Impunity - Mexico II

WHEREAS eight months after the 2006 disappearance of reporter Rafael Ortiz Martínez, who worked for the Monclova newspaper Zócalo and the radio station of the same name, neither the Coahuila state attorney general’s office nor the Federal Office of the Attorney General have made any progress in finding him, much less in apprehending those who planned and carried out the crime; this, despite the government’s initial announcement that the case was linked to organized crime, and despite recent revelations that a local businessman may have been involved with protection from the authorities WHEREAS the Federal Office of the Attorney General has not made enough progress in its investigation into the killing of journalist Enrique Perea Quintanilla to apprehend the culprits, even though seven months have passed since the killing WHEREAS one year alter the killing of radio personality Ramiro Téllez Contreras, the Tamaulipas state attorney general’s office has not arrested a single suspect, and the motives for the killing remain unknown WHEREAS there is no sign of progress from either the Federal Office of the Attorney General or the Yucatán state attorney general’s office in the investigation into the threats made against, and the attacks perpetrated on, reporters Manuel Acuña López, Jaime Vargas Chable, and Víctor Lara Martínez of the newspaper Por Esto!; the reporters claim that the state government is behind the incidents WHEREAS the Chihuahua state attorney general’s office has not completed its investigation into the shooting attack on journalist Eugenia Cícero Rivera and photographers Aurelio Suárez Núñez and Jaime Murrieta Briones WHEREAS Bradley Ronald Will, a documentary filmmaker and online contributor to Indymedia, was killed on October 27, 2006, while filming mass demonstrations in the city of Oaxaca; the investigation into the killing has been plagued by contradictions, irregularities and inconsistencies, and no arrests have been made WHEREAS Misael Tamayo Hernández, owner and editor of El Despertar de la Costa in Zihuatanejo, was killed on November 10, 2006, and, according to family members, the Guerrero state attorney general’s office has conducted no investigation and the motives behind the killing remain unknown WHEREAS José Antonio García Apac, editor of the Michoacán weekly Ecos de la Cuenca, was abducted on November 20, 2006; his whereabouts remain unknown; and the Michoacán state attorney general’s office has made no progress in its investigation WHEREAS Roberto Marcos García, who reported on security-related issues for the Veracruz magazine Testimonio and the Mexico City magazine Alarma, was killed on November 21, 2006, seemingly as a result of his work as a reporter, in what appears to have been a carefully planned murder, and no one has been prosecuted thus far WHEREAS Adolfo Sánchez Guzmán, a reporter for Xhora Stereo and the Web site “Orizaba en Vivo,” was killed on November 30; the circumstances surrounding his death are unclear; and though two suspects have been arrested, the case against them is thought to be weak WHEREAS reporters Saúl Contreras and Rafael Saavedra for the Veracruz newspaper El Mundo de Córdoba were targeted in separate attempts to run them over with a vehicle, but they both managed to get away and seek help; though they filed criminal complaints, the authorities have made no progress in the investigations WHEREAS columnist Raúl Marcial Pérez for the newspaper El Gráfico was killed on December 8, and no progress has been made in determining who was responsible and why this highly respected indigenous leader was killed; in fact, human rights organizations have denounced irregularities in the investigation WHEREAS Rodolfo Rincón Taracena, who reported on security- and justice-related issues for the newspaper Tabasco Hoy, disappeared on January 21; his whereabouts and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance are unknown, though there are indications that it may be linked to his reports on organized crime in Tabasco; however, the authorities have made not vigorously pursued the investigation WHEREAS after nearly three years of task force meetings to review the case file for the April 1988 killing of Héctor Félix Miranda, there are clear signs from representatives of the Baja California state attorney general’s office that they intend to close the case without following the recommendation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to search for the person who planned the killing WHEREAS even though the Chihuahua state attorney general’s office has demonstrated a willingness to pursue its investigation into the killing of columnist Víctor Manuel Oropeza, no concrete results have been reached after 34 months of task force meetings on the case WHEREAS the facilities of the Nuevo Laredo newspaper El Mañana and those of the newspaper Por Esto! in Quintana Roo and Yucatán were targeted in grenade and firearm attacks, and the Federal Office of the Attorney General has not only failed to solve any of these cases but, according to the newspaper’s staff, has shown no interest in doing so WHEREAS journalists with the Oaxaca newspaper Noticias Voz e Imagen have been subjected to both direct assaults and intimidation attempts by state government officials in the last two years, and none of these incidents has been punished by the authorities charged with doing so WHEREAS attacks and threats against journalists in Mexico have become more frequent and have spread to other states, not just along the country’s northern and southern borders, and federal and state authorities have failed to investigate these incidents and arrest the culprits, leading to an increase in self-censorship among journalists and media outlets trying to protect themselves WHEREAS Article 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states, “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, pressure, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly” THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to demand that the authorities in Coahuila act promptly and expeditiously