Conferencia Anual de Derechos Humanos
Annual Human Rights Conference

The Phoenix

"In Nochantzin, In Mochantzin"

There is a fire that burns eternally within the being of humanity at the global level, the light of which does not cast shadow but reveals the integrity of all. We, the Indigenous Peoples who are the caretakers of this hearth of community, hold the fireplace of this world of mysterious beauty and power to be our home planet, our mother, the Earth. In this sense, from this perspective we are all originally and eventually, Indigenous Peoples. The question is, what value do we assign to this ecological principle of human and cultural identity, the origination of all our societies without exception, and why is this even important.

As community members of the Valley of the Sun, we have a unique opportunity to dialogue regarding this question. Our presence and participation in the demographic and ecological transformation which is evident across the territory bestows a responsibility to act strategically in furtherance of the community development goals which unite us here today.

What are the elements of our community development initiatives? What is the historical and geographic context? What are the ecological and territorial imperatives if we are to view community urban development as integral to community sustainability over generations?

There is a meter in the community development process that is paced and best served when the body of the organization has achieved the internal maturity necessary to grow and sustain the next phase. This strength is only captured as an asset when challenges are honestly met and effectively addressed. An issue of relevance usually ignored is that the nonprofit model of community development corporation depends on the for-profit corporate model for its point of reference in terms of identity.

With the form comes a process that must be dealt with, but where is the allegiance? This is a broad question, and it is meant to be so. Today we speak of the global economy at the drop of a dollar without ever considering or mentioning the psychology of globalizing communities. And not just as jornaleros (day laborers), migrant workers, economic refugees or transnational corporates and government politicos.

Somewhere there is a myth or a fairy tale or a horror story (take your pick) told about the NEW WORLD, and what happened to people when they crossed over into the territory. Of course, it always was a global economy. It has always been one land, one water, one air, and all of the fullness and richness of life are integral to the reciprocal processes which include ourselves - the human beings - as part of the family of the web of life.

And to BE HUMAN? Do we have the courage to enter the fire of the hearth of humanity, to reemerge with the social skills and necessary organizational strategy to renew societies of sustainability and mutual respect?

The bottom line exists, but it is not a line. It is a discovery of reality, a recognition of the economic principles which are sustained by the currency of caring, in contrast to dominion and consumption. It is the foundation of individual understanding and cultural infrastructure that reminds us where it all began, so that we may be guided in our pursuit of true community wealth and prosperity, and not remain lost and wandering for another five hundred years.

(From the keynote address by Tupac Enrique Acosta, Annual Neighborhood Partners Sharing Rally in Phoenix - October 16, 2003)

The Legend of Truth and the Doctrine of Power

Legend is the loom of history. As was narrated thousands of times by the eminent mythologist of the West, Joseph Campbell, all of the cultures and nations of the world encounter one another in the process of weaving a collective conscience, a legend of the future -- a design that that emerges from the dual axis of the need of the human being to comprehend the reality of our nature, and at the same time, the nature of reality.

In the world of Legend, there is law and there is also a boundary in the form of a shoreline. The law proclaims that no one can in reality understand the world through attempted isolation; instead it is necessary to give your heart to the world to know who we are as human beings. The boundary is the horizon of all human knowledge from its historical beginnings in all parts of the planet; yet this is only a boundary which invites us to approach with respect and, if we arrive with the passport of humility, we shall cross to be received in the mysterious house of wisdom.

Should we violate the law, intending to isolate ourselves in castles of arrogance, racism, nationalism, religious prejudice, fear, ignorance and lies we must then deliver the key to our self constructed prison to the Sheriff of the Doctrine of Power. Perhaps this name is not really appropriate since in truth he HAS NO POWER only the key which we ourselves have given him that opens the door to liberation. (In actuality, the Sheriff presents himself in the global cultural matrix as the Nation State. To occupy our attention, occasionally he will toss into the cell of psychological control the games of chance which are known as electoral campaigns. Or, alternatively we are sentenced to be sent to fratricidal [all of them] or religious wars [also all of them]). In this context, within this paradigm of civilization, war and economics are synonymous.

A few intend escape. A few intend to see the world as it really is, without false borders and ordered instead by the real powers of love and justice in ecological balance. These implement a plan to wake the rest, actualizing political campaigns such as the “Dream Act” so that it shall be recognized universally that “Education is for all those who work to learn”. Others, invoking the millennial roots of humanity itself, call to the winds with the shell trumpet of the seven seas – atecocoli – and continue on the path of a global humanity.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the Sheriff panics to discover a maiden escapee from the prison is headed for the border, and so he urgently calls to alert La Migra (Border Patrol). The maiden's identity in the myth is AKA “Snow White,” while La Migra appears as the old, ugly witch who lives in the kingdom of lies and for that reason cannot see -- not even her own face, her personality in human terms -- in the mirror of the Legend of Truth. How the story ends everybody knows, but not yet. The maiden still sleeps; she has NOT awakened but remains captured by the forces of fear, guilt, and the darkness of isolation which derive from a collective conscience which pretends ignorance of being active accomplice to the Doctrines of Power. The spell which binds her conscience in coma is the poison of the Domain of Dominion.

In the traditional songs of our Izkalotlan Pueblo, there is a popular verse which goes:

Even the Suns will die, the Stars shall sacrifice themselves,
Giving their blood which is the Light, offering their flesh
Which is pure Energy,
Sot hat the Spirit
Shall be reborn.

On Saturday, September 13th, in their humble home of the NAHUACALLI, Embassy of the Indigenous Peoples, the community voices of the Izkalotekah who bring the song to life, gathered to invoke the memory of the Legend of Truth in attendance at the Annual Human Rights Conference of TONATIERRA. The song sings of the prophecy of the Sixth Sun, the Sun of Justice which is now dawning for the Indigenous Peoples of the continent and the world.

