Zapatistas, Demand better treatment for indigenous communities
The Mexican President has ordered the withdrawal of all soldiers from the region under rebel Zapatista influence in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. Vicente Fox also ordered a regional land dispute resolved in favour of Zapatista sympathisers in the area. The anarchic Zapatista National Liberation Front rose in January 1994 to demand better treatment for Mexico's indigenous communities. However, the rebel group said that it was prepared to resume peace talks with the government, the first since 1996.
President Fox said that the decision to withdraw soldiers demonstrates his desire to restore the indigenous communities' confidence in the government and shows that he is honouring a commitment to move towards a "fair, worthy and permanent peace" for Chiapas. He said that it was time for the six-year-old conflict to come to an end and vowed to improve the plight of the eleven million indigenous Mexicans.
