September 24, 1999

An emergency delegation organized by The Mexican Solidarity Network visited Chiapas from September 16 to September 21. Below we include their press release and some of the articles in the Mexican press about the delegation. A few clarifications are necessary.

1. Some articles suggest that the delegation directly observed US military personal in Chiapas. This is not correct. As was clearly stated at the press conference, community members in Amador Hernadez told members of the delegation that they had seen military officers wearing US uniforms. While this second hand information cannot be independently confirmed at this time, it is a cause for grave concern, and should be further investigated by future delegations. Members of the MSN delegation did observe US military equipment in the region.

2. Reporters mistakenly stated that the delegation consisted of fifteen US citizens. In fact, it consisted of 13 U.S. citizens, 2 Mexican citizens, and 1 British citizen.

3. Contrary to the La Afición report, it is the opinion of the delgation that they were harassed, not because they had FMT (tourist) visas, but because the government is engaged in a campaign to "intimidate foreign travelers in the region of Chiapas and to hide the reality of the present situation." According to our legal advisors, under current laws and immigration statues, the activities of the delegation were fully within the limitations of the FMT. Moreover, the Mexican government has placed restrictions on the FM3 "human rights observer" visas that make them nearly impossible to obtain. In the unlikely event that the visas are obtained, the restrictions also make it impossible to fully carry out the work of human rights observation with an FM3 visa.

Contents:

1. Delegation Press Release
2. La Jornada article
3. Ls Reforma article
4. La Afición article
5. El Universal article

September 21, 1999
Press Bulletin

A delegation of North Americans traveled to various communities in Chiapas and observed evidence that the army and the federal government of Mexico are waging a low intensity war against the indigenous communities of that state. The delegation visited the communities of Amador Hernandez, Morelia and Moises Ghandi.

Some members of the delegation were able to enter the community of Amador Hernandez despite intimidation from the Department of Immigration and other officials of the state and federal police. In Amador Hernandez, the visitors found a community under occupation by a hostile military force. The newly established military camp is surrounded by barbed wire. It is also surrounded by dangerous traps that have been placed in holes around the camp thereby exposing the population to life-threatening danger. The delegation observed that the military responded to the songs and peaceful protests of the people of Amador Hernandez with low-flying helicopters, military equipment and harsh-sounding music.

As North American citizens, the delegation was shocked by the amount of American military equipment being used against the indigenous communities. In the town of Morelia, the delegation visited another indigenous community that is in trepidation because they fear both a military invasion and attacks on the part of government supporters. In Moises Ghandi, the visitors observed conditions similar to those witnessed in Amador Hernandez. The Mexican government is proposing the construction of a highway through the town of Morelia. However, the people of the community do not want the highway because they fear that it will be used as a means of military control.

During their six-day voyage, the members of the delegation were frequently harassed by people representing either the Mexican army or government. For example, the delegates were followed, had their belongings searched, and had their photos taken arbitrarily. These acts on the part of Mexican officials convinced the members of the delegation that the government of Mexico is seeking to intimidate foreign travelers in the region of Chiapas and to hide the reality of the present situation there.

Through their visit, the delegates were inspired by the commitment and bravery of the indigenous communities as they confront the low-intensity war being waged against them.

translated by Noah Arthur Bardach

La Jornada
September 22, 1999
by Elio Henríquez and Triunfo Elizalde

Representatives of a delegation of 18 foreign observers who visited the community of Amador Hernandez and other regions in the state of Chiapas, stated that "there is a state of war that the Mexican government is trying to conceal" in that state. They also reported that, during their stay in that ejido last week, they found 36 pitfall traps around the camp the Mexican Army has set up there.

Meanwhile, in Mexico City, members of the emergency delegation from Mexico Solidarity Network and Global Exchange added, at a press conference, that there are in Chiapas, possibly functioning as advisors, North American army officials, as well as highly sophisticated equipment and armaments, made in the United States. "There is a low intensity war going on in Chiapas, for which the Mexican and North American governments are directly responsible," both organizations stated.

Interviewed in San Cristobal de Las Casas, the members of the group - 17 from the United States and one from Scotland - explained that the 36 traps they found were made out of eight 30 to 40 cm. stakes, and they had been erected over half meter holes and covered with leaves, so that they were impossible to see.

