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July 12, 2007

Our sincere salutations,

To (this English e-mail was sent to) :

• The very hon. Stephen Joseph HARPER, Prime minister of Canada (pmpm.gc.ca),
• Hon. Peter Gordon MACKAY, Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mackay.Pparl.gc.ca)
• Assistants to M. Mackay (Obhrai.Dparl.gc.ca, VanLoan.Pparl.gc.ca)
• Alexa McDonough (NPD, MP), Foreign Affairs and Int'l dev. dév. (mcdonough.aparl.gc.ca)
• Dawn Black (NPD, MP), Defense and promotion of peace (blackdparl.gc.ca)
• Ujjal Dosanjh (Liberal Party of Canada, MP), Foreign Affairs (dosanjh.uparl.gc.ca)
• Irwin Cotler (Liberal Party of Canada, MP), Human Rights (Cotler.Iparl.gc.ca)

Object: Urgent action needed to ask the Mexican government to put an end to the current repression and human rights violations in Oaxaca (Mexico).

The coordination committee of the Réseau du Forum social de Québec Chaudière-Appalaches, a network of 50 groups and coalitions from Quebec City, has written an urgent letter to Mexican authorities to denounce the fact that five indigenous citizens have been kidnapped and that their community delegates were attacked with firearms and is being intimidated, while the Mexican watches by and is accused of complicity. Indeed, leaders of a pro-government municipality are responsible for this violent kidnappings and they demand that seven indigenous leaders be given in exchange. Such a request is of course highly criminal and violent, but it is unclear who the Mexican government serves in this case.

We do know that the people targeted were community leaders during the massive 2006 protests against the governor of Oaxaca. We have reason to suspect political repression is at play.

This particular indigenous community, of San Isidro Aloapam, is part of a network of indigenous communities of Oaxaca known to have strict democratic and non violent principles. This is why we are urgently writing to Mexican and Canadian authorities to ask that the law, justice and human rights be upheld. Which, at the very least, requires that the pro-government municipality of San Miguel Aloapam release the five kidnapped citizens and cease the use of weapons and violence against their unarmed counterparts.

The general assembly of "Réseau du Forum social de Québec Chaudière-Appalaches" adopted in 2006 a resolution to support the demands of the "Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca" (APPO) and denounce the violent repression and human rights violations committed by Mexican forces.

- The letter sent to Mexico was included as an attached file.
- Our French summary of the situation was also included [available on the Siriel-Media].


Michaël Lessard
Communications manager for the
Réseau du Forum social de Québec Chaudière-Appalaches
435 Du Roi, Québec, QC, G1K 2X1, Canada


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