Tuesday, April 27
Still based in the autonomous (Zapatista) community of
Polho, two of the three members of CPT-Mexico walked to the nearby
military-run "civic action" camp at Majamut. Last month when the team spoke
with Brig.Gen. Smith, who is in charge of the camp, he stated that between
90-100 people use the camp's services daily. These services include meals,
haircuts, and medical and dental care. But he explained that "people are
very conservative; they are not used to seeing us (the army) here, and so
are hesitant to use the services."

What CPT has heard from the people themselves is that all except a few
refuse to accept the services on principle, because they don't want the
army there under any guise.
On this day, when CPTers passed by the dining area during the time of the
mid-day meal (the biggest meal of the day), they observed about 20 children
-- no adults -- partaking of the meal service.

Wednesday, April 28
CPTers traveled to X'oyep from Polho. Although two members of the current
team had been highly visible during the recent Holy Week vigil on the ridge
trail, when the team passed the military checkpoint there, they were only
asked for their names and not questioned further.

In X'oyep, members of the team helped pour cement for some new dry latrines,
played volleyball, and participated in evening prayers with the community.
X'oyep is a community of over 1000 persons who have been displaced by
military and paramilitary activity in the past two years.

Thursday, April 29
The team visited the icivic actioni military camp where
on Easter Sunday four CPTers, together with about 50 Abejas from X'oyep, had
planted corn and prayed as a witness against the military presence and a
call to bring the land back to peaceful, life-giving purposes. On this day,
the three-member CPT team was accompanied by six Abeja men. The Abejas, or
"Bees," are a Mayan Christian pacifist group who support the justice goals
of the Zapatistas, but not their occasional use of armed self-defense .
After wishing the soldiers at the checkpoint hut "Good afternoon," the group
proceeded down the path onto the base.

Caught by surprise, the soldiers exclaimed, "Are you going down there?"
"Yes!" replied one of the indigenous
men, and the group continued climbing down the hillside and into the camp to
the "corn patch." By the flagpole, corn seedlings two or three inches high
were braving the packed dirt of the road, while corn plants a foot tall
were visible on the nearby hillside. The CPTers and Abejas lit a candle,
knelt, and prayed that the transformation of the base into a place of peace
might continue. A handful of soldiers watched from a distance but didn't
interrupt the 20-minute vigil.

As CPTers returned to the ridge, they inquired of the soldiers in the hut
what was happening with the helicopter pad on the base. (They had noticed
the marking stones being removed as they walked in.) One of the soldiers
said that the pad is being moved to the main part of the base, "so they can
give that land back to the owner."

Friday, April 30
The team returned to San Cristobal about noon. The usual
military checkpoint at Las Limas was not there. At the Chenalho immigration
checkpoint, members of the team were recognized, but there was no undue
delay.

The team led the Ecumenical Prayers for Peace that evening, focusing the
breaking down of barriers as described in Ephesians 2:11-22.