Scholarship students in Chichicastenango Photo: Helen Coskeran
I can’t believe it’s been over two months since I arrived in the “Land of Eternal Spring” (as the Guatemalan Tourist Board often reiterates). Somehow the sights, sounds and stories that bowled me over at the beginning have become a part of every-day life and sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I don’t just live my days through in a daze.
My name is Helen Coskeran and ever since a brief visit to Guatemala in 2001 when I did some volunteering in a nursery in Guatemala City and some travelling around the country, I wanted to return. An opportunity came up this year to volunteer in a small NGO “Fundamar” run by a community of Marist brothers in the capital and to combine this with working with children in Casa Alianza, a home for street children or children from difficult domestic situations. Although tiring, the combination of jobs has been fascinating – the necessary administration work in Fundamar (we mainly run educational and community-based projects) coupled with the “hands-on” experience at Casa Alianza (I am generally in the library helping with homework, internet searches, computer skills or English but you do have to be flexible!).
I guess I realise now how naive I was after my visit in 2001. I was 18 and rather sheltered from the reality of Guatemala (although my experience at the nursery was definitely an eye-opener). Now older and living in Zona 1 of the capital (even some Guatemalans think I’m crazy to be living there), I feel like I’ve learnt so much more about the reality of every-day life here. Sure it’s great to escape to the tourist spots at the weekend, but I feel in the heart of it here, and that’s the way I like it. For example, working with the girls in Casa Alianza has shown me the difficult route some people’s lives take and yet they are so delighted to have us foreigners working there. They have incredible energy and creativity and I feel privileged to be able to work with them.
In Fundamar, I have come across villages and communities so far-flung that my Guatemalan friends haven’t even heard of them and have read their bloody histories in shock. When I visited the town of Chichicastenango in El Quiché (one of the municipalities that suffered most in the atrocities of the early eighties), it really hit home how much our help was appreciated. We provide scholarships to around 170 kids in the area – including some boarders whose homes lie a 5-hour bus and 6-hour trek through the mountains away. The warm welcome my Australian colleague and I received made us feel like local celebrities and we were so inspired by the students and their fascination with us and our respective countries, that we are starting a pen-pal project between these schools in Chichicastenango and English and Australian schools. We feel that both groups will benefit from the interaction with a completely different culture, and will hopefully raise awareness of Guatemala and the issues here for the English and Australian students.
Other events such as the anniversary of Monseñor Juan Gerardi (assassinated in 1998 after publishing the REMHI [Recovery of Historical Memory] report) and the 15th anniversary of the brutal murder of the Marist brother Moisés Cisneros have made me realise how far the effects of the armed conflict stretched and still stretch as seen in the daily reports of violence. However far Guatemala may have come, it is clear to me that there is a very long way to go.
Helen on a recent visit to a Fundamar Project in Colonia Gerardi on the outskirts of the capital
The classic campaign advert (from Guate en los 80s) for Jorge Serrano Elias who became President of Guatemala in 1991 (and who later went on to try to take absolute power, failed and fled the country).
The spectacle of elderly men evading the criminal justice systems around the world by playing out the clock, leaves a bitter aftertaste in the mouth of any onlooker- but to the victims of these men it adds further unwarranted insult to their original injury.
Yesterday (28-05-2006), one such man- Guatemalan former President Romeo Lucas Garcia, whose 1978-1982 government was accused of rights abuses, died aged 81 in a hospital in Venezuela.
For the moment, we won't say much more about this on this blog- there's a great post by Rob Mercatante for those interested in finding out more about the injustices that Lucas Garcia presided over and for which he was never, in his lifetime, tried for. In the UK, this news has currently been covered by the BBC, AlertNet and the Guardian.
UPDATE 09-06-2006: Below is a open letter to the Guatemalan Congress by Guatemalan NGOs 27-05-2006 after the death of General Romeo Lucas García.
El 24 de junio del 2006, una comisión rogatoria española llegará a Guatemala con el fin de indagar a altos cargos de gobiernos militares guatemaltecos del periodo de 1978 a 1986. Aparte del genocidio cometido contra el pueblo maya, los delitos que se les imputa incluyen la quema de la Embajada de España en 1980 y el asesinato de varios sacerdotes españoles.
¿GUATEMALA: SISTEMA DE JUSTICIA PARALIZADO?
Esta decisión de la justicia española supone de por sí un avance significativo en la lucha contra la impunidad y en la búsqueda de justicia que, hasta el momento, ha sido denegada en Guatemala.
Los crímenes cometidos por las fuerzas de seguridad del Estado durante el conflicto armado interno fueron ampliamente documentados en los informes del Proyecto Interdiocesano de Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica (REMHI), de la Iglesia católica, y de la Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico (CEH), de las Naciones Unidas, así como en más de 566 exhumaciones de cementerios clandestinos realizadas desde 1994.