In addition to collectively addressing the themes of active community campaigns in the field of Civil Rights such as that of the Dream Act among many others, the issue of Human Rights was presented powerfully by the MACEHUALLI, Jornaleros (Day Laborers) of the community who provided a theatrical presentation of realities of jornalero life, the struggle to organize, and the victory of community. A message of testimony from jornaleros who worked at the ground zero site in New York and who have suffered from abuse and criminal neglect because of their undocumented status was delivered as well.

The theme of this year's annual conference was Los Hijos de Maiz y el Camino a Cancún, and so it was the youth in attendance who took the lead to implement a direct public action in support of the movement by the Indigenous and Campesino movement mobilized on the very same day in Cancún, México in opposition to the agenda of the World Trade Organization. From the Maya of Chiapas, Mexico the conference attendees received a greeting from our sister organization that spoke of the of the world vision of the Indigenous Peoples. (Article: http://www.indiancountry.com/?1064252640&style=printable)

A report by the legation of Tlahtokan Aztlan which attended the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York last May was also brought forward and discussed, as well as the work by La Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras led by Jose Matus of the Yaqui Nation. The Black Mesa Water Coalition reported on their work to preserve the sacred aquifers of Black Mesa in the Four Corners area of the Hopi and Navajo Nations, acknowledgment that the dialogue on Civil, Human and Indigenous Rights is at all times referenced by our collective obligations as Indigenous Nations of the territory.

The Doctrines of Power identified and exposed for community tribunal were:

• The Doctrine of Discovery and the Royal Crowns of Europe – October 12th, 1492
• The Doctrine of Colonization of the Continent and Indigenous Peoples of America 1492-2003
• The Monroe Doctrine, USA – December 2, 1823
• The Doctrine of Permanent War, USA – 2003

TONATIERRA
NAHUACALLI Embassy of the Indigenous Peoples
802 N. 7th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Tel: (602) 254-5230
PO Box 24009
Phoenix, AZ 85074 Email: tonal@tonatierra.org

Resistencia Contra el Plan Puebla-Panamà en México

Organizaciones del sur-sureste acuerdan estrategias para enfrentar al Plan Puebla-Panamà

Istmo de Tehuantepec,Oaxaca.

A pesar de que Herbert Taylor, coordinador del Plan Puebla Panamá insiste en señalar públicamente que este plan no se ejecutarà sin ser consultado a los pueblos ndígenas y núcleos campesinos, las organizaciones participantes en el Encuentro Anual de Coordinación de la Alianza Mexicana por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos (AMAP), coincidimos en señalar que en varias regiones del sur-sureste de nuestro país, sigue avanzando el PPP sin la más mínima consulta ciudadana.

Reunidosen San Pablo Actìpan, Puebla, durante los días 15 y 16 de Noviembre,representantes de organizaciones indígenas, campesinas y organismos no gubernamentales de Oaxaca,Veracruz, Guerrero, Puebla, Chiapas y el DF, expusimos que ante las numerosas protestas ciudadanas ocurridas en México y Centroamérica, los promotores del PPP, han desarrollado una estrategia que oculta el verdadero trasfondo de los megaproyectos para imponerlos en silencio.

Prueba de ello es la reducción de recursos asignados al PPP, en el Proyecto de Presupuesto de Egresos para el 2004, presentado por el Gobierno de Vicente Fox, en el cual se reduce en más de un 80 por ciento los fondos asignados a este plan en relación a los ejercidos durante el 2003. Por ello, consideramos que el Gobierno canalizarà recursos fiscales para impulsar infraestructura del PPP, sin asignarlos de manera abierta al Plan Puebla-Panamá y utilizarà de manera creciente recursos del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID).

Se denunció como con engaños, represión, amenazas y utilizando a la Procuraduría Agraria, cientos de campesinos e indígenas de Puebla, Chiapas y Oaxaca han sido despojados de sus tierras, para la construcción de carreteras diseñadas para movilizar las materias primas y mercancías producidas por el sector maquilador.

Asimismo, se denunciaron las maniobras y presiones que sufren pobladores guerrerenses por la construcción de la presa La Parota; las intimidaciones y suspensión de apoyos gubernamentales ante la creciente oposición contra la supercarretera Oaxaca-Istmo Huatulco y los planes de instalar una enorme planta hidroelèctrica en la presa Benito Juàrez, en Jalapa del Marquès, asì como las acciones de protesta que vienen realizando indígenas de la Zona Norte de Chiapas ante proyectos turísticos operados por extranjeros.

Ante esta situación, las organizaciones participantes en esta reunión decidieron impulsar nuevas acciones regionales, nacionales e internacionales con el fin de detener al PPP y otros megaproyectos que ponen en peligro el patrimonio territorial y cultural de las comunidades indígenas y campesinas del Sur-sureste de México.

Dentro de estas acciones se informò de la realización del Encuentro de Comunidades y Pueblos Indios del Istmo de Tehuantepec en Resistencia Contra el Plan Puebla-Panamà “Enlazando pueblos para fortalecer la lucha”, que se llevará acabo los días 28 y 29 de Noviembre, en Tehuantepec, Oaxaca.

Se acordó participar a nivel estatal y nacional en la movilización de las caravanas que llegarán el 27 de Noviembre próximo a la ciudad de México, con el fin de manifestarse en contra de la privatización de la industria eléctrica y en defensa de la Soberanía Nacional.

El próximo 13 de diciembre en Tututepec, Oaxaca se llevará a cabo un Encuentro de Comunicadores Alternativos, en el cual se definirán estrategias para enfrentar la ofensiva de la SCT en contra de las radios comunitarias.

Asimismo se anunciò la realización durante el 2004 de dos Encuentros de Pueblos que luchan en contra de la construcción de Presas, el primero de ellos se hará en La Parota Guerrero y el segundo, en el mes de septiembre en Jalapa del Márquez, Oaxaca.

