Cover image: Press conference from Las Abejas de Acteal to mark the 15th anniversary of the release of the paramilitaries involved in the 1997 massacre The forced displacement of Indigenous communities—a consequence of the crisis of violence in Chiapas—has not stopped In recent weeks there has been an increase in families who have been forced to abandon their homes in the municipalities of the highlands of Chiapas 200 community members from San José El Carmen abandoned their homes due to violence caused by clashes between armed groups nearly 200 people fled from the community of La Esperanza in the neighboring municipality of San Pedro Chenalhó 100 people fled the Tsostil community of Tzanembolom local media reported that residents of both municipalities were still reporting gunfire from high caliber weaponry “The inhabitants have remained inside their homes It has been months since they have been able to work their fields or collect firewood because of the fear of being assassinated.,” said one of the people interviewed where they say one of the armed groups was carrying out forced recruitment a motive for which the people fled their communities who have continued struggling for justice after the massacre in their community in 1997 warned that the violence in the Chiapas highlands “is already unstoppable.” During a press conference in San Pedro Chenalhó members of Las Abejas pointed out that the situation of violence in the region is similar to that which they experienced in days prior to the massacre perpetrated at the end of the 1990’s While the press conference was part of the demand for justice on the 15th anniversary of the release of the perpetrators of the massacre in Acteal the conference was also used to denounce the current situation of violence our hearts cry for the violence that is already unstoppable and that has converted into a monster devouring everyone in its path and the communities of Chenalhó near Pantelhó we have been forcibly displaced due to constant gunfire from armed groups the Mexican military and national guard allow these acts to occur right beneath their noses,” they explained in a statement Due to the surge in violence in the region Las Abejas reactivated the Civil Campaign for Peace a refuge constructed in the community of Nueva Yibeljoj in October 2020 to house families displaced by paramilitaries in 1997 members of Las Abejas relaunched their work at the refuge with fasting and prayer They also announced the reactivation of the camp allowing them to maintain the memory and hope alive “With this action we seek to send a message to the three levels of government that they attend to our demands for justice and peace.,” they said the violence is increasing causing fear and pain with the memory of the 1997 massacre “We could say that we are reliving what we already lived through,” says Guadalupe Vázquez Luna They denounced that the release of the perpetrators of the 1997 massacre was the consequence of a campaign launched in 2006 involving the Centro de Investigaciones y Docencias Económicas (CIDE) just as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation warned in one of their communiques last year,” they explained instead of guaranteeing that what happened in Acteal doesn’t happen again impunity allows the organized crime groups to maintain the population terrorized “encouraging the forgetting of the Massacre of Acteal and other crimes committed by the state throughout the country,” they denounced in the statement It should be noted that the municipality of Pantelhó is one of the three localities in which extraordinary elections are planned for August 25th This is due to the fact that during the election on June 2nd conditions of violence didn’t allow the installation of voting booths in the municipality of Los Altos the State Electoral Tribunal invalidated the election for irregularities such as the burning of voting booths inhabitants of the municipality of Pantelhó have sent messages via social media to warn of the increase in violence in recent days for which they argue the conditions won’t allow a secure election Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Contact us: avispamidia@riseup.net The materials created by Avispa Midia may be reproduced only for non-profit purposes You must acknowledge the authorship and inform about its publication ICIP 45 people were brutally murdered in the small community of Acteal They belonged to Las Abejas de Acteal (The Bees of Acteal) a pacifist civil society organization working for peace in the midst of conflict relatives and survivors of the attack continue to demand truth Although the Mexican government and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) had already signed the San Andrés Accords which many local observers associated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) operated with the connivance of the authorities or even instigated by them harassing people and communities suspected of sympathizing with the Zapatista movement this harassment became an absolute policy of terror that caused the forced displacement of close to 9,000 people The strong presence of the military and other armed actors as well as the massive population movements added tension to pre-existing conflicts and aggravated the already precarious living conditions of the Indigenous communities It is in this context that a group of Tzotzil Indigenous people sought refuge in the community of Acteal fleeing from armed groups that had burned their houses and crops and stolen their belongings While they were celebrating a prayer for peace in the community chapel they were attacked by a group of about 90 paramilitaries with high-caliber weapons 18 women (five of them pregnant) and seven men were trapped and executed on the spot Some still suffer from the consequences of their injuries today Only 200 meters from the scene of the attack there was a post of mixed operations (military judicial and public security) from which the attack was witnessed during the seven hours it lasted neither to prevent the deaths nor to help the victims the government – and the