June 21 update – Rogel del Rosal Valladares has been released
from custody. Thank you for your attention to this urgent action, but now – thankfully – no further
action is requested at this time.
Dear Friends:
We have just received from the Miguel Agustín Pro Human Rights Centre in Mexico City the report of the detention and disappearance of ROGEL DEL ROSAL VALLADARES, a leader of the Coordination of Campesino Organizations of the region of the Huasteca Pososina (COCIHP) in the state of San Luis Potosí. Sr. del Rosal Valladares is the organization's director of productive projects in the municipality of Xilitla.
According to eye–witness reports, at 1pm on June 18th 2002, when Sr. del Rosal arrived at at the COCIHP office in the centre of Xilitla, he was arrested by five unidentified men in civilian dress who were be presumed to be members of the federal judicial police force (it should be noted that the federal judicial police do not wear uniforms). No arrest warrant was shown. Sr. del Rosal's mouth was covered, presumably to stop him from calling for help, and he was dragged into a grey vehicle.
The office of the Municipal President of Xilitla has stated that the arrest was carried out by agents from the Office of the Federal Attorney General and that Sr. del Rosal has been taken to the city of San Luis Potosí.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Rogel del Rosal Valladares is well–known for his promotion of productive projects for the campesinos in the region of the Huasteca Potosina. His work on behalf of campesinos and indigenous people led to his being illegally arrested and imprisoned on a previous occasion, in 1999. At that time, Amnesty International declared him to be a prisoner of conscience.
COCIHP's five thousand members are indigenous (from the Nahuatl and Tenek peoples) campesinos – small producers of coffee, oranges, and home–processed sugar in five municipalities in the Huasteca Potosina. The organization, which includes groups for women, provides technical assistance and training. Its current projects include organic coffee production and improvements in the processing, storage, and marketing of locally–produced coffee.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Please write to the Mexican government and to the government of the state of San Luis Potosí asking for the whereabouts of Sr. Rogel del Rosal Valladares to be made known immediately and for him to be released forthwith from the illegal detention to which he is being subjected.
Please request guarantees for the physical and psychological integrity of Sr. Rosal and his family as well as for all of the members of the COCIHP and their respective families. Please request that there be full respect for the civil and legal rights of all of these persons in accordance with the Mexican Constitution and with the international treaties that Mexico has signed.
Please insist upon the need for a complete investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitration detention of Sr. Rosal so that those who were responsible for planning and carrying out this criminal act can be punished according to the law.
Please write to the Canadian government informing them of this very serious incident and requesting them to express to the Mexican government their concern with regard to the safety and well–being of Sr. Rogel del Rosal Valladares. Please remind the Canadian government of the fact that, despite the Fox government's declarations of good intentions, the so–called "democratic transition" has brought little or no significant improvement in respect for the human rights of indigenous Mexican campesinos.
ADDRESSES:
General Rafael Macedo de la Concha (Federal Attorney–General)
Procurador General de la República
Reforma No. 72, Segundo piso
Col Guerrero, C.P. 06300
Mexico D.F., MEXICO
FAX: 011 52 55 626 4447 or 626 9600 or 3346 0904 e-mail ofproc@pgr.gob.mx
Lic. Feernando Silva Nieto
Gobernador del estado de San Luis Potosí
Palacio Nacional, Zona Centro, San Luis Potosí, MEXICO
FAX: 011 52 444 812 2707
Please send copies of your letter to:
Lic. Magdalena Beatriz González Vega (head of the state human rights commission)
Presidenta de la Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos del Estado de San Luis Potosí
Mariano Otero 685, Tequisquiapan, San Luis Potosí, MEXICO
FAX: 011 52 444 811 4710 e-mail cedhslp@prodigy.net.mx
Her Excellency Maria Teresa García Segovia
Ambassador for Mexico
45 O'Connor St., suite 1500, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4
FAX: 613 235 9123 e–mail info@embamexcan.com
And to COCIHP at cocihp@hotmail.com.mx
FOR CANADA:
Hon. Bill Graham
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dept. of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ont.K1A 0G2
FAX 613 996 9607 Graham.B@parl.gc.ca
MEXICO URGENT ACTION
June 19th, 2002ILLEGAL ARREST AND DISAPPEARANCE OF LEADER OF CAMPESINO ORGANIZATION IN THE STATE OF SAN LUIS POTOSI
Dear Friends:
We have just received from the Miguel Agustín Pro Human Rights Centre in Mexico City the report of the detention and disappearance of ROGEL DEL ROSAL VALLADARES, a leader of the Coordination of Campesino Organizations of the region of the Huasteca Pososina (COCIHP) in the state of San Luis Potosí. Sr. del Rosal Valladares is the organization's director of productive projects in the municipality of Xilitla.
