México. October 8, 1994
To the people of México:
To the peoples and governments of the world:
To the national and international press:
Brothers and sisters:
The Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee-General Command of the EZLN declares the following:
First: The Federal Army has continued deploying troops in the conflict zone. It has continued its patrols with armored vehicles, entering Zapatista territory. It has continued with its low-flying over flights by combat aircraft. In the last few days, the garrisons in Altamirano, Las Margaritas and Ocosingo have been reinforced with troops and military fortifications. Dozens of armored vehicles have been sent to Tuxtla Gutierrez and to San Cristóbal de las Casas. Low-flying over flights by combat aircraft of the Federal Army continued during the month of September. Day and night, in the municipalities of Las Margaritas and Ocosingo, the constant over flights by aircraft seek to intimidate and provoke an armed clash. During the night of October the 7th and the day of October the 8th these threatening over flights continued.
Second: The soldiers stationed in the municipal capitals of Ocosingo, Altamirano and Las Margaritas are openly preparing themselves for combat, and amongst the troops there are rumors of an imminent attack.
Third: The recent evictions of occupied lands in the state [of Chiapas—translator] have been a show of force, and women and children have been beaten, arrested and tortured—peasants whose only crime is not having land to cultivate. The government has chosen to favor a repression that benefits the powerful instead of a dialogue that would benefit the dispossessed.
Fourth: The peaceful civil demonstrations by our indigenous brothers and sisters throughout the Republic have been answered with repression and intolerance. The repression against our indigenous brothers and sisters in Guerrero deserves special mention.
Fifth: The organizations of ranchers and businessmen continue with their belligerence, threatening and assaulting those who are seeking a dignified peace in Chiapas. We have proof of the participation of members of the public security forces of the state of Michoacán in the training of the ranchers' "white guards." The so-called "civic fronts" have been reactivated by Mr. Robledo Rincón for the purpose of stopping the peaceful civil mobilizations of the Chiapaneco people against the imposition of Rincón as governor.
Sixth: The recent political crime perpetrated against the Secretary General of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)—a crime whose source should be sought within the government's own ranks—is a murderous response to the democratic impulses in the country.
Seventh: The self-proclaimed "Presidential Spokesperson for the Fulfillment of the Peace Accords in Chiapas," sought to provoke our troops by entering Zapatista territory in a helicopter of the IMSS [Mexican Social Security Institute—translator] and uselessly trying to encourage a division amongst the Zapatista population with government handouts. The renowned "spokesperson" sought to provoke our troops to attack his helicopter in order to justify the breaking of the cease-fire by Federal troops.
Eighth: The Ministry of Health, by means of their local agencies, has started to remove equipment and personnel that were stationed—under the flag of the International Committee of the Red Cross—in the cease-fire zone of San Miguel, in the municipality of Ocosingo. When he was questioned by the local population, the person in charge of removing the equipment said that he "had orders to remove all the equipment because it's known that Federal troops are going to attack at any moment and all the equipment would be lost."
Ninth: Therefore, in order to respond to these provocations, so as not to be an accomplice to the deceit that the government of Salinas de Gortari is carrying out, so as not to endorse the culture of political crime that characterizes the current government, and in order to reaffirm its commitment to the struggle against fraud and imposition, the Zapatista National Liberation Army has decided to break off the dialogue with the supreme government. Salinas de Gortari has done everything possible and necessary to suspend the dialogue. Since March, 1994 there hasn't been any willingness on the part of the government to resolve the problem. By breaking off the dialogue, the EZLN formalizes the current reality: there is no willingness on the part of the government to seek a peaceful solution.
Tenth: Zapatista troops have finished mining all land access to rebel territory and anti-aircraft units have been deployed. We are ready.
Eleventh: While there is no real willingness to dialogue, and until the necessary conditions are met, the EZLN will not resume talks to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Freedom!
Justice!
Democracy!
Respectfully,
From the mountains of Southeast México. Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee-General Command of the EZLN.
México. October, 1994