Remembering Acteal 10 Years after the Massacre

On December 22, 1997, during a two-day fast and while praying for peace in the highlands of Chiapas, 45 indigenous Tsotsil, members of the non-violent activist group Las Abejas ("The Bees") were massacred by paramilitaries in the Abejas community of Acteal. During the attack (which lasted between 4 and 7 hours, depending on accounts), Las Abejas members tried to run and hide from their attackers in the ravine and brush of this mountainous community and despite numerous emergency calls, authorities arrived late on the scene and attempted to move the bodies and evidence of the massacre to the Chiapas state capital, Tuxtla-Gutierrez. Members of the paramilitary group Máscara Roja brutally murdered the victims-the majority women and children-with bullets and machetes, even cutting open the stomachs of pregnant women and removing their unborn children. December 22^nd, 2007 will mark the ten-year anniversary of one of the worst massacres in the history of Chiapas: a massacre of peaceful people fighting for their rights as indigenous peoples, their non-violent struggle fallen victim to the counterinsurgency plan in the '90s in Chiapas.  

Las Abejas are a peaceful, non-violent organization fighting for indigenous rights and against the poverty, oppression, and marginalization that their people suffer in Chiapas. Currently Las Abejas are in the midst of their "Campaña 10 y 15," celebrating the organization's 15 year history and honoring the victims of the massacre of Acteal, 10 years ago. Las Abejas do not seek revenge; rather they are struggling for a thorough investigation of what happened in Acteal and justice for its intellectual authors. As they say in their communiqués, "If any tragedy can be repeated, then nothing has changed. Justice, democracy, freedom, and peace": the demands of Las Abejas.

Witness for Peace began its current Mexico presence in the state of Chiapas in 1998 with a focus on military violence in the region and  links to U.S. military training of those responsible for  the massacre in Acteal. An important part of the beginning program was accompanying Las Abejas' non-violent struggle. One does not have to look far to see that the intellectual authors of the massacre are tied to U.S. military training. During the mid to late 90s the Mexican government was in the midst of a strong counterinsurgency plan in response to the Zapatista presence in Chiapas after their uprising in 1994-a direct response to neo-liberal policies and the implementation of NAFTA, which they stated would be the death of the indigenous peoples. The counterinsurgency plan, called the "Chiapas Campaign Plan," was created by School of the Americas graduate General Jose Ruben Rivas Peña (as reported years ago by the Mexican magazine El Proceso). The plan included the creation of armed civilian units or paramilitaries in areas where Zapatista existence or influence were present. Rivas Peña's successor was General Mario Renan Castillo, a former student at the Center for Special Operations in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, who specialized in psychological operations and counterinsurgency warfare at Ft. Bragg and who implemented the "Chiapas Campaign Plan."  During these years of intense counterinsurgency operations (between 1995-1999), Mexico sent its highest ever number of officers to the SOA for training, many Mexican soldiers received training at Ft. Bragg's Special Forces Group and U.S. military aid to Mexico increased significantly.

Ten years after the massacre at Acteal, human rights organizations and Las Abejas say that official investigations and arrests are insufficient. The official line of the massacre as a result ofofficial investigations has been that it was merely a local conflict, a religious dispute, an internal conflict between Tsotsil communities, and that those responsible for the massacre are in jail. There have even been recent attempts by the media to change historical memory and affirm the official version of what happened at Acteal (see Hector Aguilar Camin's three part series "Returning to Acteal" in Nexos magazine at http://www.nexos.com.mx/ and the response by Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center: http://www.frayba.org.mx/archivo/noticias/071203_replica%20a%20nexos%20sobre%20acteal.pdf). At a time when Las Abejas continue to call for an investigation, justice, and an accurate historical record of events that reflects its importance and ties to larger policies of repression and militarization, this media war is ever more damaging. If the connection to paramilitary groups is erased, important connections to the Mexican military with funding, training, and equipment provided by the U.S. military will also fade away. Ten years after the massacre, impunity continues, and the victims of the massacre still lack a sense of peace. Attempts to change history discount the struggle of Las Abejas and further allow impunity to continue.

The Mexico City daily La Jornada recently reported that in 2006, 558 Mexican soldiers and marines received training from the U.S. military in bases such as Ft. Huachuca (the center of intelligence for the U.S. Army) and at Ft. Bragg, as well as in Mexico. While it has been common practice for Mexican military officials to be trained by U.S. military in the US, it is not common for this training to occur within Mexico. In the wake of "Plan Mexico," (the Merida Initiative) the need to critically reflect upon the massacre in Acteal and howU.S. military aid and training has contributed to human rights violations and militarization used against social movements in the past is clear. What can we really expect in the future with more military aid to Mexico?

