Call for Solidarity and Support of Indigenous Peoples
NYA•WEÑHA SKÄ•NOÑH: Thank you for being well
Below is a letter of concern delivered by the American Indian Law Alliance (aila.ngo) to the UN OHCHR on behalf of our friend and colleague Margot Pérez. The below letter addresses not only her specific case but also the systematic violence and persecution that indigenous peoples face around the the globe. We ask that you join us in taking action and demand that the United Nations act in support of Indigenous Peoples. Please join us in solidarity and support the call to action to end the persecution and oppression of indigenous peoples in Cuzcátlan [El Salvador].
Please take a moment to sign the petition started by TONATIERRA on Action Network.
Or if you have the time to email or send a letter to the the Regional Office for Central America of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Here is the email address:
Below is a copy of the letter sent by the American Indian Law Alliance for you to use as a template if you need assistance. for those emailing a letter it would be wonderful if you could cc: and
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Thank you,
Gaeñ hia uh/Betty Lyons
Letter To:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) – Central America
Attn: Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria
House of the United Nations,
Temporary offices:
Offices 17
Panama City, Panama
Dear Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria,
We send you this urgent request for your immediate response and action in the protection of our Indigenous sister Margot Pérez, leader and spokesperson for the Network of the Smiling Jaguar of Indigenous Peoples in El Salvador. Ms. Margot Perez is from the western zone of El Salvador in Nahuizalco. She is an advocate for our Indigenous Peoples and a protector of sacred elements such as lands and rivers that we all depend upon for life.
Ms. Margot Perez has had to flee her home community of Nahuizalco and is now in hiding, and in grave danger for her life. Reports are that the military police in Nahuizalco had been harassing Jose Alfredo Hernandez, brother-in-law to Margot Perez. The military police have been extorting him for money and demanding that he reveal the whereabouts of Nano Margo Perez.
When he did not submit, Jose Alfredo Hernandez was shot five times and murdered by military police on May 3rd, 2019.
At this moment, Maria Magdalena Perez (wife of Jose Alfredo Hernandez) is also in immediate danger and exposure as well as her three children Wendy Magdalena, Estefany Gabriela, and Soe Valentina.
The assassins who killed Jose Alfredo Hernandez on May 3rd are known killers at the service of the corrupt local authorities who have been operating with impunity in El Salvador since the Matanza of ’32.
Hired assassins have threatened Margot Perez at the service of the hydroelectric power plants. The protection of life and the protection of people must be a priority for the state, but in this case, we only see a failed, blind, deaf and mute state. Therefore, we condemn the persecution of Margot Pérez and the cowardly murder of her brother-in-law José Alfredo Hernández, which occurred on May 3rd, 2019, in the city of Nahuizalco, El Salvador.
WE MAKE AN URGENT CALL FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE AND ATTENTION TO THIS GRAVE CONCERN OF IMMEDIATE DANGER TO OUR RELATIVES AND ASK THAT YOU COMMISSION A FACT-FINDING OBSERVATORY MISSION TO NAHUIZALCO, EL SALVADOR IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT FURTHER VIOLENCE AND LOSS OF LIFE.
We reject the inoperative conduct of the state authorities and their indifference to these facts.
We call for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights investigate and help us clarify these facts on the ground to bring to justice the intellectual and material authors of these criminal acts.
Please contact me at the earliest possible moment to confirm receipt of this message and coordinate a swift and effective response by your office.
Sincerely yours,
Gaeñ hia uh/Betty Lyons
Executive Director
American Indian Law Alliance
www.aila.ngo
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cover image via: flickr.com
