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Mexico Human Rights Chief Replaced amid Massacre Fury

Rocked by the presumed massacre of 43 students who disappeared in late September, Mexico has appointed a new head of human rights to the lead the violence-plagued country's abuse-investigating body.

Mexico's Senate Thursday voted former prosecutor Luis Raul Gonzalez to head the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH).

He will replace Raul Plascencia, whose tenure was wracked by criticism for a lack of fervor and lackluster support for victims.

CNDH, an autonomous body whose recommendations are not binding, is investigating the case of the 43 young men who have been missing since the night of September 26, when police shot at busloads of students in the city of Iguala in Guerrero state, killing six people and abducting 43 who they handed to gang members.

The government says suspects arrested in the investigation have confessed to killing the young men from a teacher-training college and burning their remains -- claims the victims' families dispute.

Protesters fuming over the disappearances have rallied in a number of Mexican cities, setting fire to the Guerrero state congress in southern Mexico earlier this week in another day of angry demonstrations.

Plascencia also has met with harsh rebuke over a recent investigation into the military's killing of 22 gang suspects in the Central Mexican town of Tlatlaya.

The military has been under fire over its handling of the case, after initially saying that all 22 suspects were killed in a shootout.

But the CNDH investigation concluded that at least 12 of those dead had been killed by soldiers after surrendering.

Plascencia was questioned over his initial conclusions, however, which fell in line with an official report, and were only changed after prosecutors accused the military of murder.

According to NGO Human Rights Watch, Mexico's human rights situation is critical.

Some 100,000 people have died or gone missing in turf wars between drug cartels and in gunfights between criminals and security forces since 2006 when Felipe Calderon launched a massive offensive against drug traffickers.

Source: Agence France Presse


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