Here, we find the puny, sickly, leader of a ragtag mob, confused over the receipt of an olive branch of peace. Quite a contrast to the article full of such respect for the leader of the Colombian death squads, that appeared in their pages a month ago. That thug, Carlos Castanyo, was then described as the leader of 'a lion let loose'... according to the genteel paper of note! He was also described as 'outspoken', whereas Marcos is only capabe of 'a rare moment of candor'. Below, America's 'liberal voice', the New York Times pleads........."Let's Give Peace a Chance'. Tony Abdo _________________________________ Mexico Rebel Chief Says the Fight Is Now for Peace New York Times January 30, 2001 By Ginger Thompson SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico, Jan. 28 - There was a different kind of fight in the rebel leader's voice. The urgency was unchanged from the day seven years ago when he first declared war against the Mexican government on behalf of a ragtag mob of Indians called the Zapatista National Liberation Army. Their cause, the pursuit of equal rights for all of Mexico's 10 million indigenous people, remained their primary goal. But in an interview in the jungles of Chiapas, his first with an American newspaper in four years, the elusive Subcommander Marcos made it clear that the masked rebels want peace. "We want to stop being what we are," he said, his dark eyes so intense that the ski mask covering the rest of his face could not conceal his expression.. "We are people without faces, armed and fighting for what we believe." "We would like to show our faces," he continued. "We would like to put down our weapons, but to keep fighting for our beliefs like people in every other part of the world." Although his words at times shifted from caution to outrage, the message that rang like a church bell was that peace could soon come to Chiapas. In seven years, there have been only a dozen days of combat between the Zapatistas and government troops, leaving 145 people dead. But hundreds have been killed in clashes between rebel supporters and pro- government paramilitary groups. Thousands of others have been forced to flee their homes. "I'm optimistic," the guerrilla leader said. "I think we will have a successful dialogue with the government, that the war will be ended and that we will be able to move on to new work." For a man and a movement that have been shrouded in mystery, it was a rare moment of candor. It comes one month before he and a 23- member commission of Zapatista leaders are planning to march on Mexico City in a caravan snaking across at least six states and more than a dozen cities, and culminating in an address before Congress. The rebels will campaign for the passage of a series of new Indian rights - known as the San Andre's accords - which, if passed, would mark the most significant achievement of the movement. It would also mark the Zapatistas' first step toward becoming a legitimate political organization. During the interview, Subcommander Marcos, who has become an idol to leftist groups around the world, shunned his signature theatrics and sharp sarcasm to talk forthrightly about the lingering obstacles to peace, about the achievements of the Zapatista movement, and about his own postwar plans. He and another rebel commander known as Tacho had sneaked on horseback into the tiny village of La Realidad. They came with no body guards, and they did not orchestrate any gimmicky displays of force. Perhaps because of the larger- than-life image of the subcommander that has been perpetuated by leftists around the world, he seemed surprisingly small, perhaps 5 feet, 8 inches, with narrow shoulders and hands that looked ill-suited for combat. His eyes were watery, and he sniffled from a cold. The automatic rifle slung across his back seemed the only threatening thing about him. When asked about it, he said it was not loaded. Seated in a tumbledown mess hall, dimly lit with candles, he acknowledged during the 90-minute interview that a brewing political storm in the Mexican Congress could wreck the prospect for peace. But what worried him most was whether Mexico's new president, Vicente Fox, would respond fully to a list of rebel demands and keep the stalemated Zapatista conflict moving toward a resolution. _______________________________________________ Crashlist website: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base
