Rebel vote breaks deadly silence
Radio silence. Television silence. Government silence. 3 million
Mexicans turning out to vote against the war of extermination of the
indigenous peoples, in a national plebiscite organised by diminutive,
malnourished Indians wearing balaclavas. This is the democracy of the
poor in a country where the political system can barely hang on until
presidential elections next year, and fresh scandals break on a
weekly basis.
The poll was conducted by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
in an attempt to return the initiataive to ordinary Mexicans right
around the country. Peace talks supposedly aiming to grant autonomy
for indigenous people were suspended in February 1996, with an
ensuing stalement which the Federal Government still makes little
effort to overcome. The rebels have maintained their ceasefire
despite a campaign of harassment by police and the military, and by
Loyalist-style death squads armed and trained by the government. Last
Sunday's ``Consulta Nacional'' was a deliberate gamble to reveal the
government's weakness before its own people, so the huge response -
breaking all the records for such surveys - is enormously
encouraging.
Even more heartening for them is the 95% ``Yes'' vote to the four
questions on the ballot paper. Mexicans were asked if they believed
the indigenous peoples should be involved in the construction of the
nation, and if a proposal for constitutional reform from the joint
congress commission set up to examine the issue should be put into
law. They also voted for demilitarisation of the country and to
demand that the government begin to act in accordance with the will
of the people.
Considerable harassment of people attempting to vote occurred in
various states, such as Chiapas, Guerrero and Tabasco. In some cases
armed groups of government supporters prevented polling tables from
being established, and in others police photographed all those who
came to vote, which in itself is a formidable threat. The
consultation was given no coverage by the televison channels, which
are run by large media corporations, and what did appear in national
newspapers was lost to the majority of Mexicans who cannot afford to
buy them. So it was something of a miracle that the poll happened at
all.
That it did must be counted as a considerable triumph for the
thousands of volunteers who organised the ``brigades'' responsible for
the running of the Consulta on the ground. Five thousand delegates
from the Zapatista communities were bussed around the length and
breadth of the country to promote it, which was a considerable
challenge for the EZLN since many of these people came from tiny
mountain villages which are all but inaccessible. The delegates point
out that this was part of the objective of the whole project: to give
civil society the opportunity to start organising for itself outside
of government-fostered structures which have been co-opted into the
system and become highly corrupt. Whatever happens in the
presidential elections in the year 2000, many people fear that
political life will remain largely unchanged. Whether this is the
only future faced by ordinary Mexicans depends on their own
organisational capacity, as the Zapatistas proved yet again last
Sunday.
Moment of truth
The moment of truth has arrived not only for Milosevic and the
Serbian State, but for the International community. The NATO powers
has decided it is high time for starting a war within European
borders, without UN approval. All in the name of peace. The failure
of US and British efforts to force an agreement between the Serbian
state and the Albanians in Kosovo (not so rebel anymore as they
accepted the proposed peace plan) will be solved through the use of
force. This kind of approach if taken by minoritary groups is called
terrorism, but if it is a decision of the military powers it becomes
peacekeeping.
The negotiations in the French city of Rambouillet were embarrassing,
as was the whole approach to the conflict by the International
Community. Some political analysts pointed out that the international
observers did not understand the complexity of the problem. But a
more thoughtful approach will make clear that what really happened
was that they did not want to understand. From the very beginning, it
was known that the plan for so called ``wide autonomy'' presented by
the international delegates would not satisfy any of the
participants. Kosovan leaders have realised in the last year that
they cannot deal with a Serb government too prone to break its
commitments. On the other hand, the Serbian state maintains its claim
that an autonomous status is not possible for the region that saw the
creation of the Serbian nation. The Kosovan delegates had to accept
the plan. It was made clear for them that the international community
will not support the idea of an independent Kosovo. ``It is not a
right they have'', claimed Christopher Hill, the US negotiator in
Rambouillet.
Self-determination was allowed when it favoured Western interests.
Lets remember how the international community saluted the declaration
of independence of 14 states that at the time were part of the Soviet
Union. But, when it comes to the West, things are not so easy. If
self-determination is granted for Kosovo, the position of some
members states in NATO -Turkey, Spain, France...- could see their own
policies towards their own minority populations affected.
Ironically then the air-strikes will expose the high levels of
international hypocrisy, because at the end of the day the NATO's
bombs may force Milosevic to accept Kosovan autonomy and only mean
that Kosovan destiny will remain in the hands of the Milosevic
government anyway. Nothing will in fact have been resolved!!!
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)