Note from Radio Ñomndaa

To all the Free, Alternative and Community Media

To the Civic Organisations,

To the honest Mass Media

To the independent Centres of Human Rights

To our members

Brothers and Sisters:

We are Radio Ñomndaa, the word of the water (la palabra del agua) a community radio that for over seven years has served the people in their struggle to have a life with dignity. Once again we turn to you to inform you about the following incidents:

Since we first went on air at the end of 2004, we have been harassed, persecuted, criminalised and attacked by the state in its three levels of government; federal, state and municipal. Moreover, the rich and caciques1 of the Costa Chica, Guerrero who oppress the people, have also contributed to our repression due to the fact that one of our lines of work is to inform about and raise our voices against violations of our human and collective rights. At the same time we have shown solidarity and accompanied the just struggle of the people, communities and civic organisations.

In being located in the municipality of Xochistlahuaca (Suljaa´) and being part of the Nancue Ñomndaa (Amuzgo) people, we have suffered under the tyrannical government of Aceadeth Rocha Ramirez and her family. In the course of the last twelve years they have unlawfully held both the political and economic power in this municipality and region. For this exact reason, Radio Ñomndaa has denounced over and over again the human rights violations caused by her, her family and her paramilitary group which is formed by relatives and hired gunmen acting in complete impunity in Xochistlahuaca.

As it is public knowledge, since our creation and up until now, we have been a media source independent from all political parties for which we have not participated in the campaigns during the federal, state and municipal electoral processes. We clearly maintain that all the political parties have always brought division, confrontation, manipulation, unfulfilled promises and poverty to our people and communities. It is also public knowledge that in the recently completed electoral process, we did not participate. However, we have found out about the different illegal and illegitimate tricks used to gain votes, principally by the PRI. After 12 years too much of political tyranny at the hands of the Rocha Ramirez family, the PRI for the very first time in the history of the municipality lost in the elections to be Mayor, thus resulting in the defeat of José Luis Rocha Ramirez- brother of the cacique. Simultaneously, Aceadeth Rocha Ramirez lost out on her aspiration to become Federal Deputy for the 5th District of the Costa Chica- Montaña region.

Now that the election process have finished, we are finding out that radio “Leader” (La Líder),which is owned by Aceadeth Rocha Ramirez illegally broadcasting on 88.9FM and without federal government permission, has been used as a means to misinform, slander and persecute Rocha Ramirez´s political opponents. Moreover, radio Leader had been used to promote her politically above all in the election process. Now José Luis Rocha Ramirez is accusing Radio Ñomndaa of having damaged his broadcasting kit days previously to 1st July, these accusations are completely false. A lot of people say that the Rocha Ramirez´s caused the damage themselves, such behaviour can be seen in past years when they had claimed to have suffered a burnt hut and car as well as supposed kidnap attempts against Aceadeth Rocha only to later accuse her political opponents of committing these acts. This is her strategy- falsely accusing and later prosecuting those who oppose her. We know this because it is not the first time that she is blaming us of something that we have not done. In 2004, the Cacique was behind the fabrication of the crime of unlawful deprivation of personal liberty supposedly against Mr Narciso Garcia, falsely accusing a group of eleven elders and one of our members, David Valtierra Arango. In 2009 she used the same tactic alleging that 31 political opponents and our member David Valtierra Arango had supposedly unlawfully deprived Mr Ariosto Rocha Ramirez, the Cacique´s brother, of his personal freedom as well as theft. These accusations have been proved false and had been elaborated with the objective to intimidate her opponents.

In light of this situation:

1) We hold the Rocha Ramirez family responsible for any possible damage to Radio Ñomndaa´s broadcasting equipment or harm brought to the members of the radio.

2) We call upon all the people who support our cause to be alert to the tricks carried out by the Cacique´s family in the search to blame someone for her electoral defeat. At the same time it is known that they are trying to create conditions of chaos in the municipality in order to obstruct the newly elected administration's work.

3) To the people who are fighting from below for a life with dignity for their people, communities, neighbourhoods and cities, we ask you not to give up, to double your collective strength, to unite before the difficult situation in which we live in our country, Mexico and in the world.

Suljaa', Guerrero, Mexico on 11th July, 2012.

Radio Ñomndaa – The Word of the Water (La Palabra del Agua) is a community radio station which transmits from the municipality of Xochistlahuaca, in the Costa Chica region of the state of Guerrero. The station gives voice to the Amuzgo (Nn`anncue) indigenous people. They demand that their community's right to freedom of expression, as outlined in Convention No. 169 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nation's 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, be recognised.

In October 2011, PBI interviewed María Porfiria Antonio Nieves, member of the Radio Ñomndaa's Committee, for the publication Dignas: Voices of Women Human Rights Defenders in Mexico.