Unreported World will be showing a documentary called "Guatemala: City of the Dead" this Friday 3 November 7.35pm. This is how it is trailed on the Channel 4 website:


We were contacted by researchers for this programme over a year ago. It's great to see that the programme is going to be broadcast. Let's hope though, it's balanced and shows the incredible of work of those fighting for justice in Guatemala, and goes beyond solely recounting the countless examples of impunity and injustice. It's got to be said that from the way it's being trailed- I'm not overly hopeful.

UPDATE: Well, having seen it I wasn't surprised- but I was bitterly disappointed. Not wanting to flatter a piece of television with the description of 'documentary' this was surely little more than shocking images of a 'foreign' land, wrapped up with a sensationalist narrative in which the 'reporter' was the central character.

Exposing the violent and unjust reality that many Guatemalans live with is of course a totally valid subject for press coverage, and worthy of much more attention than it currently gets from outside media. But parachuting in (it seemed that Ramita Navia, Unreported's reporter was in Guatemala for a matter of days) and parachuting out is not the ideal way of information gathering on a complex issue.

Of many criticisms that could be leveled at this programme, I guess my biggest is that it completely ignored, failed to cover or was just not interested in the work of the many Guatemalans fighting for justice in peaceful dignified ways (just look at this blog for examples).

What this type of television does at a stroke, is rip out the dignity of a whole country, by branding an unknown land with ugly, violent and seeming unredeeming awfulness. If you could assume the UK had a fairly rounded idea of Guatemala, then such extreme angled journalism would matter less. But the reality is that average understanding of life and the battle for justice is low in the UK. For this reason, there is a responsibility upon the reporter, attracted to the shock and awe aspects of this kind of story that dehumanises Guatemala, to equally tease out the 'force for good' that in effect puts Guatemala's humanity back in the picture.

It's disappointing that a series specialising in reporting the unreported- is so woefully lacking in any awareness of this weighty responsibility. The ultimate result is that the world continues to go as unreported as ever.

---

-You can read a written version of Ramita Navia's report (03-11-2006) in The Times here.
-You can see another of Unreported World's documentaries looking at gang violence in Brazil in a very similar vein here.
-And you can go to Channel 4 Radio and hear Ramita Navia's report on for Unreported World as a podcast (if you can be bothered to go through Channel 4's painful registration process- why don't they just make the RSS openly available like everyone else?)

powered by ODEO

- Unreported World was produced by Mentorn - it's now made by Quicksilver Media-  why not let them know what you think of this programme?
- If you want to watch something that achieves reporting the 'forces for good' in Guatemala as well as covering the vital issues such as justice and security in Guatemala- check out "Entremosle a Guate" (in Spanish)

European Parliament debated this afternoon (26-10-2006) a resolution on the proceedings against Rios Montt. There were a whole series of separate points to the motion put forward- one of which was:


The motion for the resolution had be put forward by the following MEPs:

       –    Charles Tannock and Bernd Posselt, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
       –    Pasqualina Napoletano and Luis Yañez-Barnuevo García, on behalf of the PSE Group
       –    Marios Matsakis, on behalf of the ALDE Group
       –    Raül Romeva i Rueda and Alain Lipietz, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
       –    Willy Meyer Pleite and Marco Rizzo, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

You can watch the debate on a video from this page. You need to click on the time next to where the debate on Rios Montt is mentioned about half way down.

You can read this official EU overview of the EU's relations with Guatemala here.

The International Federation for Human Rights has just put out the following press release about the debate (in Spanish).

The following is a press release from the Greens about the debate:

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA - Estrasburgo, 26 de octubre 2006

Extradición de Rios Montt (Guatemala)

VERDES/ALE EXIGEN FIN A LA IMPUNIDAD EN GUATEMALA
Hoy se adoptó en la plenaria del PE una resolución de urgencia sobre la orden internacional de extradición a ex-dictadores y ex-militares guatemaltecos. Sigue la intervención de Raul Romeva, MEP de la IC-V.
 
Diez años después de firmarse los Acuerdos de Paz en Guatemala, país con el que la UE está negociando un acuerdo de asociación y que pretende conseguir un puesto en el Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU, el Acuerdo global sobre Derechos Humanos sigue sin implementarse. Y ello es preocupante en uno de los países que más ha sufrido en términos de dictaduras, genocidios y crímenes de lesa humanidad. Pero más preocupante aún es la impunidad casi absoluta de la que gozan quienes fueron los principales responsables de estos hechos, algunos de los cuales siguen ostentando cargos de alta responsabilidad en las instituciones guatemaltecas.

Sin embargo, cuando el pasado 7 de julio de 2006 el Juzgado Central de Instrucción Número 1 de la Audiencia Española decretó una orden internacional de detención contra varios ex-dictadores y ex-militares guatemaltecos, se reabrió la esperanza de que se hiciera finalmente justicia.

Así, ante la total inhibición del sistema judicial guatemalteco, la Audiencia Española asumió, en base al principio de justicia universal, la responsabilidad de contribuir a acabar con la impunidad.