La Alianza Mexicana por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos, convocarà al Encuentro Nacional ha realizarse los días 4 y 5 de Junio del 2004 en la población de Tepeaca, Puebla. Asimismo, se acordó participar en el V Foro Social Mesoamericano a realizarse a mediados del 2004.

En esta reunión se informó de la liberación del indígena zapoteca Miguel Bautista, preso en el estado de Veracruz y se creó un grupo de trabajo sobre Derechos Humanos pues son crecientes los actos represivos en contra de las personas y organizaciones que se oponen a los Megaproyectos de inversiòn del Plan Puebla-Panamà.

Todas las organizaciones que formamos parte de la AMAP reiteramos nuestro compromiso con los pueblos de la región Mesoamericana de enfrentar consistentemente los megaproyectos de inversión y las políticas neoliberales privatizadoras que destruyen las culturas y la autodeterminación de los pueblos.

(Fuente: UCIZONI. Encuentro Nacional Contra Megaproyectos; Tepeaca)

La Alianza Mexicana por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos

Pueblos Indígenas y la Frontera

Noviembre 4, 2003

Los pueblos indígenas que en estas tierras hemos visto crecer la memoria de nuestros ancestros, honramos su vida y su obra luchando para el futuro, en donde seamos reconocidos y respetados como naciones originarias.

La conquista y dominación a manos de potencias extranjeras, no logró destruir nuestras culturas. Muchos pueblos fueron aniquilados hasta sus cimientos, sus paredes derrumbadas y sus hombres, mujeres y niños asesinados hasta no quedar uno solo más. A ellos dedicamos nuestras oraciones y lucha de resistencia por años y siglos. Pero otros pueblos, seguimos con vida y en pie de lucha.

Las fronteras nacionales, estatales y municipales, fueron establecidas sin consultarnos y sin respetar nuestros legítimos derechos. Fue así que en muchas ocasiones, el reparto entre los poderosos impuso fronteras a la vida, a la naturaleza, incluso a otros seres vivos, como las plantas, los animales, la tierra, el aire, las aguas y los hombres. En un absurdo, los poderosos señores de la guerra y el dinero, dividieron pueblos enteros, dejando cientos de comunidades divididas por una línea imaginaria, pero que ha traído infinidad de complicaciones de la vida de los hombres, de las plantas y los animales. Nos han impedido en muchas ocasiones visitar a nuestros familiares, hacer nuestros recorridos y peregrinaciones rituales a los lugares sagrados que nuestros más antiguos padres nos enseñaron a cuidar, respetar y venerar. Han impedido también el paso de plantas y animales que nos acompañan en este suelo sagrado que es la MadreTierra, y han pretendido incluso dividir el agua, separar los aires, disponer de la vida que de todas formas cruza sin pedir permiso.

Desde lo que ahora llaman Océano Pacífico, hasta el Golfo de México, los gobernantes de uno y otro país, México y Estados Unidos, nos han dispuesto en estados y municipios, por un lado y en estados, condados y reservaciones, en el otro lado. En el lado mexicano, nunca han reconocido verdaderamente a nuestras propias autoridades, nuestras asambleas y formas de tomar decisiones. Pero atravesando desiertos y llanuras, montañas y valles, siguiendo el caprichoso movimiento del Río Grande, otros han decidido hasta donde llega nuestro territorio, y lo han fraccionado para particulares que las explotan o las tienen como casa grande, y han construido carreteras, alambradas y hasta ciudades, para someternos y alejarnos. Actualmente, muchos de nuestros territorios, sus recursos naturales, aguas, tierras, minerales, e incluso recursos biológicos, son explotados sin misericordia desde hace años. Buscan despojarnos de nuestro derecho de transitar y vivir como ancestralmente lo hemos hecho aquí, y explotar nuestros recursos naturales.

Pero nosotros seguiremos viviendo aquí. Siempre lo hemos hecho y siempre lo seguiremos haciendo, ahora cada vez más unidos con hermanos de las muy diversas y grandes regiones indígenas del país, los distintos pueblos que se establecieron aquí mucho tiempo antes de la llegada de los invasores.

Por la misma situación de exterminio, abandono, aislamiento y miseria en que nos han mantenido los poderosos, cientos y miles de indígenas hermanos de otras regiones, también hemos tenido que venir a tratar de encontrar trabajo acá, para enviar dinero y poder mantener la vida de la familia en las comunidades.

Es el trabajo de millones de mexicanos, la vida y la muerte de los que migran. Somos sometidos todos a condiciones no-humanas para lograr tener derecho a ganar ese dinero que es la vida de otros que atrás quedaron: la esposa, los hijos, los hermanos, los padres y abuelos. Allá también están nuestras aspiraciones para que nuestros hijos o hermanos vayan a la escuela en las ciudades, porque en nuestras comunidades apenas si hay escuelas que llegan al segundo de primaria. Allá también están las necesidades de la casa, el pueblo, su camino y todo lo que necesita la familia entera para que viva. Allá quedó también nuestra milpa, el bosque, el cerro, el río, nuestro cementerio en donde están nuestros muertos que debemos cuidar así como ellos nos han cuidado.

Según los especialistas, el trabajo de los migrantes es muy importante, porque envía más dinero a México que todos sus negocios con Estados Unidos. El Estado mexicano no invierte ningún centavo para los esfuerzos que nosotros hacemos para llegar acá. Ni en nuestro transporte, ni en la comida, ni la espera hasta encontrar trabajo, ni en asegurarse de que quede algo para la familia que no veremos en mucho tiempo. Mucho menos en nuestra capacitación, y así, solitos hemos aprendido a la plomería, carpintería, albañilería, a trabajar la tierra de una manera muy diferente, etcétera. Incluso ahora hay indígenas en las universidades de Estados Unidos, que provienen de lugares remotos y que están demostrando que tenemos mucho que aportar a nuestras comunidades pero también a estas otras comunidades que están del otro lado de la frontera.

