Mexico Deports 12 for Chiapas Activity

Latin America

Mexico: Accusing foreign visitors of meddling in local politics, the Mexican government has brought deportation proceedings against 43 foreigners, including 34 Americans, who took part in New Year’s celebrations sponsored by Zapatista rebels in troubled Chiapas state. Twelve of the foreigners have been ordered out of the country, and hearings will be held for the remaining 31. The celebration, attended by U.S., Argentine, French, Italian and Portuguese observers, also marked the sixth anniversary of the Zapatista rebellion in the southern state. Foreigners sympathetic to the Zapatista peasants have often visited to show their support, and the Mexican government has accused many of violating their tourist status, which prohibits them from interfering in internal Mexican politics. Although government troops and rebels are currently observing a cease-fire, the State Department’s standing consular information sheet on Mexico suggests that travelers exercise “extreme caution” in Chiapas.

Ecuador: The government has declared a national state of emergency to deal with a series of ongoing demonstrations by labor unions, indigenous groups and social organizations over governmental economic policies. Last week, police tear-gassed hundreds of oil workers and students marching on the government palace in Quito, and troops worked to clear roads blocked by Indians in several of Ecuador’s provinces. The State Department, in an announcement effective until Feb. 11, advises Americans in Ecuador to be cautious and avoid areas of protest. Strikes by transportation workers may disrupt taxi and bus service. In the event of barricaded highways, tourists traveling outside major cities should make contingency plans for their return. In another development, seven Canadian oil workers and an American worker, held by suspected leftist guerrillas who had kidnapped them in Ecuador’s eastern jungle more than three months ago, were freed last month after the oil company paid a ransom.

Asia

Indonesia: Religious violence that has claimed about 2,000 lives in eastern Indonesia during the past year spread last week to a resort island just east of Bali, the country’s main tourist destination. Police on the island of Lombok were unable to stop Muslim mobs from burning several Christian churches and ransacking Christians’ homes in the main town of Mataram and elsewhere on the island. Although the violence did not reach the beach resorts on Lombok, the Holiday Inn evacuated its guests and put them on a ferry to Bali, 20 miles to the west. Australia on Monday warned its citizens not to travel to Lombok. The State Department’s latest announcement on Indonesia, dated Oct. 29, does not reflect last week’s violence. But because of the uncertain situation, it advises Americans in Indonesia to consult the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta or the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya for the most recent security information.

Africa

Namibia: The slayings of three French tourists earlier this month touched off new warnings about the dangers of traveling in northern Namibia, a popular tourist region that is close to rebel territory on the Angolan border. Gunmen thought to be Angolan rebels attacked a vehicle carrying a French family of five on the edge of Angola’s Caprivi Game Park, killing the three children, ages 10, 15 and 18, and wounding the parents. Shortly thereafter, two vehicles carrying workers of a Danish aid organization came under fire, and the drivers were wounded. Namibia attracts many eco-tourists and adventure travelers with its nature reserves and wildlife parks, but the State Department has long warned Americans away from neighboring Angola because of “continued military conflict” and “increased violent criminal activity.” Noting that fighting in Angola has spilled over into Namibia, the State Department, in an announcement effective until April 4, cautions Americans to avoid the Okavango and Caprivi Strip regions of northern Namibia, including the Trans-Caprivi Highway. The European Union urges tourists and aid workers to remain in towns.

Briefly . . .

Guatemala: The Pacaya volcano erupted Jan. 16, touching off the evacuation of 1,000 people from villages on its slopes and briefly forcing the closure of the airport in Guatemala City, about 20 miles to the north. The volcano, Guatemala’s most active, last erupted in 1998, dusting the capital with ash. . . . Israel: After fears of Y2K upheaval, the new year arrived peacefully, but Israel continued upgrading security for the millennial year. A new network of surveillance cameras allows police to monitor visitors at such Jerusalem sites as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. . . . Mauritania: Gunmen halted a desert convoy of 52 German tourists in late November, taking most of their vehicles and more than $180,000 in cash, the Reuters news agency reported. The bandits, believed to be Tuareg nomads, left the travelers two vehicles and enough fuel to reach Nouakchott, capital of the northwest African country. . . . Kyrgyz Republic: Labeling such trips “extremely ill-advised,” the State Department has expressed concern that some Americans continue to travel to the southern Kyrgyz Republic near the border with Tajikistan. Peace Corps personnel have been withdrawn from parts of the region, the department notes, and the security situation in the southwestern Kyrgyz Republic “remains fluid and potentially dangerous.” The State Department posted a travel warning on Tajikistan in early 1998, noting the U.S. government’s inability to protect its citizens there.

Hot spots: With the waning of Y2K computer jitters, the State Department has dropped Russia and its former Soviet neighbors Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine from the list of places considered potentially risky for Americans. Because of a coup d’etat and a “serious” crime threat, the West African nation of Ivory Coast has been added. Also on the travel-warning list are Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Colombia, Congo (formerly Zaire), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Yemen.

The U.S. State Department offers recorded travel warnings and advisories at (202) 647-5225; the fax line is (202) 647-3000. Internet address is https://travel.state.gov.