URGENT BULLETIN: JOURNALISTS, MEXICO & BORDER:
Mexico's Attorney General endorses self-censorship by media in context of increasing danger; CENCOS urges government action
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/85278/
Español: Procuraduría General justifica la autocensura frente a los peligros crecientes; CENCOS exige al gobierno mejores garantías
From: Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social (CENCOS)
July 31, 2007
Self-censorship a "good strategy" for media to protect themselves, says Attorney General
Mexico City, 31 July 2007 -
In the context of insufficient government protection for journalists, the Attorney General of Mexico, Eduardo Medina Mora, has said that he considers it a "good strategy" for journalists working on stories about organized crime not to sign their names to their reports, in order to protect themselves against possible retaliation.
The Attorney General is apparently forgetting that the Judiciary has a constitutional responsibility to guarantee citizens the rights to freedom of expression and to inform and be informed.
In effect, the Mexican state is promoting the techniques of self-censorship that media outlets have been obliged to implement in order to protect the lives of their journalists.
In Sonora state, the newspaper "Cambio" decided to shut down temporarily, in light of repeated grenade attacks against its facilities.
Other media outlets have resorted to self-censorship, altering their editorial line to the detriment of their reading public. These include the newspapers "El Norte" and "Milenio", which decided not to attribute authorship to reports on drug-trafficking, and to refrain from investigating violent incidents beyond the information provided by officials. The same approach has been taken by the newspapers "El Imparcial" in Hermosillo, and "El Mañana" in Nuevo Laredo, as well as by the television station Televisa Monterray.
Similarly, the weekly "Proceso" announced to its readers in its 4 March issue that: "Drug cartels continue to impose their law - the law of blood - throughout the country, despite optimistic official proclamations about the success of combined police-military operations. Given these circumstances, 'Proceso' will, from this issue forward, follow a policy to protect its reporters by not attributing authorship to reports on drug-trafficking. Our publishing house will assume responsibility for the content and truthfulness of these reports."
For its part, the National Commission for Human Rights (Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos) revealed in a report that, in the last six years, 33 journalists have been killed and six disappeared, apparently for reporting on drug-trafficking.
In response, all the Attorney General has to offer is its support for the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Journalists (Fiscalía Especial para la Atención de Delitos Cometidos contra Periodistas), "since legal action is key to combating crime".
Within the framework of international standards and treaties, the government is obliged to act to protect these fundamental rights, all the more so considering Mexico has endorsed various international human rights instruments, such as the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) in 1981, and it has accepted the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights since 1998.
These commitments oblige the government to exercise all its powers to defend the full and free exercise of all human rights. Among the rights enshrined in the ACHR is freedom of expression, covered by Article 13, which states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and expression. This right includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other medium of one's choice."
Article 133 of the Mexican Constitution, in turn, asserts the responsibility of the government to live up to all the commitments contained in treaties to which it is signatory.
CENCOS, as a civil society organization concerned for the right to freedom of expression, finds it very unfortunate that the Attorney General has made such a declaration. CENSOS urges the government instead to take concrete actions to protect journalists. It is not enough simply to recognize their work and to endorse their taking recourse to self-censorship.
MORE INFORMATION:
For further information, contact Francisco Barrón Trejo, Communications coordinator, or Brisa Maya Solís Ventura, Executive Director, CENCOS, Medellín 33, Colonia Roma, 06700 México, D.F., México, tel: +52 55 55 336 475 / 55 336 476, fax: +52 55 52 082 062, e-mail: cencos@cencos.org, Internet: http://www.cencos.org/
August 2, 2007
Billions for war in Iraq, while US bridge collapses
eBy Brenda Norrell
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
While billions continue flowing to the war in Iraq, including billions for profiteering corporations, the United States has failed to replace structurally-unsound bridges. The US has said funding was unavailable to repair or replace those US bridges.
The great tragedy in Minnesota and the recovery effort, following the collapse of one of the United States' Interstate bridges is live now on CNN. An estimated 30 to 50 cars are submerged in the Mississippi River.
Structurally deficient bridges listed by state:
http://www.bts.gov/publications/state_transportation_statistics/state_transportation_statistics_2006/html/table_01_07.html
Cost of the bogus war in Iraq that no one is winning: $448 billion and counting ...
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Cost-of-War/Cost-of-War-3.html
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
While billions continue flowing to the war in Iraq, including billions for profiteering corporations, the United States has failed to replace structurally-unsound bridges. The US has said funding was unavailable to repair or replace those US bridges.
The great tragedy in Minnesota and the recovery effort, following the collapse of one of the United States' Interstate bridges is live now on CNN. An estimated 30 to 50 cars are submerged in the Mississippi River.
Structurally deficient bridges listed by state:
http://www.bts.gov/publications/state_transportation_statistics/state_transportation_statistics_2006/html/table_01_07.html
Cost of the bogus war in Iraq that no one is winning: $448 billion and counting ...
