On June 12 we were notified that that the bodies of the companeros, killed in the confrontation on June 12 in the municipality of El Bosque, would be delivered. We organized a delegation to leave in advance, with the intention of informing the people in the communities of Union Progreso and Chavajeval that the bodies would be delivered and they would have to identify them.
About two hours after having received the information, the SEMEFO advised that the bodies would not be delivered that day, since they had to perform autopsies on them (the corpses had remained for more than 72 hours without any treatment).
At six in the afternoon of that same day, they came back and said that the bodies would indeed be delivered, but that they would be taken in Public Security trucks. Then Enlace Civil got in touch with the CNDH, in order to tell them that they had been notified from Tuxtla that the companeros would not allow Public Security or Army to enter. SEMEFO's response was that then the corpses would be left in Bochil. After a long time, it was determined that the CNDH would secure civil trucks to transport the corpses.
On Saturday, June 13, members of Enlace Civil, FZLN, civil society, CNDH, Fray Bartolome de Las Casas and the press headed towards Union Progreso, in order to be with the companeros when they received their assassinated ones. After several hours (approximately 5) of waiting for everyone from the different communities in the municipality of El Bosque to gather, we went to the central esplanade in Union Progreso, where we found about 2000 persons, who had formed a cordon around the esplanade, which appeared to be coming out of the rocks and formed behind the bus carrying the bodies.
When the gathering began, the CNDH was informed that they would receive them from them, so that they could see the fruits of their work, but those who should deliver the bodies were Fray Ba. The people from CNDH adopted an arrogant attitude, and hid behind civil society, then the companero who was leading the activity asked them to file past the people of the community, so that everyone could see their face; during that time, the cries of the men and women could be heard, who were comparing them to the devil: Black devil! Assassins! You might not have horns but you're worse than the devil! Sons of the government!
Then the CNDH's fourth representative got out of the van, with no one from the CNDH daring to look him in the face, and the questions began: What are you going to do with the assassins? Why did they kill them when they hadn't done anything? They hadn't robbed anything, they hadn't killed anyone, Where are their clothes, who did you sell them to? Why did you bring 8 bodies if we were only missing 7 here? When are our jailed ones coming back? If you took them away alive, why do they send them back dead? Etcetera.
The representative only answered that he had not killed them, that his heart was clean, and he also asked them to speak in Spanish since he did not know tzotzil. The trial of conscience lasted almost three hours, until the order was given to bring the coffins down from the truck. At almost six in the evening the 8 coffins were on the ground, the representative was back in the van, the stench was almost unbearable, we all put on scarves with eucalyptus so that we would not vomit, when the first coffin was opened. The cries and the weeping were unbearable, and the image that stayed with us was that of a putrified body, with the intestines spilled out, and maggots coming out of his belly, his testicles were so swollen they were about to explode, the color of the "body" was like a piece of something from a pond, it was green; it was then that we heard this man's name. And so it went, opening coffin after coffin, amidst cries, weeping, vomiting and desperation. The FrayBa asked: Were they taken away dead or alive? Alive, they were alive! answered the mothers, the wives and the little children when they saw their father's putrified body, who had last seen him on the morning of June 10 going to his field. Why Union Progreso? There were no weapons there, they surrounded everyone there and they massacred them; everyone had thought that the convoy was going to Los Platanos, it wasn't like Chavajeval here, here the people were going to their fields and here they were assassinated, here they tied them up and here they dragged them away.
When the last coffin was opened, we all saw the most atrocious spectacle of 8 corpses, this man couldn't be identified; on that one, no features could be made out; that one had his intestines and worms in a box filled with white packing materials. What shall we do with him? the people asked. Let the CNDH take him to Zedillo, so that he can choke on his meat, the corn of his harvest, yelled the people. At that moment a man got up and said: he is our companero, he also fertilizes the earth, he is zapatista, the rest doesn't matter! Then the community took him and buried him in their earth.
The fourth representative was taken down from the van and was brought to face the corpses, they took him there, with nothing to cover his mouth and his nose, for almost an hour. And then an old man appeared, he stopped in front of him, and with a hard look told him: "I am the father of one of these men," he raised his hand and he slapped him, then he left.
The burial of 5 bodies happened at 3 in the morning in Union Progreso, the other 3 were taken to Chavajeval, with a vigil in the church and buried with their boots and their hats in the public cemetery.
We cannot lose our capacity for indignation!
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