Es obligación de los Estados reconocer que existimos y respetar nuestros derechos. No somos ciudadanos de segunda para ningún gobierno y mucho menos para la MadreTierra que nos da cobijo y es el sustento de toda nuestra existencia.

Es obligación de los Estados reconocer legalmente nuestra presencia colectiva como sujetos de derecho, y respetarnos en su práctica política cotidiana, estableciendo una nueva relación entre todas las instituciones del Estado, las muy diversas fuerzas de la sociedad nacional y nuestros pueblos, comunidades y organizaciones indígenas.

Es obligación del Estado representar y defender los intereses y los derechos de todos los mexicanos y alcanzar un acuerdo y convenio que acabe de una vez por todas con la larga cadena de delitos y sufrimientos que hemos padecido a lo largo de todos estos siglos. Nuestra economía contribuye al crecimiento y bienestar de los dos países, pero nunca han reconocido que les hemos hecho un servicio generoso, y hemos recibido muy poco justo a cambio.

Es obligación de todos encontrar los consensos a partir del cumplimiento de los Acuerdos de San Andrés que en su espíritu nos habla de la posibilidad de construir un trato digno y respetuoso, basado en principios y valores comunes, para de esa forma establecer una nueva relación en cumplimiento a la Ley Internacional, el "Convenio 169 sobre poblaciones indígenas y tribales en países independientes", el "Convenio 111 sobre el Derecho de los Migrantes" de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo, así como el espíritu de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas, y la Declaración Americana de los Derechos Indígenas, los Pactos Internacionales de Derechos Civiles y Políticos, Sociales y Culturales de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas.

Demandamos la libertad de nuestros hermanos indígenas injustamente detenidos y presos en todas las cárceles del país, acusados de delitos en contra de la salud, de daño ecológico, de invasión de tierras e infinidad de palabras que demuestran el despojo y la falta de entendimiento de las costumbres y el enfrentamiento agrario entre comunidades con tal de explotar impunemente sus recursos naturales. Pero sobre todo, exigimos la libertad, con dignidad y justicia, de todos nuestros hermanos que han sido perseguidos, hostigados y encarcelados por la defensa de los derechos de nuestros pueblos, el reconocimiento de sus propias autoridades y su participación en la lucha que en todos los niveles se viene dando en torno al movimiento indígena nacional. Exigimos la libertad Carlos Manzo, Luis Alberto Marín, Amado Castro, Nicasio Zaragoza, Edmundo Espinosa, entre muchos otros. Exigimos cese a la represión y castigo a los asesinos de dos abogadas indígenas en Puebla y la Sierra de Oaxaca, asesinatos y "accidentes" de indígenas destacados en diversas localidades y en general el clima de colombianización de varias regiones del país.

Exigimos el reconocimiento constitucional y el respeto institucional a nuestros derechos indígenas tal como están establecidos en los Acuerdos de San Andrés y el inicio de un proceso de transformación hacia la reforma del Estado y un nuevo modelo de desarrollo con la participación directa desde nuestros pueblos.

FIRMAS

TONATIERRA
Foro Maya Peninsular de Yucatan y Quintana Roo - CNI
Consejo Ciudadano Unidalguense, Oaxaca
Movimiento de Artesanos Indígenas Zapatistas
Consejo Indigena Popular de Oaxaca "Ricardo Flores Magón" (CIPO-RFM)
Gubiña XXI, Istmo de Tehuantepec
Movimiento Agrario Indígena Zapatista
Ce-Acatl, A.C.
Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste

President Fox in Phoenix

Phoenix, AZ - A declaration of the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico and North America will be made public at a press conference to coincide with the visit of President Fox of Mexico in Phoenix. The context of the message defines the issues of Indigenous Peoples and the borders of government states as a crisis of international law, one in which the identity and legal recognition of the Indigenous Nations and Pueblos of the continent has yet to be acknowledged and respected.

Declaration of Indigenous Peoples - Mexico Press Conference
Tuesday 10:00 Am
NAHUACALLI
802 N. 7TH Street
Phoenix, AZ

The declaration, written to coincide with the visit of President Fox to Phoenix, is endorsed by representatives of native nations of Mexico and supported by TONATIERRA and other indigenous alliances of North America. It includes a demand by Indigenous Peoples of the continent for the fulfillment of the San Andres Peace Accords as a minimum first step to end the centuries old practices of discrimination and genocide towards the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico.

In terms of the border, the statement refers to the economic policies of both governments, the US and Mexico, as being complicit in the destruction of the economic base of the Indigenous Peoples in North America, the most grievous effect being the forced immigration of entire communities to the serve as unprotected workers in the NAFTA vise of economic terrorism.

Further, specific issues of political prisoners, assassinations of advocates of the Indigenous Pueblos of Puebla and Oaxaca, and other regions across Mexico will be brought forward.

Organizations of solidarity, such as the supporters of the Women of Juarez where approximately 340 girls and women have been brutally murdered since 1993 are also mobilizing to bring international accountability to the regime of impunity which pervades when the victims are of the poor and Indigenous Peoples.

Pueblos Indígenas, Mexico - Mensaje al Mundo

"In recent years, while Mexico's Indian movement pressed for autonomy, dignity and sovereignty and an Indian rights bill, Mexico's Congress and state legislatures failed them."

