[IMC-Tech] Article that's worth posting in middle column of top page

[Andrew Kennis]

Hey fellow global IMC'ers, 

We already posted the following article (pasted below
with a slight headline change) at your site
(http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=18271),
but we thought it was worth posting in the middle
column of the top page. It's a great story with lots
of background and is making headlines on a daily basis
here in Mexico (and sometimes abroad as well). Thanks
for your consideration!

--AK & RF


Thousands of Zapatistas and Supporters 
Demonstrate & Express Demands

By Andrew Kennis and Ryan Foster

Summary: In a story filed and reported directly from
San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, NYC-IMC
reporter Andrew Kennis and Ryan Foster write on the
general background of the Chiapas uprising and also
write about how over 5,000 Zapatistas and supporters
marched over a mile from the outskirts of San
Cristóbal to the Plaza de la Paz to express Zapatista
demands and solidarity.

San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico: On January 1st, 1994,
the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN)
undertook an uprising that would result in the
occupation of over four towns in the Mexican state of
Chiapas.  The date of the uprising was symbolic, as it
coincided with the official date for NAFTA
implementation and as their spokesman Subcommandante
Marcos explained, the “free-trade” pact was a “death
sentence for the indigenous peoples.”  The uprising
lasted for twelve days, when President Salinas
declared a unilateral cease fire on January 12th. 
Thereafter, peace negotations began in February and a
temporary settlement would wind up being rejected by
the Zapatista communities (the communities are seen as
the main base for decision making, as opposed to prior
armed Latin American movements, which tended to depend
upon a more hierarchal model). Eventually, a pact was
agreed to on February 16, 1996 by both the government
and the Zapatistas in the town of San Andrés (i.e. the
San Andrés accords), but it was never implemented.

In the seven years that has passed since the uprising,
a massive military occupation has ensued, resulting in
denunciations from a plethora of respected human
rights organizations, including Amnesty International.
 In their annual report from the past year, Amnesty
reported that in Chiapas, “Human rights abuses,
including killings, the torture and ill-treatment of
detainees, and the displacement of indigenous
communities” occurred alongside “Acts of intimidation
directed at indigenous people by ‘paramilitary’”
groups. Such instances, Amnesty further notes, “were
frequently reported.”  Global Exchange, a human rights
group based in San Francisco with additional offices
in Mexico City and San Cristóbal, reports that “the
Mexican government first abandoned, and then
undermined, efforts at a negotiated solution” and
“instead, it relies on military and paramilitary
forces to wage a campaign of low intensity warfare”
that features “attacks by government supported
paramilitary groups.” 

In the same report, Global Exchange reveals U.S.
support and complicity, as “US-trained personal and US
equipment are used in carrying out attacks on
indigenous communities.”  Such support has occurred
“Since 1997,” whereby “the US has provided $1.12
billion dollars in military assistance to Mexico. In
1998, Mexico sent more military personal to the US for
training than any country in the Western Hemisphere;
in 1999, Mexico was second only to Colombia.”

But after the long standing rule of the Instutional
Revoluationary Party (PRI) was brought to an end in
the Presidential election this past year (as well as
in many regional and local elections), the newly
elected President Fox of the National Action Party
(PAN) had quipped that he could “solve the Chiapas
problem in 15 minutes.”  That has not quite happened
yet, and as a result, a demonstration was planned
today in San Cristóbal de las Casas, to commemorate
what had happened seven years ago and also to iterate
current Zapatista demands. 

The massive demonstration was perhaps not as
monumental of an occassion as what happened seven
years ago – but it came pretty close, as over 5,000
Zapatistas and supporters marched over a mile from the
outskirts of San Cristóbal.  The demonstrators first
gathered early in the morning at around 9:30am,
whereby journalists and onlookers had expected an
early march.  In true Zapatista form though, the march
began unexpectedly late, as more and more Zapatistas
and supporters kept filing in at the intersection of
B. Juan Sabines & Periferico Sur (at around 2:00pm,
for example, five bus loads of demonstrators arrived).
 Dozens and dozens of signs were displayed during this
waiting period, as thousands of demonstrators sat in
silence with their signs of protest loudly proclaiming
their demands.  Not a word or a chant was even
breathed until the march finally began at around
3:00pm.  

At that time, the previously silent group began a loud
and highly emotionally charged march heading towards
the Plaza de la Paz.  At various points in the march,
demonstrators ran and fervently chanted a number of
Zapatista demands from the newly elected Mexican
Presidential administration of Vicente Fox.  In
addition to the chants, many signs reflected the
“three signals” necessary for the start of peace
negotiations.  The signals were stated by Marcos in a
recent communique that was published in La Jornada:
“the liberation of all Zapatista prisoners, the exit
of the army from the seven positions and the
constitutional recognition of indigenous rights and
culture.” The “seven positions” that Marcos mentioned
refers to the seven military bases in Chiapas, which
are now down to four, thanks to the closure of three
bases by Fox in response to pressure from the
Zapatistas and international supporters. 
Nevertheless, signs and chants demanded the immediate
withdrawal and closure of the remaining four miiltary
bases in Chiapas.  In response to such demands, Fox
was quoted in La Jornada as saying “¿Que quiéren mas?”
(“What more do they want?”).  

Other signs and chants seemingly answered Fox’s
question, as many more demands were articulated, such
as a call for the complete release of all remaining
Zapatista political prisoners and a demand for the
immediate implementation of the San Andrés accords,
currently waiting for approval from the Mexican
legislature. During the speeches that were made in the
Plaza following the march, another demand was
articulated – a demand for democracy.  The speakers
defined democracy as meaning autonomy for the
indigenous peoples of Chiapas, including native
sovereignty rights over land use (the infamous slogan,
“Tierra y Libertad” was repeated on more than one
occassion).  

The demonstrators themselves featured a wide array of
people and supporters.  Most prominently represented
were the Zapatistas themselves, and their respective
indigenous sympathizers.  Even amongst this group,
however, many types of clothing were worn and
different chants were shouted.  Ranging from “Long
live the students of UNAM” to “Long live the army of
the poor,” the demonstrators’ chants showed what has
become typical for Zapatistas and their supporters – a
significant level of solidarity with movements all
around the world.  Perhaps the most significant
previous example besides today’s show of support for
other movements, was the important role that the
Zapatistas played in organizing the formation of the
People’s Global Action against Free Trade and the
World Trade Organization (via several “encuentros”) –
the organization that went on to form the basis of
organizing the protests that later shut down the WTO
and caused the organization to be relatively impotent
thereafter.  

The demonstration comes in light of a highly
anticipated trip by the EZLN Indigenous Revolutionary
Clandestine Committee and an international delegation
of supporters to Mexico City for peace negotiations
with President Fox.  The trip is due to start on
February 26th and will culminate in the much hyped
meeting with the President.  A pre-condition for the
talks set by the Zapatistas, however, included the
three “signals,” which were largely amplified during
the demonstration, as noted above.

Two images that remained after the demonstration came
from both the beginning and the end of the day’s
event.  The first of which, was when a young Mexican
girl delivered some food to a young indigenous girl –
who hesitantly, but graciously accepted the show of
support.  At the end of the speeches in the Plaza, it
was hard not to be struck by the impressive solidarity
that the indigenous Zapatistas and their supporters
gave to each other, as shown by the orderly and
dignified way they filed out into the trucks and vans
that would take them back to their respective
autonomous communities. 


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