Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Freedom of the speech belongs to those who can afford a printing press
...and, should it fall into the hands of those who can't, is taken from them by the state.
Image of damage at public station Cortv, Oaxaca via SenderodelPeje
A lot of the firepower of the plainclothesmen or mercenaries that fired on public station Cortv was directed at the broadcast equipment.
Um, Mexico News? That would explain why the protestors then occupied other broadcast stations.
Also via SdP, Palast on YouTube
Law v. Law. Procurator General Lizbeth Caña Cadeza declared that a state of guerrilla war exists in Oaxaca. Four hundred agents were directed against Radio Ley (Literally, "Radio Law"). Police arrived at 12:20 AM, and fired on the guards. Lorenzo San Pablo Cervantes, head of the Department of Educational Spaces of the Secretariat of Public Works was wounded. Police shot at reporters Luis Alberto Cruz, Jorge Luis Plata and Patricia Domínguez. Local reporters Carlos Leyva Castellanos y Miguel Luna López were beaten by masked men, presumably police agents.
And in the mother-in-law/Cadillac/cliff category, TV Azteca reporter Edgar Galicia was fired on and his crew's equipment confiscated. One wonders if TV Azteca will now, at last, describe what's going on in Oaxaca as a police riot.
____________________
ADDED.
Freelance journalist, John Gibler on DemocracyNow:
Between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. on August 22, groups of police riding in pickup trucks, armed with machine guns and pistols, some dressed as civilians and others in uniform, made rounds throughout Oaxaca City, firing at radio stations that had been occupied by the Oaxaca People's Assembly protesters. Police shot in the back Lorenzo San Pablo Cervantes, an architect, who died 45 minutes later in the hospital. The roaming police also fired on two photographers from the national newspapers, Milenio and Reforma, though no one was injured. And they threw a Molotov cocktail into the car of two teachers traveling to one of the different encampments, both of whom suffered second-degree burns. Last night, rumors ran through the city that the big raid was coming, and businesses closed several hours early in the evening, and the people from the Oaxaca’s Assembly all prepared. But then, rumors have it that after an 11:00 p.m. national television show, showing the police making rounds the night before, that the operation was canceled. The mood throughout the city throughout the night has been very tense. Bonfires kept in the street and the streets blocked off. There have been no reports of shootouts throughout the night.
Image of damage at public station Cortv, Oaxaca via SenderodelPeje
A lot of the firepower of the plainclothesmen or mercenaries that fired on public station Cortv was directed at the broadcast equipment.
Um, Mexico News? That would explain why the protestors then occupied other broadcast stations.
Also via SdP, Palast on YouTube
Law v. Law. Procurator General Lizbeth Caña Cadeza declared that a state of guerrilla war exists in Oaxaca. Four hundred agents were directed against Radio Ley (Literally, "Radio Law"). Police arrived at 12:20 AM, and fired on the guards. Lorenzo San Pablo Cervantes, head of the Department of Educational Spaces of the Secretariat of Public Works was wounded. Police shot at reporters Luis Alberto Cruz, Jorge Luis Plata and Patricia Domínguez. Local reporters Carlos Leyva Castellanos y Miguel Luna López were beaten by masked men, presumably police agents.
And in the mother-in-law/Cadillac/cliff category, TV Azteca reporter Edgar Galicia was fired on and his crew's equipment confiscated. One wonders if TV Azteca will now, at last, describe what's going on in Oaxaca as a police riot.
____________________
ADDED.
Freelance journalist, John Gibler on DemocracyNow:
Between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. on August 22, groups of police riding in pickup trucks, armed with machine guns and pistols, some dressed as civilians and others in uniform, made rounds throughout Oaxaca City, firing at radio stations that had been occupied by the Oaxaca People's Assembly protesters. Police shot in the back Lorenzo San Pablo Cervantes, an architect, who died 45 minutes later in the hospital. The roaming police also fired on two photographers from the national newspapers, Milenio and Reforma, though no one was injured. And they threw a Molotov cocktail into the car of two teachers traveling to one of the different encampments, both of whom suffered second-degree burns. Last night, rumors ran through the city that the big raid was coming, and businesses closed several hours early in the evening, and the people from the Oaxaca’s Assembly all prepared. But then, rumors have it that after an 11:00 p.m. national television show, showing the police making rounds the night before, that the operation was canceled. The mood throughout the city throughout the night has been very tense. Bonfires kept in the street and the streets blocked off. There have been no reports of shootouts throughout the night. 
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