Thank You for Your Support of Omar Esparza Zarate

To all the dignified and honest people who spoke out on behalf of Omar Esparza and justice and dignity in Oaxaca,

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Over the last nine months Omar Esparza Zarate, who works with the Center for Communal Support (CACTUS) has become one of the key organizers in the Mixteca region of Mexico with the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca, a grass roots movement formed in response to the violent and repressive policies of Oaxacan governor Ulises Ruiz. As a part of the state backlash against this movement Omar has unjustly become one of many targets of harassment and repression.

On February 9, 2007 at around 11:00am two officials from the Agency of Federal Investigation (AFI) arrived at the CACTUS office, located in Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca. After identifying themselves they asked to speak with Omar. The person who attended the officials told them Omar Esparza couldn't be found in the city for work reasons. The agents indicated they had brought an order to appear for the human rights activist in conjunction with a criminal investigation, signaling that he should appear immediately in the Regional Office of the Attorney General in Huajuapan de Leon. The agents wouldn't explain why Omar was being served an order to appear and indicated that if he wanted to know what he was accused of he would have to appear himself. Upon realizing that Omar Esparza wasn't in the office, the agents photographed the outside of the office and the organization's truck, which they found parked outside. They left without leaving a copy of the order to appear.

On Friday February 23 Omar decided to face the authorities and dispute their claims in the hopes of returning to his work without fear of further persecution and it worked--at least for now. The Oaxacan government knows the whole world is watching. We need to keep current with what is happening in Mexico and make sure authorities know that repressive tactics will not be tolerated.

Thanks to all the support and solidarity Omar is safe for now.

I translated the following statement sent out by the Cuali Nemilistli Human Rights Network explaining the status of Omar's case and the details of what occurred on Friday.

In Solidarity,
Tennessee Watson, tennessee.watson@gmail.com


To all the dignified and honest people who spoke out on behalf of Omar Esparza,

To the civil society of Mexico and the world,

Thank you so much!
February 23, 2007 various organizations and people accompanied Omar Esparza to his appearance before the Attorney General (PGR) in the city of Oaxaca.* There were people present from The National Association of Democratic Lawyers, UCIZONI, the Oaxacan Human Rights Network, Espiral 7, the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations (FIOB), the Cuali Nemilistli Human Rights Network, and obviously the Center for Communal Support (CACTUS). We didn't arrive alone; we arrived accompanied by the word and support of all of the people who responded to the call for Urgent Action, by those who sent messages of solidarity, by those in other countries ready to protest at Mexican consulates and embassies, by those who were already preparing new ways of protesting, by those who gave their word and heart in order to defend Omar, Oaxaca and Dignity.

We arrived at the PGR at 1:00 pm. After waiting a while in the reception area of the local office of the PGR in Oaxaca (which of course is in the middle of no where outside of the city in the country where they try to hide themselves from the world) an agent of the Public Ministry, accompanied by the Regional Commander of the Federal Agency of Investigations (AFI) came to escort Omar Esparza and his lawyer, David Peña to the office where they would have the proceedings.

Afterwards came the long wait outside the PGR, that passed by between preoccupation, jokes and speculation. After approximately three hours, finally, Omar and David came down the stairs and left the building. As they left came the collective questions: What happened? and What did they accuse you of?

Omar and David explained that it dealt with a criminal investigation of the theft of a computer from the offices of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) in Oaxaca that apparently occurred during the last elections when Omar acted as an elections councilor. The PGR wanted Omar to appear only to give his testimony and nothing else.*

In their account of what happened Omar and David told us that present in the office was a representative of the PGR from Oaxaca, the commander of the AFI, the Public Ministry, and two representatives from the Oaxacan office of the Attorney General of Justice (PGJ). The first thing they said to David and Omar is: "it's not for what you all think." Later came the protest from the representative from the PGR about all the "unnecessary noise" that had been made around this and "the calls and letters that they had received from many states and countries asking about Omar's case." The Commander of the AFI was also a little bothered by being exposed to national and international public opinion.

While David and Omar told the details of the meeting, a black truck speed off carrying what was mostly likely agents from the Oaxacan PGJ office. They were fleeing the crowd, the press, and having to respond to the civil society--something that also seems to be a tradition of the Oaxacan authorities.

