Reuters
May 8, 2000
By Miguel Angel Gutierrez

MEXICO City, May 8 (Reuters) - Following the weekend murder of three Tzotzil Indians in Chiapas, Mexican authorities on Monday vowed to tighten security in the troubled southern state where Zapatista Indians rose in rebellion six years ago.

"It is important to reinforce security measures so that differences don't turn into violence," the government's chief peace negotiator for Chiapas, Emilio Rabasa, told reporters.

A 32-year-old woman and two men, 18 and 17, were killed in the attack on Sunday by four men with assault rifles in the municipality of Chenalho.

Three others were injured in the attack, which appeared to be part of a land dispute.

Authorities were searching for the culprits.

Local radio on Monday reported two peasants were injured in another ambush by unidentified assailants near Chenalho.

The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) rose up in armed revolt on New Year's Day 1994 to demand improved rights for the Mayan Indians who make up about 80 percent of the 1.5 million Chiapas residents.

While the unresolved Zapatista conflict remains the most high-profile source of violence in Chiapas, the state is also riven by clashes over land and religion.

Sunday's attack was the first report of violence in Chenalho since December 1997, when pro-government paramilitaries hacked to death 45 Indians in the village of Acteal, most of them women and children.

The municipality is a stronghold of Zapatista rebels. But Sunday's violence apparently was sparked by a land dispute and was not political, state officials said.

"This has no significance," Chiapas Gov. Roberto Albores told reporters. "It's a criminal act that will be punished under Chiapas laws."

The Zapatista revolt produced around 10 days of heavy bloodshed before a truce was declared. But peace talks broke down in 1996 and tensions remain high in the state.

Mexico holds presidential and congressional elections July 2. Also this year, voters will choose five new state governors and a new mayor for Mexico City. Chiapas' state election will take place Aug. 20.

In a recent interview with Reuters, Rabasa conceded there was little hope of renewed dialogue before President Ernesto Zedillo's term ends in December 2000.

Sunday's attack coincided with the first visit to Chenalho by new San Cristobal de las Casas Bishop Felipe Arizmendi, who this month replaced retiring Bishop Samuel Ruiz, considered a protector of the Indian majority in the poverty-stricken state.

When told of Sunday's attack, Arizmendi reportedly wept. He implored "those who support the use of weapons" to put down their arms because "only God has a say over life."