Written by Kimberley Kern

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This month, the national genocide case against Rios Montt and his high command had an exciting move forward.

“Plan Sofia,” is an old military document that outlines the plans for the eradication of indigenous communities in the Quiché region of Guatemala in the years 1981-82. It reveals that Ríos Montt signed the orders for the massacres of the towns of El Quetzal, Huehuetenango and Chicamán, Quiché. More than 300 died in El Quetzal, and 92 people died in Chicamán.  After these documents were leaked to the public in March, Rios Montt´s lawyers filed a motion in April arguing to keep them classified so they could not be used as evidence in the case.

"The documents detailing Plan Sofia clearly illustrate an explicit chain of command, with Rios Montt at its head, through which orders of mass extermination were communicated at the height of the conflict" said Catherine Norris, an organizer with the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) in Washington D.C.

On July 16th, many co-workers and I, attended a public hearing of the genocide case, solicited by the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR). Arguments were heard from the legal representatives of the AJR and the lawyer representing the Ministry of Defense, who argued that the 25-year old documents should be kept secret for national security purposes. During the hearing, the judge asked lawyer for the Ministry of Defense, "If the acts were committed in 1982, why do they continue to be classified as state secrets?”

On July 19th, the First Court of Appeals in Guatemala denied the motion filed by Ríos Montt and said that archived military documents must be submitted as evidence in the national genocide case against him. According to the judge, the argument that “Plan Sofia” is a state secret is invalid because releasing them would not compromise the current security of the state and the crimes have already been committed.

Honestly, this news came as a shock to many of us. The level of impunity in the government and disorganization in the judicial system is a sad reality in Guatemala. There are no legal limits to appeals filed against these cases, which makes the judicial process very slow and long. But, with these documents in the hands of the prosecution, the case is more likely to be successful in the end. With this turn of events, the members of the AJR have been re-inspired to keep fighting for justice.

THE COMMUNITIES OF SAN JOSE RIO NEGRO (SJRN)

In addition to living and working in Santa Maria Tzejá (SMT), every 3-4 weeks my partner and I embark on a hike to visit survivors and witnesses of the AJR who live in five different Q’eqchi’ communities. This excursion is an incredible opportunity to observe the spectacular rolling hills and extraordinary views of the Ixcán, full of trees and miles upon miles of cornfields, set on steep slopes. The rainy season is beginning here and traveling through the mud is also always an adventure. We have the good fortune to visit and spend time with families and communities whose lives and stories are so different from SMT. For example, in contrast to living with one hundred families in SMT, these tiny villages consist of 20-30 families each.

Since the communities of SJRN have little exposure to outsiders, they have fewer resources and their homes and lifestyles are much more humble. The survivors of the SJRN massacre and their communities did not flee to Mexico during the conflict; rather they were internally displaced. Community members hid in the mountains or were resettled in model villages. The homes are smaller, the communities less organized and education is not a priority like it is in SMT. Many young men and some of the younger children who have had the opportunity to attend elementary or middle school are able to speak Spanish, but most of the women only speak the native language, Q’eqchi’. This makes them very different from the returnee communities of the Ixcán, which are often multi-lingual with many Spanish-speaking members and an acceptance of the accompaniers’ presence as a fact of the Return Accords. This language barrier has been an enormous challenge and many daily interactions between the women and me are through broken Q’eqchiand sign language…. lots of smiling and nodding as well. When I first arrived, I studied two weeks of Q’eqchi’ and have since learned more from the families that we visit. It is interesting to compare this language with the one spoken in SMT, K’iche’, because many words are the same, or similar. I feel the most out of my element when we are visiting these communities, but I have also enjoyed the opportunity to step completely out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to try to communicate. Even though I mostly receive smirks and laughter when I struggle to speak Q’eqchi’, I know that the families also really appreciate that I try. They are among the warmest people I have ever encountered.

This is a brief summery of their story:

In 1982, the victims of the massacre of San José Rio Negro (SJRN) were working and living on two farms: El Remolíno and SJRN. In March of that year, members of the Guerilla Army of the Poor (EGP) arrived on the Romolíno farm and held a meeting in which they demanded that the workers collaborate with them. After the meeting they burned the farm’s cardamom dryer as well as supplies of rice and beans, and returned to the jungle. The workers were afraid that the army would blame them for the burning of the dryer and decided to flee to another farm, San Isidro. The men boarded canoes that they found by the river without noticing that “EPG” was painted on their sides. Shortly before arriving at San Isidro, they were apprehended by soldiers on the riverbank of the SJRN farm.

