@ Gaby Coutinho
On July 19th, the Commission of the 134 Municipal Rural Agents of Chenalho sent a letter to the Secretary General of the Government of the State of Chiapas, Ismael Brito Mazariegos, requesting the installation of a Mixed Operations Base (MOB) in the municipality of Aldama.
The request comes after 13-year-old Maria Luciana Lunes Perez received a bullet wound in Koko, Aldama, on July 17th, as a consequence of the continuous armed violence between the municipalities of Aldama and Santa Martha.
Seeking to stop the violence, the 134 agents requested the installation of the military base: “We urgently demand attention to the request of the President of Uses and Customs of Aldama, Vctor Adolfo Lopez Gomez, for the installation and permanence of the Mixed Operations Base (BOM) in the communities of Tselelpotojtic, San Pedro Cotzinam, Coco, Taback, all in the municipality of Aldama, since these communities are the point of origin of the attacks directed at the inhabitants of the Manuel Utrilla Santa Martha communal property.”
Separately, Santa Martha authorities asked the head of the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection, Gabriela Zepeda Soto, to establish precautionary measures to prevent events that may be difficult to remedy, they report in an article in La Jornada.
It is worth mentioning that both towns, for several weeks, have participated in negotiations with state authorities to try to find a solution to the dispute over the ownership of 60 hectares of land that has lasted for more than 40 years.
More information in Spanish:
Solicitan base de operaciones en Aldama, Chiapas para evitar violencia(La Jornada, 20 de julio)
Piden intervención militar y policial en zona indígena(El Heraldo de Chiapas, 19 de julio)
PIDEN INSTALACIÓN DE LA BASE DE OPERACIONES MIXTAS EN ALDAMA (Prensa Libre de Chiapas, 21 de julio)
More information from SIPAZ:
Chiapas: Hieren de bala a niña de Aldama en ataque armado (julio 18, 2020)
Chiapas: Injunction Granted to Protect Life, Integrity and Security of Displaced Tsotsil Communities in Aldama (May 4, 2020)
Chiapas: Attacks against Tsotsil Communities in Aldama Continue (April 16, 2020)
Chiapas: Authorities in Santa Martha and Aldama Denounce New Attacks (March 5, 2020)
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