Las Abejas will convene a "National Gathering Against Impunity" in Acteal the 20th and 21st of December. The gathering will welcome people from the national and international peace community to reflect upon the massacre and how to continue the fight against impunity so that tragedies like this do not happen again. Please take a moment out of this busy holiday season to remember those who have lost their lives to U.S. sponsored economic and military violence, and remember the victims of Acteal.  In the words of Las Abejas, "At 10 years, we invite you to remember in order to never forget-until justice is felt among us all."

Check the WFP Mexico Team blog at http://witnessforpeace.typepad.com/mexico/ in a few weeks to read about the solidarity events and conference in Acteal, at which the WFP Mexico Team will have a presence.

For articles in Spanish about Acteal and the events leading up to Acteal, search the website of the Mexico City daily La Jornada at: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas. For more information about the Acteal legal process and communiqués from Las Abejas, see the website of Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center (in Spanish and English) at: http://www.frayba.org.mx/index.php

Sources:  El Proceso, La Jornada, Sociedad Civil Las Abejas, Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center, journalist Darrin Wood and his article "Bury My Heart at Acteal"

"Plan Mexico," Capitol Hill & the SOA Vigil

In late October the Bush administration unveiled the Mérida Initiative, a three-year, 1.4 billion dollar military, technical and economic aid package to Mexico (with a relatively small amount also allotted for similar efforts in Central American countries). Popularly dubbed "Plan Mexico," its stated premise is to fight drug traffickers and organized crime in Mexico; however, details of the plan are still quite murky and many have voiced serious concerns about the aid package. In light of this, the Witness for Peace Mexico team has begun to delve into the swamp to try and make sense of it. Click on the following link for details of what we know up to now: http://www.witnessforpeace.org/mexico/planmexicoalert.html.

While in Washington D.C. during the Mid-Atlantic regional speaker's tour, Witness for Peace  made a visit to Capitol Hill along with the Oaxacan organization Services for an Alternative Education (EDUCA) and Amnesty International (AI) to talk about this very subject. The group spoke with 10 congressional representatives, including members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Western Hemisphere and the Appropriations Committee, about serious concerns related to the Mérida Initiative. Central to these concerns was the assertion by Miguel Ángel Vasquez of EDUCA that much of this aid will be destined to the same individuals and institutions that were responsible for the brutal repression in Oaxaca during 2006. Vasquez described in detail the countless human rights violations committed against a peaceful social movement and innocent civilians in Oaxaca, assertions that were backed by Renata Rendon, AI's Director on Latin America, who distributed AI's report on Mexico to the representatives. Although some members of Congress appeared to take this information lightly, others responded with genuine concern and even outright alarm. The general debate and vote on the Mérida Initiative will likely happen sometime in 2008 and when it does, you can expect to receive an Action Alert from Witness for Peace.

It was only appropriate that after our visits in Washington, D.C. to talk about the pending U.S. aid package to Mexico, we headed to the annual School of the Americas Watch vigil and protest in Columbus, Georgia from November 16-18. After all, is there any symbol more notorious of using U.S. military aid and training to repress social movements throughout Latin America than the SOA? Vasquez spoke from the main stage, back dropped by a barbed chain link fence that guarded Fort Benning's rolling green hills from the estimated 20,000 protesters  gathered there for the weekend. When Vasquez ended his speech he wondered out loud if the Mérida Initiative was part of the next step for continued U.S. dominance in Mexico and Central America. He left us with the following question to ponder: Is this type of militarization the only way to control the inevitable social turmoil that the neoliberal economic system promoted by the U.S. has, is, and will ultimately produce?

Migration News and the Immigration Debate in the U.S.

Witness for Peace strives to help shape the national debate on immigration issues. Our goal is to contribute our analysis of the clear link between neoliberal policy and the reasons so many are forced to make the difficult decision to leave their homes to head north. We want people to question what the root causes of migration are and how our country's policies have contributed to them, rather than focusing on combating migration in our borderlands or receiving communities. In an effort to show our solidarity with the stateside grassroots movement as well as to honor the migrant journeys from start to finish, we have created this section in Notícias y Saludos to include brief updates and links to more information on important immigration news stories that have emerged.

New Witness for Peace Resources for the Stateside Immigration Movement!

Read Witness for Peace's "Forced from Home: U.S. Trade Policy and Immigration," our recently published document which highlights the U.S. policies that cause emigration from Mexico and Central America. Help change the face of the immigration debate by distributing hard copies in your organizations, places of worship, community events, and among friends and family, as well as by using strategies in the document to organize. To view the electronic version (in English and Spanish) or order hard copies, visit http://www.witnessforpeace.org/publications/

Those working with immigrant communities and organizations stateside might also find our Position Statement on Domestic Immigration Policy useful for articulating the stance of Witness for Peace in the midst of the national debate on immigration policy reform. Find this document at http://www.witnessforpeace.org/pdf/immigrationpolicystatement_oct07.pdf

In the News

$35 Million To Be Distributed for REAL ID by the Department of Homeland Security to enable states to move toward nationwide integration of identification systems that cross check drivers licenses and immigration status. DHS release at: http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1197580232137.shtm

Border Deaths Are Increasing according to report released on November 25^th by Mexico's National Commission on Human Rights. The report also confirms that 13 years of harsh U.S. border policy has contributed to the known deaths of over 4,000 people intending to cross into the U.S.-an average of 1 person per day. See http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/11/26/index.php?section=politica&article=017n1pol and/or http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/site/news_and_analysis for a summary in English.

