CPTNet
Chiapas: Update Nov 30 - Dec 24

Thursday November 30
CPTers continue spending time in various camps of displaced Abejas in
Chenalho county. On the road into the X'oyep displaced camp, soldiers
question Scott Kerr and ask for his passport.

Friday December 1
Vicente Fox, the first non-PRI president of Mexico in 80 years, takes
office. CPTers William Payne and Carl Meyer participate in continuing night
watches in the displaced camp of Nuevo Yibeljoj.

Saturday December 2
President Fox orders most of the military checkpoints in Chiapas removed,
and closes one base in the jungle region. In Chenalho county the military
continues to be a visible presence, but the checkpoints in Chenalho and Las
Limas are gone. The removal of the checkpoints is a major change for CPTers
and others who in the past have often been harassed or threatened with
deportation by immigration officials at the checkpoints.

Sunday December 3
The CPT Mexico team attends worship at the Catholic church in Polho, a
large camp of several thousand displaced Zapatista sympathizers in Chenalho
county. Afterwards they discuss the paramilitary situation with a
representative of the community, who says the paramilitaries are afraid
that the new government will no longer support them. "They're saying, 'If
the government is going to come arrest us anyway, we might as well do one
more job like Acteal before they come get us.'"

Tuesday December 5
Meyer and CPTer Erin Kindy walk from Acteal to Nuevo Yibeljoj with a leader
of the Abeja organization. Walking through the military base and PRIista
community of Majomut, the CPTers notice that he is very intentional about
greeting everyone he sees, including soldiers. They ask him about this, and
he says, "Yes, of course I greet everyone. That's what it means to be part
of civil society. They're my brothers and sisters, too I don't have any
enemies."
The PRI municipal president of Chenalho sends an open letter to President
Fox requesting that the checkpoints in Chenalho be reinstated, to help
"control foreigners who are coming in to misdirect the people of Acteal and
Polho." Meyer participates in the night watch in Nuevo Yibeljoj. Payne
and CPTer Lynn Stoltzfus join the pilgrimage on its final days arriving in
Mexico City and the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Wednesday December 6
Planning continues in Nuevo Yibeljoj for the feast day of the Virgin of
Guadalupe on the 12th. Meyer arranges to accompany members of the community
on their coffee harvest the next day, but camp representatives say to wait
for the completion of discussions between the Mesa Directiva of the Abejas
and the National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) regarding accompaniment
for the Abejas' coffee harvest. In past years the coffee harvest has been
accompanied by brigades of Mexican observers, due to fear of paramilitary
attacks.

Thursday December 7
News arrives in Nuevo Yibeljoj that the CNDH has denied the Abejas' request
for coffee harvest accompaniment brigades, choosing to believe the word of
the municipal president that "there are no longer paramilitaries in
Chenalho county." The community decides that those with coffee fields in
tense areas will go to harvest in groups of at least five, without
international accompaniment, so as to avoid problems with soldiers and
immigration.

Friday December 8
Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia, the first non-PRI governor of the state of
Chiapas in 80 years, takes office.
CPTer Scott Kerr talks with the new commander of the military base near
X'oyep, and discovers that he is unaware of the history of tension between
the people of X'oyep and the military. On January 3, 1997, when the
military first arrived, the women of X'oyep encircled the community and
prevented soldiers from entering.

Saturday December 9
The pilgrims (see past releases) and CPTers Payne and Stolztfus arrive in
the Basilica in Mexico City, where they are welcomed by a huge gathering of
indigenous people from all across Mexico.

Sunday December 10
Payne and Stoltzfus meet with various social justice and Mennonite groups
in Mexico City to share experiences and discuss possible further
connections with CPT.

Monday December 11
In his first official action as governor of Chiapas, Salazar visits the
Abeja displaced camp of X'oyep. CPTers Kindy, Meyer, and Kerr join with
thousands of Abejas from all over Chenalho county in the welcoming
festivities. Salazar meets for several hours with the Mesa Directiva of the
Abejas, gives a short speech, and leaves. He promises to try to implement
the thirteen requests of the Abejas, covering a wide range of issues:
health, education, poverty, demilitarization, and others. Reaction to the
visit among Abeja leaders is positive, but guarded: "His words are good. We
are beginning to see clouds and feel the first drops, but it remains to be
seen if it will actually rain... If change comes in Chiapas, it will not
come from the government, it will come from the people. We must not put our
hope in governors and presidents, but in God. We must continue our
organization and our struggle."

Tuesday December 12
Payne and Stoltzfus participate in an all-night vigil in the Basilica of
the Virgin of Guadalupe with tens of thousands of indigenous people and
supporters from all over Mexico.

Friday December 15
Kindy, Meyer, and Kerr travel to Acteal for the reception of the pilgrims
returning from Mexico City. Over 1500 Abejas gather for the welcoming mass
and fiesta, and the CPT Mexico team is reunited.

Monday December 18
Kerr and Stoltzfus travel to the indigenous community of Moises Gandhi for
an overnight stay, where they meet with members of SERPAJ, a Latin American
peace organization interested in exploring further ties with CPT Mexico.

Tuesday December 19
A cold front blows through Chiapas, bringing with it rainstorms and strong
winds. A number of tin-and-plastic houses in the Nuevo Yibeljoj displaced
camp are partially destroyed by the winds, drenching the families and all
of their belongings. Meyer and other internationals in the camp go from
house to house in the rain helping the families rebuild.

Friday December 22
The whole team gathers in Acteal to attend the third anniversary
commemoration of the massacre of 45 men, women, and children by a
government-supported paramilitary group. Although some indigenous men have
been imprisoned for the massacre, the same paramilitary group is still
active in Chenalho and the source of much fear in Abeja communities an