Delegation to UNAM, Mex.Solidarity Network for nytcamer@ursula; Fri, 11 Feb 2000 21:49:53 -0500 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - msn@mexicosolidarity.org Mexico Solidarity Network Student Delegation to Support Student Strikers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and Human Rights in Guerrero March 25 April 2, 2000 From March 25 to April 2, 2000 the Mexico Solidarity Network will field a delegation of student and human rights activists from across the US to meet student strikers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and visit workers on the front lines of human rights defense in the southwestern Mexican state of Guerrero. The students at UNAM, the largest university in Latin America totaling 240,000 students--are involved in an historic strike that is now entering its seventh month. Since June of 1999, the strikers have been opposing an administration plan that would radically increase tuition costs and student fees, break up the university system, and give students little say in how their curriculum is structured. Students have reacted to this proposal by shutting down the university and organizing a democratically elected congress of 120 representatives known as the General Strike Council (CGH). Currently, negotiations are at a stand still. The timing of this delegation will provide US-based student activists with an opportunity to connect with their counterparts on the frontlines in Mexico. Meanwhile, the state of Guerrero against the backdrop of its world famous beaches at Acapulco--is home to a brutal brand of social and political repression that has resulted in the loss of life of farmers, teachers and indigenous peoples who have demanded democracy, economic justice, and respect for human rights. Along with cases of torture and forced disappearances, extra-judicial executions in the state are on the rise. State-sponsored massacres of campesinos in 1995 and 1998 prompted a July, 1999 tour by Mrs. Asma Jahangir, specialist to the United Nations on Summary and Arbitrary Extra-judicial Executions. Our delegation will visit two leading human rights organizations in the state, visit communities in which they work, and learn first-hand about the struggle for dignity and democracy throughout Guerrero. The cost for the delegation is $450, which includes ground transportation, hotel, English translation and program. Plane fare and food costs are the responsibility of delegates. Scholarships (for delegation fee, not airfare) are available for students of color under age 30. Please contact the Mexico Solidarity Network office by phone at: 773-583-7728 or by e-mail: msn@mexicosolidarity.org for more information on this delegation or scholarships. Deadline for all applications is Feb. 29. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcamer-02.11.00-21:49:46-27821