wfn.org | NCCCUSA: "End Violence in Chiapas"

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contacts: Wendy S. McDowell, NCC, 212-870-2227
Communication Works (for names, full text), 415-255-1946
Internet:  news@ncccusa.org

NCC3/26/98  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCC OFFICIALS SIGN STATEMENT URGING U.S., MEXICAN
GOVERNMENTS TO BRING ABOUT END OF VIOLENCE IN CHIAPAS

 NEW YORK, N.Y., March 26 ---- The president,
immediate past president, and general secretary of the
National Council of Churches (NCC) are among more than
300 religious leaders from the U.S. and around the world
who have issued a joint statement urging the Mexican and
U.S. governments to end the escalating violence against
indigenous communities in Chiapas.

The strong statement, signed by the Rev. Dr. Craig
Anderson, NCC President; United Methodist Bishop Melvin
Talbert, NCC Immediate Past President, and the Rev. Dr.
Joan Brown Campbell, NCC General Secretary, calls on the
two governments to address the "pattern of tolerance" for
paramilitary groups like the one responsible for the
massacre of 45 Tzotzil Indians in Acteal on December 22,
1997.

 Church World Service, the disaster relief, human
development and refugee assistance ministry of the NCC,
responded to the Acteal massacre with blankets, food,
medicines and a $30,000 appeal for longer-term material
assistance for survivors and refugees.

Since the Acteal massacre, the military has
stationed an additional 5,000 troops in indigenous
communities in the highlands of Chiapas, bringing the
current total number of soldiers to more than 40,000.  An
estimated 300 to 600 people have been killed as a direct
result of the military and paramilitary violence since
the 1994 cease-fire, according to reports by local human
rights organizations and press.  An estimated 10,000
people in the area have been displaced.

"We, the undersigned religious leaders, call on the
governments of Mexico and the United States to examine
official policies that have resulted in stalled peace
talks and repeated explosions of violence in Chiapas.
Resolute action is urgently needed to de-militarize the
conflict and achieve a negotiated resolution," reads the
statement, sent this week to both President Zedillo and
President Clinton.  "Any attempt at a military solution
in Chiapas will only lead to more bloodshed and unrest, a
loss of credibility for the Mexican government, and
strained U.S.-Mexico relations," it says.

The religious leaders are calling on the Clinton
administration to re-examine its policy on military
assistance and training to Mexico and on the Mexican
government to take immediate action to disarm
paramilitary groups active in Chiapas.  The statement
also calls on government officials to implement the 1996
San Andres Accords on Indigenous Rights and Culture as a
necessary step to renewed peace talks.

SIPAZ (Servicio Internacional para la
Paz/International Service for Peace) initiated the
statement in coordination with Ra£l Vera, Coadjutor
Bishop of the Diocese of San Crist˘bal de las Casas in
Chiapas.  In addition to the NCC leaders, the statement
is endorsed by 31 Roman Catholic bishops, numerous heads
of religious congregations, denominational executives,
and leaders of other faith-based organizations.  The
statement is also endorsed by religious leaders from 13
other countries, including Switzerland, Guatemala, Kenya,
and Mexico.

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