By Resumen Latinoamericano on December 07, 2024.
photo: Bill Hackwell
Human rights organizations have expressed their “deep concern” about the latest armed attacks in communities in the municipality of Pantelhó, in the Highlands of Chiapas, which have caused forced displacements of over 3,000 of the Tseltal and Tsotsil population, as well as psycho-social impacts, especially on children, due to the generalized “terror”.
According to the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba), the armed attacks in the communities of Pantelhó extended to the communities of Tijera Chimix, Jabaltón and La Esperanza, in the municipality of Chenalhó, and in both municipalities around 3,400 people have been forcibly displaced.
“These events have a strong impact on the civilian population. On the one hand, there are those who are being forcibly displaced and, on the other, those who cannot leave their homes for fear of being victims of a stray bullet. In addition, the civilian population has no access to their territory, to their fields or to basic services such as education, health or transportation,” denounced organizations such as Front Line Defenders and the Core Group of Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) in Mexico.
The statement of the organizations is in response to the urgent call of the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas, after the detonations and burning of houses by organized crime groups on December 3 and 4 in the communities of San Jose Tercero, San Francisco and El Roblar.
The Diocese of San Cristóbal accused that both in Pantelhó and in other municipalities the indigenous communities “continue to be converted into cruel battlefields and live under siege by criminals, armed groups and drug trafficking cartels, as is the case today in Frontera Comalapa and other municipalities, with the crude acquiescence of the security forces present in the territory”.
The organizations demanded that the authorities comprehensively attend to the victims of forced displacement, in accordance with the State Law on Internal Forced Displacement in Chiapas, investigate and dismantle the armed groups operating in the region, and guarantee the security and protection of the civilian population, particularly human rights defenders and religious actors.
Finally, they demanded the promotion of spaces for reflection, dialogue and training in peace building in indigenous communities “that so desire, with an emphasis on citizen security, human rights and in a culturally relevant framework, respecting the collective rights of indigenous peoples, including their autonomy and self-determination”.