed women, mothers without children or husbands, women disappeared and violated, all victims of a violence which doesn’t stop and continually repeats itself in this country.