On Thursday pickets were
organised outside Mexican embassies around the world, calling for the release
of Adan
Mejia (an APPO activist and supporter of the Marxist Tendency Militante) and of
all the other political prisoners presently being held in Mexican jails. The
campaign will continue until everyone is released and all charges are dropped.
Mexico City
On September 13, there was a rally outside the Secretaria de Gobernación
(Home Office) in Mexico City, as part of the international campaign for the
release of all political prisoners, and particularly for the release of Adan
Mejia, political prisoner of the APPO and the Marxist Tendency Militante,
jailed in the Ixcotel prison in Oaxaca. There was also a demand for the
dropping of all charges against the 9 students arrested on August 7 at the
Polytechnic University.
The rally took place at 5pm with around 100 workers, students and
relatives of the prisoners taking part. Those present shouted militant slogans
and marched through the streets around the Secretaría demanding that a
delegation be received.
At about 6 pm a resolution was handed in demanding the release of all
political prisoners. We would like to thank the workers and youth of the world
who participated in this campaign for their support of the Marxist Tendency
Militante and the political prisoners in Mexico.
The weak government of Calderón is using the "terrorist attacks" on the
PEMEX oil pipelines as an excuse to justify repression against the
revolutionary movement as a whole. The attacks against the APPO in Oaxaca, the
comrades of the Atenco community, and now against the Militante comrades, are a
sign of the weakness of this illegitimate government. Therefore, the struggle
for the release of political prisoners must be linked to the struggle for the
socialist transformation of society.
Immediate release of all political prisoners
Immediate and unconditional release for Adan Mejia
Withdrawal of all charges against the CLEP-CEDEP student activists
Italy
Yesterday
Falcemartello supporters and the Hands Off Venezuela committee lobbied
the Mexican embassy in Rome and also the Milan and Florence consulates. We
demanded the release of Adan Mejia Lopez and all the political prisoners.
Around
30 people gathered in Milan, while 20 people lobbied the embassy in Rome and 20
in Florence, where the railway workers’ PRC branch joined the protest.
We
chanted slogans against the Calderon government and for the release of comrade
Adan. The comrades carried posters and a banner, as you can see in the photos.
As usual in Milan no one from the consulate came out to meet us. For some
minutes we blocked the traffic in front of the consulate trying to explain to
people why we were there.
In
Rome we also gave out leaflets to the people passing by. A delegation made up
of Claudio Bellotti, member of the PRC national executive committee and Alessio
Vittori, member of the PRC the National Control commission met the Mexican
Ambassador, Jorge Chen.
We
hand him a letter explaining the reasons of the protest and the ambassador,
while not compromising himself too much, said that the problem of human rights
in Mexico is not the responsibility of the federal government alone, but of the
single states that make up the Federation, of the Police, etc. He stated
several times that "we don’t want to hide problems and if there are violations
of human rights we urge you to denounce them".
This
is a diplomatic way of passing the buck but also a recognition that in Mexico
abuses do take place and the federal government is not prepared to defend
everything that is taking place in Oaxaca.
The
ambassador said he would gather more information and would send us a written
reply.
We
will continue our fight to defend our comrades in Mexico and to release Adan.
La
lucha sigue!
FalceMartello
Editorial Board
Greece
A delegation of the Greek committee for the defence of the Mexican
political prisoners visited the Mexican embassy in Athens to protest against
the treatment of Adan Mejia and other supporters of Militante and also of the vanguard
of the revolutionary movement in Oaxaca and throughout Mexico. This took place
in a difficult moment in Greece for this kind of action, just four days before
the national elections.
The Consul took our protest letter signed by 30 members of unions and
left parties and listened to what we had to say and our demands. We told him
that if the Mexican government does not respond immediately to our demands we
will protest again and we will take this question to the Greek public. Two
hours after our visit, he phoned us and told us that he had transmitted our
protest to his government in Mexico.
Britain
A delegation of British
trade union and left wing activists went to the Mexican embassy in London
yesterday, as part of the international day of action for the release of all
political prisoners in Mexico.
While leafleting passers-by
outside the Mexican embassy we were told by an employee of the embassy that if
we did not have permission from the police we could be arrested. Just to make
sure, he called the police. When the police officers arrived they confirmed
that we had the right to be outside the embassy leafleting (it seems that the
staff of the Mexican embassy think they can do in London as they do in Oaxaca).
A protest letter demanding
the dropping of all charges to MENA activists, the release of Adan Mejía and
the release of all political prisoners belonging to the APPO, Atenco,
Militante, and other organisations was handed in. The letter was signed by more
than one hundred trade unionists and solidarity activists from Britain. Among
them was Labour Member of Parliament John McDonnell, General Secretary of the
National Union of Journalists, Jeremy Dear, General Secretary of the Bakers’
Union, Joe Marino, Assistant General Secretary of the Public Civil and
Commercial services Union PCS, Chris Baugh, James Croy, political officer of
the RMT, Maria Exall from the Executive of the CWU, and many others.
