Jorge Lofredo
Investigador
Centro de Documentación de los Movimientos Armados
Pueden destacarse algunos elementos del más reciente comunicado emitido por el Ejército Popular Revolucionario -firmado en Oaxaca- que permiten descubrir parte de su posicionamiento político frente a la coyuntura. Son fundamentalmente útiles para conocer sus tiempos internos y sus siguientes pasos; pero además, para desentrañar si es un preludio de lo que vendrá.
El primer punto es la solicitud de la continuidad de la Comisión de Mediación aún cuando a la prolongación de sus labores se le agreguen otros miembros (por primera vez se pronuncia en ese sentido). La organización realiza esta propuesta ante la disolución de la instancia mediadora, que consideró agotada su función.
Sin agregar nuevos datos, el grupo insiste en afirmar que sus desaparecidos están en el Campo Militar 1 y lo vincula con asesinatos selectivos de luchadores sociales para descabezar el descontento y criminalizar la protesta social. Para el EPR son la prueba del desarrollo de la Guerra de Baja Intensidad.
Luego denuncian el asesinato del “Comandante Insurgente Ramiro”, dirigente del ERPI. Este dato es de vital importancia para interpretar la circunstancia actual entre ambas organizaciones. Sin forzar interpretaciones ni adherir a teorías conspirativas, cabe agregar aquí el llamativo silencio que viene sosteniendo Tendencia Democrática Revolucionaria.
También ha sido curioso el texto del Comando 28 de Junio, luego del asesinato de “Ramiro”, que no refiere a la cuestión. De hecho, ni lo menciona; sin embargo, omitir no implica callar. Refiere a otra forma de silencio. Dio su señal: no dice nada porque es eso lo que tiene para decir.
Finalmente, la mención sobre la “lucha fratricida” que se subraya en el texto donde esboza un doble deslinde: por un lado, para que no sean señalados hoy como pretexto de ejecuciones intestinas y, por el otro, que las ejecuciones de décadas pasadas fueron llevadas a cabo por “ex compañeros” y exime de responsabilidad a la organización.
Son datos que sirven para la reconstrucción histórica, pero también para comprender su presente.
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12/17/09
The TVA Ash Spill One Year Later: Lessons Learned
Pulse of the Planet
By GREGORY BUTTON
CounterPunch
Nearly a year ago on Monday, December 22, 2009, at the Kingston fossil fuel plant in Eastern Tennessee, a fly ash impoundment collapsed and within minutes released 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic fly ash into the Emory River and over 300 acres of land. The spill damaged numerous homes, destroyed a portion of a rail line and covered a portion of a highway. Fortunately there were no fatalities, but the lives of hundreds of nearby residents were severely altered, some forever, by one of the worst in environmental disaster in our nation's history. The TVA estimates that it will cost rate- payers more than one billion dollars for the clean-up effort.
Equally troubling is the TVA's inept response to the disaster. A response so reckless it will undoubtedly be recorded in the annals of disaster history as what not to do in the wake of calamity. In the aftermath of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill (1989) there appeared a number of case studies criticizing Exxon's response to the spill, describing their response as a classic management case study of how not to response to a catastrophe. In light of the TVA's flawed response to the ash spill, in years to come their failure will certainly be viewed as yet another textbook case of how not to respond to crisis.
The Agency's response has been more than simply flawed. The TVA's tactical response to the disaster has been to manufacture doubt and uncertainty to keep the public confused and avoid environmental compliance and accountability. Their ability to pursue this strategy calls into question the regulatory powers of state and federal agencies.
As a result of this kind of an approach, their credibility has been severely questioned by many and some would argue that in weeks and months that followed the agency has squandered whatever credibility they had left.
The question remains if the TVA can recover their credibility and actually be perceived as having eventually taken the necessary steps to repair the damage to both the affected families and the environment. Even though the TVA appears to have, somewhat reluctantly, taken some modest steps in recent months the jury is still out on whether they will be able to restore their image and whether or not they have truly reformed or are merely undertaking yet another public relations campaign to repair their image and avoid transparency.
From the beginning they appeared to down play the event. In the first early hours in the media and on their websites they referred to the disaster as an "ash slide". Their early statements also underestimated the damage considerably by reporting that an estimated 1.8 million cubic yards of coal ash was spilled but they were later forced to issue a correction when radar analysis revealed the amount to be 5.4 cubic million yards.
Tom Kilgore, TVA CEO referred to the disaster as an "inconvenience" and TVA Senior Vice President for Environmental Policy, Anda Ray, astonishingly refused to call the spill an environmental disaster since in her mind coal waste is "inert". Instead, she described the event as "a challenging event to restore the community back to normalcy"
The efforts to downplay the disaster continued as Tom Kilgore prematurely declared the situation as "safe". In his statement he said, "chemicals in the ash spill are of concern, but the situation is probably safe." A statement made long before there was as any scientific evidence to support such a claim. Then Gilbert Francis Jr. an agency spokesperson made a statement to the press saying that ash spill materials "do contain some heavy metals within it, but it is not toxic or anything." These statements are ironic in light of a later internal report that would criticize the TVA for having "relegated [ash] to the status of garbage at a landfill rather than treating it as a potential hazard to the public and the environment."
Journalists, environmentalists, public health specialists and independent scientists wondered how the TVA could make such assertions when extensive scientific studies had not yet to been conducted. Whether or not there was imminent harm to public health or the environment seemed in some people's minds to be an open question that required more extensive investigation rather than hasty pronouncements.
In the wake of most disasters there often is an "informational vacuum" and research demonstrates that too often responsible parties hastily attempt to fill this vacuum with incomplete or misinformation before all the information and research is readily available to fully inform the public.
These initial missteps cascaded into a series of missteps or calculated manuvers. To some observers it soon began to appear that the TVA either didn't comprehend the severity of the event or was trying desperately to deny its severity and downplay it. In the coming weeks and months the TVA's handling of the event seemed in the eyes of some, if not many, to swing wildly out of control. The question in some minds was "how could an agency as large, as powerful, as the TVA falter again and again and appear to take such a reckless approach.
In addition to the false start described above, many of the TVA's responses called in to question "who was in charge?" As well as why the agency seemed to have so much difficulty in recovering. Among many of the missteps too numerous to mention were:
Richard Moore, the TVA's Inspector General, recently testified before the United States House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In his statements he recounts some of his earlier findings on the failure of the TVA in responding to the ash spill disaster and outlines current attempts by the TVA to remedy their failures. Moore believes the TVA is "marching in the right direction based on actions implemented and/or initiated to-date." Although, he does caution: "it is too early to determine whether these will be sufficient to overcome a legacy of culture resistant to change."
