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24 November 2009 | | |

Making Trouble

Mexican government works to divide grassroots organizations

length: 1:46 minutes
Download: MP3 (1.2 Mb)

The indigenous of the civil society group “The bees” were victims of what was later known as the Acteal Massacre in 1997, in reference to a community of the Mexican state of Chiapas. In December of that year, anti-zapatista paramilitary killed 45 members of that organization who were in a chapel, including children and pregnant women.

Now, from the emblematic community of Acteal, they warn about a possible new attempt of indigenous extermination, since the Mexican government has released most of the paramilitaries who participated in the 1997 action.

Also, in the recent months, several suspicious people have wandered round the offices of the organization, without much explanation.

They exposed this during the 6th Week of Biological and Cultural Diversity that took place last week in the Guatemalan community of Yalambojoch, near the Mexican border.

They also reported that Felipe Calderon’s administration is trying to “divide the organized people” and they blame him for being the architect of the organization’s division in 2008.

They said that the government promoted the creation of an official civil society group made up by former members of The Bees.

“The government wants more violence and there is evidence that the Acteal massacre was organized by them”.

The Bees admit that they no longer believe in “any government authority nor in the judiciary”, and that their goal is to find mechanisms to “organize from our own culture”.

(CC) 2009 Real World Radio

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