A Boisterous Welcome for Zapatistas/AFP Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Source: NUEVO AMANECER PRESS Sat, 13 Sep 1997 13:15:32 +0000 MEXICO CITY, Sept 12 (AFP) - A small but boisterous crowd on Friday greeted more than 1,000 masked Zapatista rebels with music, incense, dances and pre-Hispanic prayers. Some 2,000 people had gathered in the Xochimilco forest on the outskirts of the city and waited for hours for the appearance of the rebel convoy from southern Chiapas state. The rebels carried placards and wore ponchos festooned with images of national hero legend Emiliano Zapata and shouted "Tierra y Libertad" -- "land and liberty." The 1,111 Zapatistas -- one representative for each of the indigenous communities of the southern Chiapas state that back the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) -- left Chiapas by bus and truck on Monday. During their 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) trek north, they retraced the footsteps of Zapata -- after whom the Zapatistas take their name -- during his 1914 uprising. The Zapatista motorcade has received warm support from local indigenous groups and union members along the way, especially during a ride through Oaxaca on Wednesday. The Zapatistas are pressing for the implementation of an accord recognizing indigenous rights that was negotiated after their armed uprising in January 1994. They also will attend the founding congress of the Zapatista National Liberation Front, which is to be the political wing of the EZLN On Friday six of the rebels stood on a podium decorated with the Zapatistas' red and black banner. A masked speaker identified only as "Isaac" said they traveled to Mexico City to "demand that the government keep its word" and give "Indian villages autonomy." "Without autonomy, none of us will be accepted as Mexicans," Isaac declared. Following his remarks, an Indian from Xochimilco dressed in red sprinkled Isaac and his five colleagues with water and "purified" them with resin incense. It is the first time that a massive delegation of Zapatista Indians and their supporters from Chiapas has marched into the capital since the Zapatista uprising began January 1, 1994. A rebel known only as "Ramona" was the first member of tbe EZLN to visit Mexico City. The diminutive lieutenant of Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos traveled to the capital last year to attend the first indigenous gathering and to receive medical treatment for a serious illness. The Interior Ministry has applauded the arrival of the Zapatistas in Mexico City. "The EZLN's decision to use peaceful methods to express their ideas and disagreements, and to create a new front of a political nature, is a step in the right direction," the ministry said in a statement Thursday. Late Friday the Zapatistas were set to gather at a monument to child heroes and march to the city's main "Zocalo" plaza in front of the National Palace. The Zapatista's presence here will coincide with Mexico's independence day celebrations beginning Monday, when the Zapatistas will visit the National University and later join in street festivities. They are set to leave on Tuesday. ******************************************************* Below Are Some Useful and Interesting Web Pages: INTERNET SEARCH AND FIND http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/links.html MARI'S PAGE OF CHILDREN'S LINKS http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/mari.html LEAR'S LINKS FOR TEENS http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/lear.html ANN'S LINKS TO WOMEN'S WEB RESOURCES http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/ REFERENCE AND RESEARCH TOOLS http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/research.html SEARCH ENGINES AND MYRIAD COMBINATIONS THEREOF http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/search.html FREEWARE AND SHAREWARE WAREHOUSES http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/freeware.html SCREENSAVER ARCHIVES http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/sss.html My Art: MAIDENCREEK: AMERICANA a la MEXICANA! http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/maiden.html OBE'S HOME OF MEDITATION GONG AND RELATIVITY EXPOUNDED http://www.users.fast.net/~ann/obe.html ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcamer-09.16.97-00:16:30-29761