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Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 22:05:18 -0700
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From: irlandesa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Subject: Enlace: NGO Report on Expulsion of Foreigners from Chiapas
Originally published in Spanish by Enlace Civil A.C.
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____________________________
Translated by irlandesa
Date: Thursday, May 20, 1999 13:52:48 -0500
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"FOREIGNERS OF CONSCIENCE" REPORT ISSUED
____________________________________________
GOVERNMENT VIOLATING MEXICAN LAWS WITH EXPULSION
OF INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS
Jesus Ramirez Cuevas
The systematic campaign by the Mexican government against international
human rights observers violates Mexican laws, infringes on the right to
free association and undermines the law. So concludes the report,
Foreigners of Conscience, published by Global Exchange and the Miguel
Agusti'n Pro Human Rights Center, the Mexican Commission for the Defense and
Promotion of Human Rights and the National Network of Human Rights Civil
Organizations, "All Rights for All."
Three hundred foreigners have been sanctioned or expelled from the country
over the last five years. According to reports from NGO's, "almost all the
expulsions were in violation of the Mexican political Constitution itself."
"One of the most serious problems is that all these human rights
violations of the observers have gone completely unpunished."
This report will be presented simultaneously on May 18 in Mexico City and
in Washington, where United states activists will deliver it to a group of
congresspersons from that country. "This immigration policy that harasses
international work is illegal under Mexican laws, and it contravenes
international treaties and conventions signed by Mexico."
Just last year, 144 observers and humanitarian aid workers of various
nationalities were forced to leave the Mexican Republic for having visited
Chiapas. In addition, 100 foreigners were "invited" to "voluntarily" leave
the nation by the National Immigration service (INM). These incidents were
expulsions disguised with an Official Departure Letter (with a deadline of
five days to leave the country), issued by immigration authorities after
giving citations to foreigners who cross the checkpoints at the entrances
to the Selva, Los Altos or the Northern region of the state.
"The federal Executive has abused its authority in order to hide the truth
in Chiapas." "The Mexican government has tried to maintain its image as a
promoter of human rights, despite the fact that the evidence demonstrates
the opposite, by expelling dozens of international witnesses in Chiapas,"
says Global Exchange, an organization that has promoted human rights
observation in the indigenous communities of Chiapas since 1994.
The report, Foreigners of Conscience, is based on an exhaustive
investigation into the facts, and a thorough legal analysis, that was drawn
up by Adriana Camarena of Stanford University in California, and by
Federico Anaya Gallardo, a legal advisor to the Diocese of San Cristo'bal de
Las Casas and expert in immigration law.
The government is violating its own laws, citing Article 33 of the Mexican
Constitution, that authorizes the Executive to expel citizens from other
countries "who threaten national security," since Article 16 of the
constitution guarantees, at the same time, the right of foreigners to know
the reasons for which they are being expelled and to receive a fair
hearing. "The expulsions have been carried out in an arbitrary and hasty
manner, and those affected have not been afforded any rights."
"If President Zedillo's administration," - the report recommends - "wants
to correctly enforce Article 33 of the Constitution and the General
Residence Law, it should state its legal arguments in order to demonstrate
that the conduct of the international observers is an intervention in
Mexican politics," the lawyers warn.
According to Global Exchange, "Mexican citizens and organizations have
invited international observers to help them in the delicate task of
protecting the indigenous communities who have suffered harassment at the
hands of military, police and paramilitary forces. This campaign against
observers not only violates the right of observers to fair process, but it
also violates the rights of Mexicans to freedom of association, since the
government does not have any right to decide with whom citizens may
associate."
"Foreigners essentially enjoy the same freedom and rights as Mexican
citizens. Nonetheless, the Mexican government has refused to respect these
rights, interpreting these very laws for their own political convenience,"
the lawyers conclude. "It is contradictory that the government grants
permits for electoral observers and refuses to allow the entrance of
international human rights observers."
Some of the hundreds of foreigners expelled from Mexico have begun legal
processes against the Mexican government. According to the report, "the
Mexican judicial branch has begun to render a series of decisions in favor
of international human rights observers who had been expelled, thus
demonstrating the clear unconstitutionality of their immigration policies."
The NGO investigators hold that there are other illegal acts that can be
added to those, such as the change in immigration policies without
congressional approval. For the last year, international observers have
had to meet new requirements demanded by the INM: request their visa 30
days ahead and state what places and persons they will be visiting.
Lastly, if the permit is granted, the Department of Government will only
allow a 10 day maximum time period for the visit.
In response to the panorama described in the report, the NGO's made several
recommendations to the Congress of the Union in order to repeal the
President of the Republic's ability to expel foreigners. This would change
the General Residence Law so that citizens from other nations could carry
out humanitarian observation in the country "without unjustified
restrictions," and to establish sanctions for those officials who "deny,
obstruct or restrict access to the country" to the observers.
The report includes other recommendations for the federal Executive branch,
the INM, the Department of National Defense, the Supreme Court of Justice
of the nation, and to international organizations such as the UN Human
Rights Commission, the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and Court,
the countries of the European Union and national and international
non-governmental organizations.
