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Overgreb i Chiapas Af Torben Retb¢ll Biskop Samuel Ruiz Garcia har hele tiden fors¢gt at forsvare indianernes ret til deres jord og kultur De indianske b¢nders opr¢r i den mexicanske delstat Chiapas i de f¢rste dage af det nye år kom som en overraskelse for de store medier. Måske fordi de troede på den mexicanske præsident Carlos Salinas de Gortari, når han og hans Institutionelle Revolutionære Parti (PRI) lovede ¢konomisk vækst og velfærd for alle mexicanere. Informationer om den ofte uhyggelige virkelighed i Mexico har længe været tilgængelige, men som regel uden for de etablerede medier. Her er et eksempel fra det alternative netværk Peacenet, der udsendte historien om biskop Ruiz og hans kamp for retfærdighed i oktober 1993: "S¢ndag den 24. oktober rapporterede dagbladet **El Financiero**, at den mexicanske regering har lagt pres på den romersk katolske kirkes hierarki for at afskedige Samuel Ruiz Garcia, biskop for San Cristobal de las Casas stift i Chiapas. Fredag aften [den 22. oktober], hed det videre i avisen, blev det afsl¢ret, at Vatikanets repræsentant i Mexico, Geronimo Prigione, er tæt på at g¢re dette. "Biskop Ruiz er blevet kaldt til Mexico By i dag [den 26. oktober] til en samtale med biskop Prigione. "Chiapas delstaten, der grænser op til Guatemala, har set en langvarig og voldelig undertrykkelse af den indf¢dte befolkning, der stadig forsvarer sin jord mod konstante aggressioner og invasioner fra lokale politiske ledere. "Biskop Ruiz har hele tiden fors¢gt at forsvare indianernes ret til deres jord og kultur i de 30 år, han har været biskop i stiftet. Det seneste angreb på stiftet, der er kendt for sin solidaritet med den indf¢dte befolkning, er en del af en lang historie. "Den nuværende minister for regeringen, Patrocinio Gonzalez Garrido, hvis departement tager sig af religi¢se anliggender, var tidligere guvern¢r i Chiapas. Hans politik med vilkårlige arrestationer af indf¢dte folk udl¢ste en protest, der kulminerede i en march af forskellige grupper af indf¢dte folk fra Chiapas til Mexico By, og som f¢rte til l¢sladelse af de anklagede og l¢fter om at respektere deres rettigheder. "Mens Gonzalez var guvern¢r, blev Joel Padron, en præst i stiftet, også fængslet, anklaget for et mord, han ikke havde begået, og senere l¢sladt efter adskillige ugers protest fra kirken og det internationale samfund. "I maj i år [1993] krydsede biskop Ruiz også klinger med general Godines fra hæren. Hæren havde arresteret en del indf¢dte folk, efter at adskillige soldater var forsvundet. De arresterede blev fængslet og frataget deres forfatningsmæssige rettigheder. Biskoppen og det lokale Center for Menneskerettigheder fors¢gte at beskytte de anklagedes rettigheder, hvorefter de selv blev anklaget af generalen i den nationale [mexicanske] presse. "Nu hvor kirkens hierarki har underskrevet en aftale med den mexicanske regering om gensidig anerkendelse, bliver hvert enkelt stift registreret i hr. Gonzalez' departement som en officiel repræsentant for kirken. Men intet stift i Chiapas har fået lov til at blive registreret, hvilket af mange opfattes som endnu et fors¢g på at isolere biskop Ruiz. På den anden side har den gensidige anerkendelse betydet meget tætte forbindelser mellem biskop Prigione og hr. Gonzalez." Appel om st¢tte Historien slutter med en appel om at st¢tte den modige biskop ved at henvende sig til hr. Gonzalez, biskop Prigione og Vatikanet (pr. telefon, brev eller fax) med f¢lgende krav: 1. Myndighederne skal respektere den indf¢dte befolknings rettigheder; 2. Biskop Ruiz må ikke forf¢lges for sin st¢tte til den indf¢dte befolkning; 3. Ethvert fors¢g på at fjerne biskoppen fra sit stift må h¢re op; 4. Den katolske kirke b¢r ikke deltage i sådanne aktioner, især ikke det internationale år for indf¢dte folk [1993]. Medier var tavse Hvis de store medier benyttede alternative kilder som Peacenet, ville det være sværere for en tyran som Salinas at undertrykke sin befolkning. Måske er det grunden til, at mange medier var tavse om Chiapas og delstatens påtrængende problemer indtil den 1. januar 1994. Dagbladet **Politiken** er et godt eksempel. En s¢gning i dens database POLTXT, der dækker de sidste 20 år (1975-94), giver f¢lgende resultat: (1) Avisen har ikke nævnt hovedpersonerne i denne historie: Biskop Ruiz, hr. Gonzalez eller biskop Prigione. (2) Den har heller ikke nævnt Chiapas, f¢r opr¢ret br¢d ud i delstaten i januar 1994. For medierne er de indianske b¢nder i Chiapas uværdige ofre, der hverken fortjener omtale eller omsorg. Det samme gælder den biskop, der vover at tale deres sag. Mexicos pro-vestlige regime, der har indgået NAFTA-aftalen om ¢konomisk samarbejde med USA og Canada, må (helst) ikke stilles i et dårligt lys. Kilde: "Urgent Action Needed: Mexican Bishop, Defender of Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to be Sacked," Peacenet, 28. oktober 1993 (carnet.mexnews). Efterskrift: Her i 1994 bliver biskoppen pludselig omtalt i medierne. Jens Lohmann nævner ham i **Information** (4. januar). Den britiske radio BBC World Service nævner ham i programmet **Newshour** (10. januar). Og Anne M. S¢rensen nævner ham i **Politiken** (11. januar). Tekster om opstanden i Chiapas Hentet fra InterNet Copyright 1994 The Financial Times Limited; Financial Times January 5, 1994, Wednesday SECTION: Pg. 4 HEADLINE: Peasant army embarrasses Mexico: The insurrection in Chiapas may alter government policy BYLINE: By DAMIAN FRASER The attack by up to a thousand armed peasants on four Mexican towns in the southern state of Chiapas presents the government of President Carlos Salinas with an acute political problem. Despite the negligible military threat from the rebels, who were last night reported to be retreating, the uprising comes at a time when the government is keen to project Mexico as a peaceful and stable country ready to become a member of the first world of rich nations. The insurrection offers a very different image, and underscores the social and political difficulties ahead as Mexico joins the North American Free Trade Agreement. The troubles coincide with the beginning of the campaign to elect Mr Salinas's successor this August. If the violence continues, Mr Luis Donaldo Colosio, the ruling Institutional Revolutionary party's candidate, may have to go further in making social development rather than economic reform the key element of his political platform. The uprising has already led to nearly 90 deaths, and countless more victims have been wounded. The rebels have ceded control of three of the four towns seized on New Year's Day - San Cristobal, Las Margaritas and Ococingo - while reporters visiting Altamirano, which had been held until early yesterday, said they saw no sign of them. Known as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, the guerrillas declared war on the government on behalf of the country's indigenous people. They said they timed the New Year's Day insurrection to coincide with the formal enactment of Nafta, a treaty they said would be a death sentence for natives. Their fight was for 'work, land, housing, food, health care, education, independence, freedom, democracy, justice and peace'. Most of the rebels are poor Maya natives from the region, although some of the leaders are reported to be from the centre of the country. They appear well-financed and organised, suggesting perhaps links with drug or arms smugglers. The government quickly painted them as radical groups with little popular base or support, and bent on violence at no cost. An official said they were supported by Guatemalan guerrillas and other Central Americans, and had ties to the leftist clergy in the state. However, government critics see the violence as the product of the extreme poverty and repression afflicting Chiapas for centuries. It is by some measures Mexico's poorest state, with lowest levels of installed electricity, literacy and school