REPORT ON CHIAPAS
BY
Dennis Dunleavy
Independent photojournalist
for human rights in Latin America
January 25, 1994
INTRODUCTION
On January 10, 1994, I arrived in Mexico City as a member of the U.S.
delegation of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Other members of the
delegation included: Phil McManus, FOR Task Force on Latin American and
the Caribbean Chairperson, John Sinclair, Mission Board of Directors of
the Presbyterian Church U.S.A and a representative of the World Council
of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, and Martin Shupack, J.D., Mexico
City, lawyer working in human rights for the Mennonite Central
Committee. Our work and findings focused on the Ocosingo area which was
the scene of some of the heaviest fighting between the Mexican Army and
the rebels of the Zapatista National Liberation Army. The delegation
concluded its work in Ocosingo on January 14, after which I then
accompanied other U.S. delegations to other parts of the conflict zone
in Chiapas. By the end of my two week stay in Chiapas I was able to
visit all of the towns which had been occupied by the rebels during the
first days of January. These towns included, Ocosingo, Altamirano, San
Cristobal de las Casas, and Las Margaritas. In addition, I was able to
visit the isolated community of Morelia, Chiapas with a caravan of
humanitarian aid including medical supplies.
I returned home on January 24, 1994. The other two separate delegations
I accompanied included members, Marjorie D. Allen, Washington, DC -
based labor lobbyist and board member of the International Labor Rights,
Education and Research Fund, Jeff Faux, President of the Economic Policy
Institute and Jose De La Luz, director of International Solidarity and
representative of the Amalgamated Textile and Clothing Workers Union,
Peter Schey, lawyer and Executive Director of the Center for Human
Rights and Constitutional Law, and Carlos Holguin, lawyer with the
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. The purpose of this
report is to share my findings and observations about the conflict in
Chiapas.
SUMMARY OF CONCERNS
Access to remote communities that have been prevented by the Mexican
Army from leaving their areas. This has made it impossible for the
mostly indigenous populations to work, buy food, and care for their sick
at hospitals in the larger towns.
Complaint: The liberties of the indigenous to freely move about outside
of their communities to look for work, buy needed supplies and care for
their families.
The government's position on amnesty with regard to respect for human
rights and the long standing demand by the indigenous of Chiapas for
social, agrarian and land reforms.
Complaint: Some observers and legal experts feel the amnesty provisions
fail to consider and reconcile the neglect and abuses suffered by the
indigenous people by the government, the rich and the peoples of mixed
race in Chiapas. In short, some people I spoke with considered this
amnesty nothing more than a surrender without the needed reforms by the
government to help the marginalized of Chiapas.
Question: Could this amnesty also to used to shelter and provide
impunity for Mexican army soldiers and commanders who may have committed
human rights violations during the occupation of Chiapas?
The need for a swift and complete investigation by government and
international human rights observers of abuses and human rights
violations committed by the Mexican Army and the rebels after the
sieges of the cities of Altamirano, San Cristobal de las Casas,
Ocosingo and Las Margaritas.
Complaint: The detention of civilians based on discrimination, suspicion
and the fear of indigenous population by peoples of mixed race which has
led to torture, disappearances, and the alleged summary executions of
rebel prisoners by the Mexican army. This history of oppression and
abuse of the indigenous in Chiapas by peoples of wealth and mixed race
has opened the door to a series of denouncements and accusations so
called "witch hunts" based on mere suspicion association and fear by
non indigenous and mixed race peoples in the communities against
the indigenous.
Long standing disputes within communities over land, water and access
to health care and other social services.
Complaint: Peaceful demonstrations and lawful attempts to bring about
change within communities has been ineffective. Cases of corruption by
government officials, wealthy landowners and others has led to the
brutal oppression of the indigenous population for more than three
decades.
There is much hope and coordination in trying to respond to the urgent
needs of the indigenous communities who find themselves caught in a
conflict that few were prepared for. In San Cristobal de las Casas a
coalition of local non-governmental organizations has been formed to
assist communities in areas of human rights, health care, material and
food assistance. This group is call The Coordination of Non-Governmental
Organizations of San Cristobal de Las Casas for the Peace (CONPAZ).
