Fourth update on the convocation to the “WEEK OF WORLDWIDE STRUGGLE FOR THE LIBERATION OF PATISHTÁN AND SÁNT IZ LÓPEZ: BRINGING DOWN THE PRISON WALLS”

May 15 to May 22, 2012

- Junta de Buen Gobierno (Good Government Council) of Oventic and Relatives of Sántiz López Salute National and International Allies in NEW Documentary Premiering this Week

- Tomorrow begin the worldwide actions demanding the release of Alberto and Francisco

- More countries will repeat the call to free the indigenous political prisoners

To our sisters and brothers, the family members and allies of Alberto Patishtán Gómez:
To our sisters and brothers, the family members and allies of Francisco Sántiz López:
To our Zapatista sisters and brothers:
To our compañer@s of The Other Campaign:
To our compañer@s of the Zezta Internazional:
To our compañer@s, adherents of the International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio and all our allies from around the world:
To the Civil Society in Mexico and in the world:

Compañeras and compañeros:

Receive combative greetings and embraces on behalf of the humble and simple community of El Barrio, New York.
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the “Week of Worldwide Struggle for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López: Bringing Down the Prison Walls,” and with it, due to all of our collective efforts and dreams, another horizon—of fresh air, shinning light, and open terrain.

In light of this, compas, we offer here this update regarding the call to action for the “Week of Worldwide Struggle for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López.”

We have produced a new documentary called “Brining Down the Prison Walls: The Fight for Alberto and Francisco.” It has been created especially for the Week of Worldwide Struggle, and includes exclusive audio from Francisco’s relatives and the Junta de Buen Gobierno of Oventic in support of our global actions. Additionally, it contains photographs of Alberto and Francisco sent to us from their families, which display the lives of our comrades prior to their unjust imprisonment. These photos and audio have moved us profoundly—they ensure, as well, that the faces and histories of our political prisoner comrades remain alive and front and center. In this way, they are a kind of counterpoint to the bad government’s strategy of erasing and dehumanizing them.
We believe that in our world, those who fight for justice, like Alberto and Francisco, are sources of our memory and therefore, our collective power. It is they who make us remember what we are and why we fight. They keep alive our memory of how to live life with dignity, how to live like honest beings on this planet—something that those from above forgot some 500 years ago.
The complete video, with the audio and photos, can be seen here:

We ask that you please circulate it widely amongst all of your contacts and networks. It is our hope that it generates more support and energy for our actions, so that they may be even more successful.

This week we will fight together, groups and collectives, from Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, Spain, England, Scotland, the United States, Argentina, Canada, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

As our compas from the Junta de Buen Gobierno relays in their message to us: “three levels of the bad government have stubbornly turned a deaf ear, and are demonstrating that they are willing to continue violating human rights.”

During this week, united and together, we will finally make the bad municipal, state, and federal government listen to us.

If you want to contribute your grain of sand to demand the release of our compañeros Alberto and Francisco, we ask that you please let us know as soon as possible if you accept our proposal and will participate in the “Week of Worldwide Struggle for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López: Bringing Down the Prison Walls.” You may communicate with us via e-mail at: movimientoporjusticiadelbarrio.

That is all for now, compas.

Thank you.

Freedom for the political prisoners!

LONG LIVE ALBERTO PATISTHÁN GÓMEZ!
LONG LIVE FRANCISCO SÁNTIZ LÓPEZ!
LONG LIVE INDIGENOUS RESITANCE!
FREE OUR PRISONERS NOW!!!

With love and solidarity,

Movement for Justice in El Barrio
The Other Campaign New York

Convocation for “WEEK OF WORLDWIDE STRUGGLE FOR THE LIBERATION OF PATISHTÁN AND SÁNTIZ LÓPEZ: BRINGING DOWN THE PRISON WALLS”

To our sisters and brothers, the family members and allies of Alberto Patishtán Gomez:
To our sisters and brothers, the family members and allies of Francisco Sántiz López:
To our Zapatista sisters and brothers:
To our compañer@s of The Other Campaign:
To our compañer@s of the Zezta Internazional:
To our compañer@s, adherents of the International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio and all our allies from around the world:
To the Civil Society in Mexico and in the world:

The following is an urgent call to action from Movement for Justice in El Barrio, The Other Campaign New York, and supported by the Patishtán Family, to realize the:

“WEEK OF WORLDWIDE STRUGGLE FOR THE LIBERATION OF PATISHTÁN AND SANTIZ LOPEZ: BRINGING DOWN THE PRISON WALLS”

To take place from Tuesday, May 15 to Tuesday May 22 of this year.

Compañer@s:

We send you our affectionate embraces and greetings on behalf of Movement for Justice in El Barrio, The Other Campaign New York.
We wish to share with all of you an urgent proposal from the humble and simple migrant community of El Barrio, New York.