Ante esta iniciativa, por tanto, cabe reclamar a las autoridades guatemaltecas que cooperen plenamente haciendo todo lo posible para la clarificación de las violaciones de los Derechos Humanos que tuvieron lugar en Guatemala y para que quienes son explícitamente mencionados en la orden internacional de detención, así como en la presente resolución, sean detenidos y entregados a la justicia para ser adecuadamente juzgados.

Así mismo, teniendo en cuenta que muchos de los responsables de estos hechos gravísimos en la historia de Guatemala han estado enriqueciéndose y acumulando bienes y capital en bancos locales e internacionales, es necesario también que las entidades bancarias concernidas colaboren en el retorno de dichos bienes con objeto de que estas personas asuman también sus responsabilidades civiles y financieras.

Finalmente, Europol e Interpol deberían poner todos los medios necesarios para proceder a la detención y extradición a España de las personas mencionadas con objeto de ser adecuadamente juzgadas.

In an article on intercountry adoption, the Observer (15-10-2006) had the following snippet on a British couple who had adopted two Guatemalan children:

A brief article from Reuters yesterday (06-10-2006) reported that:

None of the daily newspapers in Guatemala have covered this story. There's an article on Austin IndyMedia that has more information on this latest initiative from AJR/CALDH.

Rios Montt can't stand for the Presidency says Constitutional Court - 11th October

In a new twist to this story, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court has just (11-10-2006) declared that a previous ruling allowing Rios Montt to stand for President was wrong.


Earlier last week, we received the following message from CALDH.


COMUNICADO DE PRENSA: JUSTICIA POR GENOCIDIO

La Asociación para la Justicia y Reconciliación (AJR), con la asesoría legal del Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH), presentó ayer al Ministerio Público la solicitud de la primera declaración del general Efraín Ríos Montt, quien es sindicado del delito de genocidio, y le solicitó darle trámite ante el Organismo Judicial con base en las pruebas que posee.

La sindicación que pesa sobre José Efraín Ríos Montt se fundamenta en sus actuaciones como Jefe de la Junta Militar de Gobierno, Ministro de Defensa, Presidente de la República y Jefe del Estado Mayor del Ejército en el periodo del 23 de marzo de 1982 al 8 de agosto de 1983, cuando planificó y ordenó a sus subordinados la ejecución de un gran número de masacres en contra del pueblo maya, documentadas por la Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico.

Los actos perpetrados por el Ejército bajo el mando del general Ríos Montt constituyen delito de genocidio porque causaron lesiones físicas y mentales, desplazamiento forzado y la matanza de diferentes miembros del pueblo maya, con la intención de destruirlos total o parcialmente.

Miles de guatemaltecas y guatemaltecos, cientos de comunidades mayas, fueron víctimas del horror y el terror sembrado por el general genocida. Por ello, para que nunca más se repita esa historia de dolor que la impunidad en que aún se encuentra uno de sus causantes todavía la hace pervivir, oler y doler en el cuerpo y la mente de sus víctimas, la AJR ha presentado la solicitud apuntada, confiando, como lo hace su asesor legal, CALDH, en que el Ministerio Público tendrá la sabiduría y el valor de acceder y facilitar el avance del proceso que estamos iniciando, en aras de que la justicia nacional y el Estado de derecho sean una realidad.

Y presentamos esta solicitud en el día B’elejeb’ Tz’i’ (Día de la Justicia) del calendario ceremonial maya, en homenaje a aquellas miles de víctimas del genocidio.

Guatemala, 5 de octubre de 2006

Asociación para la Justicia y Reconciliación (AJR)
Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH)

The Guardian carried a story today (04-10-2006) by John Vidal about the latest idea for constucting a rival to the Panama Canal. I remember a few years ago they were considering constructing a canal across Guatemala- because at the time Guatemala posed few legal constraints to the canal's planners. Jury's out on how much environmental damage this project in Nicaragua poses. We'll be following developments on this with interest.

Building a canal across Central America has captured the imagination of engineers since the mid-1500s. Ever since the construction of an inter-oceanic canal became feasible in the 1800s, the strategic and economic value of Central America rocketed in the eyes of it's powerful neighbours. However, in Central America's case this has not meant a corresponding increase in power, but rather a corresponding increase in interference and exploitation.

As such I guess you could say that inter-oceanic canal contruction across the Central American isthmus is a kind of case study of this phenomenon of interference and exploitation of the region that continues to the present.

In the 1800's, when the site of a canal stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic was sought, Britain along with the US planned for many years to build it in Guatemala- but never did. This was tied into the illegitimate annexation of Belize by Britain from Guatemala during this period.

During this time Britain and the US actually signed the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty in 1850 that aimed to guard against either monopolizing control of a canal or railway should one be built. That neither Britain or the US thought it appropriate or necessary to invite representatives from Central America to participate in the signing of this treaty, says a lot about how they viewed Central America at the time.