Brad Will - NY Documentary Filmmaker & Indymedia Reporter - Shot Dead In Mexico!

[Breeze54]

Brad Will, New York Documentary Filmmaker and Indymedia Reporter,
Assassinated by Pro-Government Gunshot in Oaxaca While Reporting the Story

Photographer Oswaldo Ramirez of the Daily Milenio Wounded in Attack by Shooters
for Ulises Ruiz Ortiz in Santa Lucia El Camino

http://www.narconews.com/Issue43/article2223.html

By Al Giordano
The Other Journalism with the Other Campaign in Chihuahua

October 27, 2006

Brad Will, 36, a documentary filmmaker and reporter for Indymedia in New York, Bolivia and Brazil,
died today of a gunshot to the chest when pro-government attackers opened fire
on a barricade in the neighborhood of Santa Lucia El Camino, on the outskirts of Oaxaca, Mexico.

He died with his video camera in his hands.


Brad Will in Chetumal, Quintana Roo
Photo: D.R. 2006 Narco News

Brad went to Oaxaca in early October to document the story that Commercial Media simulators like Rebecca Romero of Associated Press distort instead of report: the story of a people sick and tired of repression and injustice, who take back the government that rightfully is theirs. In that context, his assassination is also a consequence of what happens when independent media must do the work that Big Media fails to do: to tell the truth. My friend and colleague since 1996 when we labored together at 88.7 FM Steal This Radio on New York’s Lower East Side, I bumped into him again in Bolivia in 2004 during a public reception held by the Narco News School of Authentic Journalism, and again on the Yucatán peninsula last January where he came to cover the beginnings of the Zapatista Other Campaign – Brad died to bring the authentic story to the world.

Brad went to Oaxaca in early October knowing, assuming and sharing the risks of reporting the story. His final published article, on October 17, titled “Death in Oaxaca,” reported the assassination of Alejandro García Hernández on the barricades set up by the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO, in its Spanish initials).

Brad wrote:

“…went walking back from alejandros barricade with a group of supporters who came from an outlying district a half hour away—went walking with angry folk on their way to the morgue—went inside and saw him—havent seen too many bodies in my life—eats you up—a stack of nameless corpes in the corner—about the number who had died—no refrigeration—the smell—they had to open his skull to pull the bullet out—walked back with him and his people

“…and now alejandro waits in the zocalo—like the others at their plantones—hes waiting for an impasse, a change, an exit, a way forward, a way out, a solution—waiting for the earth to shift and open—waiting for november when he can sit with his loved ones on the day of the dead and share food and drink and a song—waiting for the plaza to turn itself over to him and burst—he will only wait until morning but tonight he is waiting for the governor and his lot to never come back—one more death—one more martyr in a dirty war—one more time to cry and hurt—one more time to know power and its ugly head—one more bullet cracks the night—one more night at the barricades—some keep the fires—others curl up and sleep—but all of them are with him as he rests one last night at his watch…”



Last September 26, Brad, on his way to Mexico, wrote me:

“hey al
it brad from nyc—it would be great to get yr narco contacts in oaxaca—i am headed there and want to connect with as many folks as posible—are you in df?—i should be stopping though there and it would be great
to go out for a drink
solid
brad”

Knowing of Brad’s hard luck covering other stories (he had been beaten by police in New York and in Brazil doing this important but dangerous work), his difficulty with the Spanish language, and of the greater risk for independent reporters who haven’t been embedded over time (and thus known by the people) in Oaxaca, I pleaded with him not to go, to instead go to Atenco and report on the story there of the arrival of Zapatista comandantes:

“Our Oaxaca team is firmly embedded. There are a chingo of other internacionales roaming around there looking for the big story, but the situation is very delicate, the APPO doesn’t trust anyone it hasn’t known for years, and they keep telling me not to send newcomers, because the situation is so fucking tense… If you are coming to Mexico, I would much more recommend your hanging around DF-Atenco and reporting that story which is about to begin. The APPO is (understandably) very distrustful of people it doesn’t already know. And we have enough hands on deck there to continue breaking the story. But what is about to happen in Atenco-DF needs more hands on deck.”

