SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico - A general who spent eight years in prison as Mexico's "last prisoner of conscience" called on President Vicente Fox on Friday to remove remaining government troops from Chiapas and let the Zapatista rebels "live in peace."

Visiting Chiapas' largest city for a human rights forum, Brig. Gen. Jose Francisco Gallardo asked "what was stopping" Fox's government from allowing Indian communities in Mexico's southernmost state to "live free, independent and peaceful lives."

Gallardo was arrested in 1993 after writing an article calling for a human rights ombudsman in the military. A military tribunal later sentenced him to 23 years in prison on dubious charges of corruption, illegally amassing a fortune, and destroying files.

After years of protests from human rights groups, Fox reduced Gallardo's sentence to time-served and released him in February.

Upon ending 71-straight years of single-party rule by taking office in December 2000, Fox made bringing final peace to troubled Chiapas a top priority. Zapatistas guerrillas staged a bloody, 12-day rebellion in the name of Indian Rights and Socialism in January 1994, but since then the conflict has been little more than a war of words between the government and the rebels.

Fox removed hundreds of troops from the jungles of Chiapas and closed seven army bases built to surround Zapatista strongholds, freed dozens of rebel prisoners and sent a Zapatista-backed Indian Rights bill to Congress.

But the rebels refused to resume formal peace talks with the government after legislators from Fox's party allied with former ruling party lawmakers to water-down the final measure that became law last year.

Army officials admit that several hundred troops are still stationed around Chiapas, mostly to prevent violence between Zapatista supporters and right-wing paramilitary forces and to help implement social programs. The exact number of soldiers in the area has never been made public.

Gallardo said Friday that many soldiers who come to Chiapas to further road-building initiatives and help out on other infrastructure projects are told by their superiors to spy on Indian leaders.

"Social labor has become a perverse system of military intelligence," he said, adding that the continued presence of state forces has "put unfair pressure" on the region's Indian communities.

A Fox spokesman said he was unfamiliar with Gallardo's comments and could not comment on them late Friday.