According to Human Rights Watch, the Mexican government delayed investigations into the enforced disappearances of 43 students inIguala and the killing of 22 people in Tlatlaya.
In the Tlatlaya case, military personnel killed 22 people inside an empty warehouse in June. State prosecutors detained two of the three surviving witnesses and tortured them in order to make them say that the military was not responsible for the killings. The police additionally forced the witnesses to sign documents that they could not read. The prosecutors tried to cover up the military’s actions by harassing the witnesses to lie.
In the Iguala case, about 30 municipal police officers opened fire on three buses, which were carrying 90 students from a rural school. The police wounded over 15 students and killed 6. The officers ordered the students in the third bus to leave the bus. The officers then beat them and forced them into police cars, which drove away with the students. Additionally, the location of 43 students still remains unknown. In this situation the authorities failed to protect the students even though human rights activists alerted the state government while the incident was in progress.
Human Rights Watch stated that: “the Mexican government should ensure thorough investigations of both cases. Officials who failed to respond promptly to these incidents or sought to cover them up should be held accountable.” Do you agree? Why or why not?
I agree with the Human Rights Watch completely. The Mexican government needs to take action and punish those responsible. If the Mexican government does not do anything then authorities will believe their actions are above the law and that the government will not interfere in the future. This would send a negative message to citizens because they will believe that they have no rights and that authorities can do whatever they wish without being punished. Additionally, the prosecutors who tortured the witnesses and tried to cover up the military’s actions should be held responsible for their actions. If the government does not hold these prosecutors liable then this will send a negative message about Mexico’s judicial system. The government needs to take a more rigorous action in trying to locate the missing 43 students. The police officers need to be held responsible for their actions. If not this will make citizens believe that there is no justice or that the justice system is corrupt.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Image: Wikipedia
The Mexican government needs to demonstrate its power to not only find the students but those accountable for this tragic event. Unfortunately, the international law community cannot interfere as the students are Mexican citizens; thus, interfering with Mexico’s domestic issues would be a violation of state sovereignty. A possible solution would be a massive protest to raise awareness, that forces the government to do something about this. On the other hand, if the government is behind this, then this ties into a bigger issue. Since 26,000 people have been reported missing in Mexico from 2006 to the present, the international community can interfere claiming violations of international law; more specifically, Mexico has violated the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.