NAFTA sparks bloody clashes in Mexico

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Canadian Native leaders are planning to travel to an embittered war zone in southern Mexico in support of an Indigenous uprising against the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Ovide Mercredi hopes to pressure the Mexican government into dealing with the "Indian situation and to encourage them to resolve the issue throughout negotiations."

Mercredi and four colleagues yet to be named plan to leave for the Chiapas region in southern Mexico within the next few weeks.

The grand chief also called on Prime Minister Jean Chretien to telephone Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari to voice Canada's concerns as a NAFTA participant.

The conflict was obviously as a result of the frustration of the Mayan people for their total abandonment by the authorities in favor of local landlords' interests, abuse and discrimination, the AFN leader said.

The head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs denounced use of military force against Mexico's Indigenous peoples.

The Mayans are fighting against a government and corporate agenda in which they have no say, Phil Fontaine said. They are also fighting against genocide, poverty and encroachment on their traditional lands.

"These are the same things we are fighting for."

The uprising in and around San Cristoal de las Casas in southern Mexico erupted Jan. 1 when an estimated 600 to 1,500 Mayan Indians seized control of the resort city and several neighboring towns, sparking heavy clashes with government troops and police.

Most of the guerrillas, who wear black and red uniforms and bandanas, are Tzotzil or Tzeltal Indians who have banded together as the Zapatista National Liberation Army. The rebels say they oppose the free trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the United States because it represents an injustice to Mexico's Indigenous peoples.

Their insurrection began on the first day NAFTA was implemented as Zapatista soldiers, led by a man known only as Commandante Marcos, fought with government troops along a stretch of highway outside San Cristobal. sundown Jan. 2, 55 people had been killed.

Army officials reported 24 Zapatistas and five government troops had been killed during a gun battle at a military base near San Cristobal. The other 26, including 22 state and local police officers, were killed when the Mayans took control of the four towns around San Cristobal. Heavy fighting around the eastern city of Ocosingo on Jan. 3 claimed the lives of as many as 50 more guerrillas.

The rebels retreated into the hills the next day after the government brought in helicopters and other military aircraft armed with rockets and machine-guns.

The government appeared to have the situation under control until a car bomb exploded in downtown Mexico City Jan. 8, injuring five more people. The Zapatistas had vowed on the first day of the uprising to bring the violence to the capital.

Other bombs went off at a military base near the city later that night. A grenade was also thrown at a Mexican government building in Acapulco that same day.

The Zapatistas took responsibility for all the attacks.

The AFN is not surprised at the extent of the uprising, Mercredi said. Constitutional laws protecting the Mayan land rights were repealed to pass NAFTA, which in part explains the root cause of the violence.

"The rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada are also potentially threatened by NAFTA," he said. "I raised the matter with the prime minister to ensure that no legislation contrary to our rights be modified or passed in Canada as a result of NAFTA."

While they support the rights of Mexico's Indigenous peoples, both Mercredi and Fontaine denounced the use of violence.