The workers on the SJRN farm were peasants who were already displaced by the internal conflict and who were assured by the owner that they would be safe there. However, in 1982 guerillas arrived to warn the workers that the army was coming to massacre them. Unfortunately, many workers were under the impression that only Catholics (often suspected of being guerillas or guerilla sympathizers) would be targeted and killed. Some workers fled but most decided to stay. Later, the army arrived by helicopter and stayed for a week. On the third day they began to kill the workers they had captured from El Romolíno and SJRN.

An ex-soldier who claims to have participated in the massacre says that some people were decapitated, some shot with bullets and others chopped to death. Survivors report to have heard machine guns, bombs and screams and seen smoke coming from the site of the massacre. When family members returned after the soldiers left, they found that their houses had been completely destroyed and discovered a freshly-dug grave, encircled by vultures and women’s clothes.

COMMEMORATION OF THE MASSACRE OF SAN JOSE RIO NEGRO

“It is important to continue remembering what happened to us in the past. Every year we gather so our children will know what happened here. If we choose to forget, they will never know our history”.
-Mario-

In addition to accompanying witnesses of the AJR, we also accompany and visit community members engaged in their locally organized human rights organization. ADEREMCO stands for the Association of Development of the Uprooted and Re-established Communities of the Micro-regions of Q’iche and Alta Verapaz. Formed in 1999 during the exhumations of the victims of the massacre, its mandate is to seek justice for the victims of the massacre, exhume the bodies of the victims who have not yet been found, demand reparations, seek to restore their communities social fabric damaged by the civil war and promote development and land ownership in the affected communities.

Every year, these communities gather together to commemorate and remember the family members and friends who were killed during the conflict. As in SMT and the many other communities who suffered, this is an important occasion not only to remember the dead, but to reignite the ongoing fight for justice.

Mario, a member of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) and a resident of SMT, spoke at the ceremony which consisted of a Catholic Mass, a community dinner and a dance featuring a live marimba band. “We cannot stay silent. We are not animals. We are human beings!” He was speaking about the fact that 200,000 Mayan people were killed in a bloody war in which the heads of State at that time have still not been punished.

ELECTIONS 2007

In September, the 2007 presidential and regional elections will take place in Guatemala. It’s an interesting time to be in the country because, although some people have written off the government as corrupt and not worth their time to vote, many people are still talking about politics.

There are about 16 major political parties running in the presidential and municipal elections. Each one is differentiated by a different symbol, and when arriving at the polling stations, the symbol is what the population will actually vote for. Of course, this means that most uniformed or illiterate voters will simply check the symbol they have seen the most… which are everywhere… on posters in stores, gigantic billboards and even painted on trees and rocks along the highways.

I have recently attended several talks about the current political situation in Guatemala in relation to the upcoming elections. One conversation that keeps resurfacing in discussions, and which I find very interesting, is the question: “Who funds the political parties?”

Guatemala has a very high concentration of income and wealth in a few hands, which makes it one of the most unequal in the world. With no effective distribution mechanisms, and with low wages and low employment, the majority of Guatemala’s population lives in extreme poverty and exclusion from resources like education. This concentration of wealth has produced increasingly powerful economic groups that use their power to influence the political scene and exercise control over the State. These groups are owned and run by a few families; the two main families are Gutierrez and Bosch.

Together, these businessmen allied with foreign interests, own the 30 largest companies in Guatemala. The two front-running parties, Unidad Nacional de Esperanza (UNE), National Unity for Hope, and Partido Patriota (PP), Patriots Party, have each received around $5 million from these two families. Encuentro por Guatemala, (EG), Gathering for Guatemala, the party of Rigoberta Menchú, has also received a large sum of money from these two families. This very basic look at the financial foundation of the elections implies that no matter who wins, these parties continue to be controlled by the same big-business interests.

I hope that all of you are happy and healthy in your lives.

Peace,
kimika

BECOME A HUMAN RIGHTS ACCOMPANIER

In the UK

You can find out more information here:
http://www.guatemalasolidarity.org.uk

In the USA

NISGUA is one of many organizations around the world that employs accompaniment as a vital tool in the global struggle for the respect of human rights. In the Guatemalan context, accompaniment creates a non-violent response to the threats, harassment, and violence faced by survivors of Guatemala’s 36-year-long civil war and grassroots organizations working for justice and human rights. To this end, NISGUA’s Guatemala Accompaniment Project (G.A.P.) places long-term volunteer’s side-by-side with people in rural communities and with organizations in an effort to deter human rights violations. The dissuasive physical presence of accompaniers provides a measure of security and creates space for Guatemalan communities and groups to organize in defense of their rights. Accompaniers also monitor and report on the human rights situation and alert the international community to abuses.

If you yourself, or someone you know, may be interested in becoming a human rights accompanier for the AJR, please see this link for more information on the application process and details of G.A.P:
http://www.nisgua.org/get_involved/join_gap/human_rights_accompanier/

The application deadline to attend the next training (October 14-21st) is August 17th.