attendance rates in the country. The state is dominated by political bosses who belong to the PRI, and has one of the worst records of human rights abuses by the police and army. Disputes over land have turned into violent clashes between poor peasants and the rich landowners who control the economy of the state. Last year the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, an independent US organisation, accused Mexico's military of torturing indigenous peoples in the state. Other reports by Amnesty International and Americas Watch have catalogued similar abuses. The Minnesota report concluded: 'The lawless practices of the Mexican military have been increasingly tolerated at the highest levels of Mexican government.' The charges were denied by the government-controlled Human Rights Commission, but have long been made by the local Catholic Church, which actively supports the rights of natives. While Mr Salinas's economic reforms have made many Mexicans better off, they have yet to improve the lot of the rural poor, most of whom are found in southern states such as Chiapas. According to the government statistics institute and the United Nations, the number of people living in extreme poverty in rural areas increased from 6.7m in 1984 to 8.4m in 1989 and 8.8m in 1992. During the past four years the government has poured billions of dollars into the Solidarity anti-poverty programme, of which Chiapas has been the biggest recipient. However, this programme has not been able to offset the impact of the removal of agricultural and other subsidies, and the decline in prices of products such as coffee. The opposition to Nafta reflects a widely held view that the south of Mexico is unlikely to benefit as much as the north or the centre. Many Chiapas workers live off corn they produce, or on coffee farms. Under Nafta, Mexico will gradually open up to corn imports, and demand for farm labour is expected by most economists to fall sharply. The government's immediate response to such problems is to pour more money into the state. The social development minister said on Monday the government would establish new programmes to address the problems of the region. It remains to be seen whether such spending will be sufficient, or if a broader political solution to the rights of indigenous peoples is necessary. * * * -------------------------------------------------------------- CHIAPAS STATE -------------------------------------------------------------- It is one of Mexico's least-developed and most violence-prone -------------------------------------------------------------- It has only 4 per cent of the nation's population but 25 per cent of its land disputes -------------------------------------------------------------- About 30 per cent of its 3.2m residents are illiterate; one in four speaks an indigenous language but not Spanish -------------------------------------------------------------- About 20 per cent of children do not attend school, partly because not enough teachers speak both Spanish and indigenous languages; roads are scarce and bad -------------------------------------------------------------- The state has been made even poorer and less stable by thousands of undocumented central American refugees trying to reach the US -------------------------------------------------------------- Success in winning converts by both Roman Catholics and Protestants, the latter of whom were encouraged by the authorities in the 1940s to counter Catholic power, has exacerbated tensions: village leaders have expelled thousands of converts, accusing them of undermining Mayan traditions -------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Associated Press -------------------------------------------------------------- * * * * The following is the full text of the declaration from the Lacandon jungle by the Zapatista National Liberation Army: TODAY WE SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO: MEXICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS: We are a product of 500 years of struggle: first against slavery, then during the War of Independence against Spain led by insurgents, then to avoid being absorbed by North American imperialism, then to promulgate our constitution and expel the French empire from our soil, and later the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz denied us the just application of the Reform laws and the people rebelled and leaders like Villa and Zapata emerged, poor men just like us. We have been denied the most elemental preparation so they can use us as cannon fodder and pillage the wealth of our country. They don't care that we have nothing, absolutely nothing, not even a roof over our heads, no land, no work, no health care, no food nor education. Nor are we able to freely and democratically elect our political representatives, nor is there inde- pendence from foreigners, nor is there peace nor justice for ourselves and our children. But today, we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We are the inheritors of the true builders of our nation. The dispossessed, we are millions and we thereby call upon our brothers and sisters to join this struggle as the only path, so that we will not die of hunger due to the insatiable ambition of a 70 year dictatorship led by a clique of traitors that represent the most conservative and sell-out groups. They are the same ones that opposed Hidalgo and Morelos, the same ones that betrayed Vicente Guerrero, the same ones that sold half our country to the foreign invader, the same ones that imported a European prince to rule our country, the same ones that formed the "scientific" Porfirsta dictatorship, the same ones that opposed the Petroleum Expropriation, the same ones that massacred the railroad workers in 1958 and the students in 1968, the same ones the today take everything from us, absolutely everything. To prevent the continuation of the above and as our last hope, after having tried to utilize all legal means based on our Constitution, we go to our Constitution, to apply Article 39 which says: "National Sovereignty essentially and originally resides in the people. All political power emanates from the people and its purpose is to help the people. The people have, at all times, the inalienable right to alter or modify their form of government." Therefore, according to our constitution, we declare the following to the Mexican federal army, the pillar of the Mexican dictatorship that we suffer from, monopolized by a one-party system and led by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the maximum and illegitimate federal executive that today holds power. According to this Declaration of War, we ask that other powers of the nation advocate to restore the legitimacy and the stability of the nation by overthrowing the dictator. We also ask that international organizations and the International Red Cross watch over and regulate our battles, so that our efforts are carried out while still protecting our civilian population. We declare now and always that we are subject to the Geneva Accord, forming the EZLN as our fighting arm of our liberation struggle. We have the Mexican people on our side, we have the beloved tri-colored flag highly respected by our insurgent fighters. We use black and red in our uniform as our symbol of our working people on strike. Our flag carries the following letters, "EZLN," Zapatista National Liberation Army, and we always carry our flag into combat. Beforehand, we refuse any effort to disgrace our just cause by accusing us of being drug traffickers, drug guerrillas, thieves, or other names that might by used by our enemies. Our struggle follows the constitution which is held high by its call for justice and equality. Therefore, according to this declaration of war, we give our military forces, the EZLN, the following orders: First: Advance to the capital of the country, overcoming the Mexican