Other important efforts to bring peace back to Chiapas are coming from
the Catholic Bishop's office. San Cristobal de Las Casas Bishop Samuel
Ruiz Garcia and his human rights center at the "Fray de Bartholome"
have been coordinating international delegations and human rights
investigations. They are also directly involved, through Bishop Ruiz,
with mediating the conflict between the rebels and the government.
In addition, the work of the National Civil Mexican Human Rights
Network called "All the Rights For All the People" has been an extremely
important link in assisting international human rights observers in
Chiapas. They are also involved in gathering and passing along cases of
alleged human rights violations. All of these groups deserve our
support.
THE MARGINALIZATION AND EXPLOITATION
OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF CHIAPAS
The root causes of the conflict in Southern Mexico that caught the world
by surprise on January 1, 1994 can be attributed greatly to the extreme
marginalization of the indigenous sector of Mexican society.
Of the 3.2 million inhabitants in Chiapas more than 60 percent are
indigenous from the Ch'ol, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Zoque and Lacandon groups.
For many generations these native people of Mayan ancestry have faced
the discrimination, intimidation, abuse and exploitation from a
minority of non indigenous and mixed race Peoples. Generally the
indigenous live in small villages outside of the larger communities,
like Ocosingo, Altamirano, Las Margaritas or San Cristobal de Las Casas.
Many of the villages lack good roads, electricity, potable water,
sanitation, and access to educational,medical and employment
opportunities. The indigenous, as a native people in Mexico are
considered by those of mixed race and "white" as a backwards people who
represent nothing more than an expendable source of cheap labor. On
average, the indigenous campesino earns about 5,000 old pesos, about
$1.35 a day on the region's ranches, coffee plantations and farms.
The daily minimum wage in Mexico is set at 12,500 old pesos.
Many indigenous live in abject poverty, but far worse than these
condition is the racism and discrimination that has prevented them from
bettering their existence for hundreds of years. The Army and the
federal authorities have played an important role in oppressing the poor
of Chiapas. The violent uprising can be attributed in great part to the
harsh living conditions, but there are also other factors that have
contributed to the violent uprising. The discovery of oil reserves in
the Lacandon jungle, the attempt to open the region even further to
lumber interests threaten the indigenous way of life, and the impact of
the North American Free Trade Agreement on the domestic agricultural
market. The expulsions of indigenous from their lands by wealthy land
owners, their hired vigilantes known as the "Guardia Blanca" or white
guard and federal authorities has been common practice over the years.
Peaceful demonstrations to obtain legal rights to land in Chiapas by
indigenous communities has been met on several occasions with brutal
force, detention, torture and assassination by the authorities and
the landed elite. In my opinion, Chiapas is a feudal state run by
the corrupt and merciless. In Palenque last year more than 100 men
were jailed after a protest in the town's plaza for land rights and
a similar demonstration in Ocosingo by peasants was also broken up
violently by members of the ranchers association along with the local
authorities.
All of the elements for rebellion have be in place here for a very
long time, including marginalization, abject poverty and the failure to
find peaceful and legal means to resolve differences.
Rumors of the existence of a rebel army in Chiapas have been surfacing
for at least four years. News reports of Zapatistas training in the
Lacandon jungle last year made the possibility of an uprising public
knowledge, but both the Mexican and U.S. governments tried to downplay
and dismiss the issue prior to the debate on the North American Free
Trade Agreement in Congress.
Mexico's ruling PRI party was preoccupied with NAFTA. Millions of
dollars were spent on advertising and lobbying in Washington. It
seemed that President Salinas was willing to risk the potentially
embarrassing, dangerous and unstable situation in Chiapas. In short,
Salinas put all his eggs into the NAFTA basket and one of them broke
open. The poverty of Chiapas. I do not feel that this crisis will be
settled until the more long standing issues dealing with human rights
and social reforms is properly addressed by the Mexican government. The
government's spin on the conflict has spun out of control. Blame for the
conflict in Chiapas shifts weekly between radical elements of the
Catholic Church, Bishop Ruiz, to foreign armies of transgressors from El
Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru. The real cause of the conflict
in Chiapas is not these sources, but the complete and total failure of
a few rich and insensitive people to recognize the rights of the many.
