Thread: U.S. group finds abuses in Juárez

U.S. group finds abuses in Juárez
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times

The group of American human- rights lawyers and observers who investigated the fenced-in community of Lomas de Poleo in northwest Juárez this week concluded that human-rights andcivil-rights violations were taking place.

The group of 10 from San Francisco, including a representative of Amnesty International, issued a report Friday based in part on interviews with Lomas de Poleo residents and Juárez city officials.

They also tried to gain access to the fenced-in area Wednesday but were stopped at the gate by guards hired by Juárez industrialist Pedro Zaragoza. Zaragoza and the residents of Lomas de Poleo are caught in a land dispute that is still going through the courts.

For the past four years, Zaragoza's guards have scrutinized the residents who come and go and have stopped most visitors.

Group member Lise Ficarra, who manages the poetry center at San Francisco State University, was in disbelief, she said.

"I don't understand why a public community was fenced in, why a public road was blocked, and why we were not allowed to speak to the people who had invited us into their home," she said.

The report blames Zaragoza and the Juárez city government, which "through its action or inaction was complicit in the human-rights abuses," said Renee Saucedo, an attorney with La Raza Centro Legal in San Francisco.

Zaragoza, who Saucedo said did not return phone calls, has said in a few rare interviews with the news reporters that he was merely trying to keep more squatters from settling on his land.

The report also lists the alleged abuses as cutting off electricity to the community; restricting access with a concrete and barbed-wire fence and security guards; demolishing and burning private and public buildings, including a church; threatening violence with dogs, chains and baseball bats; and the killing of one resident in 2005 during a fight with the guards.

"We're going to go back and spread the message," said Antonio Medrano, an Amnesty International representative. "We will encourage other organizations to take a trip to Lomas de Poleo.

"Any attempt to deprive common folk of their human rights is important."

Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com; 546-6131.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_8494819

Oh please sue them in the Mexican courts!!! 10 American human right activists telling Mexico what to do. PLEASE do it!

Group member Lise Ficarra, who manages the poetry center at San Francisco State University, was in disbelief, she said.

"I don't understand why a public community was fenced in, why a public road was blocked, and why we were not allowed to speak to the people who had invited us into their home," she said.

You ain't in San Francisco anymore sweetie. Mexico has a different way in dealing with people like you!

Originally Posted by miguelina

Oh please sue them in the Mexican courts!!! 10 American human right activists telling Mexico what to do. PLEASE do it!

I wish the ACLU had their annual conventions in the border towns where they love the illegals so much.
BTW the ACLU is now the MCLU as they have lost their right to use our "A"!

This is too funny, wait until la raza starts spouting their liberal garbage down there and they find out the Mexicans don't like them.
Many real Mexicans don't like those that live up here because when the go to Mexico they are rude and look down their noses at the people who live there thinking they are so much better.

The group of American human- rights lawyers and observers who investigated the fenced-in community of Lomas de Poleo in northwest Juárez this week concluded that human-rights andcivil-rights violations were taking place.

WHAT? Human rights violations surround the Juarez area? And they have guards to prevent "outsiders" from seeing what goes on behind the fences?
I wonder if this is being reported to the United Nations as a human rights issue?

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Group member Lise Ficarra, who manages the poetry center at San Francisco State University, was in disbelief, she said.

"I don't understand why a public community was fenced in, why a public road was blocked, and why we were not allowed to speak to the people who had invited us into their home," she said.

You ain't in San Francisco anymore sweetie. Mexico has a different way in dealing with people like you!

Those trying to get into that community better sleep with one eye open now....