En particular, vale resaltar que la CEH documentó 626 masacres cometidas por las fuerzas del Estado y considera que se cometieron actos de genocidio. Además de numerosos casos presentados por hechos específicos, en 2000 y 2001 se presentaron ante las instancias guatemaltecas dos demandas por crímenes de lesa humanidad, genocidio y crímenes de guerra contra los altos mandos de los gobiernos del General Romeo Lucas García y del General José Efraín Ríos Montt, respectivamente.
Como sucedió en otros casos, a 6 años de la primera demanda, la investigación por parte del Ministerio Público no ha avanzado pese a haberse presentado más de cien testigos y testigas de masacres ocurridas en 23 comunidades, comprobando que no existe voluntad política del sistema de justicia y del gobierno para castigar a los responsables de estos delitos.
En relación con la aplicación de la justicia, tampoco se han cumplido las sentencias dictadas por la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en los casos “Plan de Sánchez”, “Panel Blanca”, “Niños de la Calle”, “Bámaca Velásquez”, Maritza Urrutia”, “Carpio Nicolle”, ni los acuerdos amistosos alcanzados en la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos por los casos “Irma Flaquer” y “Dos Erres”, entre otros.
En su último informe sobre Guatemala, la Alta Comisionada de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas declara que “la impunidad ha sido reiteradamente señalada por los mecanismos y organizaciones internacionales, regionales y nacionales de derechos humanos como una de las mayores amenazas al libre ejercicio de los derechos humanos”.
ESPAÑA: HABRÁ INVESTIGACIÓN
En 1999, Rigoberta Menchú interpuso una denuncia ante la justicia española por genocidio, terrorismo y torturas, amparándose en el principio de Jurisdicción Universal.
En 2005, el Tribunal Constitucional español estableció que en la legislación española se “instaura un principio de jurisdicción universal absoluto”, por lo que la justicia española tiene competencia para investigar y juzgar, entre otros delitos, el genocidio cometido en Guatemala contra el pueblo Maya. La comisión rogatoria que llegará en junio realizará las diligencias correspondientes. En particular, tomará las declaraciones de los imputados presentes en el país, los cuales ya han sido citados por un juez guatemalteco.
SIGUE LA VIOLENCIA POLÍTICA
Mientras desde 2004 el Estado de Guatemala ha logrado mejorar su imagen ante la comunidad internacional, reconociendo oficialmente su responsabilidad por una mínima proporción de las violaciones a derechos humanos cometidas durante el conflicto armado interno, la impunidad se ha mantenido en gran medida intacta. Amparándose en esta impunidad, la violencia política está en aumento constante: los ataques contra activistas de derechos humanos, por ejemplo, han tenido una progresión constante, hasta dispararse en el 2005, con un aumento de 46% en relación con el 2004.
En particular, son sistemáticos los ataques (amenazas, actos intimidatorios, acoso y, en algunos casos, ataques fatales) contra aquellos que han prestado sus testimonios a la justicia guatemalteca y en contra de aquellos que les han brindado acompañamiento de tipo legal u otro. A pesar de que la gran mayoría de estos ataques haya sido denunciada a las autoridades competentes, no se ha identificado o procesado a casi ninguno de sus responsable. Por esta razón se teme especialmente por la seguridad de las personas que presten testimonios ante la comisión española.
Esta
lista tiene como propsito difundir informacin relacionada al trabajo de
la Coordinacion del Acompaamiento Internacional en Guatemala (CAIG) y al
proyecto ACOGUATE.
La informacin distribuida es responsabilidad de la fuente.
It's ironic that fairly traded Maya gold is in the news today, because that's probably as far as it's possible to be from the 'Maya gold' news story that is usually in the news: see the story about Sipakapa and the exploitation of gold reserves in Guatemala at the Marlin mine.
The leftfield contribution on the exploitation of Guatemalan gold is all about chocolate. In the Observer there was a piece today 28-05-2006 about the case of Green & Blacks (recently bought by Cadbury) and its organic and fairly traded Maya Gold chocolate.
Definitely worth a read, it's interesting that they are based in Belize and characterise the Guatemalan experience of fairtrade organic as being all about pesticides, growing citrus fruit and international exploitation. Anyone got any contributions? The Fairtrade 2004 conference report (in Spanish) by Rights Action, Care Guatemala, Oxfam and the Cooperacion Espanola is certainly a great starting point to the debate.
It is certainly interesting though, to hear more about Craig Sams's experience and his ideas for changing the Fairtrade model. I can't help thinking that an insight into the human stories behind such human ideas can only help our understanding.