"We discovered them when, along with indigenous from the community who are holding a sit-in in front of the military camp, we began walking around the barbed wire fence," the internationalists said, who showed one of the devices.

"If someone were to fall into one of those traps, they could suffer very serious injuries or even be killed, because the stakes are very large with sharp points," commented one of the visitors, who added that 36 traps were discovered, but not all of them had been withdrawn from the area.

Members of Global Exchange, Mexico Solidarity Network and the Solidarity Committee with Latin America, as well as students and professors from US universities, stated that, after having observed what is going on in those indigenous communities, they will carry out campaigns so that "the rest of Mexico and the world can know that there is a war here, in Chiapas."

They noted that, after having visited Amador Hernandez, the Morelia ejido and the community of Moises Gandhi - the seat of the Ernesto Che Guevara Autonomous Municipality - they could confirm that "there is a low intensity war in Chiapas, being waged by the government," while "the indigenous' weapons are marches, sit-ins, slogans."

During their stay in Amador Hernandez, the observers spoke with Ivan Camacho Zenteno, the state government's political operative in the region, who assured them that the traps found around the military camp were not put up by the soldiers. When they asked him why the military was "violating the law by taking over private lands," the official told them: "I decline to answer."

He also informed them that the request for the soldiers' establishing themselves there - five weeks ago, in Amador Hernandez - was not made by any company, but rather by PRI municipal authorities in Ocosingo.

Meanwhile, in Mexico City at a press conference held in the offices of the Miguel Agustin Pro Human Rights Center, Paul Hixson, of Urbana, Illinois, Renee Saucedo, of San Francisco, California and Ernesto Martinez, of St. Paul, Minnesota, spoke. At the outset, they stated that their presence in Mexico was owing to an invitation extended to them by Mexican civil groups.

They also recounted the harassment they were subjected to "from the moment we arrived at the airport in Mexico City, and which became worse when we reached Tuxtla Gutierrez," when Army personnel, Immigration agents and men in civilian clothing periodically searched them, checked their passports, took photographs of them and videotaped them. "They reminded us that we had tourist visas, and not observers' ones," they said.

translated by irlandesa

Reforma
September 22, 1999

The existence of 'hunting' traps, used by the army as part of a low intensity war against the indigenous zapatistas, was denounced on Tuesday by a group of foreign observers visiting the southern state of Chiapas.

Organized by the San Francisco-based organization Global Exchange, a group of seventeen citizens from the United States and Scotland said that the existence of such traps is proof that "there is a situation of low intensity warfare here which the Mexican Government is attempting to hide."

Thirty-six traps, each holding stakes of 30 or 40 centimeters bound together with wire, were "placed by the military in holes half a meter deep and covered with leaves, in such a way that it was impossible to see them," according to the group who displayed such a trap to the press.

The Americans expressed their "concern" about the military aid which the US government provides to Mexico under the "pretext of fighting the war against drugs."

translated by Global Exchange

September 22, 1999
La Afición
by Eugenia Jimenez Caliz

The emergency delegation from the U.S. that visited Chiapas reported that the Army and the Government are carrying out a low-intensity war against indigenous communities and they indicated that it was well known that their country was supporting the militaries. They will send a letter to President Bill Clinton and will try to meet with members of Congress to demand a report on this situation.

During a press conference yesterday, Paul Hixson, Renee Saucedo and Ernesto Martinez declared that in communities where there are military camps, the population lives in constant fear, the army has built trenches, and women are forced into prostitution.

Expressing their concern for the support that the U.S. government is providing to the Mexican Army, delegation members declared that the soldiers in Chiapas carry weapons produced in the United States and some soldiers have even received training in the School of the Americas. Residents also claim that they have seen soldiers wearing an eagle on their chest, an emblem found on U.S. uniforms.

The delegation said that this information will be disseminated in the United States and through the Internet. A letter to President Clinton will also be drafted this week, calling on him to respond regarding the purpose of resources sent to Mexico. Moreover, beginning tomorrow, a series of demonstrations will take place and they will try to meet with members of Congress to inform them about the human rights violations. Pictures drawn by indigenous children, showing helicopters and trucks full of soldiers will also be presented as examples of the constant tension felt in those zones.

