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Chiapan Indians Want Army Out;
Chiapas Report (translated)
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018-chiapas-report.txt
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Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998
From: Michael Eisenscher <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Chiapan Indians Want Army Out; Chiapas Report (translated)
--fwd--
Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 22:27:27
From: Elisabeth Perrin <•••@••.•••
Subject: On Chiapas: from Guillermo MIchel Sinner
/* Written 3:14 PM Apr 21, 1998
by •••@••.••• in igc:list.chiapas */
/* ---------- "On Chiapas: from Guillermo MIchel S" ---------- */
Translated for Nuevo Amanecer Press by Jessica Westphal with Susan
Rasco'n:
By Guillermo Michel Sinner
Correspondent for NAP-Mexico
___________________________
Chiapas Indians Seek Army Removal
Thursday, April 23, 1998; 3:21 a.m. EDT
TANIPERLAS, Mexico (AP) -- Indians in Mexico's southern state of
Chiapas have stepped up protests demanding the army's withdrawal
from Taniperlas, a village they declared autonomous, even as the
state governor warned against provoking a military response.
Nearly 3,000 leftist rebel sympathizers marched to Taniperlas on
Wednesday to protest the military deployment in the village, near
the Guatemalan border.
Indian women carrying the Mexican flag led the protesters, who
walked the final six miles to town after driving through the
jungle in caravans.
Soldiers have occupied Taniperlas since April 11, a day after
villagers proclaimed an autonomous government there. The roughly
300 soldiers were camped in front of a primary school, along with
more than 200 police officers.
Chiapas was the site of a still-simmering January 1994 armed
revolt among the state's Indians, led by leftist Zapatista
rebels.
In the state capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez, on Wednesday, Gov.
Roberto Albores Guillen warned supporters of the Zapatistas that
soldiers will use force against any attempt to reclaim
Taniperlas.
``We will not permit it and we will apply the law,'' he said.
``There is no reason to force situations that can generate more
tension, because we will not permit any provocative action
regarding the autonomous municipalities.''
Supporters of the Zapatistas, who are demanding greater rights
for Mexico's Indian communities, have established nearly 40
autonomous governments in the region.
Porfirio Encino Hernandez, who leads the Coalition of Autonomous
Organizations of Ocosingo, the municipality in which Taniperlas
is located, stressed that Wednesday's protest was intended to
free the town of troops, not to reassert the claim of autonomy.
He added that it would not be the last demonstration in the
village.
``We will continue to fight even if they put us in jail, even if
the army and police harass us,'' he said.
© Copyright 1998 The Associated Press
========================================
Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 22:27:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Elisabeth Perrin <•••@••.•••
Subject: On Chiapas: from Guillermo MIchel Sinner
/* Written 3:14 PM Apr 21, 1998 by •••@••.••• in igc:
list.chiapas */
/* ---------- "On Chiapas: from Guillermo MIchel S" ---------- */
Translated for Nuevo Amanecer Press by Jessica Westphal with
Susan Rasco'n:
By Guillermo Michel Sinner Correspondent for NAP-Mexico
___________________________
One more most symbolic action of this cruel government has
been carried out in Tani perlas (-perlas = pearls): pearls that
are tears. Tears of blood that fertilize the seed planted by the
Zapatistas, or, more concretely, by the Chiapan Tzotzils,
Tzeltals, Chols, and Tojobals, whose rebellion of dignity
continues to be misunderstood and despised by a government that
is submissive to the Empire of the turbid stars and red stripes.
Twelve foreign observers, two Mexicans, and seven villagers of
the region were first apprehended with excessive violence, and
later sent to Judicial prison cells. The foreigners were
expelled, the Mexican (indigenous and non-indigenous) were
imprisoned in the Cerro Hueco prison. Also, the whereabouts are
unknown of one of the arrested Mexicans: Luis Menendez Medina
(of the Father Pedro de la Nada Human Rights Center).
A group of professors from the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana
has produced a document to denounce this new action which
confirms the war of low intensity and high cruelty, promoted by
the advisors of the SOA (School of the Americas), the CIA, and
other equally wicked organizations.
Regarding the arrest of the Mexicans, eyewitnesses narrate the
following:
"The apprehension of our colleagues, university professors SERGIO
VALDES RUVALCABA and LUIS MENENDEZ MEDINA is a threatening act
against human rights observers in the region. The arrests of the
seven indigenous Mexicans
-TOMAS SANCHEZ GOMEZ, LUIS MENENDEZ MEDINA, ANTONIO LOPEZ
VAZQUEZ, SEBASTIAN CHULIN GONZALEZ, NICOLAS MASARIEGO PEREZ and
MATEO GONZALEZ LOPEZ
-constitutes an act of political repression, disguised as a
action of justice. The arrests were made without any respect for
the law. They were violently made to submit without an arrest
warrant from a judge. The charges were formulated 32 hours after
the arrests had been made.
