ICIAR members will protest in Mexico City and Oaxaca

In light of the acts of violence motivated by religious intolerance against members of the Interdenominational Christian Church (ICIAR) who live in the town of San Juan Lalana, Oaxaca (Chinanteca region), representatives of this religious denomination will hold a demonstration tomorrow in the Zócalo of Mexico City and also in the City of Oaxaca to denounce the situation and demand a fundamental solution to this type of problem that occurs in various states, especially in Chiapas.

In this context, pastors, religious experts and human rights defenders called on the Oaxacan and federal authorities, as well as the Catholic Church, to intervene to put an end to the attacks against the evangelical Christian congregants of that town, whose temple was burned by Catholic parishioners, and whose houses, animals and crops were destroyed and stolen.

The attacks against the evangelical Christian families of the village began last December and escalated, Isaías López Hernández, representative of the ICIAR pastors in Mexico City and Puebla, told La Jornada.

“Sadly, even though they have already met with representatives of the State Government and the Directorate of Religious Cults, who were supposed to act in accordance with the law, this has not happened. The congregants have suffered, and all of this can cause loss of life. The authorities have not acted. The Governor of Oaxaca, Salomón Jara Cruz, has been invited to intervene, and there has been no response.”

He added that Aaron Cortés, general pastor of the ICIAR, went to the area to arrange for a ceasefire and to provide support to the members of the evangelical Christian church. The option being considered is to move the congregants to a safe area and send them food and financial aid.

Elio Masferrer, a specialist in religious issues, said that the archbishop of Oaxaca, Pedro Vázquez Villalobos, who in his Sunday homily acknowledged that the evangelical Christian temple was burned by Catholics, “should go to the town with the local priests and tell the inhabitants that the Catholic Church opposes this type of aggression and warn them that if they continue with the violence they will be excommunicated.” If he only speaks in favor of respect for the faith professed by other people, it is just an “act of cynicism.”

Tomás de Jesús Toribio, president of the National and International Association of Human Rights (ANIDH), called on the government of Oaxaca and the Ministry of the Interior to intervene and pacify the area, “because our brothers are suffering religious intolerance.”
He added that “under the argument of customs and traditions, they (the Catholics) do not allow other types of beliefs, so where is the freedom of worship?” The archbishop should “talk to his parishioners because they are putting lives at risk and invading private property. This could generate a greater conflict, and the Oaxacan government could serve as a conciliator.”