On July 5th, thousands of Catholics from the diocese of San Cristobal made a pilgrimage in at least seven municipalities to demand that the authorities cease the violence caused by armed groups and guarantee peace and social stability in the state.
Parishioners from the parishes of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Oxchuc, Ocosingo, Teopisca, Tenejapa, San Juan Cancuc, Chamula, Zinacantan, Chenalho, Simojovel, among others, participated in the “Pilgrimage March for Truth, Justice and Peacebuilding”.
Hoisting religious images and banners with different slogans, men, women, children and the elderly marched. In San Cristobal de Las Casas, Bishop Luis Manuel Lopez Alfaro officiated a mass in the cathedral at the end of the pilgrimage in which he declared: “Our society is full of violence, murders, disappeared persons and insecurity. The peoples suffer from drug trafficking, expulsions and abuse of authority. It is sad that more and more are dead, without there being an answer to this reality, which is why families are suffering.’’
In a statement, the Believing People affirmed that the authorities of the three levels of government deny reality: “It seems that they live in a parallel world and different from the one in which the people live, but the State has the responsibility for the insecurity that exists in the country.”
It should be remembered that the date of July 5th coincides with the commemoration of the second anniversary of the murder of the catechist Simon Pedro Perez Lopez, former president of the civil society organization Las Abejas “who gave his life for the people, his path is an example of service, commitment, unwavering struggle and commitment to the organization and it is why today we embrace his family, his Nuevo Israelita community, and Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society Organization.”
Likewise, the Believing People called on all national and international human rights organizations to be vigilant and actively show solidarity with the cases of criminalization and persecution of those who seek paths of peace with justice and dignity for the peoples.
For more information in Spanish:
Siete municipios se manifiestan en Chiapas; exigen fin de la violencia y seguridad (Milenio, 5 de julio de 2023)
Alzamos nuestra palabra por la Paz en Chiapas (Frayba, 5 de julio de 2023)
No caeremos en el juego de violencia y venganza que promueve el Estado, pero no creemos en su mensaje de que no pasa nada: Pueblo creyente (Chiapas paralelo, 5 de julio de 2023)
Marchan miles de católicos en siete municipios por la paz en Chiapas (La Jornada, 6 de julio de 2023)
Marchan en Chiapas; piden frenar violencia (24 horas, 6 de julio de 2023)
For more information from SIPAZ:
Chiapas: sentencian al asesino del defensor de derechos humanos Simón Pedro (April 3, 2023)
Chiapas: Presos de San Juan Cancuc condenados a 25 años de prisión (May 19, 2023)
Chiapas: Marchan en Frontera Comalapa para exigir paz (June 27, 2023)
Chiapas: Nuevamente peregrinan en Chicomuselo para denunciar incremento de la violencia en sus comunidades (July 3, 2023)
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