by a Mexico Solidarity compañero who was on the scene in Ocosingo, Jul 9, 1999

On June 30 a coalition of indigenous, teachers and opposition political parties took over city hall in Ocosingo, Chiapas. The demands were for more schools, better salaries for teachers, stop harassment and to expedite the withdrawal of military forces from the communities. The take over lasted until June 2, they made the declaration below of the negotiation outcomes.

It is of grave importance that you take a few minutes of your time and FAX the Governor Albores Guillen and President Zedillo a brief note in solidarity with the demands of the COAO, FREPPO and The Democratic Teachers Movement and for the municipal authorities to stop harassing and intimidating people associated with the COAO, FREPPO and The Teachers Democratic Movement.

I trust you will take some time out of you busy schedule. FAX the authorities below and send copies to ARIC-ID to 011-52-967-30949 or 011-52-967-30636.

Governor Robert Albores Guillen
011-52-3-01-1401-961

Dr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
Presidente de la República
Palacio Nacional
México, D.F. 06067
Fax (52 5) 271 1764 y 515 4783
webadmon@op.presidencia.gob.mx

Lic. Francisco Labastida Ochoa
Secretario de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er piso
Col. Juárez
México, D.F. 06699
Fax: (52 5) 546 5350 y 546 7380

Below you will find a summary of the demands plus the minutes of the negotiations.

Saludos from somewhere in Chiapas, claudio gaete

STOP THE REPRESSION

To the Mexican People and the world
To the President of the Republic of Mexico
To the National and International Human Rights Organizations
To the National Congress
To the State Congress
To Democratic and Social Organizations
To the media

On this 30th of June 1999, we find ourselves in the Civic Plaza the following organizations; Coalition of Autonomous Organizations of Ocosingo(COAO),the Front of Political Parties (FREPPO) and the Democratic Teachers Movement, are convinced that this difficult situation that our communities are living through and that the conflict in Chiapas be resolved through a peaceful and political means and that this should be the way to construct a peace with dignity in Chiapas, and that this should be the product of justice, democracy and the development for the social benefit of all people.

For that reason we say, STOP THE INJUSTICE committed by the Federal and State Government, specially Mr. Adolfo Gutierrez Cruz. Throughout this year, we have suffered violence, intimidation, harassment, militarization, imprisonment, fabricated accusations and indictments against independent indigenous organizational leaders, expulsion from our communities and homes, the misuse of public works funds towards corrupting and coopting public employees to enforce the hard-line enforcement of the state operates against organizations and indigenous people who do not share the political interest of the state government nor the application of the military politics of the supposed "state of law" by the repressive side of the municipality, state and federal government in favor and protection of the conservative sector in accomplice with and in favor of Mr. Roberto Albores Guillen. This politic has to do with the presidential succession, where publicly he has proclaimed his support for the official PRI presidential candidate of the Republic Mr.Francisco Labastida Ochoa.

For this reason, repressive measures have begun to counter balance the gains of the democratic forces, with the means to create the conditions and the use of public funds for the electoral politics of the year 2000, thus beginning to implement its promises to the state of Chiapas, the disarmament, indigenous rights, municipal redistricting, like the injustices that the democratic teachers movement, among others has had to withstand, which are initiatives that respond to the interest of the government, and not of the interest of the majority of Chiapanecan society, specially of the indigenous people. For the above reasons we denounce the injustice and the acts against us.

Since the beginning of this year 1999, the state government through C. Juan Villafuerte (employee of federal deputy Norberto Santiz, Alfredo Jimenez Cruz, Armando Molina, Flaviano Alfonso Ruiz (employees from the intergovernmental institutions of the state government) and employees from the municipal government began to organize and prepare the return of weapons by a group of 14 supposed zapatista deserters, they however, are known as delinquents in the community. It is in this fashion that on March 29 they returned weapons in exchange for productive projects, tractor, cattle and livestock, then they were supported on June 9 by 350 employees of diverse corporations in a mix operation by the Federal Public Ministry, accompanied by the Chiapas radio broadcaster Victor Cancino Villar manipulating information to the public, saying that the 380 residents of La Trinidad had requested the mixed operation for their own security.

