Friday, February 19

OVENTIC, Mexico (AP) -- A Roman Catholic bishop who played a key role in seeking a peace accord between the government and the Zapatista rebels in Chiapas said Friday he will leave the southern state when he retires in November.

"I consider it appropriate to leave because it will be best not to cast a shadow over my successor in the running of the diocese," said Bishop Samuel Ruiz, who reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75 in November.

Ruiz visited Oventic, a hamlet in the Chiapas highlands, to say goodbye to the largely indigenous population that sympathizes with the Zapatista National Liberation Army, which led a brief uprising in 1994.

Ruiz played a leading negotiating role after the Jan. 1, 1994 rebellion by the Zapatistas. A cease-fire took hold within two weeks after more than 200 people had died, and Ruiz mediated the first peace talks in February 1994.

Copyright 1999 The Associated Press