What worries me is that many decades of disaster research clearly demonstrate that in the wake of disasters, many lessons are learned, but seldom if ever are they implemented, even when corporations or government announce their attention to do so.
One thing is clear. The remedy to the TVA's mishandling of the disaster requires more than a restructuring of management. If significant changes within the TVA corporate culture are to succeed, there must be recognition that even though science and technology are integral to responding to environmental disasters (which in this case seems to be the camouflage under which the TVA is hiding), research has demonstrated that the instinct to rely solely on an 'engineering fix' does not work. The TVA must recognize that the sociocultural issues within the agency and the affected communities cannot be ignored if they are to respond effectively to disasters and prevent them from happening in the future.
More importantly, given the TVA's careless response to the ash spill disaster and its poor environmental record across the board (See the Environmental Integrity Project's scathing report) it has become increasingly obvious that aside from a major sea change within it's organizational structure the TVA must held more accountable to the EPA and Congressional oversight and be denied its unique status as a "federal" agency which shields it from being held more accountable. In short, it is time to redress the asymmetrical power relationship between an environmental polluter like the TVA and the federal agencies that are mandated to protect the environment and the public's health.
Gregory V. Button, PhD is a faculty member at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville who has been researching disasters for over three decades. He is currently writing a book about the TVA Ash Spill titled, "When Ashes Flowed Like Water". He can be contacted at gregoryvbutton@mac.com.
By GREGORY BUTTON
CounterPunch
Nearly a year ago on Monday, December 22, 2009, at the Kingston fossil fuel plant in Eastern Tennessee, a fly ash impoundment collapsed and within minutes released 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic fly ash into the Emory River and over 300 acres of land. The spill damaged numerous homes, destroyed a portion of a rail line and covered a portion of a highway. Fortunately there were no fatalities, but the lives of hundreds of nearby residents were severely altered, some forever, by one of the worst in environmental disaster in our nation's history. The TVA estimates that it will cost rate- payers more than one billion dollars for the clean-up effort.
Equally troubling is the TVA's inept response to the disaster. A response so reckless it will undoubtedly be recorded in the annals of disaster history as what not to do in the wake of calamity. In the aftermath of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill (1989) there appeared a number of case studies criticizing Exxon's response to the spill, describing their response as a classic management case study of how not to response to a catastrophe. In light of the TVA's flawed response to the ash spill, in years to come their failure will certainly be viewed as yet another textbook case of how not to respond to crisis.
The Agency's response has been more than simply flawed. The TVA's tactical response to the disaster has been to manufacture doubt and uncertainty to keep the public confused and avoid environmental compliance and accountability. Their ability to pursue this strategy calls into question the regulatory powers of state and federal agencies.
As a result of this kind of an approach, their credibility has been severely questioned by many and some would argue that in weeks and months that followed the agency has squandered whatever credibility they had left.
The question remains if the TVA can recover their credibility and actually be perceived as having eventually taken the necessary steps to repair the damage to both the affected families and the environment. Even though the TVA appears to have, somewhat reluctantly, taken some modest steps in recent months the jury is still out on whether they will be able to restore their image and whether or not they have truly reformed or are merely undertaking yet another public relations campaign to repair their image and avoid transparency.
From the beginning they appeared to down play the event. In the first early hours in the media and on their websites they referred to the disaster as an "ash slide". Their early statements also underestimated the damage considerably by reporting that an estimated 1.8 million cubic yards of coal ash was spilled but they were later forced to issue a correction when radar analysis revealed the amount to be 5.4 cubic million yards.
Tom Kilgore, TVA CEO referred to the disaster as an "inconvenience" and TVA Senior Vice President for Environmental Policy, Anda Ray, astonishingly refused to call the spill an environmental disaster since in her mind coal waste is "inert". Instead, she described the event as "a challenging event to restore the community back to normalcy"
The efforts to downplay the disaster continued as Tom Kilgore prematurely declared the situation as "safe". In his statement he said, "chemicals in the ash spill are of concern, but the situation is probably safe." A statement made long before there was as any scientific evidence to support such a claim. Then Gilbert Francis Jr. an agency spokesperson made a statement to the press saying that ash spill materials "do contain some heavy metals within it, but it is not toxic or anything." These statements are ironic in light of a later internal report that would criticize the TVA for having "relegated [ash] to the status of garbage at a landfill rather than treating it as a potential hazard to the public and the environment."
Journalists, environmentalists, public health specialists and independent scientists wondered how the TVA could make such assertions when extensive scientific studies had not yet to been conducted. Whether or not there was imminent harm to public health or the environment seemed in some people's minds to be an open question that required more extensive investigation rather than hasty pronouncements.
In the wake of most disasters there often is an "informational vacuum" and research demonstrates that too often responsible parties hastily attempt to fill this vacuum with incomplete or misinformation before all the information and research is readily available to fully inform the public.
These initial missteps cascaded into a series of missteps or calculated manuvers. To some observers it soon began to appear that the TVA either didn't comprehend the severity of the event or was trying desperately to deny its severity and downplay it. In the coming weeks and months the TVA's handling of the event seemed in the eyes of some, if not many, to swing wildly out of control. The question in some minds was "how could an agency as large, as powerful, as the TVA falter again and again and appear to take such a reckless approach.
In addition to the false start described above, many of the TVA's responses called in to question "who was in charge?" As well as why the agency seemed to have so much difficulty in recovering. Among many of the missteps too numerous to mention were:
* To the shock of many, the TVA did not implement a National Incident Management System in accordance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5. The failure of which severely hampered emergency response communications with county, state and federal agency. In light of our nation's national disaster response to 9/11 and all the implemented in response to this national tragedy it was shocking and disturbing to many that an agency the size of the TVA, was not prepared to interactive with a system so vital to our nation's security. The idea that an agency with had so many major dams, fossil fuel plants, and nuclear facilities was unprepared to communicate and interact with NIMS was startling to seasoned disaster responders.
* Uncertainties, doubts, and concern increased in many peoples' mind when independent researchers began reporting test results that conflicted with the TVA's test results. Doubt and concern increased when the TVA severely restricted access to the afflicted area and prevented independent testing. Whether or not the move was surreptitious, it appeared to be so in the eyes of many. As the disparity in the risk evaluations grew and residents learned more about the potential health risks, concerns about health increased, as did concerns about long-term harm to the environment. One resident affected by the spill stated, "The TVA tends to dance around the issue and not tell you direct answers. Another resident, who attended the TVA's public meetings argued, "The TVA will sand bag you with tons of irrelevant data but will not answer your questions."
