13 Activists Forcibly Removed and Arrested, Tree Removal Begins
Early this morning, a dozen activists protecting the 41 trees on Calzada de Guadalupe were forcibly removed from the area and arrested by police. For more than 22 days, a sizeable group of activists and local citizens have been protecting the trees around the clock from being removed. The local government stated, three weeks ago, that the trees would be transplanted, though no location as to where had been announced. They announced plans to do construction on the street and would remove the trees to do so.
A Facebook page, with a name that translates to Let’s Save the 41 Trees, has quickly gained more than 2,500 followers in less than 3 weeks. Their Facebook page states, “Leaders of the movement were arrested by municipal police wittout justification. Not only do we demand the presence of the Ecology department but also the Human Rights Commission and the Attorney General”
At 9pm, the Geo Environmental construction company began to remove one of the trees. Protesters and neighbors began to question the action. Later more people gathered in favor of the trees, before the imminent rush to take them out, they organized a peaceful demonstration, and they stayed there for several hours, but again the machines began to take out the first of 41 trees. Shouts of the activists could be heard as no care was taken when extracting it. The operator of the excavator decided to not continue the work, renounced his employment. Still, the second tree began to be removed, but proved difficult due to the complex and extended root structure from the mature tree.
The activists continued to oppose until 1am Monday, at which time police arrived, forcing the protesters to leave and arresting a dozen people.
The desperate screams of the protestors were captured on video and shared on social media in reaction to the force used by police.
The municipality began to remove the trees that were being protected for 22 days by a group of environmentalists and members of the public.
The first of the trees are violently removed. Police forcibly removed protesters who protected tree #2. The operator of the excavator reportedly decided to leave the machine in response to the violence against the protesters.
Info via Zona Franca and Noticias Con Valor
