[This Letter was submitted but never published by the Inquirer - they
did write back and say that although they felt it was a good letter they
already printed three other letters responding to the article by Florio.
Each reader should write to the paper and encourage them to continue to
carry articles on what is taking place in Chiapas - Florio's article was
actually quite good.]
2 June 1998
Letter to the Editor
I would like to commend The Philadelphia Inquirer for carrying the story
on May 25, Life in Chiapas, by Gwen Florio.
Florio's article commented on the Zedillo government's current intensification
of its low intensity warfare against the indigenous of southern Mexico,
which now includes an attack on international observers in the area of Chiapas.
Being one of those "international observers" recently deported
from Mexico (17 February) I would like to briefly expand upon the importance
of maintaining an international presence in Chiapas.
It should be clearly understood that the attempt to eliminate the internationals
from Chiapas is based on two objectives of the Zedillo government. First,
Zedillo seeks to establish and maintain control of the information and reporting
coming out of Mexico with respect to the issues and events pertaining to
the struggle in Chiapas. Second, with the removal of the international observers
- the "eyes" of the international community - from the Peace Camps
located in the Zapatista communities, the military and paramilitary groups
will be able to operate with even greater impunity to further threaten the
members of these communities in an effort to provoke them to take up arms.
And everyone understands that if the Zapatistas were to respond with arms
in any manner the Zedillo government would use this as the pretext to "justify"
a swift military action to entirely eliminate the Zapatista base communities
in an attempt to put an end to the Zapatista struggle.
To best illustrate these observations, the "official" story which
was first put forward by the Zedillo government to "explain" the
massacre on December 22nd of 45 unarmed refugees in Acteal (mostly women
and children who were seeking protection inside a local church) was that
the killings were the result of "family differences" - not explaining
of course how one family was heavily armed with AK-47s and was able to carry
out the massacre unhindered by any local police for over 5 hours, while
the other family was unarmed and living as refugees in Acteal, having left
their own communities weeks before with only the cloths on their backs.
Without the international presence and their reporting on the actual events
in Acteal the Zedillo "version" may have been accepted in the
international community, it may have gone unchallenged. It should be noted
that three weeks before the massacre in Acteal an international delegation
of human rights observers visited the area and reported (to the press and
the Zedillo government) that the daily threats (and assassinations) by the
paramilitaries created a tension in the region which was so high that a
"massacre" was imminent - the Zedillo government at that time
claimed that these allegations were totally unfounded. Then following the
massacre many international observers went into the community of Acteal
and Polho to take testimonies from the survivors, who revealed the horrors
of the event and identified those responsible. In the end, the Zedillo government
was forced to acknowledge what the internationals were reporting, that the
PRI party (the political party which Zedillo heads) was directly involved
in funding the paramilitaries and enabling the the massacre.
It is also important to recognize that there was no Peace Camp with international
observers in Acteal before the massacre, if there had been this community
would most likely not have become a target of such a brutal attack. The
international presence at the Peace Camps is essential, without it the level
of violence against the communities will certainly increase, and more massacres
will take place.
In light of this, I implore all those who can to go to Chiapas to do so.
The best way I believe for most to go to Chiapas at this time would be with
a delegation, such as the one being organized at this moment by the Mexican
Solidarity Network which is to leave for Mexico in early July, or with a
Global Exchange delegation. I would strongly suggest that anyone planning
to go to Chiapas on their own should first discuss the necessary precautions
and preparations for such a trip with someone who has recently returned.
We must not be intimidated by the deportations - this is precisely what
the Mexican government wants. For every person deported we must commit to
send ten more to take their place.
We must also show the Mexican government, as well as all other governments
who choose to oppress their own citizens, that we will not tolerate human
rights violations. And we certainly can not allow governments to limit our
right as concerned human beings to stand side by side in solidarity with
those who seek our help, no matter where that may be - this would be a most
dangerous precedent.
If one wishes, I can be contacted via e-mail at: res@scranton.com
Bob Schweitzer
Factoryville, PA