The government of Guerrero on Wednesday gave 7,514 pesos (US$750) to survivors of the Aguas Blancas massacre in what it called a "noble gesture" and some recipients grumbled was merely "symbolic," El Universal newspaper reported.

Seventeen peasants were killed on June 28, 1995, in the town of Aguas Blancas by state police and 20 others were injured. The victims were heading to an anti-government protest.

Then-governor Ruben Figueroa defended the police by saying they were shot at first, but a video that aired on national television revealed police had put guns in the dead peasants' hands. Several police were later charged and Figueroa resigned a year later. He continues to deny having helped plan the killings.

On Wednesday, Undersecretary for Religious Affairs Javier Benetiz gave the money to 68 survivors of the massacre and family members of the victims at a ceremony in the public records office of Acapulco on Guerrero's Pacific coast.

Speaking at the ceremony, Benetiz said the money was a "noble gesture of assistance by the government."

A total of 50,000 dollars was distributed among recipients.

Some of the recipients expressed their disappointment with the sum, however, and complained state governor Rene Cisneros had promised them 20,000 pesos (US$2,000) each last February.

Jeronimo Hernandez, massacre survivor and director of the activist Campesino Organization of the Southern Sierra (OCSS), to which the victims belonged, recalled the Inter-American Human Rights Commission had recommended an indemnity of a million dollars.

"So this money is symbolic of what will come on June 28th," he said, referring to the upcoming eighth anniversary of the massacre.

Hernandez accused Cisneros of "supporting" Figueroa. "While Cisneros remains, we know there will be no investigation (of the massacre)," he said.

Since the massacre, several NGOs have provided the families of survivors with a monthly allowance of 300 pesos (US$30). The state government had already given each family 50,000 pesos (US$5,000) to help with funeral expenses after the massacre but families say they have received no other aid from the government since.

The newspaper noted the state built a housing complex for the families, but that it has been severely damaged in recent earthquakes and not been repaired.