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http://www.nonviolentways.org/mapas.html
I was thinking while I was looking at those maps of Chiapas that it is
important to bear a few things in mind.
1. The Zapatistas rose up in January of '94, mostly in the area of
Ocosingo and San Cristobal de las Casas, and then spread by December of '94
to the areas shown (which are also the areas of Mayan presence).
2. The Mexican Army first had a military encirclement of the Zapatista
zones and then invaded and occupied those areas in February of '95.
3. Mexican officers being trained at various military schools in the
United States increased greatly in early '95 (and has continued to
increase).
4. With the exception of the paramilitary group "Paz y Justicia", which
already was in existence prior to '94, the rest of the paramilitary groups
sprang into existence and operation subsequent to early '95 and continue to
grow in numbers, strength and activities. These paramilitary groups are
operating in the areas with the highest presence of Mexican Army units
(with officers recently trained in the US in "counterinsurgency").
Note: During this same time that all of these paramilitary groups are being
developed the Mexican government was also engaging the Zapatistas in a
dialogue for "the recognition of the rights and culture of indigenous
peoples". It seems to me to be too bad the government didn't put more
resources and enery into implementing the resulting accords and less into
military occupation and the development of death squads.
5. The zones with the presence of internally displaced persons are the
same zones with the presence of Mexican Army and paramilitary groups. In
fact, these maps, if dated and made into transparencies, could be laid over
each other and would pretty much tell the story;
- -popular rebellion
- -military invasion and occupation
- -development of paramilitary groups (death squads)
- -massacres and othe forms of violence by the paramilitaries resulting in
- refugee camps
6. In spite of the military occupation, the development of paramilitary
groups, the human rights violations, the many other attempts to erode the
Zapatista's base of support, and the Mexican government's failure to
implement the signed accords for indigenous rights and culture, the
autonomous zones and regions continue to be developed by the indigenous
communities.
It would seem to me that anyone looking at these maps and thinking about
the information which I listed above could fairly easily see that the
Mexican government's claims that the Mexican Army's role is to "fight drug
trafficking" and "preserve the peace" are completely bogus.
It is pretty difficult to see in these maps anything to lend credibility to
the Mexican government's claims that they are seeking dialogue or that
there are "conditions in existence for dialogue". In fact these maps
pretty much illustrate just what is Low-Intensity-War.
Kerry Appel
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NUEVO AMANECER PRESS-N.A.P.To know about us visit:
http://www.nap.cuhm.mx/nap0.htm (spanish)
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General Director:Roger Maldonado-Mexico Director Europe: Darrin Wood-Spain
Advisor and Special Correspondent:Guillermo Michel-Mexico.
NAP Coordination:Susana Saravia
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The source of the maps is:
The Center for Economic and Political Investigation and Community Action
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México
http://www.ciepac.org
La fuente de los mapas es:
Centro de Investigación Económica y Política y Acción Comunitaria
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México
http://www.ciepac.org
The author of the web page is:
Wes Rehberg, Nonviolent Ways Project
e-mail
Autor de la hoja web es:
Wes Rehberg, Proyecto de la Vía No-Violenta
correo electrónico
Year in Review: 1998-99