Persecution of Foreigners Increased Following the Acteal Massacre
Since the armed uprising in 1994, Mexico and the world have been able to
see the human rights violations in Chiapas. Hundreds of observers and
humanitarian aid workers began arriving in the state from then on.
The international presence increased in Chiapas following the military
offensive against the zapatistas in 1995. The Fray Bartolome' de Las Casas
Human Rights Center and other organizations of civil society organized the
Civilian Peace Camps (CCP) at the request of the communities affected by
the militarization. The purpose of these camps, made up of Mexican and
foreign activists, has been two-fold: to discourage aggression by the
Mexican army and the paramilitary groups towards the indigenous communities
and to report human rights violations.
The aggression against foreigners of conscience increased dramatically
following the Acteal massacre of 1997, when 45 indigenous were assassinated
by paramilitaries. In 1998 the international presence became embroiled in
controversy, with the expulsion of hundreds of international observers.
The "Foreigners of Conscience" investigation makes a detailed recounting of
hostile acts against foreign visitors. Here one can find President
Zedillo's statement in the Yucatan (January 23, 1998): "It is inadmissible
for there to be people who violate our laws and who are directly involved
in the chiapaneco conflict, even though they use humanitarian reasons for
doing so."
In February of this year, 200 observers from the "Civil Mission for Human
Rights Observation in Europe and Latin America" arrived. The government
unleashed a harassment campaign against them in San Cristo'bal de Las Casas.
""Immigration agents were chasing tourists through the streets and
visiting the houses where they were staying (February 17, 1998, letter
signed by 17 national and international NGO's)."
On April 12, 1998, two AP (Associated Press) photographers were beaten up
by the police at the Tuxtla Gutie'rrez airport, on the orders of immigration
police, while they were taking pictures of 12 foreigners deported following
the military operation in Taniperlas, municipality of Ocosingo.
At that time, Pierre Sane, Secretary General of Amnesty International
explained in an interview: "Arresting and expelling foreigners indicates
an inward tendency in Mexico. A tendency can be observed to arrange the
Chiapas problem behind closed doors, and that is dangerous, because they
want to eliminate international witnesses. That means that the government
has bad intentions. (2/21/98)."
The detention and expulsion of international observers during the first six
months of 1998 occurred at the same time as a campaign by the Department of
Government to undermine the credibility of those actors seeking a peaceful
solution to the conflict. On June 7, Samuel Ruiz resigned his role as
mediator, and the Conai was dissolved. In April, the Department of
Government had begun an investigation into the Diocese of San Cristo'bal and
its Human Rights Center for having issued credentials to international
observers.
Taking advantage of this hostile climate, the government and the federal
army have created restricted areas for international observation in the
North, Los Altos and the Selva, in places like Taniperla, Los Platanos and
Tila. It is no coincidence that these are also the places where there is
the most paramilitary activity, threatening zapatista communities.
The Vision of the Indigenous Communities
The perspective of the affected communities was compiled by Global Exchange
in their report. Luciano, spokesperson for the San Pedro Chenalho
Autonomous Municipality, explained: "I read in the papers that Zedillo and
Labastida Ochoa said the foreigners come to organize and manipulate the
indigenous. It's not true. We invited the foreigners so that they could
observe and verify that we weren't lying about what the government is
doing, that they (the security forces and the paramilitaries) are
surrounding us, threatening to kill us."
A spokesperson for Las Abejas of Acteal agreed: "The government is always
looking for excuses in order to say that the foreigners are manipulating
us. That's not true, we have our own minds. We're not the puppets of
foreigners, we have the right to organize ourselves. We know how to govern
ourselves as indigenous, with our own culture."
"The result of the foreign presence," Luciano points out, "is that the low
intensity war has lessened." While Las Abejas note, for their part, that
"the soldiers aren't going into the displaced camps anymore, because the
observers are there." On the other hand, a representative from
Aric-Independent, of the Ricardo Flores Magon Autonomous Municipality,
reported that "after the expulsion of the observers from Taniperla, there
has been increased harassment by the Public Security police, by the federal
soldiers and by the paramilitaries.
Relevant Examples of Expulsion of Foreigners in 1998:
In 1998, the government expelled more than 100 foreigners, enforcing
Article 33. The Mexican government's hostility towards international
monitors is not owing to the political nature of their activities, but
rather to the fact that information on human rights violations could have a
profound effect on other countries' policies towards Mexico.
The Taniperla 12.
On April 11, 1998, hundreds of federal army soldiers, state police
and immigration agents violently broke into Taniperla, located in the
municipality of Ocosingo. The 12 international observers were detained
without arrest warrants and expelled, despite the fact that their
immigration documents were in order. Months later, the 12 observers sought
a protection order against their expulsion. In February 1999, a district
judge ruled in their favor. The government did not document the reasons
for their enforcement of Article 33. A Circuit Court is reviewing the
appeals by the government and by those affected.
