ZAPATISTA UPDATE
Riq Quintano | 17.09.2002 09:18
ZAPATISTA UPDATE
1. NEWS
2. CALL FOR SUPPORT
3. LINKS
On September 6th, Mexico's supreme court rejected the 330 constitutional challenges, lodged by the Zapatistas and indigenous groups across Mexico, to the indigenous rights reform law, put forward by President Fox, and implemented in august 2001. Indigenous groups and their supporters have demonstrated outside the supreme court, to voice their outrage at the ratification of an indigenous rights law rejected by the vast majority of Mexico's 10 million indigenous citizens.
In 1996 the former Government of Ernesto Zedillo and the EZLN (Zapatista army of national liberation), signed the San Andres accords, a bill designed to give rights to Mexicos indigenous over their land, resources and respect for their traditions and culture. President Zedillo then refused to implement the bill, and instead offered a watered down version, the EZLN, feeling once again betrayed, rejected the bill and cut of from negotiations. When Vicente Fox took office in 2000, ending 71 years of corrupt dictatorship of the PRI (institutional revolutionary party), he promised to end the Zapatista problem "in 15 minutes". Instead of implementing the San Andres accords, his party PAN (national action party) put forward another version of the reform, weakening many of the clauses. After Congress approved the reform, the PAN and the PRI 'fast tracked' the process in the state legislatures and on july18 2001 the permanent commission made the count of the results, despite the fact that some of the legislatures had not finished voting, and the states of Yucatan and Tamaulipas, had not even had a chance to discuss the issues. During this whole process the indigenous communities were denied the right of consultation. This is contravention of the ILO (International Labour Organisation) convention 169, thus violating articles 14, 16 and 133 of the constitution and article 8.1 of the American convention on human rights.
To understand why the Government is so adamant in its refusal to give basic human rights to the Indigenous citizens, you only have to read the quote that President Fox made on June 14th 2001, "the Plan Puebla Panama is a thousand times more important than Zapatismo, or any Indigenous community in Chiapas". The PPP encompasses the construction of dozens of hydroelectric dams, highways, platforms for petroleum extraction, gold and uranium mines, the creation of African palm and eucalyptus plantations and licences for multinational corporations to engage in bio-prospecting and tree felling. This Mega-project cannot proceed while also respecting the rights of the Indigenous to control and protect their ancestral lands , to decide their future development and to be consulted over Government programs that directly affect them. Which as stated above is in contravention of convention 169 of the ILO (to which Mexico is a signatory).
The Indigenous of Mexico have had yet another door slammed in their faces. Mexican Consulates across the world have received letters and e-mail of protest, and several demonstrations were held in European and South American Capitals. The Indigenous leaders of Mexico have called for numerous marches to be held on October 12th, the date many people celebrate as the "discovery" of the Americas, but which to the Indigenous is "dia de la raza" (day of the race). The National Indigenous Conference is currently voting on whether to heed the call to protest. The centre left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) has announced that it will join the protests, and Senator Demetrio Sodi of the PRD said that his party will push to get the reform back on the congressional agenda, but this initiative, due to the overwhelming majority held in congress by the PAN and PRI, could be easily blocked.
The regional coordinators of Chiapas have called on international Civil Society to support their fight for Democracy, Liberty and Justice by sending already written letter (below), to the addresses supplied and also to your local Mexican Consulates:(some of the addresses have no e-mail address, but you can leave comments on their website):
LETTER:
GOBIERNO DE LA REPÚBLICA MEXICANA.
PROCURADURÍA GENERAL DE JUSTICIA.
COMISIÓN NACIONAL DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS.
GOBIERNO DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS.
PROCURADURÍA DE JUSTICIA DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS.
COMISIÓN ESTATAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS DE CHIAPAS.
Por este conducto EXIGIMOS a ustedes el cese definitivo al hostigamiento y
Persecución Política en contra de personas que se manifestaron en la ciudad
de San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México, el pasado 10 de Septiembre.
