Chiapas: one wounded as paras attack Zapatistas

The Zapatista Good Government Junta (JBG) “Coraz贸n del arcoiris de la esperanza,” based in the Chiapas jungle village of Morelia, issued a statement denouncing aggression by followers of the Organization for the Defense of Indigenous and Campesino Rights (OPDDIC) in the community of K’an akil, autonomous municipality Olga Isabel. Various shots were fired “without reason or motive” in the Aug. 29 attack against Zapatista campesinos鈥攐ne of whom was wounded in the abdomen.

The JBG said the attackers came from the neighboring communities of Najchejeb and Sombra Baxil, who are seeking to take over K’an akil’s lands, recovered from ranchers in the 1994 Zapatista revolt. The statement said the assailants arrived in a truck when the Zapatista campesinos were preparing to return to their homes after a day of work on lands “completely outside of where the aggressors live.” The attackers, some dressed in military camo or black uniforms, were armed with rifles and pistols. They also ambushed some of the campesinos on a trail when they fled to Olga Isabel after the initial attack. Mariano P茅rez Guzm谩n, 43, was wounded in that ambush.

The statement accused local “federal, state and municipal” authorities of being in league with OPDDIC. It named the organization’s leaders as Sebasti谩n Luna L贸pez (comisariado of Muk’ul lum Bachaj贸n community), Jer贸nimo Jim茅nez Aguilar, Urbano S谩nchez, Carmen S谩nchez Jim茅nez, Mariano S谩nchez Jim茅nez and Domingo L贸pez G贸mez. (Hermann Bellinghausen for La Jornada, Sept. 2)

See our last post on Mexico, Chiapas and the Zapatista struggle.