PRESS STATEMENT OF THE SPECIAL COMMISSION FOR THE
PROMOTION OF THE ZAPATISTA FRONT OF NATIONAL LIBERATION
Mexico City
4 September 1996
The political orientation which those in power are seeking to
impose on the whole of the nation is dragging us into an acute
intensification of the social and political crises in which we are
living. The "virtual country," which was outlined a few days ago by
Ernesto Zedillo, exists only in the minds of the technocrats who, from
the heights of power, test and play with the future of the Mexican
people. Thus, our country is caught in a debate between the arrogance
and pride of a political elite, and the desperation of millions of common
citizens tired of living in an anti-democracy enforced by the terrorism
of the State.
On February 9, 1995, Mr. Ernesto Zedillo unleashed a campaign
against the EZLN and the civilian population, with the objective of
physically annihilating the Zapatistas' military command. The prudence
of the EZLN avoided an outright confrontation that would have resulted in
ominous consequences for the future of our country. Immediately, Mexican
civil society mobilized across the nation, managing to frustrate the
government's intentions in the same fashion as they had previously
stopped the war in January of 1994. The peace talks of San Miguel, and
later those of San Andres, were an achievement of Mexican civil society.
The government knew, as did the EZLN, that the majority of Mexicans were
in favor of a political solution to the national conflict for which the
Zapatista uprising was the catalyst--a political solution in which peace
with justice and dignity would be made a reality. In that sense, Mexican
civil society insisted upon a dialogue which would fulfill those just
demands hoisted by zapatismo since January 1st, 1994--a truthful and
substantial dialogue, one which would result in the creation of another
Mexico and a new form of understanding and "doing" politics.
The result, following 18 months of "dialogue," has been a mockery
of these expectations. The proposals agreed upon by the government and
the EZLN for the first set of peace talks on "Indigenous Rights and
Culture" six months ago have had no concrete results to date; they
continue to exist as pieces of paper, nothing more. Even worse, the
government decided to convert the second set of talks, on "Democracy and
Justice," into a pantomime, boycotting them from the very beginning, and
doing what they are accustomed to doing with the Mexican populace: not
hearing, not seeing, not talking; only mocking.
Concurrently with this process of "dialogue," the militarization
of Chiapas became more entrenched and asphyxiating for the indigenous
communities. Almost immediately following the initiation of the
"dialogue," as well as during its development, a series of military and
police actions were carried out which not only signified "mini-crises"
for the talks at San Andres, but above all put the lives of citizens at
stake. The EZLN continually informed the people of Mexico, as well as
their governmental counterpart, about what this kind of dynamic
signified; nevertheless, their warnings continued unheeded.
At the same time, from the heights of power came the ongoing
tactic of presenting to the media a panorama seen through rose-colored
glasses, announcing that "The two sides have agreed upon 80% of the
issues." With this measure they sought to insure that civil society
would gradually lose interest in what was being discussed in the peace
talks. They dreamed of an EZLN surrounded militarily, asphyxiated by
hunger, tricked by the debates, isolated by civil society, and mocked in
their demands. The indigenous communities of the highlands and the
jungle of Chiapas, the true and only leadership of the EZLN, thus decided
to say, once again, ENOUGH!, and they ordered their delegates to stop
attending a "dialogue" which has been de-naturalized by the zedillistas
in the government.
Mexican civil society must look at itself in the mirror, and
find that part of itself which is the indigenous communities of Chiapas.
We say as much because we understand that the pantomime of dialogue,
which was a product of the actions of the government delegation,
signifies first and foremost a mockery of that authentic, promotional
civil society, the original proponent of dialogue and of a political
solution to the conflict. We must not forget that this was perfectly
understood by the EZLN, which opened the dialogue to a great number of
advisors and invited guests, leaving in their hands the fundamental
aspects of the construction of a new alternative for the Nation.
All of us in Mexico have been tricked and mocked by zedillismo,
and it is they who are responsible for turning the dialogue into a
dead-end alley, once again placing the country on the brink of civil war.
Once again, it will depend on civil society to force a true
political solution out of the government's prepotency. The conditions
which the EZLN has set out for a resumption of peace talks are minimal
and justifiable: freedom for all the presumed-zapatista political
prisoners arrested in February of 1995, as well as those members of the
support base of the EZLN detained recently in the north of Chiapas; the
appointment of a governmental negotiating team with decision-making
capability, political will, and without a racist ideology; the
installation of an Implementation and Verification Commission and a
fulfillment of the agreements reached in the first round of talks on
"Indigenous Rights and Culture"; serious and concrete proposals for the
talks on "Democracy and Justice," with a commitment to seek agreements
which will have positive repercussions for the transition to democracy;
and an end to the climate of military and/or police harassment against
the indigenous communities, as well as the disappearance of guardias
blancas. Perhaps it would be helpful to add something else: that the
plenary sessions of the peace talks be transmitted to the entire Nation
by television, or at least a summary balance of the participation in each
session by the respective sides. The Dialogue of San Andres is ours, and
we cannot allow the disappearance of truthful information about its
development to continue.
The Special Commission for the Promotion of the FZLN will
continue its work to move forward in the construction of a new type of
political force in the country. Our work will continue to be open and
public. We don't ask anything of the government, only that our rights as
Mexican citizens be respected. Within a few days we will begin a
national tour, pass through the military roadblocks openly stating who we
are, and we will talk with our companeros across the country in order to
strengthen our autonomous work. We will organize a vast national
campaign so as to achieve the reinitiation of a true political dialogue.
We will act as one more participant in the mobilizations of civil society.
For the immediate future, together with a series of political and
social forces, NGOs, and individual citizens, we are calling for the
organization of an event under the theme: "One Minute for a Just and
Dignified Dialogue in Chiapas," to be held on Friday, September 6th,
1996, at 6pm. Additionally, we are promoting a similar campaign at the
international level; at the very least, the Mexican embassies and
consulates should have plenty of work responding to the petitions of
thousands of citizens from around the world who, following the
Intercontinental Encounter, came together to form a worldwide network of
mutual support.
Special Commission for the Promotion of the Zapatista Front of National
Liberation
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For more information and updated news about the Zapatista Front and the
crisis in Mexico, please consult the official web sites of the Special
Commission for the Promotion of the FZLN, in Spanish:
http://spin.com.mx/~floresu/FZLN/
and in English:
http://www.peak.org/~joshua/fzln/
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Joshua M. Paulson
<joshua@peak.org>
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