Sicilia vows civil resistance if security law passes
2011-09-16
Posted by: badanov
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By Chris Covert
The leader of the Mexican peace movement told the press Thursday that he would begin "civil resistance" if the national security law is passed, according to Mexican news sources.
Javier Sicilia, now in the sixth day of his fourth peace march since the spring, told reporters near the Mexico-Guatemala border that deputies who vote for the national security law would be considered no better than criminals and would be exposed as such.
The national security law has been wending its way through various stages of the Mexican federal legislative process since 2009. The law just this past spring was tabled by the Mexican senate until additional processes were complete such as an endorsement by the Mexican Supreme Court and a late summer vote for a special senate session.
Since March, Sicilia, a poet, writer and part of the Mexican independent left, has been pressuring both Mexican president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa and members of the Mexican senate and Chamber of Deputies to stop the law.
The publicity Sicilia generated including press conferences, peace marches and open letters, won him two face to face meetings with Calderon, who soundly rejected all of Sicilia's proposals to end drug violence.
It was revealed Thursday that a third face to face meeting was in the works between Sicilian and Calderon to occur either on September 23rd or September 30th.
Virtually every part of the Calderon government and Mexican federal legislators have rejected his proposals. which included legalization of drugs and returning the Mexican military to the barracks, save for one: a law that would enable recall of errant politicians, which was endorsed by Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) leader Humberto Moreira.
Sicilia fielded questions about the armed bodyguards with him, who may have entered Guatemala illegally. Sicilia was scheduled to publicly apologize for violence visited on migrants as they come up through Central American countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala. Sicilia said the bodyguards were not his idea. They were provided by the government, presumably the federal government.
Sicilia seemed to be countering Secretaria Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) General Guillermo Galvan Galvan who implored deputies Thursday to pass the national security law to eliminate uncertainty in the role of the military in fighting organized crime. No other Mexican news outlets have mentioned anything about the progress of the new law, inasmuch as a leader in the Chamber of Deputies,
Jorge Carlos Ramirez Marin, president of the Board of the Chamber of Deputies, vowed the week the regular session was to begin, the law would be a top priority.
"We will have a national security law", he was quoted as saying.
To read the Rantburg report on the reaction to the Casino Royale massacre, click here
Galvan's reference to uncertainly springs from a July 12th decision by the Mexican Supreme Court that crimes committed by Mexican military personnel during military operations would be subject to civil penalties; indeed civilian authorities would get first consideration as to prosecutions.
Although SEDENA and other Mexican military agencies have not said as much, recent patterns in deployments and in the number of encounters seem to suggest Mexican military units in the field have been placed in a defensive and reactive role. The changes in deployment include more gunfights with larger Policia Federal units fighting organized crime.
Despite the promise the law would be expedited, the only law the Chamber of Deputies have managed to pass so far is national childcare reform. The vow was made on the heels of the massacre at the Casino Royale casino in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon late last August which killed 53 individuals. Normally, Mexican Army units would be the first to respond to such carnage being in close proximity with several patrols about, but it was several hours before units began showing up in Monterrey to enhance security.
To read the Rantburg report on the Casino Royale massacre click here and here
The law's current status is not in discussion in the Mexican national press.