Assailants shot dead an Indian activist in Mexico's conflict-ridden state of Oaxaca, police said Saturday. It was not clear if the killing was related to months of political violence in which at least nine other people have died.
The bullet-ridden corpse of Raul Marcial Perez was found Friday on a road near the Mixtec Indian community of Agua Fria about 120 miles north of Oaxaca City, state police said in a news release. He had been shot earlier in the day, it said.
Marcial Perez had been involved in disputes involving two rival Triqui Indian rights groups, but it was not clear if that was related to his slaying.
Some Indian groups in Oaxaca have participated in demonstrations against state Gov. Ulises Ruiz, who is accused of thuggery and corruption. The protesters took over the center of Oaxaca for five months until thousands of federal police drove them off in clashes in October and November.
Most of the nine victims of the Oaxaca violence have been protesters who were shot by armed gangs, and activists blame local police for many of those killings.
Among those killed in the protests was freelance video journalist Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, who was filming a clash between protesters and a group of armed men on Oct. 27 when he was shot.
On Friday, federal police raided the offices of the Oaxaca state police force and seized their guns to determine whether any were used in shootings of demonstrators.
Oaxaca police director Manuel Moreno said Saturday that the seizure was illegal and accused the federal police of failing to follow correct procedures.
Protesters planned to march into the center of Oaxaca on Sunday to demand the resignation of Ruiz and the freedom of more than 200 people who have been arrested in demonstrations and sent to prisons across Mexico.
Monday, January 8, 2007
December 5, 2006: Leader of Oaxaca protests arrested in Mexico City, supporters calling for weekend march
Police arrested the symbolic leader of a six-month protest movement that took over the southern city of Oaxaca and left at least nine dead, hours after he said at a news conference in Mexico City that he'd gone to the capital to negotiate a peaceful solution.
Flavio Sosa, whose heavyset, bearded presence became an emblem of the leftist Oaxaca People's Assembly, was arrested late Monday on charges related to the barricades, vandalism and irregular detentions carried out by some protesters.
"Sosa ... is known for his use of violence, damaging private property and public byways, and also burning vehicles and buildings in Oaxaca City," federal prosecutors said.
Sosa was charged with kidnapping, robbery, causing damages and injuries and taken to a maximum security prison just west of Mexico City that holds some of the nation's most dangerous prisoners.
Leaders of the Oaxaca People's Assembly, or APPO, have vowed to keep pressing for Gov. Ulises Ruiz's resignation and called for a "mega-march" Saturday to demand the release of Sosa and other protesters even as life there visibly returns to normal after burned-out vehicles and improvised barricades were removed from the streets.
Some residents warn that simmering discontent about poverty, injustice and oppression could erupt into violence again at any time.
Tomas Basaldu, Oaxacan state leader of Mexico's leftist Democratic Revolution Party, said he was meeting with the protesters.
"We will take action in the next few days," he said. "We won't lower our guard in backing the protesters."
The conflict began in late May as a strike by teachers seeking higher pay, but quickly exploded into a broader movement including Indian groups, students, farmers and myriad left-leaning activists claiming Ruiz rigged his electoral victory and has repressed opponents.
The conflict kept residents away from the city's historic center and forced nearly all the shops and restaurants to close their doors. Former President Vicente Fox in late October sent in federal troops, who cleared protesters from the streets.
Located about 325 miles southeast of Mexico City and featuring colonial architecture and Indian crafts, Oaxaca is one of the country's premier tourist destinations. But tourism plummeted amid the violence, which prompted the U.S. and several other foreign governments to warn their citizens against traveling to the city.
Before his arrest Monday, Sosa said he had come to Mexico City to try to re-establish negotiations with the government and to escape the "fierce persecution of the police and Ulises Ruiz' hit men," in Oaxaca.
Police called Sosa "the main leader" of the protest movement. Last month, he said everyone in the protest movement was equal "But my big beard and big stomach have made me become the favorite leader of the press and the police."
Sosa's brother, Horacio, was also arrested on unspecified charges.
