MEXICAN GOVERNMENT ASKS REBELS TO HELP FIGHT DRUGS

MEXICO CITY - Blocked in efforts to talk peace, Mexico's
government on Friday asked Zapatista rebels to at least talk about
cooperation in the war against drugs in a zone which is a flashpoint
for violence.

Emilio Rabasa Gamboa, the government's chief negotiator for the
Zapatista conflict, told a news conference that the army would be
hunting for drug plantations in areas controlled by the leftist rebels.

Rabasa Gamboa called for the Zapatista National Liberation Front to
open talks ``as soon as possible to discuss the conflict in Chiapas
and also to attend to this problem of the growing of
narcotics.''

``The federal government has evidence of other marijuana fields within
the so-called conflict zone and it cannot renounce its obligation to
destroy them,'' he said.

But he added that it wanted to avoid conflicts ``which could result in
violent acts.''

A Jan. 13 army-police raid on marijuana fields last week in Chiapas
state led to a scuffle with pro-rebel villagers in the municipality of
Chenalho, the same region where pro-government vigilantes massacred 45
people in December 1997.

Future raids could create the possibility of more dangerous clashes
because the Zapatistas have accused the army of harassing their
communities and have made an army pullback from the region a major
element of their demands.

They also have accused the military of colluding with pro-government
villagers who have occupied the lands of pro-rebel people and who have
formed vigilante groups. The army has repeatedly denied such claims.

Asked if his statements meant army drug raids in the region would
continue, Rabasa Gamboa said, ``It means that exactly.''

``The Mexican army is not in Chiapas to attack the civilian population
or even the Zapatistas themselves,'' he said.

The government declared a cease-fire with the Zapatistas on July 12,
1994, 12 days after the Zapatistas rebelled. More than 140 people died
in the brief initial spurt of fighting and hundreds more have died in
clashes since between pro-government and pro-rebel factions, though
direct army-rebel fighting has been rare.

The rebels, who discourage alcohol use, have denied that they or their
supporters are growing drugs, though plantations of marijuana are
common in Chiapas, as in other parts of Mexico.

The villagers in Acteal claimed that pro-government rivals had planted
the marijuana and said they had tried to block the army from entering
because they feared the troops would try to set up a military base
there.

Peace talks between the government and Zapatistas broke down two years
ago. The Zapatistas refuse to return to talks until the government
enacts laws to give Indians greater rights in Mexico as agreed between
the two sides. The government has proposed such laws, but the
Zapatistas say they do not fully enact the agreement.