[act-ma] 3/12 Human Rights talk by Pablo Obando of Fray Bartolomé Human Rights Center (Thurs)

[Luis Edgardo Cotto]

*"The Human Rights Debate: Between the cynicism of Mexican authorities and
the dignity of the people"*

*Thursday, March 12 (7p - 9p)*
Make Shift Boston
549 Columbus Avenue | South End
8 minute walk from Mass Ave T Stop
4 minute walk from corner of Mas Ave & Columbus
No Charge
Spanish w/ English Translation

presented by Mexico Solidarity

Our featured speaker is Pablo Obando of the Fray Bartolome de las Casas
Human Rights Center in Chiapas, Mexico. The country is at a watershed
moment: the forced disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa rural teachers
college students set off a tidal wave of indignation and massive protests.
While these heinous acts occur within a larger pattern of State violence,
including decades of repression in Chiapas, society's emphatic response
shows these communities are not passive victims. For 25 years Frayba has
been a leading voice in denouncing violations of the human rights of the
indigenous communities of Chiapas and in accompanying these same
communities as they engage in inspirational processes to promote and
exercise their rights.

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Join Pablo Obando as he speaks about human rights work in the state of
Chiapas and the national context in Mexico. The country is at a watershed
moment: the forced disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa rural teachers
college students set off a tidal wave of indignation and massive protests.
As the Director of the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center
(Frayba) said, "Ayotzinapa is the bulk of the iceberg, not the tip." In the
context of a war on drugs that has left more than 25,000 disappeared, there
is a growing movement of indignation against the State's massive violation
of human rights.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new in the Mexican state of Chiapas, or in
the United States for that matter. Consider for example the indiscriminate
military violence after the 1994 Zapatista uprising, the 1997 paramilitary
massacre in Acteal, the dispossession of indigenous land for use in energy,
infrastructure, and ecotourism projects, and the struggle of political
prisoners like Alberto Patishtan.

In the United States, indignation over police and vigilante assassinations
of black youth such as Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, as well as
record-setting deportations of undocumented minors and adults, raises a
similar question: "How can we promote human rights from the grassroots in
the face of State violence?"

The first step is affirming these communities are not passive victims. For
25 years Frayba has been a leading voice in denouncing violations of the
human rights of the indigenous communities of Chiapas and in accompanying
these same communities as they engage in inspriational processes to promote
and exercise their rights. As people of conscious in the US seek to build a
culture of peace and justice, we have much we can learn from Frayba and the
processes of human rights promotion they accompany.

Pablo and his colleagues at the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights
Center form one of the few organizations dedicated to accompanying
communities in their promotion of positive human rights without imposing an
agenda. The Center produces daily reports on human rights, defends cases in
court, coordindates human rights observation teams, and has been recognized
internationally for this work, most recently through a special mention of
their human rights work from the French Republic in January 2014. During
his talk, Pablo will discuss the current human rights situation in Chiapas,
its relation to the national context, and the role of international
solidarity.

The Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center (frayba.org.mx) was
founded in 1989 by the renowned liberation theologian, peace activist, and
Catholic Bishop Samuel Ruiz. Independent of any political party, ideology
or religious creed, Frayba's mission is to be "at the service of the poor,
the marginalized, and the organized peoples who transform their
socio-economic and political situation."

Come hear Pablo Obando speak of this complex situation and the role of
Frayba in promoting the right of autonomous self-determination, integral
justice as a prerequisite for peace, and the development of a culture of
dialogue, tolerance, and reconciliation. Liberation knows no borders, and
the struggle of Chiapas' indigenous communities for justice provides
lessons for our own.


-- 
Luis E. Cotto | http://about.me/luiscotto
203.215.9614


*~ "Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living." -- *Mother Jones