This story is not over. The PGR still will carry out more proceedings, and according to what they said if they don't find more information the case will be filled. Later we realized that the Oaxacan authorities "were scared by the exposure the case had," and the pressure from civil society, all of you and us, forced the federal and state authorities to contain their repressive spirit and as a consequence use the issue of the stolen computer as an out.

From our heart, thank you for your support, for your words and your action that brought us to win this small battle in favor of Omar, Oaxaca and Dignity; and to be clear with the authorities that we are here, we are alert and, we are organized, that Omar and everyone who struggles for justice, for liberty and for dignity are not alone.

We will continue paying attention to this case and alert to the security of Omar. Having gotten this we need to continue scrutinizing the authorities. We can't trust them. We don't believe in them. We need to question the idea that federal agents used intimidation tactics in order to meet with someone, and then when the person does present themselves the authorities declare it's not that big of a deal and that they only want him to testify for a case that they will probably file for lack of evidence anyway. It doesn't satisfy us that the authorities were scared by the national and international solidarity in response to Omar's situation, and that they were angry about the "unnecessary noise" because they felt scrutinized. Who are they afraid of if their obligation is to respond to the civil society and to be transparent.

Continuing the struggle,

Eduardo Almeida Sánchez

The Cuali Nemilistli Human Rights Network

P.S. for the PGR, AFI and the PGJ: If you only needed Omar to appear to testify, was it really necessary to arrive in a truck full of AFI agents at the CACTUS office with an arrogant attitude against the members of that organization, taking photos of the outside of the office, of the vehicles and saying that Omar had to present himself to the PGR in order "to know what he was accused of."
Proposal: After Atenco, Oaxaca, the aggressions towards human rights activists and journalists, the civil society ahs become a little distrustful, therefore make harmless things seem harmful, because in these times that thing that smells of repression usually is.

*Office of the Attorney General, Procuraduría General de la República, is an institution belonging to the Federal executive branch that is responsible of the investigation and prosecution of federal crimes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_(Mexico)

*I had originally heard authorities said they wanted to question Omar about claims he'd made as an elections observer about electoral fraud. The most recent information says it was over a stolen computer. Sorry for any confusion.

RED CUALI NEMILISTLI DE DERECHOS HUMANOS

A todas las personas dignas y honestas que se manifestaron por Omar

A la sociedad civil nacional e internacional

¡Muchas Gracias!

El día viernes 23 de febrero varias organizaciones y personas acompañamos a Omar Esparza a su presentación ante la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) en la Ciudad de Oaxaca. En ese momento, en dónde estuvieron presentes compañeros de la Asociación Nacional de Abogados Democráticos, UCIZONI, la Red Oaxaqueña de Derechos Humanos, Espiral 7, el FIOB, la Red Cuali Nemilistli de Derechos Humanos y, evidentemente, el Centro de Apoyo Comunitario Trabajando Unidos (CACTUS), en ese momento, no llegábamos solos, llegamos acompañados de la palabra y del apoyo de todas las personas que respondieron a la Acción Urgente, de las que enviaron mensajes de solidaridad, de las que en el extranjero estaban listas para tomar de manera simbólica las representaciones diplomáticas de México en otros países, de las que ya estaban preparando nuevas formas de manifestarse, de todos los que prestaron su palabra y su corazón para defender a Omar, a Oaxaca y a la Dignidad.

Llegamos a la PGR un tanto tarde, como nos suele pasar a la sociedad civil, a eso de las 13:00 hrs. Después de un rato de esperar en la recepción de la Delegación de la PGR de Oaxaca, que por cierto está en un campo en medio de la nada, en las afueras de la ciudad, como si trataran de esconderse del mundo; tras esa breve espera, llegó una Agente del Ministerio Público (MP), acompañada del Comandante Regional de la Agencia Federal de Investigaciones (AFI) para escoltar a Omar Esparza y a David Peña (su abogado) hacía la oficina donde tendría lugar la diligencia.