It's about race, politics, greed and even divisions between religions.-
OCOSINGO, CHIAPAS., JANUARY 12 - 13, 1994
The large military presence and the reservations of local people to
speak openly about the events that followed the attack on Ocosingo by
the rebels made confirming reports of abuses and gathering testimonies
difficult. Many people talked in general terms about a dramatic battle,
a "massacre" of the Zapatistas by the Mexican Army. The real number of
deaths and injuries remains unconfirmed. The findings of the Fellowship
of Reconciliation report give a better understanding of the events that
took place in Ocosingo. Please refer to the FOR report in which I
contributed some of the background information.
ALTAMIRANO, CHIAPAS., January 15, 16, 19, 20, 1994
The people of Altamirano are extremely divided along ethnic, religious
and political lines. At least on three occasions members of our
delegation encountered hostile and aggressive groups of people of mixed
race that challenged our presence in the community. In my opinion it is
a longstanding history of discrimination and prejudice in Altamirano
that has led to the denouncement, detention and disappearances of
more than forty indigenous men based solely on suspicion and race. In
some cases the Army's occupation of Altamirano has given some town's
people the opportunity to settle old scores with the indigenous. We have
also knowledge of the existence of a toll free telephone number to the
military that people can use to turn in their neighbors. This may
support the argument that the military actually encourages the practice
of denouncements. Amnesty International has reported the disappearances
of more than 92 men from their communities in and around this region.
CASES OF DETENTION IN ALTAMIRANO, CHIAPAS.
Concerning the detention of Juan Diego Hernandez Garcia, 26, of
Altamirano, Chiapas. Testimony taken January 16, 1994.
Hernandez Garcia said that at about noon on Wednesday, January 5,1994 he
was coming from work when the Mexican Army arrived on his block. He was
taken by the soldiers at this time to the house of a man named Jose
Jimenez Hernandez who accused him of being a Zapatista soldier. The
Mexican Army then began to torture him, beat him and kicked him, he
reported. They hit him in the head with their helmets and said that made
him say that he knew how to work the communications radio.
He said that he told the soldiers that he didn't know about the radio
and they hit him to make him say that he knew how. They kicked gravel
from the floor in his eyes. He then told human rights observers that he
had been working at the San Carlos Hospital as an assistant chemical
analyst.
After he was arrested the soldiers covered his eyes and on top of this
put another cover so that he couldn't tell if it was night or day. He
couldn't see anything he said.
The soldiers then took him to a warehouse where he later saw (apparently
partially through the blindfolds) that there were many televisions and
tape recorders which he believed had been taken from the community.
When he presented his voter identification card he said the soldiers
tore it up. He said that he had insulted and mistreated.
After a few hours he was taken by truck to a place that he didn't
recognize along with four other men from Altamirano: Javier, Pancho,
Salvador Garcia Garcia and Alejandro Munoz. Hernandez said that they
were together for four days before they were taken away again to another
place, Comitan. He said it was there that Salvador was released. On the
first day in Comitan the soldiers gave them a little coffee and it
seemed that they were good people. They knew that they were in Comitan
because they could see the vaults of the cemetery. they were thrown
together. It was cold, he said and they were without shirts and shoes.
They only had pants on. On the following day they were taken to a
warehouse where the soldiers were keeping what appeared be to dead
bodies. He said that he thought they were dead because they weren't
moving.
He reported that he couldn't tell if they were dead Mexican Army
soldiers or Zapatistas in the warehouse. He and the others were bound
with their eyes covered. When he asked to go to the bathroom he said
that he was denied. They had been hungry the entire time that they had
been captured. They asked him if he knew about a women or about some
christian catechists. He said that the soldiers told them that the
catechists were guerrillas.
They kicked him in the testicles and tortured him when they wanted he
reported. Later the soldiers took them out of the warehouse and he
thought that were going to be killed. The bodies were still in the
warehouse and he could smell them burning. He said that they could smell
gasoline, coffee and the bodies. They could feel the intense heat.