Mexico's Indigenous:
'Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction'
http://thenativepress.com/mexpoverty.html

Background:
The announced visit of President Vicente Fox of the Republic of Mexico to Phoenix provides an opportunity to reveal and dialogue regarding the dimension of the European American power structures imposed in the territory in historical and legal terms. On September the 13th, TONATIERRA hosted our annual community conference on Human Rights, during which the Working Group on Indigenous Rights initiated a community campaign of direct action in support of the Pueblos Indígenas of Mexico, specifically in terms of the issues related to implementation of Los Acuerdos de San Andres, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Organizations of American States and also of the United Nations, and the economic terrorism being waged against the economic infrastructure of Mexico as an indigenous civilization by European American colonizing power structures of both the Anglo and Hispanic ethnic orientation in collusion.

The theme of this year's conference was:
Los Hijos de Maíz y el Camino a Cancún

For information regarding los Acuerdos de San Andres:
http://www.ezln.org/san_andres/

Reclaman trato digno a grupos marginados

Denuncian atropellos de los inmigrantes en todo el país.
Librada Martínez

Trato digno a inmigrantes, indígenas, trabajadores y a la tierra misma, reclamaron los asistentes a la Conferencia sobre Derechos Humanos efectuada por la organización Tonatierra, el pasado fin de semana.

Oscar Paredes Morales, representante del Proyecto de los Trabajadores Latinoamericanos (PTLA), explicó la situación a la deriva a la que quedaron los trabajadores de las Torres Gemelas de Nueva York, y los inmigrantes en general, luego de los ataques terroristas del 11 de septiembre del 2001. Indicó que no únicamente se les considera como responsables de los problemas de déficit económico, sino también del terrorismo.

Los dos últimos alcaldes de la llamada urbe de hierro, lanzaron una campaña persecución, arrestos, deportación y multas en contra de los trabajadores inmigrantes jornaleros y vendedores ambulantes. Paredes Morales dijo que cientos de trabajadores que fueron contratados para limpiar la zona de desastre fueron expuestos a un alto índice de radiaciones por los materiales que manejaron.

“A estos trabajadores no se les proporcionó equipo de protección, facilidades para el aseo y comedores adecuados”, denunció.

En octubre de ese año, PTLA investigó los hechos y encontró que muchos fueron despedidos sin que les pagaran sus salarios y algunos de ellos estaban gravemente enfermos a causa de los trabajos de limpieza en la Zona Cero.

Indígenas marginados

Marcos Pérez Gómez, de la organización chiapaneca “Reconstruyendo nuestras vidas”, envió un mensaje desde una comunidad indígena en el cual expuso la interminable lucha de las comunidades indígenas en Chiapas por salir del ostracismo al que han estado expuestas con los gobiernos de la globalización.

“Aquí en Chiapas seguimos con lo mismo, los vividores políticosno tienen capacidad de entender, no tienen memoria, han adormecido sus cuerpos y sentidos por sus ambiciones”.Continúa y recuerda que Chiapas es rico, “pero sus habitantes estamos en la miseria y sumidos en la enfermedad. A un puño de ricos les sobra la comida y a muchos nos hace falta, nosotros los indígenas aquí en México vemos morir a nuestras familias, si pedimos dinero prestado no nos dan porque saben que no podemos pagar”, indica el mensaje.

Conference Document submitted by Tlahtokan Aztlan to TONATIERRA Annual Human Rights Conference

Saturday September 13, 2003
Working Group: Indigenous Rights
Theme: Protecting Sacred Sites

TLAHTOKAN AZTLAN

February 2, 1998

UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance
Mr. Abdelfattah Amor
c/o Center for Human Rights
Indigenous Peoples Section
Palais de Nacion, United Nations
1200 Geneva, Switzerland

Dear Special Rapporteur Amor,

TLAHTOKAN AZTLAN is a traditional council of autonomous Indigenous Pueblos of Aztlan, a voice of the families and communities whose roots and destiny lie in the heart and spirit of the lands of the Greater Southwest, a term which for us includes what is now the northern reaches of the territory of the Republic of Mexico. Known to anthropologists also as LA GRAN CHICHIMECA, the region is the sacred cradle of civilization for the surviving indigenous cultures of the UTO-AZTECAN language families on both sides of the current US-Mexico border.

It was an honor to receive your delegation at our humble embassy, the NAHUACALLI (House of the Four Directions) and we reiterate in this communication our willingness to work together for the benefit of all humanity under the guiding principles upon which our tradition stands. Our TLAHTOKAN is bound by the archives of honor that were set among the stars when the first representatives of the European governments arrived on our shores. They too were received with the smoke of copal, (as you were at NAHUACALLI), with the understanding that the relationship thus initiated between our peoples, cultures, and governments was to be based on mutual respect and reciprocity in recognition of our common humanity.

As Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, during the course of your investigative tour within the US, you have heard and will continue to collect testimony and documentation regarding the institutionalized pattern of practices and policies which perpetuate the destruction of indigenous culture and civilization. Integral to the entire process is an assault upon the land itself, a rape of the Mother Earth which defiles the special and sacred sites of the indigenous traditional peoples who are their caretakers. While the world community quickly is moved to consensus regarding the devastating effects upon humanity of "weapons of mass destruction" the institutionalized intolerance of the US government and society as a whole towards Indigenous Peoples religious principles and practices is rarely even questioned.

Legal challenges to the destruction of sacred sites and in defense of indigenous ceremonial practices are limited to the parameters of jurisprudenceof the US courts, which are alien to the authority of justice of the land, and can only provide a restricted and controlled temporary protection for Indigenous Rights which are inherent and eternal. As a weapon of destruction, the official and unofficial policy of intolerance towards indigenous religious practice is insidious for the cumulative mass effect over generations which is perpetrated upon indigenous identity and thus destiny and self determination. In reviewing the history of this policy of discriminatory and criminal treatment, the context of colonialism remains the definitive dynamic for the lack of an impartial evaluation of the issues. The cases presented for your review as Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, describe specific issues of complaint by indigenous nations against the US domains of authority, yet all have in common the underlying issue of identifying the intellectual author of the policies implemented and justified to the national society and world community.