* The TVA's credibility was further eroded when an internal memo prepared by the agency's public relations staff, labeled, "risk assessment talking points" was leaked to inadvertently emailed to the Associated Press. The memo stated that the coal ash spill was best described as a "sudden accidental release" rather than "catastrophic." The memo further advised that to remove from any future statements the word, "risk to public health and risk to the environment" as the reason for monitoring water quality. A discussion of fly ash was revised to note that it consists of "inert" materials and is not harmful to the environment." Suspicions about the TVA's statements grew in the minds of some journalists as well as the families affected by the spill. As an internal TVA report would later state, "repeated efforts by the media to learn anything about the TVA's culpability were met with artful dodges" thereby confirming earlier suspicions about the TVA's motives.
* Doubts and suspicions were galvanized in some minds when in the summer of 2009 the TVA's inspector general released a report that claimed that the TVA had ignored several decades of warnings that could have prevented the tragedy from occurring.
* The report went on to assert that the TVA made a conscious effort to suppress certain facts. In commenting on the TVA's failure to investigate and report management practices that contributed to the spill the IG's report states: " the fact that the TVA would not review management practices may have contributed to the failure, but would instead tightly circumscribe the scope of the review to intentionally avoid revealing any evidence that would suggest culpability on the part of the TVA: "In fact, it would appear that TVA management made a conscious decision to present to the public only facts that supported an absence of liability for TVA for the Kingston spill".
* The report continues by exploring the issue further and stating that the agency's dilemma appears to have been accountability versus litigation. The IG's report suggests that one the one hand the TVA could have conducted a "diligent" review of TVA management practices and a technical examination of the failed impoundment structure and release their findings to the public or decide on a second choice which the report characterizes as to "circle the wagons" by only publishing favorable press releases and "attempt to minimize its legal liability." Both choices, the report argues are value judgments. While the inspector general's office does not have definitive information about how the decision was made the report suggests it would appear the TVA made the latter choice. If true, this is indeed unfortunate since, aside from the public's right to know, research demonstrates that the lack of transparency in the wake of disasters creates undo uncertainty and anxiety in the minds of those most affected by the tragedy. Decisions like this underscore the fact that it is not always science the drives decision-making process in the wake of disasters but rather politics and the culture of organizations.
* Finally, just this month the Environmental Integrity Project has just released new data, which in their words "paints an even grimmer picture of the coal ash disaster. Based on reports filed with the Environmental Protection Agency by the TVA, the ash spill "dumped an estimated 140,000 pounds of arsenic into the Emory River-more than twice the reported amount discharged in U.S. waterways from all power plants in 2007."
* The Toxics Release Inventory filed by TVA with the EPA also reports that other toxic pollutants, such as vanadium, chromium, lead, manganese, and nickel were deposited in the river at levels higher than twice the amount of reported amounts discharged in 2007 by all U.S. power plants into U.S. waterways. Not only is the shear amount of these toxic pollutants disturbing and troublesome, but also the fact that while the TVA reported these discharges, at some point in time, to the EPA, they failed to be transparent and report the same facts to the general public. Why did it take a report issued by an independent organization to make these amounts and their potential consequences known to the general public? Why has the TVA itself failed to do so? As we await the agency's response to these findings one cannot help but wonder if the TVA in its denial is not about to generate another media spin designed to create uncertainty.
Richard Moore, the TVA's Inspector General, recently testified before the United States House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In his statements he recounts some of his earlier findings on the failure of the TVA in responding to the ash spill disaster and outlines current attempts by the TVA to remedy their failures. Moore believes the TVA is "marching in the right direction based on actions implemented and/or initiated to-date." Although, he does caution: "it is too early to determine whether these will be sufficient to overcome a legacy of culture resistant to change."
What worries me is that many decades of disaster research clearly demonstrate that in the wake of disasters, many lessons are learned, but seldom if ever are they implemented, even when corporations or government announce their attention to do so.
One thing is clear. The remedy to the TVA's mishandling of the disaster requires more than a restructuring of management. If significant changes within the TVA corporate culture are to succeed, there must be recognition that even though science and technology are integral to responding to environmental disasters (which in this case seems to be the camouflage under which the TVA is hiding), research has demonstrated that the instinct to rely solely on an 'engineering fix' does not work. The TVA must recognize that the sociocultural issues within the agency and the affected communities cannot be ignored if they are to respond effectively to disasters and prevent them from happening in the future.
More importantly, given the TVA's careless response to the ash spill disaster and its poor environmental record across the board (See the Environmental Integrity Project's scathing report) it has become increasingly obvious that aside from a major sea change within it's organizational structure the TVA must held more accountable to the EPA and Congressional oversight and be denied its unique status as a "federal" agency which shields it from being held more accountable. In short, it is time to redress the asymmetrical power relationship between an environmental polluter like the TVA and the federal agencies that are mandated to protect the environment and the public's health.
Gregory V. Button, PhD is a faculty member at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville who has been researching disasters for over three decades. He is currently writing a book about the TVA Ash Spill titled, "When Ashes Flowed Like Water". He can be contacted at gregoryvbutton@mac.com.
12/15/09
Fuerte impulso a la agricultura familiar entre compromisos de Evo Morales en Bolivia
Comer lo nuestro
Ecoportal
Así lo comentó en entrevista con Radio Mundo Real, Miguel Lora, desde La Paz. Miguel es columnista del sitio Bolpress y además integra el equipo de comunicación del Viceministerio de Tierras de Bolivia.
El próximo domingo 6 de diciembre se realizarán las elecciones en Bolivia donde el Movimiento al Socialismo buscará relegitimar la presidencia de Evo Morales en el período 2010-2015. En los últimos días se han sucedido actos de cierre de campaña en varias regiones de Bolivia. Los sondeos le otorgan a Evo una ventaja de cerca del 30 puntos respecto a las opciones de derecha.
Actualmente el trigo con que se elabora el pan boliviano es enteramente extranjero, procedente incluso por vía de “donación” de los Estados Unidos, dice Miguel, quien afirma que la incógnita es por qué margen será reelecto Morales.
“En esta segunda administración nosotros vamos a cultivar nuestros alimentos que son infinitamente más sanos y nutritivos que los alimentos industriales importados”, señala Lora recordando el compromiso de Evo.
Derecha sin discurso
Miguel analiza asimismo la importancia de la elección boliviana en el contexto latinoamericano donde en estos dias se sucedieron elecciones en Honduras bajo dictadura y en Uruguay con la consolidación de la izquierda en el gobierno tras el triunfo del Frente Amplio.