President of the Republic himself Ernesto Zedillo – tried to pass the events off as an incident in the context of an ethnic conflict between opposing communities But the attack was so shocking that it immediately drew the indignation of Mexican public opinion and the attention of international solidarity The assault was denounced as yet another attempt to undermine the organized Indigenous people of the area who were seeking forms of self-government to protect their rights Las Abejas de Acteal had been formed five years earlier as a space to vindicate the rights of Indigenous peoples through peaceful means and to work collectively to advance the wellbeing of the 28 communities in the municipality of Chenalhó that are members of the organization Las Abejas certainly sympathized with a large part of the EZLN’s social demands they have always distanced themselves from the insurgent group in the same way they have remained independent of any political group Strongly inspired by the then bishop of San Cristóbal de las Casas the project has incorporated and developed initiatives in other areas: social It also has a structure for the resolution of conflict through dialogue An important task of Las Abejas is to keep the memory of the 1997 massacre alive and to build Lekil Chapanel (True Justice in Tzotzil) as a guarantee that atrocities such as those experienced 25 years ago – which have gone unpunished – will not be repeated some of the participants in the assault were arrested they were quickly released and there has never been a trial against the intellectual – and political – authors of the attack Twenty-five years of impunity clearly illustrate the limited access to justice that the victims of gross human rights violations had the López Obrador government acknowledged the responsibility of the Mexican state in the Acteal massacre but insufficient to effectively implement the right to truth justice and reparation demanded by the community Insufficient as well to protect it from the aggressions and harassment it has continued to endure The murder of Simón Pérez López on 5 July 2021 once again highlighted the vulnerability of the community in the face of armed groups operating in the area with impunity Former president of the board of directors of the Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society a young catechist and promoter of nonviolence Simón Pérez was precisely one of the most active people in denouncing the responsibility of the state in the 1997 massacre family members and human rights organizations from around the world are demanding justice for his death Acteal is yet another case of repression against Indigenous communities seeking social change the inability or lack of political will to contain it as well as the plundering of natural resources present in their territories turn these communities into battlegrounds And this situation leads to a disintegration of the social fabric disappearances and forced displacements of their people in Mexico Las Abejas de Acteal has managed to remain consistent with their worldview and faithful to their principles and values Acteal has become a symbol of memory against the crimes of the past and of peaceful resistance against the injustices of the present spirituality and dignity of its members emanates a moral strength that provides guidance to a country and a world that too easily normalizes violence the Platform for Peacebuilding in Mexico was formally constituted a space in which various organizations – including ICIP – participate in order to offer analysis and action based on peacebuilding to address the serious security crisis in Mexico There could be no better place to celebrate the birth of a new peace initiative than in the heart of Acteal MEXICO CITY (OSV News) — The Catholic peace group Pueblo Creyente marched through the colonial city of San Cristóbal de las Casas Jan 26 to remember the late Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia who promoted a vision of an autochthonous church in the largely Indigenous state of Chiapas The march also called for an end to the rising violence in Chiapas where rival drug cartels are disputing territory in the southern Mexican state “It is urgent that the Mexican state implement measures to guarantee the comprehensive protection of the civilian population including servants of the church and defenders of territory,” Pueblo Creyente (People Who Believe) said in a Jan The statement said 2,300 people had been forcibly displaced from three Chiapas municipalities over the past year It attributed the forced displacements to “violence from a dispute for territory between organized criminal groups has left them away from their homes.” 21 statement from the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas “Organized crime keeps communities besieged (using) civilians as human barriers … without respecting people’s right to security Chiapas has long suffered political violence and territorial disputes while indigenous groups have resisted dispossession and the Zapatistas famously mobilized on New Year’s Day 30 years ago The peasant rebels took up arms in 1994 and now live in autonomous municipalities called caracoles who headed the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas from 1960 to 2000 mediated a commission looking for an end to the conflict between the Mexican government and the indigenous Zapatista National Liberation Army in Chiapas state from 1994 to 1998 — most of the Zapatista members identify as Catholics In a never-ending cycle of turbulence for the region however Mexico’s two biggest drug cartels — the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel — have moved into the state and been disputing a corridor along the border with Guatemala which is coveted for smuggling drugs and migrants “Chiapas is barely beginning to experience the fallout of a set of conflicts that the federal and state governments’ impoverished deterrence strategies are allowing to escalate,” Falko Ernst senior Mexico analyst for the International Crisis Group Residents of the municipality of Chicomuselo hid in their homes as bullets pierced the walls during a seven-hour gunfight Jan which killed 20 people — including two locals whose relatives were unable to retrieve the bodies — according to a statement from the community they’re forcing us to leave our homes and others to be part of them,” the statement said “Communities are stuck in the middle of this,” said a priest who works in the area and spoke on condition of anonymity A director of a Catholic relief organization in the corridor who also didn’t want his name published described a situation in which people remaining are forced to pay extortion while roads through the region are covered with illegal cartel checkpoints “There are a lot of casualties in the confrontations,” the director told OSV News “They go straight into the houses and grab the young people or the men That’s why so many have decided to flee.” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has mostly downplayed reports of violence in Chiapas he told people not to flee and “trust” the National Guard — a militarized police force — insisting that those distrustful of the were “protecting criminals The Catholic relief group’s director said people distrusted the National Guard because the shootouts took place near the guard’s barracks and guard members “never show up.” The director added that villagers have attempted to arm themselves and form self-defense groups to keep the cartels out of their communities “But they’ve sent the army and the National Guard to practically intimidate the population,” the director said The presence of soldiers has long provoked disquiet in Chiapas where soldiers were sent after the Zapatista uprising “We recognize the increase in militarization but we do not see results,” Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel López Alfaro of San Cristóbal de las Casas said in a Mass celebrated Jan “It is contradictory for us to see criminal groups acting permissively without the intervention of those who should guarantee peace in our towns and communities,” he stressed David Agren writes for OSV News from Mexico City Almost 500 indigenous people who have been displaced from their communities in Chiapas due to violence are marching to the state capital to seek a solution from authorities The 444 Tzotzil Maya people are from the municipalities of Chenalhó Ocosingo and Zinacantán but were forced to leave their homes amid violent territorial and political conflicts Some have been displaced for more than two years The contingent left San Cristóbal de las Casas on Monday and yesterday reached a point 15 kilometers short of the town of Chiapa de Corzo after walking through fog and drizzle in cold temperatures The director of the Ku’untick Human Rights Center who is accompanying the Tzotzils on their “pies cansados” (tired feet) march said the Chiapas government has made no commitment to restore security in highland communities so that the displaced people can return home said that “as displaced people from the Puebla ejido [community land] we’ve decided to express our disagreement,” adding “until now our problem hasn’t been solved and we haven’t been able to return [home].” After setting up camp last night on the side of the San Cristóbal-Chiapa de Corzo highway where humanitarian aid including food and clothes was distributed the march towards Tuxtla Gutiérrez resumed today State and Federal Police have been escorting the indigenous caravan which still has around 30 kilometers left to travel meaning that it will likely arrive in the capital Friday or Saturday One of the displaced persons is 30-year-old pregnant woman who is traveling with her husband and two children had only been living in Chenalhó two weeks when on May 26 armed men attacked residents of the Puebla ejido A 14-year-old girl was killed in the attack which was triggered by political differences Thousands of indigenous people have fled their homes in the highlands of Chiapas during recent years due to violence stemming from political and territorial disputes Deaths due to cold and hunger have occurred in makeshift camps set up by displaced people and a year ago a human rights organization and the Catholic church described the situation in parts of Chiapas as a humanitarian crisis Source: El Universal (sp), Noticieros Televisa (sp)  ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC passenger seriously injured in I-76 crash near WadsworthAkron Beacon JournalA wrong-way driver died on Interstate 76 near Wadsworth early Saturday when he crashed into a vehicle towing a camper The driver's passenger was seriously injured but a family from Clinton in the other vehicle survived the 2:33 a.m was traveling the wrong way and struck a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado with an attached camper Cole was traveling westbound on Interstate 76 Gomez Hernandez's Equinox struck the Silverado head-on The Equinox became disabled in the roadway while the Silverado continued off the right side of the roadway Gomez Hernandez was declared dead at the scene was transported by ambulance to Cleveland Clinic Akron General with life-threatening injuries sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash All individuals involved were wearing safety belts or in a child safety seat at the time of the crash the patrol said.The I-76 westbound lanes near state Route 57 in Medina were closed for several hours Today's print edition Home Delivery Pope Francis will visit some of the poorest and most violent corners of Mexico on his first visit as pontiff and will also head to the northern border to address the plight of migrants trying to reach the United States More than 100,000 people have been killed in Mexico's drug wars over the last decade and its reputation was battered by the case of 43 students abducted and apparently massacred in 2014.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); President Enrique Pena Nieto's government botched the investigation and relatives of the victims are looking to Francis for help in getting to the truth In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. 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