And as they were being taken away there was a blast of heat from
the fire and what he thought was an explosion. They couldn't tell how
many dead were in the warehouse. The soldiers continued to torture them
and had tied them up lying between the seats of the truck.
Three of the soldiers were standing around him when he passed out.
He reported that his wrists had been burned from the ropes and when they
neared Las Margaritas he woke up during an exchange of gun fire with the
rebels. He then said that it was a miracle that he were still alive and
later got free.
Concerning the detentions and disappearances of Pedro, Venancio and
Marcos Hernandez Jimenez and Ancelmo Velaquez from the town of
Altamirano on January 9, 1994. Testimony taken on January 16, 1994.
According to the wife of one of the men someone in the village had
denounced the three brothers as being guerrillas. The soldiers
came into her home looking for the men in the colonia of Las
Casitas and destroyed property. The women said that the soldiers
took everything from the house, including jackets and clothing.
"They left us with nothing," she said. On January 9, the men were
in the store that was owned by their mother when the soldiers came
and took them. During the struggle the mother, who was the only
witness, injured her ankle when she was pushed.
Concerning the detention and disappearance of Marcos Lopez Santiz,
35, from the town of Altamirano.
On Tuesday, January 11, 1994 witness say that they saw soldiers
grab Lopez Santiz when he was out buying food. They said that they
saw the soldiers beat him and tie him up.
Concerning the detention and disappearance of Domingo Gomez Lopez,
24, from the town of Altamirano.
The soldiers arrived on Saturday January 8, 1994. On Sunday, the
following day, they captured Domingo Gomez Lopez, according to his
wife. "We were in the house. I have two children. When the soldiers
came in they told us to stand or they would make us stand. When I
said I would they told me to do it or they would hit me. When they
took my husband away I tried to walk behind him. They told me not
to go or they would kill him," she said. Domingo Gomez Lopez was
then taken to the jail in Altamirano for questioning. The soldiers
told the wife that her husband was one of the guerrillas. Gomez
Lopez told the soldiers that he wasn't, according to his wife. He
reportedly told the military that he had been drinking for two or
three days and that on January 1, 1994 he was still drunk. His wife
said that he was taken to Comitan and that she hasn't heard from
him since. "The soldiers won't let me return to my house and I'm in
the hospital because my son is sick. I need food and when I went to
ask the soldiers for food they asked where my husband was. I told
them he wasn't here and they said that I would have to bring him
there to get food. "If you don't have a husband here, there are
soldiers, take one, although they are old . . " she said they told
her.
Concerning the detention and disappearance of Jacinto Espinoza
Santos, 45, from the barrio of Arneal in Altamirano.
According to his wife, Jacinto Espinoza Santos was taken away by
the military on January 11, 1994. She thought that they had taken
him to the jail at Cerro Hueco in Tuxla Gutierrez, but that nobody
has seen him since.
LIST OF DISAPPEARED FROM ALTAMIRANO
Alfredo Garcia Lopez*, Ancelmo Perez Lopez*, Antonio Santiz Lopez*,
Armando Mendez Santiz*, Amrmando Lopez Santiz*, Artemio Moralez
Lopez*, Artemio Santiz Lopez*, Domingo Santiz Gomez*, Efrain Lopez
Santiz*, Felipe Luna Santiz*, Florentino Santiz Perz, Florindo
Lopez Sanchez, Florindo Lopez Santiz, Francisco Sanchez Gomez,
Gilberto Mendez Santiz*, Guillermo Sanchez Lopez*, Guillermo Santiz
Lopez*, Hermalindo Santiz Gomez*, Ignacio Lopez Santiz*, Isidro
Santiz Luna, Jacinnnnto Santiz Encin, Javier Gomez Lopez, Jesus
Mendoza Lopez, Joaquin Lopez Sanchez*, Jorge Garcia Santiz*, Jesus
Santiz Perez*, Jorge Garcia Lopez*, Juan Diego Hernandez Garcia,
Lorenzo Lopez Santiz*, Lorenzo Lopez Luna, Manuel Lopez Santiz*,
Manuel Santiz Encin, Martin Santiz Hernandez*, Martin Perez Gomez,
Pedro Lopez Santiz*, Raymundo Santiz Perez, Sebastain Perez Encin*,
Sebastian Santiz Garica*, Sebastian Santiz Lopez*, Serberiano
Santiz Gomez*, Vincente Santiz Garcia*
* denotes that these men are still unaccounted for my their
families and communities. According to the military commander on
duty on January 16, 1994 he reported that he had no knowledge of
any detentions in Altamirano.
