To All Living Things
Last Week's Column

Amnesty Action:
Torture/Fear of Torture/Prisoners of Conscience
by Kathy Gay

his week’s action from Amnesty International concerns the recent arrest of four individuals, three of whom are members of the Comite de Unidad Tepozteca (CUT), Committee of Tepoztecan Unity, an indigenous peasant organization in Mexico. They are community activists who have been active in protecting and promoting the rights of the Tepoztlan people.

During the first two hours of their detention at least two of them (one being a 16-year-old boy) are alleged to have been tortured. Suspicions of an official cover-up of the torture have been raised because their arrival in prison was registered as having occurred two hours earlier. These were the two hours during which the detainees were allegedly being tortured elsewhere.

Amnesty International believes these individuals have been imprisoned solely on the grounds of their lawful activities and considers them to be prisoners of conscience. In addition, the organization is very concerned that they remain at risk of further torture and ill-treatment.

Specific information about this action is included in the sample letter that follows.

Background Information

The state of Morelos in Mexico has long been the scene of human rights violations, allegedly carried out by the security forces, mainly in the context of land disputes. Indigenous people and peasants are most often the victims of this violence. The frequent association of powerful landowners (caciques) with local authorities seriously undermines the legal rights of the peasants and places them at a higher risk of human rights violations.

In association with the governor of Morelos, a development company has been attempting to build a multi-million dollar golf course and houses on common land -- land which is regarded as sacred by the inhabitants of Tepoztlan. For months, local people -- including women, children and elderly, some of them members of CUT -- have organized numerous peaceful actions in their struggle to stop the development.

Following one of those peaceful demonstrations in April 1996, one man was extrajudicially killed by members of the security forces. More than a hundred arrest warrants were issued against members of CUT, and some arrests were made. In addition, community activists, including minors, were repeatedly subjected to threats and ill-treatment.

Amnesty International delegations visited Tepoztlan in June and December 1996 and interviewed some of the human rights defenders, community activists and members of CUT who had been ill-treated, threatened and imprisoned. The delegation confirmed the reports of violent repression against those active in promoting and protecting human rights.

How you can help

Please send a letter to the President of Mexico immediately if possible, but no later than March 3, 1997. (If you are an American, please copy Mexico’s Ambassador to the U.S. on your letter.) You may use the sample letter linked below or use it as a model to write your own letter. If you choose to use the sample letter, please cut off or delete all website information at the very top of the letter. If you choose to write your own letter, make sure that it is politely worded and non-partisan (i.e., not used as a vehicle for political expression). Care must be taken to ensure that nothing is written that will cause harm to the four individuals who have been imprisoned. Be sure to include both your name and address, as well as the date, on the letter.

U.S. airmail postage to Mexico is 40 cents.

Questions?

If you have any questions, just post a message to me (Kathy Gay) at the Pub, and I will respond as soon as I can. I greatly appreciate your interest and support.

To see the sample letter for this action, please click here.

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Kathy Gay is a vegan, and has been a member of Amnesty International for nearly 10 years, where she has worked on numerous campaigns. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a business analyst for a leading California bank.

Kathy's column, To All Living Things, is a regular feature of VegSource On-Line Magazine.