Brad replied that same night, undeterred:

“hey
thanks for the quick get back—i have a hd professional camera—i have heard reports about the level of distrust in oax and it is disconcerting—i think i will still go—i wont tell them you sent me and i am open to other suggestions on how to spend my time—i dont know what is happening in atenco in the coming days—i may connect with la otra capitulo dos somewhere along the way—great to hear from you—do you have a cell / phone number?
solidaridad
b rad”

I was not surprised that he decided to go to Oaxaca anyway. Brad had always taken risks: whether riding freight train box cars across the North American plain, or bunkering in his Fifth Street squat in 1996 when police and the wrecking ball invaded, his life had been one of courage. I gave him my cell phone number in case of emergency. He wrote back on October 7, three weeks ago:

“hey al
brad here—thanks for the contacts and info—i landed in df feeling
pretty ill and then came straight to oax and am plugged in—if you want to share your contacts down here it would be very helpful—i think I will stay down here for a month—nancy said you had a contact with a human rights lawyer who might help journalists not get deported – please help me with that information as well—i know you are busy and look forward to seeing more of your work
peace
b rad”

In those emails are the words of a valiant compañero who, knowing full well that this story could be his last, decided to share the risks with the people whose cause he reported.

Also sharing the risks today in Santa Lucia El Camino, Oaxaca was photographer Oswaldo Ramírez of the daily Milenio, wounded by gunfire. It was Milenio reporter Diego Osorio who confirmed the news of Brad’s death at 4:30 this afternoon. He also said that in another corner of the city, outside the state prosecutor’s office, gunmen fired at other APPO members, that three were wounded, and that one schoolteacher is reported dead, but was unable so far to confirm that report.


Photo: D.R. 2006 El Universal

Brad Will was known and liked throughout the hemisphere, and in its media centers from New York to Sao Paulo to Mexico City. Tonight his body lies in the same Oaxaca morgue he visited and wrote about last week. He will not go silently into the long night of repression that the illegitimate governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, President Vicente Fox and his illegitimate successor Felipe Calderon have created in Oaxaca, and, indeed, in so much of Mexico. It was inevitable that soon an international reporter would join the growing list of the assassinated under the repressive regimes of Mexico (others had already been raped and beaten in Atenco, only to be deported from the country last May). Tonight it was Brad, doing the responsible and urgent work, video camera in hand, of breaking the Commercial Media blockade.

Speaking at a public meeting of the Other Campaign in Buaiscobe, Sonora, when the news came in about Brad’s death, Zapatista Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos, upon receiving a briefing of the day’s events in Oaxaca, told the public and the press:

“We know that they killed at least one person. This person that they killed was from the alternative media that are here with us. He didn’t work for the big television news companies and didn’t receive pay. He is like the people who came here with us on the bus, who are carrying the voices of the people from below so that they would be known. Because we already know that the television news companies and newspapers only concern themselves with governmental affairs. And this person was a compañero of the Other Campaign. He also traveled various parts of the country with us, and he was with us when we were in Yucatán, taking photos and video of what was happening there. And they shot him and he died. It appears that there is another person dead. The government doesn’t want to take responsibility for what happened. Now they tell us that all of the people of Oaxaca are mobilizing. They aren’t afraid. They are mobilizing to take to the streets and protest this injustice. We are issuing a call to all of the Other Campaign at the national level and to compañeros and compañeras in other countries to unite and to demand justice for this dead compañero. We are making this call especially to all of the alternative media, and free media here in Mexico and in all the world.”

