Mexico rearrests main suspect in Chiapas massacre

MEXICO CITY, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Mexico has rearrested a man accused 
of ordering the killings of 45 Indians in the southern state of 
Chiapas, a massacre that shocked the country 10 years ago and which 
rights groups say remains unsolved.

Right-wing paramilitaries killed the Tzotzil Indians, including 
pregnant women and children, in the village of Acteal on Dec. 22, 
1997.

Some witnesses say paramilitaries accused the Tzotzil of siding with 
the country's indigenous, armed Zapatista movement. Others say the 
murders were to avenge the killing of a Catholic leader by the 
Zapatistas.

The Chiapas state government said in a statement it had arrested on 
Saturday suspected paramilitary Antonio Santiz, who had previously 
been imprisoned, hours after it named a special prosecutor for the 
long-running Acteal investigation.

It was not clear why Santiz had previously been released.

"This person (Santiz) is considered to be ... the intellectual author 
of the massacre at Acteal," said Chiapas Justice Minister Amador 
Rodriguez late on Saturday.

Hundreds of people have been arrested since 1997 but only a few have 
been sentenced. Rights groups say those sentenced are innocent 
scapegoats and accuse successive governments of protecting the 
perpetrators.

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