Fw: Urgent Appeal to Support People of Oaxaca

["Nello peacelink" <n.margiotta at peacelink.it>]

INTERNATIONAL APPEAL IN SOLIDARITY WITH SECTION 22 OF THE NATIONAL
EDUCATION UNION (SNTE-CNTE) AND WITH THE PEOPLE OF OAXACA

The movement of the teachers of Section 22 of the National Education
Union and the people of Oaxaca is facing a terrible situation.

The Secretario de Gobernación (Minister of the Interior), with the
backing of all the governors of the country, has called on President
Vicente Fox to "act with the strict respect for the law against all
the destabilizing forces that aim to directly prejudice the
constitutional order." This is an open call to use force against the
movement.

The bosses, the representatives of the Church, the media and a few
mayors of all the parties have also called on the government to send
a military expedition toward the State of Oaxaca.

The strike movement of 70,000 teachers of the State of Oaxaca began
around the wage issues of Section 22 of the SNTE last May. The
teachers called for all teachers to receive the same wages throughout
all the districts of the State of Oaxaca.

On June 14, the PRI government headed by Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz
unleashed a brutal attack against the strike encampments set up by
the teachers in the center of the city of Oaxaca. But the teachers
forced the police forces to retreat after five hours of confrontation.

In response, the unions, neighborhood organizations, peasants and
indigenous groups set up a Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca
(APPO), which organized five huge marches and -- with the decisive
participation of the teachers -- set up barricades that were staffed
for self-defense purposes throughout the night.

The teachers and the population set up a political tribunal to fight
for the demand, "Governor Ulises Ruiz must go!" The teachers and the
APPO have occupied the headquarters of the executive, judicial, and
legislative branches of the state, as well as the local private
radios and the provincial television station.

The governor, incapable of launching a massive attack against the
teachers and the people, has utilized gangster methods, by sending in
armed individuals with pistols to shoot at people on the barricades
and at the marches. Four people have died in this way, and dozens
have been injured. Four people have been arrested, among them
Elangelio Mendoza Gonzalez, the former General Secretary of Section
22 of SNTE-CNTE.

Currently, based on the decision of the General Assembly of Section
22 of the SNTE and representatives of the APPO, 5,000 teachers,
health workers, and peasants are marching on Mexico City to express
their resistance in the capital.

They must travel more than 500 km (from the South to the North,
crossing over the Western Sierra Madre mountain chain). They must
also face state aggression. For its part, the Ministry of the
Interior has organized a meeting of "all the sectors eager to find a
solution to the Oaxaca problem" for this Wednesday. At the same time,
it declared that "things have reached their limit in Oaxaca" and has
threatened to send in 10,000 federal police.

At the very moment we write these lines, several Navy helicopters are
patrolling the skies of Oaxaca. A police assault could result in a
bloodbath. The teachers and the population are ready to resist. They
want to live peacefully and want to ensure that democracy is
respected. And they want the will of the majority to be respected
- --that is, for Governor Ulises Ruiz to leave.

That is why we are appealing to the unions of the whole world,
particularly to the teachers' unions, to write to Carlos Abascal
Carranza (Minister of the Interior) and Vicente Fox (President) to
say:

- -- No to repression against the teachers and the people in the State
of Oaxaca, Mexico!

- -- Respect the fundamental demand of the movement: Governor Ulises
Ruiz Ortiz must step down immediately!

The first signers calling for international solidarity:

Professor Ezequiel Carreño Rosales, Organizational Secretary, Section
22 of the SNTE-CNTE; Professor Fernando Mendoza Perez, Coordinator of
the Executive Committee of Section 22 of the SNTE-CNTE; Augusto
Fernando Reyes Medina, member of the Executive Committee of Section
22 of the SNTE-CNTE; Professor Luis Vasquez Villalobos, delegate of
the Union of the Workers of the National Autonomous University of
Mexico (STUNAM); Javier Brena Alfaro, union delegate of the STUNAM;
Gustavo Grajales, president of the Savings Fund of Section 40 of
SNTE-CNTE; Misael Palma Lopez, member of Section 7 of the SNTE
(Chiapas); Russel Aguilar Brindis, member of the committee of
technical secondary school struggles, Section 7 of the SNTE
(Chiapas); Humberto Martinez Brizuela, professor of the National
Polytechnic Institute; Armando Pasos Cabrera, member of the
Independent Workers Union of the Autonomous Metropolitan University
(SITUAM); Gema Lopez Limon, professor of the National Autonomous
University of Baja California.

Send your messages to:
Vicente Fox Quesada, President of the Mexico:
vicente.fox.quesada at presidencia.gob.mx

and

Carlos Abascal, Ministry of the Interior:
segob at rtn.net.mx

Send a copy to Fernando Mendoza Perez, Member of the Executive
Committee of Section 22 of the SNTE-CNTE:
Alborotador_oax at hotmail.com

Also, please send a copy of your letter to:
Entente Internationale (France):
eit-ilc at fr.oleane.com