Subject: IMC,Renewed Military Harrasment in Chiapas,Mar 16
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 19:08:41 +0100
Renewed Military Harrasment in Chiapas
Translation of Hermann Bellinghausen's La Jornada article from
March 16, 2001
by ce 12:58pm Fri Mar 16 '01
[This is a direct transaltion performed by altavista.com - some of it is
badly translated, but it was important to get this out as soon as possible
to English-speaking audiences.]
Harrasment and low-intesity warfare breaks out in Chiapas while Zapatista
command is in Mexico City.
With police support, Cattle ranchers seek to recover land lost to the
autonomous indigenous in 1994.
While the Zapatista march has traversed the national territory arriving in
Mexico's capitol, in the autonomous municipalities of Chiapas harassment
breaks out again on the part of the federal Army, Public Security and the
cattle ranchers in the region. According to autonomous municipalities and
information from diverse organizations in San Cristo'bal, the aerial and
terrestrial patrols have been increased in the communities during the last
week.
The most serious denunciations come from the autonomous municipalities
Che Guevara and San Pedro de Michoaca'n. Military flights and patrols have
returned to norm in Moise's Gandhi, La Realidad and other communities in
resistance, contradicting the order by president Vicente Fox that there
would be no more patrols in the conflict zone.
The autonomous council from the municipality Che Guevara denounced
that from February 24th the date when the zapatista delegation departed
Chiapas, a military helicopter has engaged in grazing flights above
Moise's Gandhi, 800 meters away from Cuxulja', one of the four military
points withdrawn by president Vicente Fox (one of the seven that the EZLN
demanded dismantled and that the new government was committed to
withdrawal). During the 6th, 7th and 8th of March, these flights were
particularly obvious.
Che Guevara also reports an increase in the military patrols on the
international highway by the Cuxulja' crosstroads by the Public Security
Forces and the federal Army. The autonomous municipality say that
"the community does not like it, that the children whenever the helicopter
passes they think that the soldiers will come and that Vicente Fox has a
double edged speech, because while in Mexico City he says that everything
is calm yet, the harassment in the communities has not stopped".
AGRARIAN CONFLICTS RESURFACE
In addition, it seemed that there are those that are trying to take
advantage of the absence the delegates and Zapatista command, and
the distraction on the local level and the national news. The settlers in
Moise's Gandhi refer "another thing that does not calm them" is that the
Chiapas governor "wants to solve the agrarian problems but he is doing it
through the leaders of the ORCAO and this generates serious problems"
with the EZLN support bases and farmers of other organizations. "The
government hopes to distract people because now, is the moment for
recognizing the indigenous rights and cultures", the secretary of Agrarian
Reform and the organization shakes waters with hurried negotiations.
Base de Operaciones de Guadalupe Tepeyac has resumed their tasks of
patrolling and pressure on the tojolabales communities of San Pedro de
Michoaca'n, particularly the Reality. The aerial patrolling, suspended
from 1 of December last, is of return, as if nothing.
This climate seems to animate to a group of cattle dealers who try
"to recover" the earth that from 1994 were occupied by the natives of the
forest, and by which the federal government already compensated the
previous proprietors. As one will remember, these cattle dealers when
coming out showed belligerence in the previous days of the delegation of
the EZLN, that is in the city of Mexico. Now, according to denunciation
independent municipality 17 of November, the cattle dealers and small
proprietors make meetings and try to organize aggressions against the
calls New Centers of Population, and even for " placing in ambush " the
delegation of the command of the EZLN, when this one returns to Chiapas.
In one of these "conclaves", carried out the 25 of February in Altamirano,
quotas were collected "to pay to a gunner, that will attack the commanders".
According to the same source, these meetings "are protected" with
continuous patrollings of Public Security, and in them also indigenous
PRI'istas participate that have been tied previously to the paramilitary
group MIRA.
U.S. JOURNALIST HOME IN SAN CRISTOBAL RANSACKED
The house of journalist Tim Russo in San Cristo'bal de las Casas "was
ransacked" by strangers who destroyed, threw to the ground photos,
negatives and books, and painted above his bed: "fucking foreign press".
According to the neighbors, the house "had been watched" by civilian
dressed men for several days. Russo, correspondent in Mexico for a US
agency KGNU Public Radio in Colorado, is in the Mexico City covering the
indigenous march. The Fray Bartolome Human rights Center went in the
evening to the sacked house, and will present the result its investigations.
The hostility against the rebellious communities, in as much, reaches
scandalous proportions. The 26 of February, when the Zapatistas bases of
support returned to their communities, after dismissing the delegates in
San Cristo'bal of the Houses, "saw a gray light truck, with boards 6721,
in the cruise that goes to the community of the Lagoon, halfway between
Altamirano and the ejido Morelia, seat of Aguascalientes IV. When the
farmers happened, three men descended from the light truck, one of them
armed, who gave 20 shots to the air".
The autonomous locals think that it is the same people who have themselves
been reuniting in Altamirano, that she looks for to create a fear climate
and threatens. Simultaneously, the PRI'istas of Morelia now maintain a
constant radio communications with the military quarter of Altamirano.
The Cuauhte'moc community, of the same municipality, denunciation that,
also from the exit of the Zapatistas delegates, continuous patrollings
suffer of Public Security, the federal Army and agents of Migration. The
patrollings had not stopped, in spite of the declared thing by the Foxista
government, but now the number of military vehicles was increased from two
to ten, and hourly a particular vehicle with agents of Migration journeys
by the community on board. To this, the natives add that "the Public
Security makes the practical military every day".
The autonomous council of 17 of November also denounced that the SPE
introduced in the town the Mendoza to rob laminae destined to the school.
They took "to be constructed them houses in its quarter". The police
have been robbing wood of the community. "In addition, every day they
pass loaded trucks of illegal wood, that pay 'mordida' [bribe] in the
position of control of the Public Security, and they take the goods
without problem".
The independent municipality First of January indicates that from the
last week the military population in the quarter of Tonina', seat of the
31 Military Zone, has been increased considerably. The community of
Jerusalem, neighbor to this quarter, denounced that the military movements
increased after the exit of the Zapatista delegation. The overflights of
helicopters are frequent and the military vehicles carry a red flag,
"in alert signal, we do not know of what".
The independent municipality Olga Isabel, located in the area of Chilo'n,
also reports daily military patrollings and a constant and aggressive
activity of the detachments of the SPE between Bachajo'n, Chilo'n and
other communities. And here also they denounce continuous aerial
harassment.
Finally, the authorities of the independent municipality Miguel Hidalgo
reported the passage of 69 loaded trucks of the federal Army of troops in
the direction of Comita'n, "which demonstrates that the Army does not
think to leave Chiapas", according to the natives.
"...all truly great scientific abstractions are both universal and simple.
They are simple not because they explain so little but because they explain
so much. Generality does not arise because an abstraction represents
everything that could possibly happen, but because it remains valid no
matter what happens."
Alan Freeman
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