Zapatista News Summary – May 2013

 

MAY 2013 ZAPATISTA NEWS SUMMARY  

Is this where they want to sell beaches, coastal regions, borderlands and oil?

    

 In Chiapas

1. News Update on Alberto Patishtan - On May 31, the FPDT (Atenco), Las Abejas and Alberto Patishtan’s son, Hector, released a short documentary on YouTube about Alberto’s case. On May 27, Mexico’s Supreme Court sent its file on the Alberto Patishtan case to the federal circuit court in Chiapas via ground transportation. There is no explanation in these press reports for the long delay. However, Patishtan’s lawyers are hoping for a June decision (before the July vacation break). Newspaper reports also indicate that Patishtan was taken twice to Mexico City for medical follow-up on his brain surgery at the National Neurology and Neurosurgery Center, once in April and recently in May, but these reports give no  information about the results of the examinations.

2. San Sebastián Bachajon Legal Dispute Over Ticket Booth Continues – On May 16, a Chiapas court issued its decision in the case of San Sebastián Bachajon (SSB). The decision orders a replacement of the procedure allegedly authorizing the government to take several parcels of land away from the ejido, conveniently all on land belonging to adherents to the EZLN’s Sixth Declaration, for use as a ticket booth where visitors to the Agua Azul Cascades pay an entry fee. The SSB adherents went to court claiming that the procedure used to grant the government authority to do that was unlawful. They asked the court for the return of their land and an order restraining the government from taking it. The decision does not return the land to them, but rather orders that the matter be presented to the Ejido’s Assembly for its position in a lawful procedure. The SSB adherents are concerned that the pro-government contingent in the ejido, especially the ejido commissioner, will manipulate the process. Consequently, two SSB adherents went to Mexico City to present their position in the matter to a member of Mexico’s Supreme Court. They also visited the offices of the UN’s High Commissioner on Human Rights, asking for intervention, and the offices of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, seeking precautionary measures following last month’s (April 24) assassination of the community leader Juan Vasquez Gomez.

3. Two Campesinos Murdered in Venustiano Carranza – On May 5, two campesinos died of gunshot wounds in a confrontation that occurred in the municipality of Venustiano Carranza, allegedly over agrarian and political disputes. Two campesinos were killed in the confrontation and 20 houses burned or damaged. There were also injuries. According to newspaper accounts, this attack stemmed from an old dispute for control of the Casa del Pueblo, which was aggravated with the arrival of a new president (in January of last year), who accused his predecessor of “misplacing” 67 heads of cattle. The dispute is between the Emiliano Zapata Campesino Organization-Casa del Pueblo (OCEZ-CP) and an internal dissident group. The dissident group of 49 families was expelled last year and is sheltered in government buildings near the state capital and demands a safe return to their homes. Those in the current OCEZ-CP leadership want the state government to relocate the dissidents. It arrears that 12 OCEZ-CP members have been arrested in connection with the May 5 violence and that the organization and its allies have set up an encampment and are occupying Cathedral Plaza in San Cristóbal. Supporters allege that paramilitary groups backed by the state government are responsible for the violence. The groups involved are not connected to the Zapatistas in any way, but are part of a large leftist campesino organization in Chiapas.

4. Chiapas Teachers Settle Strike - On May 15, National Teachers Day, Chiapas teachers belonging to Local 7′s Democratic Block went on strike over reforms to the federal education law passed in the federal Congress. Teachers throughout much of Mexico staged massive demonstrations on May 15 against the reforms which take away some of their union rights and job security, and can also lead to the privatization of education. The strike ended 5 days later after union negotiators reached an agreement with the state government. The state government signed a memorandum with the teachers committing that “the entry (hiring), promotion, recognition and permanence (job security) of education workers “will not be conditioned by any standardized evaluation with punitive character that might affect their labor rights.” The state administration also committed to guarantying that the agreements between the rector council of the Pact for Mexico, the federal government and the CNTE “will be ratified by the Chiapas government.” The education reform is part of Peña Nieto’s package of neoliberal reforms. See our blog for more information about the teacher protests and the education reform. Also see: http://newpol.org/content/mexican-teachers-rebel-against-governments-educational-reform

In Other Parts of Mexico 

FPDT Leaders

1. Seven Years After the Police Terrorism in Atenco - On May 3 and 4, the community of San Salvador Atenco commemorated the 7-year anniversary of the brutal police repression that resulted in 2 young people dead, more than 150 jailed and 26 women sexually assaulted by police while in custody. As a result of this police terrorism, the leadership of the Peoples Front in Defense of Land (FPDT, its initials in Spanish) were placed in a maximum-security prison with sentences longer than the lifespan of a human being. The FPDT is the San Salvador Atenco-based organization that successfully resisted (with raised machetes) the government’s plan to take away their agricultural lands in order to use them for building a new Mexico City international Airport. The state and federal police action of May 3 and 4, 2006 was seen by many as “payback” for the FPDT’s successful resistance to the airport; but, its significance went beyond the airport resistance. At that time, the Zapatistas were traveling the country during the “Other Campaign” and had visited Atenco just a couple of days before the police action. The police repression in San Salvador Atenco halted the Other Campaign for several months and, in general, put Mexico’s social movements on notice of what to expect in the future. On May 3 and 4, 2006, the governor of the state of Mexico, where Atenco is located, was Enrique Peña Nieto. He is now Mexico’s president and once again there are plans to build an airport, industrial park and urban sprawl on lands belonging to Atenco and surrounding ejido lands.

2. Amnesty International (AI) Issues Report on Mexico Violence – Amnesty International (AI) recently issued its 2013 Report on human rights. It refers to the term of Felipe Calderón. A number of human rights abuses are described, including the fact that Mexican authorities do not recognize the gravity of the problem and that there is complicity in these abuses by public servants. The complete report on Mexico can be read  here. According to numbers released by the federal government and published by La Jornada, there were 5,296 murders in Mexico, allegedly related to organized crime, during the first 151 days of Enrique Pena Nieto’s presidency; in other words, from December 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013. This represents a slight decrease from the same time period  the previous year under Calderón, but it is, nevertheless, a tragic number of deaths.

In the United States

1. President Obama Visited Mexico on May 2 – United States President Barack Obama visited Mexico beginning May 2. He met with President Peña Nieto and gave a speech to an audience of students and business people. Press reports indicate that the two presidents talked less about security and more about economics, thereby prompting the shopping cart cartoon above. Obama said he was hopeful on immigration reform, but not so hopeful about restrictions on guns. The Mexican economy relies on money (remittances) that Mexicans living and working in the United States send to their families in Mexico. Those remittances are one of Mexico’s top three sources of income and foreign exchange. The United States is also Mexico’s largest supplier of illegal weapons that end up in the hands of organized crime groups and thus feed the current violence in Mexico.

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Compiled monthly by the Chiapas Support Committee.The primary sources for our information are: La Jornada, Enlace Zapatista and the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba).

We encourage folks to distribute this information widely, but please include our name and contact information in the distribution. Gracias/Thanks.

Click on the Donate button of  www.chiapas-support.org to support indigenous autonomy.

