Chiapas: New communiqué by Las Abejas of Acteal

On 22 March, 14 years and 3 months after the Acteal massacre, the Las Abejas Civil Society once again published a public communiqué in which it recalled the responsibility of the Mexican government in the case of the Acteal massacre, given that “it seeks to cover up the material and intellectual authors [of the crime], as is logical since they planned and organized the killings.”

 They also referred to the releases as mandated by the state in recent months, and they demanded justice for the murder of the Oaxacan anti-mining leader.  In their words, “On the one hand, by means of the so-called Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation (SCJN), the memory we have of our martyrs is offended, in light of the massive excarcerations and reduction of sentences imposed on paramilitary prisoners who had been put away for the Acteal massacre; it is also offended by the Mexican Army, which harasses, threatens, and murders those leaders who organize their peoples to denounce injustices.  Some examples of this are the case of the representative and leader of the Coordination of the United Peoples of the Ocotlán Valley, Oaxaca, Bernardo Vázquez Sánchez, who was murdered in an ambush on Thursday 15 March of the present year, in addition to the 11 comrades of Cheran, Michoacán, wo are honest workers who have been detained for defending their land and territory.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado de Las Abejas 22 de marzo de 2012 (Las Abejas de Acteal blog, 22 de marzo de 2012)

VIDEO a 14 años y 3 meses de Acteal (Koman Ilel, 22 de marzo de 2012)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: Release of 7 other indigenous persons accused of participating in Acteal massacre (9 February)

Chiapas: “Day of Fasting and Prayer for Memory, Resistance, and Life,” 14 years after the Acteal massacre (6 January 2012)

Chiapas: New denunciation by Las Abejas (28 October 2011)

Chiapas: Las Abejas of Acteal distance themselves from demand against ex-president Zedillo (27 September 2011)

Chiapas: Day of Action for Justice and Truth of Las Abejas of Acteal (19 August)