Emergence of Mexico's Self-Defense Groups Is 'Legitimate' - Javier Sicila Fernando Camacho Servin - La Jornada
go to original January 23, 2014

The poet and founder of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, Javier Sicilia, in presenting the report #No+armas. (Xinhua)

The emergence of self-defense groups in the country is a "necessary evil," and a "perfectly legitimate" option in light of the inefficiency of the authorities to bring peace and security to the population, said Javier Sicilia, leader of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity.

Participating in the presentation of the report #No+armas-#Nomoreguns - which details how firearms come from the United States to Mexico, practically without any monitoring - Sicilia lamented the "terrible irony" that while the existence of these devices creates more uncertainty, they have become a necessary alternative for many citizens.

"If there were gun control the population wouldn’t need to defend itself. But if they (the authorities) are not doing it, what can we do? No way, it's a necessary evil, the people have to defend themselves," he said.

He added that the use of self-defense groups "is absolutely legitimate. I'm against guns, but I'm much more against defenselessness. It can’t be tolerated that on behalf of a government that has not fulfilled its purpose, bringing peace and security to its citizens, people have to suffer the killing of the sons and the kidnapping, rape, and dismembering of their daughters."

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

Translated by Thomas Mosley

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