File spoon-archives/marxism-thaxis.archive/marxism-thaxis_1996/96-12-15.193, message 92


Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 15:23:07 -0500 (EST)
From: Gerald Levy <glevy-AT-pratt.edu>
Subject: M-TH: EZLN appeal 


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 11:12:55 -0800 (PST)
From: D Shniad <shniad-AT-sfu.ca>

URGENT ACTION ALERT

December 9, 1996

     Last December in the days of Christmas, armored
tanks rolled into the community of Oventic, Chiapas and
the tense moments were at the brink of renewed combat.
1996 find the peace process in Chiapas in a similar yet
more defining crisis.

     These days the Mexican federal government, aided
by the legislators in the Commission for Concordance
and Pacification (Cocopa), has the opportunity to take
its first concrete steps to finalizing some
constitutional measures which will forever alter the
conditions of its indigenous people.  All appearances
however, indicate that unless there is renewed public
pressure, the Mexican government is ill-prepared to do
so.  Here are some of the facts;

--The peace talks have been suspended when the EZLN
refused to return unless five minimal conditions were
complied with.  One of these was to secure positive
steps towards the implementation of the first
agreements signed in February of 1996 around Indigenous
Rights and Culture.

--The diagnosis of the Cocopa was that the talks had
come to a standstill because "The EZLN had gone to the
ceiling, and the government to the floor". The Cocopa's
notion of finding a middle ground was to offer to
present a document in favor of the constitutional
reforms around Indigenous Rights and Culture.

--The Secretary of the Interior, meanwhile, which has
served as the "good cop" in the peace process protests
against the document and finally acknowledges that they
had never "read" its contents, but that they now find
it has various Constitutional problems.

--When asked why the problems had not been perceived in
ten months, the Secretary of the Interior admits that
they "never believed it would be necessary to carry
them out".

--Meanwhile, when the Cocopa discusses their own
document with President Zedillo, they discover he has
vehement objections apparently to a completely
different document than the one under consideration.
Zedillo calls it a "misunderstanding" and acknowledges
that he does not have complete information and asks for
fifteen days to take the matter under advisement

     The EZLN has agreed to abide by those fifteen
days.  Clearly, the evidence above points out that no
one in the government demonstrates any serious approach
to the peace process, and that the Cocopa has stepped
into this vacuum in an attempt to rescue the process.

     This is the reasoning behind this action alert.
It is extremely difficult to ask you to act upon this
matter during these days---but the possibility of peace
in Mexico is in great danger, again.  Each time matters
have reached this breaking point, it is the concerted
action of people such as yourselves which has provided
some assistance to these indigenous communities under
siege.  We ask you to do the following;

--Call or fax President Zedillo's office or take
delegations to the nearest consulates
with the following message "We are very concerned about
the peace process in Chiapas.

     We urge you in the remaining fifteen days to
evaluate the situation with great attention and to take
action which will favor a political solution.  We have
information that you are ill-informed and want you to
know that we are very worried about any action you may
take based on ignorance.  Please inform us as to the
progress of the negotiations."

--Begin to organize a delegation to travel to Chiapas
for the New Year.  Announce
it to the press, and advise Zedillo's office so that he
is aware of the international presence to the matter.

--Write a letter or make a phone call to the offices of
the following individuals;

     Financier George Soros
     Arthur Schlesinger
     Henry Kissinger
     Paul Volcker
     Sidney Weintraub
     David Rockefeller
     Susan Kaufman Purcell, Latin American specialist,
     UCLA
     Douglas Warner III of JP Morgan
     John Reed of Citibank
     Winthrop Smith of Merril Lynch
      Deryck C. Maughan of Salomon Brothers
     Treasury Secretary  Robert Rubin

     All these individual met with Zedillo in New York
City yesterday, in addition to executives from the Wall
Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Harper's Magazine,
Business Week, and CBS News.  Clearly, these
economists, intellectuals and media want reassurance
that Mexico will stay the course defined by U.S.
economic policies. It would be important for them to
receive a group of letters from some of you issuing a
warning about the potential of a war in Chiapas.  Even
if each were to receive ten letters with copies to
Zedillo, it is a clear statement about U.S. citizens'
concern for peace in Mexico.

     Please do whatever you can to help and believe
that every small action is amplified when it is added
to many other small actions.  There can be no better
way to commemorate this season than to take action for
peace in Mexico.

Thank you for your attention.

Cecilia Rodriguez
United States Representative
EZLN

CONTACTS:

Financier George Soros
phone: 212-262-6300, fax: 212-245-5154

Arthur Schlesinger
Home: 455 E. 51st St., NY, NY 10011-6474
Office: CUNY 22 W. 42nd St., NY,NY 10036-8003

Paul Volcker
phone: 212-909-8188, fax: 212-446-1303

Sidney Wintraub
LBJ School of Public Affairs
Drawer Y, University Station, Austin, Texas 78712

David Rockefeller
phone: 212-649-5600, fax: 212-765-6817

Douglas Warner III, JP Morgan
phone: 212-648-6600, fax: 212-648-5210

John Reed, Citibank
399 Park Ave., NY, NY 10022-4614
fax: 212-559-5138/1000

Winthrop Smith, Merrill Lynch
N Tower World Financial Center, NY, NY 10281
phone: 212-449-6394/1000, fax: 212-449-6397

Deryck C. Maughan
Salomon Brothers
phone: 212-783-7395, fax: 212-783-3839

Robert Rubin
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
fax: 202-622-0071

Wall Street Journal
Dow Jones & Co.
200 Liberty St., NY, NY 10281
news dept./general: 212-416-3111/2000

New York Times
229 W. 43rd St., NY, NY 10036;
editorial/news - 212-964-5703

Harper's Bazaar
Hearst Magazines
1700 Broadway, NY, NY 10019-5970
Harper's editorial: 212-903-5301/5000, fax: 212-262-
7101

Business Week
McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1221 Ave. of the Americas
NY, NY 10020
212-512-2511/2000



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