According to eye–witness reports, at 1pm on June 18th 2002, when Sr. del Rosal arrived at at the COCIHP office in the centre of Xilitla, he was arrested by five unidentified men in civilian dress who were be presumed to be members of the federal judicial police force (it should be noted that the federal judicial police do not wear uniforms). No arrest warrant was shown. Sr. del Rosal's mouth was covered, presumably to stop him from calling for help, and he was dragged into a grey vehicle.
The office of the Municipal President of Xilitla has stated that the arrest was carried out by agents from the Office of the Federal Attorney General and that Sr. del Rosal has been taken to the city of San Luis Potosí.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Rogel del Rosal Valladares is well–known for his promotion of productive projects for the campesinos in the region of the Huasteca Potosina. His work on behalf of campesinos and indigenous people led to his being illegally arrested and imprisoned on a previous occasion, in 1999. At that time, Amnesty International declared him to be a prisoner of conscience.
COCIHP's five thousand members are indigenous (from the Nahuatl and Tenek peoples) campesinos – small producers of coffee, oranges, and home–processed sugar in five municipalities in the Huasteca Potosina. The organization, which includes groups for women, provides technical assistance and training. Its current projects include organic coffee production and improvements in the processing, storage, and marketing of locally–produced coffee.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Please write to the Mexican government and to the government of the state of San Luis Potosí asking for the whereabouts of Sr. Rogel del Rosal Valladares to be made known immediately and for him to be released forthwith from the illegal detention to which he is being subjected.
Please request guarantees for the physical and psychological integrity of Sr. Rosal and his family as well as for all of the members of the COCIHP and their respective families. Please request that there be full respect for the civil and legal rights of all of these persons in accordance with the Mexican Constitution and with the international treaties that Mexico has signed.
Please insist upon the need for a complete investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitration detention of Sr. Rosal so that those who were responsible for planning and carrying out this criminal act can be punished according to the law.
Please write to the Canadian government informing them of this very serious incident and requesting them to express to the Mexican government their concern with regard to the safety and well–being of Sr. Rogel del Rosal Valladares. Please remind the Canadian government of the fact that, despite the Fox government's declarations of good intentions, the so–called "democratic transition" has brought little or no significant improvement in respect for the human rights of indigenous Mexican campesinos.
ADDRESSES:
General Rafael Macedo de la Concha (Federal Attorney–General)
Procurador General de la República
Reforma No. 72, Segundo piso
Col Guerrero, C.P. 06300
Mexico D.F., MEXICO
FAX: 011 52 55 626 4447 or 626 9600 or 3346 0904 e-mail ofproc@pgr.gob.mx
Lic. Feernando Silva Nieto
Gobernador del estado de San Luis Potosí
Palacio Nacional, Zona Centro, San Luis Potosí, MEXICO
FAX: 011 52 444 812 2707
Please send copies of your letter to:
Lic. Magdalena Beatriz González Vega (head of the state human rights commission)
Presidenta de la Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos del Estado de San Luis Potosí
Mariano Otero 685, Tequisquiapan, San Luis Potosí, MEXICO
FAX: 011 52 444 811 4710 e-mail cedhslp@prodigy.net.mx
Her Excellency Maria Teresa García Segovia
Ambassador for Mexico
45 O'Connor St., suite 1500, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4
FAX: 613 235 9123 e–mail info@embamexcan.com
And to COCIHP at cocihp@hotmail.com.mx
FOR CANADA:
Hon. Bill Graham
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dept. of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ont.K1A 0G2
FAX 613 996 9607 Graham.B@parl.gc.ca