Houston Indymedia and Grupo MAIZ deliver letter of demands to Mexican Consulate

We were seen quickly and allowed to deliver a letter. The Cónsul General of México accepted, and signed the letter agreeing to pass it on, and thanked us for not obstructing his building this time.

letter delivered in person to the Mexican Consulate of Houston Today:

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Monday, 11/20 2006

Carlos Ignacio González Magallón
Cónsul General de México en Houston,

This message is being delivered on behalf of members of Houston Independent Media Center and Grupo MAIZ. We deliver this letter with great concern and urgency.

At least nine individuals – including an American journalist – have been murdered recently by paramilitary forces in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Mexican president Vicente Fox has used this violence to justify the attack of federal police and the Mexican military against non-violent, pro-democracy protesters.

We are writing to ask your help in securing diplomatic intervention to end this violence. Thousands of voices around the world are rallying to demand that the Mexican government find a political, rather than military resolution to this crisis. The use of force to quell the social unrest in Oaxaca will not solve the underlying problems, and until these problems are addressed conflict will continue. We ask you to support the following demands:

• End the government sponsored violence in Oaxaca.

• The immediate resignation of Oaxaca State Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.

• The release of all political prisoners in Oaxaca.

• Support Reporters Without Borders' demand for a full and complete investigation by Mexican authorities into Oaxaca State Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz's use of plain-clothed municipal police as a political paramilitary force. The arrest of the assailants is not enough.

• Justice for all of the murdered of Oaxaca – beginning with a comprehensive list of those killed and disappeared by the Mexican government.

Please act now. Hundreds of lives and the fate of human rights and democracy in Mexico are at stake.

Sincerely,

(signatures of members of Houston Indymedia and Grupo MAIZ)