Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center - International Service for Peace (Sipaz)

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, January 15, 2006.

Account of the Events of the Delegado Zero´s Tour of Chiapas:
Signs of Concern in Chiapas at the Start of the Other Campaign

As announced in the December 30, 2005 press release distributed the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center and the International Service for Peace (Sipaz) accompanied Subcomandante Marcos, also known as Delegado Zero, in his tour of Chiapas, as observers and defenders of human rights.

During this tour, we observed the following events:

On January 1st, at the start of the tour for the Other Campaign, the Zapatistas marched to the Cathedral Plaza. The streetlights along the Boulevard Jaime Sabines were cut off as the contingents made their way to the center. This was an act presumably provoked by the Municipal Presidency as a sign of its repudiation.

On January 3rd, according to reports from our observers and the journalist Diego Osorno, in Milenio Diario on January 4th (http://www.milenio.com/nota.asp?id=254084), one hour prior to the arrival of the Caravan of Delegado Zero in Palenque, a group of approximately 80 workers and ranch owners, a number of whom were armed, gathered for the purpose of “welcoming Subcomandante Marcos,” as they ironically stated. The concentration of this group at the entrance to Palenque was fortunately dissuaded and did not escalate.

The following day, January 4th, while the contingents returned from Palenque to San Cristóbal, a public manifesto was released by municipal representatives, of PRI affiliation, from the Getzemaní and La Hormiga neighborhoods, warning Subcomandante Marcos of the “threat of confrontations between the residents of the Northern Area (of the city) caused by this type of events. . .”

Throughout the tour, the presence of a number of informative agents (spies) from various governmental intelligence services was obvious and outright. The governmental agencies represented included: the Mexican Attorney General´s Office (Procuraduría General de la República), the Mexican Army, the National Investigation and Security Center (CISEN), the State Government, and municipal governments. Many of these agents carried weapons and the majority had video and still cameras. The intention of these agents to document license plates, photograph individuals, and record the voices of sympathizers and adherents of the Other Campaign was obvious.

On January 5th, in Tonalá, an individual wearing a skimask attempted to blend in to the group of base supporters that were accompanying the Delegado Zero and enter the vehicle in which they were traveling.

On January 10th, in the community of Joaquín Amaro in the municipality of Pijijiapan, the villagers surrounded the intelligence agents present at the public event, precisely at the moment of the convoy´s departure from the community. Despite the villagers’ and reporters’ insistence, the agents would not identify themselves. It appeared that at least one of them was armed.

On the other hand, the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center and the International Service for Peace express their concern due to signs of violence in the state of Chiapas. Given that the focus of media attention has been on the Subcomandante Marcos´ tour of the country, there is the risk that attention be lost in a state witnessing several problematic issues:

1. – The persistent militarization and paramilitarization, in the “conflict zone,” reactivated by the electoral period. “Hot spots” have been identified in the Cañadas of Ocosingo, Chilón, Tila, and Las Margaritas, due to provocative or violent actions demonstrated by a number of groups related to the PRI and the PRD, as they position themselves electorally. (See the bulletins on the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center´s website http://www.laneta.apc.org/cdhbcasas/boletines.htm.)

On the other hand, we continue to follow the insistence of various media groups and federal authorities in reopening the issue of narcotrafficking related to the “areas of influence” of the EZLN and in creating comparisons between the EZLN and the FARC (Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia). This could be an incipient campaign to discredit the new Zapatista initiative. (Reforma Newspaper, January 10th: “Abascal Compares EZLN to FARC” and other articles.)

2. – The attacks on human rights defenders and adherents of the Other Campaign, as denounced by the Fray Bartolomé Human Rights Center and other organizations of Chiapas and Mexico. This situation could become more serious now that the intelligence agencies have more precise information of who they are, how many there are, and where to find the sympathizers.

3. – As we were able to observe in all the municipalities we visited on the Coast of Chiapas, and as mentioned by the various residents of the villages and cities of the Sierra, the population of the area affected by Hurricane Stan, particularly in the rural areas, remains under great pressure from the destruction caused by the hurricane and the lack of governmental attention. The desperation of the population presents the risk of violent acts and confrontations against government workers and police forces. This situation could become even more severe if the relief efforts become attached to the promise of votes.

All of these elements complicate the circumstances in Chiapas in the immediate future. The the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center and the International Service for Peace ask that the civil society and the media continue to be attentive to the situation of human rights in Chiapas while following the development of the tour for the Other Campaign.

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