“We reiterate that the federal government and especially President Vicente Fox take urgent steps to solve the conflict in Oaxaca immediately,” said Gonzalo Marroquín, chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information. Marroquín added that during the next meeting of IAPA officers this Friday that they will examine the possibility of sending an investigative mission to Mexico.

The 31 journalists that remained in the newspaper building since June 18 to assure the publication of the paper were removed abruptly last night by force by alleged supporters of the trade union, Revolutionary Workers and Peasants Confederation (CROC), who according to complaints of those affected had received support from the police and state government.

The conflict dates back to November 28, 2004, when alleged locals raided the building where the newspaper houses its printing press and a person was found dead. On December 1, storekeepers in the area took over the newspaper installations again. According to the newspaper’s directors, the motive for these acts is criticisms in editorials against the administration of State Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.

In statements to local media, Ismael Sanmartín, the paper’s editor, asserted that the individuals burst in violently, threatened them and destroyed computers and other equipment used in producing the newspaper.

IAPA has sent letters in three separated occasions to the Federal Secretary of Government to deal with and investigate the newspaper’s complaints on alleged pressures received by state authorities in apparent retaliation for its editorial stance.

“We trust that this time federal steps are taken to avoid a rise in tension in this conflict,” expressed Marroquín, editor of the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre.