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IDHAE INFORMATION
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Jair Pineda is a lawyer and activist with the umbrella organisation
of local environmental groups Frente Amplio Opositor (FAO), Broad Opposition
Front. On 5 August at 1am, after talking to two employees of the mining
company, he drove away but realised that the two men were following him in a
mining company van. When they caught up with him the men told him to get out
of the car, presumably to beat him. Jair Pineda refused to do so, and they
chased him to the outskirts of the town, but eventually he managed to escape. Later that night, other armed men
in a car stopped in front of FAO activist Armando Mendoza Ponce’s home and
shouted Armando joto (« Armando you fag ») and fired four shots at his van,
which was parked outside. Armando Mendoza, who lives in Cerro San Pedro,
reported the attack to the authorities and claimed that the attackers were
the same people who had shot at other activists’ vehicles months before. Activists opposing the operations
of a mining company in Cerro San Pedro, a village in the northern state of
San Luis PotosÌ, have been repeatedly harassed and attacked, reportedly by
employees of the mining company. The attacks have intensified over the last
few weeks. Other Cerro San Pedro residents
and FAO activists also recently suffered acts of vandalism, including broken
windows and graffiti on their walls, or human excrement thrown at their
homes. Many have reported being followed by vehicles or men believed to be
employees of the mining company, especially since July 2007. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The village
of Cerro San Pedro is on a mountain that has been mined for gold and silver
for centuries. Local activists claim that mining is poisoning the water
supply with cyanide and destroying the mountain with explosives. Residents
and activists opposed to the mining operations have organised in several
environmental defence groups, one of them being the umbrella organisation
FAO. The conflict has intensified since the mining company was allowed to
resume operations in 2006, despite an administrative tribunal declaring its
concession illegal in 2005. RECOMMENDED ACTION :
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own
language : expressing concern that Jair
Pineda and Armando Mendoza Ponce have been threatened and harassed because of
their environmental campaigning work in Cerro San Pedro, San Luis PotosÌ
state, and calling for a full, prompt and impartial investigation into the
threats and attacks, with the results made public and those responsible
brought to justice ; calling on the authorities to
ensure that they receive protection, in accordance with their wishes ; expressing concern for the safety
of members of the Frente Amplio Opositor and others opposing the mining
operations in Cerro San Pedro ; reminding the authorities that
the UN Declaration on the Rights and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups
and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms recognizes the legitimacy of the activities
of human rights defenders and their right to carry out their activities
without any restrictions or fear of reprisals. APPEALS TO : Governor of San Luis PotosÌ
Marcelo de los Santos Fraga Gobernador del Estado de San Luis PotosÌ Palacio
de Gobierno Carranza y JardÌn Hidalgo No. 11 San Luis PotosÌ, 78000, SLP,
M…XICO Fax : +52 444 8 12 2707 Salutation : Dear Governor/SeÒor Gobernador Attorney General of San Luis
PotosÌ State Lic. Guillermo Salazar Trejo Procurador del Estado de San Luis
PotosÌ Eje Vial 100, 1er Piso San Luis PotosÌ, 78000 Estado de San Luis
PotosÌ, MEXICO E-Mail : subavsslp@prodigy.net.mx Fax : +52 444 8 12 5364
Salutation : Dear Attorney General/SeÒor Procurador Minister of the Interior Lic.
Francisco Javier RamÌrez AcuÒa SecretarÌa de GobernaciÛn Bucareli 99, 1er. piso,
Col. Ju·rez DelegaciÛn CuauhtÈmoc MÈxico D.F., C.P.06600, MEXICO Fax : +52 55
5093 3414 Salutation : SeÒor Secretario/Dear Minister Minister of the Environment and
Natural Resources Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada SecretarÌa del Medio Ambiente y
Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) Boulevard Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez, Fracc. Jardines
en la MontaÒa, DelegaciÛn Tlalpan C.P. 14210, MÈxico DF, M…XICO Fax : +52 55
56 28 06 43 Salutation : SeÒor Secretario/Dear Minister COPIES TO : President of the National Human
Rights Commission Dr. JosÈ Luis Soberanes Fern·ndez Presidente de la ComisiÛn
Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDH) PerifÈrico Sur 3469, 5∫ piso, Col.
San JerÛnimo LÌdice, MÈxico D.F. 10200, MEXICO Respuesta Alternativa, A.C. San
Luis PotosÌ Email : ralternativa@hotmail.com TAKE ACTION NOW !
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