CPT's Mexico team continued the vigil and fast we began on Palm Sunday at
the ridge overlooking a military-run "Civic Action" camp near the community
of X'oyep. (See April 5 release, "Peacemakers Plant Corn.") Today's vigil
started at 8 a.m. with two CPTers and eight Abejas ("Bees"), including five
members of the choir. The Abejas are a faith based group of indigenous
people who practice non-violent resistance to the powers attempting to take
over their land and culture. Many of them have been displaced because of
military and paramilitary violence.

The nonviolent power of prayer was revealed as a supply truck for the
military base had to stop short of its destination as vigillers circled in
the road in prayer. The day's scripture was from Luke 8 about the casting
out of the demons, Legion. At noon, the group was joined by the other two
CPTers and five Mexican visitors. Vigillers moved to the casita, a small
open building used by the military as an observation post. The group
remained there, continuing the worship for two and a half hours, until the
soldiers asked for the space so they could continue their work. So far, we
had not seen anyone approach the casita requesting services. The soldiers'
work seems to be listening to music and animated conversation among
themselves. Our presence ended shortly after five.

March 31, Wednesday
The vigil progressed much the same as Tuesday. The scripture was from I
Kings Ch.18 - the demonstration of God's power on Mt. Carmel to those who
believe. We were not allowed in the casita. An Associated Press
photographer arrived around 10:30 a.m. He took some pictures of the group,
but the soldiers did not allow pictures of the casita or themselves.

April 1, Thursday
The vigil started at 8 a.m. The team members were accompanied by fifteen
Abejas, including three with traditional musical instruments. Today's
scripture included the passage about Jesus washing the disciples' feet.
CPTers and Abejas joined in washing one anothers' feet. Our group was
allowed into the casita. A Mexico City TV station took some film footage
of us at the
lower crosses.
Brigadier General Smith, with whom we had spoken at the military "Civic
Action" camp outside Polho, came to greet us. We requested a tour of the
base at X'oyep, but he said he had no authority to allow this; it requires
written permission from General Mejia, the officer in charge of all twenty
military-run "Civic Action" camps in the area.

April 2, Friday
A Good Friday observance, which included a dramatization of the
crucifixion, was held by the Abejas in X'oyep. Since it took most of the
afternoon, our vigil was in two parts. From 8 to 10 a.m. two members of
the team led the first five Stations of the Cross on the ridge. The text
was from John 19 and Luke 23. We tried to connect passages about Jesus'
arrest and crucifixion with events that had taken place in the recent
history of the community of X'oyep. After attending the X'oyep service,
the other two team members led the final five stations at the ridge, ending
in the casita.

April 3, Saturday
All four team members left for the vigil at 7:30 a.m., accompanied by
sixteen Abejas. The text was Ephesians 6:10-20, about putting on the armor
of God. As we were again denied access to the casita, we surrounded it,
reflecting on the scripture, singing and praying. By the time we finished,
all the soldiers had left the casita. Perhaps they were uncomfortable or
they may have regretted their decision to refuse us entry.
We ended our service in the road leading to the path down the hill into
the "Civic Action" camp. We quietly proceeded to walk onto the path. We
progressed about one hundred yards before we were stopped by the soldiers,
who leaped in front of us, crying, "This is a military camp! You can't go
down there!" Shortly thereafter the press arrived. We prayed and sang
songs where we were stopped. We then shared stories about our struggle for
peace. CPTer Anne Herman told about the attempt to close the School of the
Americas, a school for training Latin American military personnel in the
techniques of low intensity war. One of the Abejas told of the successful
action in January 1998, when women and children in X'oyep had physically
pushed the soldiers away, preventing the military from setting up base even
closer to the community.
We returned to X'oyep early so the Abejas could prepare for their Easter
services. Our lawyer was at the camp when we arrived. He wanted to discuss
our pending Amparo (appeal), which challenges the illegalities of the
Mexican immigration system as reflected in the many checkpoints in Chiapas
and recent expulsions of foreigners. He also expressed his concerns about
our getting safely through immigration checkpoints as we returned to San
Cristobal the next day. He promised to accompany us on the road when we
finished our vigil Sunday. At 8 p.m a 3-hour Easter service was held, which
included a re-enactment of the resurrection, a bonfire and the lighting of
individual candles, and a mass. We were invited to sit at the front. Since
we were leaving the next day, each team member spoke a few words expressing
our appreciation for the priviledge of praying through the week with the
Abejas. We were thanked for our presence in the community.

April 4, Sunday
EASTER. We broke our fast at a 6 a.m. breakfast and set out for the
military camp at 7:30. We were accompanied by fifty Abejas. Unlike the
previous day, we were allowed into the casita. After an hour's worship we
proceeded to again attempt to enter the "Civic Action" camp. This time,
while the soldiers asked where we were going, there was no attempt to stop
us. We proceeded down the hill to an area of the base, near a
flagpole. The Abejas enthusiastically planted the corn: first on the edge
of the parade ground and then broadening the area up the hill. As a
half-dozen soldiers watched from a distance, we prayed and sang, reclaiming
the military base as a place of life.
Our lawyer, who arrived while we were planting corn, met us as we returned
to the casita area. After closing prayers and fond good-byes, we left for
San Cristobal.

We passed through the first, military-run, immigration checkpoint on the
road with no delays. At the second check point two team members were given
citations by immigration personnel on technicalities. One CPTer's visa had
an illegible number of days written in, another's had expired on Good
Friday. We were not challenged on our status. The proceedure was relatively
painless as we were accompanied by our lawyer. We made no attempt to try
to argue them out of it, as we had done rather successfully, several times
in the past. We were dropped off at our door to wait for news of further
developments.

April 5, Monday
We contacted the immigration office as is required when one is served with
a citation. They were too busy to see us.