Comite Provisional Internacionalista Contra el =
Neoliberalism y por La Humanidad (COPICONH) 4/4/97 =
Special Urgent ! Bulletin #6
The following are two articles concerning the increasing =
incursions and provocation of all the Federal, State, and =
local forces whose obvious interests is the elimination of =
the Zapatista communities and Army. Here we try to =
provide an analytical summary of the dirty war strategy. =
Mexican Military enters Roberto Barrios in North of =
Chiapas
The community of Roberto Barrios, 32 kilometers from =
Palenque in the north of Chiapas, is home to one of the =
five Aguascalientes community centers, and has, over =
the last few years, been a very strong center of Zapatista =
support. I was there in January and February of 1997, =
working on the installation of a potable water system, =
and again in March, and in the space of these few =
months, a noticeable increase in tension and decrease in =
the security of the community has been evident.
Roberto Barrios lies along the banks of a river, and across =
this river, some few hundred meters from the entrance =
to the community, is an encampment of the Mexican =
federal army. In order to enter or leave the community, =
one must pass through the military base. The =
community is divided between Zapatista supporters and =
Priistas; according to what members of the community =
told me, among the Priistas there are members of the =
paramilitary group "los chinchulines", who are receiving =
military training in the federal army encampment. =
According to the compa=D2eros, many Priistas regularly =
pass over to the army base for military training, and =
receive as well, gifts of rice and beans in exchange for =
their support.
During the time of my stay in January and February, two =
members of the Zapatista organization in Roberto =
Barrios received written death threats, notes apparently =
written in good grammar and good handwriting, causing =
community leaders to believe that authorities in the =
military base had something to do with it. Around the =
same time, confrontations were occurring in nearby =
communities of El Bosque, Aguas Blancas and Sabanilla, =
and refugees from some of these communities made =
their way to Roberto Barrios. At the same time there =
were internal conflicts in the community regarding the =
fact that the government arrived to install a water system =
one week after our team had arrived to install a similar =
system. In other words, there were two systems being =
installed at once, forcing members of the community to =
decide to which one they would lend support. This is =
typical of government intervention in the communities =
-- arriving to increase tension rather than support =
peaceful resolutions.
In the month of March, just after the lynching and arrest =
of two Jesuit priests in nearby Palenque, and PRI protests =
outside of the parish there in which the angry =
government supporters shouted "Murdering priests out =
of Palenque!", I arrived in Roberto Barrios for a few days. =
Immediately upon my arrival I noticed that tension had =
increased dramatically. I was told that the government =
water project was nearly completed, and though it was =
not going to bring water to the houses of the Zapatistas, =
but only to the Priistas, a number of Zapatistas were =
working on the project, they told me, because "they =
didn't want trouble". =
This was cause for some tension. But, besides this, the =
people in charge in the community told me that, for =
about a week, the army had been crossing the river, fully =
armed and entering the community every day. During =
the first occurrence of this, a group of women washing =
clothes in the river formed a human chain before the =
river bank, and the soldiers turned back. But they =
continued coming, day after day, crossing the river and =
crossing back, as if simply to scare the community. I was =
also told that the soldiers had been firing their rifles into =
the river. And that the community felt helpless to do =
anything. Presumably these events continue to this day, =
and, for fear of reprisal, the community remains quiet, =
suffering these acts of terror in silence as the war of low =
intensity slowly evolves into a war of high intensity.
4/3/ 1997
THE ARMY SETS UP ANOTHER CAMP IN SAN =
PEDRO NIXTALUCUM-ZAPATISTA TERRITORY
URGENT SITUATION IN SAN JUAN DE LA =
LIBERTAD, "EL BOSQUE," AND THROUGHOUT =
ZAPATISTA ZONES: On March 14 a Seguridad Publica =
Helicopter shot at unarmed villagers from San Pedro =
part of the El Bosque Municipality in the Highlands of =
Chiapas who were blocking the road to prevent the =
passage of an Army truck which was intending to =
transport 6 Zapatista Sympathizers. Two minutes after =
the shooting started 4 unarmed Zapatista sympathizers =
were dead and 5 were injured.
