This posting has been forwarded to you as a service of the Austin Comite
de Solidaridad con Chiapas y Mexico.
/* Written 11:47 AM Feb 18, 1995 by moonlight in igc:reg.mexico */
/* ---------- "HUNGER STRIKE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS/3RD" ---------- */
National Commission for Democracy in Mexico
601 N. Cotton St. #A103
El Paso, Texas 79902
phone/fax 915-532-8382
email: moonlight@igc.apc.org
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
Date: February 18, 1995
Contact: Cecilia Rodriguez (916-261-1805; 915-532-8382)
Maria Jimenez (713-926-2786)
Teresa Sanchez (213-980-9359)
US EZLN REPRESENTATIVE CONTINUES HUNGER STRIKE
DEMANDS FLAGRANT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BE ADDRESSED
Cecilia Rodriguez, coordinator of the National Commission
for Democracy in Mexico and the representative of the EZLN
in the United States, is in the third day of an indefinite
hunger strike to demand that Mexico's PRI government be
made to address the flagrant human rights violations it has
conducted during the past week of military aggression and
persecution in Chiapas and across the country.
The perception that there is a ceasefire, that there is no
longer a crisis in Mexico, is completely false. On
February 9, Zedillo and the PRI government launched, and
continues to this day, a nation-wide, massive attack on the
forces committed to building democracy within Mexico. This
is not an isolated police or military action in the Lacandon
jungle. It is a full-scale witchhunt determined to silence
or destroy all opposition to the PRI's economic
restructuring of the country.
Conditions are extremely critical. The Mexican military has
consolidated its holding of the Zapatista territory, and
yesterday began advancing again. The villagers have been
driven into the mountains with little food and water during
this dry season. The ones who remained are terrified of the
military presence. More and more reports of torture,
kidnapping and murder by the Mexican military are emerging
each day. None of the arrest warrants has been rescinded;
homes, offices and churches are still being searched; people
are being questioned extensively by authorities about their
relationships to, and involvement in, the EZLN.
Begun on Thursday, in solidarity with young people
protesting Propostion 187, Ms. Rodgriguez will continue her
hunger strike until at least one of the following conditions
are met:
1. The $40 BILLION DOLLAR AID PACKAGE IS SUSPENDED UNTIL A
THOROUGH INVESTIGATION IS BEGUN OF THE FLAGRANT VIOLATION OF
HUMANITARIAN LAWS BY MEXICO'S PRI GOVERNMENT. This
investigation should be handled by an
international panel of prominent, respected and honest
humanitarian jurists.
2. That Mexico abide by international law and recognize
the EZLN as a belligerent force with full protection under
the Geneva Convention
3. Retreat of all Federal troops from Zapatista territory
4. Cancellation of all arrest warrants against members of
the EZLN and other advocates for democracy including the
religious community, the participants in the National
Democratic Convention and the indigenous and
campesino organizations in the state of Chiapas.
Also on Thursday February 16th, the National Commission for
Democracy in Mexico, along with three other organizations in
Mexico and the US, filed a petition with the Inter-American
Commission for Human Rights of the Organization of the
American States. The petition is demand protection for any
Mexican people arrested or being sought for being alleged
members or collaborators with the EZLN.
Ms. Rodriguez invites all people of conscience to join her
in this hunger strike for democracy, peace and liberty in
Mexico. She is currently at the Placita Olvera, 615 N. Main
Street, Los Angeles, California, 90063. She can be reached
at (916) 261-1805. Additional information is available from
the National Commission's office at the
address/phone/fax/email above or from Maria Jimenez, with
the Commission's Houston Committee (713) 926-2786.
*********************************************************
For Immediate Release: February 18, 1995
Contact: Cecilia Rodriguez (916-261-1805; 915-532-8382)
Maria Jimenez (713-926-2786)
Teresa Sanchez (213-980-9359)
CECILIA RODRIGUEZ'S HUNGER STRIKE STATEMENT
We have, many times before watched this country
interfere in the affairs of others. At all times it is said
American interests are at stake. In Mexico it is said
United States financial institutions could be hurt if
Clinton's $50 billion rescue package does not restore
confidence in that country's battered economy.