The delegation members declared that in the community of Amador Hernandez they found a military camp surrounded by barbed wire and dangerous traps in the ground, covered with leaves and branches. They said that in Moises Ghandi, there are plans to build a highway but the residents do not want it, because they fear that it would be used as another military stronghold. The delegates found similar conditions in the municipality of Morelia, where the community is also suffering from attacks by paramilitary groups.

The delegation composed of 15 U.S. citizens reported that they were continually harassed by the military, state and federal authorities. These authorities went through their belongings and took their photos because they entered the country with tourist visas rather that visas for human rights observers, but the delegation members stated "we could not wait 30 days to obtain those visas given the requests to visit this zone."

They stated that this attitude is part of the Government's strategy of intimidation in order to hide the reality of the situation in Chiapas.

translated by Tania Connaghton Espino

El Universal
September 22, 1999
by Bertha Fernandez y AFP

• Members of Global Exchange confirm the existence of "a low intensity war in Chiapas that the Mexican government is attempting to hide"
• "We are worried about U.S military aid provided to the Mexican army under the pretext of fighting narco- trafficking"
• Washington and international banks are undermining the peace process in the zone in order to extract the states' natural resources

North American observers yesterday denounced the existence of "cazabobos", or hunting traps, in Chiapas as part of a low intensity war -" that the Mexican government is attempting to hide"- against the indigenous zapatistas.

The U.S citizens, members of the organization Global Exchange, also demonstrated their "concern" for the military aid that the U.S government provides to Mexico under the auspices of counter-narcotics support.

"We saw helicopters and arms, like those made in the U.S, but we did not see drugs, only military equipment used against the indigenous communities."

The group of observers said that they would denounce to the Clinton administration that both the U.S. government and international bank are undermining the peace process in Chiapas in order to gain access to the region's natural resources.

After visiting various municipalities within Chiapas, Renee Saucedo, Loel Coleman, Paul Hixson, Ernesto Martinez, and Nicole Lyn-li Pugh declared that the low intensity war, promoted by both the Mexican and U.S. governments, is part of a strategy that would allow for the privatization of the region's hydroelectric, petroleum, and timber resources. This would provide the Mexican government with the means to pay their debts to he World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Interamerican Bank of Development.

In a press conference, the human rights defenders, from throughout the U.S, expressed their regret at the level of hostility displayed by the Mexican army against the population, including the placement of traps within indigenous communities.

According to the group, thirty-six traps, each holding stakes of 30 or 40 centimeters bound together with wire, were "placed by the military in holes half a meter deep and covered with leaves, in such a way that it was impossible to see them".

"If a person were to fall onto one of these stakes, they could die because the stakes are large and very sharp," said Ernesto Ledezma, co-coordinator of the U.S. organization, Global Exchange, whose headquarters are in San Francisco.

The visit to the southeast of Mexico provided the group with verification that there is an enormous quantity of U.S. weaponry being used by the Mexican army, as well as the presence of U.S army personnel, identifiable by "the eagle on their chests."

The delegation, who had entered Mexico with tourist visas, was followed, searched, and photographed at all times, in both Chiapas and Mexico City, by agents from the National Institute of Immigration.

The group affirmed that the army, which flies helicopters at low altitudes over the communities, constantly intimidates the population of Chiapas.

Coleman, a lawyer from Houston, declared that the indigenous are against the building of roads because they know from experience that once the road is open, it will be used to drain the area of its natural resources while lining the pockets of politicians.

The delegation expressed their conviction that the U.S government, in addition to the aforementioned banks, favors the extraction of natural resources from Chiapas because of the financial gains involved. They cited companies such as General Electric, Monsanto and the Chase Manhattan Bank, among others, as those interested in extracting the abundant natural resources from the state.

The observers insisted that it is increasingly urgent to implement the San Andres Accords, to remove the army from the region, to stop paramilitary activity, and to halt U.S. military aid and personnel to Mexico.

The group added that they would soon meet with and pressure U.S. congressional representatives to change the current U.S. military strategy in Mexico.

translated by Global Exchange