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Results: 1 - 15 of 28
Luis Eliud Tapia Olivares
View Luis Eliud Tapia Olivares Profile
Luis Eliud Tapia Olivares
2015-06-02 13:23
Good afternoon.
First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak here on Ángel's case and on the human rights situation in Mexico, knowing that your committee is studying and reviewing what is happening in Mexico.
Today there's a severe human rights crisis in the country. Serious violations of human rights are taking place, and they have increased dramatically. The case of Ángel Amílcar Colón is not a coincidence. There are explanations in that policies have militarized safety under the heading of the so-called fight against drugs. Certain behaviours have become generalized, as was reported by the UN special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, after his recent visit to Mexico. As well, there are forced disappearances of individuals in many areas throughout the country, as the United Nations committee on forced disappearances indicated in January of this year.
As to torture, I would like to share with you our dramatic figures with regard to denunciations of torture. In just three years, the national ombudsman reported, he received 7,000 complaints of torture. These include the torture of innocent individuals, such as in the case of Ángel Amílcar. In other words, in the face of a lack of serious investigation, the use of torture has become, in Mexico, a method of investigation in order to carry forward procedures based on a simple declaration obtained under torture.
This serious crime affects vulnerable groups, as happens with migrant groups crossing Mexico, but it also affects women through the terrible practice of sexual torture, as in the case of Claudia Medina, a lady from Veracruz who was tortured by the Mexican navy in Veracruz. It is documented that military forces, in the navy and pretty much all of the police forces throughout the country, are involved in sexual torture when they're holding a woman. This happens in pretty much all of the cases.
As to the forced disappearance of individuals, according to official information from the secretariat of internal affairs in Mexico, contained in the national data register for people who are lost or disappeared, as of January more than 25,000 individuals have disappeared in Mexico. During the current administration of Enrique Peña Nieto, some 10,000 individuals have disappeared. In other words, in just two years and a couple of months, this large number of individuals has been lost in Mexico. Organizations in civil society in Mexico have compared their list of denunciations with the official list of the government: they matched in only 10% of the cases registered.
During this serious crisis, we saw also the disappearance of the students of Ayotzinapa. This is a pragmatic example I'm giving you, and it's not isolated. There is collusion between Mexican authorities and organized crime. Students between the ages of 18 and 22 years, who were getting ready to become teachers, were disappeared by the state.
Now, some eight months after the event, with the help of two international independent experts, such as the Argentine forensic anthropology team and the group of specialists designated in order to review this case with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, we see that there have been serious inaccuracies in the investigation. The Mexican authorities to date haven't yet clarified what happened on the 26th and 27th of September, 2014. That's why the intervention of these independent groups, in this case, is of fundamental importance as well as the support received from the international community, and in this specific case from the Canadian government.
With regard to extrajudicial executions and massacres, they have grown exponentially in number, linked to the war against drugs. In many cases, there has been intervention by the authorities as though what was occurring was an internal conflict.
On June 20 last year in Tlatlaya State 22 people were killed. In an initial statement the government of the state said that it had been a conflict between groups and that the military personnel had acted in self-defence. However, the national ombudsman made a recommendation concluding that between 12 to 15 people were executed out of court by the Secretary of National Defence.
There is evidence of other possible summary executions in Apatzingán, where 16 people were killed on January 6, 2015, and there's also the case in Tanhuato in Michoacán, where 42 people were killed. It's important to note that investigations must be held in Mexico that are independent, because the legitimacy of state authorities has been lost because we have seen that there have been these summary executions.
With regard to criminal violence the state has responded with more criminal violence, detaining people, torturing innocent people as well, and executing people. There is a lack of funds and they execute civilians in this internal war. According to the overall index of impunity in 2015 from the Impunity and Justice Research Center, Mexico is next to last on the list of the 59 member states of the United Nations that have information and sufficient statistics to calculate the levels of impunity within the country. What this means is that there is only one country that is higher on the list of countries of impunity than Mexico.
According to a report that was issued last month by the International Institute of Strategic Studies with its headquarters in London, IISS, Mexico is the third ranked country in terms of armed conflict. It's only behind Iraq and Syria.
Finally, I would like to say that the Canadian government has close ties with Mexico and that is why we are here today to talk to you about Ángel Amílcar's case. We request that in his case the Mexican government be requested to investigate what happened on March 9, 2009, when Ángel was tortured and we want to know who was responsible for that torture.
We would also like for measures of non-recurrence to be applied not only in his case but also to prevent such cases from ever occurring again. For us there is a great concern because we know the Canadian government is also very concerned about human rights. We would like to have a response. We would like to see recognition of the severe human rights crisis that is present in Mexico. This is a first step toward changing the situation.