Over here on the “other side,” we find ourselves with relentless anxiety trembling in our skin. We have observed from afar the cases of unjust incarceration of the political prisoners: Alberto Patishtán Gómez, an adherent of The Other Campaign, and Francisco Sántiz López, member of the Zapatista Support Base communities since 1992. For us, the dignified struggles of our compañeros are an occasion to reflect and rebel against a political and legal system that has nothing to do with justice or rights.

We have witnessed with much pain all the attempts to dehumanize Alberto Patishtán Gómez and Francisco Sántiz López – from the false accusations to the legal inconsistencies – of the bad government via its three levels and its rulers from every post, such as the repressor Pres. Felipe Calderón and the repressor Gov. Juan Sabines . They seek to erase the faces of our compañeros to make them invisible. They seek to erase the words of our compañeros to silence them. They seek to eliminate their phyisical freedom so that they cannot fight anymore. Because it is easier to bury beneath prison walls a human body that lacks a face, makes no sound, has no life.

But we continue listening to them from afar, and their dignified cries, their indispensable lives, call us to walk alongside them to obtain their freedom. They call on us to unite our forces in order to knock down the walls that surround them.

The prison system constitutes part of the racist politics of the world capitalist system. We know that it is no coincidence that in Mexico, as well as here in the United States, the jails and prisons are filled almost exclusively with those from below – indigenous, migrants, black, poor, Latino, women and men, and all marginalized groups – since only the true criminals could benefit from this misery: the multinational corporations and their political lackeys. Those from above believe that people who struggle must be crushed and encaged.

Alberto Patishtán Gómez was born on April 19, 1971 in the Chiapas municipality of El Bosque. He was arbitrarily deprived of his freedom on June 19, 2000 for crimes he did not commit. Two years later he was sentenced to 60 years in prison. When this injustice took place, Patishtán was very active in the political life of his community. He had been an outspoken critic of the corruption of politicians and political institutions. Despite the horrific prison conditions and his health problems, Alberto has not given up. On the contrary, he continues fighting from inside. Known as Professor Patishtán, Alberto was an elementary teacher at a local public school and during these past 12 years has continued to be an exemplary fighter for justice for his two children, other prisoners, and his compañeros from around the world. Adherent to The Other Campaign since the release of Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, his dignified example teaches us that the rebel spirit cannot be contained.

Similarly, since December 2011, our compañero Fancisco Sántiz López, member of the Zapatista Support Base communities since 1992, has been unjustly incarcerated and falsely charged with having lead a confrontation, which occurred in the Banavil community of the Tenejapa municipality of Chiapas, in which a member of the PRI party died. The racist and political character of this incident is obvious. As the Zapatista Good Government Council of Oventic explains, “The fabrication of crimes against our compañero comes from Los Pinos [the Mexican presidency], with the end of destroying the resistance of the zapatista communities; they are trying to impede at any cost the construction of the autonomy of indigenous peoples, it is part of a strategy of low-intensity warfare against our communities in resistance.” Recently, on March 22 of this year, our compañero Francisco, as he was about to be released, was hit with another accusation of another false crime. For this reason, he remains at the moment a political prisoner, despite the fact that witnesses have corroborated the fact that Francisco Sántiz López was not at the site of the confrontation. Additionally, the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center has published a report indicating the names of those responsible for the murder. Obviously, the truth, much less justice, means little to the authorities.

We have seen all of this occur with impunity and arrogance. Now is the time to continue increasing the pressure and rebel against so many injustices. That said, we ask that we all join forces, once and for all, to demand that the bad powers of Mexico, particularly the repressors Pres. Felipe Calderón and Gov. Juan Sabines, immediately release our compañeros Alberto Patishtán Gómez and Francisco Sántiz López. Towards this end, with the support of the Patishtán family, we propose the following:

- That together we unite our forces and organize actions – from our particular locations and respective forms of struggle – such as demonstrations, marches, informative street actions, fliering, public forums, theatre, teach-ins, and any other activity to realize

“WEEK OF WORLWIDE STRUGGLE FOR THE LIBERATION OF PATISHTÁN AND SÁNTIZ LÓPEZ: BRINGING DOWN THE PRISON WALLS”

From Tuesday, May 15 to Tuesday, May 22 of this year.

Please let us know as soon as possible if you accept our proposal and will participate. You may communicate with us via e-mail at:
movimientoporjusticiadelbarrio

FREEDOM FOR THE POLITICAL PRISONERS!
LONG LIVE ALBERTO PATISHTÁN GÓMEZ!
LONG LIVE FRANCISCO SANTIZ LÓPEZ!
LET US BRING DOWN THE WALLS OF INJUSTICE!

We send you embraces of love and solidarity.

From El Barrio, New York:

Movement for Justice in El Barrio
The Other Campaign New York