Desde su lectura personal Lora afirma que la derecha en Bolivia ha quedado sin discurso político o social lo que la deja “sin ninguna chance de forjar siquiera una segunda vuelta electoral”.
Ecoportal
Entre los compromisos asumidos por el presidente boliviano Evo Morales para su futuro período de gobierno se encuentra terminar con la fuerte dependencia de productos importados para la conformación de la canasta alimentaria de sus compatriotas.
Así lo comentó en entrevista con Radio Mundo Real, Miguel Lora, desde La Paz. Miguel es columnista del sitio Bolpress y además integra el equipo de comunicación del Viceministerio de Tierras de Bolivia.
El próximo domingo 6 de diciembre se realizarán las elecciones en Bolivia donde el Movimiento al Socialismo buscará relegitimar la presidencia de Evo Morales en el período 2010-2015. En los últimos días se han sucedido actos de cierre de campaña en varias regiones de Bolivia. Los sondeos le otorgan a Evo una ventaja de cerca del 30 puntos respecto a las opciones de derecha.
Actualmente el trigo con que se elabora el pan boliviano es enteramente extranjero, procedente incluso por vía de “donación” de los Estados Unidos, dice Miguel, quien afirma que la incógnita es por qué margen será reelecto Morales.
“En esta segunda administración nosotros vamos a cultivar nuestros alimentos que son infinitamente más sanos y nutritivos que los alimentos industriales importados”, señala Lora recordando el compromiso de Evo.
Derecha sin discurso
Miguel analiza asimismo la importancia de la elección boliviana en el contexto latinoamericano donde en estos dias se sucedieron elecciones en Honduras bajo dictadura y en Uruguay con la consolidación de la izquierda en el gobierno tras el triunfo del Frente Amplio.
Desde su lectura personal Lora afirma que la derecha en Bolivia ha quedado sin discurso político o social lo que la deja “sin ninguna chance de forjar siquiera una segunda vuelta electoral”.
Attacks Against the Triquis Escalate
Violence from PRI UBISORT Becomes Chronic
By Nancy Davies
Narco News
Commentary from Oaxaca
Last November 28 in the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala three acts of aggression occurred. Two of them were mentioned in Narconews: While the so-called Union for the Social Well-being of the Triqui Region (UBISORT in its Spanish initials), an organization firmly linked to the PRI, was blocking the only entrance to the township, other armed groups ascended the surrounding hills and began to shoot indiscriminately at the population. The immediate outcome of the aggressions was one dead nine year old, two other kids wounded, suspension of classes in the schools, and the closing of the Monday market which the town had been able to re-open only after years of effort. The town lives with anxiety: children won’t leave their houses, men leave hidden in trucks, and women who want to abandon the region don’t do so because it’s too risky; they say their fellow townspeople will regard them as cowards, or worse, as traitors.
The circle around the San Juan Copala autonomous municipality was both political and military. The third aggression is a campaign of disinformation. Some press accounts, without visiting the region, asserted that the autonomous municipality had been dismantled. One of the reports claimed that members of the Movement for Triqui Unification and Struggle (MULT, in its Spanish initials), descended from the hills shooting more than 500 rounds from AK-47s, weapons for exclusive use by the army. That the autonomous municipality, founded in 2006 in response to the teachers-APPO popular social movement, was ending. That the townspeople unanimously came together to celebrate the end of autonomy and furthermore, elected a constitutional authority. That the new authority named was none other than Anastasio Juárez Hernández, a migrant who lives in the state of Querétaro, brother of Rufino, the operator from UBISORT working with the state government.
Two days later, when the municipal authority had cleared up the facts — the authorities remained in their offices, there had been no election of anybody and that what really happened was an external aggression — some daily papers still insisted that the autonomous municipality had been dismantled. MULT denied the version issued by San Juan Copala which insisted that MULT had participated in a military aggression, but anyway the papers did not print it. Nothing was reported regarding the dead child, nor the wounded, nor the state of alarm among the people. Only Las Noticias, the only statewide left-sympathetic Oaxaca newspaper, followed the facts as they became available.
On December 9 UBISORT members kidnapped from San Juan Copala the wife and four minor children of Jordán González Ramírez, a sympathizer of the autonomous municipality who maybe killed a man last Tuesday. The UBISORT group claims Jordán González shot Pablo Bautista Ramirez in response to Bautista’s attacks against the home of González. Whether or not that is true, armed PRIistas installed blockades around the town to avoid any exit or entrance. The town president José Ramirez Flores explained that a group of UBISORT militants, identified by name by Jordán Gonzalez´ mother, entered his home at five A.M.. They kidnapped his wife and children. Later they demanded that the family pay 50,000 pesos within twenty-four hours, or they would murder one of the children.
On December 10 UBISORT placed the corpse of Pablo Bautista Ramirez on the desk of town president José Ramirez Flores. Dozens of heavily armed UBISORT militants had taken over the municipal palace, holding at bay the Independent Movement for Triqui Unification and Struggle, (in its Spanish initials MULT-I, to be distinguished from MULT), to which most of San Juan Copala’s population belong. UBISORT’s initial goal was to depose José Ramirez Flores and impose as new president Anastasio Juarez Hernandez.
Wait a minute, didn’t I just say that was a lie? The lie was reported and then it became true? Did some reporter spill the beans ahead of the appointed time?
Well, the door to the municipal palace was forced open by UBISORT militants, and their group brought along the corpse. At that time, the president issued a bulletin stating that the murder of Pablo Bautista had been an act of self-defense because Pablo Bautista had several times shot at the home of Jordán González. José Ramirez added that Bautista died on the road, traveling toward a hospital. President Ramirez recounted the events leading up to the palace take-over, and concluded by saying that the town authorities were willing to investigate whatever charges the family of Pablo Bautista brought; that in no moment had they concealed facts of that sort; during three years of autonomy they had demonstrated their ability to resolve cases through dialogue between accusers and accused, and then turn the results over to the proper authorities. The town president concluded by saying they would hold responsible the state government and its political operator UBISORT for any death among the kidnapped family and any future deaths among the Triqui population.
Thus inhabitants of the town are very clear about who’s hitting on it, and say so. What seems inexplicable is the viciousness of shooting against unarmed townspeople, murdering a child, and then kidnapping an entire family, while at the same time the media carry on a statewide campaign to discredit San Juan Copala.
Clearly state PRI controlled political groups are behind the aggression, that’s obvious. Why? There’s more involved than confrontation between organizations operating in the same region. More than two years ago, I was told by a Triqui authority that they refused entry and recognition to any groups, seeking a more or less peaceful town. A week ago I was told by a Triqui man (who lives safely in Oaxaca) that Triquis have the custom of taking vengeance like Hatfields and McCoys,holding grudges for generations. I don’t believe that. I think it’s promoted, and now more than ever.
