Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 01:50:29 -0600 (CST) From: Sendic Estrada Jimenez <sestrada-AT-fcfm.buap.mx> Subject: M-NEWS: Revised EZLN communique 1/8/97 (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 12:29:43 -0500 From: Stefan Wray <sjw210-AT-is8.nyu.edu> Reply-To: media-l-AT-tao.ca Subject: Revised EZLN communique 1/8/97 >Delivered-To: stefanwray-AT-mail.utexas.edu >Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 17:13:00 -0800 (PST) >From: National Commission for Democracy in Mexico <moonlight-AT-igc.apc.org> >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Precedence: bulk >Sender: owner-ncdm-ally-AT-igc.org >Subject: Revised EZLN communique 1/8/97 >To: ncdm-ally-AT-igc.org >X-Mime-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by igc3.igc.apc.org id >RAA16605 >X-Sender: moonlight-AT-pop.igc.org (Unverified) > >COMMUNIQUE FROM THE CCRI-CG OF THE EZLN > >Report on the latest results of the investigation of Acteal >Communique from the Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee >General Command of Zapatista Army of National Liberation >Mexico >To the people of Mexico: >To the peoples and governments of the World: >To the National and International Press: >Brothers and Sisters: > >The EZLN once again says its word in order to inform public opinion about >the latest results of the investigation about the massacre of indigenous >people of Acteal, Chenalho, Chiapas. >First. According to the wounds of some of the survivors the analysis of the >impact on the buildings of Acteal, and ballistic studies called "of effect" >the paramilitaries used weapons of 5.56 millimeters (also known as 0.223 >inches). Thus bullet is also called "soft tip or dumb-dumb". Its >characteristic is that, upon impact with a body, the point bends and begins >to spin, producing an effect similar to the so-called "hollow point". Among >the weapons which us 5.56 MM are the automatic rifle M-16 (AR-15 in its >semi-automatic form), as used by American troops and Vietnam and standard >issue for the "State Public Security Police of Chiapas". >Second. According to radio communications intercepted by the EZLN, the >Secretary of Governance of Chiapas is giving orders to his paid assassins in >the Highlands of Chiapas so that they hide in a secure place. They are told >to bury their weapons and wait for "the problem to pass" in order to return >to "their work". "Let them get tired and let the protests calm down" said >the (mestizo) voice which was giving instructions to the Priista city hall >of Chenalho. The intercepted conversation was held on the phone number >8-48-33 which is said to belong to the government branch in San Cristobal, >Chiapas. >Third. Mister Uriel Jarquin (sub-secretary of the government of Chiapas) >arranged everything in the Legislative Congress of Chiapas so that the >offical municipal presidency of Chenalho would be occupied by one of his >lackeys. >In this way they wanted to secure the absolute secrecy about what really >occurred in Acteal. Mister Jarquin communicated with the Priista >headquarters in Chenalho to dictate the name of who should be named to >substitute Jacinto Arias Perrez. "It will be Antonio Gomez, tell city hall >that Uriel Jarquin says so, to obey." >Fourth. The conversations insist a great deal on keeping Manuel Hernandez >Perez and Victorio Cruz Velazquez secure, as well as the Judge and Treasurer >of the Priista city hall of Chenalho, because they "know too much" about >what happened and must not be captured. >Fifth. The massive presence of the federal Army has braced the >paramilitaries and now they threaten to attack other groups of refugees. >This has caused thousands of indigenous people to take refuge in Polhs, >municipality of Chenalho, Chiapas, and has aggravated their conditions of >life. Up to today there are 4,273 refugees in Polho. Among them are >indigenous sympathizers of the EZLN and the "Bees" of Chenalho. In other >communities of the zone, there are at least another 2,440 indigenous people >in conditions of isolation, vulnerable to a new attack and in extremely >difficult conditions of misery.. >The situation is quite grave. We insist and call upon national and >international civil society to aid this victims of the war. >That is all. We will continue to inform. >Democracy! Liberty! Justice! >>From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast. >Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee-General Command of the >Zapatista Army of National Liberation. >Mexico, January 4th of 1998 > >To National and International Press: >January 6, 1998. 