Acteal massacre

From Free net encyclopedia

The Acteal Massacre was a massacre of 45 people attending a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic indigenous townspeople, including a number of pregnant women and children, who were members of the pacifist group Las Abejas ("The Bees"), in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It was carried out on December 22, 1997 by unknown paramilitary forces.

The Las Abejas activists professed support for the goals of the Zapatistas, they renounced their violent means. Many suspect this affiliation as the reason for the attack, and government involvement or complicity. Soldiers at a nearby military outpost didn't intervene during the attack, which lasted for hours, and the following morning, soldiers were found washing the church walls to hide the blood stains.

The EZLN and many Chiapas residents accused the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of complicity, and following the change of government in 2000, survivors alleged that the investigation was being stalled, with authorities refusing to question or arrest suspects in the attacks.

Another view holds that nearby indigenous groups from the area may have been responsible.

Template:Mexico-stubes:Matanza de Acteal nl:Bloedbad van Acteal