Peter Brown
On July 24, 1998, Peter Brown, professor and North American
citizen, was expelled from Mexico. Brown was working on a project in the
communities of Los Altos in Chiapas, helping in the construction of a
school. The humanitarian activist was detained by immigration agents at a
military checkpoint in San Andres Larra'inzar, taken to Mexico City and
expelled the following day.
The Italian delegation.
In May 1998, 120 Italian citizens were expelled from Mexico. They
had arrived in Mexico in order to monitor human rights violations in
Chiapas. Their immigration documents prohibited them from visiting three
places: La Realidad, Polho' and Oventic. The Italians decided to visit
Taniperla despite the prohibition the INM had delivered at the last moment.
Forty of them have been forbidden from returning to Mexico permanently.
Article 33 was enforced against them, despite the fact that their stay was
regulated by the General Residence Law.
Some of the Italians filed a legal complaint against the expulsion. In the
fall of 1998, a district judge granted them federal protection. The
Mexican government appealed the decision, and the Circuit Court is
currently reviewing the case.
The cases of Peter Brown, the Taniperla 12 and the Italians, demonstrate
how the government has justified the expulsion of foreigners. All the
activities carried out by those expelled have been acts of humanitarian
support to the indigenous communities who regularly suffer the violation of
their human rights. The protection orders initiated by foreign priests,
international observers and humanitarian workers expelled from Chiapas are
the first precedents, and they could become a legal milestone for this
issue.
The case of Michel Chanteau.
On February 26, 1998, parish priest Michel Chanteau was expelled.
He had been a priest for more than 32 years in Chenalho', the municipality
where the Acteal massacre had occurred two months previously. Father
Chanteau was deported by the INM, who enforced Chapter 10 of the General
Residence Law, because he had made statements on television accusing the
Mexican government of being responsible for the massacre of 45 indigenous
in Acteal. The government said that only Mexicans could make statements on
television. His case is being reviewed by the Supreme Court at this
moment.
The case of Tom Hansen.
On January 18, 1998 North American citizen Tom Hansen was detained
by immigration agents. Hansen had participated in more than 30
humanitarian delegations to Chiapas since 1994, with the authorization of
the Mexican government. The following day he was expelled from the
country, from the Mexico City international airport. During his transfer
from Chiapas to Mexico City, Hansen was threatened with death. Tom
Hansen's lawyers filed a protection order against the expulsion, and they
received a favorable decision in July 1998, but the INM appealed the
decision. The Second Circuit Court of Legal Matters is currently reviewing
the appeal of the order.
The Case of the Three Detained Norwegians.
Three Norwegian tourists were arbitrarily detained by judicial and
state police on the night of April 14, 1998, while they were visiting the
"10 de Abril" community. The police agents photographed the Norwegians
next to a placard that said: "Stop the militarization - civil camp for
peace - zapatista rebel territory." The following day they were thrown out
of the country. Regarding these three cases, the INM has stated publicly
that the foreigners had violated their visas by participating in political
activities exclusively for Mexicans. The INM enforces immigration laws
that have no connection with Article 33. Immigration authorities do not
have the same powers of expulsion that the President of the Republic has.
Father Michel Chanteau's case is the first to reach the Supreme Court using
this argument. If Chanteau's case wins in the final decision by the
highest court in the country, a precedent would be established that could
end the arbitrary exercise of power granted to the INM.
Globalizing the Conflict
At the same time as capital has been globalized, a stronger international
interest in human rights has emerged. The trade agreement that Mexico is
negotiating with the European Union includes a clause on human rights and
democracy that sets the regulations and the humanitarian standards expected
of the trading members.
On January 1, 1994, when NAFTA went into effect, the EZLN appeared in
public. The reports of human rights violations reached all citizens of
conscience throughout the globe. The use of the Internet amplified the
voice of the zapatistas throughout the world.
Responding to the call by Mexican civil society, and by the threatened
indigenous communities, international observers from foreign NGO's helped
to establish a permanent international presence in the threatened towns.
One of them, SIPAZ (International Service for Peace) has been in Chiapas
since 1995. "International accompaniment in conflict situations is not
unique to Chiapas. There is a long tradition of monitoring human rights in
countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Haiti, to
mention the most widely known ones."
International observation is "literally a personification of the
international concern for human rights. Someone who gives obligatory and
visible form, a reminder that violence should not go unnoticed (description
of the "International Peace Brigades")."
The government brands as "political interference" or "foreign intervention
in domestic matters," these activities that are backed by international
conventions and statements that the Mexican government has itself signed,
such as the American Human Rights Convention and the International
Convention on Political and Civil Rights.
"International conventions are based on the shared belief that respect for
human rights is not an exclusively domestic issue. Therefore, the
international community has the right to verify whether or not the human
rights of peoples in other countries are being respected (Ricardo Carvajal,
Director of Sipaz, International Service for Peace).
Jose Saramago, during his visit to Chiapas in March 1998, noted: "The true
international community cannot be that which is the result of accords by
the states. The true one will be that which we achieve with our dialogues,
with our meetings."
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