0400 hours in the Southeast >Ladies and Gentlemen: >Here is a communique which tries to explain and warn about the horror which >approaches, the progress of the investigation and a letter for you know who. >I can imagine you feel impotent before what is coming, but I am sure that >you will always have the satisfaction of being on the side of the truth. >Isnt the truth the principal vocation of an honest press? Well, they used >to teach that before. >Over here we have no hope that things will get better. That man is insane >with the taste of the blood of Acteal and know seeks out, desperately, more >and more blood. It does not matter to him that he is leading the entire >Nation into a deep abyss. According to him, he has salvaged the moneys >(Ortiz to the Bank of Mexico and Gurria to Hacienda) and elected his >successor to cover his blame in Acteal (the new secretary of Governance). >Now he plays at war in the Mexican southeast. >As a sign of the times a book of poetry fell into my hands ("The days of >your life") by Eliseo Diego (La Habana, 1920). I opened it and found the >following: >"But tomorrow, >when age sweeps conscience >the little of today will remain in the cigarette butts >scattered throughout the wide desolate space >where there is never anyone: will the bolt of glory matter >or the silence of the crumpled paper in a corner >gathering the dust of yesterday? No one knows. >Yet nevertheless, >it is necessary to do everything well." >"the old clown to his son". >Vale. Health and do not worry: all will end when there is, for everyone, >Democracy, liberty and justice. >>From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast. >Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos. >Mexico. January of 1998. >P.S. WHICH CONTINUES TO BE NOSY. Have you noticed that among the new troops >stationed and Chiapas the Military Police are abundant? Is the supply low >and needing to be filled with Military Police? Are they afraid that the >troops will not carry out the orders to exterminate us? Or is it that a part >of the federal Army does not want to follow the game of war which their boss >imposes. Please send your answers to the 7th Military Region. The one who >guesses correctly will receive a free sex education class and a completely >free haircut. >SECTION "THE P.S. TELLS-STORIES". The sea tells me that the tone of the >letter is gloomy. I look and the sky seems overcome by the weight of so many >stars. She is right, so I take a moment to tell you that I have drawn a mule >for Andulio. Andulio is 5 years old and was born without hands. Two small >stumps signal an end to his arms and the genetic cost of so many decades of >misery. Nevertheless, Andulio is ingenious when he takes colored pencils >with his stumps and paints the drawings I make for him. Every once in a >while he comes to demand a drawing and show (with the secret wish for a >candy as payment) what he has colored. Here comes the mule now. Andulio has >decided to paint it blue. >-So now there are blue mules?- I tell him. >-There are-, he says slowly. >Since its impossible (Andulio knows it and defies me) to show him that >mules with blue heads do not exist, I opt for telling him one of those >stories that the sea-horse whispers to the sea during the long dawns of the >mountains of the Mexican southeast. And so, even as he looks at me with >skepticism, I narrate, >The story of the schizophrenic pig >There was once a little pig ("puerquito" in Chiapas) who believed he was a >chick. Since he was little he played with other little chicks , ate and >slept with them. This was a problem that grew at the same rhythm that he >did. He had a lot of problems climbing onto the roosts where the other >chicks slept. As he grew larger he began to break them and fall. But these >reversals did not change his opinion, he was a chick, well a rooster now. >He was learning how to sing "cock-a-doodle-doo". Tan-tan. >Andulio stared at me. Finally he said: >-There are blue mules-, and he went off with his notebook. >I look at the sea looking for understanding. She consoles me with "that was >a very stupid story." I say and keep to myself (I thought we were all >Marcos?). What else can I do? >Vale once again. >The Sup looking for a chick that tastes like pig. >Marcos question to civil society >Do the pictures lie? > >Zapatista Army of National Liberation. >Mexico. >To Civil Society >National and International: >Dear Lady: >There are the pictures. The government says the Zapatistas are not being >persecuted, but there are the pictures. The scenario is the same as always, >an indigenous Zapatista community. There are the people. You can see the >soldiers pushing women and children. You can see them pointing their guns. >There is no persecution of Zapatistas says the government. See the >highly-armed federal soldiers? Do you see the Zapatista women and children >armed with sticks and shawls? Are those pictures "irresponsible rumors"? >Do the pictures lie? Have they been re-touched? Is this about doctored >pictures to deceive us and make us believe that government soldiers are >attacking the indigenous, when in reality they are only offering medicines, >haircuts, sex education classes, candy, toys and repair of electrical >appliances? >Are these pictures lying when they take the look in the eyes of those >Zapatista women? Do you see submissiveness or shyness in those looks? The >government says they are not persecuting Zapatistas, that their Army is >helping the population. Do you see gratitude in those eyes? >Someone is lying. Either the pictures lie or the government lies. In those >images of those people under attack we see dignity and rebellion. We see a >people who will not allow their