On the 16th of February the Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET) and Mexico-Australia Solidarity Network (MASN) took to the streets together and in solidarity with our comrades in Chiapas and all over the World. The action formed part of two days of international actions in solidarity with Zapatista communities.

So far actions in Greece, Spain, Cataluña, Euskal Herria, Argentina, Uruguay and several in Germany have been reported as part of the International Days of Action.

In Mexico City and San Cristobal de las Casa, Chiapas pickets at Café de la Selva, a café that commercialises coffee produced by an organisation currently in conflict with the zapatista community 24 de Diciembre, occurred on the 9th of February.

The Melbourne action took place in Federation Square as part of the Sustainable Living Festival, with the aim of informing the public about the alarming situation that comrades support bases for the EZLN currently face.

In March MASN we will be announcing further actions in Sydney and Melbourne in support of the Other Campaign and in defence of our zapatista brothers and sisters.

According to several human rights and political analysis organisations, such as the Human Rights Centre Fray Bartolome de las Casas (Frayba www.frayba.org.mx) and the Centre for Social, Economic and Political Investigations (CAPISE http://enlinea.capise.org.mx) and statements from the EZLN (http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/) the violent threats against Zapatista communities by the Mexican State are extremely serious. The EZLN made public in a conference in memory of the French academic Andres Aubury in early December that it would be retiring from the public eye for some time. It is clear that the EZLN is preparing itself for an escalation in the violence exercised by the State through paramilitary groups (as we have seen recently in attacks against the communities Bojon Ajaw and Olga Isabel by the OPDICC, and in San Patricio by groups formed by the political party the PRI, among many other cases), violent producers groups who play into the governments tactics of pitting indigenous communities against each other (such as the UES in its fight to displace the community 24 de Diciembre) and of course the Mexican Army. Currently there are over 90 military positions including bases, intelligence and operations in the state of Chiapas.

We demand that all military bases be removed from Chiapas and all communities in Mexico. We demand that the Mexican governments campaign of war against indigenous peoples and repression against all anticapitalist social movements cease!

We also demand that the invasion of aboriginal peoples communities by the army, police and government bureaucrats in the Northern Territory stop immediately!