Zapatistas deny Marcos is sick, wounded or dead

by
Ernesto Cienfuegos
La Voz de Aztlan

Chiapas, Mexico - September 3, 2002 - (ACN) Leaders
of the the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN)
denied on Monday widespread rumors in Mexico and
Aztlan that Subcomandante Marcos is ill, wounded or
dead.

A Zapatista leader in the town of Polho, Chiapas said
that rumors regarding Marcos circulating over the past
few weeks are "lies that the federal government is
spreading in order to force EZLN leaders to break
their silence". The leader who goes by the name of
Solomon, said that "Bad governments lie to their
people and the rumors are part of the war against
peoples who resist". Solomon added, "Marcos is
well and there's nothing wrong with him".

The rumors may have begun when Luis Alvarez, President
Fox's Commissioner for Peace in Chiapas, said last week
that "there are signs that Marcos is ill, wounded or
dead".

Luis Alvarez's account combined with Marcos' long
silence have many Mexicans and others wondering what
may have happened to the rebel leader. Last week, 3
Indigenous Zapatistas were ambushed and killed by a
paramilitary group called "Los Aguilares" and nothing
has been said by Subcomandante Marcos concerning the
incident. Marcos has issued only one communique
since leading the 2001 "March on Tenochtitlan "
(Mexican City) in defense of Indigenous Rights.

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La Voz de Aztlan
 http://www.aztlan.net/marcoswhat.htm