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Chiapas Support Committee/Comité de Apoyo a Chiapas

P.O. Box  3421, Oakland, CA  94609

Email: cezmat@igc.org

www.chiapas-support.org

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chiapas-Support-Committee-Oakland/86234490686

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resumen de noticias de los zapatistas – Abril de 2013

Abril DE 2013 RESUMEN DE NOTICIAS SOBRE LOS ZAPATISTAS

Viaje de shopping

En Chiapas

1. Asesinato político de líder pro-zapatista en San Sebastian Bachajón – El miércoles 24 de abril, Juan Vázquez Gómez, líder de los pro-zapatistas en San Sebastian Bachajon, fue asesinado por individuos no identificados mientras caminaba hacia su casa. Era dirigente de los ejidatarios adherentes a la Sexta Declaración de la Selva Lacandona en su resistencia al despojo de sus tierras por parte del gobierno para la explotación turística.  Es el primer asesinato político en Chiapas contra zapatistas o pro-zapatista en un largo rato, y puede indicar un aumento en la represión ahora que el PRI está en el poder.

2. Amenazas de desalojo forzado continúan en San Marcos Avilés, caravana  recibe amenazas – El 19 de abril, la Junta de Buen Gobierno en Oventik publicó una denuncia que enumera todas las amenazas contínuas y actos de hostigamiento sufridos por los bases de apoyo zapatista en el ejido San Marcos Avilés desde julio del 2011.  La Red por la Paz en Chiapas luego anunció que el 21 y 22 de abril una Caravana de Observación Civil iría a San Marcos para escuchar testimonios de los zapatistas.  La Caravana fué amenazada por “miembros de partidos políticos” en San Marcos Avilés.  Amenazaron con quitarles los vehículos a la caravana y que “correrá sangre” si no se los entregaban.  Afortunadamente, las amenazas no se convirtieron en acciones y la caravana logró recopilar testimonios sobre las contínuas amenazas de muerte, incluyendo amenazas con matar a niños, y robo de tierras.

3. Marcha en Chiapas por la liberación de Patishtán – El 19 de abril, el movimiento a favor de la liberación de Alberto Patishtán organizó una movilización en Tuxtla Gutiérrez, capital del estado de Chiapas, para exigir su libertad.  En la marcha participaron much@s tzotziles de los Altos del estado, además de la organización católica Pueblo Creyente, Las Abejas, y el Bloque Democrático de la Sección 7 del Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación, quiénes en total sumaron unos 15,000 manifestantes.  Los inconformes marcharon hacia la sede del Poder Judicial federal en el estado, donde se espera se pronuncie una decisión sobre el caso de Patishtán en los próximos dias.

4. La Suprema Corte mexicana libera a otros 15 hombres encarcelados por el caso de la masacre de Acteal – El 11 de abril, la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación liberó a otros 15 de los indígenas procesados y sentenciados por su participación en el asesinato en Acteal de 45 indígenas tzotziles el 22 de Diciembre de 1997.  Esta liberación y reconocimiento de inocencia, al igual que en los casos anteriores, estuvo basada   en la falta de pruebas y violaciones al debido proceso. De los 87 que originalmente fueron condenados por el crimen, ya sólo permanecen 6 en   prisión.  El obispo Felipe Arizmendi, de la diócesis de San Cristóbal de Las Casas, lamentó esta nueva liberación de los sentenciados, muchos de cuáles habían confesado su participación en la masacre.  En su rechazo a esta nueva liberación, la Organización Civil Las Abejas denunció que muchos de ellos ya se han visto caminando por los alrededores de Acteal y comunidades cercanas.  Tanto Las Abejas como el obispo Arizmendi se preguntan, “Si los hombres anteriormente condenados y ahora liberados no son los responsables de la masacre, ¿quién fué?”.

Por otras partes de México

1. Las comunidades forman sus propias patrullas de policías - Como resultado del crecimiento dramático del crimen organizado y la total incapacidad de las fuerzas de seguridad de México para tratar con él, un fenómeno nuevo está surgiendo. Algunas comunidades están tratando de proteger a sus residentes formando sus propias patrullas de policías comunitarias. Hasta el momento, al menos 40 comunidades en ocho estados han formado tales patrullas. Mientras mucha de la violencia que está plagando a las comunidades está vinculada al narcotráfico y los oficiales gubernamentales, la policía y los militares corrompidos por las narco pandillas, las comunidades también están buscando protegerse de la tala ilegal y la invasión de compañías mineras y sus “guardias” armadas. Algunas comunidades indígenas siguen la tradición de elegir a los policías/guardias que protegen a las comunidades de crímenes comunes como el robo o la embriaguez en vía pública, y los crímenes relacionados. Han estado haciendo esto por más de 15 años. Estas policías comunitarias tiene sus armas de caza, machetes y garrotes, ningunos de los cuales son ilegales. Sin embargo, otras comunidades tienen policías armados con armas de alto calibre que son ilegales. Los gobiernos estatales y federales están preocupados sobre este nuevo acontecimiento y quieren poner estas patrullas comunitarias bajo el control de autoridades locales con rango oficial. Pero las comunidades ven a las autoridades locales como parte del problema.

En Los Estados Unidos

1. El presidente Barack Obama visitará México y Costa Rica el 2-4 de Mayo – El presidente de los Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, tiene planes para visitar México el 2 de mayo. Mientras que México espera  lograr un acuerdo sobre más dinero para la Iniciativa Mérida, el Secretario  de Estado estadounidense John Kerry, dice que el presidente Obama también quiere enfocar su visita en tratar asuntos económicos y de comercio. Organismos de derechos humanos, sin embargo, enviaron una carta al Presidente Obama, al presidente de México Peña Nieto y a los presidentes de Centroamérica solicitándoles, entre otras cosas, re-pensar el modelo de seguridad regional (la guerra contra las drogas) y considerar la regulación de las drogas en lugar de su prohibición. También,  23 congresistas estadounidenses, de ambos partidos, enviaron una carta al Secretario Kerry para expresar su preocupación por el incremento en cinco veces más de las quejas contra personal militar sobre abusos en los derechos humanos en los últimos 6 años . La congresista Barbara Lee, de Oakland, firmó la carta.

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Compilación mensual hecha por el Comité de Apoyo a Chiapas.

Nuestras principales fuentes de información son: La Jornada, Enlace Zapatista y el Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas (Frayba).

_________________________________

Chiapas Support Committee/Comité de Apoyo a Chiapas

Email: cezmat@igc.org

www.chiapas-support.org

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chiapas-Support-Committee-Oakland/86234490686

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Juan Vázquez Assassinated in Bachajón, Chiapas

Bachajón Ejido Owners Demand that Juan Vázquez Guzman’s Death Not Be Left Unpunished

Juan Vázquez

** The indigenous leader “and Other Campaign” adherent was assassinated Wednesday

** They warn that the struggle over the defense of land and the natural springs “will not diminish”

By: Hermann Bellinghausen, Envoy

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, April 28, 2013

The San Sebastián Bachajón ejido owners, adherents to the Other Campaign of the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandón Jungle, in Chilón, Chiapas, demanded that the assassination of their compañero and representative Juan Vázquez Guzmán, which occurred Wednesday, “is not left in impunity” and warned that: “after the compañero’s death, the struggle will not diminish: we will continue forward, because we know well that his death was because of the defense of our Mother Earth because the mountains and the natural springs are masters of those who care for them.”

Directing themselves to the Good Government Junta of Los Altos and the National Indigenous Congress, to which the assassinated leader also belonged, the Tzeltal ejido owners relate that last April 24, at to o’clock “hour of God” (11 o’clock, “national time”) [1], Vázquez Guzmán “was resting in his house when a person came knocking on his door and he was riddled with six high-caliber bullet impacts, and the guy fled in a red pickup truck in the direction of Sitalá.”

In the communiqué “they make known” who Juan Vázquez was: “An active member of the ejido and of the Other Campaign adherents. We walked with him for seven years after the Sixth. On April 18, 2010, he was named Secretary General of the three centers of the ejido.”

