Oaxaca, Mexico: APPO lawyers denounce death threats and theft of defense funds

APPO defense lawyers are demanding that the federal government take action to protect them from harm which they claim has been threatened. In a press conference, Ernesto Méndez, General Coordinator of the Comité de Familiares y Amigos de los Desaparecidos, Asesinados y Presos Políticos de Oaxaca (Committee of Families and Friends of the Disappeared, Murdered and Imprisoned Political Prisoners of Oaxaca -- COFADAPPO) claims that nine APPO defense lawyers have received death threats and that APPO's attorneys are being followed around by state policemen in unmarked cars.

The COFADAPPO coordinator hauled out the usual laundry list of people to blame for the death threats:

We blame the "tyrant" Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, State Attorney General Evencio Martínez Ramírez, State Secretary of Civil Defense Sergio Segreste, President Felipe Calderon, the federal Secretary of the Interior (whose name Mendez apparently couldn't remember), federal Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora, George Bush, Mark in Mexico and global warming brought on by bovine flatulence (cow farts).

...

We demand that the the Senate Commission On Human Rights, headed by Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, as well as Amnesty International and all the rest of the organizations (presumably human rights watchdog orgs) demand that the federal government take precautionary measures to protect our lives.

COFADAPPO is an organization founded by the painter Francisco Toledo, most fondly remembered for his successful battle to prevent a McDonald's from being established on the Zócalo. Toledo lead the fight against Mickie D's so that the restaurants on the Zócalo would be protected from fair competition and could continue serving meat, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables of uncertain origin, uncertain hygiene and uncertain preparation methods at prices higher than in, say, Indianapolis. As you sit on the throne in your hotel room with the cold chills and the squirts, remember this, folks; it ain't the water -- it's the food.

 

Francisco Toledo
Motto: "Montezuma's got nuthin' to do with it"

 

Toledo's art. Nice, eh? And, no, he's not a house painter.

When you visit the Zócalo, especially on a Sunday, note that the restaurants around the outside perimeter are filled with happy patrons (the rich) while the inside perimeter is lined with people (the poor) who cannot afford to eat on the outside perimeter. Those on the inside perimeter have their loyal friend Francisco Toledo to thank for this. You might then visit either of the two McDonald's at Plaza del Valle and note that they are both filled with happy patrons who cannot afford to eat on the Zócalo's outside perimeter. The local owners of both these franchises also thankfully thank painter Toledo. But I digress.

Then lawyer Mendez made this surprising announcement. He denounced some of the recently freed APPO "activists" for stealing money destined for the remaining prisoners. He charged that the APPO thugs who had been freed on bail which had been collected on their behalf had then organized unauthorized collection efforts to raise money for those still in jail and then pocketed said funds.

Without our knowledge and approval, they have carried out indiscriminate fund drives in diverse institutions and union and student organizations. That is to say, they have enriched themselves through the pain and suffering of our imprisoned comrades.

Say it ain't so!

Mendez is charging that the street thugs, gang toughs and petty criminals paid 200 pesos per day, first by APPO and then by the EPR, to man barricades, burn stacks of stolen tires, torch buses and cars, smash windows, spray paint 400+ year old buildings, firebomb state and federal office buildings as well as private buildings and homes, kidnap unarmed traffic cops, rape foreign visitors, rob stores, businesses and pharmacies at gunpoint, destroy the 911 emergency system central command and control center, smash open and/or haul away ATM machines, do 900 million pesos in damage to the Guelaguetza stadium and destroy the state's economy would then stoop so low as to steal a few thousand pesos???? I'm shocked . . . shocked to discover this.

Aren't you?

You might also note that the laundry list of those whom APPO and/or COFADAPPO hold responsible for, well, whatever, now comes on a preprinted form that looks like so:

WE BLAME:
Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz
State Attorney General (fill in name of current office holder)
Commander of the Policia Ministerial (fill in name of current office holder)
State Secretary of the Interior (fill in name of current office holder)
Federal Attorney General (fill in name of current office holder)
Federal Secretary of the Interior (fill in name of current office holder)
President of the Republic (fill in name of current office holder)
George Bush (or fill in name of current office holder if Republican)
Mark in Mexico
Global warming brought on by bovine flatulence (cow farts)

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TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Oaxaca teachers strike, Pale Horse Galleries, gifts, collectibles, Mexican arts and crafts, APPO, COFADAPPO, Francisco Toledo