A statement from an alleged member of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) attributed to this group the responsibility for the kidnapping of a PAN politician and former presidential candidate in 1994, Diego Fernandez de Cevallos. A copy of the statement was sent to the Spanish news agency EFE, who released it on January 1st, just 17 years after the Zapatista uprising. The document titled “The ex Mysterious Kidnappers. The truth comes to light ” is signed by “el Guerrero [warrior] Balam”, a “faithful member of the insurgent forces of the EZLN”, member of the Network for Global Transformation (RTG) and subordinated to “Subcomandante Marcos and the wise Mayan Zapatistas“. He stresses that Fernandez de Cevallos is “one of the main enemies of our project”, the autonomy of indigenous peoples.
It should be recalled that the kidnapping of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos occurred on May 14, 2010. The kidnappers, calling themselves “The Mysterious Kidnappers” and later the Network for Global Transformation issued press releases three times to ask for money in exchange for the release of the former senator. After seven months of capture, Fernández de Vecallos was released on 20 December.
The day after national and international media informed on that last statement, a communique posted in the Web-page of “Enlace Zapatista” strongly denied that the EZLN and “La Otra Campaña” (The Other Campaign) participated in the kidnapping of the politician. The statement signed by Javier Elorriaga and Sergio Rodríguez Lascano, directors of the “Rebellion” Magazine and members of the Other Campaign says that who made the statement which stated that the EZLN had kidnapped the former Mexican presidential candidate for seven months, “is only looking to be center stage, causing confusion and serving the interests of power. ” Moreover, they observed that in consequence of the attempt to link them with the kidnapping of the Mexican politician, the Zapatista indigenous communities may suffer a further escalation of aggression.
For his part, the Congressman José Narro Céspedes, president of the Concord and Pacification Commission (Cocopa), rejected any attempt to link the EZLN to the kidnapping of Senator Cevallos. Through a statement, he asked the Federal Executive to realize extensive research on the origins of what he called “infamous pamphlets” that, it seems, intended to be the start of an escalation of repression against the EZLN. He said: “We must ask ourselves what is the purpose of slowly staging campaigns of slander and provocation against the EZLN? Less than a year ago, as now, without counting with sources of serious information, the Zapatistas were accused of being funded by the ETA, and now, the EZLN is linked to the kidnapping of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos. For a start, to spread so profusely information of uncertain origin speaks of a policy or intention to seek a pretext to undertake repressive action. “
On another hand, the governor of Chiapas, Juan Sabines Guerrero, said it was irresponsible to pretend to involve the EZLN with the kidnapping and that “if a message has been sent by the EZLN to the country in these times of violence, it has been one of caution, peace and political responsibility. ” He also said that one must recognize the contribution of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and the Good Government Committees in the political evolution and the fight against crime.
For more information (in Spanish):
– Presunto miembro del EZLN atribuye al grupo secuestro de Diego Fernández (CNN México, 1 de enero de 2011)
– Se desmiente vinculación del EZLN y La Otra Campaña con cualquier secuestro (Pronunciamiento publicado en Enlace zapatista, 2 de enero de 2011)
– Irresponsable involucrar a EZLN en plagio de Diego (El Universal, 2 de enero de 2011)
– Desmienten zapatistas presuntos nexos con el caso Diego (La Jornada, 2 de enero de 2011)
– México: Cocopa rechaza ligar a EZLN con plagio de Diego (El Universal, 2 de enero)
– EZLN no participó en secuestro del Jefe Diego señalan enlaces del grupo (CNN México, 3 de enero de 2011)
For more information from SIPAZ (in English):
Chiapas: further controversy surrounding the EZLN in Mexican newspapers (April 2, 2010)
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