ATIK | Confederation of Workers from Turkey in Europe | AHM-ATIK News Center
MEXICO CITY | 27 – 11 – 2010 | In response to the murder of 72 migrants that took place in San Fernando Ranch, as many as one hundred local and international protesters gathered in front of Department of International Relations (Secretaria de Relaciones Externas, SRE) to demand the Mexican state’s accountability to its people by creating policies of protection, defending the rights of migrants, and rejecting the legitimacy of the of the fourth Global Forum on Migration Development (GFMD.)
“Nosotros los migrants hemos venido hablar por nosotros mismos y no queremos que los intellectuales hablan por nosotros.” [We migrants have come to speak for ourselves; we don’t want intellectuals to speak for us], said Jose Gonzalez of International Migrants Alliance and Frente Indigena Organizaciones Binacionales. (Los Angeles, CA). With the Juarez Monument in Alameda Park serving as its backdrop, the migrant populations excluded by the GFMD displayed the calls “No to GFMD” and “Defend and Advance the Rights of Migrants”. “Sin direchos, sin proteccion, esta es el impacto de capitalismo – depende de la explotacion de los migrantes. Estamos en la lucha hasta lograr la victoria final!” [Withot rights, without protection, this is the impact of capitalism – it depends on the exploitation of migrants. We are in the struggle until we win the final victory!”said Lucho Grandados; Barrio Nuevo (Canada). The Caravana de Madres Centroamericanas displayed photos of their missing family members, the desceparicidos, while the Honduran flag waved behind them.
The protest included participants from various nations and converged to demand justice, truth and reparation for the damages caused by the massacre of the 72 migrants. Some of the groups represented were The Comité Promotor del Tribunal Internacional de Conciencia (TIC), International Migrants Alliance, Philippine Forum (New York, USA), Frente Indigena De Organizaciones Binacionales, Asia Pacific Mission for Immigrants, IBON International, IBON North America (Washington, USA), Migrante Canada, Migrante Europe, Miredes International (Mexico), National Alliance For Filipino Concerns (NAFCON-USA), IMA Canada, CISPES, Movimiento Migrante Meso-Americano, Coalición de Mayo Uno, Caravana de Madres Centroamericanas, Familias Latinas Unidas Sin Fronteras, Barrio Nuevo de Canadá, and IBON Philippines.
“We’re calling on not only the Filipinos, not only the Mexicans, but all migrant workers all over the world to expose and fight the GFMD”, exclaimed Garry Martinez, Chairperson of MIGRANTE- International (Philippines).
This protest demanded the implementation of the guidelines outlined in Article 89 of the Mexican Constitution, which imposes obligations to act in accordance with the principles of self-determination for the people; no intervention; the pacific resolution of conflicts; the outlawing of the use of coercion or the use of force in international relations; the equality to judiciary process by the states; the international cooperation for development; and the struggle for peace and international security. “No hay derechos para todos, por asi por que decir ya basta!” [There are no rights for us all and for this reason we say no more! ] said Celina Benitez of CISPES (Los Angeles, CA).
This rally is one of several concluding events programmed under the TIC and the Third International Assembly for Migrants and Refugees, whose delegates are preparing for the departure of The Caravan for the Dignity of Migrants heading to Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.
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Jonna Baldres
jbaldres@philippineforum.org
Philippine Forum – New York
40-21 69th St Woodside NY 11377
(718) 5658862