Leaders who accompanied Sosa at the news conference said 220 protesters have been detained during the conflict, although police cite a figure of about 170. Protesters also claimed some detainees had been beaten, and that another 70 supporters of the movement are missing.
Among those killed in the protests was freelance video journalist from New York who was filming a clash between protesters and a group of armed men.
The violence seemed to come to a head last week when protesters set colonial-era buildings on fire, prompting police to begin arresting demonstrators. Many detainees have been transferred to a federal prison hundreds of miles away in Nayarit state, and many APPO leaders went into hiding after authorities issued warrants for their arrest.
Flavio Sosa, whose heavyset, bearded presence became an emblem of the leftist Oaxaca People's Assembly, was arrested late Monday on charges related to the barricades, vandalism and irregular detentions carried out by some protesters.
"Sosa ... is known for his use of violence, damaging private property and public byways, and also burning vehicles and buildings in Oaxaca City," federal prosecutors said.
Sosa was charged with kidnapping, robbery, causing damages and injuries and taken to a maximum security prison just west of Mexico City that holds some of the nation's most dangerous prisoners.
Leaders of the Oaxaca People's Assembly, or APPO, have vowed to keep pressing for Gov. Ulises Ruiz's resignation and called for a "mega-march" Saturday to demand the release of Sosa and other protesters even as life there visibly returns to normal after burned-out vehicles and improvised barricades were removed from the streets.
Some residents warn that simmering discontent about poverty, injustice and oppression could erupt into violence again at any time.
Tomas Basaldu, Oaxacan state leader of Mexico's leftist Democratic Revolution Party, said he was meeting with the protesters.
"We will take action in the next few days," he said. "We won't lower our guard in backing the protesters."
The conflict began in late May as a strike by teachers seeking higher pay, but quickly exploded into a broader movement including Indian groups, students, farmers and myriad left-leaning activists claiming Ruiz rigged his electoral victory and has repressed opponents.
The conflict kept residents away from the city's historic center and forced nearly all the shops and restaurants to close their doors. Former President Vicente Fox in late October sent in federal troops, who cleared protesters from the streets.
Located about 325 miles southeast of Mexico City and featuring colonial architecture and Indian crafts, Oaxaca is one of the country's premier tourist destinations. But tourism plummeted amid the violence, which prompted the U.S. and several other foreign governments to warn their citizens against traveling to the city.
Before his arrest Monday, Sosa said he had come to Mexico City to try to re-establish negotiations with the government and to escape the "fierce persecution of the police and Ulises Ruiz' hit men," in Oaxaca.
Police called Sosa "the main leader" of the protest movement. Last month, he said everyone in the protest movement was equal "But my big beard and big stomach have made me become the favorite leader of the press and the police."
Sosa's brother, Horacio, was also arrested on unspecified charges.
Leaders who accompanied Sosa at the news conference said 220 protesters have been detained during the conflict, although police cite a figure of about 170. Protesters also claimed some detainees had been beaten, and that another 70 supporters of the movement are missing.
Among those killed in the protests was freelance video journalist from New York who was filming a clash between protesters and a group of armed men.
The violence seemed to come to a head last week when protesters set colonial-era buildings on fire, prompting police to begin arresting demonstrators. Many detainees have been transferred to a federal prison hundreds of miles away in Nayarit state, and many APPO leaders went into hiding after authorities issued warrants for their arrest.
November 27, 2006:Protesters, governor vow to control center of embattled colonial city of Oaxaca
Leftist protesters in embattled Oaxaca City have vowed to re-establish a protest camp from which they were dislodged during running street battles with police that injured at least 43 people and led to 152 arrests.
Equally unyielding, Gov. Ulises Ruiz, whose resignation the protesters are demanding, made his first public tour of the damaged downtown area in months on Sunday and vowed to use "all the weight of the law" against violent protests.
Protest spokesman Florentino Lopez told local media that the demonstrators would set up camp again on Monday in the Santo Domingo plaza after being removed by federal police who used tear gas and water jets from tanker trucks.
The violence broke out when masked youths broke away from a protest march Saturday of about 4,000 people and hurled gasoline bombs, powerful fireworks and rocks at federal police in a failed attempt to encircle the officers holding the city's main plaza.
