Relatives of 49 children killed in Mexico day care fire demand justice a year later

Parents of 49 kids killed in fire demand justice

MEXICO CITY — Relatives of 49 children killed in a day care fire a year ago held an overnight vigil Friday in their memories and to demand punishment for officials who they say failed to ensure the center’s safety.

Parents lit candles and placed photos of their children on the steps of the landmark Independence Monument in Mexico City. A group of children held a sign that read “The people of Mexico demand justice. Jail for those responsible for the fire at the ABC day care center.”

Officials say the June 5, 2009 fire at the day care center in Hermosillo, the capital of the northern state of Sonora, started when an air conditioning system overheated at an adjoining tire and car warehouse leased by the state government. It eventually spread to the roof of the day care, filling the building with smoke and sending flaming pieces of tarp raining down on the children.

In addition to the dead at least 70 children were hurt at the privately run center, which operated under contract from the federal Social Security Institute.

Abraham Fraijo, whose 3-year-old daughter Emilia died in the fire, said he traveled to the capital to protest the slow pace of justice.

“We should be at a solemn ceremony in Hermosillo but instead, after a year, we continue demanding justice,” Fraijo said.

The federal government took over the investigation early on, and several government officials and the day car center’s four owners are on trial. But so far no one has been sentenced.

On Thursday, a Supreme Court judge sided with the parents and said he believes other high-ranking city, state and federal officials should also be held accountable for the deaths.

Judge Arturo Zaldivar’s list of 14 names includes Juan Molinar, who was director of the Social Security Institute and is now Mexico’s transportation and communications secretary; the institute’s current director, Daniel Karam; and former Sonora Gov. Eduardo Bours.

“What the Constitution requires is that these government officials do everything possible … to protect the rights of children,” Zaldivar wrote.

Zaldivar’s opinion will be discussed beginning June 14 by the full court, which has the power to make recommendations in the case but cannot order the government to take any specific action.

On Wednesday, President Felipe Calderon declared June 5 a day of national mourning after meeting with some of the victims’ parents.

Relatives planned to march Saturday in Mexico City and Hermosillo and to release balloons at 2:45 p.m., the time the blaze started.

“A year later we still have to demand justice,” Fraijo said. “We’re still fighting against the corruption and the impunity of a government that failed in taking care of our children.”