Representatives of North American Indigenous Nations Challenge Border Policy and vow "to bring down the wall" at the Indigenous Peoples' Border Summit of the Americas 2007. Click on http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2007/11/final-report-from-indigenous-border.html and http://americas.irc-online.org/am/4775

Border Patrol Cracks Down on a Border Wall Protest on November 13 at Mexicali/Calexico, CA, by pepper spraying and arresting members of the annual No Borders Camp. See http://noborderscamp.org/
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/211346.php
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0966

The National Debate on Immigration is Narrowing inCongress, at state and local levels, and on the 2008 campaign trail in favor of harsh enforcement tactics. Read more on "Planning the War on Immigrants" at http://americas.irc-online.org/am/4816.

International Day of the Migrant was celebrated on December 18th by many immigrant rights demonstrators who rallied in a number of major U.S. cities.

Delegation Report Backs and Delegate Actions

PLU/UPS Semester Program Delegations, September/October/November, 2007
Delegation Report Back: A semester-long collaboration with the Pacific Lutheran University/University of Puget Sound semester abroad program resulted in three successful delegations spread across the fall months. Students experienced a smorgasbord of WFP Mexico programming whose focus spanned from roots of migration in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca to labor and human rights issues in Mexico City, to fair trade coffee production in indigenous communities in Chiapas. For a more detailed description, photos and one student's reflections on these delegations, visit the Mexico team blog at: http://witnessforpeace.typepad.com/mexico/
 

From Mexico to Minnesota, Minnesota to Mexico, June 16-23, 2007
Returned Delegate Actions: According to Breanna Parslow, several members of this delegation have continued to share their experiences in the form of community presentations-Dixie Olmstead, Carol Dallman, Marie McCosh, Hamid Masheye and Victoria Okusami presented at a Teacher's Union meeting in October and Breanna and Dixie attended an Immigration Freedom Network panel discussion to talk about the delegation just a few weeks later. Rumors continue that two delegates plan to co-coordinate a second year delegation of the Mexico to Minnesota, Minnesota to Mexico style for June of 2008, though the Mexico Team has been unable to confirm this yet.

Coffee and Conflict in Oaxaca with Guilford College, June 2-12, 2007
Returned Delegate Actions: Students and former delegates from Guilford College in North Carolina have also been busy with actions after the delegation last June.  Students traveled with WFP to a coffee producing community in the Sierra Sur region of Oaxaca State, which is part of the fair trade organic coffee cooperative Yeni Navan.  All of the former delegates are involved in the Greenleaf Cafe, a student-run cooperative on campus. They are moving forward with plans  to buy coffee directly from Yeni Navan for the Greenleaf Cafe, an exciting way to directly support a grassroots organic fair trade cooperative in Oaxaca.  Former delegates gave a presentation at the CITCA/WFP Southeast retreat about their delegation experience to Mexico, and also gave a presentation at Guilford College on November 26^th.  They also have plans to print photos from the delegation and create a display at the Greenleaf Cafe.
 

Thank you to everyone out there for your continued efforts to collaborate to stop economic violence in Mexico! Keep those updates on what you've been doing coming our way and don't forget to send us copies of your delegation photos, which we will personally deliver to your host families, partner organizations, etc.

Mail photos to:

Rob, Alexis, Lauren and Todd
Accion Permanente por la Paz
Apartado Postal 458 Centro
Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca  48000  MEXICO

Gracias!

Speakers Tour Report Backs

Witness for Peace Mid-Atlantic Region Fall Tour featuring Miguel Angel Vasquez de la Rosa: Oaxaca and the Roots of Migration (October 13 - November 11, 2007)

In October-November Witness for Peace and Services for an Alternative Education (EDUCA), a Oaxacan non-governmental organization, embarked on an epic 5-week speakers tour through the Mid-Atlantic region, titled "The Oaxaca Crisis and the Roots of Migration." Covering the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Washington D.C. EDUCA's Miguel Angel Vasquez de la Rosa exposed the links between a 25 year economic crisis in Mexico, the one-two punch of IMF structural adjustment in 1982 and NAFTA in 1994, with both increasing migration from Mexico and the eruption of the social movement in Oaxaca in 2006. "The root cause of migration is poverty," Vasquez expressed many times in the 63 presentations during the tour, "and poverty has duplicated during these 25 years."  In total, the tour reached over 1,400 people, in addition to four radio interviews, and talking from the main stage at the SOAW vigil. We want to thank the hundreds of people who helped organize events, welcomed us into their homes, and gave us rides from town to town. Also special thanks goes to former Mid-Atlantic (M.A.) interim Regional Organizer (R0). Serafina Youngall, and new M.A. RO Ben Beachy for their organizing efforts, often times against all odds. Without all of you this could never have happened. 