Police forced back the protesters and then removed them from the nearby Santo Domingo plaza, where they had regrouped after police re-entered the city in late October, ending a five-month takeover.
The federal police, who have largely remained in the main square and a few positions around the city, said they would actively patrol the city in search of those who committed "direct attacks" against them.
In a statement, the police said four of their officers and several bystanders were injured in the confrontation and accused outside activists of participating in the unrest that left three hotels were damaged, 20 vehicles burned and several businesses looted.
Some supporters of the leftist movement, the Oaxaca People's Assembly, claimed the youths were provocateurs or government agents, but Lopez told local media they were simply demonstrators who "exercised their legitimate right to self defense."
By early Sunday, the blazes were under control, but flames had gutted court offices in one of Oaxaca's colonial edifices. Later Sunday, protesters tossed gasoline bombs at a tax office.
Federal police said 152 people were arrested. Ruiz put the number at 160 and state prosecutors said that at least 43 people were injured. It was unclear whether that figure included 10 police officers and three journalists who suffered minor injuries in the battles.
On Saturday, residents watched in horror as buildings went up in flames and the streets filled with tear gas and smoke.
Josefina Quiros said protesters loosely organized under the Oaxaca People's Assembly, or APPO, were spreading fear. "We are terrified of the APPO people," she said.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Ruiz, accusing him of brutality, corruption and electoral fraud.
The fires damaged four buildings housing government offices, one university building and the offices of the state hotel association, which had already seen business from tourism the city's main source of outside income reduced to a trickle by the monthslong protest movement.
Ruiz had blamed the disturbances on radical groups from Mexico City.
"These are the death throes of a movement that has already disintegrated," Ruiz told a news conference.
The conflict began months ago as a teachers' strike, but quickly mushroomed into a broad protest against social and economic injustices in the poor state, in which protesters seized and paralyzed much of the city between May and October.
A majority of the teachers have since returned to work and did not participate in Saturday's demonstration.
Nine people have been killed in the clashes, including freelance video journalist Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, who was filming a group of leftist protesters that clashed with a group of armed men.
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Equally unyielding, Gov. Ulises Ruiz, whose resignation the protesters are demanding, made his first public tour of the damaged downtown area in months on Sunday and vowed to use "all the weight of the law" against violent protests.
Protest spokesman Florentino Lopez told local media that the demonstrators would set up camp again on Monday in the Santo Domingo plaza after being removed by federal police who used tear gas and water jets from tanker trucks.
The violence broke out when masked youths broke away from a protest march Saturday of about 4,000 people and hurled gasoline bombs, powerful fireworks and rocks at federal police in a failed attempt to encircle the officers holding the city's main plaza.
Police forced back the protesters and then removed them from the nearby Santo Domingo plaza, where they had regrouped after police re-entered the city in late October, ending a five-month takeover.
The federal police, who have largely remained in the main square and a few positions around the city, said they would actively patrol the city in search of those who committed "direct attacks" against them.
In a statement, the police said four of their officers and several bystanders were injured in the confrontation and accused outside activists of participating in the unrest that left three hotels were damaged, 20 vehicles burned and several businesses looted.
Some supporters of the leftist movement, the Oaxaca People's Assembly, claimed the youths were provocateurs or government agents, but Lopez told local media they were simply demonstrators who "exercised their legitimate right to self defense."
By early Sunday, the blazes were under control, but flames had gutted court offices in one of Oaxaca's colonial edifices. Later Sunday, protesters tossed gasoline bombs at a tax office.
Federal police said 152 people were arrested. Ruiz put the number at 160 and state prosecutors said that at least 43 people were injured. It was unclear whether that figure included 10 police officers and three journalists who suffered minor injuries in the battles.
On Saturday, residents watched in horror as buildings went up in flames and the streets filled with tear gas and smoke.
Josefina Quiros said protesters loosely organized under the Oaxaca People's Assembly, or APPO, were spreading fear. "We are terrified of the APPO people," she said.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Ruiz, accusing him of brutality, corruption and electoral fraud.
