Friday April 20 7:58 PM ET
Seven Mexican Army Bases Are Shuttered in Chiapas

By Carlos Carrillo

GUADALUPE TEPEYAC, Mexico (Reuters) - The Mexican army finished closing seven bases in the conflict-torn state of Chiapas on Friday in a key step toward the resumption of peace talks between the government and Zapatista rebels.

The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) took up arms in the impoverished southern state in 1994, saying it was defending the rights of Mexico's 10 million Indians.

Before the rebels would agree to resuming stalled peace talks, they demanded the closure of the seven army bases, along with the liberation of Zapatista prisoners and Congress' passage of an Indian rights bill.

``With these actions, the federal government is advancing toward meeting the demands made by the EZLN for renewing dialogue and peace negotiations,'' government peace commissioner Luis H. Alvarez said. Alvarez was on hand for the formal closure of bases in Guadalupe Tepeyac -- about 12 miles from the main rebel stronghold in La Realidad -- and Rio Euseba. Five other bases have been closed since President Vicente Fox took office on Dec. 1.

Fox's National Action Party (PAN) ended 71 years of single-party rule in Mexico by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and he has given a high priority to resolving the Chiapas conflict.

Reaffirmation By Fox

He reiterated that commitment on Friday while in Montreal for an international economic forum ahead of the Americas Summit in Quebec.

``Now is the moment to talk face to face, with honesty and commitments,'' Fox said. ``The doors to dialogue have opened as the conflict is coming to an end.''

One of his first official actions was to send the Indian rights bill to Congress, where masked Zapatista leaders last month made a historic presentation in the lower house, calling for the bill's passage.

Most Zapatista prisoners have been freed by the federal government and the state of Chiapas. Of the approximately 100 who had been held, 11 remain behind bars in Chiapas, the Gulf of Mexico state of Tabasco and the central state of Queretaro.

The EZLN guerrilla war lasted only about 10 days in early 1994, but peace talks stalled, and the state has seen a tense standoff between rebels and the military.

Violence also continues to plague Chiapas, which has a large indigenous population and simmering disputes over land and resources that often pit Zapatista supporters against backers of the PRI or the state's powerful landowners.

On Thursday, eight Chiapas peasants died in an ambush, officials said.

In a radio interview on Friday, Gov. Pablo Salazar said officials were investigating three possible motives for the crime. One theory was that it was part of a long-standing rivalry between three groups with conflicting land claims, he said.

Salazar said there was no reason to believe the massacre was related to the army's withdrawal.

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