This was completely false because not even the community authorities knew about the mixed operation coming. The mixed operation called for the public to meet which only 24 people attended (the majority did not attend). The people asked who had requested the presence of the mix base, it resulted to be the 14 supposed deserters. In a general assembly where the army general, Public Minister, the commandant of public security were present, it was established that the community never had requested nor were they happy about their presence in the community, all this is written up in sworn statements in the assembly were they reject the presence of the army, for this reason on the 14 and 20 of this month most of the mixed operation left but 56 elements of public security stayed behind.

In relation to the agreements of our organizations with the agricultural sector, especially the ARIC ID; we lament and worry about the attitude that the agricultural sector has taken in Chiapas, as is the case with the Secretary of Agricultural Reform in not complying and not advancing in the search for solutions to the legal claim of the land of the communities that are found in the Lacandona zone and Montes Azul Biosphere. They have used double speak, when we are looking for a negotiated settlement, they on the other hand use military force to threaten the people of the communities with displacement of their lands. This occurred on May 21, 1999 in the communities of Corozal and San Gregorio where the military arrived by helicopter accompanied by the employees of the agricultural sector. We ask ourselves, what place does the military have in these matters?

In the community of Nazareth, on March 30th there was a confrontation caused by political differences, provoked by the priistas, where 5 members of the FZLN were injured by shot wounds, one of them was Mr.Miguel Gomez Miranda shot by Mr. Humberto Gutierrez Mendez, for this act of violence the priistas requested the state government and municipality for a military post and public security was called in as well. To this date there are daily patrols that harass, threaten, and sexually harass women. Against this situation the women blocked the road on June 3rd and were displaced from their homes arbitrarily, the next day 4 military and seguridad publica were concentrated on Nazaret and since then many families have been displaced and kicked out of their homes.

On June 13, 1997 in the Bulsilja community a group of priistas harmed a group of EZLN sympathizers, in this incidents a child, Simon Sanchez Lopez was killed by Tomas Lopez, in addition to other people wounded. Since that date to the present the group of families have not been able to return to their community in Bulsija and are found displaced from their homes without the state or municipal governments doing justice nor contributing to create the conditions for their safe return. The municipal priista government have begun actions in priista communities to jail democratic teachers. Like the imposition of naming representatives to the Education Municipal Committee. The offices of ARIC Union de Uniones have been taken over and have been threaten to be taken over again by the ARIC Orantes known as Asesoria Alternativa (Alternative Resource), this group is assisted by the state government to brake the strength and the Reconciliation Pact,they have also presented injunctions against ARIC Union de Uniones and ARIC ID.

BECAUSE OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED:
TODAY WE HAVE MOVILIZED TO DEMAND THAT THE FEDERAL AND STATEAUTHORITIES RESOLVE OUR DEMANDS;

1. We request that the State and National Congress remove the Municipal President and his cabinet.
2. We demand that the State Congress form and recognize a Plural Municipal Council.
3. We request that the National Congress convene a commission to review and audit the use of public funds so that the funds will not be used for political ends by Mr. Governor Roberto Albores and much less to coopt and corrupt indigenous communities.
4. We request President Zedillo STOP the politics of military repression against indigenous, campesino and teachers organizations,specially against the indigenous communities and their leadership.
5. We request that the National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH)human rights organizations and to the sub commission of Human Rights of the United Nations to intervene in the defense of Human Rights,the cancellation of apprehension orders against organization leaders, the release of political prisoners specially Miguel Hernandez Perez and Antonio Lopez Vazquez prisoners in Cerro Hueco, like the cancellation of fabricated crimes against Taniperla.
6. We emphatically reject and disagree with the legal initiative that state government has implemented in regards to: Indigenous Rights and Culture, disarmament and redistricting of municipalities.
7. We demand that National Congress and the Federal Government to implement a policy of education, that responds to the improvement of salaries, and services for teachers like the opening of political space for democratic union representation, build schools of different educational levels and the continuation of community education program for the ARIC ID and the positive response to educational program of ARIC UU. We say NO to the initiative to privatize education as well as urge for the recognition of the Municipal Council on Participatory Social Education.
8. We request that the Secretary of Agricultural Reform intervene to definitively resolve the legal standing of the land tenure and that the agreements be completely implemented with our organizations.
9. The immediate withdrawal of the federal army from our communities.
10. The implementation of the agreements signed in San Andres.
11. We reject the proposal of the Mexican President to Privatize the Federal Electric Commission, given that this will adversely affect low income families as well as the general public. -The installation of electricity in communities and subsidized rate for low income communities.

