|
Mexico City, October 27, 2006-- “Today, tragically, Bradley Roland Will, an American citizen and journalist associated with Indymedia New York, was shot and killed in Oaxaca. It appears that Mr. Will was killed during a shoot out between what may have been local police in Santa Lucia del Camino and the People’s Popular Assembly of Oaxaca during a protest this afternoon.
Embassy officials are currently notifying Mr. Will’s family of his death in Mexico. I, of course, extend my deepest sympathy to Mr. Will’s family on behalf of the American people and the Embassy community.
For several months, violence and disorder in Oaxaca have been worsening. Teachers, students, and other groups have engaged in increasingly aggressive demonstrations in and around Oaxaca City as a result of labor and other disputes with the local government. Demonstrators have occupied or closed government facilities, and have closed several roads throughout the city. Demonstrations have been marked by mounting violence, including at least nine reported fatalities in the past five months.
This violence caused me to issue an advisory to American citizens on August 24, 2006, urging them to consider carefully the risk of travel to Oaxaca and to exercise great caution if they did choose to enter the region. That advisory was set to expire on October 30, 2006. However, this week, I chose to reissue it in light of the continuing escalation of violence in Oaxaca. The tragic shooting of an American citizen today only heightens my deep concern for the safety of Americans traveling there. (Full text of the advisory)
Mr. Will’s senseless death, of course, underscores the critical need for a return to lawfulness and order in Oaxaca.
The fact that Mr. Will was a journalist attempting to report on the violence in Oaxaca so that the general public could be more aware of the situation there makes his death all the more lamentable. An attack on one journalist is an attack on all who believe that freedom of the press lies at the heart of any civilized society.
The possibility for violence continues in Oaxaca and the situation remains tense. I again urge all U.S. citizens to consider very carefully the risks associated with traveling to Oaxaca at this time.”
|
