Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 04:00:40 -0600 (MDT)
From: Robert Johnson <johnsorl-AT-Colorado.EDU>
Subject: Chiapas anthropologist arrested (fwd)




---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 1995 21:56:52 EDT
From: Marc Edelman <EDEHC%CUNYVM.BITNET-AT-UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list CENTAM-L <CENTAM-L-AT-UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU>
Subject: Chiapas anthropologist arrested

                  Mexican Anthropologist Jailed

     Jorge Santiago Santiago, an anthropologist working with a
development organization in the Lacandon jungle region of
Chiapas, Mexico was detained by the Mexican authorities on
February 9, 1995 and has been held without charges ever since. He
is accused of being a Zapatista leader and with being the liaison
in the negotiations between Subcommandante Marcos, the Zapatista
representative, and the Archbishop Samuel Ruiz, the government's
intermediary.

    The calls for his release have been widespread, coming from
indigenous peasant groups as well as international development
organizations. The following excerpt from a letter of support
from the Women's Group of San Cristobal is representative:

     Jorge is a friend, a loyal companero who on many
occasions supported us in our struggle for the
recognition of the rights of women; he is a social
worker who has helped organize cooperatives and credit
associations; he is an intellectual who has carried out
important analysis of the Chiapaneca reality...His
theological development, later followed by the study of
anthropology and sociology, consolidated his concern
for indigenous populations and informed his work in the
civil organization DESMI, Desarrollo Economico y Social
de los Mexicanos Indigenas (The Economic and Social
Development of Mexican Indians), where he worked since
1974.  In contrast to many other development projects,
DESMI has been characterized by their efforts to end
paternalism and to promote the active participation of
indigenous communities in decisions about their
projects. In this context, Jorge had always been
characterized by respectful and supportive treatment of
his coworkers as well the indigenous population

     Santiago's arrest and detention is a serious threat to the
Mexican civil organizations that are a necessary (though not
nearly a sufficient) condition for democracy to function. Within
Chiapas, the presence of numerous non-governmental organization,
particularly development organization working with indigenous
communities like DESMI, has played a critical role in moderating
the government response to the Zapatista uprising. In addition
these organizations played a significant role in responding the
economic, medical, and social crisis created by war. The arrest
of Jorge Santiago Santiago sends a chilling message to those
whose humanitarian and political efforts are challenging the
Mexican governments' attempts to isolate the Zapatistas and
portray them as criminals.

     Please write to the authorities to protest this arrest, to
insist that Jorge Santiago Santiago be released, and that the
non-govermnment organizations in Chiapas be allowed to do their
work unimpeded.

     For more information the Committee for the
Release of Jorge Santiago Santiago can be reached at the offices
of CENCO, Calle No. 33, Col. Roma 06700, Mexico, DF. Tel. 5-33-
64-75, Fax 2-08-20-62.  Letters protesting his arrest should be
sent to:

Presidencia de la Republica             Secretaria de Gobernacion
Lic. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon      Lic. Esteban Moctezuma
Residencia Oficial Los Pinos            Bucareli 99 Col. Juarez
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec             Mexico, DF
11850, Mexico, DF                       Fax 91 (5) 5-46-16-03;
Tel 91 (5) 5-42-80-70                   5-46-73-88; 5-92-05-84
Fax 91 (5) 2-71-17-64

Gobierno del Estado                     Secretario de Gobierno
Lic. Julio Cesar Ruiz Ferro             Eraclio Zepada Ramos
Palacio de Gobierno, Tuxtla Gutierrez   Palacio de Gobierno,
Tel. 91 (961) 3-38-86                   Tuxtla Gutierrez
Fax  91 (961) 2-09-17                   Tel 91 (961) 2-05-28
                                        Fax 91 (961) 3-24-58
Juez
Lic. Juan Manuel Alcatara Moreno
Juez de Primer Districto
1a. Sur y 2a. Oriente
Edif. Dorado Maya
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas

Marc Edelman
Department of Anthropology      tel. 212 772-5659  Hunter College
Hunter College                  tel. 212 642-2435  CUNY Graduate Center
City University of New York     fax: 212 772-5423  Hunter College
695 Park Avenue                 fax: 212 642-2642  CUNY Graduate Center
New York, NY 10021-5085         e-mail: edehc-AT-cunyvm.cuny.edu



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