federal army, protecting in our advance the civilian population and permitting the people in the liberated area the right to freely and democratically elect their own administrative authorities. Second: Respect the lives of our prisoners and turn over all wounded to the International Red Cross. Third: Initiate summary judgements against all soldiers of the Mexican federal army and the political police that have received training or have been paid by foreigners, accused of being traitors to our country, and against all those that have repressed and treated badly the civil population and robbed or stolen from or attempted crimes against the good of the people. Fourth: Form new troops with all those Mexicans that show their interest in joining our struggle, including those that, being enemy soldiers, turn themselves in without having fought against us, and promise to take orders from the General Command of the Zapatista National Liberation Army. Fifth: We ask for the unconditional surrender of the enemy's head- quarters before we begin any combat to avoid any loss of lives. Sixth: Suspend the robbery of our natural resources in the areas controlled by the EZLN. To the People of Mexico: We, the men and women, full and free, are conscious that the war that we have declared is our last resort, but also a just one. The dictators are applying an undeclared genocidal war against our people for many years. Therefore we ask for your participa- tion, your decision to support this plan that struggles for work, land, housing, food, health care, education, independence, freedom, democra- cy, justice and peace. We declare that we will not stop fighting until the basic demands of our people have been met by forming a government of our country that is free and democratic. JOIN THE INSURGENT FORCES OF THE ZAPATISTA NATIO- NAL LIBERATION ARMY. General Command of the EZLN 1993 * * * * * This is a short summary of the latest in Chiapas... - Jan. 3rd. The Chiapas' State secretary of Civil protection informed that there was knowledge of some groups involved in illegal activities such as traffic of weapons. She mentioned that the authorities were even aware of the existence of training camps for over 6 months. However, she didn't answer any questions from the press after reading this report. - Jan.3rd. Due to the last attack of the rebels, the supplies' stock of the Mexican Army (MA) was destroyed and therefore the civilians are contributing with food, water and other supplies for the support of the MA soldiers. - Jan.3rd. A second attack was thrown at the 31st military zone by the rebels. A report from the SDN (Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional) states that on the first hours of Monday, an undetermined number of rebel effectives attempted to take the military camp but were repelled by the troops stationed there. SDN reports no casualties but 5 (?) wounded, however, no account of casualties or wounded is given from the rebels since they used the strategy of collecting their deads as well as their wounded. - Jan. 3rd. A photographer from "La Jornada" is wounded by unknown attackers while travelling with fellow reporters to the town of Altamirano. - Jan. 3rd. Rebels retreat from occupied Ocasingo (sp?) and Margari- tas, leaving just Altamirano taken. - Jan.3rd. The State Governor calls for self control on the people of the state. "Rebellion is almost controlled and it has not spread, nor will it later, to other towns and least to other states". - Jan.3rd. President Salinas offers to negotiate terms with the rebels and admits there's much to do in Chiapas. However, a report is read regarding the goverment deeds (the good ones only of course) in Chiapas during the last 5 years: 2 hospitals built, schools, roads, Solidaridad Funds made available and credits under word given... among other things. - Jan.4th. Gun fighting still going on between the Mexican army (MA) and the rebels. Casualties so far are unaccounted, but easily pass 60 dead. SDN officially reports only 2 more soldiers dead though. - Jan.4th. Roads are closed by the MA between the affected areas (Margaritas, Ocasingo (sp?), Altamirano San Cristobal). The Civilians are upset since they are not allowed to travel between towns. This measure is taken "for their own safety" reports SDN. SOURCES: La Jornada, NotiMex, ASIR Radio, SDN Official Reports Copyright 1994 Agence France Presse Agence France Presse January 03, 1994 Mexico-uprising-scene 2-last SECTION: International news HEADLINE: Mexico-uprising There had been reports of a small uprising in Chiapas in May, when army troops put down a tiny rebellion. The Defense Ministry declined to release much information then, saying only that "an unknown number of individuals, presumably involved in criminal activities, attacked regular troops on the outskirts of Ocosingo, killing two soldiers and injuring others." Ocosingo was one of five towns taken by the Zapatista rebels on Saturday. The leftist magazine Proceso then accused the government of trying to hide signs of guerrilla activity in Chiapas. Authorities arrested eight Mexican Indians and two Guatemalans in connection with the attack, but reports of rebel activity soon dropped out of the news despite sources saying that they had found large caliber weaponry and texts on military strategy. Officials of the five towns attacked on January 1 have said that they knew of armed groups in the region for years. Father Mardonio Morales, a Jesuit priest who has worked with Indians here for 30 years, told Proceso in September that rebels had been in the area for "at least eight years." Rebel leader commandante Marcos told reporters Saturday that his group had been active for 10 years, and had what he called two extremist factions: the Emiliano Zapata Peasant Organization and the Emiliano Zapata Independent Peasant National Alliance. Copyright 1994 Agence France Presse Agence France Presse January 03, 1994 Mexico-uprising-scene sched-1 SECTION: Domestic, non-Washington, general news item HEAD- LINE: In Mexico-uprising, The peasants who launched a rebellion in southern Mexico over the weekend say they have had it with poverty, and the high levels of malnutrition and illiteracy that plague the largely Indian rural population. "We are the products of 500 years of struggle ... (against) those who have denied us the most basic education, who use us as cannon fodder and take the wealth of our fatherland without caring that we have nothing, absolutely nothing," the Zapatista National Liberation Army said in its first statement. "But, we are today saying 'Enough!'," the statement continued, "We are the millions of dispossessed and we are calling on our brothers to join with us as the only way to avoid dying of hunger because of the insatiable ambition of a 70-year dictatorship." Named for land reform advocate and civil war general Emiliano Zapata, who fought under the banner "Land and Liberty" and was slain in 1919, the rebel organization is made up primarily of Indian peasants so outside the greater Mexican society that they speak no Spanish, according to both rebel and government sources. The 1990 official census found that about 26 percent of the 3.2 million people living in the state, which borders Guatemala, speak no Spanish. The descendents of Maya conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century, the territory is now split among tribes who call themselves Tzetzal, Tzotzil, Chole, Tojolobal, Zoque, Mame and Kanjobal. According to official figures, about half of the 85 million Mexicans nationwide are poor and about 25 percent live in extreme poverty. Most of these are Indians. In addition to high rates of unemployment and illiteracy, peasants in Chiapas are jailed at a disproportionately high rate, often over clashes with large landholders over land rights. Alcoholism is another serious issue. The government newspaper El Nacional acknowledged that poverty was a problem in