blood to repeat the ignominy of Acteal. That >is what we see. But the government says it is not pursuing Zapatistas. But >look at those photos. >And you, what do you see? >Vale. Health and I hope you can see the tomorrow that lives in those eyes, >the tomorrow that is promised in those eyes. >>From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast. >Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos >Mexico, January 5, 1998. > >EZLN Communique >Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee >General Command of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. >Mexico, January 5, 1998 >To the people of Mexico, >To the peoples and governments of the world, >To national and international press. >Brothers and Sisters: >The Zapatista Army of National Liberation gives its word: >First. After having ordered the massive assassination of 45 indigenous >people in the tzotzil community of Acteal, the Mexican government has >decided to break the dialogue with the EZLN, violating the Federal Law for >Dialogue, Conciliation and a Peace with Dignity in Chiapas (March 11, 1995), >the persecution of members and sympathizers of the EZLN began since the >first day of January 1998. >Second. Complying with the orders of their commander in chief (Ernesto >Zedillo Ponce de Leon) the federal Army carries out an offensive against the >EZLN with the objective of provoking armed clashes. >Under the guise of "aiding" the work of the PGR in the investigation of the >crime of Acteal, and the application of the Federal Law of Weapons and >Explosives, the military of the government carries out incursions hundreds >of kilometers from the scene of the crime, attacking Zapatista communities. >The following are some examples of these government aggressions. >a) The first day of January of 1998 the Army attacked the Tzeltal community >of Yaltchilpic, in the municipality of Altamirano, where it destroyed and >robbed the belongings of the indigenous of the village, and "planted" a >supposed arsenal. According to the authorities, this "arsenal" belonged to >the EZLN. This is not so. >b) The same day, the first of January of 1998 in the tzeltal community of >San Caralampio, in the municipality of Ocosingo, federal troops detained a >local leader of the EZLN in that ejido, Mister Manuel Morales Cruz, accusing >him of carrying a weapon. >c) As was communicated opportunely by Comandante David in the name of the >CCRI-CG of the EZLN, January 3, of 1998 a group of special troops of the >federal Army holds the tojolabal community of La Realidad in a state of >siege (with a military maneuver called "engagement and encircling"), for a >duration of 17 continuous hours. During the operation the Army harassed the >indigenous of the village, interrogating them, with physical aggressions and >threats, about the whereabouts of the Zapatista leadership, the location of >the insurgent camps and the hiding places for weapons. At about 23 hours >they retreated. >d) The same day of January 3rd of 1998, while the Department of the Army >denied the occupation of villages, federal troops took the Tzeltal community >of Morelia by assault, searched houses and threatened the residents. At 24 >hours they retreated. Hours later, for villagers of the ejido Morelia were >detained and tortured on the road which goes to the municipal head of >Altamirano. In the interrogation suffered by them they were asked for facts >about Zapatista leadership, about the location of camps and arsenals. This >act was also denounced by the communique of Comandante David and has been >substantiated by the residents of Morelia. >e) On the 5th day of January of 1998, now in the Tzeltal community of April >10th, as well as the municipality of Altamirano, the militaries repeated the >aggression which they carried out days before, against Morelia and Yaltchilpic. >f) On the 5th day of January of 1998, while the Mexican government denied >an offensive against the EZLN, assault troops of the federal Army tried to >take the Tzotzil village of Aldama, in the municipality of San Andres >Sacamchen of the Poor. In the hours of the dawn, deployed in a "V" formation >(used to make contact with the adversary), and with the support of light >machine guns and artilleried helicopters, the federal Army advanced to the >outskirts of the village, where they were repelled by the inhabitants, all >of whom were indigenous civilians. The military did not retreat until later >that night. Third. The previous actions of the federal troops have these >common characteristics: >g) They were all conducted against declared Zapatista communities and >against positions where there were supposedly troops of the EZLN. In >Yaltchilpic, San Caralampio, 10th of April and Aldama lived support bases >of the EZLN. The Zapatista militance of communities such as La Realidad and >Morelia are known world-wide, they are two of the 5 sites of the first >Intercontinental Encounter for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism. >h) The federal units which advanced are small (60 to 90 soldiers), but they >are accompanied by aerial support and with large land contingents nearby. In >the