Deportees Challenge Zedillo and Davis Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source - "PRENSA NUEVO AMANECER" May 16, 1999 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Lydia Brazon Tel: 323-653-0726 CALIFORNIANS DEPORTED FROM MEXICO ASK GOVERNOR DAVIS TO DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS WITH PRESIDENT ZEDILLO May 15, 1999--Human rights defenders who have been deported from Mexico for their humanitarian work in the state of Chiapas are asking Governor Gray Davis to make human rights in Mexico an issue during President Zedillo's visit to California. Paz Sin Fronteras (Peace Without Borders), an organization founded to represent the hundreds of people who have been expelled from Chiapas since the Zapatista uprising in 1994, counts among its members five Californians. Loren Reibe is a priest from the Los Angeles area who was expelled in 1995 along with two other priests from Spain and Argentina. Their case was recently heard before the Interamerican Court of Human Rights where it was ruled that their expulsion was illegal and that they should be permitted to return, but it remains to be seen if the Mexican government will honor this decision. Peter Brown is a teacher who lives in San Diego. He was expelled from Mexico last year explicitly for his efforts in the construction of a school in the indigenous community of Oventic. Travis Loller, Jeff Conant, and Michael Sabato are Bay Area residents who were in Chiapas installing potable water systems, an effort which health promoters in the area say has a dramatic effect on the health of the communities. When the Mexican army invaded a community which they were passing through in April of 1998, the three were expelled from Mexico for life. "We're asking Governor Davis to put human rights on the agenda during his meetings with President Zedillo, says Sabato." Recently the Mexican government has been criticized by Amnesty International, the Humanitiarian Law Project and several other human rights organizations that presented damning reports at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights last month in Geneva. The expulsion of foreigners is only a small part of what is going on. We should be concerned about this. Davis has the power to influence Mexico on these issues. The question is, Does he have the political will to do so? Loller adds, "We are also asking Davis to take into account the thousands of Mexicans who are deported from the U.S. every year. The militarization of the border is a human rights issue as well, with Mexicans being shot and killed at the border and dying in the desert, not to mention Proposition 187 which denies immigrants basic human rights like education and health care." Global Exchange estimates that Operation Gatekeeper, the INS crackdown on illegal border crossings, has caused less than a one percent decrease in apprehensions and more than a 600 percent increase in the death rate, with people being forced to cross the border in the desert and dying of dehydration, heat stroke, and exposure. "I equate the militarization of the border to the militarization in Chiapas," says Loller. "In both instances, the respective governments are attempting to address economic and social issues militarily. They are trying to beat people back with violence rather than addressing their problems. In the end this is going to do more harm than good." "We're asking the governor to consider more than economics when he sits down to talk with President Zedillo," says Sabato. "We're saying that both Davis and Zedillo need to consider the people they govern." Travis Loller will be in Washington, D.C. next week speaking to members of the U.S. Congress regarding these issues. Humanitarian Law Project 8124 W. Third St., #105 Los Angeles, Ca 90048 Tel: 323-653-0726 ================================================================= 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-05.16.99-23:34:10-16191