Mexico, however is poised to be this country's next
Vietnam, but with far more devastating consequences. The US
will not bail out its economy; it will bail out a corrupt
dictatorship which has bungled and mismanaged an economic
crisis which has deepened and expanded a political crisis.
FACT - There is growing evidence that the bailout was tied
to a military solution in the state of Chiapas.
FACT - It should also be clear that the PRI dictatorship, or
any other chameleon of right-wing nature, is the best tool
by which American financial institutions can secure the
rigid social and political climate necessary to the
procurement of high financial returns.
FACT -It is not elections which are the core of Mexico's
crisis but poverty, injustice and a corrupt dictatorship
which is propped up by American financial interests. This
has been completely ignored by the Clinton Administration.
FACT -The Mexican Army is incapable of a military solution.
It is US weaponry, US advice and intelligence and it will
eventually be US troops which will be forced to provide the
military solution necessary to the good fortunes of
investment speculators.
The clear and detailed reports of torture, mutilation
and suffering of the Mexican people fall on ears deafened by
too many television dramas. The people of Mexico are too
foreign, too different, and too much of a threat to matter;
the indigenous Zapatistas are clearly disposable.
The National Commission for Democracy in Mexico does
not perceive any moral or high level commitment to a peace
with dignity in Mexico. The cause of the Zapatistas; the
cry for democracy, liberty and justice has echoed in the
hearts of many good people in America. For the most part
these good people do not have the millions of dollars to pay
an expensive public relations firm nor do we wield political
clout or armed force. The only thing we have is the right to
determine the quality of our lives, our principles and our
human dignity.
For these reasons we are continuing this hunger strike.
We began in struggle with young people whose futures are
dimmed by Proposition 187. We continue to fight on the other
front; the front filled with blood and suffering, the war
against the people of Mexico. We take this action, not
because we are zealots or martyrs but because we believe
that the only thing which distinguishes humanity from other
living creatures is their capacity to fight for others,
their dignity, their integrity, their social ideals. We
will not stand by and do nothing in Mexico in the name of
financial speculation. This hunger strike will not end until
at least one of the following conditions are met:
1. The $40 BILLION DOLLAR AID PACKAGE IS SUSPENDED UNTIL A
THOROUGH INVESTIGATION IS BEGUN OF THE FLAGRANT VIOLATION OF
HUMANITARIAN LAWS BY MEXICO'S PRI GOVERNMENT. This
investigation should be handled by an international panel of
prominent, respected and honest humanitarian jurists.
Although we could have included other demands important
to the Mexican people, we want to make it clear--this war
has been decided here in this country, it is our domestic
financial interests which are manipulating the future of the
people of Mexico, and if it costs us our lives to stop it:
so be it. In addition our organization will be working
through legal, peaceful and many other means to secure other
important EZLN demands.
2. That Mexico abide by international law and recognize
the EZLN as a belligerent force with full protection under
the Geneva Convention
3. Retreat of all Federal troops from Zapatista territory
4. Cancellation of all arrest warrants against members of
the EZLN
Because our work requires travel and mobility and
because of the profound cynicism of the press I invite you
to assign a neutral party to observe the fulfillment of this
hunger strike. Most of us live in relative physical
comfort. We have educated, built community organizations,
made speeches, negotiated, marched, filed petitions,
registered voters, demonstrated and been arrested for civil
disobedience. Throughout this long history of struggle we
have come to clearly understand that until the people of the
United States stand for something other than their personal
well-being, famine, poverty, racism, cruelty and suffering
will swallow the United States--democracy, liberty and
justice will become a figment of our collective imagination.
This country is not an island; no wall, electrified fence,
or wide deep moat will protect us from the consequences of
our greed and passivity.
======================================
Harry Cleaver
Department of Economics
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas 78712-1173
USA
Phone Numbers: (hm) (512) 442-5036
(off) (512) 471-3211
Fax: (512) 471-3510
E-mail: hmcleave@mundo.eco.utexas.edu
======================================