Tonight, from the Oaxaca City Morgue, Brad Will shouts “Ya Basta!” – Enough Already! – to the death and suffering imposed (as Brad, a thoughtful and serious anarchist, understood) by an economic system, the capitalist system. His death will be avenged when that system is destroyed. And Brad Will’s ultimate sacrifice exposes the Mexican regime for the brutal authoritarian violence that the Commercial Media hides from the world, and thus speeds the day that justice will come from below and sweep out the regimes of pain and repression that system requires. Brad gave his life tonight so that you and I could know the truth. We owe him to act upon it, and to share the risks that he took. Goodbye, old friend. Your sacrifice will not be in vain.

Update, 10:30 p.m. Oaxaca: The Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) has confirmed that schoolteacher Emilio Alfonso Fabián has died from three bullet wounds after an attack by shooters for Ulises Ruiz Ortiz outside the state government palace.

Kristin Bricker reported for this story from Sonora

[mom cat]

1. Oh my God! This is horrifc. The real terrorists are the ones who stold

power from the people! Prayers for him and his family and for the cause of justice!
Tears of rage!

[Erika]

2. W's legacy of hate and violence continues

"Never talk" if you can gun them down.

[mom cat]

3. This is what the bastards have planned for us, Buy some kevlar.

[michreject]

18. kevlar won't stop a rifle round

No options really.

[oasis]

4. Let's hear a condemnation from Sec. Rice on this outrage.(nt)

[Breeze54]

5. Like she and *co give a shit!

http://www.narconews.com/Issue43/articulo2223.html

Brad Will, documentalista neoyorquino y reportero de Indymedia,
asesinado por balas del gobierno en Oaxaca mientras informaba
El fotógrafo Oswaldo Ramírez del diario Milenio resultó herido
en el ataque por pistoleros de Ulises Ruiz Ortiz en Santa Lucia el Camino

Por Al Giordano
El Otro Periodismo con la Otra Campaña en Chihuahua

27 de octubre de 2006

Brad Will, documentalista y reportero para Indymedia en New Cork, Bolivia y Brazil,
murió hoy a un balazo al pecho cuando agresores a favor del gobierno abrieron fuego
contra una berricada en el barrio de Santa Lucia el Camino, en las afueras de la
ciudad de Oaxaca, México. Murió en su cámara de video en los manos.

More.....

[Judi Lynn]

6. Here's a press release:

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

October 28, 2006, 12:40 a.m. Contact:
Beka Economopoulos, [phone]
Brandon Jourdan, [phone]
Eric Laursen, [phone]

WILLIAM BRADLEY ROLAND, U.S. JOURNALIST/CAMERMAN, KILLED BY OAXACA
PARAMILITARIES – KILLER ID'D - ACTIONS BEING PLANNED IN U.S.

William Bradley Roland, aka Brad Will, a U.S. journalist and camerman,
was shot and killed yesterday in Oaxaca, Mexico, by paramiliaries
affiliated with the PRI, the former Mexican ruling party. Will was in
Oaxaca covering the continued resistance of teachers and other workers
against the PRI-controlled government of the State of Oaxaca. According
to reports from New York City Independent Media Center and La Jornada,
Will, 36, was shot at the Santa Lucia Barricade from a distance of 30-40
meters in the pit of the stomach by plainclothes paramilitaries and died
while enroute to the Red Cross.

Centro de Medias Libres (http://vientos.info/cml ) in Mexico City reports
that from Will's recovered videiotapes, they have identified his killer
as a paramilitary named Pedro Carmona, ex-president of Felipe Carrillo
Puerto de Santa Lucia del Camino, a colonia in Oaxaca.

At last report, Will was one of five people who died in the last day,
along with 17 wounded, as paramilitaries and federal police poured in to
retake the city, according to Centro de Medias Libres. The city had been
in the hands of the workers for five months. Will is the first American
to be killed in the months-long confrontation. A longtime journalist and
activist, he covered land occupations in the Pacific Northwest of the
U.S., direct actions and rebellions in Argentina and Ecuador, land
occupations in Brazil, and anti-privatization struggles in Bolivia. He
was a much-beloved figure in the global justice movement in the U.S. and
leaves behind many grieving friends.