En este sentido EXIGIMOS la cancelación de cualquier posible Orden de
Aprehensión derivada de dicha manifestación legítima de la Sociedad Civil
Chiapaneca.
Les responsabilizamos a Ustedes directamente de cualquier forma de
hostigamiento, represión, o encarcelamiento de cualquiera de esas personas.
ADDRESSES:
GOBIERNO DE LA REPÚBLICA MEXICANA.
Lic. Vicente Fox
Presidente de la República
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos
Colonia M. Chapultepec, Delegación M. Hidalgo
11850 México, D.F.
Fax: (55) 55 515 17 94
SECRETARIA DE GOBERACION (SEGOB)
José Luis Durán Reveles
Subsecretario de Comunicación Social
Barcelona 32, Col. Juárez
06600, México, DF
Tel: (55) 5535.7045 Fax: (55) 5546.0895
Sitio Web: www.gobernacion.gob.mx
Correo Electrónico:
ghuerta@segob.gob.mx
Fátima Fernández Christlieb
Directora General de Comunicación Social Gubernamental
Hamburgo 135, 7° piso, Col. Juárez
06600, México, DF
Tel: (55) 5209-8884/ 85, 5209-8800 ext. 30275 Fax: (55) 5209-9023
Sitio Web: www.gobernacion.gob.mx
PROCURADURÍA GENERAL DE LA REPUBLICA:
María Manuela de la Rosa Aguilar
Directora de Comunicación Social
Reforma 3, 2° piso, Col. Guerrero
06300, México, DF
Tel: (55) 5346.2600, 5346.2602 Fax (55) 5346.2760
Sitio Web: www.pgr.gob.mx
COMISIÓN NACIONAL DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS.
Dr. José Luis Soberanes Fernández
Presidente
Av. Periférico Sur 3469, 5º piso,
Col. San Jerónimo Lídice, Delegación Magdalena Contreras,
C.P. 10200 México, DF
Tel: (55) 5490 74 00 al 49, 5681 81 25 Ext: 163, 164 y 165
Sitio Web: www.cndh.org.mx
GOBIERNO DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS:
Lic. Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia
Gobernador del Estado De Chiapas
Palacio de Gobierno, 1er Piso,
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Conmutador: (961) 61 2-90-47, 61 2-90-48, 61 2-10-93, 61 2-33-52, 61
2-05-28
correo: secpart@prodigy.net.mx
Página Web: www.pablosalazar.org.mx
SECRETARÍA DE GOBIERNO DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS:
Dr. Emilio Zebadua González
Secretario de Gobierno
Palacio de Gobierno, 2o. Piso
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Tel.: (961) 61 3-50-22 61 3-14-47 61 3-24-59
Conmutador: (961) 61 2-90-47 61 2-90-48
PROCURADURÍA DE JUSTICIA DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS:
Lic. Mariano Herran Salvatti
Procurador General de Justicia
Libto. Nte. Ote. S/N, 3er. Nivel
Col. Infonavit "El Rosario"
C.P. 30064 Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Conmutador: (961) 61 6-53-59, 61 6-53-65, 61 6-53-74, 61 6-53-73 Ext. 300
-
303
COMISIÓN ESTATAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS DE CHIAPAS.
Lic. Cesar Alfredo Abraham Corzo
Presidente de la Comisión Estatal (Encargado)
Blvd. Comitan No. 143, Col. Moctezuma
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Tel: (961) 61 2 55 06 Fax: (961) 61 3 31 11
MEXICAN CONSULATE IN LONDON
8 HALKIN STREET
LONDON SW1 X7DW
E-mail: consullondon@easynet.co.uk
Fax No: 020 72355480
LINKS FOR MORE INFO:
www.chiapas.indymedia.org
www.ezln.org
www.globalexchange.org
Also if anyone in the London area would like to get involved in a demonstration at the Mexican Consulate, contact me at : londonzaps94@yahoo.co.uk
1. NEWS
2. CALL FOR SUPPORT
3. LINKS
On September 6th, Mexico's supreme court rejected the 330 constitutional challenges, lodged by the Zapatistas and indigenous groups across Mexico, to the indigenous rights reform law, put forward by President Fox, and implemented in august 2001. Indigenous groups and their supporters have demonstrated outside the supreme court, to voice their outrage at the ratification of an indigenous rights law rejected by the vast majority of Mexico's 10 million indigenous citizens.
