Massacre of Acteal

International
Survivors accuse him before court of Connecticut for “crimes against the humanity"
Massacre of Acteal
By: Carlos Damián January 5, 2012
Zedillo: they are infamous and irresponsible imputations he appears in Yale Daily News
México. - When being completed the 14 anniversary of the massacre of 45 civilians in Acteal, Chiapas, and you deposed of the accusations and expressions of protest of the main organizations of international human rights watch during the recent years, now the case is present by means of a civil demand presented in The States against the former president Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (EZPL), and on the other hand, the presumed responsibility of the Mexican State continues under an investigation “of bottom” of the Inter-American Commission of human rights watch (CIDH, in Spanish).

The plaintiffs request anonymity
At the beginning of January of 2012 Zedillo he will respond for the first time to the civil demand in its against for “crimes against the humanity", among other accusations, presented before a federal tribunal in the state of Connecticut, U. S. A. in a judicial process that could last months. Lawyers of the parts of the litigation informed that this week that proceeds and each one of the parts prepares their strategies. The first phase concludes January 6th, 2012 (end of the term for an initial answer of Zedillo) and there the determination of a judge will begin the steps to continue of a trial.

The lawyer of the plaintiffs, Roger Kobert, indicated that few precedents exist for civil cases of that type, but “if the necessary circumstances exist one can make, and we believe that here if we have those circumstances, the necessary elements so that this case is sustained". This extraordinary situation for a former Mexican president began in surprising way demanded abroad by such an important matter as human rights, on September 16, 2011 were presented a civil demand against Zedillo for 10 “victims” of the attack, since it is not known by the requested anonymity if they are survivors and/or family of the bodies; against the grouping of ‘Las abejas’ in Acteal, when the accused dispatched in the official residence of ‘Los Pinos’.

In the demand of 53 pages Zedillo is accused of “conspiracy to hide” their bond or responsibility for the happened slaughter on December 22nd, 1997, in violation of national and international laws, and the payment is looked for of until dozens of millions of dollars for compensatory and punitive damages. One argues that Zedillo knew that its subordinates were making abuses of human rights, and it failed in preventing them or it punish to the responsible ones". You should revise the demand in: http://acteal197.con/w pcontent/uploads/2011/09/complaint_cover sheet.pdf

It is a surprise the demand in The States
The demand has caused surprise getting the attention in The States for Ernesto Zedillo's profile so high in the academic, managerial environments and of international relationships. Since he is professor and director of the Center for the Study of the Globalization in the University of Yale, and he works in projects of the Organization of the United Nations in commissions about the decriminalization of drugs, etc. The reaction of Zedillo rejected the positions and it sowed doubts on the possible motivation behind these.

In a e-mail correspondent to the Yale Daily News on last September, the previous Mexican president qualified the accusations of infamous and irresponsible and he affirmed that “they lack bases totally and they are obviously false. Any person that dares to verify the facts it will conclude that this is a slander manufactured by reasons that we ignore". Also in a letter sent to the agency of news AP for the same days, Zedillo qualified the accusations of “slanders " and he affirmed it is obvious for me that who is behind this demand looking for justice for innocent people whose lives were so painfully desolated by that atrocious crime is not really". Another letter, directed to the Hartford Advocate, local newspaper of Connecticut, Zedillo assured that the Mexican government never used and “it under any circumstance he would accept the existence of groups outside of the law to solve arguments or conflicts", and he reiterated that the accusations are false.

While Zedillo has hired a private lawyer, since the demand is of private character without some relationship with the University of Yale, it informed the institution. The lawyer of Zedillo, Jonathan Freiman, said in his declaration to the Yale Daily News that the case is “clearly political". The social organization ‘Las Abejas’ were delimited of that demand, they reiterated that none of their members participates in it and they criticized that the case was motivated more for money and politics than for interest in the justice.

The costs of the trial will be recovered with the demand by payment of damages
The speculation was increased because the 10 plaintiffs have requested the anonymity, argued its personal security and “fear to reprisals” of sympathetic of Zedillo, of the PRI, and of the paramilitary ones (as one affirms in the demand), and because he/she has not cleared up who hired to the office of lawyers Rafferty, Kobert, Tenenhotlz, Bounds & Hess in Miami that rather he/she is devoted to managerial or personal cases, neither who is paying the legal costs.

Kober the lawyer of the plaintiffs about the “political motivation” responded that “if somebody is making responsible him to make cruelties perhaps the best thing that to make is to try to change topic", no? Also in this case his clients are indigenous that they cannot pay the legal costs, and that his lawyer’s office decided that the costs would be recovered with a percentage of the payment of the damages that the demand requests. The demand was presented before the tribunal distrital low two laws (Tort Claims Allies Act and Torture Victim Protection Act) that allow the plaintiffs to present civil demands on certain violations of international laws in The States.

This case is against government from Mexico for the massacre of Acteal presented by the Center of human rights watch Fray Bartolome de las Casas in 2005 before the Inter-American Commission of human rights watch (CIDH), it was admitted in 2010, and for that reason an investigation opened up with which that instance “thoroughly studies” the merits of the case, in accordance with what Maria Isabel Rivero, boss of social communication of the organism. The study will finish with a report, although there is not term for its conclusion. That report is presented as much to the State as to the plaintiffs and in general it includes recommendations “to repair the situation". (La Jornada, política, p. p. 5- 6. 23 de diciembre, 2011).