On May 30, the 22 Tzeltal, Chol, and Lacandon representatives of the Council of Communal Properties of the Lacandon Zone, of the organization ARIC-ID and of other organizations from Ocosingo were released “under the reserves of the law.” The released reported that they were freed after an agreement was signed in Mexico City with federal and state authorities. The Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Human Rights Center considers that these representatives were detained “arbitrarily” last May 29 in Tuxtla Gutierrez when they went to an appointment with the Secretary of Government of Chiapas, Eduardo Ramirez to “dialogue” about the regularization of three villages in the Lacandon Jungle (Rancheria Corrozal, Salvador Allende and Nuevo San Gregorio), and to demand the freedom of Gabriel Fernando Montoya Oseguera, who was originally accused of the alleged abduction of Julia Carabias.
The Indians declared that the federal government, through the Commissioner for Dialogue with Indigenous Peoples, Jaime Martinez Veloz, signed an agreement to open a negotiation table with the undersecretary of Human Rights of the Ministry of Interior. The meeting should take place in Mexico City and should be attended by the state authorities and the defense of Gabriel Montoya Oseguera, advisor to the Communal Lands of the Lacandon area. The arrest of Montoya on May 15 led to demonstrations that allegedly generated the detention of the 22 indigenous. They reported the suspension of roadblocks and demonstrations until an agreement was reached. Services and Advices for Peace (Serapaz) reported that “an agreement between the Commission for Dialogue, Peace, and Justice in the Lacandon Jungle and the representation of the Federal and State Government was signed. Both parties agree to privilege dialogue and the construction of agreements to resolve the problem that exists in the Lacandon area.”
For more information (in Spanish):
Otra oportunidad a la palabra: Los 22 compañeros de la comisión de diálogo que fueron detenidos hoy son libres (Serapaz, 30 de mayo de 2014)
Privación Arbitraria de la Libertad a indígenas y Defensor de Derechos Humanos perpetrada por el gobierno de Chiapas (CDHFBLC, 30 de mayo de 2014)
Liberan a 22 indígenas detenidos en Chiapas (Proceso, 31 de mayo de 2014)
Criminalizar a pobladores de Montes Azules y la Lacandona, una infamia (Chiapas Paralelo, 31 de mayo de 2014)
Liberan a 22 indígenas tras un acuerdo entre autoridades de Chiapas y federales (La Jornada, 1 de junio de 2014)
Liberan a 22 indígenas lacandones en Chiapas (El Universal, 31 de mayo de 2014)
For more information from SIPAZ (in English):
Chiapas: Government arrest members of a commission for dialogue on the Montes Azules conflict (June 10, 2014)
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