There is no other way of dealing with the situation. It is very necessary for Canada to see its relationship of cooperation with Mexico in a way that is conditioned by concrete steps by Mexico to respect the human rights of Mexicans or in Mexico.
Thank you very much.
Luis Eliud Tapia Olivares
View Luis Eliud Tapia Olivares Profile
Luis Eliud Tapia Olivares
2015-06-02 13:37
When it comes to impunity, on the one hand we have over 7,000 denouncements of torture, but we know of only two sentences that have been handed down against public authorities for committing the crime of torture. The Centro Prodh, my organization, has accompanied a number of people who have brought such charges against the Mexican government all over Mexico. There are even sentences against Mexico in the International Human Rights Tribunal to try to get some kind of result, but the investigations are not advancing. There is no political will to investigate the allegations of torture within the country.
The response, when it comes to the increase in crimes, has been to violate more rights, not to have professional investigations. It has been to fabricate charges against innocent people like Ángel to satisfy the social outcry for justice. I think that the security policy that puts the military in the streets does not help, and we have figures to show it. In 2003 there were 219 complaints and 10 years later, in 2013, there were 1,500. So there has been an increase.
View Wayne Marston Profile
NDP (ON)
My fellow members of Parliament here today recognize the bravery exhibited by this group being here and speaking out internationally.
The thing that's striking about this is that the 43 students that disappeared.... It seems to me it was a targeted attack.
Do you have any idea why they might have been chosen as targets? Do you know of any other teaching colleges, or students, or academics, similarly targeted? Is there any evidence at all as to why?
Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena
View Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena Profile
Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena
2015-04-28 13:32
We are students. We are not any kind of terrorists. We're not criminals. We weren't carrying any firearms, and we wondered about it quite a few times. Why us? Why the students, particularly students that were to be teachers, that are committed to education?
We want to understand it. Were we selected, or was it a random selection? I don't know, but what did we do wrong to merit such a butchery that was cast upon us, that they would take the face off a student and everything?
To date, we still do not understand why. Why the Government of Mexico...? Forty-three disappeared and 16 people were assassinated then. In our defence, we are all students with very scant resources, so we live in that area and the Government of Mexico has not provided an answer yet.
View Jim Hillyer Profile
CPC (AB)
View Jim Hillyer Profile
2015-04-28 13:52
Thank you.
You were there during the initial attack and also in the hospital—43 people are missing still. There were 100 people at the beginning of this, so there were about 50 or more who survived the attack. Is that correct?
Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena
View Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena Profile
Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena
2015-04-28 13:53
A little fewer than 50 did survive, because we were about 100 students . Those who survived were able to flee. Those who stayed behind were corralled and picked up by the police. Some of them who went to the hospital stayed with us there, and the others started running away in all directions.
View Jim Hillyer Profile
CPC (AB)
View Jim Hillyer Profile
2015-04-28 13:54
Do you have any idea why some were let go and others weren't, or what made the difference between those who were taken and those who weren't?
Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena
View Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena Profile
Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena
2015-04-28 13:55
As I just said a short while ago, the people they took away were people who they cornered, and they had been shot. There was a shootout, and they shot at them in the school buses, in the buses where we were. Those who they were able to arrest or catch were the ones who they were able to detain.
After the first shootout, most of the students ran—fled—and they were brought together and they were shot at again, and then they were able to pick up a few more. I was also brought fleeing, running away. Those who were able to get away were able to get away, but the others didn't.
View Jim Hillyer Profile
CPC (AB)
View Jim Hillyer Profile
2015-04-28 13:55
The only reason I'm asking these kinds of questions is that it's a serious accusation to suggest that the federal government was involved or at least, if not involved in the actual attack, has been involved in the cover-up since.
For us to be able to accept that accusation, I guess one of the questions would be this. Do you have any idea of the motive of the federal government? Why would the government want to...? Were they involved in the initial attack or are they just trying to cover up for their friends? What would be the purpose of cornering a busload of students and attacking them? What do they have to gain?
Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena
View Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena Profile
Jorge Luis Clemente Balbuena
2015-04-28 13:56
In Mexico we know that one of the most respectable institutions, which no one has dared accuse, is the high-level institution that is the army. Obviously, the federal government will never accept that they were involved in the events of the 26th and 27th because that would mean losing respect for all these institutions that are responsible for our safety.
At one moment local police did participate, then it was the army. We do not know who gave the orders, why they did it, or if it was because we were Ayotzinapa students, and that's why they acted in that fashion. Obviously, the federal government will never accept that, because it's like putting a noose around its neck.
