On April 24th 1998, I applied to the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco for a 30 day FM3 visa to carry out research I intended to do in Chiapas from May 1st -- 30th, 1998. I filled in all the requirements and supplied all documents requested by the officials, including speaking with the Consul, Cesar Lajud.

The following day I successfully received an FM3, permitting my activities "for the observation of the development of democracy and human rights [in] Mexico D.F., Chiapas, [and] Oaxaca" as I had requested.

On May 1st I entered Mexico via Mexico City, direct from San Francisco. I was allowed into the country without any problems, and my FM3 and passport were stamped.

I arrived in San Cristóbal de las Casas on May 6th and began my research. I was asked to produce my FM3 and passport on four occasions during my stay in Chiapas. Mexican army officials at the military 'checkpoints' outside Chenalhó (on May 9th), outside Amparo Agua Tinta (on May 14th), and at the "mixed operations base" at Cuxulja. All requested documentation and were forceful in their demand for this information when requested why this was necessary. In all three of these occasions my name, passport number, FM3 number, and the purpose of my visa were recorded; only then was I allowed to pass.

It was while passing the immigration checkpoint outside Ocosingo that I was most thoroughly questioned by officials. On that occasion I received a citation to appear in the National Migration Institute office at San Cristóbal de las Casas. On May 15th, at approximately 5:30 pm, I was returning from the Las Cañadas area when I was stopped by officials named Emilio Cantoral Hoez and Alejandro Villegas Terrazas. They asked if all the people travelling were Mexican, and on my declaration as Canadian they requested my documentation. As soon as they saw my FM3 and passport, they began to write out a citation. When I went over to ask what they were doing, I was informed that I would have to present myself to the immigration office in San Cristóbal within 48 hours to "verify my activities".

I asked why this was necessary as I had all my papers in order and was simply passing through an immigration checkpoint and had not breached my FM3 in any way. In response they told me that they were doing this with all foreigners "to keep track of them", that there was nothing unusual, and that I would just go to the immigration office and 'register'. I stated that I did not know that this was necessary, since my FM3 clearly stated that that I had been granted access to the area that I was travelling in, and I had never been informed that I had to 'register' anywhere. Sr. Emilio informed me that it was not a requirement to register, but now that they'd stopped me I had to do so. He also told me that I had received my visa from the Consulate in San Francisco and that that was not the same as getting one from Mexico City.

I said that I understood that the FM3 was issued in San Francisco, but that it was fully validated when stamped upon my arrival. In my passport the visa notes that the final decision on my entry to the country lies with the Mexican official I meet upon arrival. He then told me that the entrance stamp I had received in Mexico City only gave me permission to be in the Federal District and that I was required to receive this permission in Chiapas as well.

Although this was contrary to my understanding, and I had heard of a similar incident happening to people with similar FM3s (this being the reason I was clear on the 'legitimization' of my visa), and I opposed them taking my visa away, it was clear to me that there was no other way for me to: 1) get my visa back, or 2) leave the immigration checkpoint. I had no alternative but to sign the citation and was therefore bound to appear in the immigration office 48 hours later (as it was Friday afternoon, the 48 hours counted as the Monday and Tuesday of the next week).

When I asked what would happen if I were stopped over the next two days and could not produce my FM3, they told me that there was no problem as long as I had my citation with me, as this was 'proof' that I had an FM3 and that the authorities had it. I had heard of a similar situation where a person, on being unable to produce documents, and having been told that papers given to them by authorities were insufficient, was deported immediately. I did not leave San Cristóbal de las Casas on that weekend.

On May 19th, at around 11:30 am, I went to the immigration office. I was invited into the office of Mario Rodriguez Cardenas, where he had a typed questionnaire on a computer screen. He told me that I had to answer a few questions about my activities and then I would get my FM3 back. I asked if this was a declaration and he said no, it was just to verify that what I had been doing was in accordance with my FM3 regulations. I agreed to answer the questions, deciding that this was hopefully the quickest way to get my FM3 back.

The interview took two hours and the questions that I was asked went beyond my activities. He asked me questions and typed my responses into the computer. He solicited more answers than the questions on the screen, but did not note that he had furthered the questions. When finished, I revised the answers he had typed in and he agreed to remove the things I had not said, as there were some discrepancies. He then asked me to sign the document and told me that he to fax it to Mexico City as he did not have the authority to decide whether or not I could have my FM3. He wrote me another citation for noon the following day (May 20th 1998).

Although I understood that my citation was not strictly 'legal', I agreed to appear. I was never clearly informed as to why it was necessary for my 'activities' to be reported, nor was either of the encounters with the officials clearly explained to me when they were happening. On the contrary, the officials in Ocosingo were aware that they would remove my FM3 and did not tell me while questioning me or writing up the citation. In fact, they were indignant when when I asked them to explain the process I was entering. Sr. Mario was fully aware that he was not going to give me my FM3 back that day and that his intention was to get a declaration from me. In both cases he told me the opposite.

On May 20th, I returned to the office and again I was invited into Sr. Mario's office. My FM3 was on his desk and he asked me to look at it to confirm that there was nothing different about it "as he had promised" (I asked him the day before if he was asking me about where I wanted to go during the rest of my stay so that he could put restrictions on my mobility. He said no.). He then asked me some more questions and returned my visa.

Upon reflection I found it strange that there was no paper signing that day, since before photocopies and signatures were required of everything. I did not receive any paper documenting the conversation we had had, nor that I had received my FM3 back. Furthermore, I remembered that the officials in Ocosingo had looked at page 6 of my FM3 and remarked that had I been to the immigration office in San Cristóbal it would have been recorded on that page. However, there was no marking of this (as I had acknowledged when checking to see if there any new restrictions).

This worried me as I realized that perhaps the same thing could happen again if I passed another immigration checkpoint. I could not prove that I had already "verified my activities" except for the statement I had made; but again I did not have any official statement of the outcome of my interview, 'allowing' my presence in Chiapas.

This incident is an example of the ongoing governmental harassment of foreigners in the state of Chiapas. The fact that I was immediately cited, despite having the correct paperwork and without having done anything wrong, and lied to about procedures by the immigration authorities, is all part of the government campaign to obstruct international human rights observation while maintaining its low intensity war against the indigenous population.

While the Mexican Constitution gives me the freedom to move within the state (and the whole of Mexican territory for that matter), backed up by an FM3 visa without 'restrictions', I was still harassed for exercizing that right. I had followed all the guidelines established by the Mexican Government for carrying out that kind of research, but was still subjected to xenophobic treatment.

The government campaign against foreigners is intense and the indigenous people of Chiapas are desperate for observers to document and denounce the human rights violations that are committed by the Mexican Federal Army, the Chiapas Public Security Police, and paramilitary groups. My presence as an observer and my concern for recording their experiences was welcomed and appreciated by all the indigenous people that I met. Their request of me was always the same: that I use my position as a foreigner to publicize the atrocities committed against them and the difficult conditions under which they are being forced to live. This is precisely what the Mexican Government is afraid that we will do.

Carleen Pickard
May 25th 1998