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CHIAPAS, MEXICO: Abejas request international faxes demanding disarmament of paramilitaries and compensation for massacre.

The following urgent request comes from the CPT Mexico delegation asking for FAXes to be sent to the Governor of Chiapas (Mexico's southernmost state, about the size of South Carolina and with a population of about 4,000,000). Details and a sample letter (in Spanish and English) follow.

The pacifist group The Bees are currently mobilizing locally to impress upon the Chiapas State government the urgency of their demands for just and dignified treatment and for the creation of conditions necessary for a safe return of the displaced. They have requested international assistance in this effort.

Earlier this year, the Chiapas State government received funds from the Mexican Federal government to pay for damages incurred due to government neglect or inaction in connection with the Acteal massacre. The State government in June agreed that it would pay these damages only after those displaced members of The Bees who are legally entitled to the funds return to their communities of origin.

The Bees offer two main reasons for rejecting this condition. First, the government has a legal obligation to pay the money unconditionally because of it's own culpability. Second, the active presence of paramilitaries in the communities of origin of the displaced continues to make return unsafe.

ACTION REQUEST

We are asking you to send a fax to the governor of Chiapas and a copy to CPT. Please do not refer to CPT in your letter. To help prepare your letter, you may refer to or even use the sample letter below (Spanish or English). Ifd you have any personal connection with Chiapas, please use it in writing your letter. If at all possible, we encourage you to send this fax by August 15, in order for it not to get lost in the shuffle in the days leading up to Chiapas State elections slated for August 20, 2000.

Please send your fax in Spanish (or English) to:

Roberto Albores Guillen
Gobernador del Estado de Chiapas
Fax: (011-52) 9-612-0917

Please also send a copy by fax or email to:

CPT
Fax: 312-432-1213
Email: cpt@igc.org

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(DATE)

Roberto Albores Guillen
Governor of Chiapas
FAX: (011-52) 9-612-0917

Honorable Governor Albores,

I am aware that the Civil Society "The Bees" of Chenalho, together with thousands of other indigenous people in the State of Chiapas, have been displaced for almost three years. During this period large number of federal troops have been deployed in the area. But neither the presence of the Army nor the efforts of other Federal and State entities have demonstrated a clear commitment on the part of the government to make its very best effort to provide safe conditions for a return of the displaced. I believe that such an assurance is a necessary first step toward a consensus between the governments of Mexico and Chiapas and their indigenous peoples that will lead to a lasting peace with dignity for all. Therefore I strongly urge you as Governor to take actions that will both show good will on the part of the government and offer a credible assurance to the displaced that the State is taking seriously what they see as minimal measures necessary to guarantee a secure return.

I understand that the State of Chiapas is withholding payment of indemnities already allocated by the Federal government to The Bees until those wronged return to their communities of origin. With respect, Mr. Governor, this does not appear to be dignified treatment of the displaced, but a dismissing of their legitimate security concerns, adding insult to the injuries they have already suffered. In view of the suffering that the displaced have endured and continue to endure, at a minimum, I urge you to take the following three compensatory measures immediately:

1. Turn over payment of compensation for damages incurred due to government neglect or inaction.

2. Give a satisfactory answer to the cry for a justice which will no longer allow impunity to the intellectual and material authors of displacements, massacres or other violations.

3. Devise and announce an effective program for the disarmament and neutralization of paramilitary groups in the State, starting in zones where the worst abuses took place and where large populations remain displaced.

I am confident that you will agree that these actions are morally right and just.

Sincerely,

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(FECHA (DATE))

Roberto Albores Guillen
Gobernador de Chiapas
FAX: (011-52) 9-612-0917

Honorable Gobernador Albores,

Estoy consciente de que la Sociedad Civil "Las Abejas" de Chenalho, junto con miles de otros indígenas del estado de Chiapas, han permanecido desplazados por casi tres años. Durante este período, un gran número de tropas del ejército federal han sido desplegados en la entidad. Pero ni el ejército ni los esfuerzos de otras entidades federales o estatales han demostrado un claro compromiso por parte del gobierno para dar su mejor esfuerzo por proveer condiciones seguras para un retorno de los desplazados. Creo que tal compromiso sería un primer paso necesario para lograr un consenso entre los gobiernos del país y del estado, y sus habitantes indígenas, un consenso que guiará a una paz duradera y con dignidad para todos. En este sentido, Gobernador, pido con urgencia que usted tome acciones que tanto mostrarán la buena voluntad de parte del gobierno, como también asegurarán a los desplazados que el estado esté tomando en serio sus planteamientos de cuáles son las medidas mínimas necesarias para garantizar un retorno con seguridad.

Tengo entendido que el gobierno del estado de Chiapas tiene en su mano fondos autorizados por el gobierno federal para pagar la indemnización de las pérdidas asociadas con la masacre de Acteal, y que el estado está demandando de los desplazados, como condición anterior de la entrega de tales fondos, el retorno a sus comunidades de origen. Con respeto, Sr. Gobernador, esto no parece un trato digno respecto a los desplazados, sino una negación de su legítima preocupación por seguridad, y una insulta añadida a las injurias que han sufrido. En vista del sufrimiento que han vivido y que siguen viviendo los desplazados, le pido urgentemente que tome de inmediato las siguientes medidas como las mínimas justas en este momento:

1. Entregue de inmediato y sin condición la indemnización por los daños incurridos debido a la negligencia o la omisión de dependencias gubernamentales.

2. Dé una respuesta satisfactoria al clamor por una justicia que no permita más que los autores intelectuales y materiales de desplazamientos, masacres u otras violaciones sigan impunes.

3. Diseñe y anuncie un programa eficaz para el desarme y el desmantelamiento de los grupos paramilitares en el estado, empezando en las zonas donde se perpetraron los peores de los abusos y donde aún permanecen grandes poblaciones de desplazados.

Tengo confianza de que usted estará de acuerdo que estas medidas son justas

y moralmente correctas.

Atentamente,