On December 24, 2011, municipal and judicial police detained him without showing him an arrest warrant, when he was entering his house, and he was taken to prison number 16 in Ocosingo.” Hours later the then Commissioner Francisco Guzmán Guzmán arrived, “carrying a file in his hand and pointing to Compañero Juan as the leader against the neoliberal project but, thanks to the mobilizations of organizations and the intervention of human rights defenders, he was released at midnight and they returned him to his house without making him sign any release paper asking for pardon and forgiveness.”

On November 26 and 27, 2011, Vázquez Guzmán, “accompanied by Compañero Domingo García Gómez, he participated in a National Indigenous Congress workshop of dialogue and reflection at San Mateo del Mar (Oaxaca).” He was in charge of following up on the case of protective order (injunction) 274/2011 “against the Neoliberalism Project” and the accompaniment of the three political prisoners from his community

He maintained his participation in the political prison forums and the mobilizations for the freedom of the political prisoners in Chiapas, in particular of Alberto Patishtán, “and in all Mexico;” also in mobilizations for the defense of land, like the one on May 7, 2011 in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, and in the Tila and Mitzitón ejidos. He went to the country’s capital “in accompaniment of the liberation of the last five San Sebastián Bachajón political prisoners.” He also appeared in several video messages for distributing the community’s demands internationally.

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Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada

Monday, April 29, 2013

En Español: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2013/04/29/politica/020n1pol

 

 

 

October 2012 Resumen de noticias sobre los zapatistas

OCTUBRE DEL 2012 RESUMEN DE NOTICIAS SOBRE LOS ZAPATISTAS

En Chiapas

1. Las Abejas denuncian la reactivación de grupos paramilitares – Las Abejas de Acteal, una organización de la sociedad civil, denunció la reactivación del grupo paramilitar Mascara Roja en el municipio de Chenalhó. Ellos lo atribuyen al gran numero de paramilitares encarcelados por su participación en la masacre de Acteal que han sido liberados durante los últimos años. Las Abejas dicen que quienes han sido liberados se han reincorporado con quienes nunca fueron llevados a la justicia, y que ahora portan armas en las carreteras, en las montañas y en los senderos a las milpas de maíz y café. Las Abejas también dicen que hace un mes un priísta disparó a un zapatista en la espalda.  Además denuncian el resurgimiento de Paz y Justicia, el grupo paramilitar que esta atacando a dos comunidades zapatistas en la región del caracol de Roberto Barrios, cerca de Palenque.

2. Alberto Patishtan se recupera después de neurocirugía – El 3 de octubre, Alberto Patishtan fue transferido al Instituto de Neurología y neurocirugía Manuel Velasco Suárez en la Ciudad de México, donde le operaron el 8 de octubre para extirpar un tumor cerebral.  Se informó que la cirugía fue exitosa y que se está recuperando ahora en el hospital Vida Mejor en Tuxtla Gutiérrez.  Sus amigos informan que ha recuperado el 70% de su vista. Mientras tanto, la corte suprema de México aceptó el pedido del abogado de Patishtan de considerar si la corte tiene la jurisdicción de realizar una audiencia y dictar una decisión sobre la inocencia de Patishtan. Amnistía Internacional mandó una carta a la Corte a favor de Patishtan.

3. Sigue el asedio contra las comunidades Comandante Abel y Unión Hidalgo – La Junta de Buen Gobierno de Roberto Barrios denunció el asedio continuo por paramilitares de dos comunidades zapatistas, Comandante Abel y Unión Hidalgo. En un comunicado publicado el 30 de octubre por Enlace Zapatista, la junta describe cómo los paramilitares ya han distribuido las tierras que robaron de los Zapatistas el 6 de septiembre.  Han recogido y sacado toda la cosecha de maíz y frijol.  Dispararon al aire durante la noche y la policía esta patrullando el área para proteger a los paramilitares. La junta insinúa, describiendo algunas acciones, que la policía estatal está entrenando a los paramilitares quienes están realizando ejercicios de tipo militar. también declara que las actividades de la policía y los paramilitares están siendo coordinados bajo el mismo comando. Además, parece que quienes se quedaron atrás para proteger las casas y pertenencias de los zapatistas permanecen en las comunidades bajo asedio.

4. Detienen a zapatista en Zinacantan en represalia por entregar una invitación – En principios de octubre, la Junta de Buen Gobierno en el caracol de Oventik denunció que las autoridades de Jechvo (Zinacantan) han usado la violencia otra vez para cortar el suministro de agua a los zapatistas.  Uno de los zapatistas civiles, Mariano Gómez Pérez, pidió la ayuda de un juez autónomo y de la junta. El juez autónomo mandó una carta al agente del PRI, invitándolo a una reunión para discutir el problema. Cuando Gómez Pérez intentó entregar la invitación, el agente del PRI lo detuvo y lo llevó ante la asamblea comunitaria, la cual fabricó unos crimines en su contra y lo mandó al juez municipal en Zinacantan. El juez municipal dijo al agente del PRI que no debería aceptar la invitación.  Esta situación repite la del 2004, cuando las mismas autoridades, en ese entonces miembros del PRD, cortaron el suministro de agua a los zapatistas. Cuando los zapatistas de toda la región les trajeron agua en una muestra de solidaridad, los del PRD les abrieron fuego.

5. Seis zapatistas detenidos en Guadalupe Los Altos - El 12 de octubre, la Junta de Buen Gobierno de La Realidad denunció que seis bases de apoyo zapatistas de la comunidad Guadalupe Los Altos habían sido encarcelados durante 12 dias, y que sus familias estaban siendo amenazadas con expulsión.  Las autoridades comunitarias son parte de la organización CIOAC Oficial, y también miembros de los partidos PRD y PAN.  Parece ser que hay una historia larga de provocaciones relacionadas con la participación en cuanto a asuntos comunales, en particular la contribución económica para proyectos como  escuelas y carreteras.  La JBG sostiene que los zapatistas tienen sus propias escuelas, sin embargo tienen actualizadas sus cuotas para el beneficio de la comunidad, siempre y cuando no sean proyectos del mal gobierno.  Este es un punto común en los conflictos dentro de las comunidades divididas entre integrantes pro-partidos oficiales y bases de apoyo zapatistas.
Por otras partes de México

1. Continua investigación de la emboscada contra 2 agentes de la CIA – Las indagaciones continuan en el caso de lo que ahora se conoce como “intento de asesinato” contra dos agentes de la CIA y un marino mexicano, el 24 de agosto, cerca de Tres Marias.  El juez correspondiente extendíó el periodo de detención sin cargos (el llamado “arresto domiciliario”) a los 12 elementos de la Policía Federal por 40 dias más.  Además, otros dos agentes de la policía federal fueron arrestados en conexión con el caso.  Marisela Morales, Procuradora General de la República en México, se refirió al incidente como “intento de asesinato” una semana después del testimonio de los agentes de la CIA quienes lo denominaran como un “ataque directo”. Morales estableció que todos los agentes actualmente detenidos enfrentarán cargos oficiales en dos semanas más.

2.  Policías toman 3 normales rurales en Michoacán, 176 detenidos –  Policías federales y estatales tomaron las normales rurales de Tiripetio, Cherán y Arteaga,  Michoacán para acabar con las protestas estudiantiles. Detuvieron a 176 estudiantes que protestaban por la implementación de cursos obligatorios de inglés y computación. Protestas similares ocurrieron en normales rurales de otros Estados conforme el gobierno federal intenta severamente restringirlas y regularlas. Las normales rurales en México preparan estudiantes para enseñar en zonas rurales e indígenas. Muchos de estos estudiantes son indígenas. Las escuelas han enfrentado reducción de presupuestos, admisiones y de personal, al mismo tiempo que la educación superior en México se enfoca más y más en los intereses empresariales.

