February 07, 2003
AP Mexico may buy ranch

I was just in Ocosingo yesterday visiting Glen and Ellen and helping them shift around their belongings, which have been moved off of the ranch. We went in with them the night before to check with employees who are still staying there overnight. Glen had just had the first day of meetings with Secretary of Tourism Zebadua. No resolution but talks will continue.

So this AP article is a little out of date already, but I'll post it for the record. (Click MORE)

Mexico May Buy Threatened Ranch
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


Filed at 4:16 p.m. ET

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A U.S. couple whose ranch is
blockaded by Zapatista rebels said Wednesday the
government of Chiapas state is considering buying
their property to resolve the conflict.

The owners, from Boise, Idaho, were called to a
meeting with authorities Wednesday, a day after U.S.
Embassy officials urged them to temporarily leave
their ranch and guest house for their own safety.

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``They called me last night and asked me, 'Are you
willing to sell your land?''' ranch co-owner Glen
Wersch said by telephone as he waited for officials to
arrive for the negotiations in Ocosingo, four miles
west of Rancho Esmeralda.

``I don't have any choice, so yes, I'm willing to
sell,'' Wersch said.

Wersch said his wife, Ellen Jones, was still at the
ranch and the couple would not leave the property
permanently until they were offered a market-value
price for their land, guest house, coffee and
macadamia groves.

Wersch said U.S. Embassy officials had contacted him
to ``strongly urge I get off there (the property) for
my own safety.'' U.S. officials have been pressing the
Chiapas state government to protect the Americans'
rights.

But Chiapas officials accused the United States of
exaggerating the conflict, in which Zapatista
supporters from the neighboring village of Nuevo
Jerusalem have prevented tourists, owners and staff
from entering the property and threatened to seize it.
The rebels also allegedly detained and beat a ranch
employee and threatened others.

On Monday, Chiapas Gov. Pablo Salazar blamed the
Americans for starting the conflict. Salazar said one
of the ranch's guests was wearing a camouflage
uniform, which scared the rebels, who have accused
visitors of being spies for the army.

The Mexican army and the rebels were in a tense
standoff in the year following the Zapatistas' brief
uprising in 1994, but the two sides have been under a
truce for the last eight years.

The rebels acknowledged Tuesday their goal is to force
the Americans off the land, and then allow a rebel
council to decide what to do with the property.

Rancho Esmeralda offered environmental walks to a
nearby Maya ruin site and guests stayed at rustic
cabins where they could see coffee and exotic flowers
grown and harvested.

The rebels oppose tourism, and their political actions
have become increasingly focused on seizing land from
neighboring villages and ranches.

Wersch declined to name a price for the 26-acre
property, but noted it had been listed for sale two
years ago at about $550,000.

Asked if he would ever consider buying land in Chiapas
again, Wersch said ``I would say yes.''

``I have good friends here, I love this place,'' he
said. ``These people (the rebels) are not
representative of the whole community.''

Posted by Dave at February 07, 2003 07:16 PM