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DATE=2/19/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=MEXICO ATTACK (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259347
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=MEXICO CITY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Mexico's military has reported an armed clash 
with guerrillas in the western state of Guerrero that 
left at least two guerrillas dead.  As V-O-A's Greg 
Flakus reports from Mexico City, the incident comes as 
the Mexican military is under fire from a United 
Nations report alleging human rights violations.
TEXT:  In reports from the Mexican Armed Forces, the 
clash in Guerrero is said to have occurred early 
Friday at a remote location in the steep mountains 
that run through the center of the state.  According 
to the accounts published in the Mexican press 
Saturday, the guerrillas attacked an army patrol, 
which then responded.  The guerrillas are believed to 
be part of the Popular Revolutionary Army, known by 
its Spanish initials as the E-P-R.  This armed group 
has been sporadically active in Guerrero for the past 
five years.
In addition to the two dead, the reports indicate that 
six other guerrillas were captured.
Meantime, the Mexican Foreign Ministry is reacting to 
a report issued Friday by United Nations Human Rights 
investigator Asma Jahangir alleging that the Mexican 
army has carried out summary executions and other 
crimes.  The U-N report calls for a reduction in the 
current role played by the Mexican military in law 
enforcement and measures to strengthen the Mexican 
judiciary.  Asma Jahangir is a Pakistani attorney who 
spent 11 days in Mexico last July investigating 
various human rights violations.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry criticized her report as 
showing a lack of impartiality.  In the words of a 
Foreign Ministry statement, "She recommends measures 
which are already in effect and others that are out of 
her jurisdiction -- like ending the use of the 
military to combat drug trafficking."  The report was 
submitted to U-N headquarters in Geneva on Friday.  
(signed)
NEB/GF/JP
19-Feb-2000 13:02 PM EDT (19-Feb-2000 1802 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.