The
Fine Print
Two More Zapatista Communiqués
that Set the Conditions and Paths of Dialogue with the Fox Government
The Narco News Bulletin
"The
Name of Our Country is América"
--
Simón Bolívar
Communiqué of the Clandestine Revolutionary
Indigenous Committee - General Command of the Zapatista Army
of National Liberation, Mexico.
December 2, 2000
To the People of México:
To the People and Governments of the World:
Facing the new chief of the federal Executive
Branch, the EZLN defines its position with respect to the possibilities
of a peaceful solution to the war.
First:
The EZLN reiterates its disposition to seek, find and follow
the path of dialogue and peaceful negotiation, to bring an end
to the war and begin the construction of a just and dignified
peace with the Indian peoples of Mexico.
Second:
The objective of the dialogue and negotiation is to come to agreements
and comply with them. Such that the dialogue and the implementation
of agreements only are possible if they are constructed upon
a base of trust and credibility. The parties must demonstrate
that they are worthy of trust and that their word is credible.
Third:
The EZLN, in its seven years of public life (and 17 years of
existence) has demonstrated that its word enjoys credibility,
that we are proud to comply with our word. Not only our history
confirms this, but also our current disposition to dialogue.
Fourth:
The EZLN demands concrete signals from the federal government
that confirm its disposition to dialogue and negotiation, its
commitment to come to agreements and comply with them, and its
firm decision to construct a peace with the Indian peoples of
Mexico.
Fifth:
The signals that we demand are:
A. Compliance
with the San Andrés Accords. Concretely, the transformation
into law of the initiative elaborated by the Commission of Concord
and Peace (Cocopa).
B.
The liberation of all Zapatista prisoners in jails in Chiapas
and in other states.
C.
Demilitarization. Mr. Vicente Fox, during his campaign and in
the entire period prior to the 2nd of July of 2000, has offered
the withdrawl of the federal Armed Forces from Zapatista territory
and the return of the Army to the positions it occupied before
the war began.
Yesterday, the Army began a series of
movements that reduce the revision points (roadblocks). These
movements, according to the information that we receive, don't
change the number or density of the federal troops inside the
so-called "conflict zone"; these movements can be interpreted
as a simple propaganda tactic that seeks to present what is only
a reduction of checkpoints as a "withdrawl," but it
can also be interpreted as the beginning of a larger demilitarization.
The EZLN, making an effort, values them as a sign of a disposition
to a major commitment.
The EZLN knows that the demand of national
and international public opinion is the total withdrawl of the
Army, but considers that it is also its duty to offer signals
of its disposition to dialogue and to the peaceful solution to
the conflict.
The diverse governmental military and
police forces occupy, as of December 1st of this year, 655 geographic
points in Chiapas; of this total, 259 correspond to the federal
Army.
The EZLN demands the withdrawl and closing
of seven of these 259 positions as a condition for resuming the
peace process.
1.-
Amador Hernández, in this case, also, the eminent domain
decree dictated by Zedillo must be anulled.
2.-
Guadalupe Tepeyac.
3.-
Río Euseba (near the Aguascalientes of La Realidad).
4.-
Jolnachoj (near the Aguascalientes of Oventik).
5.-
Roberto Barrios (near the Aguascalientes of that place).
6.-
La Garrucha (near the Aguascalientes of that place).
7.- Cuxuljá
(near the community of Moisés Gandhi).
This withdrawl must be complete and must
not be substituted for any other military or police corps (be
it state or federal), and must not be simulated with geographic
repositionings near the signaled points. That is to say, withdrawl
does not mean "take a few steps back." Any new military
or police position, state or federal, will be taken as a mocking
and will anull all the signals.
In the moment that these signals have
been complied with, the EZLN will send a letter to the federal
government peace commissioner and to public opinion in which
we will propose the place, date and agenda of the first direct
meeting between the governmental position and the Zapatista leadership.
In this first direct encounter, the Zapatista
leadership will propose the formal initiation of dialogue and
negotiation for a just and dignified peace in Chiapas between
the EZLN and the government of Mr. Vicente Fox.
With the simplicity and attainable nature
of these demands, the EZLN gives a clear demonstration of its
true disposition to continue to the ultimate consequences. That
is to say, to the end of the war, and the path of dialogue and
negotiation.
The reinitiation of the dialogue between
the federal government and the EZLN is possible. The are necessary
deeds on the part of the federal Executive and the disposition
of the EZLN toward dialogue, but they are not enough. The mobilization
of national and international Civil Society will also be necessary.
For all this, we make a special call to
the men and women of good will, in Mexico and in the world, that
they mobilize demanding the concrete implementation of these
signals and the resumption of dialogue.
¡Democracia!
¡Libertad!
¡Justicia!
From the
mountains of the Mexican Southeast,
By the Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous
Committee - General Command of the Zapatista Army of National
Liberation.
Mexico, December of 2000
Another Communiqué,
also issued on Saturday, December 2nd:
Communiqué of the Clandestine Revolutionary
Indigenous Committee - General Command of the Zapatista Army
of National Liberation
México, December 2nd, 2000
To the Mexican People:
To the peoples and governments of the
world:
Brothers and Sisters:
The Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous
Committee - General Command of the Zapatista Army of National
Liberation declares the following:
First:
The EZLN salutes the designation of Mr. Luis H. Alvarez as the
new Peace Commissioner.
Second:
The EZLN recognizes that, up until now, Mr. Luis H. Alvarez has
treated us with the seriousness, respect and responsibility necesary
for this delicate task.
Third:
The EZLN announces that, complying with the signals demanded
by the initiation of the dialogue, it will bestow upon Mr. Luis
H. Alvarez the title of "valid negotiator."
¡Democracia!
¡Libertad! ¡Justicia!
From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast,
By the Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous
Committee - General Command of the Zapatista Army of National
Liberation.
The
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