case of La Realidad, almost 1000 soldiers awaited (as the siege of the >community occurred on January 3rd), in the landing strip of the old >Guadalupe Tepeyac, stood the aerial transport which would provide support if >the skirmish was achieved. >Fourth. By the previous, it is clear that the indiscriminate "disarmament >campaign" carried out by the federal Army is only a maneuver of their >supreme chief, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, to distract public opinion >from the massacre of Acteal, and to provoke the EZLN and reinitiate armed >confrontations. >Fifth. If one listens to the reports from the seventh Military Region of the >federal Army, the government troops are said to be dedicating themselves to >providing haircuts, giving sex education classes to paramilitary bands, and >fixing electrical appliances (which are bountiful in indigenous >communities), while, otherwise attacking the Zapatistas. >Sixth. In the case of the massacre of Acteal, the federal Army has done >nothing but collaborate in the cover-up of those directly responsible for >the massacre. They stroll now without worry through the municipality of >Chenalho, knowing that their "teachers" (the federal Army) protects them. >Seventh. In order to counteract the extraordinary and professional labor of >the mass media (which, in its great majority, has informed with accuracy and >timeliness about what is happening in Chiapas), the federal government is >timing its blows in doses of time and space. It distributes its attack >throughout the terrain and chooses distant objectives from centers of >communication. Its incursions are short (in order that, once the media >arrives, everything is "calm"), thereby justifying its claims that reports >are "irresponsible rumors". The government is attempting to undermine the >credibility of organizations which defend human rights such as the Conai, >the Diocese of San Cristobal, the EZLN and the reporters of the media. The >case of the siege of La Realidad on January 3rd is a case in point. >Eighth. In the midst of this offensive, Mister Ernesto Zedillo Ponce De Leon >decided to sacrifice Emilio Chuayffet and remove him from his position as >Secretary of Governance in order to silence the national and international >protests about the massacre of Acteal. With intent to respond >internationally, Zedillo changed the name but not the strategy in the case >of Chiapas. >Ninth. The new Secretary of Governance confirms, since he took the post, the >rupture of the dialogue and the government decision to run over the law when >he declares his intention to disarm the EZLN. >Tenth. The government strategy to avoid its responsibility in the massacre >of Acteal continues to be the same. For the new Secretary of Governance, the >worst massacre of the last 30 years in modern Mexico is only the "fifteenth >violent act in Chenalho"; it was provoked "by conflicts in the zone" and is >part of "a war amongst the poor". >Eleventh. The decision of the government for non-compliance with the signed >agreements by its representatives at the negotiating table of San Andres was >ratified by the Secretary of Governance, who now talks about "proposals" and >not agreements. He claims that the fulfillment of San Andres can lead to the >balkanization of the country and the problem of fulfillment is a matter to >be read into a record. Three contradictory declarations can be summed up >into one: Zedillo will not fulfill what he signed. >Twelfth. In all of his public declarations the Secretary of Governance >justifies the violation of the law for dialogue being perpetrated by the >federal forces, saying that they are "fundamental" in the search for those >responsible for the massacre of Chenalho. Nevertheless, he does not explain >why the principal operatives of the Army are against the EZLN and with the >support of the paramilitaries he claims he is pursuing. Also, the Secretary >of Governance makes echo of the intentions of Mister Zedillo of disarming >"all the groups, no matter their allegiance" including the EZLN. >Thirteenth. The EZLN will not disarm. >Fourteenth. Until now, the EZLN has tried to avoid clashing with federal >troops. The pursuit against us persists, and so at any moment there may be >armed confrontations between our forces and those of the government. >Fifteenth. We call upon all the independent political and social >organizations and the citizens of Mexico and in all the world to mobilize >together and stop the war which the Mexican government carries out against >the indigenous. Next January 12th there will be a global mobilization to >demand that Zedillos government stop the war and fulfill the agreements of >San Andres. >Therefore, we call upon all the reports of the means of communication to >continue with their professional labor, informing with veracity and >opportunity national and international public opinion. > >Democracy! Liberty! Justice! >Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee >General Command of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation > >Translated by: Cecilia Rodriguez, NCDLJ
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