Concerning the Hospital of San Carlos in Altamirano.
this small rural hospital serves an indigenous population as well
as the community at large. Tensions surrounding the care of the
indigenous there have made the work of the religious sisters
difficult. Usually all of the beds are full of patients, but since
the conflict began the communities outside of Altamirano have not
been allowed to leave to bring in their sick. The Mexican Army is
preventing people from leaving their communities and it wasn't
until January 18 that shipments of medicines and food were
distributed into the outlying communities.
MORELIA, CHIAPAS., January 19 -20 , 1994
Morelia is a small communal farming village of 180 indigenous
families about 12 kilometers away from Altamirano. The community
has been divided for sometime now over religious and political
differences.
According to the villagers the army arrived in Morelia on January
6, 1994 at about 6 a.m. with helicopters, aircraft, tanks and about
1,000 soldiers. The men of the village were taken from their houses
and brought to the basketball court near the Catholic church and
town store. At this point they were told to lie face down on the
cement court. Some complained of being beaten and kicked. Some were
pushed down and told that they were going to die.
The women and children remained inside their homes. According to
the men, 31 were selected out and taken away by helicopter. Three
other men, Serviano Santiz, Hermelindo Santiz and Sebastian Santiz
were taken inside the Church where they were reportedly tortured by
the military. "We could hear them screaming inside the church for
about 30 minutes," one man said. Later I was shown the electric
light wire that was said to have been used for the torture. An
ironic observation to the reports of torture in Morelia was that in
the small room where the torture was to have taken place there is
a fairly large poster stating the International Declaration of
Human Rights on the wall.
As of January 24, 1994 several of the men have not returned to the
community. In all, only 16 have returned and there is great concern
over the fate of the missing men, especially the three that were
taken inside of the church. Those that did return talked about the
crowded and horrible conditions that had to face while inside the
prison at Cerro Hueco. "They burned my hands and face," one of the
returned men said later in a news report.
The treatment of the men on the basketball court was also reported
as being harsh. Men complained about being beaten, kicked and not
being allowed to urinate for the more than eleven hours they were
out in the sun under arrest by the army. They also talked about
bombings that were going in the area. On January 19, I was present
when a doctor examined several of the men that were complaining of
pains from the beatings. One man had a scar across the bridge of
his nose after he said he was kicked in the back of the head and
his face it the cement court. Other men complained of pain, but
there were no visible marks or bruises. The general health of the
people of Morelia is also a concern. Doctors reported that a
majority of the people there are suffering from malnutrition and
respiratory illnesses, including most of the children.
LAS MARGARITAS, CHIAPAS., JANUARY 17, 1994
Probably the most disturbing of the testimonies I was involved with
came from the fathers of two young that were reported detained in
Las Margaritas on January 16, 1994. Jorge Mariano Solis, 21, and
Eduardo Gomez Hernandez, 22, were reportedly in the plaza of Las
Margaritas on the evening of January 16 when they were arrested by
a solider or a police officer at about 6:45 p.m.
A witness confirmed seeing Solis in the town's administrative
building at 7 p.m.
The fathers reported that the men were seen being taken away to the
military command in Las Margaritas. Both were bound and blind
folded.
Solis's family recently moved into town from the remote community
of Trinidad Realidad. Gomez Hernandez was Trinidad's community bus
driver. Solis had also represented community farmers in obtaining
financial credits before his disappearance according to his father.
Following the detentions, the fathers appealed to the local,
federal, state and military authorities as to the whereabouts of
the young men. The authorities denied knowledge of their existence.
In addition, one of the father went to Comitan to ask the military
command about his son.
