@ Las Abejas de Acteal
Next month will mark the 24th anniversary of the Acteal Massacre, as well as 24 years of the struggle for justice in the case of the 45 people who died in it.
On December 22nd, 1997, a group of Tsotsil Indians belonging to Las Abejas Civil Society were fasting and praying for peace in the Chenalho community, located in the Chiapas Highlands region, when a group of paramilitaries attacked them, leaving 45 dead, most of them women and minors.
23 years and 11 months later, Las Abejas carried out an act through which they again demanded justice for their brothers and sisters as well as the publication “of the results of the investigations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on Case 12,790 Manuel Santiz Culebra et al. “Acteal Massacre”.
“Today we also want to remind you that Las Abejas de Acteal have not accepted nor will we ever accept to exchange the blood of our fallen brothers here, for money or housing or infrastructure projects in our communities, and we will continue to firmly denounce the truth of what happened so that a massacre like that of Acteal will not be repeated, although the government continues to try to divide and buy us”, they declared in a statement published on their website on November 22nd, 2021. They also condemned the release 12 years ago of those who were imprisoned for the case, which allowed them “to get out of jail and return to live as if nothing in our communities, violating the right to peace and tranquility of our brothers and sisters who survived the Massacre and their families.”
On another note, they denounced the disappearance of Irma Galindo Barrios, a defender of forests in Oaxaca, as well as the capitalist structural reforms that allow the exploitation of natural resources of native peoples by national and international companies.
In particular, they recognized “the struggle of all the peoples and organizations that came together this month at the Meeting in Defense of our Natural and Communal Assets “THE ISTHMUS IS OURS” to inform, analyze and organize before the imposition of the so-called Interoceanic Corridor (… ).” They also sympathized with the Zoque people who were attacked by a group of Tsotsils the day before.
Finally, they invited “all the men and women, collectives and organizations that have fought with us for justice and truth, (…)” to participate in the Day they are organizing to commemorate the massacre on December 21st and 22nd, 2021.
For more information in Spanish:
Seguimos demandando a la CIDH que se apresure en publicar los resultados de sus investigaciones sobre el caso 12.790 Manuel Sántiz Culebra (Las Abejas de Acteal, 22 de noviembre de 2021)
A 23 años de la masacre de Acteal, la herida sigue abierta y exigen justicia (Chiapas Paralelo, 22 de deciembre de 2020)
Sobrevivientes de la masacre de Acteal denuncian hostigamiento de abogado que los demanda (Animal Politico, 20 de noviembre de 2018)
For more information from SIPAZ:
sipazen.wordpress.com 