Finnish human rights activist killed in Mexico ambush

Aid convoy attacked in Oaxaca

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Finnish human rights activist Jyri Jaakkola was killed in an attack by gunmen in Oaxaca in the south of Mexico on Tuesday.
      Armed men attacked a convoy of the activists near the village of San Juan Copala.
      In addition to Jaakkola, one other person was killed. At least 15 were injured, and several are missing.
     
The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs says that Mexican officials have confirmed the news of the Finn’s death to Finnish Ambassador Ulla Väistö. Two representatives of the Finnish Embassy in Mexico City have travelled to Oaxaca to assess the situation.
     
Jaakkola had been collecting information about the plight of indigenous people in Oaxaca. He had been in Mexico for about a month.
      He was a member of Uusi Tuuli (“New Wind”), an association which promotes international solidarity and fair trade. He had also taken part in demonstrations linked with the Copenhagen climate summit in December.
     
The convoy was en route to meet representatives of the Triqui people, who had issued a declaration of autonomy for their village. The State of Oaxaca has not recognised the declaration. There have been numerous violent clashes between paramilitary forces and local indigenous people recently.
      The attack is believed to be the work of the paramilitary Ubisort group, which has ties with Oaxaca's leading party, the PRI.
      The caravan was bringing aid supplies to the village, which had been cut off by the paramilitaries. In addition to the Finnish man and one Finnish woman, there were human rights activists from Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Mexico.
     
The convoy was stopped on a mountain road near the village of La Sabana at 4:00 PM local time. The road had been blocked with rocks and trees, and that is when the hooded gunmen started shooting.
      “The stones blocked a sharp curve. When we reached it, the shooting started”, said Florentino López Martínez, the leader of the organisation that organised the caravan in an interview with the newspaper El Universal.
      Some of the activists fled, and others were taken to hospital. Access to the area is very limited.
     
Leaders of the State of Oaxaca deplored the attack on Wednesday. The officials issued a statement according to which they had warned about the dangers in the area.
      “It was known unofficially that the initiative for the convoy of activists had come from the leaders of the village of San Juan Copala. They did not take into consideration the security situation in the area, which does not suit this kind of activity”, said the statement, quoted by the newspaper La Jornada.
     
The atmosphere in Oaxaca has been tense for a long time.
      A teachers’ strike in June 2006 sparked a popular movement calling for the resignation of Oaxaca’s governor. The movement gave rise to the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca, or APPO.


Links:
  Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (Wikipedia)
  Oaxaca (Wikipedia)
  Uusi Tuuli website

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