This is a core issue, particularly in light of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief and the study which you as Special Rapporteur are now conducting. The Declaration defines "intolerance and discrimination based upon religion orbelief [as] any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on religion or belief and having as its purpose or as its effect nullification or impairment of the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis".

In terms of the Indigenous Peoples of the continent Itzachilatlan-AbyaYala ( the Americas), what is indicated is the need to expose the philosophical justifications for the continued colonization of our homelands in violation of the principles of the Declaration and other Human Rights standards now accepted by the world's government states. Specifically, we recommend as a point of departure for such an endeavor the elimination of preference in terms of criteria the selection of instruments of evaluation which exclusively are derived from the systems of jurisprudence of the colonizer governments. Ever since the study by Jose Martinez Cobo on the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations, the sacred relationship of Indigenous Peoples to the land as Mother Earth and sacred sites specifically has been extensively researched and documented in terms of religious belief systems worthy of respect and recognition on an equal basis by the United Nations member states and their citizens and subjects. Yet in terms of practice and policy, a barrier of resistance remains in place at all levels of the societies of the colonizing nationalities. The Cobo study and your efforts as Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance could be seen as investigations along a continuum, but when will the results of 500 years of colonization upon the psychology and practice of the settler states and their members themselves be addressed by the United Nations? This would be especially appropriate for a study of the indigenous issues of religious discrimination and land in the hemisphere of the Americas, since the initiation of colonization and current heirs of the colonial political systems still in place derive their justification from an ethnic religious prejudice that is described mythically as the "Western World".

We of the TLAHTOKAN AZTLAN believe in humanity. We believe in the Spirit of Truth, which resides in Aztlan. We also believe that the Sun of Justice which is dawning for Indigenous Peoples commands that the injustices of the past be exposed and eliminated as forms of oppression and a deformation of our common humanity. It is our desire that through the efforts of your commission as Special Rapporteur, this message serve as a reminder to the organization of government states which you represent, the United Nations. A reawakening as to what should be our relationship as cultures, nations, and Peoples of the Earth must occur for our future generations to achieve true peace with dignity. We of TLAHTOKAN AZTLAN are bound by tradition to uphold our part of the agreement which is transcribed in the smoke of our first encounters. There will be no modification or amendments made to the understanding that we are all human beings and no one Peoples have the right to impose by force a doctrine of superiority over any other.

Sincerely,

Tupac Enrique Acosta
TLAHTOKAN NAHUACALLI
Izkalotlan Pueblo, Aztlan

TONATIERRA
Press Release
September 13, 2003
Contact: Tupac Enrique Acosta
(602) 254-5230

Demonstration of Solidarity for Indigenous and Campesino Movement in Cancun : WTO Meeting Denounced as "War Against Humanity"

Phoenix, AZ: A demonstration of solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples and Campesino organizations rallying at Cancun, Mexico in the shadow of the World Trade Organization gathering will take place today at TONATIERRA, Annual Human Rights Conference located at 802 N. 7th Street in Phoenix. The event will begin at 10:0O AM and continue throughout the day until 5:00 PM as the Human Rights conference takes place in the Nahuacalli, an embassy of the Indigenous Peoples.

Acting in support of the demand by to exclude the subject of agriculture from the current round of negotiations at the 5th Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization, the call to action by TONATIERRA in Phoenix is in solidarity with the direct action being taken at Cancun by representatives of a global farmworker movement for justice.

Calling the present regime of global economic trade agreements a "war against humanity" the delegations of Indigenous Peoples from around the world make the case that the 15 million Mexicans are affected by the drop in corn prices implemented in collusion by the NAFTA governments and the North American agribusiness conglomerates. Since 1994, the price of corn flooding Mexico dropped 70%, a result of US taxpayer subsidies to the agribusiness industry. Forced out of the market as a direct consequence, campesinos from rural Mexico have become economic refugees which cannot be absorbed by the domestic Mexican economy, many attempting to travel north as a disposable and undocumented labor force.

"This is a form of economic terrorism, a war to undermine the nutritional self sufficiency of an entire civilization and way of life, one which has withstood over 500 years of colonization in the hemisphere," said Tonatierra organizer, Tupac Enrique Acosta.

The action of solidarity for the global movement for social justice at Cancun, takes place as local issues of immigration and human rights are to be addressed at the gathering of TONATIERRA.

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Indigenous peoples from throughout the world participated in the 5th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Cancun, Mexico from 10-14 September 2003. Both Mexico national and international Indigenous peoples developed statements addressing the negative impact of globalization on Indigenous Peoples throughout the world, as well as the extension of the negative impacts inherent in the issues being discussed at this round of WTO negotiations. The Congreso Nacional Indígena (CNI), with the participation and solidarity of international Indigenous Peoples' representatives developed the CNI Indigenous Peoples Cancun Declaration. International Indigenous Peoples' representatives are releasing the INTERNATIONAL CANCUN DECLARATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES. The English version of the international declaration is attached and the Spanish version will be released soon.

The International Cancun Declaration of Indigenous Peoples especially recognizes and honors the sacrifice of our Korean campesino brother, Mr. Lee-Kyung-Hae, whose act of self immolation speaks profoundly of the invisible thousands of Indigenous and Campesino victims of globalization.

