On December 22, 1997 45 innocent men, women, and children were slaughtered by Mexican paramilitaries in the little village of Acteal, Chiapas. Please join us as we commemorate this injustice and call for an end to human rights abuses in Mexico... Commemorate the 1st Anniversay of Acteal Massacre Tuesday December 22, 1998 12:00 noon Procession from the White House to the Mexican Embassy (1911 Pennsylvania NW) CALL FOR AN END TO HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN MEXICO DEMAND AN END TO U.S. MILITARY AID TO MEXICO Background: Massacre in Acteal On December 22, 1997, members of Las Abejas nonviolent Christian community were meeting for church services. The villagers had taken refuge in Acteal, Chiapas to escape escalating violence. The refugees were praying when over 40 paramilitary gunmen entered the town and opened fire. Although nearby police were notified right away, the killing went on for five hours as the gunmen hunted down fleeing victims. No one came to intervene. The brutal massacre left 21 women, 15 children, and 9 men dead. U.S. Complicity? The United States is Mexico's primary source for weaponry including $362 million worth of shotguns, electric prods, grenades, flame throwers, armored vehicles and helicopters in the last five years. Since 1996, Mexican military enrollment in the U.S. Army's notorious School of the Americas (SOA) has sharply escalated. Mexican military personnel are now the highest percentage of graduates from this school which has trained known human rights abusers for decades. Most U.S. weapons and training provided to Mexico are justified as "counter-narcotics" support, but human rights groups charge that they are actually used for repressive paramilitary activities like the Acteal massacre. ------------------ WE NEED YOUR HELP! On December 22nd the Washington, DC activists community will deliver 45 caskets to the Mexican Embassy as a demonstration of solidarity for the indigenous people of Mexico and to demand justice in Chiapas. Please RSVP to Peace Action at or 202.862.9740 x 3038 Thanks all!