SIPAZ Activities (September 1996 – January 1997)

Between September 1996 and January 1997 the team engaged in the following activities:

• Our dedication to “The Northern Station for the Easing of Tension and for Reconciliation” project continues together with CEDIAC (The Fray Bartolome Center for Human Rights, CONPAZ, and Global Exchange. We have been instrumental in introducing the concepts of impartiality and objectivity to make the team more effective in its work. We have maintained a presence in the area that gathers and distributes information and provides accompaniment to displaced families when they return to their villages.
• We took testimonies and accompanied victims in areas of severe conflict, including Venustiano Carranza and Pantelho.
• We exchanged opinions and ideas with members of the EZLN, COCOPA, CONAI, indigenous organizations, civilian and military authorities and other federal agencies, and with members of the Peace Council (during a conference held in San Cristobal de las Casas).
• Members of SIPAZ attended the presentations of the annual reports of the municipalities of Ocosingo, Altamirano and Chilon as international observers.
• The team wrote several Urgent Action alerts and its quarterly SIPAZ Report, all of which were distributed to the international community. We also established a SIPAZ site on the World Wide Web.
• We received visitors interested in learning more about the work of SIPAZ and furthering their understanding of the situation in Chiapas, including friends from SERPAJ Costa Rica, Peace Brigades International (Italy and Holland), journalists, and other foreign guests.
• In October we met with SIPAZ Steering Committee member Marie Dennis and in November with Phil McManus, Chair of the Committee.
• SIPAZ organized and accompanied two study tours that visited Chiapas – a SIPAZ delegation in November and a Pax Christi International delegation in January.
• We participated in the “1996 Day for World Peace” organized by the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity.
• After 10 months in Chiapas, the team made its first in-depth evaluation of the project with the participation of several SIPAZ advisors.