One answer to the aggression could lie with the upcoming gubernatorial election in July 2010. Not only the Triquis have been attacked. Leonardo Clemente Cruz, an indígenous Chinanteco who was kidnapped on November 24, was found dead. But it’s not very logical to think the government commits acts of destabilization unless they can blame others. Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador has just published a four part series describing his tour through Oaxaca (http://www.amlo.org.mx/) —and it’s all peace and praise. Another explanation was put forward by the township of San Juan Copala itself. President José Ramirez Flores believes the kidnapping of the five persons constitutes another act of provocation, like shooting the children. Generating violence, he claims, would justify militarization of the autonomous municipality and its communities.
Asking for the intervention of the Army – have we heard that before? Non-Mexicans may not know that the Triquis suffered this measure long before 2006, during the seventies and eighties. Like Oaxaca residents in 2006, they know what army occupation entails.
From a broader perspective, one could point out that the aggression is not just against Triqui autonomy, but against all who struggle for autonomy, in Oaxaca regions as well as in Chiapas. As Francisco López Bárcenas wrote in La Jornada on December 11[1],
“Something is happening.” Lopez Barcenas says that we don’t yet know what that “something” is, but surely in days to come we will be its witnesses. “Meanwhile, the life of the people is changing like in times of war, the Triquis say, and surely other people (say so) too.”
What I say, is that Mexico is well on its way to being militarized.
[1] much of this material is thanks to “La guerra contra los triquis” La Jornada, December 11, 2009, Francisco López Bárcenas
By Nancy Davies
Narco News
Commentary from Oaxaca
Last November 28 in the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala three acts of aggression occurred. Two of them were mentioned in Narconews: While the so-called Union for the Social Well-being of the Triqui Region (UBISORT in its Spanish initials), an organization firmly linked to the PRI, was blocking the only entrance to the township, other armed groups ascended the surrounding hills and began to shoot indiscriminately at the population. The immediate outcome of the aggressions was one dead nine year old, two other kids wounded, suspension of classes in the schools, and the closing of the Monday market which the town had been able to re-open only after years of effort. The town lives with anxiety: children won’t leave their houses, men leave hidden in trucks, and women who want to abandon the region don’t do so because it’s too risky; they say their fellow townspeople will regard them as cowards, or worse, as traitors.
The circle around the San Juan Copala autonomous municipality was both political and military. The third aggression is a campaign of disinformation. Some press accounts, without visiting the region, asserted that the autonomous municipality had been dismantled. One of the reports claimed that members of the Movement for Triqui Unification and Struggle (MULT, in its Spanish initials), descended from the hills shooting more than 500 rounds from AK-47s, weapons for exclusive use by the army. That the autonomous municipality, founded in 2006 in response to the teachers-APPO popular social movement, was ending. That the townspeople unanimously came together to celebrate the end of autonomy and furthermore, elected a constitutional authority. That the new authority named was none other than Anastasio Juárez Hernández, a migrant who lives in the state of Querétaro, brother of Rufino, the operator from UBISORT working with the state government.
Two days later, when the municipal authority had cleared up the facts — the authorities remained in their offices, there had been no election of anybody and that what really happened was an external aggression — some daily papers still insisted that the autonomous municipality had been dismantled. MULT denied the version issued by San Juan Copala which insisted that MULT had participated in a military aggression, but anyway the papers did not print it. Nothing was reported regarding the dead child, nor the wounded, nor the state of alarm among the people. Only Las Noticias, the only statewide left-sympathetic Oaxaca newspaper, followed the facts as they became available.
On December 9 UBISORT members kidnapped from San Juan Copala the wife and four minor children of Jordán González Ramírez, a sympathizer of the autonomous municipality who maybe killed a man last Tuesday. The UBISORT group claims Jordán González shot Pablo Bautista Ramirez in response to Bautista’s attacks against the home of González. Whether or not that is true, armed PRIistas installed blockades around the town to avoid any exit or entrance. The town president José Ramirez Flores explained that a group of UBISORT militants, identified by name by Jordán Gonzalez´ mother, entered his home at five A.M.. They kidnapped his wife and children. Later they demanded that the family pay 50,000 pesos within twenty-four hours, or they would murder one of the children.
On December 10 UBISORT placed the corpse of Pablo Bautista Ramirez on the desk of town president José Ramirez Flores. Dozens of heavily armed UBISORT militants had taken over the municipal palace, holding at bay the Independent Movement for Triqui Unification and Struggle, (in its Spanish initials MULT-I, to be distinguished from MULT), to which most of San Juan Copala’s population belong. UBISORT’s initial goal was to depose José Ramirez Flores and impose as new president Anastasio Juarez Hernandez.
Wait a minute, didn’t I just say that was a lie? The lie was reported and then it became true? Did some reporter spill the beans ahead of the appointed time?
Well, the door to the municipal palace was forced open by UBISORT militants, and their group brought along the corpse. At that time, the president issued a bulletin stating that the murder of Pablo Bautista had been an act of self-defense because Pablo Bautista had several times shot at the home of Jordán González. José Ramirez added that Bautista died on the road, traveling toward a hospital. President Ramirez recounted the events leading up to the palace take-over, and concluded by saying that the town authorities were willing to investigate whatever charges the family of Pablo Bautista brought; that in no moment had they concealed facts of that sort; during three years of autonomy they had demonstrated their ability to resolve cases through dialogue between accusers and accused, and then turn the results over to the proper authorities. The town president concluded by saying they would hold responsible the state government and its political operator UBISORT for any death among the kidnapped family and any future deaths among the Triqui population.
Thus inhabitants of the town are very clear about who’s hitting on it, and say so. What seems inexplicable is the viciousness of shooting against unarmed townspeople, murdering a child, and then kidnapping an entire family, while at the same time the media carry on a statewide campaign to discredit San Juan Copala.
Clearly state PRI controlled political groups are behind the aggression, that’s obvious. Why? There’s more involved than confrontation between organizations operating in the same region. More than two years ago, I was told by a Triqui authority that they refused entry and recognition to any groups, seeking a more or less peaceful town. A week ago I was told by a Triqui man (who lives safely in Oaxaca) that Triquis have the custom of taking vengeance like Hatfields and McCoys,holding grudges for generations. I don’t believe that. I think it’s promoted, and now more than ever.
