For the past two weeks there have persistant rumors that Zapatista rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos is ill, wounded or dead. Zapatista leaders deny the rumor as a lie by the Mexican Government.
Zapatistas deny Marcos is sick, wounded or dead
by
Ernesto Cienfuegos
La Voz de Aztlan
Chiapas, Mexico - September 3, 2002 - (ACN) Leaders of the the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) denied on Monday widespread rumors in Mexico and Aztlan that Subcomandante Marcos is ill, wounded or dead.
A Zapatista leader in the town of Polho, Chiapas said that rumors regarding Marcos circulating over the past few weeks are "lies that the federal government is spreading in order to force EZLN leaders to break their silence". The leader who goes by the name of Solomon, said that "Bad governments lie to their people and the rumors are part of the war against peoples who resist". Solomon added, "Marcos is well and there's nothing wrong with him".
The rumors may have begun when Luis Alvarez, President Fox's Commissioner for Peace in Chiapas, said last week that "there are signs that Marcos is ill, wounded or dead".
Luis Alvarez's account combined with Marcos' long
silence have many Mexicans and others wondering what may have happened to the rebel leader. Last week, 3 Indigenous Zapatistas were ambushed and killed by a paramilitary group called "Los Aguilares" and nothing has been said by Subcomandante Marcos concerning the incident. Marcos has issued only one communique since leading the 2001 "March on Tenochtitlan " (Mexican City) in defense of Indigenous Rights.
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La Voz de Aztlan
http://www.aztlan.net/marcoswhat.htm