Zapatista Rebels, Mexican Government to Hold Talks

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government and the Zapatista National Liberation Army will meet face-to-face today in the embattled state of Chiapas, signaling the first concrete step toward lasting peace since President Ernesto Zedillo cracked down on the Indian guerrillas two months ago.

The meeting, described by both sides Saturday as a prelude to formal peace negotiations, will take place in the village of San Miguel, one of dozens of former Zapatista strongholds that were occupied by the Mexican army for weeks after a Feb. 10 crackdown.

The Zapatista leader known as Subcommander Marcos had proposed that the talks begin in Mexico City, insisting that the continuing military presence in impoverished Chiapas would endanger the rebels and the talks. Marcos suggested four sites that included the capital’s main Roman Catholic cathedral and a sacred shrine to Mexico’s most beloved saint, the Virgin of Guadeloupe.

In a communique issued just after midnight Friday, Marcos said rebel leaders would meet with representatives of Zedillo’s Interior Ministry “at the risk of their own lives.” He said the decision was based on the government’s “serious and respectful” attitude and “real will” to end the conflict during recent weeks, apparently referring to legislation sanctioning the peace process.

The communique repeated the rebels’ longstanding demands for equal rights for indigenous Mexicans and a broad peace dialogue that would include all political and social groups in the country.

For its part, the Interior Ministry issued a brief statement calling today’s session “a meeting prior to beginning dialogue and negotiation.” It said the meeting’s aim is to hammer out logistic matters such as the location and timing of future talks.

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The government agreed last month to suspend the arrest warrants that Zedillo personally announced last February for Marcos, a mysterious figure whom Zedillo unmasked as a veteran leftist, and four other Zapatista leaders.

The Zapatistas’ New Year’s Day uprising last year left at least 145 dead in two weeks of fighting. While a temporary truce has been in place for the past 15 months, the government sees the guerrillas as a continuing threat.