to locate reporter Rafael Ortiz Martínez and apprehend the culprits so they may be prosecuted; and to demand that the Federal Office of the Attorney General take over the case, due to the lack of progress and in view of indications that the reporter’s disappearance is linked to organized crime to urge the Federal Office of the Attorney General to demonstrate progress in its investigation into the killing of reporter Enrique Perea Quintanilla and to apprehend the culprits to demand that the Tamaulipas state attorney general’s office to solve the killing of radio personality Ramiro Téllez Contreras, so that the culprits may be prosecuted and the circumstances surrounding the killing may be known to request that the Yucatán state attorney general’s office expedite its investigation into the threats and assaults on reporters for the newspaper Por Esto! and that it apprehend those responsible; and to ask the Federal Office of the Attorney General to review and take over the case due to the lack of progress and in view of the lack of confidence in the state authorities to demand that the Chihuahua state attorney general’s office pursue its investigation into the attack on the three journalists, and that it apprehend those responsible for this highly serious incident as soon as possible to request that the Federal Office of the Attorney General fully take over the investigation into the killing of documentary filmmaker and freelance reporter Bradley Ronald Will, in view of the lack of confidence in state authorities and the lack of progress in the case, so that it may apprehend the culprits, who, according to one theory of the investigation, may be indirectly linked to state authorities to demand that the Guerrero state attorney general’s office pursue its investigation into the killing of journalist Misael Tamayo Hernández and that it apprehend and prosecute those responsible to urge the Michoacán state attorney general’s office to commit itself to finding journalist José Antonio García Apac and apprehending the culprits as soon as possible; and to demand that the Federal Office of the Attorney General take over the case in view of the lack of confidence in state authorities and the possible involvement of organized crime to demand that the Veracruz state attorney general’s office pursue its investigation into the killing of journalist Roberto Marcos García, and, should it find evidence of links to organized crime, that it turn the case over to the Federal Office of the Attorney General so that all of those involved may be apprehended and the circumstances surrounding the killing may be known to urge the Veracruz state attorney general’s office to solve the killing of reporter Adolfo Sánchez Guzmán, apprehend and prosecute those responsible, and release a report detailing the circumstances of the killing and evidence in the case to demand that the Veracruz state attorney general’s office arrest those responsible for attacks on two reporters for the newspaper El Mundo de Córdoba, in view of the serious risk posed by the fact that the perpetrators remain at large to demand that the Oaxaca state attorney general’s office act promptly, impartially and decisively to arrest all those involved in the killing of journalist Raúl Marcial Pérez and that it issue a public announcement, along with evidence, on the circumstances surrounding the killing; and to request that Federal Office of the Attorney General review the case and, if possible, take it over to ensure that the case is solved to urge the Tabasco state attorney general’s office and the Federal Office of the Attorney General to locate reporter Rodolfo Rincón Taracena, apprehend the culprits as soon as possible and have them prosecuted, and publicly report on the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the reporter to demand once again that the Baja California state attorney general’s office diligently and efficiently comply with what was agreed to at the task force meetings and that it follow the recommendation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which was accepted by the Mexican government; and to demand that it heed the international agreements to which Mexico is a signatory and that it no longer insist on applying the statute of limitations to the Héctor Félix Miranda case to request that the Ministry of Foreign Relations, as the representative of the Mexican government at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, insist that the Baja California state attorney general’s office effectively and satisfactorily comply with the commission’s recommendation to demand that the Chihuahua state attorney general’s office report on its progress in the investigation into the killing of columnist Víctor Manuel Oropeza and that it follow the recommendation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to ask the Ministry of Foreign Relations to continue pushing forward the work of the Chihuahua state attorney general’s office in order to fully comply with the recommendation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to demand that the Federal Office of the Attorney General conduct an in-depth investigation and arrest those who planned and carried out the attacks on facilities belonging to newspapers in Tamaulipas and the Yucatán Peninsula, and that it punish them severely enough to set an example that will discourage similar incidents from happening in the future to insist once again that the Federal Office of the Attorney General take over the investigation into the attacks and abuses to which the Oaxaca newspaper Noticias Voz e Imagen has been subjected, as the state authorities have exhibited a lack of impartiality and the incidents in question are quite serious to demand that the Mexican government do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of media outlets and journalists and allow them to conduct their work freely; and that it pursue and solve all cases of assaults and killings of journalists, because if the governments lets these crimes go unpunished, it will be allowing a climate of fear and self-censorship to continue