The following is a copy of the letter that SAIIC sent to President Salinas
Gortari. We ask you to please write your own letter of concern regarding
this critical situation.
Mr. CARLOS SALINAS DE GORTARI President of the United States of Mexico
January 4, 1994 Palacio Presidencial El Zcalo Mexico DF Mexico
With great deliberation and respect:
In the name of the SOUTH AND MESO AMERICAN INDIAN INFORMATION CENTER
(SAIIC), we address ourselves to you, Mr. President, in order to express
our concern and consternation over the recent acts of violence that have
been taking place in Chiapas. We gravely manifest the following:
As we have received information from reliable sources present at the zone
of conflict, informing us that during the last two days, troops of the
Mexican army have been detaining, beating, and otherwise repressing
civilians and indigenous leaders of Tojolabal, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, and Chole
communities;
And as these activities contradict the calls to dialogue that the Mexican
government has loudly proclaimed, while on the other hand the army
continues its offensive in a campaign of repression that entails severe
abuses and violations of the human rights of the communities mentioned
above;
As, according to official sources, the number of casualties is held to be
57, while sources from the zone itself affirm that the number of casualties
has reached at least 130;
As we believe that the path of violence is not the best means to resolve
the conflict; and we alsodoubt that those responsible for inciting and
leading the uprising are Indigenous Peoples; yet we are certain that these
uprisings are the result of many years of oppression, abuse, and denial of
the ancestral rights of the Indigenous Mayan Peoples who inhabit the
region;
For all of the above reasons, we demand of the government for which you are
responsible, Mr. President, the following:
1) That the army immediately cease the attacks, detentions, and abuse of
defenseless civilians of these Indigenous communities;
2) That there be an immediate cease-fire, and that there be dialogue and
negotiations between the government, the rebels, and the Indigenous
authorities of the communities.
3) That a High Commission be formed that shall include representatives from
the United Nations, and from both national and international independent
Indigenous organizations to participate as observers and as witnesses in
the negotiations for peace, and to investigate the violations of human
rights.
4) That the border with Guatemala not be militarized, as that course of
action would affect Indigenous refugees from Guatemala. It needs to be up
to the refugees themselves to choose if they want to flee Mexico.
5) Given that both the recent NAFTA treaty as well as the modification of
Article 27 of the new Mexican Constitution endanger Indigenous
landholdings, we demand an inmediate and full enforcement of Article 4 of
the Constitution, which has been tied up in bureaucratic maneuvers, and
which can offer certain legal protections to Indigenous landholdings. We
also demand the full enforcement of Covenant 169 of the International Labor
Organization, which Mexico has already adopted on paper.
Mr. President, we await full reparations for the historical injustices that
the Mayan Peoples have suffered and continue to suffer today. The
indigenous organizations of the world, as well as international
organizations, will be watching to see what happens in Chiapas. We will be
at your disposal to contribute in any way that we can towards the
attainment of a just peace.
Respectfully Yours,
SAIIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
cc: Coordinating Body of Indigenous Nations and Organizations of the
Continent (CONIC) and other indigenous organizations world-wide.
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations United
Nations and its component organizations