Friends of Brad in the U.S. will be calling actions in the next day to
demand that the U.S. State Department press the Mexican government to
investigate Brad's murder and address the terroristic regime that made
it possible. Additionally, they will press for solidarity in the U.S.
with the Mexican movement for social justice that Brad gave his life to
document in Oaxaca.

# # # # #

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=2006102...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is such sad news.

Thank you for posting this information, Breeze54. We really need to know as much as possible.

[Breeze54]

9. Thank You! - for posting the additional info!

This is horrible!! I'm groaning.... despicable!

I wonder if the shooter, in the pic in the OP, is his killer?

Was that his last picture?

This one!

[Judi Lynn]

13. Yep, I was wondering about that, too. The man is aiming directly

at the person holding the camera. I have a HORRIBLE feeling he's the murderer.

That would definitely make it completely cold-blooded murder.

A whole lot of journalists have been getting shot to death in the last few years. This one is unforgiveable.
The shooter could have seen his victem so very clearly, and would have known how helpless he really was.

[lonestarnot]

7. Damn bloody horrible!

[Judi Lynn]

8. From Xinhua:Gunbattle kills U.S. cameraman, injures several others in southern Mexico

UPDATED: 10:50, October 28, 2006
Gunbattle kills U.S. cameraman, injures several others in southern Mexico

A gunbattle broke out on Friday as residents clashed with protesters in the southern Mexican city of Oaxaca, leaving one American journalist dead and several others injured, local police said.

Police said there was no immediate information on the identity of the cameraman, who was shot in the abdomen and died later at a hospital.

But Florentino Lopez, spokesman of the Oaxacan People's Popular Assembly (APPO), the protest movement, said that the cameraman, named Brad Will, worked for the independent media website Indymedia.

Lopez added that there were several others injured in the shooting, including a Mexican photographer.

The shootout erupted when the residents tried to remove the blockades set up by the protesters, who have demanded the resignation of Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz, whom they accuse of rigging the 2004 election to win and of using violence against his opponents.
(snip/...)

http://english.people.com.cn/200610/28/eng20061028_3159...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyone have a good guess how long we'll have to wait before this story is acknowledged here by the American corporate media?

[Breeze54]

15. Judi...this story is expanding....

U.S. Journalist Killed in Mexico

Sat Oct 28, 2006 10:06 AM IST161

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=...

By Daniel Aguilar

OAXACA, Mexico (Reuters) -

Gunmen opened fire in Mexico's colonial city of Oaxaca on Friday, killing three people including
a U.S. journalist near road blocks set up by leftists pushing to topple a state governor.

Brad Will, a cameraman working with Indymedia New York, was shot in the chest and died
before reaching the hospital, the independent news group said on its Web site.

Oaxaca's state prosecutor's office said two others, including a protesting teacher,
were also shot dead.

The journalist died after a bullet hit him in the torso in one of at least two shootouts
in the city. The teacher, Emilio Alonso, was shot in a separate attack.

Nine people, mostly protesters, have been killed in the conflict that began in Oaxaca state
five months ago, when striking teachers and leftist activists occupied much of the state capital,
a popular tourist destination.

Several people were wounded in the shootings on Friday.

A Reuters photographer said gunfire rattled for more than an hour near barricades at the edge
of the city, famous for its colonial architecture, thriving arts scene and indigenous culture.

Earlier in the day, the activists blocked highways near the city and burned vehicles.
Flights to the Oaxaca were canceled amid worries that protesters would occupy the city's airport.

This week, striking teachers voted to return to classes but many protesters
say they will not back down until state Gov. Ulises Ruiz is ousted.

Critics accuse Ruiz of corruption and repressive tactics against dissenters,
whose roadblocks
have driven tourism from the city and hurt business.

