MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- The Mexican government has issued a new proposal to try to end political violence in the southern state of Chiapas -- but stopped short of agreeing to withdraw army troops from the area.

Under a five-point plan put forward late Wednesday, the government said that if Zapatista rebels agreed to restart peace talks, it would promote economic development projects in Chiapas and release imprisoned rebels who have not been directly implicated in violence.

If talks restart, the government will take "the first step in a series of actions and measures making up a progressive framework for a bilateral and reciprocal easing of tensions," the document said.

"The proposal seeks to resolve (the Chiapas) conflict through peaceful means," said Emilio Rabasa Gamboa, the government's chief negotiator for Chiapas.

But the document also calls on the Zapatistas to stop creating new "autonomous municipalities" -- parallel town councils that have led to recent outbreaks of violence -- and to turn in some weapons.

The government also made it clear it will not remove army troops -- a step many observers believe is necessary to foster peace.

The leftist Zapatista National Liberation Army took up arms in January 1994 to protest conditions in Chiapas, a poor state that is home to a large Indian population. After a brief but bloody conflict, rebels and the government began negotiations, but rebels walked out of the talks in 1996 and have refused to return.

Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo has recently stepped up criticism of rebel leaders for shunning peace talks.

Wednesday, Interior Minister Francisco Labastida presented the peace plan to a congressional peace commission known as Cocopa. Some members of the commission reacted unenthusiastically.

"It was a frustrating meeting," said Gilberto Lopez, a deputy with the leftist opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution. "The document is very limited. There's nothing new in it."