Mexico Protests on Anniversary of 43 Students Disappearance

By teleSUR

27 April 15

A large protest in solidarity also took place in New York city.

arge protests took place Sunday in Mexico's state of Guerrero and in Mexico City, to mark seven months since the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students.

Protesters continue demanding justice and a proper investigation on the whereabouts of the students, who were abducted by police officers in September 2014.

Activist reported that pro-government mobs blocked the road to Chilpancingo – Guerrero's main city – and tried to intimidate the protesters, but had little success.

In Mexico City, protesters installed a monument in honor to the 43 disappeared at the central Reforma avenue, made up of giant number 43 in red with a plus sign, representing the thousands of victims of forced disappearances in Mexico.

The marches come after the Attorney General Office has denied an official request filed by the parents of the missing students and human rights organizations to prosecute people implicated in the disappearance under the crime of 'forced disappearance'.

By doing so, the parents and organizations were hoping to find new leads in the investigation, which has been stalled for months. The criminal figure would also guarantee that the crime would not prescribe, given that forced disappearances are considered crimes against humanity.

However the Attorney General Office is backing away from doing so, as it considers that using the legal argument of 'forced disappearance' against the policemen who abducted the students would lead to the events being considered a State crime.

Marches in solidarity with the Ayotzinapa students were also staged in New York City, where hundreds took the streets and headed to the United Nations headquarters to demand action.

Furthermore, a group of artists expressed their solidarity with the parents and activist demanding justice for Ayotzinapa on Saturday during a music festival in Mexico.

The Mexican bands Molotov and Kinky joined the Puerto Rican band Calle 13, urging their thousands of fans to keep the Ayotzinapa struggle for justice alive.