LA REALIDAD, Mexico (AP) -- Armed, masked rebel fighters welcomed
                  hundreds of supporters to this rustic camp in the southern state of Chiapas
                  for the start of the first mass meeting to be held here since 1994.

                  Hemmed in by army troops, the largely Indian rebels welcomed Friday
                  about 500 supporters, mainly Indians themselves, who had passed through
                  at least three government checkpoints to reach the camp for what may be
                  their first chance to see rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos in person in
                  years.

                  It remained unclear whether the rebel leader would show up for a planned
                  speech from a rustic wooden platform in La Realidad, a hamlet whose name
                  means "Reality," located in a remote area near the Guatemala border.

                  Army troops at checkpoints on roads leading to La Realidad stopped buses
                  carrying rebel supporters and questioned passengers on their names, places
                  of residence and activities in the area.

                  The meeting was called to discuss a rebel-sponsored referendum on Indian
                  rights held earlier this year.

                  Despite the bolt-action rifles, brown uniforms and ski masks worn by the 50
                  or so rebels, Friday's gathering -- expected to last throughout the weekend
                  -- was in stark contrast to the power the rebels displayed during the last
                  such meeting, held in August, 1994.

                  With the Zapatistas' influence then at its height, Marcos addressed an
                  enthusiastic, if somewhat ill-housed and ill-fed, crowd of about 5,000
                  supporters during a four-day meeting.

                  The relatively low turnout at Friday's meeting -- which organizers attributed
                  in part to the heavy army surveillance _ illustrates the increasing isolation of
                  the Zapatista movement, which rose up in arms in January, 1994, to demand
                  greater democracy and Indian rights.

                  The rebels have been deprived by army offensives of almost all the territory
                  they briefly controlled in Chiapas, and their civilian supporters are under
                  increasing pressure from state police to disband pro-rebel town councils.

                  The public has also grown weary of the nearly three years of bickering
                  between the rebels and the government over stalled peace talks.