One answer to the aggression could lie with the upcoming gubernatorial election in July 2010. Not only the Triquis have been attacked. Leonardo Clemente Cruz, an indígenous Chinanteco who was kidnapped on November 24, was found dead. But it’s not very logical to think the government commits acts of destabilization unless they can blame others. Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador has just published a four part series describing his tour through Oaxaca (http://www.amlo.org.mx/) —and it’s all peace and praise. Another explanation was put forward by the township of San Juan Copala itself. President José Ramirez Flores believes the kidnapping of the five persons constitutes another act of provocation, like shooting the children. Generating violence, he claims, would justify militarization of the autonomous municipality and its communities.
Asking for the intervention of the Army – have we heard that before? Non-Mexicans may not know that the Triquis suffered this measure long before 2006, during the seventies and eighties. Like Oaxaca residents in 2006, they know what army occupation entails.
From a broader perspective, one could point out that the aggression is not just against Triqui autonomy, but against all who struggle for autonomy, in Oaxaca regions as well as in Chiapas. As Francisco López Bárcenas wrote in La Jornada on December 11[1],
“Something is happening.” Lopez Barcenas says that we don’t yet know what that “something” is, but surely in days to come we will be its witnesses. “Meanwhile, the life of the people is changing like in times of war, the Triquis say, and surely other people (say so) too.”
What I say, is that Mexico is well on its way to being militarized.
[1] much of this material is thanks to “La guerra contra los triquis” La Jornada, December 11, 2009, Francisco López Bárcenas
¿Cómo es posible la esclavitud en el siglo XXI?
La Jiribilla
La Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos establece en su artículo 4: “nadie estará sometido a esclavitud ni a servidumbre; la esclavitud y la trata de esclavos están prohibidas en todas sus formas”.
Sin embargo, y aunque ha sido abolida de manera oficial por los estados y gobiernos, en el mundo actual permanecen en régimen de esclavitud más de 27 millones de personas, una gran parte de ellas niños y mujeres, pertenecientes a los grupos sociales más vulnerables.
Existen esclavos en todos los continentes, pero África y Asia son los más afectados. Formas de servidumbres como la esclavitud por deuda, el tráfico humano, la esclavitud doméstica, la explotación sexual, la prostitución forzosa, el trabajo infantil, la venta de niños, los matrimonios forzosos o ventas de mujeres y la permanencia de ciertas modalidades de mendicidad figuran entre las maneras bajo las que se configura hoy día este imperdonable crimen de lesa humanidad.
Desde la década del setenta la prohibición de la esclavitud es considerada una obligación en Derecho Internacional y existen múltiples declaraciones de organismos internacionales que condenan su existencia. No obstante, ello no ha podido frenar un proceso que parte de la desigualdad e injusticia del sistema vigente en el mundo, de los conceptos con que se articula el poder y de la tolerancia con que se acoge el fenómeno.
Si en los tiempos antiguos la manera de establecer la propiedad de un ser humano por otro se realizaba a través de la compraventa en mercados públicos, ahora el ejercicio de la propiedad se realiza a través del control sobre las víctimas utilizando la amenaza, la violencia u otro tipo de coacciones tanto físicas como morales. Los propietarios disponen de manera absoluta de una persona sin que medie un documento de propiedad.
El Foro Interactivo Esclavitud en el siglo XXI: ¿Cómo es posible? —convocado por el Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, el sitio digital La Ventana, de Casa de las Américas y la revista La Jiribilla—, es una alternativa de comunicación en busca de confrontar respuestas que ayuden a visibilizar el problema de la esclavitud humana en su dimensión global. A través de la relación virtual entre intelectuales, cineastas, creadores, especialistas, periodistas, representantes de organizaciones no gubernamentales e internautas de todo el mundo, pudieran encontrarse nuevas estrategias que contribuyan tanto a visibilizar el fenómeno como para pensar el margen de sus soluciones.
La Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos establece en su artículo 4: “nadie estará sometido a esclavitud ni a servidumbre; la esclavitud y la trata de esclavos están prohibidas en todas sus formas”.
Sin embargo, y aunque ha sido abolida de manera oficial por los estados y gobiernos, en el mundo actual permanecen en régimen de esclavitud más de 27 millones de personas, una gran parte de ellas niños y mujeres, pertenecientes a los grupos sociales más vulnerables.
Existen esclavos en todos los continentes, pero África y Asia son los más afectados. Formas de servidumbres como la esclavitud por deuda, el tráfico humano, la esclavitud doméstica, la explotación sexual, la prostitución forzosa, el trabajo infantil, la venta de niños, los matrimonios forzosos o ventas de mujeres y la permanencia de ciertas modalidades de mendicidad figuran entre las maneras bajo las que se configura hoy día este imperdonable crimen de lesa humanidad.
Desde la década del setenta la prohibición de la esclavitud es considerada una obligación en Derecho Internacional y existen múltiples declaraciones de organismos internacionales que condenan su existencia. No obstante, ello no ha podido frenar un proceso que parte de la desigualdad e injusticia del sistema vigente en el mundo, de los conceptos con que se articula el poder y de la tolerancia con que se acoge el fenómeno.
Si en los tiempos antiguos la manera de establecer la propiedad de un ser humano por otro se realizaba a través de la compraventa en mercados públicos, ahora el ejercicio de la propiedad se realiza a través del control sobre las víctimas utilizando la amenaza, la violencia u otro tipo de coacciones tanto físicas como morales. Los propietarios disponen de manera absoluta de una persona sin que medie un documento de propiedad.
El Foro Interactivo Esclavitud en el siglo XXI: ¿Cómo es posible? —convocado por el Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, el sitio digital La Ventana, de Casa de las Américas y la revista La Jiribilla—, es una alternativa de comunicación en busca de confrontar respuestas que ayuden a visibilizar el problema de la esclavitud humana en su dimensión global. A través de la relación virtual entre intelectuales, cineastas, creadores, especialistas, periodistas, representantes de organizaciones no gubernamentales e internautas de todo el mundo, pudieran encontrarse nuevas estrategias que contribuyan tanto a visibilizar el fenómeno como para pensar el margen de sus soluciones.
Crow Creek Leader Begins Protest
By Austin Kaus
The Daily Republic
FORT THOMPSON — The chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe says he will take whatever peaceful action he can to reverse a land auction that involved disputed tribal land.
Brandon Sazue this week vowed to set up teepees on the land, where he will live, fast and pray until the disagreement — involving some 7,100 acres on the Crow Creek Reservation — is settled.
“I am the chairman of my tribe. I’m not going to just sit back and not do anything,” Sazue told The Daily Republic. “I’ve got to do something.”
Sazue’s response comes after the IRS last week auctioned the land to pay off more than $3 million in back taxes, penalties and interests. The tribe has sued to block the sale, saying the sale was illegal under federal laws protecting American Indian land.