3. Urapicho organiza su policía comunitaria – Otra comunidad purépecha, Urapicho, vecina de Cherán, está construyendo su propia fuerza de seguridad ante la completa ausencia de protección policiaca del gobierno oficial . Urapicho difundió un video a través de YouTube enumerando los problemas que han enfrentado con el crimen organizado y los talamontes. Miembros enmascarados de la comunidad aparecen en el video hablando de las y los que han sido desaparecidos. Uno de ellos porta un sombrero con la imagen del Ché y un paliacate zapatista. El gobierno ha acordado enviar a la policía comunitaria a recibir entrenamiento en la academia estatal de policía. También ha incrementado los campamentos de policía en el área. Para las y los que participaron en la Marcha del color de la tierra en 2001, esta comunidad se localiza en el área general de Nurio. Puedes ver el video en: 

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Compilación mensual hecha por el Comité de Apoyo a Chiapas.

Nuestras principales fuentes de información son: La Jornada, Enlace Zapatista y el Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas (Frayba).

_________________________________

Chiapas Support Committee/Comité de Apoyo a Chiapas

P.O. Box  3421, Oakland, CA  94609

Email: cezmat@igc.org

www.chiapas-support.org

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chiapas-Support-Committee-Oakland/86234490686

 

Frayba: Recent Elections Fragmented Chiapas Communities

[Below is an article about a report from the Frayba Human Rights Center. It confirms and elaborates what our delegation learned in March 2011 about the massive infusion of money to divide Zapatista and Other Campaign communities. An excerpt from our report on the 2011 delegation follows the article.]

The Recent Elections Fragmented Chiapas Communities: Frayba Center

  ** It documents in a broad report political pressures, vote buying and acts of corruption

** It emphasizes the persistent practice “of counterinsurgency directed at the EZLN and its support bases”

By: Hermann Bellinghausen

In recent months the state and federal electoral campaigns converged in the state of Chiapas, with troubling social effects. The Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba) documents in a broad report “the political pressure that was exercised in the towns and communities, to the end that through the purchase of votes and other classic means of electoral corruption electoral they would vote for the alliance of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the New Alliance Party (Panal), converting the Green Party into the first political force and leaving a deep fragmentation in the communities.”

The Frayba has monitored the armed conflict in Chiapas from its beginning, giving an account of the diverse junctures, always characterized by a counterinsurgency policy directed at the Zapatista National Liberation Army (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, EZLN) and its support bases. This is sharpened “when it is dealing with a change of diplomatic couriers and the distribution of political control.”

The lawyer Pedro Faro, a member of the Fray Bartolomé Center, says: “We have located a pattern of recurring violence during the electoral changes, which unleashes rancor and conflicts between the power groups for government posts, and once the essential scenario is established, actions are let loose for beating up the enemy. In these circumstances the dispute for the EZLN’s recuperated territories is specific.”

Between May and September 2012, Faro points out, “we have documented the continuous strategy of community confrontation that the government, at all three levels (municipal, state and federal), carries out in the autonomous Zapatista communities by means of local power groups, which benefit from the protection” that it offers them. Since 2000 “an integral war of wear and tear has been constructed,” and the government jointly “distorts” in the communications media the forced displacements, the armed attacks and the harassment that the EZLN’s support bases now receive. This scenario is corroborated with the hostilities underway against the Zapatista rebel autonomous municipalities and the communities of San Marcos Avilés, Comandante Abel, Jechvó and Banavil.

The “double discourse”

On the one hand, the federal government makes the EZLN invisible, and on the other, the state (government) expresses attending to their demands, removing itself as a contender and presenting itself as the administrator of the scenarios and the mediator of the conflicts, classified as “intercommunity.” Nevertheless, “the state government plays a fundamental role in the war of wear and tear, especially with the use of economic resources for confronting and coopting organizations or communities that resist the system.”

In the communications media we’re “dealing with blocking the EZLN’s posture and that of the organizations that differ with governmental policies.” The government “imposes its opinion or diverts attention with tourist publicity or the diffusion of ‘vanguard’ achievements, being that it gives continuity to the policy of displacing the autonomic process and the civil and peaceful resistance constructed starting at the beginning of the ceasefire, on the gamble of unilaterally fulfilling the San Andrés Accords, disavowed by the Mexican government.”

The Frayba registers that the counterinsurgency strategy has operated very patently in the armed incursions of groups of a paramilitary cut of Sabanilla, in Comandante Abel community, which already provoked the forced displacement of 87 people.

These are the facts, despite the fact that the local government “tries to hide the consequences of its policy of violence using a discourse of ‘human rights’ through reforms that are dead laws, and through the State Human Rights Council, which serves as a political operator for endorsing and maintaining impunity.”

—————————

En español:
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2012/11/13/politica/006n1pol

———————————————————–

Report on the 2011 CSC Delegation to Chiapas

By: Mary Ann Tenuto

Shiny new cars slithered over the dirt road like snakes. “Lots of traffic,” a delegate commented in Spanish to a small group chatting nearby. Sitting in front of his home by the side of the unusually busy road, a Zapatista elder responded to that observation about the parade of vehicles: “The government is sending money and projects to all the non-Zapatistas and even trying to buy off individual Zapatistas and Other Campaign adherents. The three political parties are doing the same thing because next year is an election year for all three levels of government. They’re looking for votes and trying to divide people.” He frowned as he finished talking, obviously upset by the government’s economic counterinsurgency tactic.

The topic of the government trying to divide the Zapatista and Other Campaign communities with tons of money received equal attention with that of the war and violence throughout Mexico during the two and a half weeks spent in Chiapas at the end of March 2011 preparing for and participating in the Chiapas Support Committee’s 10th delegation to Chiapas.

As a matter of principle the Zapatistas do not accept money from government aid programs. That applies to all three levels of government: federal, state and municipal (county). Consequently, these different levels of government have always used the aid programs to divide people from the Zapatistas. Now, it seems that both the amount of money and the amount of effort have increased/intensified. One wonders where the money comes from in a state where many have no money to buy medicine or school supplies. Are the corporations that want indigenous lands giving money to the state government?

One of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) visited summed it up this way for the delegates: “Governor Juan Sabines Guerrero is known as the man with the checkbook.” Another NGO said: “The government has an economic strategy: give lots of money to the campesino communities they know can be divided.” Those include some campesino communities belonging to the Other Campaign.

Regardless of where the delegation went or with whom delegates spoke, the vast quantity of pesos being spent to divide pro-Zapatista communities and the political conflict it was causing dominated the conversation and is a cause for genuine concern.

During a long interview with the Good Government Junta in La Garrucha, Caracol 3, Tzeltal Jungle Zone, we asked about the government’s strategy to divide people. Different members of the Junta responded to the various strategies being used. “The government is taking communal land and privatizing it. Government agents tell the people that the land will be theirs, but the people end up without any land and poorer than they were before,” one Junta member told delegates. Another man on the Junta said: “The Government offers housing with strings attached and people in the community are refusing it because most people don’t have confidence in the government and don’t believe it will keep its promises.”

