Justice for the students of Ayotzinapa!
Oct. 2 statement from Nestora Salgado in support of actions protesting the disappearance of 43 students from the Rural Normal School in Ayotzinapa in the state of Guerrero, Mexico.
Nestora Salgado, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of Renton, Washington, is an indigenous leader in her hometown of Olinalá in Guerrero where she was elected as the leader of the local community-based police. Salgado is a political prisoner who has now been held for 15 months in a maximum-security federal prison in Mexico after being arrested on trumped up charges by unscrupulous local officials.
On August 22, 2013, the day after Salgado and other leaders of the indigenous community police forces in Guerrero were arrested, students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Normal School blocked the highways in protest and faced off against the police and military. The students had been supporting the efforts of Salgado and the community police to protect their towns from drug cartel violence and corrupt politicians, who, as the world now knows, were working in league with the gangs.
Because of her close association, when Salgado learned of the students' Sept. 26-27 disappearance she recorded a statement of solidarity that was broadcast over loudspeakers at huge student protests in Mexico City and in Guerrero on Oct. 2. And the Freedom for Nestora Committee in the U.S. was asked to send a message of solidarity to a rally held one week later in Tlapa, Guerrero, near the Rural Normal School. Since the wide distribution of her statement in Mexico, Nestora has faced retribution in prison and access to her much-needed medicine for severe neuropathy has been suspended.
From the Freedom for Nestora Committee -- FreeNestora.org - Facebook/FreeNestora
English translation of the message is followed by the original Spanish.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Nestora Salgado's message to the compañeros of Ayotzinapa, Guerrero
on the September 2014 assassination of 43 teachers college students
What's up, compañeros. Here I am in this prison. This is Nestora Salgado García.
I send warm greetings, although for now only with my heart and in my thoughts I join you compañeros de Ayotzinapa in all that has taken place. I want to ask you not to be discouraged but instead ask you to join together stronger because we must always be united in difficult times. Oftentimes we become united only in difficult times but we must please always be united. This is why, compañeros, we must always be in constant communication because on some days we come together for some and other days we join together for others.
We know well that the government of Guerrero is very abusive and repressive. In power, they abuse authority. The governor and the whole government is abusive. Clear proof of this is my case. They have been abusing me as much as possible, even mistreating me in this prison. I have declared that the governor of Guerrero has determined to keep me here, knowing full well that I am innocent and that he is violating the constitution of Mexico.
We did not make the laws, like the 701 law which the Guerrero government does not respect. We ask only that this law be upheld along with Article 2 of the Mexican Constitution. But I ask only that you, young people of Guerrero, please know that now is the time that we must raise our voices and we must be heard now because if not now, then never.
Do your best, muchachos, continue studying and preparing yourselves because we all know that the government wants us to remain ignorant and backward. That is why they promote and protect the criminals. That is why they harbor the drug dealers. Why? They want to keep los muchachos drugged and powerless. No muchachos recharge your batteries and let's show them that we are intelligent and that we can overcome.
Please, muchachos, keep studying and let's struggle together and defend our state and show that we will not remain in the hands of vultures like those in power now who have done as they desired with us, including carrying out assassinations.
Look what they have done to me in fabricating charges that they know perfectly well are false. They have someone who says that I am a kidnapper, but they do not listen to my witnesses which number in the thousands-witnesses who testify that I am not a kidnapper and no criminal. Why don't they listen to my witnesses? An entire town is witness that I am not a criminal and have fought for me, and yet the governor of Guerrero is not interested in this. He is not interested in what the people say. He just continues to lie that I am a criminal in a clear abuse of power. This is the abuse of corrupt officials. Court judges haven't even responded to the legal filings of my lawyers, not even responded, nothing. No response--just complete silence. Why? Because all these people are mixed up in the same outfit; because they are equally corrupt; because I should not be here in prison. I should be free, but those in power keep me here.
But, compañeros, you I embrace and I am with you in prayer. To all of you I plead: stand in unity with the muchachos de Ayotzinapa. Do not leave them alone at this time and don't let them do as they wish with them. They have always been peaceful. They never took up arms. There is no justification for them to be killed and missing. No reason at all!
I stand with you compañeros. I am with you and will always be in spirit. I would love to be there with you in this fight, to join you on the front lines, all of you together. For now, though, I join you with my prayers from this prison.
The day they arrested me I was on my way to help the compañeros in Tlatauquitepec, This unfortunately was my luck, given what the government had prepared from me. So, I am here. I stand in solidarity with you. Please don't lose faith or be afraid. This is the struggle and we will go forward.
Compañeros of the Politécnico, I, Nestora Salgado, send you greetings. You have my deep appreciation for the support you have given the Ayotzinapa compañeros. I send you greeting, hoping you know about me. Here I am and someday we will be in the same struggle together.
Thanks so much for your continued support for the Ayotzinapa compañeros. Don't leave them alone. To gather strength, please continue preparing yourselves and studying.
So compañeros, thanks a lot and may God bless you. From here I send you a warm embrace.
