Thread: Protesters turn Mexican university into stronghold in Oaxaca

http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/cp_w110419A.xml.html


Protesters turn Mexican university into stronghold in Oaxaca rebellion
Nov 04 11:39 AM US/Eastern

Protesters turn Mexican university into stronghold in Oaxaca rebellion IOAN GRILLO OAXACA, Mexico (AP) - Masked men patrol the gates, armed with bats and gasoline bombs, and barbed wire and booby traps defile the campus lawns. Since protesters took over the state university in Mexico's besieged Oaxaca City, there have been no classes, only talk of revolution.

The university of 30,000 students has become a stronghold for leftists trying to oust the Oaxaca state governor in a five-month-old conflict that has left at least nine people dead.

Demonstrators poured into the university Sunday after thousands of federal police pushed them out of the city's main plaza, where they had camped out since May. Federal police tried but failed to clear street barricades outside the university Thursday; they are not allowed to enter the campus under a law designed to protect academic freedom.

University Rector Francisco Martinez has made it clear that police were not welcome.

"We cannot consent for the campus to be an object of occupation," he said in a radio message Friday. "I want to ask the federal government to be sensitive in its solution to the problem."

Some critics say the university's autonomy law is protecting rebellion.

Federal police backed by armoured vehicles and helicopters surrounded the university Thursday. Hundreds of protesters ran out, attacking with gasoline bombs, stones and fireworks stuffed with glass and nails.

Police fought back with batons, water canons, tear gas and even threw back some rocks. After a six-hour battle that injured more than 30 people, police retreated and protesters claimed victory.

But they fear police could return at any moment.

"We are on maximum alert," said Guillermo Contreras, a teacher and protest supporter. "We will fight their weapons with our spirit and dignity."

Thousands of federal police now patrol Oaxaca's historic city centre. Crowds of people flocked to welcome them when they first came in but less than a week later, some residents say they are intimidated by their presence.

"It's like we are living in a city under military occupation," said storeowner Bernard Cruz, opening up shop Saturday morning across the street from a group of 20 police with riot shields and rifles.

The protests began in May with a strike by teachers demanding better pay and work conditions in one of Mexico's poorest states. When police violently broke up a demonstration in June, protesters expanded their demands to include Gov. Ulises Ruiz's resignation and were joined by leftists, Indian groups, students and others.

The protesters accuse Ruiz of rigging the 2004 election and sending thugs to kill and intimidate his opponents.

On Friday, Mexico's largest leftist group, the Democratic Revolution Party, announced it would join the Oaxaca protesters in a demonstration Sunday, using its followers to form human chains around federal police detachments that enter the city.

Some say they feel safer inside the campus than on the street.

"I feel scared even in my home, because people know my family are part of the protests," said Cecilia Gomez, 32, a school cleaner. "Here we have the strength of numbers."

Among those killed in the Oaxaca conflict was activist-journalist Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, who was shot in the stomach while filming a gunbattle on Oct. 27. The others have been mostly protesters shot by police or armed gangs.

Two officials of a municipality on the outskirts of Oaxaca City are in custody in connection with Will's killing, state officials have said.

On Friday, the press freedoms advocacy group Reporters Without Borders condemned "shortcomings" in the investigation into his death. The organization also said it had information that two Guatemalan journalists have gone missing in Oaxaca.

The conflict has shattered tourism in the city, which is popular for its colonial architecture and ancient ruins. A number of countries have advised citizens to avoid travelling to the region, including the United States, Canada, Britain, France and Germany.

Demonstrators flood Oaxaca
Posted 11/4/2006 4:54 PM ET

OAXACA, Mexico (AP) — Rickety buses and cars carrying leftists from across Mexico rolled into Oaxaca's university Saturday to join protesters preparing for a massive march to confront police.

Demonstrators plan to march Sunday from the university to police encampments in the center of the city as part of their five-month protest to oust the state's governor.

At least nine people have died since August in the unrest, which has rattled outgoing President Vicente Fox's administration. The planned march has sparked fears of more violence in the colonial city that was once one of the country's main tourist attractions.

Protest leader Flavio Sosa, who is wanted by state police on conspiracy and riot charges, said the marchers will not look for a fight Sunday, but he fears police may provoke one.

"Our enemies carry out murders, persecution and arbitrary arrests," Sosa told The Associated Press. "We have the right to defend ourselves."

Mexico's largest leftist group, the Democratic Revolution Party, has said it would join the protesters who want to form human chains around federal police detachments that enter the city.

The public university of 30,000 students in this southern city has been transformed into a stronghold for protesters since Fox sent in thousands of federal police last weekend to drive protesters from the city center which they had seized. The demonstrators poured onto the campus after the police pushed them out of the main plaza, where they had camped out for months.

Masked men armed with bats and gasoline bombs patrolled the university's gates Saturday, while the student radio station blared pleas to fight police. The lawns were filled with barbed wire and booby traps.

There have been no classes at the school this week, just talk of revolution, the building of makeshift weapons and drawn-out fights with police.

"The university has always been a center of progressive thinking, so it's natural that it has become the center of our revolt," Sosa said.

Federal police, who tried but failed Thursday to clear barricades on a street just outside the university, are not allowed to enter the campus under a law designed to protect academic freedom.

Protesters rushed out to attack the officers Thursday and police fought back with nightsticks, water cannons and tear gas. More than 30 were injured in the six-hour battle.

Protesters said they fear the police could return at any moment, and are making preparations for the next battle.

"We are on maximum alert," said Guillermo Contreras, a teacher and protest supporter. "We will fight their weapons with our spirit and dignity."

The protests began in May with a strike by teachers looking for better pay and conditions in one of Mexico's poorest states. When police violently broke up one of their demonstrations in June, protesters expanded their demand to include the ouster of Gov. Ulises Ruiz and were joined by leftists, Indian groups and students.

The protesters accuse Ruiz of rigging the 2004 election to win office and sending groups of armed thugs to kill and intimidate his opponents.

Thousands of federal police clad in gray body armor now patrol Oaxaca's historic city center to keep the peace. Crowds of people flocked to welcome them when they first arrived, but some residents say they are intimidated by their presence less than a week later.

"It's like we are living in a city under military occupation," storeowner Bernard Cruz said.

Others say they feel safer inside the campus than on the street.

"I feel scared even in my home, because people know my family are part of the protests," said school cleaner Cecilia Gomez. "Here we have the strength of numbers."

The conflict has shattered tourism in the city, which is popular for its colonial architecture and ancient ruins. The embassies of the U.S., Canada, Britain, France and Germany have warned their citizens to avoid traveling to the region.

Among the nine people killed during the Oaxaca conflict was activist-journalist Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, who was shot in the stomach while filming a gunbattle on Oct. 27.

Two officials of a municipality on the outskirts of Oaxaca city are in custody in connection with Will's killing.


http://usatoday.printthis.clickabili...partnerID=1660