Coalicion Obrero Campesina Estudiantil Indigena del Istmo (COCEI)
Asian Indigenous Women's Network
Cordillera Peoples Alliance
Indigenous Environmental Network
Indigenous Initiative for Peace Indigenous Women's Network
International Indian Treaty Council
Na Koa Ikaika Kalahui Hawaii
Tebtebba Foundation

Pueblos Indígenas de todo el mundo participaron en la 5a Reunion Ministerial de la Organización Mundial de Comercio (OMC) en Cancún, Mexico, del 10 a 14 de septiembre 2003. Pueblos Indígenas nacionales, igual como internacionales elaboraron declaraciones referents a los impactos negativos de la globalización hacia los Pueblos Indígenas de todo el mundo, igual como la extension de estos impactos negativos inherentes en los temas siendo discutidos en esta ronda de negociaciones de la OMC. El Congreso Nacional Indígena (CNI) con la participación y solidaridad de los representantes internacionales de los Pueblos Indígenas, elaboraron la Declaración del CNI de Cancun. Los representantes internacionales de los Pueblos Indígenas elaboraron la DECLACION INTERNACIONAL DE CANCUN DE LOS PUEBLOS INDIGENAS. La version en ingles de la declaración internacional esta atachada, y la version en espanol seguirá cuanto ántes.

La Declarción Internacional de Cancun de los Pueblos Indígenas reconoce y honra especialmente el sacrificio de nuestro hermano Campesino Coreano, Sr. Lee-Kyung-Hae, y su acto de auto imolación que habla profundamente de las miles victimas invisibles Campesinas e Indígenas de la globalización.

Coalicion Obrero Campesina Estudiantil Indigena del Istmo (COCEI)
Asian Indigenous Women's Network
Cordillera Peoples Alliance
Indigenous Environmental Network
Indigenous Initiative for Peace
Indigenous Women's Network
International Indian Treaty Council
Na Koa Ikaika Kalahui Hawaii
Tebtebba Foundation

THE INTERNATIONAL CANCUN DECLARATION
OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

5th WTO Ministerial Conference - Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 12 September 2003

We, the international representatives of Indigenous Peoples gathered here during the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico from 10-14 September 2003 wish to extend our thanks to the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico, particularly the Mayan Indigenous Peoples of Quintana Roo, for welcoming us. We share the concerns of our Indigenous brothers and sisters of Mexico, as expressed in the Congreso Nacional Indigena (CNI) Declaration of Cancun. We join our voices in this International Declaration with the CNI Declaration and its conclusions and recommendations.

We wish to especially recognize and honor the sacrifice of our Korean brother, Mr. Lee-Kyung-Hae, made here in Cancun. His act of self-immolation was a dignified cultural expression profoundly reflecting the daily reality of the effects of Globalization and liberalized trade on peasants and Indigenous Peoples throughout the world.

We have come to Cancun to address critical issues and negative impacts of the WTO Trade Negotiations on our families, communities and nations.

With the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and with the continuing imposition of the structural adjustment policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, our situation, as Indigenous Peoples, has turned from bad to worse. Corporations are given more rights and privileges at the expense of our rights. Our right to self-determination, which is to freely determine our political status and pursue our own economic, social and cultural development, and our rights to our territories and resources, to our indigenous knowledge, cultures and identities are grossly violated. Some of the prime examples of the adverse impacts of the WTO Agreements on us are the following:

• Loss of livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of indigenous peasants in Mexico who are producing corn because of the dumping of artificially cheap, highly subsidized corn from the USA and tens of thousands of indigenous vegetable producers in the Cordillera region of the Philippines because of dumping of vegetables. The contamination of traditional indigenous corn in Mexico by genetically-modified-corn is a very serious problem for Indigenous Peoples. All these are due to the liberalization of trade in agriculture and the deregulation of laws which protect domestic producers and crops required by the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AOA). The structural adjustment policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are the foundations for liberalization, privatization and deregulation. High export subsidies and domestic support provided to rich agribusiness corporations and rich farmers in the United States the European Union have also made this possible.
• The increasing impoverishment of indigenous and hilltribe farmers engaged in coffee production in Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, Vietnam, etc. because of the drop in commodity prices of coffee.
• The increasing conflicts between transnational mining, gas and oil corporations and Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, India, Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Nigeria, Chad-Cameroon, USA, Russia, Venezuela, among others, and the militarization and environmental devastation in these communities due to the operations of these extractive industries. The facilitation of the entry of such corporations are made possible because of liberalization of investment laws pushed by the TRIMS (Trade-Related Investment Measures) Agreement and WB-IMF conditionalities, regional trade agreements like NAFTA and bilateral investment agreements.
• The militarization of Indigenous Peoples' lands and territories, and the many cases of assassination and arbitrary arrests and detention of indigenous activists and leaders and people who are supporting them, as well as the criminalization of Indigenous Peoples' resistance, all significantly increased.
• The upsurge in infrastructure development, particularly of mega hydroelectric dams, oil and gas pipelines, roads in Indigenous Peoples territories to provide support to operations of extractive industries, logging corporations, and export processing zones. The infrastructure development, for instance, under Plan Puebla Panama has destroyed ceremonial and sacred sites of Indigenous Peoples in the six States of Southern Mexico and in Guatemala.
• The patenting of medicinal plants and seeds nurtured and used by Indigenous Peoples, like the quinoa, ayahuasca, Mexican yellow bean, maca, sangre de drago, hoodia, yew plant, etc. Such biopiracy and patenting of life-forms is facilitated by the TRIPS Agreement.
• Soaring prices of pharmaceutical products and inaccessibility of cheaper drugs for diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, AIDS which are diseases in Indigenous Peoples communities and decreasing public health services in these communities.
• Privatization of basic public services such as water and energy in several countries which has spurred massive general strikes and protests such as those led by Indigenous Peoples in Bolivia. The General Agreement on Services (GATS) whose coverage is being expanded to include environmental services (sanitation, nature and landscape protection), financial services, tourism, among others, allowed for this.
• The undermining of international instruments, constitutional provisions, and national laws and policies which protect our rights.

