Zapatista Massacre

On 22nd December 45 men and women in Acteal, a community in Polho in the Zapatista Autonomous Municipality, Chiapas, Mexico were gunned down by a paramilitary group. The massacre followed 7 months of state funded violence against communities supporting the Zapatistas.

In May last year paramilitary groups, armed with AK-47's and backed-up by the state police, began displacing the unarmed men, women and children of communities in the Polho municipality. There have been 14 communities displaced to date. There are currently 8,800 refugees in 3 camps in Polho.

Their possessions and land have been sold and their homes burnt. Many of those who failed to escape have been killed, others are still in hiding in the mountains without shelter or supplies. The camps are suffering from severe shortages of food, water, shelter and medicines and children are dying.

Approx 2,400 people are reported to be unable to leave their communities and attempts to rescue them have been prevented by the armed paramilitaries. Harassment of their communities continues and the Zapatistas and their supporters are requesting international aid.

See Events listing for Zapatista Challenge Conference on 7/8 March; contact Mexico Support Group on 0181 682 2402