[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12581-S12582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHIAPAS

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor 
of S. Con. Res. 128, introduced last week by the Senator from Vermont 
[Mr. Leahy]. I believe that this resolution is both timely and 
important.
  This resolution calls on the Secretary of State to take a number of 
steps to foster improvement in the human rights situation in Mexico and 
to end the violence in the state of Chiapas. These steps include 
ensuring that any assistance and exports of equipment to Mexican 
security forces are used primarily for counter-narcotics and do not 
contribute to human rights violations, encouraging the Mexican 
government to disarm paramilitary groups and decrease the military 
presence in Chiapas, and encouraging the Mexican government and the 
Zapatista National Liberation Army to establish concrete conditions for 
negotiations for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Chiapas.
  Mr. President, allow me to just review briefly what is going on in 
Chiapas today. Just over four years ago, in January 1994, the Zapatista 
National Liberation Army, an organization of peasant and indigenous 
peoples seeking political and social changes, launched an uprising by 
seizing four towns in the Chiapas region of southern Mexico; fighting 
in the region resulted in nearly 100 deaths. Although the Mexican 
government initially countered the rebellion by sending troops to the 
region, issuing arrest warrants for all Zapatista leaders, and creating 
a new military zone near the site of the Chiapas rebellion, Mexican 
President Ernesto Zedillo subsequently canceled the arrest warrants, 
ordered the cessation of all offensive actions against the Zapatista 
Army, and called for dialogue between Zapatista leaders and the Mexican 
government. Since August of 1995, the Zapatistas have participated 
intermittently in peace negotiations with the Mexican government.
  Last December, 45 indigenous peasants in the village of Acteal, 
Chiapas, were killed by armed men reportedly affiliated with President 
Zedillo's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Following this 
incident, President Zedillo appointed a new Minister of Government and 
a new peace negotiator for Chiapas, the Governor of Chiapas resigned, 
and Mexican authorities arrested more than 40 people in connection with 
this incident, including the mayor of a nearby town.
  These incidents renewed calls for peace in Chiapas. The Zapatistas 
rejected legislation submitted to the Mexican Congress by President 
Zedillo in March 1998 to promote indigenous rights in Chiapas. 
President Zedillo visited the region several times in mid-1998 to 
promote dialogue, but the talks fell apart after the June 1998 
resignation of Bishop Ruiz from the mediation commission, and the 
commission subsequently dissolved. In July 1998, the Zapatistas 
advanced a proposal for mediation and for a Mexican plebiscite on 
President Zedillo's indigenous rights legislation.
  But, Mr. President, efforts for dialogue between the Mexican 
government and the Zapatistas have been largely fruitless, and the 
violence continues. I am deeply troubled by this situation.
  I am also deeply troubled by the cool reception that the Mexican 
government has given to some international human rights observers, 
including people from my home state of Wisconsin. Many of these 
individuals have worked tirelessly from the beginning of the Chiapas 
conflict to help organize humanitarian assistance for the indigenous 
peoples of the troubled region. Some of these individuals feel that 
there has been a concerted effort by the Government of Mexico to keep 
foreigners out of the region in order to limit this kind of 
humanitarian assistance and to limit the ability of outsiders to 
monitor and report on the human rights situation there. Many

[[Page S12582]]

humanitarian workers have been detained for long periods of time and 
summarily deported from Mexico.
  The deficient reception of humanitarian workers in Chiapas casts 
doubt on the sincerity of the Mexican Government when it says it wants 
to work with the United States and others to control drug trafficking 
or to enter into end-use monitoring agreements on the transfer of 
military equipment.
  Mr. President, I believe the United States has an obligation to be an 
advocate for human rights protections around the world. I am not 
convinced that the Mexican National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH), 
which was established in 1990, has done enough to prevent continuing 
violations by Mexican law enforcement officials and the Mexican 
military. I believe the United States must make human rights a top 
priority in our relations with Mexico, and I do not believe Mexico can 
reach stability without permitting its citizens to exercise their basic 
rights. In light of the proximity of Mexico to the United States and 
the myriad ties between our two countries, we have a clear interest in 
working to ensure that human rights are respected in Mexico.
  Again, Mr. President, I am pleased to be a cosponsor of S.Con.Res. 
128, which, in my view, will further call attention to the on-going 
human rights abuses in Chiapas. I hope that the Administration will 
actively work to put human rights at the very top of our priority list 
with respect to Mexico, and that the Mexican government will take 
concrete steps to end the violence in Chiapas and to respect the rights 
of all Mexican citizens and international visitors.

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