Ruiz refuses to stand down and says he still controls Oaxaca, where no uniformed police
have patrolled since being fought off by protesters during a failed attempt in June to
break up a protest camp in the city's graceful central square.

President Vicente Fox has vowed to end the conflict before he leaves office on Dec. 1.
but negotiations to find a peaceful way out have so far failed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Violent_clashes_leave_2_d...

[readmoreoften]

10. proud to be #5 /nt

[Benhurst]

11. Recommended #7

[Breeze54]

12. Farewell.... "I remember his enthusiasm."

Farewell. (4.00 / 1) (#1)
by Teo Ballve on Sat Oct 28th, 2006 at 01:22:58 AM EST
(User Info) http://www.nacla.org

His face was always happy-looking. I can't describe it any other way.
I remember his enthusiasm. I'm confused. Looking back, I remeber his commitment.
I feel puny compared to his enthusiasm. He was there.
so was I sometimes. He was balls. I was not, I left. He didn't.

Lo extraño de repente. We weren't so close. We will never be anymore.
I can't believe it. We were sort of friends, just compañeros walking in
the same path. The scars of el continente continue to harden.
stay tuned....

Me duele. Joder. Espero que todo salga tan radical como lo esperamos.

Un doloroso abrazo con toda esperanza.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2006/10/27/21584...

[pnorman]

14. I was looking for a "plausible excuse"...

... like he had thoughtlessly inserted himself into a raging gun-battle or something. But absolutely NOT. This was a deliberately targeted ASSASINATION, and by government pistoleros! And in all likelihood, he was well aware of the dangers he faced. This has certainly been a bad century for journalists, the honest ones at least. All we can do at this end is to try to be worthy of such sacrifices. NEVER FORGET!

pnorman

[Breeze54]

16. Warning! Graphic Pic! - Report back from Brad

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/10/27/18323924.ph...

Reports received from Radio Universidad tells that civil population is under attack
in the streets of the city of Oaxaca. Also this radio station informs that Indymedia
reporter Bradley Will was shot dead.

BRAD WILL - INDYMEDIA ACTIVIST SHOT DEAD IN OAXACA MÉXICO.


The firsts attacks were reported early this morning, around 10 am when unknown individuals attacked Radio Universidad with heavy gunfire. This radio is under control of students and members of the People´s Popular Assembly of Oaxaca, APPO.

After this morning attack on the radio, APPO declared full alert. Also Flavio Sosa, a very well known activist of this movement announced that a young man was kidnapped in one of the many barricades in the city, in a place known as Puente Cinco. Other clashes were reported in other spots like Colonia Volcanes, where a group of people tried to dismantle another barricade.

Then, around 2 p.m. a group in a pick-up attacked another barricade, injuring a boy in the foot, who later on was moved to a hospital. At Avenida del Ferrocarril, another pickup truck attacked the members of the APPO. Early reports talked about three people injured by gunshot in this action.

At 6:03 pm, Radio Universidad confirms the death of Bradley Will, New York Indymedia reporter , shot in the stomach. This ocured in the colonia Santa Lucia del Camino Also another reporter from Milenio Diario, Oswaldo Ramirez was injured by gunfire. Will was reportedly shot from a distance of 30 to 40 meters in the stomach. His body was put in a volkswagen and died while in transit to the Red Cross.

6:05 pm. Reports indicate that snipers are shooting indiscriminately against civillians from the roof top of the Municipal Palace of Santa Lucía del Camino. Then police attacked the barricade in the Procuraduría de Oaxaca,leaving seven people lying on the ground, their health condition is unknown.

More and more reports keep coming in through Radio Universidad. The state in the city is completely chaotic as the civil population keeps receiving attacks from unknown shooters and police. The activists keep calling to resist. Radio Universidad is the only radio station left from many that the people used to have in their control. If this station falls, the movement will found itself unarticulated and cut off from the outside. APPO calls for a national movement of suport.