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Cost-of-War/Cost-of-War-3.html
August 1, 2007
Yaqui reappointed to US Civil Rights position
Minutemen, Border Guardians and Ku Klux Klan invigorated by border hype and xenophobia
By Christina Leza
Indigenous Alliance Without Borders
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
WASHINGTON -- Jose R. Matus, Director of the Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras (Indigeno
us Alliance Without Borders), has been re-appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Arizona State Advisory Committee (SAC). Matus, 55, is a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and serves as a ceremonial leader of the Yaqui community of Barrio Libre in the City of South Tucson, Arizona.
Matus says while some conditions have improved, border hysteria and xenophobia have increased.
“There is no question that things have improved over the past 30 years, but this country still needs to make a lot more progress in protecting the civil rights of Indigenous peoples, people of color, and all citizens and residents regardless of race, gender or religion," Matus said.
Matus observes that since the tragedy of 9/11, there has been an association in the public mind between illegal immigration and terrorism. As a result, anti-immigration hysteria, xenophobia and racial discrimination have never been higher.
As anti-immigration sentiment increases within the Southern Arizona border region, so do the activities of racist paramilitary groups such as the Minutemen, Border Guardians and the reinvigorated Klu Klux Klan.
Voices advocating for the civil and human rights of immigrants, indigenous rights of mobility, and fair and comprehensive immigration policies are met with deaf ears by those who have developed an Us-versus-Them mentality and who abuse terms like “terror,” “invasion,” and “national security” to justify the violation of civil rights in our region.
Matus stresses that when local activists advocate for “indigenous rights” or “immigrant rights,” they are advocating for civil and human rights.
The mission of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is to appraise federal laws and policies with respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws, or in the administration of justice, because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin; to study and collect information relating to discrimination or a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution; to investigate complaints on the denial of citizens’ voting rights, and to discourage discrimination through public education. Four of this organization’s eight Commissioners are appointed by the President, and the remaining four are appointed by Congress. A State Advisory Committee is appointed by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for each of the states and the District of Columbia. The Arizona State Advisory Committee is comprised of thirteen citizens who are familiar with local and state civil rights issues. These State Advisory Committee members assist the Commission in its fact-finding and public education functions, and serve without compensation for two-year terms. This is Matus’ second appointment to the Committee.
Matus has worked as an Indigenous Rights activist in Arizona for over 30 years and is the
current Director of the Indigenous Alliance Without Borders, an affiliate of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development. Now in its 10th year, the Alliance was created by and for Indigenous peoples to promote respect for Indigenous civil and human rights, including traditional rights of mobility and passage for cultural preservation across the U.S. - Mexico border. The Indigenous Alliance consists of individual members of the Cocopah Nation, Tohono O'Odham Nation, Gila River Indian Community, Pascua Yaqui, Kickapoo, Kumeyaay, and O'Odham and Yaqui communities in Mexico, members of Indigenous cultures divided by the Southern border.
The Indigenous Alliance Without Borders will host a public forum in recognition of World Indigenous Day on Thursday August 9th, 11:30 am, at the Santa Rosa Learning Center in Tucson, AZ. The public is invited to hear panel members speak on the history of Indigenous Peoples in the United Nations, how immigration policies affect local Indigenous communities, and how you can support the rights of Indigenous peoples locally and internationally.
Photos by Brenda Norrell: Jose Matus and Indigenous Alliance without Borders.
UPDATE: Alianza members and friends: The Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras-Indigenous Alliance Without Borderswill holda press conference and public forum in recognition of World Indigenous Day onThursday August 9th, 11:30 am at the Santa Rosa Learning Center in Tucson.
The public is invited to hear a panel of local indigenous leaders speak on thehistory of Indigenous peoples in the United Nations, how immigration policies affect local Indigenous communities, and how you can support the rights ofIndigenous peoples locally and internationally. Rebecca Sommer's film "Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations" will also be shown following our panel discussion.
The Santa Rosa Learning Center in Tucson is located at 1075 S. 10th Ave. The Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras is an affiliate of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development. The Alliance was created by and for Indigenouspeoples to promote respect for Indigenous civil and human rights, including traditional rights of mobility and passage for indigenous cultural preservationacross the U.S. - Mexico border.
For more information please contact me at the email address below orcontact our Director, Jose Matus at (520)979-2125 or jrmatus@aol.com
Christina Leza
Department of Anthropology University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721leza@email.arizona.edu
Alianza Indigena Sin Fronterase mail: alianza@indigenasinfronteras.orgwebsite: indigenasinfronteras.org
By Christina Leza
Indigenous Alliance Without Borders
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
WASHINGTON -- Jose R. Matus, Director of the Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras (Indigeno
us Alliance Without Borders), has been re-appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Arizona State Advisory Committee (SAC). Matus, 55, is a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and serves as a ceremonial leader of the Yaqui community of Barrio Libre in the City of South Tucson, Arizona.Matus says while some conditions have improved, border hysteria and xenophobia have increased.