Asked about money the government is offering to people in the region, the Junta responded: “The government’s plan is pretty powerful because they are using a lot of money to entice people away and divide the communities. But, the Junta is trying to keep everyone united and keep everyone participating together.” This Junta is in the last month of its three-year term of office and has learned a lot during those three years of experience governing the large region.

(…)

 

 

Zapatista News Summary for October 2012

OCTOBER 2012 ZAPATISTA NEWS SUMMARY

In Chiapas

1. Las Abejas (the Bees) Denounced the Reactivation of Paramilitary Groups -

Las Abejas of Acteal, a civil society organization, denounced the reactivation of the paramilitary group, Mascara Roja, in Chenalhó Municipality. They attribute this to the large number of paramilitaries imprisoned for participating in the Acteal Massacre who have been released over the last several years. Las Abejas states that those released have re-grouped with those who never were brought to justice, and that they are now carrying firearms on the highways, in the mountains and on the paths to corn and coffee fields. Las Abejas also states that a PRI member shot a Zapatista in the back about a month ago. Furthermore, they denounced the resurgence of Paz y Justicia, the paramilitary  group that is attacking 2 Zapatista communities in the region of the Roberto Barrios Caracol, near Palenque.

2. Alberto Patishtan Recovering from Neurosurgery – On October 3, Alberto Patishtan was transferred to the Manuel Velasco Suarez National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery in Mexico City, and operated on October 8 to remove a brain tumor. The surgery was reportedly successful and he is recuperating now in the Vida Mejor Hospital in Tuxtla Gutierrez. His close friends report that he has recovered 70% of his eyesight! Meanwhile, Mexico’s Supreme Court accepted the request from Patishtan’s lawyer to consider whether the Court has the jurisdiction to  hold a hearing and issue a ruling on Patishtan’s innocence. Amnesty International sent a letter to the Court in favor of Patishtan.

3. The Siege Against Comandante Abel and Union Hidalgo Communities – The Good Government Junta in Roberto Barrios denounced the continuing siege of the two Zapatista communities, Comandante Abel and Union Hidalgo, by paramilitaries. In a communiqué posted October 30 0n Enlace Zapatista, the Junta described how paramilitaries have already redistributed the land they stole from Zapatistas on September 6. They have harvested and taken away all the corn and bean crop. They fire shots into the air in the middle of the night and the police are patrolling to protect the paramilitaries. The Junta suggests, describing certain actions, that the state police are training the paramilitary members, who engage in military-style exercises. It also alleges that police and paramilitary activities are coordinated under one command. Moreover, it appears that those who stayed behind to protect the Zapatistas’ homes and belongings remain in the communities under siege.

4. Zapatista Detained in Zinacantan in Reprisal for Delivering an Invitation  – In early October, the Good Government Junta in the Caracol of Oventik denounced that authorities in Jechvo (Zinacantan) once again used violence to cut off the water supply to the Zapatistas. One of the civilian Zapatistas, Mariano Gomez Perez, asked for help from the autonomous judge and the Junta. The autonomous judge sent a letter to the PRI agent, inviting the agent to a meeting to talk about the problem. When Gomez Perez attempted to deliver the written invitation, the PRI agent detained him and took him before a community assembly, which fabricated crimes against him and sent him to a Zinacantan municipal judge. The judge told the PRI agent not to accept the invitation. This situation is a repeat of 2004, when the same authorities, then PRD members, cut off the water supply to the Zapatistas. When Zapatistas from throughout the region brought water in a show of solidarity, the PRD members opened fire on them.

5. Six Zapatistas Detained in Guadalupe Los Altos – On October 12, the Good Government Junta in La Realidad denounced that 6 Zapatista support bases from  Guadalupe Los Altos community had been in jail for 12 days and that their families were being threatened with expulsion. Community authorities are part of the CIOAC Official organization and are members of the PAN and PRD political parties. It seems that there is a history of provocations over the degree of participation in community issues, specifically making financial contributions to projects such as schools and roads. The Junta maintains that the Zapatistas have their own school, but are current in their contributions for the benefit of the community, as long as they are not projects of the bad government. This is a common point of contention in divided communities with a mix of pro-government party members and Zapatistas.

In Other Parts of Mexico

1. Investigation Into Ambush of 2 CIA Agents Continues – Investigations continue into what is now being called “the attempted murder” of 2 CIA agents and a Mexican marine  on August 24 near Tres Marias. A judge extended the detention without charges (sometimes referred to as house arrest) of the 12 original Federal Police agents for an additional 40 days and 2 more federal police agents were detained in connection with the case. Mexico’s attorney general, Marisela Morales, termed the incident “attempted murder” the week following the testimony of the CIA agents who termed it a “direct attack.” Morales stated that all of the police agents currently detained will be charged within the next 2 weeks.

2. Police Raid 3 Michoacan Teachers Colleges, 176 Detained – State and Federal police raided teachers colleges in Tiripetio, Cheran and Arteaga, Michoacan to break up student protests. They detained 176 students who were protesting obligatory English and computer classes. Similar protests have occurred at teachers colleges in other states as the federal government tries to severely restrict and regulate them. Teachers colleges in Mexico prepare students to teach in rural and heavily indigenous areas. Many of the students are themselves indigenous. The schools have faced reduced budgets, admissions and staffing, as higher education in Mexico focuses more and more on business interests.

3. Urapicho Organizes Community Police – Another Purépecha community, Urapicho, a neighbor of Cherán, is constructing its own security force in the absence of any police protection from the official government. Urapicho posted a video on YouTube enumerating the problems they have faced from organized crime and woodcutters. Masked members of the community appear in the video talking about those who have been disappeared. One of them wears a hat with a Che logo and a Zapatista paliacate. The government has agreed to send the community police to the state’s police academy for training and has also added police encampments to the area. For those of you who participated in the March of the Color of the Earth in 2001, this community is in the general   area of Nurio. You can watch the video (in Spanish) at:

___________________________________

Resumen de Noticias sobre los Zapatistas – Septiembre del 2012

[Por favor, disculpe el retraso. Estábamos muy ocupad@s por la celebración el 14 de octubre.]

SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2012 RESUMEN DE NOTICIAS SOBRE LOS ZAPATISTAS

En Chiapas

1. Paramilitares causan desalojo de 2 comunidades Zapatistas: Comandante Abel y Unión Hidalgo – El 7 de septiembre, la Junta de Buen Gobierno en el Caracol de Roberto Barrios denunció que paramilitares invadieron y dispararon contra la comunidad Comandante Abel, una nueva comunidad de zapatistas que habían sido forzados a dejar la comunidad de San Patricio debido a ataques paramilitares por parte de miembros de Paz y Justicia. 73 personas huyeron de Comandante Abel hacia el bosque el 7 de septiembre cuando continuaban los disparos que empezaron el 6 de septiembre.  Llegaron a San Marcos, una comunidad zapatista, el 9 de septiembre, donde se les dió refugio.  Actualmente hay 27 zapatistas que todavía quedan en la comunidad Comandante Abel.  Están rodeados por un grupo agresor armado de Unión Hidalgo y miembros de la policía preventiva del estado.  El 8 de septiembre, 10 zapatistas fueron desplazados de Unión Hidalgo debido al constante hostigamiento y amenazas de muerte por miembros del PRI y PVEM. Están refugiados actualmente en la comunidad Zaquitel Ojo de Agua.  ¡El resurgimiento de paramilitares miembros de Paz y Justicia es más que preocupante!  Se debe en parte a la victoria del PRI y PVEM en las elecciones del primero de julio. El PRI ganó la presidencia de la república y el PVEM ganó la gubernatura de Chiapas. La Junta de Roberto Barrios publicó un comunicado de prensa el 30 de septiembre acusando al gobierno estatal de equipar a los paramilitares y la policía estatal para poder mantener el asedio contra los zapatistas.

