SIPAZ Activities (February – April 1997)

Between February and April the activities of the SIPAZ team included:

• Hosting the meeting of the Steering Committee of SIPAZ in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. The team coordinated interviews with: Mexican army officials and members of the Peace and Justice paramilitary group in El Limar; the Municipal President and members of the Northern Station for Easing of Tension and Reconciliation in Chilon; the Association of Cattle Ranchers and the Municipal Council in Ocosingo; the Director of the San Carlos Hospital and the Municipal President in Altamirano; and with representatives of organizations based in San Cristobal. Subsequently, in Mexico City the Steering Committee met with Mireillie Roccatti, the new President of the official National Commission for Human Rights; Rodolfo Stavenhagen, current President of the Commission of Follow- up and Verification; and Oscar Gonzalez, President of the Mexican Academy of Human Rights.
• Participation in the Conference of Health Care Workers in the community of Moises Gandhi, Ocosingo and in the Conference of Indigenous Organizations of Chiapas in the community of Patiwitz, Ocosingo.
• Participation in investigative delegations to areas of high conflict and violence levels (Chenalho, Palenque, Pantelho, Paraiso, etc.)
• Production of several Urgent Actions and the quarterly SIPAZ Report; distribution to the international community.
• Participation in the February State Conference for Peace (San Cristobal de las Casas) and the March National Conference for Peace (Mexico City), an initiative of Mexican civil society to coordinate a national effort to promote peace and democracy in Mexico.
• Participation in a workshop on “Managing Fear and Security Concerns in Conflict Situations” in Mexico City.
• Visits and interviews with persons displaced by violence in Nuevo Merida (Palenque), Santa Catarina (Sabanilla), and La Realidad (Las Margaritas).
• Contacts with CEDECH (Chiapas Center for Defense of Evangelicals), the Presbyterian Church, and the Baptist Church to promote opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation in situations of religious conflict in Chiapas.
• Participation in a delegation of international observers in the state prison of Cerro Hueco in order to investigate prisoner conditions, especially of those from San Pedro Nixtalucum and the northern region of Chiapas.
• Ongoing work developing and maintaining contacts with human rights and environmental groups in the states of Oaxaca and Tabasco.
• Interviews with members of the FZLN (Zapatista Front for National Liberation) and FIPI (Independent Front of Indigenous Peoples).