> > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Thu, 9 Feb 95 23:27 EST > From: Mexicanos Exiliados pro-Democracia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], > [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Mexico: Breaking News > > Estos art'iculos fueron recibidos en ingl'es, por eso los transmitimos en ese > idioma. > > Courtesy of "El Eco de Virginia": > > Copyright 1995. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. > > MEXICO CITY, Feb.9, 1995 (AP) -- President Ernesto Zedillo ordered the arrest > of Subcomandante Marcos and other leaders of last year's Indian rebellion on > Thursday, a day after federal agents uncovered what he called major weapons > caches and plans for "new and greater acts of violence" across Mexico. > The surprise announcement marked a complete turnabout from the government's > attempts to appease the guerrillas and persuade them to lay down their arms by > promising to help the poor and clean up the country's elections. > The insurrection embarrassed the government on the very day that Mexico, > Canada and the United States launched the North American Free Trade Agreement, > and persistent doubts among investors about the government's ability to end the > rebellion contributed to Mexico's current economic crisis. > In a surprise address on nationwide TV, Zedillo said federal judicial police > on Wednesday discovered large, clandestine arsenals kept by the Zapatista > National Liberation Army rebels in Mexico City and the Gulf Coast state of > Veracruz. > The caches included high-powered weapons such as hand grenades, mortar rounds > and explosives, he said. > Federal agents also uncovered a conspiracy for widespread violence by the > rebels, Zedillo said. > Marcos, the ski-masked rebel leader and spokesman, and five other rebel > leaders had been identified and arrest warrants were issued, he said. > Zedillo said the army will help federal judicial police arrest all six in the > southern state of Chiapas, where the Indian rebellion erupted on Jan. 1, 1994. > He also ordered the army to increase patrols in the state and take necessary > action to maintain order. > At least 145 people were killed in last year's uprising until a cease-fire > was called after 12 days. Several attempts at negotiating peace with the rebels > have floundered, but the cease-fire has remained in effect. > Under the cease-fire, the government hasn't actively sought to capture > Marcos, who attended peace talks with Interior Minister Esteban Moctezuma as > recently as Jan. 15. Details of the talks, held near the guerrillas' stronghold > in the Lacondon Jungle, weren't released. > Zedillo said the Zapatistas had rejected a number of attempts to reach a > peace accord by his administration -- some even before he took office Dec. 1. > While the government was striving to negotiate peace, the Zapatistas "were > preparing new and greater acts of violence, not only in Chiapas, but in others > places in the country," Zedillo said. > The Zapatistas launched their New Year's rebellion to demand better living > conditions and respect for human rights for Maya-descended Indians in Chiapas > and for poor Mexicans nationwide. > But Zedillo called them the leftovers "of a guerrilla group formed in 1969 in > another state called the National Liberation Forces, which advocated seizing > power through armed force." > National Liberation, a leftist guerrilla group, was active in the northern > state of Nuevo Leon and in southern Guerrero state at the time, but was crushed > by the army. > Zedillo said Marcos' real name is Rafael Sebastian Guillen Vicente, but gave > no other information about him. > The enigmatic, green-eyed rebel leader had captured the nation's imagination > with his articulate defense of the rebels' cause. He was the subject of intense > speculation over his real identity. > Zedillo identified the other leaders only as Fernando Yaffez, alias > Subcomandante German; Jorge Javier Elorreaga Berdegue, alias Subcomandante > Vicente; Jorge Santiago Santiago; and Silvia Fernandez Hernandez, alias > Subcomandante Sofia or Gabriela. > No background on any of the rebel leaders named was immediately available. > The president announced he would call a special session of Congress on the > conflict in Chiapas. He said he was submitting legislation to grant amnesty to > Zapatistas who surrendered their weapons and joined the nation's political > mainstream. > Zedillo had welcomed a proposal Jan. 31 by the rebels to turn their movement > into a national political party. But the rebels later announced they would not > disarm. > All this "shows that far from preparing for a dialogue and negotiation, the > (rebel) strategy was to gain time to arm and extend themselves to perpetrate > more acts of violence," Zedillo said. > > > > >
