Communique from the Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee
General Command of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN),
Mexico.

October 8, 1994

To the people of Mexico:
To the peoples and governments of the world:
To the national and international press:
Brothers:

The Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee-General Command
of the EZLN declares the following:

First: The Federal Army has continued deploying troops in the
conflict zone. It has continued its patrols with armored vehicles,
entering Zapatista territory. It has continued with its low-flying
overflights by combat aircraft. In the last few days, the garrisons
in Altamirano, Las Margaritas and Ocosingo have been reinforced
with troops and military fortifications. Dozens of armored vehicles
have been sent to Tuxtla Gutierrez and to San Cristobal de las
Casas. Low-flying overflights by combat aircraft of the Federal
Army continued during the month of September. Day and night, in the
municipalities of Las Margaritas and Ocosingo, the constant
overflights by aircraft seek to intimidate and provoke an armed
clash. During the night of October the 7th and the day of October
the 8th these threatening overflights continued.

Second: The soldiers stationed in the municipal capitals of
Ocosingo, Altamirano and Las Margaritas are openly preparing
themselves for combat, and amongst the troops there are rumors of
an imminent attack.

Third: The recent evictions of occupied lands in the state (of
Chiapas - translator) have been a show of force, and women and
children have been beaten, arrested and tortured - peasants whose
only crime is not having land to cultivate. The government has
chosen to favor a repression that benefits the powerful instead of
a dialogue that would benefit the dispossessed.

Fourth: The peaceful civil demonstrations by our indigenous
brothers throughout the Republic have been answered with repression
and intolerance. The repression against our indigenous brothers in
Guerrero deserves special mention.

Fifth: The organizations of ranchers and businessmen continue with
their belligerence, threatening and assaulting those who are
seeking a dignified peace in Chiapas. We have proof of the
participation of members of the public security forces of the state
of Michoacan in the training of the rancher's "White Guards." The
so-called "Civic Fronts" have been reactiviated by Mr. Robledo
Rincon for the purpose of stopping the peaceful civil mobilizations
of the Chiapaneco people against the imposition of Rincon as
governor.

Sixth: The recent political crime perpetrated against the Secretary
General of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) - a crime
whose source should be sought within the government's own ranks -
is the murderous response to the democratic impulses in the
country.

Seventh: The self-proclaimed "Presidential Spokesperson for the
Fufillment of the Peace Accords in Chiapas," sought to provoke our
troops by entering Zapatista territory in a helicopter of the IMSS
(Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social - translator) and uselessly
trying to encourage a division amongst the Zapatista population
with government handouts. The renowned "spokesperson" sought to
provoke our troops to attack his helicopter in order to justify the
breaking of the cease-fire by Federal troops.

Eighth: The Ministry of Health, by means of their local agencies,
has started to remove equipment and personnel that were stationed -
 under the flag of the International Committee of the Red Cross -
in the cease-fire zone of San Miguel, in the municipality of
Ocosingo. When he was questioned by the local population, the
person in charge of removing the equipment said that he "had orders
to remove all the equipment because it's known that Federal troops
are going to attack at any moment and all the equipment would be
lost."

Ninth: Therefore, in order to respond to these provocations, so as
not to be an accomplice to the deceit that the government of
Salinas de Gortari is carrying out, so as not to endorse the
culture of political crime that characterizes the current
government, and in order to reaffirm its commitment to the struggle
against fraud and imposition, the Zapatista National Liberation
Army has decided to break off the dialogue with the supreme
government. Salinas de Gortari has done everything possible and
necessary to suspend the dialogue. Since March, 1994 there hasn't
been any willingness on the part of the government to resolve the
problem. By breaking off the dialogue, the EZLN formalizes the
current reality: there is no willingness on the part of the
government to seek a peaceful solution.

Tenth: Zapatista troops have finished mining all land access to
rebel territory and anti-aircraft units have been deployed. We are
ready.

Eleventh: While there is no real willingness to dialogue, and until
the necessary conditions are met, the EZLN will not resume talks to
find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Freedom!
Justice!
Democracy!

Respectfully,
>From the mountains of Southeast Mexico.
Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee-General Command of
the EZLN.
Mexico. October, 1994.

(Translation by Infoshop Berkeley. email: resist@burn.ucsd.edu)