Después vino la larga espera a las afueras de la PGR, la que transcurrió entre preocupación, bromas y especulaciones. Tras aproximadamente tres horas, por fin, Omar y David bajaron unas escaleras y salieron del edificio, primera buena noticia, salieron del edificio. A su salida vino la pregunta colectiva de ¿Qué pasó? y la duda de las últimas dos semanas ¿De qué lo acusan?

Omar y David explicaron que se trataba de una averiguación previa iniciada por el robo de una computadora en las oficinas del Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE) de Oaxaca, hecho que al parecer ocurrió en las pasadas elecciones en las que Omar fungió como Consejero Electoral. Omar no fue señalado directamente, pero al parecer, los federales trataron de insinuar su responsabilidad. Esto quiere decir que la PGR quería que Omar se presentara solo para dar su testimonio y nada más (ajá, sí, seguro).

En su relato, Omar y David nos contaron a los que esperábamos afuera, que en la diligencia estuvieron presentes el Delegado de la PGR en Oaxaca, el Comandante de la AFI, la MP y dos representantes de la Procuraduría General de Justicia (PGJ) de Oaxaca. Lo primero que les dijeron a David y a Omar fue: "no es por lo que ustedes creen". Y luego vino el reclamo del Delegado de la PGR por todo el "ruido innecesario" que se había hecho en torno a esto y por "las llamadas y cartas que recibieron de muchos estados y países preguntando por el caso de Omar". El Comandante de la AFI estaba también un tanto molesto por haber sido expuesto ante la opinión pública nacional e internacional.

Mientras David y Omar contaban los pormenores de la reunión, una camioneta negra salió a velocidad de fuga con lo que no podían ser más que agentes de la PGJ de Oaxaca, salieron huyendo de la sociedad civil, de la prensa, de tener que responder ante la sociedad, algo que parece ser ya una tradición entre las autoridades Oaxaqueñas.

Esta historia no termina, todavía la PGR llevará a cabo más diligencias, y según dijeron, si no encuentran más elementos, el caso se archivaría. Más tarde nos enteramos que las autoridades de Oaxaca "estaban espantadas por la exposición que tenía el caso", y que al parecer sí había intenciones de ir sobre Omar, pero que la presión de la sociedad civil, de todos ustedes, de este nosotros, había obligado a las autoridades federales y estatales a contener sus ánimos represivos y como consecuencia usar este asunto de la computadora como una salida.

De corazón, muchas gracias por su apoyo, por su palabra y su acción que llevaron a ganar esta pequeña batalla a favor de Omar, de Oaxaca y de la Dignidad y a dejarles claro a las autoridades que estamos aquí, que estamos alertas, que estamos organizados, que Omar y todos los que luchan por la justicia, por la libertad y por la dignidad no están solos.

Seguiremos atentos del caso y alertas por la seguridad de Omar, pues a estas alturas no no es posible confiar en las autoridades, no creemos en ellas, no nos convence la idea de que se movilicen agentes federales en una diligencia intimidatoria para citar a alguien para que se presente a conocer de qué se le acusa, y que al momento de presentarse le digan que no era para tanto, que únicamente se quería un testimonio para un caso que probablemente se archivará por falta de elementos, porque no tienen elementos, no nos convence que las autoridades se asusten por la solidaridad nacional e internacional ante el caso de Omar, que se enojen por el ruido innecesario, que reclamen por sentirse vigilados, ¿a qué le temen? Si tienen la obligación de responder a la sociedad civil y de ser transparentes.

… continuará y continúa.

Eduardo Almeida Sánchez

Red Cuali Nemilistli de Derechos Humanos

P.D. para la P.G.R., la A.F.I. y la P.G.J.: ¿Si sólo querían que Omar se presentara a testificar, era realmente necesario que llegara una camioneta civil llena de agentes de la AFI a las oficinas de CACTUS en actitud prepotente contra los integrantes de esa organización, tomando fotos de la fachada de la oficina, de los vehículos y diciendo que Omar tenía que presentarse ante la PGR para "saber de qué se le acusaba"? Propuesta: después Atenco, Oaxaca, de las agresiones contra defensores de derechos humanos y periodistas, en la sociedad civil nos hemos vuelto un tanto desconfiados, así que no hagan cosas inofensivas que parezcan malas, porque en estos tiempos lo que huele a represión casi siempre lo es.