All these developments are alarming. This global situation has undermined self-sufficient economies of Indigenous Peoples leading to food insecurity, worsening poverty and loss of land, culture and identity. We, Indigenous Peoples' representatives, present in Cancun during the event of the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the WTO, are asking the governments to do the following:

1. Recognize and protect our territorial and resource rights and our right to self-determination. The human-rights framework should underpin trade, investment, development and anti-poverty policies and programmes. Investment liberalization rules like the TRIMS Agreement, conditionalities by the WB and IMF which push countries to liberalize their investment laws, regional trade agreements and bilateral investment agreements which give more protection and rights to corporations than to Indigenous Peoples should be changed. Many of these facilitate the displacement of Indigenous Peoples and the appropriation of our lands, waters, resources and knowledge. Indigenous peoples who have been displaced from their lands because of militarization, infrastructure projects, extractive industries, export processing zones and other development schemes should be repatriated back to their lands or should be justly compensated. International human rights and environmental standards should be upheld by governments and should guide the way trade agreements are formulated and implemented. The free and prior informed consent of Indigenous Peoples should be obtained before any project is brought into their communities. Article 8j and 10c of the Convention of Biological Diversity that protect traditional knowledge and indigenous systems and practices of land use and land tenure should be the framework for WTO Agreements. Governments should support the immediate adoption of the UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that will help ensure the recognition and protection of our rights.

2. Stop patenting of life forms and other intellectual property rights over biological resources and indigenous knowledge. Ensure that we, Indigenous Peoples, retain our rights to have control over our seeds, medicinal plants and indigenous knowledge. We call for an explicit statement for the banning of patents on life-forms in the TRIPS Agreement. We also demand that the patent rights, patent applications and claims of corporations, individuals or governments over indigenous medicinal plants, seeds, and knowledge and even over Indigenous Peoples' human genetic materials should be withdrawn. Biopiracy should be stopped and the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples should be obtained before access to their resources is granted. The issue of protection of indigenous knowledge should not be dealt with by the WTO TRIPs Agreement because its basic assumptions contradict the concepts, values and ethics underpinning indigenous knowledge systems. This can be best protected under the United Nations and we, therefore, urge the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to convene a technical meeting to explore how the UN can address the issue of protection of indigenous knowledge.

3. Ensure Indigenous Peoples' basic right to health. The right of countries to take measures to protect public health and promote access to medicines should take precedence over their obligations to protect intellectual property right of corporations. The patent protection asked by pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations should be limited in order to protect public health and safety and ensure production and easy access to cheap essential medicines. Health is a basic human right and Indigenous Peoples should enjoy this right. Governments should be allowed to use the flexibilities allowed in the TRIPS Agreement which are reflected in the Doha TRIPS and Public Health Declaration. An amendment to TRIPS should be done to simplify and clarify the procedures for compulsory licensing and parallel importation and to remove the unnecessary obstacles to the import and export of medicines needed to provide affordable medicines to the poor.

4. No new issues should be negotiated in this 5th Ministerial Conference. We support the position of some developing countries to stop the launching of a new round or to expand the WTO by negotiating on new issues such as investments, competition, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation. The WTO should not pursue any negotiation on investment and should change its existing investment rules which provide excessive rights to corporations and allow for their unregulated behavior. Those rules which prevent governments from pursuing rights-based development and environmentally-sustainable policies should be abandoned.

5. Prevent the expansion of the GATS Agreement and amend the existing agreement to stop the privatization and liberalization of health, education, water, energy, and environmental services. The liberalization and privatization of services in environmental services (e.g. parks and landscape services), the commercialization of indigenous cultures and the increasing monopoly control of the tourism industry in the hands of international and national travel and tour agencies should be stopped. We must be allowed to be the managers of protected areas, parks, forests and waters found in our territories. We should be able to continue practicing our own indigenous natural management practices in forests, water, biodiversity and ecosystem management.

6. Stop the negotiations on agriculture which will push for further import liberalization of agricultural products. Drastically end the export and domestic subsidies of the US and the EU for their agribusiness corporations and rich farmers. States must take decisive measures to promote and protect food sovereignty and food security, and stop the dumping and smuggling of artificially cheap and highly subsidized agricultural products from the US, EU, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Ensure the right of indigenous farmers to sustain their indigenous agricultural systems and to plant and reproduce their traditional seeds. States must not include indigenous agriculture systems in the scope of international trade rules. The rights of Indigenous Peoples to their traditional livelihoods and to food should be recognized and protected, thus trade and investment rules which undermine these rights should be repealed or appropriately amended.

7. End the militarization of Indigenous Peoples' communities and stop the criminalization of protest and resistance actions of Indigenous Peoples against destructive industries, projects and programs. There should be meaningful and effective investigation of the many cases of assassinations, arbitrary arrests and detentions, rapes committed against Indigenous Peoples and their supporters. Justice should be accorded to the victims and their families, and the perpetrators punished for their crimes.

8. Support and strengthen the sustainable trading systems which have existed for centuries between the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. Trade routes between the various Indigenous Peoples within the Americas (USA, Canada, Mexico) have been existing for centuries and trading between them is still practiced, Militarization of borders and other destructive practices have greatly limited their scale and utility for Indigenous Peoples. Trade between Indigenous Peoples should be sustained and promoted.

The ministers at this Fifth Ministerial meeting of the WTO have the responsibility to represent not only commercial interests but all of the people of their States, including Indigenous Peoples. Existing human rights, environmental, social and cultural conventions and covenants developed within the United Nations system continue to be the States' legal if not moral obligation. All international law including human rights law binds them.

Indigenous peoples are the subjects of many of these covenants and conventions and their jurisprudence. Our rights cannot be ignored, nor can their observance be diminished or compromised by trade agreements and regimes. We as Indigenous Peoples have the right to participate as peoples and actors in our own development, consistent with our own vision and tradition. Our free and informed consent, free of fraud or manipulation, must be secured through our own traditional means of decision-making. State sponsored development cannot just be imposed upon us. Our rights as peoples to our lands and territories and natural resources must be recognized, respected and observed. Our survival as peoples depends upon it.