“There is no question that things have improved over the past 30 years, but this country still needs to make a lot more progress in protecting the civil rights of Indigenous peoples, people of color, and all citizens and residents regardless of race, gender or religion," Matus said.
Matus observes that since the tragedy of 9/11, there has been an association in the public mind between illegal immigration and terrorism. As a result, anti-immigration hysteria, xenophobia and racial discrimination have never been higher.
As anti-immigration sentiment increases within the Southern Arizona border region, so do the activities of racist paramilitary groups such as the Minutemen, Border Guardians and the reinvigorated Klu Klux Klan.
Voices advocating for the civil and human rights of immigrants, indigenous rights of mobility, and fair and comprehensive immigration policies are met with deaf ears by those who have developed an Us-versus-Them mentality and who abuse terms like “terror,” “invasion,” and “national security” to justify the violation of civil rights in our region.
Matus stresses that when local activists advocate for “indigenous rights” or “immigrant rights,” they are advocating for civil and human rights.
The mission of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is to appraise federal laws and policies with respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws, or in the administration of justice, because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin; to study and collect information relating to discrimination or a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution; to investigate complaints on the denial of citizens’ voting rights, and to discourage discrimination through public education. Four of this organization’s eight Commissioners are appointed by the President, and the remaining four are appointed by Congress. A State Advisory Committee is appointed by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for each of the states and the District of Columbia. The Arizona State Advisory Committee is comprised of thirteen citizens who are familiar with local and state civil rights issues. These State Advisory Committee members assist the Commission in its fact-finding and public education functions, and serve without compensation for two-year terms. This is Matus’ second appointment to the Committee.
Matus has worked as an Indigenous Rights activist in Arizona for over 30 years and is the
current Director of the Indigenous Alliance Without Borders, an affiliate of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development. Now in its 10th year, the Alliance was created by and for Indigenous peoples to promote respect for Indigenous civil and human rights, including traditional rights of mobility and passage for cultural preservation across the U.S. - Mexico border. The Indigenous Alliance consists of individual members of the Cocopah Nation, Tohono O'Odham Nation, Gila River Indian Community, Pascua Yaqui, Kickapoo, Kumeyaay, and O'Odham and Yaqui communities in Mexico, members of Indigenous cultures divided by the Southern border.The Indigenous Alliance Without Borders will host a public forum in recognition of World Indigenous Day on Thursday August 9th, 11:30 am, at the Santa Rosa Learning Center in Tucson, AZ. The public is invited to hear panel members speak on the history of Indigenous Peoples in the United Nations, how immigration policies affect local Indigenous communities, and how you can support the rights of Indigenous peoples locally and internationally.
Photos by Brenda Norrell: Jose Matus and Indigenous Alliance without Borders.
UPDATE: Alianza members and friends: The Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras-Indigenous Alliance Without Borderswill holda press conference and public forum in recognition of World Indigenous Day onThursday August 9th, 11:30 am at the Santa Rosa Learning Center in Tucson.
The public is invited to hear a panel of local indigenous leaders speak on thehistory of Indigenous peoples in the United Nations, how immigration policies affect local Indigenous communities, and how you can support the rights ofIndigenous peoples locally and internationally. Rebecca Sommer's film "Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations" will also be shown following our panel discussion.
The Santa Rosa Learning Center in Tucson is located at 1075 S. 10th Ave. The Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras is an affiliate of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development. The Alliance was created by and for Indigenouspeoples to promote respect for Indigenous civil and human rights, including traditional rights of mobility and passage for indigenous cultural preservationacross the U.S. - Mexico border.
For more information please contact me at the email address below orcontact our Director, Jose Matus at (520)979-2125 or jrmatus@aol.com
Christina Leza
Department of Anthropology University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721leza@email.arizona.edu
Alianza Indigena Sin Fronterase mail: alianza@indigenasinfronteras.orgwebsite: indigenasinfronteras.org
'Trespassing,' censored at Sundance, screening in Santa Barbara
"Trespassing," the most important film to ever be rejected by the Sundance Film Festival, screening in Santa Barbaraby Brenda Norrell
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
SANTA BARBARA -- "Trespassing," the film that exposes how the nuclear industry has targeted American Indian communities in the Southwest will be screened at the Think Outside the Bomb National Conference on Saturday, Aug. 18.
After "Trespassing," was rejected and censored at Sundance Film Festival, and many of the world's leading avant-garde film festivals, it went on to win awards around the world. From the Tucson International Film Festival and festivals in Spain and Oaxaca, Mexico, fearless film festival orga
nizers awarded it as a human rights' treasure.The film features the struggles to protect Indian lands from nuclear testing and wasted dumps, including the Colorado Indian River Tribes, Mojave and Western Shoshone.
