INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND ACCOMPANIMENT

CHIAPAS

Northern Zone

• In October , we visited the Northern region of the state, mainly the municipalities of Yajalón, Tila and Palenque where we met with various actors (civil and social organizations as well as authorities). We accompanied as observers the march that took place in Tila to commemorate the creation of their ejido 80 years ago.
• In November, we accompanied the pilgrimage that took place in Palenque as part of the commemoration of the massacre of Viejo Velasco, where, in 2006, seven people were killed, two more disappeared and 36 forcedly displaced .

Highlands

• On September 17, we attended the event that took place in Laguna Suyul, ejido La Candelaria, San Cristóbal de Las Casas municipality, where more than 2,000 people expressed their opposition to the mega-highway between San Cristóbal and Palenque.

Centre

• We were invited to be witnesses of honor at the signing of an agreement between parties in conflict in Candelaria El Alto in October.
• In November, along with other civil society organizations, we interviewed social and religious actors from the municipality of Venustiano Carranza.

Lacandona Jungle

• On September 8 and 9, we participated in a meeting of analysis with social and civil organizations operating in the municipality of Ocosingo and elsewhere in the state of Chiapas. This event had been convened by Services and Consulting for Peace (Serapaz) and was held in Ocosingo.

Caracoles/EZLN

• During the period of time covered by this report, we visited each of the 5 Zapatista caracoles at least once.
• On October 8, we were present as observers in the silent march of some 20,000 members of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN ) that was held in San Cristobal de Las Casas in solidarity with Ayotzinapa.

Prisonners

• In October, we visited Alejandro Díaz Santis in the San Cristóbal de Las Casas jail. Díaz Santis is a prisoner in solidarity with the Voz del Amate, an organizational process that adheres to the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandona Jungle.

Women

• On September 22, we were at the seminar organized by COFEMO and IDESMAC on “Women and Land” in which it was emphasized that “for the construction of territories with gender equality and sustainability, the gender perspective is needed, both as a principle and as a policy” .
• We attended the assemblies of the Diocene Coordination of Women (CODIMUJ) that were held in San Cristóbal de Las Casas in August and October.

Events

• In September, we went to the press conference in which the ejidatarios of Candelaria, San Cristobal de Las Casas municipalities, announced their opposition to the construction of the mega – highway between San Cristobal and Palenque.
• We were also present at the press conference in which relatives of Tatiana Trujillo Rodríguez denounced the impunity seen in the femicide perpetrated against her in April 2010 in the Ocosingo municipality.
• In mid-September, we attended the press conference of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, comprising more than 15 organizations and grassroots groups, to denunciate the situation of unjust imprisonment of Florentino Gomez Girón, coordinator of Luz y Fuerza del Pueblo as well as of Alejandro Diaz Sántiz.
• We were also present during the press conference in which torture and cruel and inhumane treatment against three indigenous persons from the Virgen de Dolores community located within the San Sebastián Bachajón ejido, adherents to the EZLN’s Sixth Declaration of the Lacandona Jungle, were denunciated.
• On October 8, we attended the presentation of the annual report of the Human Rights Center Fray Bartolome de Las Casas (CDHFBC) “Human Rights under Debate : Between the official cynicism and the Dignity of Peoples “.
• In October, we also participated in the forum ” Challenges of psychosocial and legal support to survivors of torture” also convened by the CDHFBC.
• In September, we were present in the symbolic protest # x1leydealtura in the face of the bill under discussion in the Congress regarding children and adolescents rights. In October, we attended the press conference : ” The girls and adolescents also matter : Challenges in fulfilling their rights to education , decent work, and a life free of violence.”
• We attended the press conference where the worsening security situation in Simojovel was reported.
• On October 8 and 22, we were present as observers in the acts that took place in San Cristobal de Las Casas in solidarity for the Ayotzinapa case.
• In November, we accompanied the march / meeting organized in the framework of the arrival of the Caravan to the South of the relatives of the missing students from Ayotzinapa in San Cristóbal de las Casas.

GUERRERO

• We published an Urgent Action in the face of the violence in Iguala and to join in the demand for live appearance of the 43 disappeared from the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa.

PEACE PROMOTION

WORK WITH RELIGIOUS ACTORS

• In November, we attended the assembly of the Believing People, an organizational process which pertains to the San Cristóbal de Las Casas diocese.
• In September, we participated in a follow-up meeting of the Congress of Mother Earth, convened in January by the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
• In October, we provided a space for analysis with a hundred catechists from Tumbalá (Northern zone) .

PEACE EDUCATION

• In September, we provided a space for reflection and analysis on “Racism and Discrimination” with young people from Presbyterian and Pentecostal churches convened by the Mayan Intercultural Seminar (SIM).
• In October, we gave a presentation on “Education for Peace” at the Faculty of Social Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Chiapas (UNACH).
• In November , we opened a new series of workshops with a gender perspective in Pueblo Nuevo Sitala, municipality of Simojovel .

NETWORKING

• We attended the bimonthly meetings of the Peace Network, a space for action and reflection comprised of 10 organizations that seek to support processes of peace and reconciliation in Chiapas.
• On August 25 and 26, we participated in a meeting of partner organizations of MM ( “People with a Mission “, from the Netherlands) that was held in Mexico. On August 29, we were also at the meeting to exchange experiences of partners of MM from Mexico and Guatemala .
• In June, we attended a workshop entitled “Business and human rights” from the organization Projects on Organization, Development, Education and Research (PODER). The space had been convened by the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC for its acronym in English) to which we belong.
• In October, we were at the tenth meeting of Peace and Reconciliation Builders in the community of Tres Pozos, municipality of Comitán, organized by the Commission for the Support of Community Unity and Reconciliation (CORECO) and with the participation of more than 100 persons.
• In November, we attended a meeting of partners of Wellthaus-Germany.

INFORMATION

• We received visits from delegations, students, journalists, and members of our coalition interested in learning more about the context in Chiapas and the work of SIPAZ.