2. Eco Mundial en Apoyo a los zapatista se expande y continua – En solo dos meses, desde la elección de un nuevo presidente de la república y nuevo gobernador de Chiapas, los ataques y amenazas contra comunidades zapatistas se han incrementado dramáticamente.   La Campaña del Eco Mundial se ha expandido para incluir muchas comunidades zapatistas ahora bajo agresión, además del preso político zapatista Francisco Santiz López. Se puede encontrar información sobre la segunda fase de esta campaña, la cual consiste de acción directa, en la pagina web de la campaña:

http://sanmarcosavilesen.wordpress.com/

3. A Alberto Patishtan le diagnosticaron un tumor cerebral mientras la Corte Suprema aplaza su decisión – Está en marcha un esfuerzo para obtener una audiencia con la Corte Suprema para que Alberto Patishtan Gómez (o sus abogados) puedan demostrar su inocencia.  El abogado de Patishtan logró una reunión con el presidente de la Corte Suprema Mexicana. El propósito de la reunión era presentar una petición para la creación de un mecanismo legal nuevo que abra un espacio para que Patishtan pueda demostrar su inocencia. La Corte Suprema tiene que decidir si se abrirá ó no este nuevo espacio. Su decisión ha sido pospuesta. Mientras tanto, Patishtan está en un hospital en la capital del estado donde le han diagnosticado un tumor cerebral que requiere cirugía.

4. Liberan de prisión a otro hombre involucrado en la masacre de Acteal – El 26 de septiembre, la Corte Suprema de México ordenó la libertad del preso Manuel Santiz Pérez, encontrado culpable de participar en la masacre de Acteal de 45 mujeres, niños y hombres el 22 de diciembre de 1997. La Corte usó el mismo razonamiento que utilizó en los casos anteriores: el álbum de fotos mostrado a los sobrevivientes y testigos era perjudicial y violó los derechos legales y el procedimiento criminal.  Según un artículo publicado en La Jornada, este es el último de los casos apelado por parte de los que participaron en la masacre de Acteal. Vale notar que la Corte encontró el tiempo para liberar a un asesino confeso, pero no tiene tiempo para decidir si se oirá el caso de Alberto Patishtan o el caso de los miembros de la Otra Campaña en Tila.

En la frontera de Chiapas

1. Bases militares nuevas y 200 marinos de EEUU en Guatemala – El presidente de Guatemala, Otto Pérez Molina, anunció que  Guatemala construirá tres bases militares nuevas para redoblar la lucha contra el crímen organizado (el tráfico de drogas, armas y personas). Dos de estas bases estarán cerca de la frontera con Chiapas; una en el Departamento del Petén (al otro lado del río Usumacinta de Chiapas) y otra en el Departamento de San Marcos. San Marcos colinda con la región sudoeste de Chiapas. Una tercera base estará localizada en Puerto Barrios (cerca de Honduras). Se ha reportado ampliamente que unos 200 marinos estadounidenses ya están patrullando la costa pacífica de Guatemala para interceptar el narcotráfico por mar. Las y los guatemaltecos están reportando que el país se está militarizando bajo el lema de la guerra contra las drogas; pero la militarización también está siendo usada contra los movimientos sociales.

En otras partes de México

1. Investigaciones del ataque contra dos agentes de la CIA sugiere conexión al cartel Beltran Levya – En septiembre, continuaron las investigaciones sobre el caso Tres Marías, el ataque contra un vehículo blindado de la embajada de los EUA en México. La procuraduría federal mexicana requirió que la detención sin cargos (arraigo) de 12 polícias federales continúe por 40 días más. La Jornada reportó que el FBI está llevando a cabo una investigación paralela de lo ocurrido, y  ha ofrecido a los 12 agentes la “oportunidad” de convertirse de colaboradores en el ataque a testigos protegidos del gobierno estadounidense. Sus abogados dicen que han rechazado esta “propuesta.” Aunque no se ha publicado ningún informe final al respecto, parece ser que los oficiales estadounidenses ahora creen que el ataque lo perpetraron integrantes del cartel Beltran Levya como venganza por el asesinato de Arturo Beltran Leyva, ocurrido en diciembre del 2009.

2. El Departamento de Estado de los EUA recomienda inmunidad para Zedillo – El 7 de septiembre, el Departamento de Estado estadounidense anunció que recomendará inmunidad para el ex-presidente Ernesto Zedillo ante una Corte de Connecticut, en donde fue demandado por daños en el asesinato  de 45 mujeres, hombres y niños el 22 de diciembre de 1997 en Acteal, Chiapas. El Departamento de Estado anadió que esta decisión se tomó con el fin de mantener las buenas relaciones con el gobierno mexicano.

3. 25.000 – 30.000 desplazad@s por narcoviolencia en Sinaloa – La Comisión para la Defensa de Derechos Humanos del estado de Sinaloa informó que entre 25,000 y 30,000 personas han tenido que huir de sus comunidades tras actos criminales relacionados con el tráfico de drogas durante estos nueve meses. La Comisión dió a conocer que 12 de los 18 municipios del estado están siendo muy afectados por esta violencia, con un promedio aproximado de 2,000 desplazados por municipio.

En los Estados Unidos

1. La Caravana por la paz concluye – El Movimiento por la paz con Justicia y Dignidad (MPJD), encabezado por el poeta y periodista mexicano Javier Sicilia, terminó su caravana por los estados unidos en Washington, DC el 12 de septiembre. La caravana de un mes viajó por 27 ciudades estadounidenses y recorrió 6,210 millas, tratando asuntos politicos estadounidenses en su ruta hacia Washington DC: 1) financiamiento estadounidense de una guerra contra las drogas en México a través de la Iniciativa Mérida; 2) tratamiento humano a los inmigrantes; 3) tráfico de armas hacia México; 4) blanqueo de dinero de la droga por bancos estadounidenses; y 5) la militarización de la política exterior norteamericana. Al concluir la caravana, Sicilia dió a conocer que se retirará del MPJD por dos meses para reflexionar sobre la pérdida de su hijo.

 

Summary of Current EZLN Conflicts

PRI and PVEM Groups Invade Zapatistas and Stir Up Agrarian Conflicts

  ** EZLN sympathizers have not gone through the process of titling their lands because of being in resistance

** To the land grabs by political parties are added paramilitary attacks

[The Good Government Junta in Oventic has suffered attacks Photo: Víctor Camacho]

By: Hermann Bellinghausen, Envoy

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, October 4, 2012

The paramilitary upturn in Chiapas is accompanied by a substratum of alleged agrarian conflicts, the majority unfounded but stirred up by politicians from the parties and government officials, and directed against lands recuperated by the support bases of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN, its initials in Spanish), the majority occupied and worked by rebel communities since 10 or 15 years ago. In particular groups from the PRI, and recently the PVEM, using it as an electoral booty, invade or threaten to invade, plots of land and even Zapatista villages, taking advantage of the fact that they, by remaining in resistance, do not process any agrarian titling with the State, because they follow their revolutionary laws through the Good Government Juntas (Juntas).