The letter was received by
Alfonso Galindo-Pellegrin (Administrative Attaché of the Mexican Embassy in the
United Kingdom) who promised to pass it on to the Mexican authorities.
USA
Due to heavy rain and hail in the hour just before the picket,
turnout was low but effective as we handed out flyers demanding an end to
repression in Mexico, and were threatened by an official from the Consulate who
said we had to leave. The police, however, did not intervene, and the picket
was without incident. Local Latino media was informed of the protest
beforehand, and many people we spoke to were very interested to learn more
about the latest developments in Oaxaca, as there is not much reported in the
media. This was a successful launch to the U.S. campaign for the release of the political
prisoners of the APPO and for the dropping of all charges against the student
activists in Mexico City.
There was also an
action in Washington DC, but the report is not in yet.
Russia
Between 5 and 6 o’clock
yesterday a picket was held in Moscow outside the Mexican Embassy in solidarity
with Adan Mejia and all political prisoners in Mexico. On a wet afternoon ten
comrades of the International Marxist Tendency and the socialist movement
"Vpered", made the journey to the Embassy. The comrades of the International
Marxist Tendency would like to thank the Vpered comrades for taking a leading
role in organizing the picket.
Most of the picketers had
been present in the previous picket of the Embassy in July last year when we
protested against the electoral fraud, which prevented the democratically
elected candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Party of the Democratic
Revolution (PRD), from coming to power. On that day only five comrades at any
one time were allowed to stand right in front of the Embassy, while the rest of
the picketers stood in a larger group across the street, cheering on those
holding the banners as though at a football match, and periodically crossing
the street to substitute themselves for them when they wanted a cigarette. Nevertheless,
as activists who follow events in Mexico and are concerned about the fate of
Adan Mejia and all political prisoners, and not only in Mexico, we did our best
to add as much energy as we could to our picket this time as well, and not
without some success. Not only did we and the FSB take a picture of the picket,
but also people inside who noticed us out of the window took pictures of us
with cameras and mobile phones. We also handed out a leaflet to passers-by,
though very few people passed by.
The police, who numbered up
to 10 officers, stood around, asking us out of boredom if we wouldn’t mind
finishing the picket 15 minutes early. The police were in good company though.
Even the unnamed representative of the Embassy who came out to receive our letter
for the Ambassador asked to leave early. He explained that the Embassy was
celebrating a national holiday, and that it was embarrassing welcoming VIP
guests with a picket taking place outside. We replied that unfortunately we had
arrived a bit late and were therefore planning on staying right up until 6. And
we kept to our word, shouting out the two slogans in Spanish that we knew
whenever important looking people arrived in chauffeur driven cars.
At the close of the picket
one of the police officers thanked us for not being any trouble. When we
pointed out that perhaps we weren’t any trouble because there were so few of us
he waved his hand dismissively and said it’s not quantity that matters but
quality. We said that we shared his point of view. Encouraged by the
conversation we had struck up, he added that for the police it’s all the same
whether there’s 10 or 100. After all, he said, "if you have 80 we’ll have more
than 80."
We left pondering this
nugget of wisdom. Of course, our picket would have been more successful if it
had taken place between 5:30 and 6:30 (we didn’t know there was going to be an
official reception we could coincide with at 6 o’clock), but, we joked, we
would probably have been arrested ourselves. And it is not accidental that one
picket can sum up the paranoia of the modern Russian state, which is becoming
ever more visible with parliamentary and Presidential elections on the horizon.
Even though there isn’t a mass movement or any alternative candidate to
represent the masses, as there was in Mexico last year, the state will still
engage in electoral fraud and arrest socialists on false charges. But these
bureaucratic, command methods will fail, just as they fail to deliver better
living standards to the people. Instead of leading to a numb stability in
society, such measures will inevitably have the opposite effect. Intimidation
and repression cannot contain the class struggle. On the contrary, as we see in
Mexico, with bold leadership and international solidarity repression can serve
to harden and sharpen this struggle. This is why we recognize that in the
struggles in Mexico we see the future of the struggle of the workers and youth
in Russia and we send our warmest fraternal greetings of solidarity to Adan and
all the comrades in prison in Mexico.
Free Adan Mejia and all the
political prisoners!
Long live international
proletarian solidarity!
Austria
Yesterday
in Vienna the comrades of the Marxist tendency "Der Funke" organised a
successful picket outside the Mexican embassy to demand the release of comrade
Adan Mejia Lopez and all other political prisoners in Mexico. 25-30 activists
from different branches of the Young Socialists, the "Initiative for socialist
policies of the SPÖ" (ISP), the Mexiko-Plattform and some students turned up.
