Urgent note: Caravan to San Marcos Avilés receives threats from political party supporters

Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Centre

San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas

April 22, 2013

Urgent Note

Caravan to San Marcos Avilés receives threats from political party supporters who say: “Blood will flow”.

According to information we have received up to now, the political party supporters of San Marcos Avilés have threatened the “Network for Peace in Chiapas Civil Caravan for Human Rights Observation in San Marcos Avilés” with taking away their vehicles; according to information they said: “If you do not hand them over quietly it will be the worse for you, and if blood is going to flow, then blood will flow”.

As a Human Rights Centre we demand the prompt and immediate intervention of the Chiapas government to protect and ensure the integrity of the human rights defenders from the civil caravan.

Finally we ask national and international civil society to keep abreast of the situation.

Background:

Civil Mission in Chiapas in response to threats to EZLN support bases

Hermann Bellinghausen

La Jornada
Sunday April 21, 2013

San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, April 20

Members of the Network for Peace in Chiapas have reported that this Sunday 21st and Monday 22nd April, they will undertake a civil mission of observation and documentation to the community of San Marcos Avilés, in the municipality of Chilón, “in order to collect  testimonies, following recent threats to forcibly displace the support bases of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), made by the inhabitants of the same ejido who are affiliated to different political parties.”

The 10 civil agencies involved in the action, who have repeatedly expressed their concerns about the Zapatista population of this community, said they also hope to meet with the municipal president of Chilón, Rafael Leonardo Guirao Aguilar, and the government delegate for the area, Nabor Orozco Ferrer.

They also called on human rights defenders, the media and the public “to remain alert as to what might happen in the context of the mission”. At the end of this visit to the Tzeltal families under threat, the observers will present a report.

Threats

They emphasized the importance of the observation and the meetings with officials “in order to halt the escalation of threats and their possible realization, especially considering that 170 Zapatista bases from the ejido San Marcos Avilés have already been displaced, between August and October 2010, and that today they are still living in a precarious situation, remaining displaced from the lands they work, and with their integrity and personal safety under constant threat.”

The Network for Peace in Chiapas, established in 2000, describes itself “a space for reflection and action composed of 10 civil society organizations, which maintains an ongoing analysis of the local and national context, along with specific actions such as statements about matters of gravity or observation missions.” The network is made up of: Fray Pedro Lorenzo de Nada Human Rights Committee (CDHFP), Centre for Indigenous Rights, A.C. (CEDIAC), Services and Consultancy for Peace, A.C. (SERAPAZ), Support Committee for Community Reconciliation and Unity, A.C. (CORECO), Economic and Social Development of Indigenous Mexicans, A.C. (DESMI), Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Centre (Frayba), Education for Peace, A.C. (EDUPAZ), LINK, Communication and Training, A.C. (ENLACE CC), International Service for Peace (SIPAZ), and Chiapas Centre for Women’s Rights, A.C. (CDMCH).