An analysis to which La Jornada had access documents these “conflicts” and identifies the invader or aggressor groups: PRI, PVEM, PRD, PAN, or rather organizations like Paz y Justicia (and its derivations: Uciaf and Opddic), Orcao, Cioac or Aric. In one very recent denunciation, Las Abejas confirmed the reactivation of “Máscara Roja” (Red Mask) in Chenalhó, as it has identified the perpetrators of the Acteal Massacre in 1997. Other Campaign communities (Jotolá, Mitzitón, San Sebastián Bachajón) are also attacked through religious “conflicts” (Ejército de Dios) or ejidal differences.

This is the scenario that the PVEM-PRI alliance headed by Manuel Velasco Coello inherits, which shortly will govern the state. The major part of the paramilitary groups, agrarian invaders and municipal governments involved belong to their ranks.

In an analysis of the investigator Arturo Lomelí identifies the principal places (not the only ones) where offenses and unsolved crimes have happened in recent years, especially from 2010 to 2012. He points out in there that starting with 1994 between 250,000 and 750,000 hectares (there is no conclusive data) [1] were occupied en Ocosingo, Chilón, Sitalá, Yajalón, Tila, Tumbalá, Sabanilla, Salto de Agua, Palenque, Altamirano, Las Margaritas and Comitán, among other municipalities. Under the protection of the Zapatista rebellion, OCEZ, Cioac, ARIC, CNPA, OPEZ, Xinich, Orcao and Tsoblej, side by side with the Zapatistas, “recuperated” and founded new localities. In 2000, when leaders of said organizations were incorporated into the state or municipal government, “they were given the task of regularizing (legalizing) the plots of land and as the Zapatistas did not enter into those negotiations, the organizations claimed their plots of land.” These organizations are the electoral base of the parties –Lomelí maintains– and the dynamic of betrayal initiated by Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía was maintained with Juan Sabines Guerrero.

The conflicts involve the five Juntas. The Morelia Junta has been very busy. Primero de Enero community (Lucio Cabañas autonomous municipality) was invaded in August 2011 by Orcao members, who already had obtained lands thanks to the Zapatista Uprising. As in other cases, after 2000 they abandoned the agreement to “recuperate” and reached agreement with the government for programs and more of the Zapatistas’ land. Orcao has also advanced against Los Mártires (Lucio Cabañas).

Other communities and plots of Zapatista land under siege are Bolón Ajaw and Santa Rosalía. In Agua Clara (Comandanta Ramona autonomous municipality) “dangerous criminals operate, advised by the ex military Carlos Jiménez López.” In 2010, residents of Nueva Virginia, Jalisco and Getzemaní, members of the Cioac and the PRD “entered onto Campo Alegre recuperated land where the autonomous municipalities of Lucio Cabañas, Comandanta Ramona and 17 de Noviembre are working,” according to the same Junta. Besides, 33 Zapatista families were dispossessed of their rights in Aldama, and the attacks against the support bases in Olga Isabel and K’an Akil persist; they have even been shot at by “paramilitaries of Opddic,” which also have attacked the new 21 de Abril community.

The La Garrucha Junta denounced that the Puerto Arturo and San José Las Flores neighborhoods seek to take away 178 hectares of recuperated land from Nuevo Purísima (Francisco Gómez autonomous municipality) in Ocosingo. Also, aggressions and detentions of Zapatistas by paramilitaries in Peña Limonar, as well as plunder in Laguna San Pedro, violence in Casa Blanca and harassment in Toniná. Groups from Las Conchitas and P’ojcol (Chilón), as well as Guadalupe Victoria, “paramilitaries,” according to the Junta, members of Orcao and of political parties, violently occupied recuperated lands in Nuevo Paraíso (municipio Francisco Villa autonomous municipality).

In the Northern Zone, the panorama is alarming, according to what the Roberto Barrios Junta has been reporting. Last year, Zapatista lands in San Patricio (La Dignidad autonomous municipality) were plundered from Zapatista lands by villagers from Ostealukum, El Paraíso, El Calvario and Rancho Guadalupe (Sabanilla). The autonomous Zapatistas then founded Comandante Abel, but this September they were expelled, with support from the police and the state government, as well as from Unión Hidalgo. A few years ago, in Choles de Tumbalá (El Trabajo autonomous municipality), there were houses burned and persecution by members of Xinich-Official (official implying pro-government and anti-Zapatista).

The La Realidad Junta documented how in the Monte Redondo ejido (Frontera Comalapa), EZLN support bases of Tierra y Libertad autonomous municipality were plundered of milpas and coffee fields by people from the PVEM, PRD and PRI political parties that even sold plots of land to third parties. Other aggressions come from the PAN organization known as Aciac against Che Guevara community, and in Espíritu Santo by people from the PRD, Cioac and PRI. And in Veracruz (community), there were attacks on the warehouse belonging to San Pedro de Michoacán autonomous municipality.

Lastly, the Oventic Junta confronts a grave conflict in San Marcos Avilés (Chilón), where its bases have been attacked, expelled or robbed by “Greens,” and both PRD and PRI members. In El Pozo, Cruztón and Ts’uluwits (San Juan Apóstol Cancuc autonomous municipality), as well as in Zinacantán, the PRI and PRD members have not stopped harassing the Zapatistas.

____________

Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada

English translation by the Chiapas Support Committee

Saturday, October 6, 2012

En español: 
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2012/10/06/politica/017n1pol

Reactivation of Paramilitary Groups In Chiapas

[Editors' Note: The conflict in Chiapas is intensifying with the re-emergence of paramilitary conflicts.]

Las Abejas Denounces the Reactivation of Paramilitary Groups in Chenalhó

 ** The organization reports that an indigenous Zapatista support base was shot one month ago

** It asserts that they re-grouped after the massive release from prison of those responsible for the Acteal Massacre

By: Hermann Bellinghausen, Envoy

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, October 4, 2012

The civil society organization Las Abejas of Acteal denounced the re-activation of paramilitary groups in Chenalhó Municipality, in the same way that is occurring in the state’s Northern Zone. “The massive of paramilitaries, in prison because of the Acteal Massacre, that goes from August 12, 2009 to the release of Manuel Sántiz Pérez last September 25, has favored their regrouping and they have now been revealed in coordination with those that were not judged, carrying firearms on the highways, the mountains, the path to the milpas and coffee fields.”

In Chenalhó communities “they display firearms anywhere,” add the accusers and announce that one month ago an indigenous Zapatista support base was shot: “The recent tragedy of last September 5, when a PRI member shot Manuel Ruiz Hernández in the back, near the plaza in Yabteclum, reveals the paramilitary actions and the presence of said armed groups.”

The Tzotzil organization, which maintains its independence with much effort for more than a decade, declared: “The governmental transition of Enrique Peña Nieto has unleashed violent acts that are a strategy of threats to counter social protest, not only against him, but it also goes against social organizations that denounce the injustices and human rights violations committed and developed by the governments.”

These actions are implemented “under the logic of counterinsurgency,” for the purpose “of creating division and community conflict until causing forced displacement, so that the same government may administer it, as Juan Sabines Guerrero has been doing against organizations in the Northern Zone (Tila, San Sebastián Bachajón) and other autonomous regions.”

This governmental attitude, Las Abejas abounds, “permitted the re-activation of the paramilitary group Paz y Justicia, in the Northern Zone, and Máscara Roja, en Chenalhó.”

“The State’s violent action is not limited to sowing fear: it continues the strategy of integral wear and tear with which it has harassed our pacifist organization since the times of Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía. It is painful for the government to accept its defeat in 2008, when Felipe Calderón Hinojosa and Sabines Guerrero divided our organization thinking that they were going to disarticulate us, but were wrong. What they did strengthened us and defined us as the organization that we currently are.”

