MEXICO-VIOLENCE/MARCH Protesters demand justice for missing teaching college students on the 11-month anniversary of their disappearance
Record ID:
142258
MEXICO-VIOLENCE/MARCH Protesters demand justice for missing teaching college students on the 11-month anniversary of their disappearance
- Title: MEXICO-VIOLENCE/MARCH Protesters demand justice for missing teaching college students on the 11-month anniversary of their disappearance
- Date: 27th August 2015
- Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (AUGUST 26, 2015) (REUTERS) PARENTS OF MISSING STUDENTS MARCHING WITH PHOTOS OF THEIR CHILDREN PROTESTERS CARRYING PLACARDS MARCHING PROTESTERS MARCHING PROTESTER CARRYING PLACARD THAT READS "WE'RE THE CHILDREN OF THE RESISTANCE AND OF LIBERTY. KNOWLEDGE AND CHOICE ARE OURS. TOMORROW IS OUR VICTORY." MORE OF PARENTS MARCHING WITH PHOTOS OF THEIR MISSING CHILDREN PLACARD THAT READS "PENA (NIETO) ARE YOU THE SON OF THE DEVIL? YOU CAN'T FIND THE NORMALISTA (STUDENTS) OR YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO APPEAR?" VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FATHER OF MISSING STUDENT, BERNABE ABRAHAM, SAYING: "More than anything the family is worried about him after not seeing him for 11 months. More than anything to know how he is, if he is eating or not. That is the worry that all parents of the 43 students have." PLACARD THAT READS "11 MONTHS. IT WAS THE STATE" (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SPOKESPERSON FOR PARENTS OF THE MISSING STUDENTS, FELIPE DE LA CRUZ, SAYING: "Definitely the Mexican government has always lied to Mexican society and the world about the young men being dead and buried in the rubbish dump at Cocula when there are experts from the (Inter-American Human Rights) Commission and fellow Argentine forensic experts who have then given their reports and have given us indicators that they're alive, in the sense that there is no response that demonstrates the opposite." VARIOUS OF PARENTS WITH PHOTOS OF THEIR MISSING CHILDREN IN FRONT OF A MONUMENT DEDICATED TO THE MISSING STUDENTS VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING GENERAL VIEW OF PROTESTERS ON REFORMA BOULEVARD
- Embargoed: 11th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mexico
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVACB3BSDF54FLMEULXXUZE557AU
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hundreds of activists marched on Wednesday (August 26) in Mexico City to demand justice for 43 teachers' college students who disappeared almost a year ago in the southwestern state of Guerrero.
The march was set to coincide with the 11-month anniversary of the disappearances that rocked the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto and highlights the frustration that Mexicans express at the slow pace of justice.
Although the government says the students are dead, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said earlier this month they still had no evidence pointing to whether the young men were dead or alive.
Holding posters with photographs of the students, the protesters marched, demanding justice for their missing sons and daughters.
Parents of the missing, like Bernabe Abraham, hold out hope that the students are still alive.
"More than anything the family is worried about him after not seeing him for 11 months. More than anything to know how he is, if he is eating or not. That is the worry that all parents of the 43 students have," he said.
The demonstrations come amid a lack of firm answers over the disappearances at the politicised Ayotzinapa Teachers' College. The students who went missing on September 26 of last year were all between the ages of 18 and 23.
Mexican authorities have said they believe the students from Ayotzinapa, located in the impoverished and violent southern state of Guerrero, were burned in a rubbish dump in the small town of Cocula after being abducted by police and delivered to hitmen.
Family spokesperson Felipe de la Cruz said that relatives of victims have consulted outside experts who cast a doubt on the state's version.
"Definitely the Mexican government has always lied to Mexican society and the world about the young men being dead and buried in the rubbish dump at Cocula when there are experts from the (Inter-American Human Rights) Commission and fellow Argentine forensic experts who have then given their reports and have given us indicators that they're alive, in the sense that there is no response that demonstrates the opposite," he said.
Prosecutors are expected to release their final report on the case on September 6.
The IACHR group has said the Mexican government has not allowed them to interview soldiers who would be key witnesses in the investigation and hopes the government will extend the time it is being allotted to complete its independent investigation.
Amnesty International estimates that more than 25,700 people have disappeared or gone missing in Mexico in the past years, and almost half of them during the presidency of Enrique Pena Nieto. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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