Fall Tour Featuring Centolia Maldonado Vasquez: Free Trade, Migration, and the Popular Uprising in Oaxaca, Mexico (October 15-30, 2007)

Centolia Maldonado Vazquez of the FIOB (Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations) completed a WFP speaker's tour of the Northwest region from October 15-30, 2007, covering parts of the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Centolia's presentation was titled "Migration and Social Movements Among Indigenous Oaxacan Communities" and focused on the causes and effects of migration on indigenous communities, the impacts of NAFTA and the neoliberal model on the Mixteca region of Oaxaca, and resulting social movements and resistance, highlighting the Oaxaca uprising. The tour was a huge success thanks to the impressive organizing efforts of Regional Organizer Beth Poteet and the knowledge, flexibility and natural speaking talent of Centolia. The events were well attended and varied in venue and knowledge base of audience members, including 8 lobby visits, 4 new cities (12 total), 6 articles, 1 TV interview, 3 radio interviews and 1000 people in attendance at events. The presentation themes felt very relevant and the collaboration with local orgs helped make the connection between the impacts of free trade on communities in Mexico and the US even clearer. In addition, the presentation felt very timely due to the 4 pending free trade agreements and the release of the official "Plan Mexico" proposal to which Centolia drew connections with the recent repression in Oaxaca. MIL GRACIAS to everyone along the way who helped make this tour possible!

Upcoming WFP Delegations to Mexico!

Jan. 25-Feb. 2, 2008
Globalization and Coffee: The Impact of Fair Trade and Free Trade on Farmers in Chiapas
Registration Closed
Peter Buck, 774-776-7414, pbuck@equalexchange.coop
Stan Duncan, 781-878-0199, jubileejustice@netscape.net

March 1-9, 2008
The Oaxaca Crisis and The Roots of Migration
Application Deadline: January 31^st, 2008

Ben Beachy, 202-403-1752, wfpma@witnessforpeace.org

Serafina Youngdahl-Lombardi, 848-678-9613, wfpma@witnessforpeace.org

March 9-16, 2008
Globalization and Migration: The Impact of Free Trade on Farmers in Veracruz, Mexico and the Cost of Migration of Central Americans to the U.S. (A WFP Delegation with No More Deaths Phoenix)
Application Deadline: January 28, 2008
Laura Ilardo, 602-818-5447, nomoredeathsphx@gmail.com

May 18-June 2, 2008
From the Roots: Globalization & the Migrant Journey
Jennifer Hill, 313-938-1029, jenniferannhill@yahoo.com

June 12-23, 2008
Witness for Peace 25^th Anniversary Delegation
Ken Crowley, 202-547-6112, ken@witnessforpeace.org or visit our website for more info and a downloadable brochure: www.witnessforpeace.org

For further information and contact details for these and all Witness for Peace delegations, visit http://www.witnessforpeace.org/travel/schedule.html or contact the WFP National Delegations Coordinator, Ken Crowley, at ken@witnessforpeace.org. Keep checking the WFP website for updated delegation calendars.

We have a lot of things to be thankful for as this year comes to a close and we each head off for a break before what looks to be a busy and challenging (in a good way) upcoming year. 2007 has been an important year for us with many accomplishments made in collaboration with the broader organization, our local partners and all of you, including the release of the new WFP document focused on the roots of migration, two fantastic speakers tours, the establishment of new delegation contacts and communities, new long-term partnerships being formed and vital cross-border organizing taking place. Our hats are off to all of you and everything you did to make these and many other actions for peace and justice in Latin America a success during '07.

In the final months of this year we are also called to recognize and remember our roots as both a Mexico Program and an organization as a whole as we mark the passing of several anniversaries, among them one-year commemorations of days of brutal repression in Oaxaca, the 10^th anniversary of the Acteal massacre and our own upcoming 25^th anniversary as Witness for Peace. We continue to seek creative ways to live out our commitment to permanent action in solidarity with our partners on the ground on both sides of our borders and ask that you continue to help inspire and direct this.

Wishing you a peaceful holiday of remembrance and renewal and an energizing start to the New Year.

En solidaridad,

Todd, Lauren, Alexis, Rob, and most especially Reina the cat
Witness for Peace Mexico Team
mexico@witnessforpeace.org