Chiapas. "No one can ignore the difficult conditions that many Mexicans have faced in Chiapas for a long time. There is poverty and people marginalized because of long-ago problems stemming from local chieftains and injustices," the editorial said. Copyright 1994 Agence France Presse Agence France Presse January 03, 1994 Mexico-uprising 3rdlead-2-last SECTION: International news HEADLINE: Mexican rebels press on with insurgency; toll at 59 dead BYLINE: Gerardo Tena DATELINE: ALTAMIRANO, Mexico, Jan 3 Fighting raged Monday in southeastern Mexican towns held since the weekend by peasant Indians who say they are fed up with poverty, while the president said he would tolerate no insurgencies. With the official death toll at 59 and more casualty reports coming in, President Carlos Salinas took a tough line in his first public comment on the three-day-old uprising in impoverished Chiapas state. "In Mexico, there is no place or time for those who do not resolve disputes within the law," he said in a statement. "Violent acts delay a real solution to social needs." The previously unknown Zapatista National Liberation Army took five towns in its first attack on New Year's Day and continued to hold at least three on Monday, including Las Margaritas where 80 guerrillas guarded the town hall and main roads. Fighting began Sunday and raged into midday Monday in Ocosingo, an isolated town of 30,000 populated mainly by descendents of the Maya. Rebels continued to dominate the town and broadcast on local radio. Insurgents at the main market, in homes and on streets held off government troops, some travelling in tanks. Three army units from the neighboring state of Tabasco were brought in to help retake Ocosingo. In Mexico City the defense ministry acknowledged two deaths among its ranks in Ocosingo, where rebels lost 27 of their troops. Rebels earlier said they suffered at least 50 dead there. The ministry raised the overall death toll to at least 59 --eight soldiers, three civilians, 24 police and 24 rebels. The Zapatista rebels have rejected the Chiapas state govern- ment's calls for talks, saying they would press on with their demands for land, work, and better health care and education. Television footage of the carnage showed Mexicans scenes virtually unknown here in the past 20 years: bullet-ridden bodies lying abandoned on the road, debris from explosions, burned out buses peppered with bullet holes and the incessant coming and going of Mexican troops. AFP Fighting between Mexican armed forces and peasant rebels continued with clashes in Ocosingo reportedly leaving a death toll of more than 50 Monday, in addition to an official weekend death toll of 57. The Zapatista National Liberation Army began its attacks on January 1 with assaults on the towns of Altamira, Ocosingo, Chalan, Las Margaritas and San Cristobal de las Casas, the second largest city in the state and the former state capital. The official death toll of 57 includes three civilians, 24 police, six soldiers and 24 rebels. Chiapas state Government Minister Rafael Gonzalez acknowledged Monday, however, that the civilian death toll "must be much higher." Sporadic clashes continued Monday in Ocosingo, a small, isolated town of 30,000 just 30 kilometers (20 miles) from San Cristobal populated by descendents of the Maya called the Tzeltel. Rebels said they suffered at least 50 dead. Rural highways and streets in the town were flooded with troops, with rebels having the advantage of being able to hide in the thick vegetation. Ocosingo's main products are lumber, gathering native chicle or gum and hunting. Television footage showed Mexicans sights virtually unknown here in the past 20 years: bullet-ridden bodies tossed hither and yon, the remains of bomb attacks, burned buses peppered with bullet holes and the incessant coming and going of Mexican troops with arms at the ready. The army's last major clashes with rebels came in the 1970s when it fought guerrillas in the state of Guerrero. That uprising was crushed with no official death toll ever released. AFP Calm returned to the colonial city of San Cristobal on Monday, although most stores remained shuttered for fear of new violence. Tourists to San Cristobal had been evacuated by the Human Rights Commission on Sunday. The site of the first Spanish settlement in Chiapas, where colonizers had an extremely difficult time subduing the Maya, San Cristobal's charm and strong Indian influence has made it increasingly popular with travellers in the past two decades. A reporter from the leftist daily La Jornada was injured in a firefight on the road out of town. The road has been held by army troops since Zapatista rebels abandoned the colonial city on Sunday and move into tiny villages nearby, including Oxchuc, Huistan and San Joaquin. The guerillas held Oxchuc on Monday. The army's last major clashes with rebels came in the 1970s when it fought guerrillas in the state of Guerrero. That uprising was crushed with no official death toll ever released. The Zapatista rebels took their name from Emiliano Zapata, a Zapotec Indian and land reform advocate who led a rebel army when Mexico's civil war began in 1910. He was assassinated in 1919. Rebel fighters were suprisingly well-armed with R-15 rifles, auto- matic weapons and grenades, although a few had nothing more sophisticated than machetes or sticks. They have also been using sophisticated radio equipment. In the towns they occupied, rebels burned government buildings on the main squares and local headquarters of groups such as ranching organizations. They also looted drug stores and freed some 200 prisoners, many of them Indians jailed in land disputes. Rebels have denounced the "dictatorial" government of President Salinas, and demanded programs to fight poverty in the Indian population, where malnutrition and illiteracy are widespread. The official news agency Notimex also reported that the guerrillas had kidnapped the former Chiapas governor, his wife and his brother, accusing the ex-official of harassing Chiapas Indians. AFP Rebels held all or part of five towns Monday on the third day of a violent Indian peasant uprising in an impoverished area of southeastern Mexico, officials said. With the official death toll at 59 and more casualty reports coming in, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari denounced the violence and called for dialogue in his first public comment on the insurrection in Chiapas state. "In Mexico we will always seek the rule of law, peaceful dialogue, and in particular the defense of human rights," he said in a statement issued in Mexico City. "Violent acts delay a real solution to social needs." The so-called Zapatista National Liberation Army launched a New Year's Day offensive designed to draw attention to their poverty and what they term government repression of indigenous peoples. On Sunday they left the town of San Cristobal de las Casas amid heavy fighting with army troops, and also attacked a nearby army base. The secretary general of the Chiapas government, Rafael Gonzalez, said rebels abandoned Chanal and Las Margaritas, but controlled all or part of five other towns and villages --Ocosingo, where heavy fighting was reported, as well as Altamirano, Oxchuc, Huiztan, Cuxulja. In Ocosingo, home to 30,000 people, mainly descendents of the Maya, rebels continued to dominate the town and broadcast on local radio. Insurgents at the main market, in homes and on streets held off government troops and tanks. Three army units from the neighboring state of Tabasco were brought in to help retake Ocosingo. In Mexico City the defense ministry acknowledged two deaths among its ranks in Ocosingo, where rebels lost 27 of their guerrillas. The ministry put the overall death toll at least 59 -- eight soldiers, three civilians, 24 police and 24 rebels. But other sources said the toll was probably higher because the rebels collected the bodies of their fallen. AFP