On January 24, 1994 at 8:30 a.m. the bodies of Jorge Mariano Solis
and Eduardo Gomez Hernandez were found near the community of Agua
Prieta, Las Margaritas. Both bodies showed signs of stabbings and
we are now awaiting the autopsy results.
SUGGESTED ACTIONS, APPEALS AND CONCERNS
1. Contact between local and national human rights groups in
Mexico.
2. Appeals to President Salinas de Gotari of Mexico, President
Clinton, and members of congress concerning the detention,
disappearance, torture, summary execution of prisoners and deaths
of men taken out of communities during the Mexican Army occupation
of the region.
2. Support for Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia of San Cristobal de Las
Casas.
3. Funds to support the local nongovernmental organization
assisting communities in need in Chiapas.
4. International presence in Chiapas to raise awareness and offer
assistance in the areas of social promotion, health care, and human
rights.
PERSONAL APPEAL
In Chiapas I have found that in many of the surrounding and more
isolated communities that there is an urgent need for primary
medical care and basic material assistance.
Malnutrition, respiratory illnesses, parasites and disease are the
most common ailments.
Since my return I have decide to volunteer to help coordinate a
fund drive for medical assistance in Chiapas.
The International Medical Relief Fund, a non-profit organization
was established in 1983 by Bill Monning and Dr. Charlie Clements to
respond to medical needs in El Salvador during that country's civil
war.
The IMRF is dedicated to working for the respect of medical
neutrality and for the sanctity of doctors, health care workers and
clinics that are protected under international law during times of
war.
More than $1 million has been raised for El Salvador's medical
relief since 1983. On January 16, 1994 the IMRF board of directors
passed a resolution to establish a fund to assist with the medical
needs of the people in Chiapas, Mexico.
"We seek to identify reputable projects that will help alleviate
the suffering in Chiapas," Bill Monning, IMRF board member said.
The CONPAZ group in San Cristobal de Las Casas have made some
long term and short term suggestions for this assistance.
Short term medical assistance:
One of the proposals is to support a CONPAZ program called Jornadas
De Paz, which are three day services into the most isolated and
needy communities of Chiapas. A team of doctors and nurses will
access and deliver health care and provide medicines to the
communities. One problem developing is that many of the community
health promoters have gone into hiding from the military after
being publicly denounced as having ties to the rebels. The local
NGO's have worked and trained the health promoters for years and it
will be difficult to maintain a standard of care without their
assistance.
Another suggestion would be to support a delegation of health care
professionals from the IMRF that would go to Chiapas and make a
first hand assessment of the health care needs there to further
development the fund.
The long term proposal from CONPAZ is the purchase of an ambulance
which serve the isolated communities and provide transportation of
the sick to and from the clinics and hospitals in the larger
cities.
Send checks to:
International Medical Relief Fund/Chiapas
P.O. Box 1194
Salinas, CA 93902
(408) 422-5377
(408) 422-1808 fax
In addition to the medical relief fund coordination I will be
helping to distribute information and communications from the
CONPAZ organization in Mexico. This will provide the local NGOs of
Chiapas with access to organizations in the United States.
We will be using e-mail, fax and regular mail to communicate with
each other as the crisis develops.
I also hope to maintain contact with the national human rights
network in Mexico as they continue to gather testimonies and
provide us with urgent actions in the cases of those people that
are being detained.
FINAL NOTES
I feel it is important for all of us to keep ourselves as informed
about this conflict as possible. There is a lot of misinformation
and we must attempt to balance ourselves with this effort.
Those of us with many years of experience working in Latin America
recognize the patterns of oppression.
In Chiapas we are now seeing the signs of this oppression by the
military. Case after case of detention. Testimony after testimony
about tortures and disappearances. We follow these signs cautiously
as we document the violations and take notice of the
misinformation, deceit and denials. In my opinion, the greatest
sadness in Chiapas is the apparent depths of divisions that exist
within the communities related to politics, race, religion and
economics. All of these factors have helped to turn communities
against one another and turn neighbors against neighbors.
Dennis Dunleavy
(408)754-2054
(408)422-1808 fax
e-mail bmonning@igc.apc.org