Mexico City, Friday, January 5th 2007

On the first of January the first group of the V CCIODH returned to Mexico City to continue with the program of interviews and to say goodbye to the bulk of the people who made up the first group of the Commission who returned to their countries on the 3rd, while receiving around 30 more people who will make up the second group and who will travel to Oaxaca City on the 7th of January.

On the second of January we interviewed the Sub-secretary of Government; Dr. Abraham González and his work team in which they explained their view of the conflict and the different interventions of the Secretary's Office. The Commission informed of the work it´s done up til the date and agreed to a later meeting after return its return from Oaxaca to look closer at the results of the work. We clarified on the work to be done, like the visit to the Federal Prisons to interview those detained there. Tomorrow on the 6th of January a delegation of the CCIODH visited with Erick Sosa Villavicencio in the Maximum Security Prison of Matamoros. We still have to fix the date to visit the Antiplanto Prison in the next few days.

On Wednesday the 3rd we interviewed the Special Public Attorney in Attention of crimes against journalists and with the organization United for the Promotion of Human Rights of the Attorney General of the Republic, as well as people who were detained for the events in Oaxaca.

On Thursday the 4th we interviewed the French Consulate in Mexico Didier Goujaud, the Amnesty International delegation of the Mexico section, and the Secretary of Public Security.

On Friday the 5th we continued with the program of interviews with the office of High Commissioners of Human Rights in Mexico through the High Officers Ana Gallart and Carlos de la Torre with whom we exchanged impressions about the results of the investigation up til now. They informed the Commission of the denouncements that they have received and we have scheduled for the 18th and 19th of January to interview Américo Incalcaterra, director of the Office.

On the same day we interviewed the Delegation of the European Commission in Mexico through the Licensed Arturo Rodriguez, with whom we solicited an interview in the coming days with the Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Mexico, as well as the German Embassador, the country that has taken on the presidency as of January 2007. We also interviewed with Mexican human rights organizations like the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Center and the Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights (Limeddhh). In these days we have also collected testimonies of journalists and others who work in the media.

During our stay in Mexico City the Commission has received diverse information from Oaxaca regarding the aggressions towards teachers of various schools in the State, as well as denouncements and those spread out from human rights organizations regarding a Campaign to Discredit the Limeddhh and its president subsidiary in Oaxaca Licensed Yésica Saénchez Maya. Today a public denouncement arrived from the Committee of CERESO Parents of Miahuatlán, Oaxaca and the Urgent Action of the Limeddhh in which they refer to threats towards prisoners and family members that make up the camp outside of the prison Miahuatlán.

The Commission manifests its concern regarding the events of which we were informed so that the actions taken can be done so respecting the law and always preserving respect for the human rights of the organizations and their members as well as the prisoners and the family members of all those affected by these situations.