The film's message is also a lasting tribute to the life long struggle for reverence in defense of the land of Western Shoshone spiritual leader Corbin Harney, who recently passed to the Spirit World.
"Trespassing," reveals how the American Indian Movement, California residents and environmentalists worked with the Mohave and Colorado River Indian Tribes' members to halt the proposed nuclear dump at Ward Valley. It also documents the Western Shoshone's opposition to the nuclear annihilation of their territory.
Venue for Santa Monica:
Discussion with film director Carlos DeMenezes, film star Steve Lopez of the Fort Mojave Nation, and Shundahai Network co-founder Julia Moon Sparrow.
Where: UC Santa Barbara, Theatre & Dance 1701 [click here for campus map: http://www.aw.id.ucsb.edu/maps/] Starting Time: 8 p.m.
BACKGROUND:
Over nine years in the making, "Trespassing" is a feature-length documentary fi
lm that poetically examines our fight for survival. By focusing on the battle around nuclear storage in the United States, the film carefully unpacks a deadly controversy around land rights, uranium mining, nuclear testing and the disposal of nuclear waste.Filmed in and around Native American sacred sites in Nevada’s Yucca Mountain, Four-Corners and California’s Mojave Desert, "Trespassing" captures the breathtaking beauty of the natural environment, while documenting the actions of indigenous people and others as they risk relocation, eviction and arrest to prevent further desecration of these lands, the air and the water by nuclear waste.
In revisiting the consequences of U.S. nuclear policy, "Trespassing" reveals a common thread in the lives of its protagonists, demonstrating how the actions of the past resonate in the present. The film introduces a range of perspectives, including Stewart L. Udall (former Secretary of the Interior under Kennedy and Johnson), Corbin Harney (Western Shoshone spiritual leader), Steve Lopez (Fort Mojave Indian and Coordinator for the Native Nations Alliance), Anthony Guarisco (Director, Alliance of Atomic Veterans) and Dorothy Purley (Laguna Indian and former uranium miner). Each story adds a layer of humanity to this evocative meditation on the ability of a war culture to bring itself to the brink of annihilation while simultaneously producing "gatekeepers" to combat that annihilation."Trespassing" offers an in depth and provocative examination of historical survival and struggle designed to impact the present generation and alter a deadly course of action.
To view the trailer, visit http://www.trespassingdocumentary.com/site.asp
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOMB NATIONAL CONFERENCE
The film screening is a part of the Think Outside the Bomb national conference which takes place from August 16-19 at UCSB. Think Outside the Bomb is a national network of activists who come together based on a common interest in nuclear abolition. For more information, including regarding how to participate in the entire conference, visit http://www.thinkoutsidethebomb.org/.
MORE INFORMATION:
Contact Will Parrish or Katie Murray, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation - http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=youth@napf.org – (805) 965-3443. Or visit http://www.trespassingdocumentary.com/,http://www.thinkoutsidethebomb.org/, or http://www.wagingpeace.org/.
ADMISSION:
FREE, with suggested $10 donation.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
- Carlos DeMenezes took ten years to make Trespassing, his first feature-length documentary, winner of the Best Documentary Feature award at the 2005 Boston International Film Festival, Best Documentary at the 8th Festival Internacional de Cine y Video de los Pueblos Indigenas held in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2006, and over 10 other documentary film awards. He studied film production at University of California Los Angeles Extension and trained at the Macunaima Theatre School in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and lives in Los Angeles, California.
- Steve Lopez is coordinator of the Native Nations Alliance and was a leader of the historic grassroots campaign that defeated the proposed Ward Valley, California nuclear waste dump (http://www.greenaction.org/wardvalley/index.shtml).
- Julia Moon Sparrow is co-founder and a former staff member of the Shundahai Network, dedicated to “breaking the nuclear chain”. Shundahai Network was founded in 1994 at the request of the internationally revered Western Shoshone activist Corbin Harney, who passed away this past July 10th. The organization has been at the forefront of resistance to nuclear colonialism, nuclear weapons testing, the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, and a variety of other struggles. Shundahai is a Western Shoshone (Newe) word meaning “peace and harmony with all creation.”
Will Parrish
Youth Empowerment Director
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
PMB 121, 1187 Coast Village Road, Suite 1
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=wparrish@napf.org
Phone: (805) 965-3443; Fax: (805) 568-0466
www.wagingpeace.org/youth; http://www.ucnuclearfree.org/; http://www.thinkoutsidethebomb.org/
Photos: Scene from Trespassing; Corbin Harney; Western Shoshone territory, now known as Nevada, scarred by the annihilation of bombs and nuclear testing/Courtesy photos
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