Nevertheless, “the predators don’t stop harassing.” As already occurred in April 2010, “they have reactivated their delegates or messengers; they now disguise themselves as survivors to deceive people and they arrive at the houses of paramilitaries, of PRI members, of members of the so-called Las Abejas Civil Association and at ours. They invite forming a survivors group for negotiating an indemnification and requesting assistance programs in the name of the martyrs.”

The Civil Society Organization Las Abejas and the survivors of the massacre denounced individuals that say they are survivors, but are not: Juan Oyalté Paciencia, paramilitary of Tzajaluk’um; Vicente Oyalte Luna, PRI member of Acteal community; Pedro Vásquez Ruíz and Juan Pérez Pérez, members of Las Abejas Civil Association.”

To the government “it’s not enough to kill us, it now tries to buy our conscience,” Las Abejas concluded this Wednesday, who later emitted a communiqué from Acteal: “The government knows how to murder the unborn, boys and girls, women, the elderly and men. We are never going to exchange the blood of our martyrs for money or assistance programs. We will not permit the dignity of our massacred brothers to be sold, and we will not cease pointing out or crying out for ‘justice’ against the material and intellectual authors of the Acteal Massacre.”

————

Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada

Friday, October 5, 2012

English Translation: Chiapas Support Committee

En español: 
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2012/10/05/politica/023n1pol

 

 

 

Zapatista News Summary for September 2012

SEPTEMBER 2012 ZAPATISTA NEWS SUMMARY

In Chiapas

1. Paramilitaries Cause Displacement from 2 Zapatista Communities: Comandate Abel and Union Hidalgo – On September 7, the Good Government Junta in the Caracol of Roberto Barrios denounced that paramilitaries invaded and fired upon Comandante Abel community, a newly-founded community of Zapatistas supporters who had been forced to leave San Patricio community because of paramilitary attacks by members of Paz y Justicia. 73 people fled from Comandante Abel into the woods on September 7, when the shooting that started on September 6 continued. They reached San Marcos, a Zapatista community, on September 9, where they were given shelter. Currently, there are 27 Zapatistas remaining in Comandante Abel community. They are surrounded by an armed aggressor group from Union Hidalgo and members of the State Preventive Police.On September 8, 10 Zapatistas were also displaced from Union Hidalgo due to constant harassment and death threats by members of the PRI and PVEM political parties. They are currently sheltered in Zaquitel Ojo de Agua community. The re-emergence of the paramilitaries belonging to Paz y Justicia is more than alarming! This re-emergence is partially attributed to the victory of the PRI and the PVEM political parties in the July 1 elections. The PRI won the presidency and the PVEM won the Chiapas governorship. The Junta in Roberto Barrios issued a press release on September 30, accusing the state government of supplying the paramilitaries and state police in order to maintain the siege against the Zapatistas.

2. Worldwide Echo in Support of the Zapatistas Expands and Continues - In just two months, since the election of a new president and a new governor of Chiapas, the attacks and threats against Zapatista communities have increased dramatically. The Worldwide Echo Campaign has expanded to include many of the Zapatista communities now under attack, as well as for the Zapatista political prisoner Francisco Santiz Lopez. Information about the 2nd phase of this campaign, which consists of direct action, can be found on the campaign’s website: 
http://sanmarcosavilesen.wordpress.com/  

3. Alberto Patishtan Diagnosed With Brain Tumor While Supreme Court Postpones Decision – The effort to obtain a Supreme Court hearing wherein Alberto Patishtan Gomez (or his lawyers) can prove his innocence is underway. Patishtan’s lawyer obtained a meeting with the president of Mexico’s Supreme Court. The purpose of such a meeting was to present a request for the creation of an innovative legal mechanism to open a space in which Patishtan could prove his innocence. The Supreme Court must decide whether to open such a new space. Its decision has been postponed. Meanwhile, Patishtan was placed in a government hospital in the state capital and has been diagnosed with a brain tumor requiring surgery.

4. Another Man Involved in the Acteal Massacre Released from Prison – On September 26, Mexico’s Supreme Court ordered the release from prison of Manuel Santiz Perez, convicted of participating in the Acteal Massacre of 45 women, children and men on December 22, 1997. The Court used the same rationale for this case as it did in the previous cases: the photographic album shown to survivors and witnesses was prejudicial and violated legal rights and criminal procedure. According to the report in La Jornada, this is the last of the cases appealed on behalf of those who participated in the Acteal Massacre. It is worth noting that the Court found the time to free a confessed killer, but not the time to decide whether it will hear Alberto Patishtan’s case or the case of the Other Campaign folks from Tila.

On the Chiapas Border

1. New Military Bases in Guatemala and 200 US Marines – The president of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina, announced that Guatemala will build 3 new military bases to reinforce the fight against organized crime (the trafficking of drugs, arms, and humans). Two of these bases will be close to the Chiapas border; one in the Department of Peten (on the other side of the Usumacinta River from Chiapas) and one in the Department of San Marcos. San Marcos borders the southwestern part of Chiapas. A third base will be located near Puerto Barrios (close to Honduras). It has also been widely reported that 200 US Marines are now patrolling Guatemala’s Pacific Coast to intercept drug trafficking by sea. Guatemalans report that the country is being militarized with the rationale of fighting the drug war, but the militarization is also being used against social movements.

In Other Parts of Mexico

1. Investigation Into Ambush of 2 CIA Agents Suggests Connection to the Beltran Leyva Cartel – During September, investigations continued into the Tres Marias Case, as the attack on an armor-plated vehicle belonging to the US Embassy in Mexico is known. Mexico’s attorney general has requested that the detention without charges of 12 Federal Police agents be continued for another 40 days. Meanwhile, La Jornada reported that the FBI is carrying on a parallel investigation and offered the 12 police agents the “opportunity” to be converted from collaborators in the attack into the US government’s protected witnesses. Their lawyers say they declined the “offer.” Although no definitive final reports have yet been issued, it now appears that the US officials in charge believe the attack may have been perpetrated by members of the Beltran Leyva Cartel as “payback” for the murder of Arturo Beltran Leyva in December 2009.

2. US State Department Grants Immunity from Prosecution to Zedillo - On September 7, the US State Department announced that it would recommend immunity for former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo to the Connecticut Court in which he was sued for damages in the murder of 45 women, men and children on December 22, 1997 in Acteal, Chiapas. The State Department said the decision was made in order to keep good relations with Mexico.

3. 25, 000 – 30,000 Displaced by Narco-Violence in Sinaloa – The state of Sinaloa’s Commission for Defense of Human Rights reports that between 25 – 30 thousand people have had to flee their communities because of criminal acts related to drug trafficking within the last 9 months! The state estimates that twelve of the state’s 18 municipalities are most affected by this violence, averaging approximately 2, 000 displaced from each municipality.

In the United States

1. Caravan for Peace Ends – The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD), headed by Mexican poet and journalist Javier Sicilia, ended its US Peace Caravan in Washington, DC on September 12. The month-long Caravan toured 27 US cities and traveled a total of 6,210 miles, addressing 5 US policy issues along its route to Washington DC: 1) US funding of a Drug War in Mexico through the Merida Initiative; 2) humane treatment of immigrants; 3) arms trafficking to Mexico; 4) laundering of drug money by US banks; and 5) the militarization of US foreign policy. At the Caravan’s conclusion, Sicilia announced that he would take 2 months off from the MPJD to grieve over the loss of his son.

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Compiled monthly by the Chiapas Support Committee.The primary sources for our information are: La Jornada, Enlace Zapatista and the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba).

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