DECLARATION FROM FREE COMMUNITY RADIO JENPOJ, MIXE, OAXACA, MEXICO: CELEBRATION OF ITS SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY

At the foot of the li'pyxyukp side, the mountain of the twenty goddess, where the community of Tlahuitoltepec of the Mixe People is located, THE hope flourishes and the community struggle to build its own media becomes reality from inside the heart of the people; today, we show to the world that the Indigenous people and communities have got their own word, own cheek, heart and struggle and will keep building their own media. "The struggle won't stop!".


To build our own media hasn't been easy, but many difficulties helped learning the organization, the necessities helped getting more straight to use it in our realities, we go slow for we go far.


Community and Indigenous Radios are a tool for the struggle. We are not a armed movement as our weapons are our thoughts and our hearts throughout simple words. We help the community organization and the defence of the natural sources of our lands.

We recognize ourselves as an alternative of life and freedom against the mediation of the big transnational companies and massive media that won't never be able to offer such services that we give without asking money back.

Community and Indigenous Radios are the means through which our people can hold their own culture, develop their own language and go far beyond their horizons.

Time and Speech taught us that communication can be a weapon for the community struggle and projects. As communicators, our job is to keep recreating nature and our cosmogony through the sound and voices that we permanently transmit.

As Community and Indigenous Radios we are nor clandestine neither pirate, much less commercial, we believe that as Indigenous people we've got the right to hear our own reality.

This is the time to unify our straight and experiences as community radios to be able to face the attacks from the governments against every kinds of projects of community and popular media.

WHAT WE ASK FOR :

Stop to the aggressions, attacks and destruction of the Community and Indigenous Radios that we permanently suffer in different areas of our country and around the world.

Stop to the kidnappings, imprisonment and killings of Indigenous or popular journalists.


We ask to the Union Congress to legalize Community and Indigenous Radios, as accomplished in September 2007 by National Congress of the Indigenous Media, including the recognition of the communication and information rights.

Because the world must know that we exist and we'll be always alive to preserve our identity and to build our way of life, freedom and dignity.


UP RADIO JENPOJ ON ITS SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY

UP THE FREEDOM RADIOS OF OAXACA, MEXICO, AMERICA

UP THE ORIGINAL PEOPLE OF THE WORLD

UP THE COMMUNITY RADIOS OF THE WORLD


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Last 7th, 8th and 9th of August,the Community Radio Jenpoj celebrated its seventh anniversary in its community in Tlahuitoltepec, in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. The event has been particularly important as various Community and Indigenous Radios from different locations participated to share their own experiences in building their own autonomous community media.La Voladora Radio from the State of Mexico, Radio Huandari from Michoacan, Zaachila Radio of Oaxaca, Radio Tierra y Libertad of Monterrey Nuevo León, Radio Unidad y Radio Tsumbal Xitalhá from Chiapas, Radio Guelatao del Pueblo Zapoteco from la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca, Binigulazaa of Oaxaca, Video Tamix from the Mixe People Oaxaca, Centro de Comunicación Comunitaria Voces Nuestras y Radio Dignidad of Costa Rica, Radio Sagarmatha Kathmandu of Nepal África, Indymedia Madrid from Spain, Agencia Internacional de Prensa Indígena (AIPIN), and the Community Radio Mixe Jënpoj, Oaxaca were present.
The meeting agreed in valuating the autonomous Radios as weapon to fertilize the conscience of the Indigenous people through its own culture, language, customs and cosmogony without the oppression of the government to control the mass media. All Community and Indigenous Radios are completely autonomous, financially and politically as they are dedicated and formed by the same people who keep its own identity as alternative to fight back the system. Speeches became weapons to unify people in their thoughts. Their own realities and problematics are shared by their same community, and this keeps their identity much alive.

But the governments, knowing the straight of the media message, prefers to deny their freedom of information and communication. That is why many of the experiences told by the Radios representatives were about the continuous aggression by the government to the Radio equipment, many kidnappings and killing of autonomous journalists and representatives.

The three days dedicated to the anniversary presented speeches, demonstrations, workshops to unify people and create ideas.
Everyone is invited to the next meeting on the 30th and 31st of August 2008 IN Zaachila, Oaxaca to build together the community straight of our Radios.