Mexico: Violence Against Women

MEX 191297
and
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
MEX 191297.VAW

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT
intervention in the following situation in Mexico.

Brief description of the situation :
During the last two years the civil organisations of the state of
Guerrero have suffered harassment, torture and forced disappearances
at the hands of police and army on the pretext of fighting drug
traffickers.

On December 3rd 1997 at 18:00 hours in the community of Zopilotepec,
municipality of Atlixtac, two married couples were detained by five
armed members of the Mexican army. The couples, Aurelia Mendez Ramirez
and her husband Celerino Vazquez Solano, Delfina Lopez Aguilar and her
husband Aureliano Vicente Cantu, were in the fields with their
children, gathering maize, when the military arrived and began
shooting and hitting them. The men were tied up and beaten and the
women were raped repeatedly in the presence of their husbands and
children who were threatened with death. They were then taken to the
community of Ocopexco where the women were released while the men were
taken to the community of Ayotoxtla.

The next day, the women went to Ayotoxtla to ask the military to
release their husbands since they were innocent but were told that
their husbands took part in drug trafficking and would be taken to
Chilpancingo, the capital of the state of Guerrero. The women then
lodged a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's office in Chilapa,
Guerrero, on December 9th with Alvaro Lopez Miranda who ordered them
to undergo a gynaecological examination which was carried out by the
forensic physician, Roberto Corona Tapia.

They subsequently sought the support of the Regional Centre for Human
Rights Jose Maria Morelos y Pavo" and , on December 10th, appealed to
the Guerrero Institute for Human Rights. This complaint was directed
to the National Commission for Human Rights, file no. VG62597-V. The
men were released on December 12th in the absence of proof. However,
no sanctions were imposed on those responsible.

Action requested :
Please write to the Mexican authorities urging them to :
i.	guarantee the safety and the physical and psychological integrity
of Aurelia Mendez Ramirez and her husband Celerino Vazquez Solano,
Delfina Lopez Aguilar and her husband Aureliano Vicente Cantu Fany
Cerrato and the children and ensure their right to appropriate redress
; ii.	carry out a full and impartial investigation into the facts and
punish those responsible in accordance with the law; iii.	put an end
to the harassment of peasants in the state of Guerrero by the military
and the police; iv.	withdraw the armed forces from the area; v.	ensure
in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
in accordance with national laws and international standards.

Addresses :
S.E. Dr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, Presidente de la República,
Palacio Nacional, C.P. 06065, Mexico, D.F., Mexico. Fax (+ 52 5) 515
57 29 ó/or 516 57 62 Lic. Emilio Chuayffet Chemor, Secretario de
Gobernación, Secretaría de Gobernación, Bucareli 99, 2º piso, Col.
Juarez, Mexico, D.F., Mexico Fax (+ 52 5) 546 53 50 ó/or 547 03 21
o/or 546 Dr. Jorge Madrazo Cuellar, Procurador General de Justicia,
Procuraduría General, Violeta y Reforma s/n 2º piso, Col. Guerrero,
México, D.F. CP 06300 México. Fax: (+ 52 5) 626 44 26 Lic. Mireille
Roccatti Velásquez, Presidenta Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos,
Periférico sur 3469, Col. San Jerónimo Lídice, Deleg. Magdalena
Contreras, C.P. 10200, Mexico, D.F., Mexico.  Fax.: (+ 52 5) 631 26 33
E-mai: cndh@laneta.apc.org

Geneva, 19 December 1997
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply

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