In 1996 the former Government of Ernesto Zedillo and the EZLN (Zapatista army of national liberation), signed the San Andres accords, a bill designed to give rights to Mexicos indigenous over their land, resources and respect for their traditions and culture. President Zedillo then refused to implement the bill, and instead offered a watered down version, the EZLN, feeling once again betrayed, rejected the bill and cut of from negotiations. When Vicente Fox took office in 2000, ending 71 years of corrupt dictatorship of the PRI (institutional revolutionary party), he promised to end the Zapatista problem "in 15 minutes". Instead of implementing the San Andres accords, his party PAN (national action party) put forward another version of the reform, weakening many of the clauses. After Congress approved the reform, the PAN and the PRI 'fast tracked' the process in the state legislatures and on july18 2001 the permanent commission made the count of the results, despite the fact that some of the legislatures had not finished voting, and the states of Yucatan and Tamaulipas, had not even had a chance to discuss the issues. During this whole process the indigenous communities were denied the right of consultation. This is contravention of the ILO (International Labour Organisation) convention 169, thus violating articles 14, 16 and 133 of the constitution and article 8.1 of the American convention on human rights.
To understand why the Government is so adamant in its refusal to give basic human rights to the Indigenous citizens, you only have to read the quote that President Fox made on June 14th 2001, "the Plan Puebla Panama is a thousand times more important than Zapatismo, or any Indigenous community in Chiapas". The PPP encompasses the construction of dozens of hydroelectric dams, highways, platforms for petroleum extraction, gold and uranium mines, the creation of African palm and eucalyptus plantations and licences for multinational corporations to engage in bio-prospecting and tree felling. This Mega-project cannot proceed while also respecting the rights of the Indigenous to control and protect their ancestral lands , to decide their future development and to be consulted over Government programs that directly affect them. Which as stated above is in contravention of convention 169 of the ILO (to which Mexico is a signatory).
The Indigenous of Mexico have had yet another door slammed in their faces. Mexican Consulates across the world have received letters and e-mail of protest, and several demonstrations were held in European and South American Capitals. The Indigenous leaders of Mexico have called for numerous marches to be held on October 12th, the date many people celebrate as the "discovery" of the Americas, but which to the Indigenous is "dia de la raza" (day of the race). The National Indigenous Conference is currently voting on whether to heed the call to protest. The centre left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) has announced that it will join the protests, and Senator Demetrio Sodi of the PRD said that his party will push to get the reform back on the congressional agenda, but this initiative, due to the overwhelming majority held in congress by the PAN and PRI, could be easily blocked.
The regional coordinators of Chiapas have called on international Civil Society to support their fight for Democracy, Liberty and Justice by sending already written letter (below), to the addresses supplied and also to your local Mexican Consulates:(some of the addresses have no e-mail address, but you can leave comments on their website):
LETTER:
GOBIERNO DE LA REPÚBLICA MEXICANA.
PROCURADURÍA GENERAL DE JUSTICIA.
COMISIÓN NACIONAL DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS.
GOBIERNO DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS.
PROCURADURÍA DE JUSTICIA DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS.
COMISIÓN ESTATAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS DE CHIAPAS.
Por este conducto EXIGIMOS a ustedes el cese definitivo al hostigamiento y
Persecución Política en contra de personas que se manifestaron en la ciudad
de San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México, el pasado 10 de Septiembre.
En este sentido EXIGIMOS la cancelación de cualquier posible Orden de
Aprehensión derivada de dicha manifestación legítima de la Sociedad Civil
Chiapaneca.