The fires damaged four buildings housing government offices, one university building and the offices of the state hotel association, which had already seen business from tourism the city's main source of outside income reduced to a trickle by the monthslong protest movement.
Ruiz had blamed the disturbances on radical groups from Mexico City.
"These are the death throes of a movement that has already disintegrated," Ruiz told a news conference.
The conflict began months ago as a teachers' strike, but quickly mushroomed into a broad protest against social and economic injustices in the poor state, in which protesters seized and paralyzed much of the city between May and October.
A majority of the teachers have since returned to work and did not participate in Saturday's demonstration.
Nine people have been killed in the clashes, including freelance video journalist Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, who was filming a group of leftist protesters that clashed with a group of armed men.
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November 26, 2006: Leftist protesters set buildings ablaze in embattled colonial city of Oaxaca
Protesters set fire to another building in the colonial city of Oaxaca on Sunday after torching government offices and vehicles and damaging hotels during demonstrations that left at least 43 injured and 152 arrested.
On Saturday, leftist protesters demanding the resignation of the Oaxaca state governor hurled rocks, powerful fireworks and gasoline bombs at federal police, in a bid to encircle the officers in the picturesque, arch-ringed main square of the city.
Police used tear gas and water jets from tanker trucks to force back the protesters and retake another, smaller square nearby where the demonstrators had regrouped after police re-entered the city in late October, ending a five-month takeover.
On Sunday, the federal police who have largely remained in the main square and a few positions around the city announced they would actively patrol the city in search of those who committed "direct attacks on federal police."
In a press statement, the police said four of their officers and several bystanders were injured in the confrontation and accused outside activists of participating in the unrest.
During the clash, bands of masked youths broke off from a march of about 4,000 people earlier Saturday and pushed shopping carts filled with rocks and gasoline bombs through the streets in a running battle with police.
By early Sunday firefighters had controlled the blazes, but the flames had already gutted court offices housed in one of Oaxaca's imposing colonial edifices. Later Sunday, protesters also torched a tax office.
In one of his first public appearances downtown in his own state capital since protesters forced officials out in May, Gov. Ulises Ruiz vowed to punish those responsible and remove the barricades protesters still man in some sections of the city.
"All the weight of the law will be applied to those who have committed these acts of vandalism," Ruiz told reporters.
Federal police said 152 people were arrested. Ruiz put the number at 160 and state prosecutors said that at least 43 people were injured; it was unclear whether that figure included ten police officers and three journalists who suffered minor injuries in the confrontations.
Prosecutors said there were no reports of any deaths; many of the injuries appeared minor, involving tear gas inhalation or blows from rocks and cudgels.
Downtown residents watched in horror as buildings went up in flames and the streets filled with a choking mixture of tear gas and smoke.
Oaxaca resident Josefina Quiros said protesters loosely organized under the leftist People's Assembly of Oaxaca were spreading fear.
"We are terrified of the APPO people," said Josefina Quiros, referring to the assembly by its Spanish initials.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Ruiz, accusing him of brutality, corruption and electoral fraud.
Demonstrators attacked three hotels, hurling gasoline bombs at one and smashing windows at two others. Some protesters also looted several business in the downtown area.
The fires damaged four buildings housing government offices, one university building and the offices of the state hotel association, which had already seen business from tourism the city's main source of outside income reduced to a trickle by the six-month-old protest movement.
In late October, the federal police retook control of the city's picturesque main square from protesters stationed there since May, but their control over the rest of the city has been tenuous since then.
On Saturday, police advanced in formation from the main square to oust demonstrators from the protest camp they had set up in another square, the Santo Domingo plaza, two blocks away.
Marcelino Coache, a spokesman for the leftist People's Assembly of Oaxaca, said some protesters suffered serious injuries; some of the demonstrators appeared to have retreated to the campus of a local university, where academic-freedom laws prevent police from entering.
Gov. Ruiz earlier blamed the disturbances on radical groups from Mexico City.
"These are the death throes of a movement that has already disintegrated," Ruiz told a news conference Saturday.
The conflict began months ago as a teachers' strike, but quickly mushroomed into a broad protest against social and economic injustices in the poor state; protesters seized and paralyzed much of the city between May and October.
