Oaxaca: vrije media gesaboteerd
Carla - 24.07.2007 15:47
Vrije media zijn enorm belangrijk overal ter wereld en zeker in Oaxaca, waar zij alleen zonder overheidscensuur uitzenden wat er gebeurt.
Op dit moment wordt het uitzenden van radio Planton, een van de grote vrije radiozenders, gesabotteerd,zeer waarschijnlijk door de overheid.
Persecution of, and Agression Towards, Independent Media in Oaxaca
In the past month, several independent media outlets in Oaxaca have been the target of an ongoing campaign of agression and threats. Radio Planton´s signal, 92.1 FM, (www.radioplanton.mx.kz) has been intermittently blocked since it went back on the air, on June 14th, 2007. The website of Oaxacalibre (www.oaxacalibre.net) was hacked on July 8th, one week before the celebration of the Guelaguetza Popular (more information about the Guelaguetza Popular at  http://mexico.indymedia.org/oaxaca).
Other independent media outlets, including both radio and electronic media, have suffered similar attacks. We can only assume that this campaign is being carried out with the explicit intention of silencing the media outlets dedicated to disseminating information about the social movement in Oaxaca, and about the state government´s repression of that movement.
We insist on our right, as citizens, to have access to factual information, and our right as independent communication workers to produce and disseminate it. Our work is based in the responsible appropriation and use of the media, and in our understanding of the fundamental role that the media plays in the kind of social transformation to which we are committed.
With the recent celebration of the Guelaguetza, a new wave of repression has been unleashed against the popular movement in Oaxaca and against the independent media. On July 16, during the people´s Guelaguetza, a confrontation provoked by state police resulted in over 40 arrests, dozens of injured (two of them in critical condition), and several buildings partially destroyed. Radio Planton received four phone calls directly threatening the physical well-being of the people working in the radio station.
On July 21st, two days before the Official Guelaguetza, Radio Planton´s transmission became completely blocked with a signal that is repeating the same piece of heavy metal music over and over again. This same strategy was used to block the signal of University Radio during the month of November, 2006. On Monday, July 23rd, day of the official Guelaguetza, Oaxacalibre suffered another attack on its website.
It is clear to us that the state is trying to impose a climate of war on Oaxacan civil society. In that context, we view the government´s recent actions as the beginning of a new escalation of violence. In the past week, we have seen more arbitrary detentions, failures to provide due process, and cases of torture, disappearances, and attempted assasinations then we have seen since last November. It is unacceptable that the federal government continues using its war against "organized crime" and ¨terrorism" as a pretext for criminalizing public protest and attacking the independent media in Oaxaca.
We hold the Secretary of Communication and Transportation, and governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, responsible for the ongoing blockade of Radio Planton´s signal and the sabotage of Oaxacalibre´s website, as well as all other attacks on the independent media, in Oaxaca.
We call on international civil society to carry out protests at Mexican consulates and embassies, in solidarity with Oaxaca, and to disseminate information about the current situation in Oaxaca.
Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, July 23rd, 2007
FRATERNALMENTE,
RADIO PLANTÓN
Oaxacalibre, Radio Disturbio, Corrugated Films, Narco News, Canal Seis de Julio, Mal de Ojo Radio, Radio AMLO, Radio Plantón
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