Several witnesses of the incident have testified that the =
person ordering the murder of the 4 Zapatistas was the =
State Attorney General, Jorge Enrique Hernandez. El =
Bosque the seat of the municipality has been a strong =
Zapatista Community, however San Pedro Nichtalucum, =
one of the communities, was known as a majority PRI =
community. =
Several days before the murders, members from the PRD =
of San Pedro demanded to know where and how federal =
proceeds directed to the community were being spent. =
This is one of many communities that has parallel PRI =
and PRD governments where the government only =
recognizes the PRI governments. The PRD-Zapatista =
sympathetic forces proceeded to arrest several PRI official =
and took over the municipality offices. The PRI forces =
then came in with the intentions of taking back the =
offices and in turn arrested 12 PRD members. =
This is all the authorities needed for the State Security =
forces to intervene. The State Security forces came in =
and arrested Zapatista sympathizers. It is now thought =
that the State Attorney General was heard shouting from =
a helicopter the orders to shoot several PRD forces that =
were blocking the road. One of the persons shot was 80 =
year old Miguel Gomez Hernandez, who was still alive =
when he was intentionally run over by one of the State =
Security Trucks. Immediately after that shooting the =
helicopter maneuvered up and down the road, shooting =
randomly at anyone on it. =
74 Zapatista Families Numbering 346 Men, Women and =
Children Thrown Out of Their Homes Emboldened by =
the support from the State Security forces, the PRI =
members of San Pedro proceeded to attack and ransack =
all of the homes of the 74 families. The Zapatista =
sympathizer families were forced to leave their homes =
and are now camping in a nearby location. Our human =
rights delegation visited several of these homes and =
witnessed a state inspection commission call out the =
hundreds of missing items which had been stolen. The =
terrorized representatives were very happy to see outside =
people who could get the truth to the outside world. =
24 Zapatista Sympathizers Acussed of the Murder of =
Their Friends and Family Members and Ambushing =
State Police Forces. Simultaneously 24 Zapatista =
sympathizer leaders were arrested for the murder of their =
friends and relatives and transported to Cerro Hueco, =
where they are presently held without bail. =
On March 31, I and a delegation of three Chicano =
students from Cal State Northridge visited the prisoners =
to get their testimonies. The 24 prisoners from El Bosque =
have now been added to the more than sixty political =
prisoners from la Zona Norte of Chiapas, where PRD- Zapatista sympathizer leaders have been systematically =
arrested during the last two years. The prisoners told us =
of beatings and torture that they had been subjected to, =
which included the use of plastic bags to bring the =
prisoner near suffocation, the "tehuacanazo," which is =
the use of agitated carbonated water infused through the =
nose, and the "ca=D2a," which is the insertion of sugar cane =
splinters underneath the finger nails. "At the moment =
that they arrest us they beat us profusely and then we are =
applied one, two or sometimes all three methods of =
torture so that we can sign a blank confession," said =
Artemio, leader of the Voz de Cerro Hueco, an =
organization of political prisoners, some of them held for =
over 27 months. =
On Tuesday April 2, I traveled to the area with a =
delegation from the US, headed by Lydia Brazon, Director =
of the Humanitarian Law Project, which included =
Chicana-Mexicana actress, Marisol Padilla, a film crew =
headed by Director Ben Eichert and San Diego Teacher =
and Teacher Union leader Peter Brown, who is also =
heading up a project to construct a High School in =
Oventic. This delegation was part of a major delegation =
which included the Press and representatives of Human =
Rights Center Fray Bartolome de Las Casas and members =
of the CONAI which is the mediation organization =
headed up by Bishop Samuel Ruiz. .
When we arrived at San Pedro for first hand observation =
of the ransacked homes and to talk and visit with the =
displaced families whose members numbered 346, the =
first thing we literally bumped into was the 57th =
Battalion of the Mexican Army, which had already =
established a base in the community. =
A Definite Pattern Emerges
The northern area, Roberto Barrios and now El Bosque =
all show definite patterns and tendency of a dirty war =
carried out against the indigenous people of Chiapas in =
General and the Zapatista Communities in particular. =
First of all, the government militarized the general area. =
Typically, foreign priests and nuns are singled out as =
Zapatista sympathizers and are expelled from the =
country. =
With the means of communicating to the outside world =
unplugged, the terrain is now ready for the next step; the =
organizing of the local caciques and the training of their =
forces into Chinchulines (PRI Shock Troops) or their =
recruitment to the notorious Paz y Justicia (which should =
really be called Ni Paz Ni Justicia). Indigenous youths =
unemployed or working for indigenous wages are =
offered relatively lucrative bribes to participate in =
vigilante groups and are trained by the closest Army base. =
The main job of the Chinchulines and Paz y Justicia is to =
be a Commando Counterrevolutionary force to terrorize =
the Zapatista families until the families are forced to =
leave. The Chinchulines and Paz y Justicia typically join =
forces where ever Guardias Blancas exits. Guardias =
Blancas, which were formed in the 1920 for the purposes =
of repelling any effort to execute agrarian reform are =
mainly troops of the White Cattle Ranchers and land =
owners of Chiapas. =
The Seguridad Publica works in conjunction with the =
Army and then defends, protects and absolves the =
terrorists' troops of any crime they might commit. On =
the other hand, any controversy which may result from =
any of these provocatory forces become excuses to kill or =
jail, beat and torture the community leadership and hold =
them without bail and without a fair trail.
