After having participated in a pacific protest, the whereabouts of an
indigenous leader are unknown.
PUBLIC

UA 07/08
Fear for safety/ Disappearance
OAXACA, MEXICO

Lauro Juárez (m), Chatino indigenous community leader

Lauro Juárez, a recently elected Chatino indigenous community leader
from the municipality of Santa Maria Temaxcaltepec , Oaxaca State ,
has been missing from the site of a roadside protest since 30
December.

On 26 December 2007, approximately 1200 people, including Lauro
Juárez, other community leaders and inhabitants of the municipalities
of Santa Maria Temaxcaltepec, San Gabriel Mixtepec and Santos Reyes
Nopala, started a demonstration along the road connecting Oaxaca City
and Puerto Escondido. They were protesting against the State
Electoral Institute's (Instituto Estatal Electoral) failure to
endorse the municipal representatives that had been regularly
selected in Santa Maria Temaxcaltepec according to the traditional
indigenous system (usos y costumbres), a system in place in the
majority of Oaxaca state indigenous municipalities. The protesters
also denounced a series of violent incidents and threats that took
place in the electoral meetings in the nearby communities of San
Gabriel Mixtepec and Santos Reyes Nopala.



On 29 December, reportedly fearing retaliation from local police and
groups of armed men, the protesters called off the demonstration and
started to return home. Lauro Juárez, who had stayed behind when most
of the protesters had already left, was last seen early on 30
December, sleeping in a house adjacent to the site of the protest.
His suitcase was found at the site, but he and his blanket have
disappeared. His disappearance has been reported to the Office of the
Oaxaca State Attorney General and the Interamerican Commission for
Human Rights.



Later on 30 December, a group of approximately 70 men armed with
machetes and guns blocked the access road to Santa Maria
Temaxcaltepec, beating and intimidating passers-by and impeding the
return home of the protesters.



BACKGROUND INFORMATION



In Mexico , community leaders who try to strengthen local indigenous
rights have frequently been targets of threats, harassment, and
spurious criminal charges, particularly by state and municipal
authorities. Those responsible are rarely identified or brought to
justice. Many indigenous communities in Mexico live in extreme
poverty with high levels of violence. The authorities in states with
sizeable indigenous populations, especially southern states such as
Oaxaca , frequently fail to provide adequate resources to effectively
address the problems that have led to the marginalization of these
communities, such as ensuring access to health care, education,
public transport and land.



RECOMMENDED ACTION: Using your own words, please create a personal
appeal and send it as quickly as possible:



- expressing concern for the safety of Lauro Juárez, who has been
missing from the site of a roadside protest since 30 December 2007;

- urging the authorities to promptly conduct an independent and
impartial investigation into the fate and whereabouts of Lauro Juárez;

- calling for the state authorities to conduct an independent and
impartial investigation into all reports of violence during the local
elections in the municipalities of Santa Maria Temaxcaltepec, San
Gabriel Mixtepec and Santos Reyes Nopala;

- calling on the authorities to ensure the safety of protesters and
other recently elected local leaders, who may be at risk of attack by
illegal armed groups.



APPEALS TO:



Minister of Interior:



Francisco Javier Ramirez Acuña

Secretario de Gobernación

Secretaría de Gobernación

Bucareli No. 99, Edificio Cobián

1er piso, Col. Juárez, Del. Cuauhtémoc

México D.F. 06600, MEXICO

Fax: 011 5255 5093 3414

Email: secretario@...

Salutation: Señor Secretario / Dear Minister



Governor of Oaxaca :



Lic. Ulises Ruiz
Ortiz


Gobernador del Estado de Oaxaca

Carretera Oaxaca-Puerto Ángel, Km. 9.5

Santa María Coyotepec , Oaxaca C.P. 71254

Oaxaca, MEXICO

Fax: 011 5295 1502 0530 (if a voice answers, ask "me da tono de fax,
por favor")

E-mail: gobernador@...

Salutation: Señor Gobernador / Dear Governor



State Attorney General of Oaxaca :



Lic. Evencio Nicolás Martínez Ramírez

Procurador General de Justicia del Estado de Oaxaca

Avenida Luis Echeverría s/n, Col. La Experimental

San Antonio de la Cal Oaxaca C.P. 71236

Oaxaca, MEXICO

Fax: 011 5295 1511 5519

Salutation: Dear Prosecutor / Estimado Procurador



COPIES TO:



Oaxaca State Human Rights Commission:



Dr. Heriberto Antonio García

Presidente de la Comisión para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en
Oaxaca (CDDHO)

Calle de los Derechos Humanos no. 210

Col. América, C.P. 68050

Oaxaca, MEXICO

E-mail: correo@...

Fax: 011 5295 1503 0220 (if a voice answers, ask "me da tono de fax,
por favor")

Salutation: Dear President / Estimado Presidente
Local Human Rights Organisation:

Centro de Derechos Humanos y Asesoría a Pueblos Indígenas.
Calle León, no. 15 Barrio San Diego
Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, México
Email: cedhapi@...


His Excellency Emilio Goicoechea Luna
Ambassador for Mexico
45 O'Connor Street, Suite 1000
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4
Fax: (613) 235-9123
E-mail: info@...