Armed Indian peasants battled government troops for a second day in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas Sunday in an uprising that has left at least 57 people dead, officials said. Thirty of the fatalities -- 24 Indians and six soldiers --occurred in a rebel assault on a military base near this town popular with tourists and in a clash on a nearby road, the defense ministry said in a statement issued in Mexico City. Bloody clashes between rebels and government forces were also reported in the town of Ocosingo, located 35 kilometers (24 miles) from here, with unconfirmed reports of 50 dead. On the road, which leads out of San Cristobal, the bodies of 14 Indians were seen lying near a mini-van in which they had been riding. Its windows had been shot out, and at least 50 soldiers lined the road after the clash, responding to guerrilla gunfire from a nearby hill. Ten of the victims were wearing combat fatigues, and the rest wore civilian clothes. Tourists from Europe and South America scrambled to get out of San Cristobal, located 700 kilometers (430 miles) southeast of Mexico City, as military helicopters flew overhead. The town's two radio stations closed down, fearing they would be seized by guerrillas. The official news agency Notimex reported that the guerrillas kidnapped a former Chiapas governor, General Absalon Castellanos, and his wife, accusing the general of harassing Chiapas Indians. Earlier a government official who refused to be identified said two days of violence in five towns had left 22 policemen and four civilians dead in those towns. The official offered no casualty breakdown. The rebellion began Saturday when several hundred members of a previously unknown group named for Indian leader and revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata -- the Zapatista National Liberation Army -- seized San Cristobal and four other towns to draw attention to the Indians' poverty and what they term repression of native peoples. Their attacks, in which they seized town halls and other govern- ment buildings, marked Mexico's first organized rebel activity in some 20 years. Three Roman Catholic bishops in Chiapas offered Sunday to mediate between the Mexican government and the Indian rebels. AFP The group takes its name from Emiliano Zapata, a peasant who rose to lead one of the rebel armies when Mexico's civil war began in 1911. A fervent advocate of land reform, he was doubled-crossed and assassinated in 1919. In the towns that it occupied, rebels burned the central government buildings on the main squares and local headquarters of groups such as ranching organizations, looted drug stores and freed some 200 prisoners many of whom were Indians jailed in land disputes. In Ocosingo, they occupied the local radio station and began transmitting proclamations. Rebels denounced the "dictatorial" government of President Carlos Salinas, and demanded "truly clean" elections and programs to fight poverty in the Indian population, where malnutrition and illiteracy are common. On Saturday, the army did not intercede. Mexico City sent in troops and arms, while the state government urged talks and negotiation. On Sunday, rebels left San Cristobal and moved into tiny villages nearby, including Oxchuc, Huistan and San Joaquin. The first fighting broke out after a surprise retreat from San Cristobal. **************** (Pero puedo rentarles algunas...:-S ) Xref: uts soc.culture.mexican:16731 soc.culture.latin-america:17457 Path: uts!sunic!pipex!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!caen!usenet.- coe.montana.edu!ne-tnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!stei- n1.u.washington.edu!sgastete From: sgastete@stein1.u.washington.edu (Sabina Astete) Newsgroups: soc.culture.mexican,soc.culture.latin- america Subject: More on Chiapas: The British Broadcasting Corpora- tion Date: 5 Jan 1994 06:42:13 GMT Organization: University of Washington, Seattle Lines: 305 Message-ID: <2gdng5$46b@news.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: stein.u.washington.edu Copyright 1994 The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Summary of World Broadcasts January 4, 1994, Tuesday SECTION: Part 5 Africa and Latin America; LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN; MEXICO; AL/1886/L ; HEADLINE: [1]; Defence Secretariat reports 29 dead in attacks on military installations SOURCE: (a) XEW TV, Mexico City, in Spanish 0430 gmt 3 Jan 94 Text, as broadcast, of "Bulletin No 1" issued by the Defence Secretariat in Mexico City on 2nd January; from an XEW "Special Report" read by the announcer (AL/1885 L/3 [5]) In the light of the events of 30th December 1993 in the town of San Miguel, followed by the events that took place in the predawn hours of 1st January 1994 in which groups of outlaws occupied Ococingo, Altamirano, Las Margaritas and San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas State, all military personnel assigned to the Seventh Military Region were ordered to remain in their barracks. They were to await the results of possible talks led by the state government directed at getting the members of the offensive armed groups to return to lawfulness. At 0700 [1300 gmt] today, after leaving San Cristobal, unidentified troops surrounded and attacked the military camp housing the headquarters of the 31st Military Zone, located approxi- mately 10 km southeast of the aforementioned town. At 1330 [1930 gmt] the attacks by said armed groups against the military camp continued. The federal attorney-general delegate was summoned and ordered to file a report on the events as soon as possible. Copyright 1994 The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Summary of World Broadcasts January 4, 1994, Tuesday SECTION: Part 5 Africa and Latin America; LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN; MEXICO; AL/1886/L ; HEADLINE: [2]; Government Secretariat issues bulletin on situation in Chiapas SOURCE: XEW TV, Mexico City, in Spanish 0501 gmt 3 Jan 94 Text, as broadcast, of bulletin issued by the Government Secretari- at in Mexico City on 2nd January; from an XEW "Special Report" read by the announcer Today the armed group that had occupied various municipalities in the region of Ococingo in Chiapas abandoned the city of San Cristobal de las Casas. The situation is returning to normal in that city under the protection of the army. Meanwhile, during its withdrawal, the attacking group has clashed with soldiers and harassed other towns, causing the loss of human life and diverse damage. As of this afternoon, the attitude of the federal government and a balance of the events that have taken place in the first two days of the year in the Ococingo region, Chiapas, can be summarized as follows: On 1st January the federal government decided to place priority on the protection of human lives. That is why the army did not act when the attacking armed group occupied the city of San Cristobal de las Casas. Not only did the security forces refrain from acting, but the government made numerous calls for dialogue and a search for peaceful solutions to the situation created by the armed group. Both the federal government and Chiapas regional and municipal authorities have reiterated their willingness to hold a political dialogue with all organizations and representations of civilian society to return the situation in the region to normality. During the second day of disturbances today, after the attackers left San Cristobal de las Casas, the federal government ordered, on the one hand, that the National Defence Secretariat take measures to defend its installations and on the other hand, at the request of social groups of the different municipalities of the region and municipal and state authorities, that the National Defence Secretariat itself reinforce protection and security of towns in the area to prevent possible new attacks by the armed group. In the takeover of the cities of