Another person is reported dead in another clash between APPO members and other people from Santa María Coyotepec. The circumstances are not yet clear. New reports of shootouts and more attacks continue.

Since the beggining of the conflict, Ulises Ruiz has been using a paramilitary group known by the people as "The caravan of death". These attackers use AR-15 and AK-47 rifles, shotguns and 9mm guns against unarmed civillians. Before today, the movement had lost 15 members under fire from this killers or by police. Many leaders and activists have been thrown in jail. They also have been kidnapping sympathizers of the movement.


Report back from Brad



early dawn, oct16

yesterday i went for a walk with the good people of oaxaca -- was walking all day really -- in the afternoon they showed me where the bullets hit the wall -- they numbered the ones they could reach -- it reminded me of the doorway of amadou diallos home -- but here the grafitti was there before the shooting began -- one bullet they didnt number was still in his head -- he was 41 years old -- alejandro garcia hernandez -- at the neighborhood barricade every night -- that night he came out to join his wife and sons to let an ambulance through -- then a pickup tried to follow -- he took their bullet when he told them they could not pass -- they never did -- these military men in civilian dress shot their way out of there

a young man who wanted to only be called marco was with them when the shooting happened -- a bullet passed through his shoulder -- he was clearly in shock when we met -- 19 years old -- said he hadnt told his parents yet -- said he had been at the barricade every night -- said he was going back as soon as the wound closed -- absolutely

just days before there was a delegation of senators visiting to determine the ungovernability of the state -- they got a taste -- the call went out to shut down the rest of the government -- dozens went walking out of the zocalo city center with big sticks and a box full of spray paint -- they took control of 3 city buses and went around the city all morning visiting local government buildings and informing them that that they were closed -- and we appreciate your voluntary cooperation -- and they filed out preturbed but still getting paid -- shut -- as they pulled away from the last stop 3 gunmen came out and started shooting -- 2 buses had already pulled away -- mayhem -- 10 minute battle with stones and slingshots and screaming -- one headwound -- another through the leg -- made their way to the hospital while the fighting continued -- shout out on the radio and people came from all parts -- the gunmen were around the side of the building -- they got away -- they were inside -- no one sure -- watchful -- undercover police were reported lurking around the hospital and folks went running to stand watch over the wounded

what can you say about this movement -- this revolutionary moment -- you know it is building, growing, shaping -- you can feel it -- trying desperately for a direct democracy -- in november appo will have a state wide conference for the formation of a state wide assemblea estatal del pueblo de oaxaca (aepo) -- now there are 11 of 33 states in mexico that have declared formation of assemblea populares like appo -- and on la otra lado in the usa a few -- the marines have returned to sea even though the federal police who ravaged atenco remain close by -- the new encampment in mexico has begun a hunger strike -- the senate can expell URO -- whats next nobodies sure -- it is a point of light pressed through glass -- ready to burn or show the way -- it is clear that this is more than a strike, more than expulsion of a governor, more than a blockade, more than a coalition of fragments -- it is a genuine peoples revolt -- and after decades of pri rule by bribe, fraud, and bullet the people are tired -- they call him the tyrant -- they talk of destroying this authoritarianism -- you cannot mistake the whisper of the lancandon jungle in the streets -- in every street corner deciding together to hold -- you see it their faces -- indigenous, women, children -- so brave -- watchful at night -- proud and resolute

went walking back from alejandros barricade with a group of supporters who came from an outlying district a half hour away -- went walking with angry folk on their way to the morgue -- went inside and saw him -- havent seen too many bodies in my life -- eats you up -- a stack of nameless corpes in the corner -- about the number who had died -- no refrigeration -- the smell -- they had to open his skull to pull the bullet out --walked back with him and his people

and now alejandro waits in the zocalo -- like the others at their plantones -- hes waiting for an impasse, a change, an exit, a way forward, a way out, a solution -- waiting for the earth to shift and open -- waiting for november when he can sit with his loved ones on the day of the dead and share food and drink and a song -- waiting for the plaza to turn itself over to him and burst -- he will only wait until morning but tonight he is waiting for the governor and his lot to never come back -- one more death -- one more martyr in a dirty war -- one more time to cry and hurt -- one more time to know power and its ugly head -- one more bullet cracks the night -- one more night at the barricades -- some keep the fires -- others curl up and sleep -- but all of them are with him as he rests one last night at his watch