A majority of the teachers have since returned to work and did not participate in Saturday's demonstration.
Nine people have been killed in the clashes, including freelance video journalist Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, who was filming a group of leftist protesters that clashed with a group of armed men. Both sides fired, and it is not clear who shot first.
Several governments, including the United States, have warned tourists to stay away from Oaxaca city, formerly popular with tourists for its nearby ruins, cuisine, colonial architecture and handicrafts.
On Saturday, leftist protesters demanding the resignation of the Oaxaca state governor hurled rocks, powerful fireworks and gasoline bombs at federal police, in a bid to encircle the officers in the picturesque, arch-ringed main square of the city.
Police used tear gas and water jets from tanker trucks to force back the protesters and retake another, smaller square nearby where the demonstrators had regrouped after police re-entered the city in late October, ending a five-month takeover.
On Sunday, the federal police who have largely remained in the main square and a few positions around the city announced they would actively patrol the city in search of those who committed "direct attacks on federal police."
In a press statement, the police said four of their officers and several bystanders were injured in the confrontation and accused outside activists of participating in the unrest.
During the clash, bands of masked youths broke off from a march of about 4,000 people earlier Saturday and pushed shopping carts filled with rocks and gasoline bombs through the streets in a running battle with police.
By early Sunday firefighters had controlled the blazes, but the flames had already gutted court offices housed in one of Oaxaca's imposing colonial edifices. Later Sunday, protesters also torched a tax office.
In one of his first public appearances downtown in his own state capital since protesters forced officials out in May, Gov. Ulises Ruiz vowed to punish those responsible and remove the barricades protesters still man in some sections of the city.
"All the weight of the law will be applied to those who have committed these acts of vandalism," Ruiz told reporters.
Federal police said 152 people were arrested. Ruiz put the number at 160 and state prosecutors said that at least 43 people were injured; it was unclear whether that figure included ten police officers and three journalists who suffered minor injuries in the confrontations.
Prosecutors said there were no reports of any deaths; many of the injuries appeared minor, involving tear gas inhalation or blows from rocks and cudgels.
Downtown residents watched in horror as buildings went up in flames and the streets filled with a choking mixture of tear gas and smoke.
Oaxaca resident Josefina Quiros said protesters loosely organized under the leftist People's Assembly of Oaxaca were spreading fear.
"We are terrified of the APPO people," said Josefina Quiros, referring to the assembly by its Spanish initials.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Ruiz, accusing him of brutality, corruption and electoral fraud.
Demonstrators attacked three hotels, hurling gasoline bombs at one and smashing windows at two others. Some protesters also looted several business in the downtown area.
The fires damaged four buildings housing government offices, one university building and the offices of the state hotel association, which had already seen business from tourism the city's main source of outside income reduced to a trickle by the six-month-old protest movement.
In late October, the federal police retook control of the city's picturesque main square from protesters stationed there since May, but their control over the rest of the city has been tenuous since then.
On Saturday, police advanced in formation from the main square to oust demonstrators from the protest camp they had set up in another square, the Santo Domingo plaza, two blocks away.
Marcelino Coache, a spokesman for the leftist People's Assembly of Oaxaca, said some protesters suffered serious injuries; some of the demonstrators appeared to have retreated to the campus of a local university, where academic-freedom laws prevent police from entering.
Gov. Ruiz earlier blamed the disturbances on radical groups from Mexico City.
"These are the death throes of a movement that has already disintegrated," Ruiz told a news conference Saturday.
The conflict began months ago as a teachers' strike, but quickly mushroomed into a broad protest against social and economic injustices in the poor state; protesters seized and paralyzed much of the city between May and October.
A majority of the teachers have since returned to work and did not participate in Saturday's demonstration.
Nine people have been killed in the clashes, including freelance video journalist Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, who was filming a group of leftist protesters that clashed with a group of armed men. Both sides fired, and it is not clear who shot first.
Several governments, including the United States, have warned tourists to stay away from Oaxaca city, formerly popular with tourists for its nearby ruins, cuisine, colonial architecture and handicrafts.
November 23, 2006: Protesters in southern Mexican state of Oaxaca briefly raid radio station to transmit message
Protesters calling for the resignation of the Oaxaca state governor briefly raided a radio station in the capital city on Wednesday to transmit a message rallying followers to a weekend march.
Members of the Oaxaca People's Assembly, or APPO, forced their way into the Ley 710 radio station and warned that if they were not allowed to broadcast their message, they would take over the station as they did earlier for nearly three months.
The group broadcast a call for supporters to join a Saturday rally at the main central plaza, or Zocalo, which was its base until federal police ousted the protesters last month. The police are still in control of the square.
"We want to show that the APPO has not died and that its demands remain intact," one of the members, who did not identify himself, said during the broadcast. "Our fight is peaceful and it won't end until (Gov.) Ulises Ruiz Ortiz falls."
Ley 710 is one of 10 private radio stations in Oaxaca, all of which were taken over by APPO in August. The group later abandoned the stations, but eight have not resumed broadcasts because APPO threatened to take them over again.
One of the stations that resumed broadcasts is controlled by a member of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, which supports the protests.
APPO remains in control of the radio station at Oaxaca's Autonomous Benito Juarez University, which the protesters converted into their headquarters early this month after being driven from the Zocalo. The protesters also broadcast from a bootleg radio station.
A separate unlicensed station known as "Radio Ciudadania," or "Citizens' Radio," is broadcasting messages in favor of Ruiz.
On Tuesday, APPO announced that it would reactivate mobile brigades that in the past have symbolically closed government offices as part of their demand to oust Ruiz.
Wednesday marked the six-month anniversary of the conflict, which has cost Oaxaca state millions of dollars in business, including tourism, and 1.3 million children hundreds of hours of schooling. Teachers just recently returned to the classrooms after accepting a pay raise.
The conflict began as a teachers strike, but quickly mushroomed into a broad protest against centuries of social and economic injustices in the poor state.
Nine people have been killed in the clashes, including freelance video journalist Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, who was filming a group of leftist protesters that clashed with a group of armed men. Both sides fired. It is not clear who shot first.
On Wednesday, Amnesty International investigator Rupert Knox called for an independent autopsy on Will's body after the Oaxaca state attorney general said Will apparently was shot at point-blank range, indicating that the fatal shots came from nearby leftist protesters.
A spokesman for the protesters said officials were fabricating evidence to win the release of two local officials held in connection with the Oct. 27 killing.
Will was shot twice in the abdomen and died on the way to hospital.
Also Wednesday, two dozen APPO sympathizers marched in front of the U.S. Consulate in Acapulco in Guerrero state, which borders Oaxaca.
"If Ulises Ruiz doesn't leave, Calderon won't enter," they chanted, referring to President-elect Felipe Calderon, who takes office on Dec. 1.
The protesters include many supporters of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost the July 2 presidential election to Calderon by less than 1 percentage point.
Members of the Oaxaca People's Assembly, or APPO, forced their way into the Ley 710 radio station and warned that if they were not allowed to broadcast their message, they would take over the station as they did earlier for nearly three months.
The group broadcast a call for supporters to join a Saturday rally at the main central plaza, or Zocalo, which was its base until federal police ousted the protesters last month. The police are still in control of the square.
"We want to show that the APPO has not died and that its demands remain intact," one of the members, who did not identify himself, said during the broadcast. "Our fight is peaceful and it won't end until (Gov.) Ulises Ruiz Ortiz falls."
Ley 710 is one of 10 private radio stations in Oaxaca, all of which were taken over by APPO in August. The group later abandoned the stations, but eight have not resumed broadcasts because APPO threatened to take them over again.
One of the stations that resumed broadcasts is controlled by a member of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, which supports the protests.
APPO remains in control of the radio station at Oaxaca's Autonomous Benito Juarez University, which the protesters converted into their headquarters early this month after being driven from the Zocalo. The protesters also broadcast from a bootleg radio station.
A separate unlicensed station known as "Radio Ciudadania," or "Citizens' Radio," is broadcasting messages in favor of Ruiz.
On Tuesday, APPO announced that it would reactivate mobile brigades that in the past have symbolically closed government offices as part of their demand to oust Ruiz.