Ococingo, Altamirano, Abasolo, Chanal del Carmen, Las Margaritas and San Cristobal de las Casas, the attackers killed 27 people, 24 of whom were local policemen and three civilians. Meanwhile, during clashes between the armed group and the army, six soldiers and 24 attackers were killed. Copyright 1994 The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Summary of World Broadcasts January 4, 1994, Tuesday SECTION: Part 5 Africa and Latin America; LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN; MEXICO; AL/1886/L ; HEADLINE: [3]; EZLN rebels occupy towns on border, 57 reported dead, former governor kidnapped SOURCE: Mexico City, in Spanish 0800 gmt 3 Jan 94; Mexico City, in Spanish 1300 gmt 3 Jan 94; Paris, in Spanish 1555 gmt 2 Jan 94; Hamburg, in Spanish 1948 gmt 2 Jan 94 Editorial report (AL/1885 L/3 [6]) Two days after the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) had occupied five municipalities in Chiapas State (Ococingo, Altamirano, Las Margaritas, San Cristobal de las Casas and Chanal del Carmen) Galavision TV (Mexico City, in Spanish 0800 gmt 3 Jan 94) said that 57 people had been reported dead so far: 24 members of the local police, three civilians, six members of the army and 24 rebels. An EZLN offensive reported by Radio ACIR (Mexico City, in Spanish 1300 gmt 3 Jan 94) resulted in the kidnapping of former Chiapas Governor-General Absalon Castellanos when "approximately 40 heavily armed men" arrived at his ranch in Margaritas municipality. The radio also said that the judicial police and the General Secretariat of Protection and Highways in Mexico City had launched "a special security operation" which included heightened security at government facilities, media installations and embassies. "This is being done as a precautionary measure to prevent any surprise takeover" , the radio said. EFE news agency (Madrid, in Spanish) reported (0000 gmt 3 Jan 94) that the Mexican army was fighting the EZLN rebels in Ococingo, and that the EZLN had occupied the towns of Oxohuc, Huixtan and Guadalupe Tepeyac along the Guatemalan border on 2nd January. On the morning of the 2nd, the EZLN "unexpectedly" withdrew from the main square of San Cristobal de las Casas, Radio ACIR (1631 gmt 2 Jan 94) reported, and everything "seemed to have returned to normal" in San Cristobal. However the rebels were occupying the state radio station in Ococingo and were using it to broadcast their ideas, the radio said. The radio's reporter in Tuxtla Gutierrez said that there was no information on the identity of the EZLN leaders, but they were " not peasants, but rather well-educated people. Their speeches are too well-written. Many people believe there are Guatemalans among the leaders because of the accent, among other things" . The reporter also said that the bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas had been accused of involvement in the incidents. AFP news agency (Paris, in Spanish 1555 gmt 2 Jan 94) said that before the rebels left San Cristobal, they painted graffiti on the wall saying they were on their way to the town of Rancho Nuevo. Other graffiti said "We do not want NAFTA. We want freedom and a legitimate government." DPA news agency (Hamburg, in Spanish 1948 gmt 2 Jan 94), citing a Mexican radio station, reported that EZLN rebels clashed with Mexican army forces when they tried to attack a military base in Rancho Nuevo . The clash occurred near the army's 80th Infantry Battalion base, leaving "various dead" . AFP confirmed (2129 gmt 2 Jan 94) that 14 rebels had died in a clash with the army near San Cristobal on the road to Ococingo. Hundreds of people could be seen trying to leave San Cristobal, including "dozens" of French, Spanish, Argentine and Brazilian tourists, the agency said. AFP said in a later report (2342 gmt) that two rebels died during an attack on the prison in San Cristobal, where the EZLN freed 179 inmates. "Unofficial sources" told EFE (2116 gmt 2 Jan 94) that the rebels had dynamited two bridges in the region of Chiberos and confronted government troops there for a second time. Copyright 1994 The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Summary of World Broadcasts January 4, 1994, Tuesday SECTION: Part 5 Africa and Latin America; LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN; MEXICO; AL/1886/L ; HEADLINE: [4]; Bishops appeal to EZLN rebels to end violence, accept mediation SOURCE: Radio ACIR, Mexico City, in Spanish 1512 gmt 2 Jan 94 Excerpts from report ... Given the situation, the bishops of Chiapas State issued an appeal to the EZLN [Zapatista National Liberation Army] forces to accept the bishops'mediation in an effort to restore harmony and social tranquillity in the municipalities involved in the conflict. Furthermore, it is appropriate to mention that contacts are being maintained between federal government officials and state officials in an effort to quickly resolve the situation... A report issued early this morning by Notimex [Mexican news agency] reports that, after stating the need to contribute their efforts to prevent a possible confrontation involving the people of Chiapas, the bishops of Chiapas agreed to take part as mediators to restore harmony and peace in the municipalities involved in the conflict. A communique issued by the diocese of Tuxtla Gutierrez and Tapachula, Chiapas State, stated that: In an effort to create condi- tions that will allow a fruitful dialogue, we issue an appeal to the so-called EZLN, urging it to accept four points. The bishops request an end to violence, respect for people's lives, and the release of kidnapped people. They urge them to put down their weapons, respect the law and human rights and to take part in a dialogue to resolve social problems. The bishops' document mentions that, in the event that their proposal is accepted, within the next 48 hours the bishops promise to ask the government to establish an office to handle social problems in the region. The bishops said they had been trying to contact the bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, Samuel Ruiz Garcia, since early this morning. Their efforts have failed so far, but they add they can count on the solidarity of this diocese's pastor. The bishops of Chiapas note that their agreement to serve as mediators was prompted by requests they received from different social groups in Chiapas to search for a solution to the problems that have arisen in San Cristobal de las Casas, Ococingo, Las Margaritas and Altamirano. Copyright 1994 The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Summary of World Broadcasts January 4, 1994, Tuesday SECTION: Part 5 Africa and Latin America; LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN; MEXICO; AL/1886/L ; HEADLINE: [5]; Government undersecretary interviewed on Chiapas incidents SOURCE: XEW TV, Mexico City, in Spanish 0456 gmt 3 Jan 94 Text of recorded interview with Ricardo Garcia Villalobos, undersecretary of government, at the Government Secretariat by an unidentified reporter on 2nd January, place not given; from an XEW " Special Report" [Reporter] Would you give us a rundown on the incidents in Chiapas State over the last two days? [Villalobos] Yesterday, 1st January, the Government Secretariat issued a news bulletin. I would like to quote parts of that bulletin. Throughout 1st January the Mexican army and police refrained from taking any action whatsoever despite the fact that an armed group had taken over several towns in the area of Ococingo, Chiapas. This armed group is endangering the lives of the residents of these communities, and consequently the state and municipal authorities issue a call for order to be re-established, for the members of the group to desist and for a dialogue to be held to find a solution to this situation, which is painful for all Mexicans. Today, which is the second day of the incident, the armed group left the town of San Cristobal de las Casas. The group then