With just a few months to go for the tenth anniversary of the disappearance of the 43 students from the “Raúl Isidro Burgos” Normal Rural School in Ayotzinapa, fathers and mothers marched from the Angel of Independence to the +43 Anti-monument in Mexico City within the framework of the 117th Day of Struggle, in which they demanded answers and fulfillment of the presidential promise to clarify the case.
Under the rain, the rally resonated with the slogans: “Presentation with life and punishment for the guilty! Because they took them alive, we want them alive!”
The mothers, fathers and students of the “Raúl Isidro Burgos” Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa, advanced at a firm pace along Reforma to the +43 Anti-monument; in this place of remembrance, Isidoro Vicario, lawyer at La Montaña Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, pointed out that the investigations stalled when they encountered the participation of the army.
All this, despite evidence that points to the involvement of the military. However, the federal government continues to deny any responsibility of those in uniform.
Tlachinollan’s lawyer highlighted that the state crime remains unsolved, despite the fact that it is known that there was participation from the three levels of government: state, municipal and federal.
“It is regrettable that this government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador is leaving without fulfilling its promise to clarify the case, above all, to find the young people.”
“Today in Mexico, the issue of forced disappearance, one of the serious violations in the country, continues to increase. That is why we need to continue raising our voices to know what happened on September 26th, 2014.”
During the participation of Mario César González -father of César Manuel González, one of the 43 student teachers who disappeared from Ayotzinapa- he criticized the lack of progress in the case and accused the president of wasting his time blaming the lawyers instead of seeking the truth and following lines of investigation that involve the army.
Mario César González also denounced the existence of more than 800 pages from the military archive that could contain crucial information about the whereabouts of the 43 young people.
Therefore, he regretted the president’s closed-mindedness and his refusal to allow the participation of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (IGIE), whose investigations have been fundamental to discovering the truth.
“Tell them that they are total cowards for that cruel attack that was done to them. Right now, the president doesn’t want to see us look stupid. We have enough information that the army had much more participation due to the discovery of the GIEI and that is why he does not want the experts to be here, because everything that has been discovered is thanks to the IGIE.”
Mario César González also highlighted that for ten years, they have not been able to hug their children:
“We can’t know where they are. Ten years of our life that we have not lived with the rest of the family such as his brothers. The only thing left in our lives is to continue looking for our son.”
Despite the pain and frustration, the parents of the 43 reaffirmed their commitment to continue searching for their children and demand justice; They also called on society and the media to accompany them in this fight and not allow the truth to be silenced.
“We have reiterated that the lines of investigation were fenced when the wall dressed in olive green was encountered.”
Original article by Mario Marlo at ZonaDocs, June 27th, 2024.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.