Saturday, March 22nd, some of us from CASA went to interview Jorge Salinas Jardón, ex-political prisoner of the Atenco conflict whose legal proceedings ended a month ago.

Jorge had come to Chiapas to participate in one of the Caravans Against Repression making rounds in Zapatista communities. The Caravans are part of the “Worldwide Campaign in Defense of Autonomous Indigenous Lands and Territories in Chiapas, Mexico, and the World”, whose goal is to create a presence of Mexican social fighters in order to observe and denounce repression against autonomous communities.

Jorge participated in the most recent Caravan of close to 40 people, which departed from Mexico City and surrounding areas to arrive in Chiapas on March 15th. Over the following week the members of the Caravan passed through communities pertaining to the 5 Zapatista Caracoles, and attempted to visit Amate Prison, but were denied entry. On March 22nd they held a press conference to report on their experiences.

In his testimony, Jorge recounted some of his experiences as a political prisoner as well as the police atrocities committed in Atenco in May 2006, atrocities which still occur in almost every place in the world where people fight for a life of dignity and freedom. In addition, Jorge spoke of the support given to the political prisoners on hunger strike in Chiapas, and the importance of international solidarity. Most importantly though, Jorge reminded us of the responsibility to not forget and keep the memories of our struggles fresh. In this way, we can continue writing our own history.

“My name is Jorge Salines Jardón. I work in telecommunications and participate in the Zapatista Telefonista Collective. We are supporters of The Other Campaign and the 6th Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle.