A-Infos (en) CHIAPAS UPDATE FEBRUARY 18TH, 1998

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  			CHIAPAS UPDATE FEBRUARY 18TH, 1998

Over the past few weeks the overall situation has grown much more
tense.  The prevailing atmosphere of tension has been exacerbated by
an increased level of militarization and control.  The number of check
points and roadblocks has been steadily creeping upward.  This
heightened militarization is accompanied by a new major offensive
against the international community in Chiapas.

Since the massacre in December, the number of troops in Chiapas has
grown to over 73,000 soldiers (CDHFBLC).  The military is much more
actively harassing the communities and in recent days began to
implement a much larger number of roadblocks.  The roadblocks are
almost completely random  We were given the most serious search of my
entire stay in Chiapas recently.  The army searched our vehicle and
bags and illegally took photographs of us.  Oddly enough, for a search
that was supposedly for weapons they didn't even check the glove
compartment.  In Chenalho, the military is frequently accompanied by a
small number of local men from the community who also have cameras. 
These men have been identified as members of one of the paramilitary
groups in the area.  As if it wasn't bad enough to have the cops and
the military armed with cameras now their paramilitary buddies have
them too.

The Migration Offensive

The anti-foreigner rhetoric started flying about a month ago when the
Secretary of Health was asked not to enter into Polho and Acteal by
international observers who were acting on community members'
instructions.  This confrontation directly led to the installation of
a permanent migration checkpoint between Polho and Acteal.  Laws were
changed to give the migration authorities the right to check on
peoples' migratory status anywhere in the country, legalizing the
numerous posts around Chiapas' conflict zone.  The result has been a
dramatic increase in the  number of people stopped and given
appointments to be interrogated in the San Cristobal Migration office.
 I can think of at least 15 people who have been given citatorios and
a much larger number of people who have been stopped, had their
information written down and/or been photographed.  For the next few
weeks the anti-foreigner rhetoric continued to become more and more
vehement on the local radio stations.

On Tuesday the 10th, Maria Darlington, from the USA, was deported from
Mexico.  She had been stopped by migration authorities along the road
to La Realidad.  

In the past week, the military was given the power to detain
foreigners who, in the eyes of the army, were participating in
"suspicious activities."  They can then take the foreign nationals to
the nearest migration checkpoint, or detain them till the migra can
show up there.  To my knowledge this has so far only happened once to
two people who were in Pol'ho.  While this was going on the Migration
authorities announced that they are investigating 15 people who have
been identified as participating in the internal political affairs of
Mexico.  They also said that they have"yet to find any foreigners who
are actively training armed groups" but that they are out there
looking for them.  The migration police stepped up the pressure by
making spot-checks in the downtown plaza, asking hotels for their
registries, staking out places that are frequented by lefty
foreigners, etc.  If people do not have their papers on their person
then they are threatened with expulsion if they don't present
themselves with their documents the following day in the migration
offices.

Then on Friday, February 13th, a TV Azteca, accompanied by a man who
was later identified as a Migration officer, paid a surprise visit to
the community of La Realidad, dropping out of the sky in a federally
owned helicopter.  The community members were rightfully terrified,
since a pair of army helicopters had been circling over the community
for a long period shortly before the arrival of the TV Azteca crew. 
The helicopter was approached by a group of international observers
from the peace camp in the community.  The observers, following a
procedure now familiar to most reporters in the zone, took the
credentials of the TV reporters to the community representatives.  The
observers informed them that landing without warning or permission in
the middle of La Realidad was a very unwise thing to do, due to the
extremely tense political situation.  When all this finally came out
on the TV show Hablemos Claro, the story was very different.  Saying
that the foreigners were there, leading the EZLN.  That they had seen
barely any indigenous people.  That they had been surprised to find so
many foreigners telling Mexicans what they can and cannot do in
Mexico.

The TV program has only fanned the flames.  At 5:00 am on Sunday
morning, Migration authorities knocked on the door of a house in San
Cristobal, demanding to see a European woman.  They were not allowed
in, but this definitely signifies a stepped up level of control and
investigation.  Migra has also been seen following groups of
foreigners through the streets and the general climate of tension and
distrust has increased tenfold.

Finally, yesterday evening Robert Schweitzer was deported from Mexico.
 Radio and TV reports say that by his own confession, "he was in
violation of his migratory status" due to activities as an independent
journalist.  We have yet to receive any other info about this case.


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