SIPAZ Activities (July-October 2006)

30/11/2006

In August, we spent 10 days in various communities and towns of the Lacandon Jungle and Northern zones of Chiapas to interview various people and organizations: displaced people; leaders of various political groups; government authorities; members of churches; Zapatista support bases as well as peasant and social organizations. This visit was conducted before and during the state elections, to observe how process developed in these areas.
As part of our ongoing relationship with political and social actors in Chiapas, we visited Chenaló (Highlands zone) in July, September and October. We also met with members of the Directive Board of the Abejas in San Cristóbal de Las Casas in August.
On 29 and 30 July, we were present as observers to the Second State Assembly of the Other Campaign, in San Cristóbal de Las Casas.
At the end of September, we attended the “1^st Regional Meeting of the Selva for the Defence of Our Right to Land and Territory”^er Encuentro Regional de la Selva para la Defensa de Nuestro Derecho a la Tierra y al Territorio”) (“1, that took place in Comitán.

Between 4 and 8 of September we participated in an observation mission organized by the Oaxaca Human Rights Network (RODH) and by the National Network All Rights for All (Red Nacional Todos los Derechos para Todas y Todos) to verify and document human rights violations that had been committed after the violent repression of the protests of the 14 July. See complete report (available in Spanish only): Informe Preliminar Misión Civil de Observación a Oaxaca: “Violaciones a los Derechos Humanos en Oaxaca. Del paro magisterial a la movilización popular”

In mid-August, we participated in the International Seminar on the Human Rights of the Indigenous Peoples that took place in Iguala de Independencia. On the following days, we accompanied Prof. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Indigenous People, for part of his unofficial visit to the Costa and Montaña zones of this state.

Between 14 and 16 of July, we attended the 2^nd National Meeting for the Defense of Our Land and Territory and Against the PROCEDE and PROCECOM (2° Encuentro Nacional por la Defensa de Nuestra Tierra y Territorio y Contra el PROCEDE y el PROCECOM) that took place in Zirahuén, Michoacán.
In order to continue monitoring the delicate political context, at the national level, we attended the National Democratic Convention (CND), that took place in Mexico City on 16 of September, as observers.

We received several visits from various individuals and groups interested in the situation in Chiapas and the work of SIPAZ. These included: students; journalists; and a delegation of the Jubilee Economic Ministries and a delegation of the Marin Task Force for Latin America (both members of our coalition).
In October, we coordinated an eight-day visit of a delegation of the Mayan Ministries (also members of our coalition, from the United States) to Chiapas.
We also released some interviews with various US and Canadian radio stations, on the state and national post-electoral context.
We continued our collaboration with other organizations within the Project of Observation and Monitoring of the Political and Civil Rights of the Peoples in Chiapas, during the electoral process and the activities of Other Campaign, in Chiapas. The project will come to an end in December. A joint bulletin on the federal elections was issued in July and one on the state elections in August.
A new section of our website on Oaxaca has been finalized and made available.
We continued our participation in the seminar: “The Work of Immanuel Wallerstein: a grammar to Understand Today’s World in a Critical Perspective” coordinated by the “Center for the Study, Information and Documentation: Immanuel Wallerstein”, in San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

In August, we participated in an ecumenical space of reflection and prayer with members of different churches of Chiapas.
In September, we co-facilitated a workshop on “Peace, War and Violence” organized by Advisory Service for Peace (SERAPAZ) and the Autonomous University of Mexico City (UNAM), in Mexico City.
At the beginning of August, we were invited to give a presentation at the symposium “Working in International Networks” organized by the Mason University, in Washington, USA.

We participated to the monthly meetings of the Network for Peace (Red por la Paz), a space of action and reflection co-organized by 16 organizations supporting peace and reconciliation in Chiapas. In mid-September we participated in a meeting of the Mexican Network of Peacebuilders (Red Mexicana de Constructores de Paz) in Mexico City.
We also participated in to two workshops on “Facing the prison personally and collectively”, organized by the Collective Ik. We conducted various interviews with the various organizations working on this issue in Chiapas.