CAIG, the organisation that coordinates international accompaniment in Guatemala has just published (May 2006) a report on issues in human rights that make up the heart of its current work. The report focuses on two cases in particular, on the Plan de Sanchez massacre and the genocide case presented in Spain by Nobel laureate, Rigoberta Menchu.
The report underlines the current concern that in a climate where threats and intimidation against human rights defenders are on the increase in Guatemala, impunity for those responsible for human rights abuses now and in the past continues.
However, the report also looks to the future, and in particular points to two opportunities for Guatemala and especially its government, to demonstrate its will to begin to reddress the imbalance. First, is by implementing the international ruling granting compensation to the victims of the Plan de Sanchez massacre. And second, is by cooperating with the Spanish investigation into Rigoberta Menchu's case of genocide, terrorism and torture in Guatemala in the 1980's.
The report is summarised in Spanish below:
"La Coordinación del Acompañamiento Internacional en Guatemala (CAIG), que reúne a organizaciones de nueve países, ofrece una presencia física internacional y una observación imparcial a defensoras de derechos humanos desde el año 2000. En este informe se reportan algunas observaciones y preocupaciones que resultan del acompañamiento a defensoras de derechos humanos que luchan contra la impunidad.
El informe se centra en dos casos:
1. La masacre de Plan de Sánchez, Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, caso presentado en 1996 ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos e incluida en casos presentados ante la justicia guatemalteca por la Asociación Justicia y Reconciliación (AJR) por genocidio, crímenes de guerra y crímenes contra la humanidad;
2. El caso presentado en 1999 por Rigoberta Menchú Tum ante la justicia española por genocidio, terrorismo y torturas, amparándose en el principio de Jurisdicción Universal.
El informe concluye que mientras el Estado de Guatemala, en los últimos dos años, ha logrado mejorar su imagen ante la comunidad internacional mediante el reconocimiento oficial de su responsabilidad por violaciones a derechos humanos cometidas durante el conflicto armado interno, la impunidad se ha mantenido en gran medida intacta. Se demuestra que, más allá de la falta de capacidad de las instituciones responsables de investigar estos crímenes y castigar a sus responsables, se han producido ataques sistemáticos en contra de defensoras de derechos humanos que han prestado sus testimonios y en contra de aquellas que les han brindado acompañamiento de tipo legal u otro. Ante estos ataques, la respuesta del Estado ha sido insuficiente, pues ningún ataque reportado en este informe ha provocado la identificación y la persecución penal de los responsables, a pesar de que la gran mayoría de ataques haya sido denunciada a las autoridades competentes.
En estas condiciones, en lugar de mostrar la voluntad política de las autoridades en propiciar la vigencia del Estado de Derecho, los pocos avances logrados en la lucha contra la impunidad demuestran la propia valentía y determinación de las defensoras, a pesar de los grandes costos humanos que han tenido que pagar. En particular se debe resaltar que la mayoría de las sobrevivientes que han brindado su testimonio son campesinas que viven en comunidades indígenas afectadas por la pobreza o la pobreza extrema,en situación de indefensión y casi abandono por parte de las instituciones del Estado, en particular del sistema de justicia.
Frente a esa situación, el Estado de Guatemala tiene dos nuevas oportunidades de demostrar su voluntad: el cumplimiento de la sentencia de reparaciones de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en el caso de la masacre de Plan de Sánchez y la colaboración con la Comisión rogatoria española que visitará el país entre junio y julio de 2006 en el marco de la denuncia presentada por Rigoberta Menchú frente a la Audiencia Nacional española.
La CAIG, en el marco de su acompañamiento, expresa su gran preocupación por la seguridad de todas las personas involucradas en la defensa del derecho a la justicia, en particular las que brinden su testimonio a la Comisión rogatoria española, y reitera su compromiso de difundir a nivel internacional toda la información pertinente sobre los ataques de los que puedan ser víctimas."
You can see the full report in Spanish here. This report is currently being translated into English. As soon as it's published we will post it here.
UPDATE: Here is the English introduction to the report provided by NISGUA:
Coordination of International Accompaniment in Guatemala Observation Report, May 2006
Accompanying Human Rights Defenders in the Struggle Against Impunity in Guatemala
The Coordination of International Accompaniment in Guatemala (CAIG) is a collaboration between ten accompaniment groups from nine countries:
- Acompañamiento de Austria (ADA), Austria; - Cadena para un Retorno Acompañado (CAREA e.V.), Germany; - Collectif Guatemala, France; - Guatemala Solidarity Network (GSN), Great Britain; - Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BtS), Canada; - Mellemamerika Komiteen (MAK), Denmark; - Movimiento Sueco por la Reconciliació n (Swefor), Sweden; - Peace Watch Switzerland (PWS), Switzerland; - Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala (PAQG), Canada; - Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA), USA.
