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Guerrero
In the State of Guerrero, PBI accompanies the following people and organizations.
Organization of the Indigenous Me'Phaa People
- Andrea Eugenio Manuel and Obtilia Eugenio Manuel from the OPIM accompanied by a PBI volunteer
At the request of the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, Peace Brigades International has accompanied Obtilia Eugenio Manuel, Andrea Eugenio Manuel and Cuauhtemoc Ramirez Rodriguez, members of the Organization of the Indigenous Me'Phaa People (OPIM), since February 2005 in Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero and in the nearby communities of Barranca de Guadalupe, El Camalote, and Barranca de Tecuani. The OPIM was founded in 1998 by Obtilia Eugenio Manuel and Cuauhtémoc Ramírez Rodríguez. The organization has been committed to the defense and promotion of indigenous people's rights in the Costa Chica region of Guerrero.
The accompaniment began following a series of death threats to Obtilia Eugenio Manuel shortly after she denounced the militarization in the region. Members of the OPIM continue to be victims of threats, harassment and incarceration.. Five members of the OPIM were recently adopted by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience.
- Abel Barrera from the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center speaks to Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Members of the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center
The Tlachinollan Human Rights Center is located in Tlapa and Ayutla, Guerrero, and focuses on the indigenous municipalities located in the Montaña and Costa Chica regions of Guerrero. About 300,000 residents of the 600 communities in this region belong to the Mixtec, Nahua, and Tlapanec indigenous groups. This indigenous region is highly marginalized and is among the poorest in Mexico. Given the serious human rights violations in the region, Tlachinollan works to defend the rights of these indigenous groups. PBI has accompanied Tlachinollan since December 2003.
Information about Ines and Valentina's cases on the Amnesty International website
Civil Monitor of Police and Security Forces of the Montaña, Guerrero
The Civil Monitor is a non-governmental organization based in Tlapa de Comonfort and founded in 2008 by the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, the Institute for Security and Democracy (INSYDE), and Fundar, a Center for Analysis and Investigation. The goal of their work is to work toward a respect for fundamental rights in the actions of the police and army units in the state of Guerrero, especially in the Montaña region. In order to do this, the Civil Monitor documents individual reports of abuse, and works to identify good and bad practices by police and security forces. PBI began accompanying the Civil Monitor in June 2009.
Tita Radilla, Vice President of AFADEM in Atoyac
- Tita Radilla in her office with a PBI volunteer
The PBI Mexico team began to provide accompaniment to Tita Radilla, vice-president of the Association of Relatives of the Detained, Disappeared, and Victims of Human Rights Abuses in Mexico (AFADEM) in August 2003. This organization belongs to the Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared (FEDEFAM). AFADEM, together with the Mexican Commission for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, has filed complaints against the Mexican government with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for the forced disappearance of Tita's father, Rosendo Radilla Pacheco. This case is currently under review by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Watch 12.511 Radilla Case: An Open Wound from Mexico's Dirty War on You Tube
Mexican Commission for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights
Organization of Women Ecologists of the Sierra de Petatlán(OMESP)
- Celsa Valdovinos and Felipe Arreaga distribute seeds.
At the request of SOS Bahia and the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, the PBI Mexico Team began to offer international accompaniment to the Organization of Women Ecologists of the Sierra de Petatlán, A.C. (OMESP) in August 2005.
In 2000, Celsa Valdovinos and her husband Felipe Arreaga founded OMESP. The organization now has over 80 active members and promotes productive projects and reforestation. For many years, Celsa Valdovinos and Felipe Arreaga have been noted for their work to protect the forests in the region.
On March 2, 2005, Felipe Arreaga was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International for "facing an unjust trial." After spending 10 months in the local prison in Zihuatanejo, he was absolved of the charges against him and liberated on September 15, 2005.
News
PBI México seeking New Volunteers!
PBI Mexico: Bulletin: Human Rights Defenders Behind Bars
PBI Mexico: Release of Juan Manual, Oaxaca
PBI Mexico : New organisation accompanied in Oaxaca: Committee 25 November
Letter from the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center
Amnesty International Report on Human Rights Defenders in Mexico