carried out an act of aggression by heading towards a military installation and engaging in a clash with the Mexican army. The military authorities have already reported on this incident. The authorities and the residents themselves of the town of San Cristobal de las Casas and its environs would like this armed group to cease its activities and participate in a dialogue with the authorities. There is a broad offer from all three levels of government - municipal, state and federal - for the lines of communication to be opened to respond to the specific demands that the group has been making. On earlier occasions talks have been held with groups from this area. Important steps were taken in August regarding a number of requests that were made quite some time ago, and we believe that substantial progress has been made in the area over the past five years. Nonetheless, the invitation stands for communication to begin with authorities at any of the three levels of government. This is a request from the people of Chiapas, and the municipal, state and federal authorities are heeding this request with great interest. [Q] In the last few hours there was an exchange of gunfire between the two parties. How many casualties have been registered so far? [A] Several casualty counts have been provided over the past two days . I would like to refer to some of them. So far 26 policemen and civilians have been killed; one Red Cross volunteer was tortured and killed; 24 civilians were wounded; and one woman was raped. Regarding the clash you mention, which I presume is the clash with the Mexican army in the area of Rancho Nuevo, the army itself has already reported that five soldiers were killed and six were wounded. The bodies of 24 rebels were found, as well as a large amount of materiel that the rebels had abandoned. Among the abandoned materiel there were weapons of the type used by the armies of several countries, as well as non-military issue firearms, knives and other articles such as two tear gas grenades. This was the result of two days of actions in that area. [Q] What message can the federal government give to the residents of Chiapas at this difficult time? [A] This is an unusual situation, of course, so I believe the people of Chiapas know that they should remain calm. Civilian organizations as well as the municipal authorities have asked for more direct action by the Mexican army to prevent other possible clashes. Consequently, the people should remain calm and follow any instructions given to protect them. We hope that this situation will be resolved shortly. [Q] Would you like to add anything more, sir? [A] I would like to ask those who have been carrying out these unusual acts to cease. * * * * * Articles from Proceso and El Diario. Unofficial translations provided by observer delegation sent to Chiapas by THE FUNDING EXCHANGE and THE CENTER FOR CONSTI- TUTIONAL RIGHTS Posted on New York Transfer by Weekly News Update on Nicaragua and the Americas c/o Nicara- gua Solidarity Network 339 Lafayette Street #8 New York, NY 10012 212-674-9499 URGENT: to those concerned about Chiapas, Mexico January 13, 1994 Because of the heavy blanket of disinformation and silence maintained by the Mexican government and echoed by the U.S. government included are 5 translated articles from the Mexican publication Proceso in its latest issue. These translations are not official and should not be represented as such. Also included is a press release from the Center for Constitutional Rights about the human rights abuses discovered in this area, and a narration of the findings of another human rights group which includes Medea Benjamin from Global Exchange in San Francisco, California. This is just an attempt to get out necessary information to those concerned about events in Chiapas, Mexico. Please distribute to all those organizing actions. Please add to demands; 1. The immediate intervention of the International Red Cross so that further violence against the civilian population cannot continue. Communication we have from the area, is that in spite of the "declared" ceasefire, the bombing of civilian populations, and lack of access to the area continues. PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY. With every minute that goes by more violence is inflicted on thise communities. Write to the International Red Cross at: International Red Cross 7 Avenue de La Paix Geneva, Switzerland ------------------------ Elly Robbins - Consultant for International Services (212)875-2130 -30- INTERVIEW WITH COMANDANTE MARCOS Translated from Proceso, No 897, January 10 1994 San Cristobal Mexico - He is among the few whose face is covered and is armed with a machine gun. He is not indigenous. While he speaks, he pulls a pipe from a pouch, puts it in his mouth through the opening of the ski mask, but does not light it. he expresses himself with the clarity of the intellectual accustomed to communicating with the poor. He is surely mexican, but it is not possible to identify the accent. A young woman with Asian eyes in a black ski mask, stands next to him throughout the interview. Comandante Marcos, you occupied San Cristobal on January 1st, who are you? We are part of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and we demand the resignation of the federal government and the formation of a transitional government which convenes free and democratic elections in August of 94. We demand that the major demands of the peasants of Chiapas be met: food, health, education, autonomy and peace. The indigenous people have always lived in a state of war because war has been waged against them and today the war will be in their favor. Whatever the case, we will have the opportunity to die in battle fighting instead of dying of dysentery, as the indigenous people of Chiapas usually die. Do you have relationships with some political organization of peasants? We have no so relationship with any open organization. Our organiza- tion is exclusively armed and clandestine. Were you formed out of nothing? Improvised? We have been preparing ourselves in the mountains for ten years; we are not an improvised movement. We have matured, thought, learned and made this decision. Do you have racial and ethnic demands? The Committee of directors is made up of indigenous tzotziles, tzeltales, choles, tojolabales, mames and zoques, all of the major ethnic groups of Chiapas. They all agree, and apart from democracy and representation, they demand respect, respect which white people have never had for them. Above all in San Cristobal the residents insult and discriminate against them as a daily occurrence, now white people respect the Indians because they see them with guns in their hands. How do you think the government will respond? We do not worry about the response of the government. We worry about the response of the Mexican people. We want to know what this event will provoke, what will move the national consciousness. We hope something moves, not only in the form of armed struggle, but in all forms of struggle. We hope this will put an end to this disguised dictatorship. Don't you have confidence in the PRD as an opposition party in the next elections? We don't distrust the political parties as much as we do the electoral system. The government of Salinas de Gortari is an illegitimate party, product of fraud, and this illegitimate government can only produce illegitimate elections. We want a transitional government and that this government hold new elections--but with a capacity that is genuinely egalitarian, offering the same opportunities to all political parties. In Chiapas, 15,000 Indians per year die of curable diseases. It is a statistic of the same magnitude that the war produced in El Salvador. if a peasant with cholera comes to a rural hospital, they throw him out so no one will say there is cholera in Chiapas. In this movement, the Indians who form part of the Zapatista