Wednesday marked the six-month anniversary of the conflict, which has cost Oaxaca state millions of dollars in business, including tourism, and 1.3 million children hundreds of hours of schooling. Teachers just recently returned to the classrooms after accepting a pay raise.
The conflict began as a teachers strike, but quickly mushroomed into a broad protest against centuries of social and economic injustices in the poor state.
Nine people have been killed in the clashes, including freelance video journalist Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, who was filming a group of leftist protesters that clashed with a group of armed men. Both sides fired. It is not clear who shot first.
On Wednesday, Amnesty International investigator Rupert Knox called for an independent autopsy on Will's body after the Oaxaca state attorney general said Will apparently was shot at point-blank range, indicating that the fatal shots came from nearby leftist protesters.
A spokesman for the protesters said officials were fabricating evidence to win the release of two local officials held in connection with the Oct. 27 killing.
Will was shot twice in the abdomen and died on the way to hospital.
Also Wednesday, two dozen APPO sympathizers marched in front of the U.S. Consulate in Acapulco in Guerrero state, which borders Oaxaca.
"If Ulises Ruiz doesn't leave, Calderon won't enter," they chanted, referring to President-elect Felipe Calderon, who takes office on Dec. 1.
The protesters include many supporters of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost the July 2 presidential election to Calderon by less than 1 percentage point.
November 21, 2006: Renewed clashes between protesters and police in southern Mexican state of Oaxaca
Masked protesters armed with sticks, rocks, fireworks and homemade gasoline bombs clashed briefly with federal police and raided a downtown hotel Monday as violence continued after more than five months of demonstrations seeking the governor's resignation.
The protesters led a march for Monday's Mexican Revolution holiday to the city's main central plaza, the Zocalo, which police took over in late October in an attempt to end the protesters' siege of the city. As they passed, the demonstrators began using their weapons against police, who fired back with tear gas and pepper spray, eventually dispersing them.
The demonstrators were seen taking vehicles away from motorists driving through the center at the time, including a passenger bus, which they later set on fire. They also raided the Camino Real hotel, breaking the windows of the upscale establishment and spraying its walls with graffiti.
The hotel closed its doors shortly thereafter and did not release any information about its guest list. It was the second time since the protests began in late May that protesters have attacked the hotel.
In late September, about 300 demonstrators armed with machetes, knives and pipes descended on the hotel searching for Gov. Ulises Ruiz, whom they accuse of rigging the 2004 election to win office and violently repressing dissent.
Protest leader Cesar Mateos said police detained some of the demonstrators, but couldn't say how many. Police did not release any information on detentions.
In Mexico's southernmost state of Chiapas on Monday, thousands of Indian sympathizers of the Zapatista rebels blocked highways throughout the state in support of the Oaxacan protesters.
The protesters led a march for Monday's Mexican Revolution holiday to the city's main central plaza, the Zocalo, which police took over in late October in an attempt to end the protesters' siege of the city. As they passed, the demonstrators began using their weapons against police, who fired back with tear gas and pepper spray, eventually dispersing them.
The demonstrators were seen taking vehicles away from motorists driving through the center at the time, including a passenger bus, which they later set on fire. They also raided the Camino Real hotel, breaking the windows of the upscale establishment and spraying its walls with graffiti.
The hotel closed its doors shortly thereafter and did not release any information about its guest list. It was the second time since the protests began in late May that protesters have attacked the hotel.
In late September, about 300 demonstrators armed with machetes, knives and pipes descended on the hotel searching for Gov. Ulises Ruiz, whom they accuse of rigging the 2004 election to win office and violently repressing dissent.
Protest leader Cesar Mateos said police detained some of the demonstrators, but couldn't say how many. Police did not release any information on detentions.
In Mexico's southernmost state of Chiapas on Monday, thousands of Indian sympathizers of the Zapatista rebels blocked highways throughout the state in support of the Oaxacan protesters.
