A-Infos (en) IMG report on Diez de Abril for May

[Mark Connolly <mark_c@geocities.com>]

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The Irish Mexico Group has built links with the
Zapatista community of Diez de Abril.  This
letters from an Irish observer is a personal
reflection of live in this Zapatista community.
It arrived May 27 1998.

     MILITARY INVASION, FOREST-FIRES
       AND THE THREAT OF DROUGHT...

10 de Abril takes the pressure and builds
         towards the future.

How good it is to see Alfredo working here in
the milpa! Struggling with the hoe, he winches
now and then, his chest still hurting from where
they beat him consistently on the solar plexus.
"We thought we would never see him again.." says
his mother Cristina, and goes over to talk to
him again, just to make sure he really is back
and she's not just dreaming it.

The nightmare began on the 13 of April when
hundreds of paramilitary police and federal army
invaded 10 de Abril. They hurled around CS gas
and beat heads as they entered, the villagers'
attempt to block their passage breaking up in
chaos and confusion. Children choked on the
poisonous gas and shoots rang out as the
soldiers fired into the air. Three Norwegian
international observers were violently
apprehended, and thrown into the back of a truck
with a hood over their heads. The occupying
forces then began sacking houses and stores,
taking work tools, provisions and anything they
saw of value.

Alfredo, a 17 year old villager, ran to help the
Norwegians. For his trouble, he was beaten,
stripped and kicked into the truck. All the way
to the military base back in the nearby town of
Altamirano, they punched and threatened Alfredo.
" Maybe we'll shoot you now and throw you over
the side of the mountain," they said. Back at
the base, the beating continued, he was
interrogated ( Do you know Marcos?), hit
repeatedly in the solar plexus (leaves no
bruising) and then held in a small empty water
tank for 24 hours. He was not formally charged
nor allowed access to a lawyer.

And while Alfredo was being tortured, the 3
Norwegians shared the same fate as the 12
international observers who were deported from
the village of Taniperla just three days
previous. Within a few hours, but not before a
thorough interrogation, they found themselves
being pushed onto a plane accompanied by a
couple of thugs from the Migration Police. An
army of press greeted them at the airport in
Oslo and so began the media turmoil.

Earlier reports on Diez may be found at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/mexico.html

Back at 10 de Abril, people were picking up the
pieces, so many houses sacked, so many
possessions stolen, Dona Petra's house burnt,
everybody sick from the gas, people tending
wounds. It is the second time the military have
entered the village this year. Why? The threat
of a good example. This Zapatista village of 100
families on occupied land taken 2 years ago, is
thriving, and the people are strong and
organised.

Alfredos mother and father come to San Cristobal
to denounce what happened and to find their
young son. Nobody knows where he is being held
and the authorities are refusing to say
anything. In an emotional Press conference
organised by the Fray Bartolome Human Rights
Centre, Senora Cristina calls for the release of
her disappeared son and castigates the
government repression saying that they won't
beat down the communities by this intimidation
and violence. Unsurprisingly, the state
controlled television decides against
broadcasting this enraged, passionate
denouncement of the real face of Mexico,
deciding instead to do a feature on
international restaurants in the capital and
other newsworthy topics.

Local, national and international pressure comes
to bear and Alfredo is finally located and
released after 3 days, having to pay a fine of
$2000 pesos for the privilege. He is shaking and
in pain, reeling in anguished trauma. All he can
say is that the military have threatened to come
back again and finish off 10 de Abril for once
and for all.

Despite the horror, the people in the village
are resilient and showing spirited resistance.
"We won't go one step backwards" says Don
Anselmo, 65 years old, and limping from a rifle-
butt whack in the leg. Some aid begins to arrive
in the community, donations of food and medicine
from solidarity and church activists. All that
is left of the invasion is the empty CS Gas
canisters (Made in the USA), the charred remains
of Dona Petra's house and the one Norwegian
observer who got away, remaining to demonstrate
to the government that their xenophobic campaign
to clear Chiapas of international presence will
not succeed, that they won't frighten us away,
and that we will remain here to witness the
repression at the invitation of the communities
in resistance.