Army want to first dialogue with their own people. They are the real representatives. Excuse me, but you are not an Indian. You must understand our movement is not Chiapaneco, it is national. There are people like me, others who come from other state, and Chiapanecos who fight in other states. We are Mexicans, that unifies us, as well as the demand for liberty and democracy. We want to elect genuine representatives. But now, aren't you afraid of heavy repression? For the Indians, repression exists for the past 500 years. Maybe you think of repression in terms of that typical of South American govern- ments. but for the Indians, this kind of repression is their daily bread. Ask those who live in the surrounding communities of San Cristobal. What development would you consider a victory? We'd like for others in the country to join this movement. An armed movement? No. We make a broad appeal which we direct towards those who are active in civil, legal, and open popular movements. Why did you choose January 1st to attack San Cristobal? It was the Committee of Directors which decided. It's clear the date is related to NAFTA, , which for the Indians is a death sentence. Once it goes into effect, it means an international massacre. What do you believe the international response will be? Aren't you afraid the United States will intervene like it has in other parts of Latin America? The U.S. used to have the Soviet Union as a pretext, they were afraid of soviet infiltration in our countries. But what can they make of a movement which claims social justice? they can't continue to think we are being manipulated form the outside, or that we are financed by the gold of Moscow, since Moscow no longer exists. Enough with asking Yeltsin. The people in the U.S. should be aware that we struggle for those things that others struggle for. Didn't the people of Germany and Italy rebel against a dictatorship? Does the rebellion of the Mexicans not have the same value? The people in the U.S. have a great deal to do with the reality which you can observe here, with the conditions of misery of the Indians and the great hunger for justice. In mexico, the entire social system is based upon the injustice in its relations with the Indians. The worst thing that can happen to a human being is to be Indian, with all its burden of humiliation, hunger and misery. This is a subversive movement. Our objective is the solution of the principal problems of our country which necessarily intersect with problems of liberty and democracy. That's why we think that the government of Salinas de Gortari is an illegitimate government which can only convene illegitimate elections. The only solution is a call to all citizens and to the House of Deputies and Senators to comply with their patriotic duty and remove Salinas de Gortari and all his cabinet, and to form a transitional government. And that transitional government should call elections, with equal opportunity for all political parties. Based on that, the companeros say, other demands can be negotiated: bread, housing, health, education, land, justice, many problems which, within the contest of indigenous people, are very serious. But the demands for liberty and democracy are being made as a call to all the Mexican Republic, to all the social sectors to participate, not with guns, but with the means which they have. We've been isolated all these years, while the rest of the world rebelled against dictatorships or apparent dictatorships, and this was viewed with logic. While in this country a series of dictatorial measures were being adopted, and no one said anything. We believe there is an international consensus that only the Mexicans were missing, who have suffered under an absolute dictatorship by one party and now by one person, who is Carlos Salinas de Gortari, now through Luis Donaldo Colosio. I think that at the international level they will see that a movement with demands like these is logical. There is not in the movement of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation an ideology perfectly defined, in the sense of being commu- nist or marxist-leninist. There is a common point of connection with the great national problems, which coincide always, for one or the other sector, in a lack of liberty and democracy. In this case, this sector has used up any other method of struggle such as the legal struggle, the popular struggle, the economic projects, the struggle for Sedesol, and it ends following the only method which remains, the armed struggle. But we are open to other tendencies and to other forms of struggle, in the enthusiasm to generate a genuine national and revolutionary movement which reconciles these two fundamental demands, liberty and democracy. On these grounds a movement can be formed which will breath a genuine solution to the economic and social problems of each sector, whether indigenous or peasant, worker, teachers, intellectual, small business owners, of the small and medium- sized industry. The repression to the indigenous population has been present for many years. The indigenous people of Chiapas suffer 15,00 death per year, that no one mourns. The great shame is that they die of curable diseases and this is denied by the department of health. We expect a favorable reaction from Mexican society towards the reasons which give birth to this movement because they are just. You can question the method of struggle, but never its causes. * TRANSLATED FROM EL DIARIO, JANUARY 7TH 1994, PAGE 18 A program for the government which includes distribution of lands, equality for women, urban reform, and improvements for workers was presented by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) in the first number of its publication The Awakening Mexican, which arrived this Thursday to the offices of the AFP in Mexico City. In 20 pages and under the slogan of "Live for the Country or die for liberty", the guerrillas, who have been fighting the army for the past six days in the southern state of Chiapas, proclaim that "we have begun the struggle" to achieve "employment, land, housing, food, health , education, independence, liberty, democracy, justice, and peace". In the bulletin as well the proclamation which launched the military activities on January first, and which give instructions "for the heads and officials of the EZLN" within which is includes the "law of war taxes" which will be charged to the "negotiators or landowners" of the zone in which they operate. The publication describes the regulation which the towns which are "liberated" will have and which include the democratic election of authorities, the control of prices and salaries, the liberation of prisoners, with the exception of those condemned of murder, rape or drug trafficking - the protection of children and old people who are abando- ned and the demand that foreign companies pay their workers the same salary they pay in their country of origin. Well-printed and designed and in two colors, the bulletin has as its masthead a photo of Emiliano Zapata, the revolutionary of the beginning of this century who was one of the pillars of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, and also has pictures of the members of the EZLN during their training in jungle regions. "The peoples in struggle against the oppressive government and the great national exploiters and foreigners will have the right to weapons to defend themselves and by obligation will "respond to the calls for help made by authorities who are democratically elected" its pages proclaim. It also says that all politicians will be subject to trials to determine misuse of funds, debts owed by peasants will be liquidated and the individual taking of lands and means of production will not be permitted. The newspapers says the general command of the EZLN is in the Lacandon jungle, where there are armed conflicts in the southern state of Chiapas bordering Guatemala.