Leader Says Zapatistas Ready to Fight Wed Jul 23, 3:58 AM ET
By ALEJANDRO RUIZ, Associated Press Writer
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico - Zapatista rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos has issued a warning that his forces are ready to use violence to defend themselves against paramilitary fighters in southern Chiapas.
In a strongly worded communique issued Tuesday night, Marcos said the tense climate in Chiapas reminds him of the days leading up to when paramilitary fighters massacred rebel supporters in the rural town of Acteal in December 1997.
The mass killing was the worst of a series of bloody clashes between pro- and anti-rebel groups in poor Indian communities across Chiapas since the Zapatistas' armed uprising in the name of socialism and Indians rights in January 1994.
Marcos said dozens of paramilitary fighters supported by different political parties have surrounded Zapatista strongholds in recent days and fired guns in the air.
"The environment is very similar to one we saw in the days before the massacre at Acteal where 45 men, women and children were killed with exceptional cruelty by the paramilitaries," the statement said.
He went on to say that if attacked, Zapatista fighters would respond with violence of their own, something they didn't do after the Acteal killings.
"It's an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but we are ready to take two eyes for every eye and a mouth full of teeth for just one tooth," Marcos said, displaying his touch for irony that has made him a favorite of intellectuals.
The letter released Tuesday also said structural changes made during recent months by the Zapatista army and affiliated villages are ready to be made public, without revealing any details of that reorganization.
Marcos has not made a public appearance since 2001, communicating instead by letters published completely in the Mexican newspaper La Jornada.
Tuesday's statement came a day after a letter from the ski-mask wearing leader announced a reorganization of the National Zapatista Liberation Army and a complete break with Mexico's government and political parties.
In that statement, Marcos ridiculed the country's July 6 midterm elections as "the most comical in the history of Mexico," and said the Zapatista army had decided to sever all contact with the political system.
President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) tried to restart peace talks in 2001 by closing a number of military bases in rebel territory and backing an Indian rights bill championed by the Zapatistas, but Congress passed a watered-down version of the bill, which the Zapatistas unanimously rejected.
Marcos drew unusual criticism last year from Mexican leftists and intellectuals after he showed sympathy for a Basque separatist group linked to terrorist attacks.
In his Monday communique, Marcos cited the Zapatistas' support for the "political fight of the Basque country," the country of Iraq (news - web sites) "and all the fights in rebellion against the power of money."
"The aggression against the country of Iraq not only is evidence of the truly destructive mission of globalization but also provoked the largest worldwide repudiation in the history of humanity," the statement said.
In solidarity,
Stephen Von Sychowski
"The Proletarian who is conscious of this task (overthrowal of capitalism) is a slave who has revolted against slavery. The Proletarian who is not conscious of the idea, is a slave who does not realize his position as a slave; at best he is a slave who fights to improve his conditions as a slave, but not one who fights to overthrow slavery"-V.I. Lenin
http://www.communist-party.ca
http://www.geocities.com/princegeorgecpc
http://www.geocities.com/bomb_thrower15
To join the e-mail list for the Young Communists of Canada e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
_________________________________________________________________
Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
_______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
