Urgent Communiqué of Ostula About the Legal Situation of CTE. Cemeí:

Urgent Communiqué of Ostula About the Legal Situation of CTE. Cemeí:

To the People of Mexico and the World:

The indigenous community of Santa María Ostula wants to make it clear that a new ruse, today the Mexican state at all levels of government, has confirmed their intention to maintain incarcerated our community police commander, Comrade Cemeí Verdía Zepeda, who has been kidnapped by the government since July 19^th of this year.

The “Fifth Criminal Unitary Chamber of the Supreme Court of the State of Michoacan” has decided not to liberate our comrade and has instead turned the case over to the Justice of the District of Lazara Cardenas, leaving intact the detention order and ordering the repositioning process in spite of the first declaration of our comrade.

The Mexican State at all its levels has tried with different strategies to keep our comrade incarcerated, initially charging him with illegal possession of firearms that are for the exclusive use of the army. Hundreds of federal and state forces participated in the arrest, the same as the forces that assassinated the the 12 year old child Hidelberto Reyes García, and wounding 18 more villagers. When the crime of illegal possession of firearms was denied, the government accused the comrade of stealing barbwire to keep him incarcerated. When this crime also was denied, the government accused him of qualified homicide on two occasions. Simultaneously, the same groups that have endeavored to keep our comrade jailed have freed Juan Hernández, former mayor of Aquila, and mastermind of the attacks against Cemeí Verdía and lieutenant of the cartel Knights Templar.

While our comrade remains imprisoned, Mario álvarez (alias El Chacal) and Federicio González (alias Lico), bosses of the Knights Templar Cartel in Aquila, remain free operating their group. In spite of the fact that they are the intellectual authors and material forces behind the assassination of 34 community members and six others in recent years, they have not been arrested.

As a result, our assembly has decided to escalate our actions and mobilizations. We today begin a blockade of all access to the Las Encinas mine, where the multinational Ternisum has extracted thousands of tons of iron ore, as well as the blockade of Federal Highway no. 200 Manzanillo-Lazaro Cardenas, at the point called Cruise Aquila. These types of actions will continue until our following demands are met:

 

1. The immediate and unconditional release of our commander Cemeí Verdía Zepeda and the withdrawal of false charges against him, as well as the cancellation of all arrest warrants that exist against other members of our community police and the groups of auto-defense in the region.
2. De-militarization of the Costa-Sierra region of Michoacán, the punishment of the leadership and the members of the military and police who assassinated Hidelberto Reyes García, shot and beat various members, and destroyed the well being of the community of Ostula. Furthermore, reparation of the damages caused against the well being of the community of Ostula and the return of the following stolen articles: four radios, the seal and identification of the supervisory board, a registered gun and four sets of keys.
3. The incarceration of the bosses of the Knights Templar Cartel in the region, Federico Gonzalez Medina (Alias Lico), and Mario Alvarez López (alia El Chacal), and the dismantling of the cartel and its political and economic structure.
4. Respect and the granting of freedom of the members and operation of the community police of the municipalities of Aquila, Coahuayana, Chinicuila, and Cialcomán.
5. Presentation of life of the six missing community members and the punishment of the masterminds of the murder of 34 community members of Ostula in the last four years
6. An end to the misinformation and the paramilitary groups in the Nahua village.

To the honest communities, organizations, and people of Michoacán, México, and the entire world, we ask you to help our cause of peace and justice.

Sincerely,

Indigenous community of Santa María Ostula

We struggle for life and peace; we don’t struggle for power or death.

Never more, a Mexico without us

December 17, 2015

Poorly translated from the original here:

Comunicado URGENTE de Ostula sobre situación legal del Cte. Cemeí