Nestora Salgado García, political prisoner
Member of Coordinadora Regional de Autoridades Comunitarias-Policía Comunitaria,
From the maximum security prison en Tepic, Nayarit
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jueves, 2 de octubre 2014
Declaración de Nestora Salgado en los asesinatos de estudiantes en Ayotzinapa, Guerrero
Desde el penal de de máxima seguridad en Tepic, Nayarit
Qué tal compañeros, estoy aquí, desde esta prisión, soy Nestora Salgado García.
Mandándoles un saludo muy cordial y, me uno aunque sea con el corazón y el pensamiento a ustedes compañeros de Ayotzinapa por todo lo que pasó, pero les quiero pedir que no se desanimen y que al contrario, se unan más, porque debemos estar unidos en los tiempos difíciles siempre. Muchas veces nos unimos en los tiempos difíciles, pero debemos estar unidos siempre, por favor. Por eso es importante, compañeros, que siempre estemos en constante comunicación por que un día es por unos, y al otro día es por otros.
Sabemos perfectamente que el gobierno de Guerrero es muy represor, es un abusivo. En la autoridad abusan de su poder, el gobernador y todo el gobierno están abusando. Y la prueba bien clara soy yo, que han estado abusando aquí conmigo lo máximo, lo que más pueden, hasta para darme aquí un maltrato. Yo he denunciado que el gobernador está empeñado en tenerme aquí sabiendo que soy inocente y violando la constitución.
Yo no hice las leyes, como la ley 701; sin embargo, no la han respetado. Nosotros solamente nos avalamos por la ley, más aparte por el artículo 2 constitucional, pero le voy a pedir a todo el pueblo de Guerrero algo: jóvenes, por favor, es la lucha ahora, debemos de alzar nuestra voz ahora, nos deben de escuchar ahorita, porque si no es ahora, no es nunca.
Èchenle ganas muchachos, sigan estudiando, síganse preparando, porque sabemos perfectamente que al gobierno le conviene que seamos unos ignorantes, unos retrasados, por eso ellos avalan y protegen a los delincuentes, por eso protegen a los vendedores de drogas. ¿Por qué? Porque quieren a los muchachos tontos, durmiendo, drogados. No muchachos, pónganse las pilas, vamos a demostrar que nosotros somos inteligentes y que nosotros podemos.
Por favor muchachos estudien, vamos a luchar y vamos a defender a nuestro estado, no lo vamos a dejar en manos de buitres como es esta gente que tiene el poder y que ha hecho de nosotros lo que ha querido, con asesinatos. Mírenme a mí, fabricándome unos delitos que ellos saben perfectamente que no es verdad. Ellos tienen un testigo que dice que fui secuestradora, sin embargo no aceptan mis testigos que son miles, que yo no fui ninguna secuestradora, ninguna delincuente. ¿Por qué no aceptan mis testigos? Un pueblo completo es testigo de que yo no soy una delincuente y que ha luchado por mí y sin embargo, al gobernador no le interesa esto, no le interesa lo que el pueblo dice, simplemente se aferra a que yo soy una delincuente y eso es mentira; y ese es el abuso de poder. Ese es el abuso de autoridad, porque han abusado, gente corrupta. Jueces que ni siquiera han contestado a los papeles que ha metido mi abogado, ni siquiera me han contestado nada, no me han dado resoluciones, simplemente se han callado, ¿por qué? Porque todos están mezclados en lo mismo, porque todos son iguales de corruptos, porque yo no debería de estar aquí, yo ya debería de estar afuera, sin embargo, por su poder, aquí me tienen.
Pero compañeros un abrazo y estoy con ustedes en oración. Al pueblo entero le pido: únanse a los muchachos de Ayotzinapa. No los dejen solos en estos momentos, que no hagan lo que quieren hacer con ellos. Ellos siempre han sido pacíficos, nunca han metido armas como para que los maten así y los desaparezcan ¡no se vale!
Pero bueno compañeros, estoy con ustedes y siempre voy a estar con ustedes en mi pensamiento. Quisiera estar allá para esta lucha, para ir al frente y defendernos todos juntos, pero bueno, con mis oraciones los ayudo desde aquí.
El día que me detuvieron era porque iba en ayuda de los compañeros de Tlatauquitepec, pero buen, esa era la suerte y lo que tenía el gobierno preparado para mí, pero aquí estoy con ustedes y por favor no se achicopalen, no se asusten. La lucha es esta y vamos para adelante.
Compañeros del Politécnico, un saludo desde aquí de Nestora Salgado. Muchísimas gracias por el apoyo que les han dado a los compañeros de Ayotzinapa. Les mando un saludo, a lo mejor saben de mí, pero bueno, aquí estoy, algún día a lo mejor estaremos en alguna lucha juntos.
Muchísimas gracias por este apoyo y sigan apoyándolos, no los dejen solos. Y para darles ánimos, que sigan preparándose, que sigan estudiando. Y bueno compañeros muchísimas gracias, que dios los bendiga. Desde aquí de donde estoy un abrazo muy fuerte.
Nestora Salgado García, presa política.
Miembro de la Coordinadora Regional de Autoridades Comunitarias-Policía Comunitaria.