By Henry Tricks
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico, Jan 8 (Reuter) - Elusive Zapatista guerrilla chief Subcommander Marcos has reappeared in public after two years in hiding, stripping himself of guns and bullets to show that the Mexican rebels are serious about seeking peace.
Marcos, his face hidden as usual behind a balaclava helmet, turned up with his usual theatrical elan late on Sunday at a forum on indigenous rights in this colonial city in the state of Chiapas, smoking a pipe and telling Mayan parables.
It was the first time since February 1994 that he has emerged from remote jungle terrain in the southern state. In a dramatic and unprecedented gesture, the man who shocked Mexico by leading a peasant revolt two years ago also stripped himself of weapons and bandolier to make the visit.
Before addressing some 400 delegates, Marcos individually bowed to brightly clothed indigenous leaders of the Zapatista National Liberation Army who have organised the forum on the sidelines of ongoing peace talks with the government.
Marcos was expected to address the closing session of the forum later on Monday. It was not clear whether he intended to stay in San Cristobal for the next round of peace talks with the government, due to start on Wednesday.
With delegates rising to their feet and cheering the charismatic Marcos, only congressmen from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) looked sour. But he thanked them and other congressional and church mediators for their efforts on behalf of peace in Chiapas.
They have shown "that dialogue continues being the only feasible way of resolving the war begun more than two years ago" he said, asserting the rebels' commitment to peace.
Marcos, introduced by one of his Zapatista colleagues as "an indigenous comrade with different skin," is said to be a middle class Marxist intellectual who went underground in Chiapas a decade ago.
He led the peasant revolt against poverty and racism that astounded Mexico when it began without warning on Jan. 1 1994.
On its second anniversary on New Year's Day this year, Marcos again did the unexpected, announcing the Zapatistas would form a civilian front that would take priority over the military struggle and press political demands.
Surrounded by government forces, in jungle and mountain retreats, poorly armed and lacking supplies, there is little doubt his move to wind down the military conflict has been driven by circumstance rather than desire.
But his decision to attend the forum suggests he may be actively embracing a political future. There was no hiding the symbolism on Sunday when he disarmed, taking bullets out of a bandolier one by one in front of television cameras.
Whether Marcos is capable of turning the Zapatistas into a strong political force is unclear. The Zapatista leadership has said members of the new Zapatista National Liberation Front would not be able to run for elected office.
A previous Zapatista effort in August 1994 to form a broad "National Democratic Convention" to push political demands foundered on lack of organisation and internal bickering.
In a cover article entitled "Marcos's Sunset," the weekly news magazine Proceso said on Monday he may have blundered.
"I worry that it's going to be an organisation of very respectable, estimable people, but it's not going to have a popular echo," said Heberto Castillo, a left-wing senator.
If he lays down his arms for good, Marcos has the trappings of a most unconventional politician.
In his speech on Sunday, he told delegates a Mayan tale of gods, men and women of maize and seven rainbows. It was intended as a parable of the need to build bridges between the indigenous communities and all other Mexicans.
"Welcome the rainbow, welcome the bridge, welcome the step that's coming and going," said Marcos, ending his speech.