[michreject]

19. I wonder if the person on the left in the pic

is the same person in the pic in post 9

[tblue37]

20. I don't think so.

The shooter has dark shoes.

[coffeenap]

22. Look at the person in the background, just right of center. nt

[Judi Lynn]

21. Thanks for the new photos, information this morning, Breeze54.

I was crying before I got to the end of this writing you just posted. Brad Wills most surely cared deeply about what was happening: an ongoing life-and-death, desperately serious event our own media have stubbornly refused to admit, address, discuss with their very own countrymen/women.

In their "wisdom," they appear to believe we want far more to be idiotically entertained than to be awakened to reality.

Thanks for your efforts.

[Breeze54]

27. Thank You, Judi Lynn.... *sigh*

Breaking news isn't always IN the MSM but a lot of people don't seem to understand that.
Why? I'm not sure why that is, considering that for the last six years,
it's been well known that blogs, messageboards and Indy News Sources ARE the new MSM!

Thanks for all your help, Judi Lynn!

[bonito]

17. Kick n/t

[rainbow4321]

23. Indy NY: "killed by police or paramilitaries according to locals" (graphic)

http://publish.nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/77780.html

After the footage of the shooting was shown on Televisa, a large Mexican television network, Radio APPO in Oaxaca received four different reports from people who identified the shooter as a plain clothes police or possibly a paramilitary hired by the far right PRI party, and that his name is Pedro Camona, however, it is not confirmed that this is in fact the name of the shooter.

Before his murder today, Brad Will had been in Oaxaca taking video and reporting on the state wide popular uprising and teacher strike that began in June with the violent attempted removal of the striking teachers from their encampment in the center of Oaxaca City by federal police forces. Since then, the teachers and other groups formed the APPO, the Popular Assembly of the Oaxacan People, and have called for the removal of the governor of state Ulises Ruiz of the PRI. Will is believed to be the first indymedia.org journalist to be killed while reporting.

There is a long history of Mexico using government sponsored paramilitaries to repress social movements, including a massacre of hundreds of students in Mexico City in 1968.

As reports of protesters surrounded by armed government forces and police continue to pour in, activists in cities around the world are planning protests at Mexican embassies in outcry against the violent aggression against the people of Oaxaca.


-----------------------

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/348181.shtml#2...

[Breeze54]

28. Thank you rainbow4321!

[Judi Lynn]

24. Kick!

[BeHereNow]

25. What do you want to bet that our tax dollars are backing the

murderers.
In the interest of "national security" (multi national corporate interests, that is)
of course.

WHEN will Americans wake up?

BHN

[Vidar]

26. No doubt.

[gorbal]

29. There are all kinds of vids for him up on youtube now

Lets try to popularize them and make the major media pay more attention to this. (so far it is only covered with depth by the indy media)

You can view his last video here-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGmsSFMpb88

and there are a bunch more, including a couple of heartwarming clips of him singing and some montages.

[pberq]

30. thanks, gorbal, good idea.

[MadJohnShaft]

31. He was one of my wife's best friends - he was just over visiting

us a couple months ago. My wife just saw the story and is really sad.

He was one heck of an interesting guy, and a true free spirit.

nuts.

[gorbal]

32. (Hugs)

They have a humorous video up on Narconews of him singing "I really like the cops"

http://narconews.com/