Les responsabilizamos a Ustedes directamente de cualquier forma de
hostigamiento, represión, o encarcelamiento de cualquiera de esas personas.
ADDRESSES:
GOBIERNO DE LA REPÚBLICA MEXICANA.
Lic. Vicente Fox
Presidente de la República
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos
Colonia M. Chapultepec, Delegación M. Hidalgo
11850 México, D.F.
Fax: (55) 55 515 17 94
SECRETARIA DE GOBERACION (SEGOB)
José Luis Durán Reveles
Subsecretario de Comunicación Social
Barcelona 32, Col. Juárez
06600, México, DF
Tel: (55) 5535.7045 Fax: (55) 5546.0895
Sitio Web: www.gobernacion.gob.mx
Correo Electrónico:
ghuerta@segob.gob.mx Fátima Fernández Christlieb
Directora General de Comunicación Social Gubernamental
Hamburgo 135, 7° piso, Col. Juárez
06600, México, DF
Tel: (55) 5209-8884/ 85, 5209-8800 ext. 30275 Fax: (55) 5209-9023
Sitio Web: www.gobernacion.gob.mx
PROCURADURÍA GENERAL DE LA REPUBLICA:
María Manuela de la Rosa Aguilar
Directora de Comunicación Social
Reforma 3, 2° piso, Col. Guerrero
06300, México, DF
Tel: (55) 5346.2600, 5346.2602 Fax (55) 5346.2760
Sitio Web: www.pgr.gob.mx
COMISIÓN NACIONAL DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS.
Dr. José Luis Soberanes Fernández
Presidente
Av. Periférico Sur 3469, 5º piso,
Col. San Jerónimo Lídice, Delegación Magdalena Contreras,
C.P. 10200 México, DF
Tel: (55) 5490 74 00 al 49, 5681 81 25 Ext: 163, 164 y 165
Sitio Web: www.cndh.org.mx
GOBIERNO DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS:
Lic. Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia
Gobernador del Estado De Chiapas
Palacio de Gobierno, 1er Piso,
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Conmutador: (961) 61 2-90-47, 61 2-90-48, 61 2-10-93, 61 2-33-52, 61
2-05-28
correo:
secpart@prodigy.net.mx Página Web: www.pablosalazar.org.mx
SECRETARÍA DE GOBIERNO DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS:
Dr. Emilio Zebadua González
Secretario de Gobierno
Palacio de Gobierno, 2o. Piso
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Tel.: (961) 61 3-50-22 61 3-14-47 61 3-24-59
Conmutador: (961) 61 2-90-47 61 2-90-48
PROCURADURÍA DE JUSTICIA DEL ESTADO DE CHIAPAS:
Lic. Mariano Herran Salvatti
Procurador General de Justicia
Libto. Nte. Ote. S/N, 3er. Nivel
Col. Infonavit "El Rosario"
C.P. 30064 Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Conmutador: (961) 61 6-53-59, 61 6-53-65, 61 6-53-74, 61 6-53-73 Ext. 300
-
303
COMISIÓN ESTATAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS DE CHIAPAS.
Lic. Cesar Alfredo Abraham Corzo
Presidente de la Comisión Estatal (Encargado)
Blvd. Comitan No. 143, Col. Moctezuma
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas
Tel: (961) 61 2 55 06 Fax: (961) 61 3 31 11
MEXICAN CONSULATE IN LONDON
8 HALKIN STREET
LONDON SW1 X7DW
E-mail:
consullondon@easynet.co.uk Fax No: 020 72355480
LINKS FOR MORE INFO:
www.chiapas.indymedia.org
www.ezln.org
www.globalexchange.org
Also if anyone in the London area would like to get involved in a demonstration at the Mexican Consulate, contact me at :
londonzaps94@yahoo.co.uk
Riq Quintano
e-mail:
ondonzaps94@yahoo.co.uk