The News Mexico
January 9, 2002
By Zoltan Simon

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission announced Friday it was allocating 1.58 million dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico, destined for displaced persons from the Chiapas conflict.

The fund will help "about 15,000 displaced people from the Chiapas conflict who have considerable humanitarian needs," a commission document read. The Commission plans to rebuild housing and provide health and food assistance for the refugees. The grant will be administered by the Red Cross.

The southern state of Chiapas is one of the richest states of Mexico in terms of natural resources, but a history of exploitation of the land and the indigenous communities have left it with birth, death and illiteracy rates nearly double the national average which, combined with the extreme poverty, have contributed to the conflict in the region.

The 1994 uprising of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) attracted worldwide attention to indigenous demands for basic rights, such as work, land, housing, education, healthcare.

Although the Zapatistas managed to awaken the conscience of Mexicans, local power barons, known as caciques, were less receptive to their demands. Paramilitary organizations acting on their behalf committed atrocities that forced Zapatista sympathizers to flee villages.

The worst act of violence occurred in 1997 when paramilitaries, backed by the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, killed 45 people in the village of Acteal. More than 10,000 people fled their communities and lived in refugee camps in various parts of the state.

In December, the Chiapas-based indigenous group called Las Abejas, formed in 1992 to fight against discrimination and denounce violence in the state, received the French Award for Human Rights from Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.