After 13 days of hunger strikes inside the facilities of the State Commission of Human Rights of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, 8 campesinos, alongside members of the Emiliano Zapata Campesino Organization – Carranza Region (OCEZ), have decided to end the protests, due to medical reasons. The hunger strikes began on the 13th July, representing the demands of 450 families from 12 communities calling for more agrarian control of hundreds of hectares of land. Included are the territories that were pacifically occupied on the 16th July, and “as a minimum, the lands of: El Nilar, El Encanto, La Noria, El Caracol, El Sauz and La Ceiba” according to Narco News. On the 23rd July, five of the thirteen campesinos involved in the protests ended their hunger strikes.
The protest not only demanded that 225 hectares of land may be purchased and legalized, but also called for the cancellation of 15 pending arrest warrants and for the obtainment of resources for viable projects.
“We are talking about a fight that campesinos from the region have been involved in for decades, for which time they have been subjected to the law and regime of the landlords and of the political tyrants, who still own most of the lands of this region today. They have lent their services as campesinos, in the harvesting of sugar cane, from which they have been dependent for generations. Now they are asking for these lands so as to be able to support their families”, says leader of the OCEZ, José Manuel Hernández de la Torre.
Following the establishment of a series of negotiations with the state government in Tuxtla, the dialogue process came to a halt in the last few days. Organizations represented by the National Front for the Fight for Socialism (FNLS, Frente Nacional de Lucha Hacia el Socialismo) have warned that there has been an alarming rise in violence and harassments in the region. Within a press statement, they called for “The Federal Army and the state police to stop the harassing and to remove the permanent patrols within the communities of the municipality of Venustiano Carranza. Furthermore, they called for the initiation of an immediate investigation into the presence of paramilitary groups in the region”.
For More Information:
“Toma la OCEZ tierras en Chiapas: policias en alerta”, La Jornada (16/07/2009)
“Campesinos de la OCEZ suspenden huelga de hambre”, La Jornada (23/07/2009)
“Comuneros de la OCEZ-Carranza denuncian omisión de autoridades”, Indymedia (15/07/2009)