"The arrested Mexicans entered the cells of the Attorney General
of the Republic (PGR) more than 12 hours after being arrested by
the strong military and judicial mechanisms. They were in
solitary confinement for various hours, while being pressured to
accept the fabricated charges attributed to them.
"In order to justify the charges -robbery with violence, criminal
association, plundering, damage to others' propery, usurpation of
office- the supposed party making the accusation(s) was made up
of PRI-ist peasant farmers who were escorted by the judicial
police of the state (of Chiapas). The supposed PRI-ist
"witnesses" left at 11:30 p.m. (on April 11), escorted by the
Public Security police after formulating the charges before the
judicial authorities.
"Statements were not taken from the detainees until April 12th at
9:00 a.m., and only then were they made aware of the
aforementioned charges, none of which has been proven.
"Each and every one of the procedures were carried out by state
authorities and Immigration. They were carried out with total
indifference of the law and in open violation of the human rights
of those accused, as well as of the residents of Taniperlas who
fled their community to seek refuge in the hills and in
neighboring communities. ". . . others that were in Taniperlas
are the following:
Professor ANTONIO PAOLI BOLIO along with a student named
ADRIANA, took refuge in the community of San Jeronimo Tulija. A
Masters' student in Rural Development, ROBERTO GAMBOA, is in the
community of Taniperlas. Beyond, we do not know anything more
about the situation. . .
"These events that the substitute governor of the acting ex-
governor (Roberto Albores Guillen), mentions as elements "for the
distension of the conflict" are a clear demonstration of a direct
strategy to confront the civilian population itself, just like
an induced dislike for national and foreign observers who see
with their own eyes the repression and the systematic violation
of the human rights of the indigenous peoples. . . "Also, we
have been informed of the violent aggression towards two
reporters of the AP and the AFP, PASCUAL GOMEZ and ORIANA
ELICABE, who were mistreated and attacked by uniformed personnel
in order to prevent stop them from reporting the expulsion of the
foreigners who were deported to their native countries.
"This brief excerpt from the letter produced by NOE PINEDA and
ADRIANA ESTRADA shows with absolute certainty the perversity of
the government "of Zedillo" (or of Clinton???) and its will to
continue climbing the mountain of violence by way of the facts.
The war of intense cruelty (not of "low intensity" any more), the
GAI, continues manifesting itself day after day. Against this, of
utmost importance to us in Mexico is to continue counting on the
support of those countries whose observers were expelled:
Canada, the United States, Belgium, Spain and Germany.
Our appreciation to those who were so unjustly treated by a deaf
and blind government. The Mexican people are not xenophobic.
Nevertheless, we, through our passivity, permit Zedillo and his
accomplices to violate our rights. From this page, I wish to
send a greeting to the 12 expelled compan~eros, our brothers and
sisters:
JULIE MARQUETTE and MARIA SANCHEZ (Canada), MICHAEL JOHN SABATO,
JEFFERY WRIGH CONANT, and TRAVIS BLAIZE LOLLER (USA), LAMBERT
GAULTIER and BERGER DOMINIQUE, JEAN GUILLAUME (Belgium), OLGA
CLAVERIA IRANZO, ANA LOPEZ, and JULIAN COBOS (Spain), and
finally, MARION LANDICH (Germany).
A suggestion: Visit your (non-governmental) Human Rights Centers
to denounce the violation of your rights, and to demand that the
Mexican government repay you with a strong compensation in
dollars. Something that costs Zedillo (the only one responsible
for applying Article 33 of the Constitution, under which the
"harmful foreigners" were expelled). But, above all, let us all
cast the INTERCONTINENTAL NET OF HOPE, whose origin is found in
the solidary love and in the seamless fabric of struggles, of
resistance LET US NOT GIVE UP! LET US RESIST! YOU ARE NOT
ALONE! WE ARE NOT ALONE!
TREE OF HOPE, REMAIN FIRM
Guillermo Michel
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
NUEVO AMANECER PRESS- N.A.P.
_________________________________
Non Profit news agency-translating and distributing information
in support of the work in defense of human rights.
Registered as Non Profit Corporation in USA.
Advisory team: Mexico. General Director:Roger Maldonado-Mexico
Darrin Wood- Director NAP-Spain office
Susana Saravia-Director: NAP-USA office
our address: •••@••.•••
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