[asia-apec 393] Sample Media letter--May 2 Action Alert

[moonlight at igc.apc.org]

NATIONAL ACTION ALERT

SAMPLE LETTER TO MEDIA

Please send letters, faxes, or emails to the following people to call for
them to broaden their coverage of US-Mexico relations and Clinton's state
visit to Mexico to include investigations and reports on the uses of US
military aid to Mexico and possible U.S. involvement in the low-intensity
war against the indigenous communities of Chiapas.

New York Times
Executive Editor
Joseph Lelyveld
(212)556-1234
(212)556-7389fx
229 West 43rd St.
NY NY 10036

Washington Post
Exec. Editor
Leonard Downie
1150 15th Street NW
NY NY 20071
(202)334-6000ph 
(202)334-5547 fx

ABC
President of News
Roone Arledge
77 West 66th Street
New York, NY 10023
(212)456-7777
fx (212)887-6850fx

CBS
President of News
Eric Ober
51 West, 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
(212)975-4321ph
(212)975-4226fx

NBC President of News
Andrew Lack
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112 (212)664-4444ph
Dear National Media representative:

With President Clinton's upcoming state visit to Mexico, there is an
opportunity to provide the general public comprehensive analysis of
US-Mexico relations.  Currently the media coverage and press releases issued
by both countries' administrations have focused on efforts to strengthen the
economic, political and military ties between the two countries, and
questions related to NAFTA, expanding bilateral cooperation to combat drug
trafficking, bank and stock market reform and immigration. 

However these issues and US-Mexico policy need to be evaluated and reported
within the context of Mexico's historic violation of human and indigenous
rights, the failure of the Mexican government to respect and fulfill the
dialogue for peace in Chiapas, and the growing denunciations regarding
Mexico's military presence in civilian institutions and communities. The
United States is Mexico's largest arms supplier, and therefore it is clear
that the Zedillo government can not carry out any military plans without its
access to the US aid.  

Despite this obvious necessity for government accountability, there is a
serious lack of public debate and monitoring regarding U.S. military aid to
Mexico. Although a growing number of local and alternative media outlets are
reporting on the possible use of U.S. aid to fight indigenous communities
rather than the drug war, national media coverage has focused principally on
the impact of perceived failures and problems within Mexico on US economic
policy, including immigration, NAFTA and the war on drugs. Despite the fact
that events in Mexico have profound implications for the U.S., and therefore
should be presented in the domestic rather than international news, the
growing threat of civil war in southern Mexico receives far less coverage
than developments in Europe and the Middle East. Instead broader coverage of
Mexico and the low-intensity war in Chiapas is left to the Spanish-language
media, a policy which leaves a large segment of the U.S., primarily white,
society with an incomplete and biased view of the importance of events in
Mexico.

This lack of public debate bordering on a political and media cover-up as
well as the free flow of aid have encouraged the Mexican government to
believe that it can use its armed forces with impunity against the civil
society and indigenous communities. Thus the US, through its provision of
military aid, becomes an accomplice to any Mexican government action against
the indigenous communities or the civil society. 

This is particularly critical as the possibility of open combat in
southeastern Mexico grows more ominous. President Zedillo's rejection of the
agreements on indigenous rights and culture, which his negotiators signed
with the Zapatista rebels last February in Chiapas, has  dealt a severe blow
to the peace process. Over 80% of the Zapatista communities are surrounded
or occupied by Mexican military camps, and nearly all of them have
helicopter landing strips. President Zedillo appears to be preparing to go
to war, and we are deeply concerned that U.S. financial and military
interests may be supporting his actions.

For these reasons we ask that during and after President's state visit to
Mexico,  you exercise  your responsibility as a free press to provide the
American public with comprehensive investigative reports on US Mexico
relations and possible US involvement in the low-intensity war in Chiapas.
The American people need to have access to and understand the extent of US
involvement in Mexico and its implications for our future.   This is
particularly important as any plan by the Mexican government to conduct a
surgical strike or wage a direct offensive against  the Zapatistas using US
military equipment and technology will only trigger a larger conflict
throughout Mexico, create widespread destabilizing economic and social
unrest and exacerbate migration pressures on the US-Mexico border.

The American public must hold its public officials accountable for the
US-Mexico policies and the national media has the responsibility to promote
and assist that public debate.  To do otherwise is to be complicit in the
violence and bloodshed that is growing in Chiapas.

We look forward to your response to these urgent concerns.

Sincerely,