November 16, 2006: New evidence casts doubt over who killed U.S. journalist, Oaxaca Attorney General says
State investigators have found that a U.S. activist and journalist who was killed while filming a Oaxaca gun battle last month was shot at point blank range, indicating that the two suspects currently in prison may not be behind his death, Oaxaca Attorney General Lizbeth Cana said.
Two officials from the town of Santa Lucia were arrested for the killing of Roland Will, 36, who was shot Oct. 27 in the town near Oaxaca while filming a group of leftist protesters during a clash with authorities.
Cana said Tuesday that the investigation shows that both bullets that killed Will were fired from the same gun, and one of them was fired at point-blank range. The evidence suggest that the protesters being filmed by Will may have shot him, Cana said.
The leftist protesters are calling for the resignation of Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz, an Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, member, who is Cana's boss. They have accused Cana of using her office to support a corrupt governor and she has called them "urban guerrillas."
Protest spokesman Florentino Lopez said Cana was fabricating evidence to try and blame the leftists for the killing.
"It seems a very clear fabrication and a stupid way of trying to blame the protesters," Lopez said.
Will wrote dispatches on independent website Indymedia.com showing he had strong sympathies with the leftist protest movement. He was shot twice in the abdomen in the incident and died on the way to hospital.
Also Tuesday, gunmen killed two members of the PRI in the Oaxacan mountains but it was not clear if their deaths were linked to the political unrest that has swept the state since May.
The shooting took place near the village of San Agustin Loxicha, 120 miles (200 kilometers) south of Oaxaca's state capital.
The two PRI members, identified as Faustino Sebastian Valencia and Jesus Valencia, were ambushed and shot dead as they walked in the mountains, said Lieutenant Manuel Moreno Rivas of Oaxaca state police. Moreno said he did not know the motive for the killing.
Oaxaca PRI president Hector Pablo Ramirez said the killings may been linked to the political conflict in the state or they may have been to do with a personal grudge.
The protests to oust Ruiz have led to at least nine deaths, mostly of leftist protesters who have been shot by gangs of gunmen.
Protesters accuse Ruiz of rigging the 2004 election to win office and of using violence against his opponents.
Last month, President Vicente Fox sent more than 4,000 federal police to quell the unrest.
Associated Press Writer Ioan Grillo contributed to this report from Mexico City.
Two officials from the town of Santa Lucia were arrested for the killing of Roland Will, 36, who was shot Oct. 27 in the town near Oaxaca while filming a group of leftist protesters during a clash with authorities.
Cana said Tuesday that the investigation shows that both bullets that killed Will were fired from the same gun, and one of them was fired at point-blank range. The evidence suggest that the protesters being filmed by Will may have shot him, Cana said.
The leftist protesters are calling for the resignation of Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz, an Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, member, who is Cana's boss. They have accused Cana of using her office to support a corrupt governor and she has called them "urban guerrillas."
Protest spokesman Florentino Lopez said Cana was fabricating evidence to try and blame the leftists for the killing.
"It seems a very clear fabrication and a stupid way of trying to blame the protesters," Lopez said.
Will wrote dispatches on independent website Indymedia.com showing he had strong sympathies with the leftist protest movement. He was shot twice in the abdomen in the incident and died on the way to hospital.
Also Tuesday, gunmen killed two members of the PRI in the Oaxacan mountains but it was not clear if their deaths were linked to the political unrest that has swept the state since May.
The shooting took place near the village of San Agustin Loxicha, 120 miles (200 kilometers) south of Oaxaca's state capital.
The two PRI members, identified as Faustino Sebastian Valencia and Jesus Valencia, were ambushed and shot dead as they walked in the mountains, said Lieutenant Manuel Moreno Rivas of Oaxaca state police. Moreno said he did not know the motive for the killing.
Oaxaca PRI president Hector Pablo Ramirez said the killings may been linked to the political conflict in the state or they may have been to do with a personal grudge.
The protests to oust Ruiz have led to at least nine deaths, mostly of leftist protesters who have been shot by gangs of gunmen.
Protesters accuse Ruiz of rigging the 2004 election to win office and of using violence against his opponents.
Last month, President Vicente Fox sent more than 4,000 federal police to quell the unrest.
Associated Press Writer Ioan Grillo contributed to this report from Mexico City.
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