Mercredi champions rights of Mayans

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Ottawa must take responsibility for the welfare of Natives in Mexico if it is to remain a trading partner in the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations said.

"There has to be a link between trade and human rights. The Canadian government should make sure that the rights of Indigenous peoples in Mexico are being respected," said Ovide Mercredi.

Canada, Mexico and the United States should also establish a human rights commissioner to monitor and examine human rights violations that occur as a result of the new international free trade deal.

Mexico must immediately recognize the right of the Indian people to become equal partners in the peace process and any future social and political negotiations, he said. President Carlos Salinas de Gortari should also sit down with Native leaders to re-examine Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution to prevent any further alienation of Indian lands.

Mexico revised that article to accommodate the North American Free Trade Agreement, making it possible for Indian peoples to sell their land.

The Indians of Mexico have the same perception of land as Natives in Canada, both in terms of communal ownership and their cultural connection to it, Mercredi said.

"They don't want to be subjected to the private ownership of title. They want to maintain their communal ownership of the land because it is the basis of their culture."

Ottawa must help secure Mayan rights because Indian poverty is more severe in Mexico than in Canada, he added.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien and International Trade Minister Roy MacLaren have said the Chiapas uprising is a matter internal to Mexico and cannot be linked to NAFTA.

External Affairs Minister Andre Oullet had no comment.

Violence in the most southern region of Mexico erupted Jan. 1 after heavily armed Mayan Indians moved to occupy the resort town of San Christobal de las Casas. The so-called Zapatista rebels claimed to be acting in opposition to NAFTA, which came into effect New Year's Day.

Heavy fighting between the Natives and the army lasted a week before superior Mexican forces, aided by helicopter gunships, drove the Mayans back into the mountains. Mexican officials have denied human rights abuses and have called for the unconditional surrender of the rebels.

The International Commission of Human Rights uncovered proof of human rights violations Jan. 17 when commission workers exhumed 17 bodies from a single grave in Ocosingo. Forensic experts reported that 10 of the bodies were Zapatista rebels and one was a civilian.

Forty-nine other rebel bodies were taken to the San Marcos graveyard in Ocosingo by army helicopter and entombed in cement, Mercredi said.

"If they're in cement tombs, I guess there's no way of doing forensic reports."