POETRY & PROSE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN OAXACA

A public read-out for Justice in Oaxaca, Mexico.

With:
Rebecca Solnit, author of Hope in the Dark
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of Blood on the Border
Arnaldo Garcia, poet and immigrant rights organizer
Susan Galleymore, of Motherspeak and military mom.
Larry Bogad, author of Electoral Guerrilla Theatre and a veteran of the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army.
Aryeh Shell, Herstory Project
More…

MONDAY MARCH 26, 12 NOON
MEXICAN CONSULATE
532 Folsom St, btwn. 1st St. and 2nd St.
3 blocks S. of Montgomery BART

Afterwards:
ATTEND THE PRE-TRIAL OF OAXACA RIGHTS SUPPORTER
DAVID SOLNIT CHARGED WITH FELONY
MONDAY MARCH 26, 1:30 PM
HALL OF JUSTICE
850 Bryant, btwn. 6th St and 7th St
5 blocks S. of Civic Center BART

“A number of thick files contain the details of human rights abuses committed in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, where a social uprising lasting more than six months was put down by force by police and illegal armed groups, leaving 20 people dead, 349 under arrest and 370 injured.”

"If it hadn't been for the international and national pressure added to the accusations by human rights organizations, the repression would have been even more violent, and there would still be dozens of people under arrest; of that we are certain,"

--Adrián Ramírez, president of the non-governmental Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights (LIMEDDHH)

Bay Area activist David Solnit is charged with felony vandalism for allegedly throwing red paint on the entrance to the San Francisco Mexican Consulate on Halloween night 2006, during a series of international vigils, protests and actions against the human rights emergency in Oaxaca. Mexico.
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/10/31/18325303.php
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/10/31/18325334.php
A few days before, schoolteacher Emilio Alfonso Fabián, Oaxaca resident Eudocia Olivera Díaz and independent journalist and community activist Brad Will were shot and killed on the barricades of Oaxaca on October 27, 2006 by paramilitary vigilantes connected to the state.

David’s felony charge is a draconian response to peaceful protest and presents a grave threat to free speech. It is a waste of thousands of dollars of limited City resources. Now more than ever, it is crucial for the Bay Area to continue its tradition as a place where dissenting voices and opinions are not silenced. Please attend the Pre-trial to show support.

This week Brad Will’s family is visiting Mexico demanding justice for Brad, for other journalists in Mexico and for the people of Oaxaca.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/03/22/18381765.php
http://www.mexiconews.com.mx/miami/23848.html
"The cycle of impunity related to crimes against journalists and human rights violations in Mexico must end," said Craig Will, Brad's older brother.