We had banners with us calling for a "stop to repression" and "freedom for all
political prisoners". In the course of the rally two activists went to meet
officials of the embassy to explain our demands and the case especially of Adan
Mejia Lopez and the student activists who were arrested in August. The comrades
handed in a list of signatures supporting our demands. Among the supporters of
the campaign are Stefan Weber (singer of the famous left-wing band
"Drahdiwaberl"), leading trade union officials and activists of the Young
Socialists and the Communist Youth.
At
the picket the activists of the different groups and tendencies present agreed
to continue the campaign and to meet soon to discuss a further day of action
this autumn with a bigger rally/demo and a solidarity event to raise money for
the legal defence funds of the campaign.
Canada
In solidarity with Mexican
comrades and activists jailed wrongfully by the reactionary Mexican government,
a picket was held at the Mexican consulate in Vancouver, Canada. Six comrades
attended to bring attention to the repression of the mass revolutionary
movement of the people of Oaxaca, as well as to the imprisonment of Adán Mejía
López, an activist with APPO and the Marxist Tendency Militante.
Release
Adán Mejía López!
Release all Political Prisoners!
End the repression in Oaxaca!
Sweden
Yesterday, a delegation
visited the Mexican Embassy in Stockholm demanding the immediate release of all
political prisoners in Mexico and an end to the harassment of political
activists. An official from the Embassy met us outside. We handed over an
appeal with signatures from trade union activists, shop stewards, members of
the Social Democratic Youth and the Young Left.
Denmark
A
picket was organised outside the Mexican Embassy in Copenhagen calling for the
release of Adan Mejia Lopez and all political prisoners in
Mexico. But as Lula was in town it was decided to also organise a protest in
support of the Cipla workers in Brazil. See pictures.
Belgium
"The people from the embassy
want you to be searched by us," said an embarrassed police officer in
charge of policing our action for the liberation of the Mexican political
prisoner Adan Mejia Lopez in Oaxaca. Indeed, before we entered the embassy the
police wanted to see the content of our bags. "They seem a bit nervous,
don’t they," we answered the police officer. "Indeed," was his reply.
The delegation of Vonk/Unité Socialiste was met by two functionaries of the
Embassy who listened politely, and with a cynical smile, to our complaints
about the repression against the student movement in the capital and of the
social fighters in Oaxaca. They refused to give the slightest comment but just
confirmed they would transmit our letter to the minister of Foreign Affairs.
When we asked them if we could take a photo of our delegation handing them our
letter, they refused nervously. Leaving the embassy the police officer wanted
to know what the embassy had replied. "Nothing," we replied. "This does not
surprise me. They always listen politely but never answer your questions," was
the policeman’s conclusion.
Pakistan
In Pakistan the PTUDC and the BNT organised a
day of solidarity with Mexican political prisonesr on 13th of September. hey
arranged a protest demonstration in front of the Rawalpindi press club. A
number of youth of the BNT (unemployed youth movement) and the People’s
Students Federation attended this demonstration and they announced that Mexican
government must release all of the political prisoners as soon as possible. and
end the ban on the activities of "MENA" student movement. We are
against all kinds of state repression. The BNT also announced that they have
launched a signature campaign for the solidarity with the MENA acitivists.
Venezuela
On September 13 a delegation
from the Corriente Marxista Revolucionaria handed in a protest letter to
Nicolás Escalante Barret, the attaché for economic relations of the Mexican
embassy (since the clash between Mexican president Fox and president Chávez
there is no Mexican ambassador in Venezuela) to demand the immediate release of
Adán Mejia and all political prisoners in Mexico. The letter carried signatures
of workers of the FRETECO occupied factories movement, UNT and PSUV members.
Once the letter was handed
in to the secretary, she acknowledged having received many protests in relation
to the repression against APPO in Oaxaca and the students’ movement in Mexico.
In the letter we stated
clearly that repression will not succeed in smashing the revolutionary upsurge
that is developing throughout the continent and that the protest will go on
until all political prisoners in Mexico have been released.
Argentina
A small delegation was received by
two officials of the Mexican Embassy in Buenos Aires. A letter of protest was
handed in to the officials. Other comrades would have taken part had it not
been a working day. The heavy rain also did not help. In spite of this the nervousness
of the Mexican Embassy officials could be seen by the fact that 30 police
officers and two police vans were sent to keep an eye on the situation.
Brazil
A delegation visited
the Mexican Consulate in Sao Paulo but instead of being received by the
officials the military police was called, but they only arrived after the
delegation had already left. The delegation demanded that their visit be
officially registered. While all this was going on a disguised police agent
(sitting in a taxi) took photographs and made calls on his mobile within
earshot of the delegation. Brazil is like Mexico in the way worker activists
are treated. We call for the release of all political prisoners in Mexico.
Spain
In Spain the
Sindicato Estudiantes is to be received officially by the Mexican Embassy in
the next few days.
