Mexican leader vows to seek truth in 43 missing case

The 43 students went missing last September in the city of Iguala in the southern state of Guerrero after being reportedly detained by corrupt police officials.

26 starting around 1:45 pm at Kesey Square on Broadway, Eugene bike riders will cycle past Saturday Market carring photos of the 43 missing Mexican students from Ayotzinapa State Teachers College who were kidnapped a year ago.

A lawyer for the parents said in an interview later that the president used the meeting, which ran for almost three hours, to “defend the historical truth” as presented by former attorney general Jesús Murillo Karam earlier this year, a version the parents have rejected.

Six people were killed, and police kidnapped and disappeared 43 of the students.

Sanchez said Pena Nieto ordered the creation of a special prosecutor’s office to investigate the thousands of disappearances in the country, though the spokesman did not explain how it differed from a similar unit created in 2013. They seek an worldwide panel of experts to examine the incident and want the possible role of the army to be examined. “And it is my expectation that the comprehensive report issued by independent investigators spurs the continued investigation needed to get answers to all of our questions and brings those responsible to justice”.

Activists hold signs during a rally to protest the Mexican governments handling of the Ayotzinapa 43 incidence outside the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights as the commission is to hear testimonies on General Human Rights Situation in the State of Guerrero, Mexico March 20, 2015 in Washington, DC.

The students’ families and Pena Nieto are due to meet on Thursday night in a museum at the city’s Chapultepec Park.

Peña Nieto spoke of his plans to have a special investigative team and prosecutor now handle the case after meeting with relatives of the missing just days before anniversary of the tragic event, according to a government press release.

The president’s office said each of the parents’ demands would be reviewed by members of his cabinet.

Restoring public trust in his government’s ability to act against corruption and a perceived culture of impunity has become Pena Nieto’s biggest challenge in the wake of the disappearances.

“What guarantee do we have that this new investigation won’t be more theater?” asked Mario Gonzalez, the father of one of the students.

To date, 111 people have been arrested in connection with the enforced disappearance of the students, including about 50 Iguala municipal police and 19 from Cocula. “Unfortunately… the government has never given us anything besides psychological blows”.