Although U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange allowed the sale to proceed, a March trial was set to hear arguments.
Sazue said his protest hasn’t exactly gone to plan. At present, he’s residing in a trailer on the land and won’t move to a teepee or fast until the tent arrives.
He has, however, braved frigid temperatures since Monday, surviving on the food and support provided to him by a steady stream of visitors.
According to a news release from the tribe, a representative from the tribal council was told in 2002 that the tribe did not owe any back taxes. The sale sets a dangerous precedent, Sazue said Thursday, and he’s hoping members from other various tribes will eventually join him at the protest site.
“It’s hurt us tremendously,” Sazue said. “If they can do it to us, what would stop them from doing it to them?”
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin expressed concern Thursday about the methods and the reasoning behind the IRS’ decision-making process on the issue.
“They have not used this kind of authority much in the past and we’re concerned about the precedent that it sets,” Herseth Sandlin said. “We are raising questions about their authority to do so.”
She said she will look into the matter.
Until the dispute is resolved, Sazue said he will continue his protest on land near Mac’s Corner, about 12 miles north of Fort Thompson.
“I don’t care what the IRS says. It’s not for sale and it never will be,” Sazue said. “I could stay here forever.”
The Daily Republic
The chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe says he will take whatever peaceful action he can to reverse a land auction that involved disputed tribal land. Brandon Sazue this week vowed to set up teepees on the land, where he will live, fast and pray until the disagreement — involving some 7,100 acres on the Crow Creek Reservation — is settled.
FORT THOMPSON — The chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe says he will take whatever peaceful action he can to reverse a land auction that involved disputed tribal land.
Brandon Sazue this week vowed to set up teepees on the land, where he will live, fast and pray until the disagreement — involving some 7,100 acres on the Crow Creek Reservation — is settled.
“I am the chairman of my tribe. I’m not going to just sit back and not do anything,” Sazue told The Daily Republic. “I’ve got to do something.”
Sazue’s response comes after the IRS last week auctioned the land to pay off more than $3 million in back taxes, penalties and interests. The tribe has sued to block the sale, saying the sale was illegal under federal laws protecting American Indian land.
Although U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange allowed the sale to proceed, a March trial was set to hear arguments.
Sazue said his protest hasn’t exactly gone to plan. At present, he’s residing in a trailer on the land and won’t move to a teepee or fast until the tent arrives.
He has, however, braved frigid temperatures since Monday, surviving on the food and support provided to him by a steady stream of visitors.
According to a news release from the tribe, a representative from the tribal council was told in 2002 that the tribe did not owe any back taxes. The sale sets a dangerous precedent, Sazue said Thursday, and he’s hoping members from other various tribes will eventually join him at the protest site.
“It’s hurt us tremendously,” Sazue said. “If they can do it to us, what would stop them from doing it to them?”
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin expressed concern Thursday about the methods and the reasoning behind the IRS’ decision-making process on the issue.
“They have not used this kind of authority much in the past and we’re concerned about the precedent that it sets,” Herseth Sandlin said. “We are raising questions about their authority to do so.”
She said she will look into the matter.
Until the dispute is resolved, Sazue said he will continue his protest on land near Mac’s Corner, about 12 miles north of Fort Thompson.
“I don’t care what the IRS says. It’s not for sale and it never will be,” Sazue said. “I could stay here forever.”
El triunfo de un pueblo organizado. Tinogasta le dijo no a sus verdugos
Ecoportal
Una vez más el pueblo de Tinogasta con la férrea convicción de la defensa de la vida y sus recursos, dio una clara señal de que la ambición de gobernantes, empresas transnacionales y la ignorancia de un minúsculo grupo de traidores... con el pueblo de Tinogasta.. ¡¡No podrán!! .. en esta bella y bendita tierra ¡¡No pasarán!!
Cerca de las 18 hs. del 24 de noviembre de 2.009 la camioneta patente GAZ 727 en cuya puerta se lee Proyecto Río Colorado en la que viajaban Carlos Buslaiman y cuatro jóvenes pagados por la empresa minera, ingresó al paraje La Higuerita manifestando una evidente provocación a las personas que estaban montando guardia en el campamento. De acuerdo a lo acordado y por "suerte" contando con señal de telefonía celular, inmediatamente se dio aviso a los auto convocados, quienes de inmediato arribaron al campamento convocando al pueblo a unirse para recordar a los intrusos que no cuentan con la licencia social del pueblo y que una vez más estaban violando propiedad privada.
Habiéndose congregado una inmensa multitud, en asamblea, se tomó la determinación de que a su regreso, la camioneta con sus ocupantes debían permanecer junto al campamento hasta que la Fiscal Silvia Alvarez y/o el Intendente Municipal Simón Quintar y los Concejales Guillermo Sesto, Edgardo Reartes, Horacio Sierralta y Gustavo Díaz se hicieran presente y escuchen el reclamo que se viene llevando en relación a la No explotación minera contaminante a cielo abierto, por el pueblo de Tinogasta desde octubre de 2.00, fecha en que además se presentó un recurso de amparo, aún hoy no resuelto.
Como siempre sucede con autoridades judiciales y la fuerzas policiales, solicitas al requerimiento de intereses ajenos al pueblo, un móvil policial con numerosos efectivos llegaron al campamento pidiendo que se liberara la camioneta. Ante la negativa de la asamblea, el efectivo policial expresó que regresaría en una hora y que ya se debía cumplir con la orden, de lo contrario se vería en la obligación de proceder a los arrestos, a lo que la multitud manifestó que procedieran y que debían contar con un predio inmenso ya que debía arrestar y contener al pueblo presente.
Dado lo avanzado de la hora, cerca de la una de la madrugada, y ante la negativa de la Fiscal, del Intendente y de los Concejales de escuchar el reclamo del pueblo, la asamblea decidió seguir en la misma modalidad, pero lo que sucedió ante el arribo nuevamente de la policía, cerca de las dos, fue sorprendente: Carlos Buslaiman representante de la empresa Jackson Minerals Ltd. solicitó que se le abriera paso con el compromiso publico y ante las cámaras de cable Sono Visión, de no regresar al predio de las minas nunca más y que tiene entendido que no hay maquinarias que estén planeando arribar a Tinogasta.
Por razones humanitarias y tácticas, dada la gran cantidad de horas que los ocupantes de la camioneta estaban soportantando sin agua, ni alimento, la asamblea decidió que se acompañaría a la camioneta con custodia policial, en caravana hasta la oficina que la empresa ocupa en la casa de Rosa Orquera de Mirolo.