COAO
FREPPO
MOVIMIENTO MAGISTERIAL DEMOCRATICO
ARIC ID
ARIC ID ZONA CENTRO
PRD
PVEM
ORCAO
PT
PAN
ARIC UU
BARRIOS URBANOS
CNPI
FZLN
XINICH DESPLAZADOS

Ocosingo, Chiapas July 2, 1999
To Public Opinion
To the People of Mexico and the World

Today the state government negotiating committee signed minutes in which they promised and made the following commitments;

1. In regards to the removal of the municipal president and the creation of a plural municipal council, our demand was not accepted and the absolute rejection by instructions of Governor Albores Guillen, the municipal president will not be removed in spite of our evidence presented and argued for the proof that was offered that showed the provocation in our communities, the divisions created, the irregularities and anomalies practiced during his months in office and the risk of instability and ingovernebility in our municipality.

2. In regards to the teachers demands, the state government committed itself to look for different alternatives and mechanism for solving and looking for improvement of health and education through different educational institutions, as well as stop harassing and incarcerating teacher activist by the municipal government. As for the rest of the teachers demands, they were incompetent to give us an answer.

3. In regards to the cancellation of apprehension orders, freeing of political prisoners, like clarifying immunity of those who were responsible for the assassination of community leaders, there will be the formation of a commission to review these cases and the violation of Human Rights. The negotiating committee agreed that neither the government nor the public security intervene in the internal affairs of the organizations.

4. In regards to the different legal initiatives implemented by the state government, impartial consultation process and while there is no accord with the public to implement said initiatives there will be no unilateral actions against our communities.

5. In regards to the investigation and audit of public funds there will be a congressional request of the state and the Union to intervene in these matters for the implementation of a just and equitable distribution policy of public funds.

6. In regards to the immediate withdrawal of military and public security forces from our communities the presidential intervention will be requested to give the order to Federal and State government.

7. In regards to Agrarian concerns it was requested that the agrarian secretary of the SRA and the agrarian sector comply with the agrarian agreements with our organizations and the stop of threats of displacement by the military and police.

8. We also manifested our resounding no to the privatization of energy resources.

9. We will go to the electoral authorities to request that removal of the Ocosingo Federal Election Institute and his Board of Directors for having declared his parciality.

10. We demand for the Federal Government to comply with the accords signed in San Andres.

The minutes were not signed by us because they did not satisfy our political demands, and will not do so until we begin to see concrete results and actions by the government. We give them 30 days to give us a written response as to what is in their competency and what they are incapable of doing for being federal jurisdiction and we will meet with the proper authorities. Furtheremore, we declare that we will consult with our communities for possible future actions.

JUSTICE AND PEACE ARE CONSTRUCTED IN A RELATIONSHIP OF DIGNITY AND JUSTICE BETWEEN SOCIETY AND THE STATE

Sincerely,

COAO, ARIC Independiente y Democratica, ARIC ID zona centro, ARIC Union de Uniones, Barrios Urbanos, CNPI, ORCAO, FZLN.
FREPPO; PRD,PAN,PVEM and PT
TEACHERS DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT