Raúl Noro, Milagro Sala’s life partner, learned this morning that there was an arrest warrant against him. Given his poor health, along with their lawyers, they decided it was best to go to court and request home detention. After appearing before the authorities he had to be taken to a clinic to conduct studies to confirm the recommendation not to be detained in a prison.

Since January 16, Milagro Sala, member of the Parlasur Parliament, is deprived of her liberty. The charges against her, in many cases, were extracted through extortion and coercion. Her crime is to have demanded, by setting up a peaceful camp in the center of San Salvador de Jujuy, an interview with the brand new Governor Gerardo Morales, to support the work of all cooperative members families enrolled in Tupac Amaru and other organizations implementing housing schemes, sanitation and public works. The excuse for her detention was “inciting violence”.

Milagro Sala’s history is driven by the struggle against injustice, first in trade unions and then through the organization of hundreds of glasses of milk to feed children in Jujuy, one of the poorest provinces in Argentina. This took place throughout the 90’s in resistance to hunger-inducing neoliberal schemes that led to the tragic events of 2001.

Already in the XXI century, a neighborhood organization was established in the form of workers’ cooperatives carrying out works needed by their people, as they suffered neglect by the state. In this way they built houses, water parks, hospitals, primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, textile mills, cement manufacturers, blacksmiths and so much more. The association Tupac Amaru became an example of dignity, organization and joint work. They did this for much less money than private companies would have done, raising many more works and of better quality.

On coming to power Gerardo Morales knew he had to destroy the Tupac Amaru if he wanted to carry forward the Alliance Cambiemos [New President of Argentina Mauricio Macri’s political party] plan to destroy all the progress made during the governments of Nestor and Cristina [Kirchner]. To do so, he created a biased Supreme Court, altered the functioning of justice and created a team to perform this systematic persecution based on bogus denunciations delivered in cascade, so that the social leader could be kept illegally in preventive prison.
Raúl Noro, journalist and humanist activist for decades, had been imprisoned by the dictator Onganía and also by the genocidal Videla, to end up in exile. A few weeks ago we heard him asking us to support Milagro Sala, to look after the Tupac Amaru collective construction and that in June we again choose Milagro Sala as its undisputed leader. His concern was for “La Flaca”, whom we also heard in a radio interview talking about her discomfort that her beloved Jujuy had “no justice” and declared that such state of affairs even took away her desire to continue living.

Noro suffered arbitrary, wild, raids at home, which left damage to the walls, floors and leaky roofs; he received threats and constant harassment. Along with Noro today three more members of the organization were arrested, accused of “fraud to the public administration and extortion”. There have been many demonstrations against the actions of the governor Morales, both in Argentina and in the rest of the world.

Today, more than ever, it is necessary to raise our voices and demand an end to this persecutory conduct, which violates both human rights and laws. From the Committee for the Freedom of Milagro Sala it was convened for tomorrow, Friday, July 15, at 10 am in Riobamba, 34 of the City of Buenos Aires, a press conference to explain the state of affairs in relation to the four people detained today and the rest of their incarcerated colleagues.

We share a recorded message left by Raúl Noro, before going to court No. 4 of Jujuy. [In Spanish]