No se vió desde hace muchos años una auténtica muestra del amor que la gente siente por su lugar, nuestro lugar. La caravana que acompañó a los vencidos pro mineros fue impresionante, magnifica, emocionante... más de ciento cincuenta automóviles, siempre acompañados a distancia prudente por móviles policiales, a las cuatro de la mañana recorrían ruidosamente las calles de la ciudad y con la decepción e impotencia de sentirse huérfanos, sin la seguridad, protección y representatividad que las autoridades democráticamente elegidas deben proporcionar, Tinogasta rompio en un bullicioso y estridente reclamo, con las únicas armas de los cánticos, palmas y un megáfono, se les hizo sentir a las autoridades, el justo enojo y la rebeldía. A las cuatro con treinta minutos, la caravana finalizó, como viene siendo una costumbre últimamente, en la explanada del Templo San Juan Bautista, con un fervoroso Padrenuestro.
Tinogasta era un pueblo que parecía dormido, sin embargo ante la amenaza a la vida de las presentes generaciones y de las futuras, surgió la voz de las generaciones pasadas, las que lucharon denodadamente por defender el suelo, la cultura, las raíces.. y despertó en los tinogasteños la fuerza de la raza diaguita cuya sangre corre aún hoy, por las venas del bravo pueblo de Tinogasta. Tinogasta ¡¡ de pie!! ¡¡¡ Viva el valiente y bravío pueblo de Tinogasta!!
El pueblo de Tinogasta enfrento masivamente la provocación de 5 patoteros de la Mina de Rió Colorado, exigiendo que se quedaran en el campamento hasta que el fiscal, el intendente, y su sequito de concejales, se presentaran en el lugar para dar respuesta a los reclamos por la no instalación de la mina. Frente a las amenazas de detenciones, manifestaron que debían tener un predio suficientemente grande para encarcelar a todo el pueblo. Carlos Buslaiman representante de la empresa Jackson Minerals Ltd. se comprometió frente a las cámaras, a no regresar al predio de las minas, y que no arribarían maquinarias a Tinogasta.
Una vez más el pueblo de Tinogasta con la férrea convicción de la defensa de la vida y sus recursos, dio una clara señal de que la ambición de gobernantes, empresas transnacionales y la ignorancia de un minúsculo grupo de traidores... con el pueblo de Tinogasta.. ¡¡No podrán!! .. en esta bella y bendita tierra ¡¡No pasarán!!
Cerca de las 18 hs. del 24 de noviembre de 2.009 la camioneta patente GAZ 727 en cuya puerta se lee Proyecto Río Colorado en la que viajaban Carlos Buslaiman y cuatro jóvenes pagados por la empresa minera, ingresó al paraje La Higuerita manifestando una evidente provocación a las personas que estaban montando guardia en el campamento. De acuerdo a lo acordado y por "suerte" contando con señal de telefonía celular, inmediatamente se dio aviso a los auto convocados, quienes de inmediato arribaron al campamento convocando al pueblo a unirse para recordar a los intrusos que no cuentan con la licencia social del pueblo y que una vez más estaban violando propiedad privada.
Habiéndose congregado una inmensa multitud, en asamblea, se tomó la determinación de que a su regreso, la camioneta con sus ocupantes debían permanecer junto al campamento hasta que la Fiscal Silvia Alvarez y/o el Intendente Municipal Simón Quintar y los Concejales Guillermo Sesto, Edgardo Reartes, Horacio Sierralta y Gustavo Díaz se hicieran presente y escuchen el reclamo que se viene llevando en relación a la No explotación minera contaminante a cielo abierto, por el pueblo de Tinogasta desde octubre de 2.00, fecha en que además se presentó un recurso de amparo, aún hoy no resuelto.
Como siempre sucede con autoridades judiciales y la fuerzas policiales, solicitas al requerimiento de intereses ajenos al pueblo, un móvil policial con numerosos efectivos llegaron al campamento pidiendo que se liberara la camioneta. Ante la negativa de la asamblea, el efectivo policial expresó que regresaría en una hora y que ya se debía cumplir con la orden, de lo contrario se vería en la obligación de proceder a los arrestos, a lo que la multitud manifestó que procedieran y que debían contar con un predio inmenso ya que debía arrestar y contener al pueblo presente.
Dado lo avanzado de la hora, cerca de la una de la madrugada, y ante la negativa de la Fiscal, del Intendente y de los Concejales de escuchar el reclamo del pueblo, la asamblea decidió seguir en la misma modalidad, pero lo que sucedió ante el arribo nuevamente de la policía, cerca de las dos, fue sorprendente: Carlos Buslaiman representante de la empresa Jackson Minerals Ltd. solicitó que se le abriera paso con el compromiso publico y ante las cámaras de cable Sono Visión, de no regresar al predio de las minas nunca más y que tiene entendido que no hay maquinarias que estén planeando arribar a Tinogasta.
Por razones humanitarias y tácticas, dada la gran cantidad de horas que los ocupantes de la camioneta estaban soportantando sin agua, ni alimento, la asamblea decidió que se acompañaría a la camioneta con custodia policial, en caravana hasta la oficina que la empresa ocupa en la casa de Rosa Orquera de Mirolo.
No se vió desde hace muchos años una auténtica muestra del amor que la gente siente por su lugar, nuestro lugar. La caravana que acompañó a los vencidos pro mineros fue impresionante, magnifica, emocionante... más de ciento cincuenta automóviles, siempre acompañados a distancia prudente por móviles policiales, a las cuatro de la mañana recorrían ruidosamente las calles de la ciudad y con la decepción e impotencia de sentirse huérfanos, sin la seguridad, protección y representatividad que las autoridades democráticamente elegidas deben proporcionar, Tinogasta rompio en un bullicioso y estridente reclamo, con las únicas armas de los cánticos, palmas y un megáfono, se les hizo sentir a las autoridades, el justo enojo y la rebeldía. A las cuatro con treinta minutos, la caravana finalizó, como viene siendo una costumbre últimamente, en la explanada del Templo San Juan Bautista, con un fervoroso Padrenuestro.
Tinogasta era un pueblo que parecía dormido, sin embargo ante la amenaza a la vida de las presentes generaciones y de las futuras, surgió la voz de las generaciones pasadas, las que lucharon denodadamente por defender el suelo, la cultura, las raíces.. y despertó en los tinogasteños la fuerza de la raza diaguita cuya sangre corre aún hoy, por las venas del bravo pueblo de Tinogasta. Tinogasta ¡¡ de pie!! ¡¡¡ Viva el valiente y bravío pueblo de Tinogasta!!
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