When and where elections are held, they become useful =
tools of contention, division and provocation. Most of =
the community follows the indigenous tradition of =
convening a township assembly and elect their =
leadership openly, but their elections are not recognized. =
The PRI hold elections in which many times only a PRI =
minority participate, but it is these elections that the State =
Government recognizes. Both Governments are set up, =
but money from the State Government are sent to the =
PRI local government. =
During the last three years, any one of these structures of =
division and oppression can cause a defensive reaction =
from the pro-Zapatista-PRD forces. Any sign of resistance =
is then quickly squelched by the Seguridad Publica and =
the violent incident that normally ensues is used as the =
excuse for the Army to bring an encampment next to or =
into the community. In this systematic manner, the =
Army together with State and local authority and anti- zapatista forces divide the Zapatista community base and =
move their way into the jungle to surround the solid =
campamentos which hold the Zapatista Army. =
The most insidious part of this whole plan is that the =
effectiveness of all of these crimes and gross human =
rights violations depends largely on the amount of =
racism that still exists on a global scale and on the slanted =
media coverage. This critical mass of racism allows for =
this "Stealth War" to fly under the global human rights =
screen undetected. The government media creation of a =
"war between indigenous people" is essential not to alert =
investors and carry out an invisible slaughter of =
indigenous people. This long term hushed gradual dirty =
war strategy has been absolutely critical to not provoke =
the fear of investors and the destabilization of the =
economy.
The World Calls For An End To The Dirty War
In a letter to La Jornada, organizers of the Intergalactic =
Conference for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism =
call for an immediate end to this dirty war. I will here =
paraphrase their 6 demands: =
1) That the Mexican government stop its tactics of =
provocations and that it commit itself to peaceful =
dialogue solutions...
2) That all charges against the political prisoners of Cerro =
Hueco be dropped and that all political prisoners be =
freed...
3) That the government honor without modification its =
signature of the Agreements of San Andres signed on =
February the 16, 1997.
4) That the State Police, Army, the Guardias Blancas, the =
Chinchulines and Paz and Justicia forces leave their =
occupied areas....
5) The Mexican Government end this Dirty War being =
carried out in Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca and =
throughout....
6) That international national human rights individuals =
and organizations be given free and safe passage through =
the Northern Zone and in other conflicted areas of =
Chiapas.
The following are the words of Comandante Moises =
concerning the dirty war. As he came into the meeting =
room he was visibly worried and upset:
"For the last three days the Army has be operating =
maneuvers, some of them less than one kilometer from =
here. Comandante David cannot be here with you =
because he is out looking into some of this. It would be =
good if you told the world what is happening. Since =
January we are under much pressure..at this moment =
there are no signs of peace and all the signs of war. We =
don't want war and we will resist provocations and are =
trying to avoid any situation where we have to defend =
ourselves and our families. We as Indigenous and =
Zapatistas never lie, we always say the truth...We have =
always said that the Mexican government is coward. =
Why doesn't the Mexican Government tell the world the =
truth? Why doesn't the government tell the World that =
what it really wants is to kill all the indigenous people of =
this country.....Why doesn't it tell the world that they are =
patrolling this close to keep us from planting our corn. =
We only have ten more days in this season to plant our =
corn and we can't go out because we need to be vigilant =
and be ready to do what we have to do to defend =
ourselves. We will have less food this year than last year =
which was already very bad. We all understand this and =
we are strong in our beliefs and we appreciate your =
presence and solidarity. You come from far to see us and =
we get stronger from your solidarity. When you =
demonstrate in front of the Mexican Consulates we hear =
about it, and when you bring caravans of food, clothes =
and medicines we appreciate it and all of this helps us to =
keep strong." =
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Peter Rashkin <prashkin@wavenet.com>
SPANISH DAGGER PUBLICATIONS PO Box 3008 Long Beach, CA 90803 http://www.wavenet.com/~prashkin/ =
-- =
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