SIPAZ Activities (October 2005 – January 15, 2006)

31/01/2006

In October, we spent ten days in various communities and cities of the Northern Zone of Chiapas, interviewing different actors in the region: those who have been displaced, leaders of various political groups, government agencies, church members, zapatista bases of support, and social and campesino organizations.
At the beginning of November, we returned to the Northern Zone to assist in the organization of an event in El Limar, with the families of more than 120 murdered and disappeared individuals (between 1994-2000). At this time, we also participated in the events organized in San Cristóbal de Las Casas for the week of the Day of the Dead, the disappeared and the incarcerated (see the article).
In December, we visited a number of communities in Chenalhó to meet with the religious actors (Primarily from Catholic and Presbyterian churches) who had participated in an exchange project SIPAZ organized in the municipality between 2001-2004. We were present at the commemoration of the Acteal massacre on December 22^nd.
From January 1-14, we accompanied, as international observers, the tour of the “Subdelegate Zero” through the state of Chiapas.
From January 8-15, we participated in the observation brigades in the area affected by Hurricane Stan, coordinated by the Fray Matías de Córdoba Human Rights Center.
In these months, we met with the Good Government Councils of the five Zapatista Caracoles.

From October 13-15, we were present at the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Community Police in Pueblo Hidalgo, Guerrero (see the focus article). We also met with members of the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center of the Mountain.
At the beginning of December, we attended the forum “Defending the Territory” in Tlapa, Guerrero. The objective of this space was to analyze the issues related to the theme and to share experiences of defending territory.

We received visitors, delegations, students, and journalists, primarily from Europe and the United States, with whom we shared information about the current situation in Chiapas and the work of SIPAZ.
In the past months, a member of the SIPAZ team completed her tour of a number of cities in Germany. Since the start of her tour in January 2005, she gave 75 presentations about Chiapas and SIPAZ, 180 puppet shows about the reality of indigenous communities in Chiapas, and 2 workshops about the transformation of conflicts.
In December, we met with members of the German Embassy in Mexico City.
We continue to participate in the seminar series “The Works of Immanuel Wallerstein: A Grammar for Understanding the Current World From a Critical Perspective,” coordinated by the Immanuel Wallerstein Center for Study, Information and Documentation.
In October, we attended a meeting in which the Latin American office of WSP (War-torn Societies Project) presented a analysis that they produced: “The Current Situation in Chiapas from the Perspective of the Local Actors.”
In December, we held interviews and gave presentations about the situation in Chiapas and the work of SIPAZ in Marseille, France and Amsterdam, Holland.

From November 16-18, we participated in the event “Accompanying for the Future: First Encounter of International Accompaniment” organized by SweFOR, held in Santa Fe de Bogotá, Colombia.
On November 30^th, we participated in the open space for analysis with a number of Mexican and Chiapan actors, organized by PROPAZ/ Serapaz, in San Cristóbal de Las Casas.
We continue to participate in the Network for Peace, a space for reflection and action, made up of 16 organizations that aim to support processes of peace and reconciliation in Chiapas.
At the end of November, we participated in a two-day meeting of the Mexican Network of Peace Builders, held in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. The primary project was the planning of activities fro 2006.
We had visits and meeting with members of our coalition: Peace Brigades International (PBI- Guerrero and Guatemala), SweFOR (Sweden), and CAREA (Germany).