View Tyrone Benskin Profile
NDP (QC)
Welcome to the three of you, and I add my voice in offering not only my sympathy but my prayers for those students who are still active and doing what they feel is best for the country, and also the parents and families of those students.
I hope you bear with us in this committee as we try to just process all of this and understand this a little better.
At one point in your testimony, you said that there were, between 2007 and 2014, some 26,000 individuals who have gone missing or have been murdered. So that I can get a better understanding, what is the motivation? Are these politically motivated acts? Are these linked wholly with the cartels? What's the main understanding as to why these students and these 26,000 people have disappeared or been murdered?
Isidoro Vicario Aguilar
View Isidoro Vicario Aguilar Profile
Isidoro Vicario Aguilar
2015-04-28 14:04
This question about the alarming number of 26,000 stems from official data. This data does not come from any specific agency in Guerrero. These are official data from the Mexican government, and this is why we lament the fact that there is no efficient effort by the authorities taking place, because we cannot explain why this number is so high and so alarming.
We want you to understand that in fact the authorities are not properly carrying out their work. They are not carrying out investigations. Justice is not being sought. There is not a good administration. We believe that for this reason these cases continue with impunity. This is why we lament the fact of the unfortunate case of Ayotzinapa that has come to public knowledge with respect to these crimes that occurred in Mexico.
For the list of 26,000 persons who have disappeared, they are forced disappearances, and it's not because of social organizations and civil organizations that fight for human rights. There are families who are experiencing this problem. In fact, it is a very grave situation, where organized crime is concerned at the local level, at the state level, and at the federal level.
All of these issues facing the Mexican government give rise to these figures, but above and beyond saying who is perpetrating these acts, for the number of families that are facing this problem, this is a situation that is very grave in Mexico. Over the past two years, just in the state of Guerrero, there were extrajudicial executions of 12 social combatants. Most were combatants from indigenous communities. That was in only the past two years.
Thank you.
View Tyrone Benskin Profile
NDP (QC)
For my own clarification, then, these incidents are a combination of organized crime activities and political activities. Is that accurate?
Isidoro Vicario Aguilar
View Isidoro Vicario Aguilar Profile
Isidoro Vicario Aguilar
2015-04-28 14:07
We do not consider it important to make that differentiation. There is a serious concern to the effect that we have very high numbers in Mexico. It could be understood that way, but in fact, what does concern us is that in the case of Ayotzinapa, there were more cases that have remained in impunity.
But to say that from this figure of more than 26,000 Mexicans who disappeared.... This is a number that is truly alarming, and this is why we cannot really explain what investigation work is being carried out by the authorities. We understand that there is not a will to do so by Mexican authorities in order to deal with this situation. From day to day, there is an increase in the number.
Also, what we were saying is that these figures are the official figures, but let us recall also that there are many similar cases by means of which the people do not decide to denounce because of risks and because of repression, both from organized crime and from the authorities.
We cannot establish a difference as to when it's an act committed by organized crime, because what we were saying is that the case of Ayotzinapa is like many similar cases. There is a direct participation of public servants and organized crime as well. This is within the local area. Within the government area, these patterns are also repeated. At the federal level, these patterns are also repeated. This is why we have had no response whatsoever to this alarming figure from the Mexican government.
View John McCallum Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to the minister and officials for being here.
We support the content of the bill, but as we have discussed, we would propose the removal of the word “cultural” in the short form. In our view, cultures don't have anything to do with this because such acts go across cultures. You have a different definition of the word.
I guess my main point is that whatever our semantic debate might be, the reality out there is that the perception in a number of communities, particularly in the Muslim community, is that the use of the term “cultural” is an attack on their community. Whatever the merits of our debate on semantics, I would ask that you might reconsider this and consider removing the word “cultural” because it would not do anything to change the content of the bill but it would send a small signal to the Muslim community, or perhaps other communities, that their government is not out to get them. It seems to me you would be sacrificing nothing in terms of content, and sending a positive message.
I do have a second question, which I'd like to put now so I don't run out of time. This is with regard to provocation.
I think if we accept the government's argument that the availability of the defence in the legislation sends a signal of tolerance for the crime, then we need to examine what signals we are sending with this amendment. The problem with the amendment is that if it were to pass, a number of specific criminal offences would fall under this definition, including theft and mischief, because the criterion is a five-year term. I wonder if the government might consider other options that would include only violent acts in the definition of the crime that is relevant.
My two questions then regard, one, the use of the term, or hopefully the removal of the term “cultural” in the short title; and the possible amendment in the area of provocation.
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