Wave of Military-Police Operations and Seizures


Originally published in Spanish by La Jornada
Translated by irlandesa

La Jornada
Monday, June 7, 1999.

Six Communities Now Occupied by Army:
        NGO Denounces Military Incursion in San Jose,
                in La Canada of Taniperla

Juan Balboa, correspondent
Ocosingo, Chiapas
June 6

The Army entered the town of San Jose, located in La Canada of Taniperla
this morning, the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center confirmed
today, as did the Fray Pedro de la Nada Human Rights Committee.

The town became the sixth community virtually seized by the military and
Public Security, having done the same in Nazareth, El Censo, Betania,
Francisco Villa and Santa Lucia.  This has led to the displacement of
thousands of EZLN sympathizers to other communities and to the mountains of
Las Canadas.

Three other communities - among them La Garrucha, seat of the Francisco
Gomez Autonomous Municipality - are being threatened with seizure by Army
troops and state police forces, since hundreds of those forces are
concentrating on the outskirts of the towns.

The NGO confirms the incursions by the soldiers into the conflict zone, and
they made an urgent call to federal officials to stop these actions.

They noted that, in Nazareth alone, 50 families fled from their homes after
asking the Army for an explanation of their presence and being met with ten
shots fired into the air.  The displaced lack clothing, food, cover and
conditions of security.

Representatives of the Francisco Villa community today denounced the Army's
entrance into their community:  "We are opposed to the opening of more
roads, because they serve for the entrance of more soldiers and for the
installation of more camps, once more violating the San Andres Accords and
provoking more division."

Two days ago, some 400 Army and Public Security Police troops also entered
the community of Santa Lucia, where "they provoked a confrontation between
us and the PRI's."

Meanwhile, the communities of the Autonomous Municipalities of Ricardo
Flores Magon, San Manuel, Miguel Hidalgo and Francisco Gomez set up
'sporadic' checkpoints in Ocosingo, Chilon and Palenque, to prevent PRI's
from receiving "crumbs" sent by the Federation or by Albores Guillen's
government.

'Anti-Gang' Measures:  Actions in Ocosingo, State Attorney General's Office
responds

Elio Henriquez, correspondent.
San Crisobal de Las Casas, Chiapas.

State Attorney General, Eduardo Montoya Lievano, stated that the
police-military operations carried out in Ocosingo are "exclusively
anti-gang, and in no way is there any persecution against any group or
persons because of their political beliefs."

Interviewed in this city, he said these actions had been carried out
"solely" in the communities of El Censo, Limonar and Nazareth, in order to
execute arrest warrants and/or to provide security to those residents who
had requested it, because several denunciations had been presented recently
concerning assaults.

 
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