Seven Year Commemoration of Acteal Massacre
Article written by Monica Sandschafer
On December 22, 1997, 45 indigenous (Tzotziles) residents, primarily
women and children, of Acteal, Chiapas, were brutally massacred while
completing three days of fasting and prayer for peace. The group had been displaced from their lands by the ongoing
low-intensity warfare generated by the military and carried out
together with paramilitary groups, in response to the Zapatista
uprising in 1994. The perpetrators of the massacre were armed with
weapons used exclusively by the Federal Army. Public Security forces,
stationed only 200 meters away from the site of the killings, never
intervened, despite the fact that the attack took place over a period
of seven hours. At this year's seven-year commemoration ceremony,
community members noted that the masterminds behind the massacre have
never been investigated, the judicial process has been delayed and
inefficient, and the twenty-five survivors wounded in the attack were
denied their right to reparations.
Military presence in the
Acteal area is the second highest in the nation. Threats and harassment
of community members continue, along with the trafficking of drugs and
weapons and the presence of paramilitaries. Please join human rights
groups in calling for the protection of the lives of the residents of
Acteal and an impartial investigation into the massacre. See www.frayba.org.mx to get involved.
On December 22, 1997, 45 indigenous (Tzotziles) residents, primarily
women and children, of Acteal, Chiapas, were brutally massacred while
completing three days of fasting and prayer for peace. The group had been displaced from their lands by the ongoing
low-intensity warfare generated by the military and carried out
together with paramilitary groups, in response to the Zapatista
uprising in 1994. The perpetrators of the massacre were armed with
weapons used exclusively by the Federal Army. Public Security forces,
stationed only 200 meters away from the site of the killings, never
intervened, despite the fact that the attack took place over a period
of seven hours. At this year's seven-year commemoration ceremony,
community members noted that the masterminds behind the massacre have
never been investigated, the judicial process has been delayed and
inefficient, and the twenty-five survivors wounded in the attack were
denied their right to reparations.
Military presence in the
Acteal area is the second highest in the nation. Threats and harassment
of community members continue, along with the trafficking of drugs and
weapons and the presence of paramilitaries. Please join human rights
groups in calling for the protection of the lives of the residents of
Acteal and an impartial investigation into the massacre. See www.frayba.org.mx to get involved.
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