Here in the wrecked peace camp, it's hard to
imagine all the Seguridad Publica and Military
thugs plundering around, smashing things,
stealing clothes and cameras and taking away
books and papers for investigation. They carried
away the Irish committee banner like a trophy of
war:- they do after all claim that foreigners
are commanders in the EZLN. The Irish committee
wrote a letter to President Zedillo asking for
the remains of the volunteers from the San
Patricio battalion, a group of Irishmen who
fought and died for Mexico in the 1846 war
against the United states, to be returned to
Ireland- they too must be retrospectively
considered "interfering foreigners".

Life moves on in 10 de Abril. If it's not the
military repression, there's always the
continuing forest fires. All around the glen a
pale of thick fog envelopes the air, and at
night the mountains glow hellish orange from the
enormous flames. Everybody believes that the
military is starting fires in every Zapatista
region in an attempt to burn out the rebels and
fuck up the harvest.

May 3rd, Day of Santa Cruz, there's a 24 hour
pilgrimage by the village elders to ask God to
send rain. All day and all night, the procession
moves around the valley from water spring to
water spring, beating drums and playing the
flute and arriving at a state of deep spiritual
reverie. Out at the Milpa (Cornfield) plain, the
ground is rock hard and scorched from the
extraordinary dryness this year. "We're all
going to die of hunger if the rains don't come
soon" says one of the elders, overlooking the
famished land, the worst drought in living
memory. If it's not the military, if it's not
the fire, there's always the drought.

That night, 20 military trucks stationed
themselves battle ready at the crossroads near
the entrance of the community. Everybody
mobilises again and awaits in an all night
vigil. Peace-campers are packed off to a remote
location above the community in the hills where
they can witness what is happening without being
captured. "Here we go again" says Geronimo with
gritted teeth. He and his family were burnt out
of their house in another village at the start
of '94 by Pri-ista paramilitaries." Ya Basta!"
he smiles.

Near dawn, the trucks pull off and return to
their base without incident. Tactics of
intimidation, piling the pressure on the
community. There would be 2 more mobilisations
like this over the next 3 weeks. Each time, the
community prepares for the onslaught, the
children cry, the old people pack their few
possessions ready to move.  Fear and stress and
rage, so much anger.

Three days ago, (May 23) we were laying the
foundations of the new church and community
centre. People work with determination and
pride, digging up the rock-hard earth. This will
be the first concrete building in the new
village. Suddenly clouds appeared through the
blanket of smog. Rain! Drop by drop, the rain
began to fall. Everybody stopped work. Some
little boys started to hoot.  Over there, one of
the elder men, of indeterminate age but with a
face etched with centuries of hard work and
wisdom, leaned on his shovel, and smiled softly
and said something in Tseltal to his sons and
his grandsons.  They all saluted him, and
everybody laughed with a quiet joy and sense of
relief. Rain!

After work was finished, we all went to the
river to bathe. Alfredo and his whole family
splashed around in the water. Mario the father
lathered his wife's back with soap as 12 year
old Augustine washed down the horse. The 3
youngest children laughed as they attempted to
learn to swim back stroke while Alfredo, their
eldest brother, watched over them. The family
was united again. A moment of peace and
happiness.  Far, far away, the interim Governor
of Chiapas Albores Guillen, elected by nobody
except President Zedillo, made a speech
promising to dismantle the Zapatista Autonomous
Municipalities, (whose authorities are elected
democratically by the communities) and rid
Chiapas of the plague of interfering foreigners.
But the foreigners remain, the autonomous
municipalities remain, the silence of the
Zapatistas is one of strength and cunning, the
counter-insurgency war may be moving from low-
intensity to medium intensity but the signal
from the base is so clear:
Not One Step Backwards!

Earlier reports on Diez may be found at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/mexico.html

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          Irish Mexico Group
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/mexico.html

Pictures & cartoons about Mexico/Chiapas
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3102/



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