Our mission is to improve the human rights situation in Guatemala by providing a dissuasive, international presence and impartial observation to at-risk human rights defenders.
Since 2000, over 275 of our volunteers have accompanied human rights defenders working to end impunity in Guatemala. In recent years, we have observed that while the Guatemalan government has publicly accepted responsibility for the human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict, and thus improved its image in the eyes of the international community, the level of impunity in Guatemala nonetheless remains alarmingly high.
This impunity is not only the result of institutional inefficiency in the judicial system, but is perpetuated by systematic attacks on individuals fighting to end impunity by presenting testimony, providing legal aid and/or carrying out other forms of support to witnesses in legal cases. Furthermore, Guatemala's official response to these attacks has been insufficient: of the 260 attacks reported by anti-impunity activists between 1997 and 2005, the Guatemalan authorities have failed to identify or prosecute any of the perpetrators.
CAIG has observed that advances made to end impunity in Guatemala have been a result of the courage and determination of those struggling against impunity and not a result of local authorities upholding the Rule of Law. This is significant given that the majority of such activists are farmers from isolated and impoverished indigenous communities with little or no access to State institutions such as the judicial system.
In this context, two new opportunities exist for the Guatemalan government to demonstrate its political will to end impunity:
1. To comply with the reparation sentence passed down by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to the survivors of the massacre in Plan de Sanchez, Rabinal, Baja Verapaz. This case was first presented to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission in 1996 and was later included in the cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity presented by the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR).
2. To collaborate with the Spanish Commission as it investigates, according to Universal Jurisdiction, charges of genocide, terrorism and torture originally presented by Rigoberta Menchu Tum before the Spanish Judicial System in 1999. The Spanish Commission will be visiting Guatemala between June and July 2006.
Given the political and moral importance of these legal cases, and considering the longstanding history of impunity in Guatemala, CAIG is greatly concerned for the safety of individuals and groups involved in the struggle for justice in Guatemala. We are particularly concerned for the safety of individuals testifying before the Spanish Investigative Commission in June and July.
As CAIG, we reaffirm our commitment to provide international accompaniment to human rights defenders in the struggle against impunity in Guatemala and will continue to report on their situation throughout the coming months.
The Mesoamerican Food Security Early Warning System
has recently (15-05-2006) published an update on the current food
security situation in Guatemala since Hurricane Stan. The information
from MFSEWS makes special reference to the XVIII Central American
Climate Outlook Forum held in Belize from April 18-21, 2006.
In particular, the current concerns include that the planting of this
year's crops will be affected by lack of suitable drained land for this
purpose. A worry is also the high cost of fuel and relative high cost
of basic food stuffs. In the UK, the plight of Guatemalans more than
six months on from Stan has been picked up by AlertNet and to a lesser extent The Guardian.
1pm-7pm, Saturday 15th July (3rd Floor, University of London Union, Malet Street, London WC1). Featuring Oscar Olivera, Spokesperson for the Coalition in Defense of Water and Life in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Plus Hilary Wainwright, Red Pepper Andy Higginbottom, Frontline Latin America Sue Branford, chair of the Latin America Bureau Nick Buxton, Fundacion Solon, Bolivia Paul Chatterton, Kiptik (Zapatista solidarity network) and others to be confirmed
Whether it be indigenous rights movements, people fighting neoliberal economic policies or US domination of the continent, or the struggle for land and work rights, social movements are now embedded in the political landscape across Latin America. In Bolivia, popular mobilisation over the last six years has seen its electoral expression in the victory for Evo Morales and the Movement towards Socialism (MAS in its Spanish initials). This conference aims to examine how social movements in Latin America are organised, what they've won and their different relationships with the growing number of left leaning governments in the continent.
Oscar Olivera is spokesperson for the Coalition in Defense of Water and Life, ('La Coordinadora'), which was at the forefront of a popular uprising in Cochabamba in 2000 against US multinational Bechtel who had taken over their water systems as an IMF-imposed condition for Bolivian debt relief.
GSN should be there too- watch this space for more information.
Women from the Guatemalan Ixil indigenous community carry the coffins
containing the remains of 75 Ixils recently exhumed from a nearby mass
grave for the cemetery of the small mountainous village of Chacalte.
The 75 Ixils were killed by members of the Guerrilla Army of the Poor
in a June 1982 massacre during the country's 36-year civil war. PHOTO: Jorge Uzon
Guatemala's government said for the first time on Thursday (18-05-06)
it wanted to
investigate the disappearances of some 45,000 civilians during a bloody
civil war and hoped to prosecute those responsible. As human rights
activist, Ruth del Valle says, let's hope this isn't just another
agreement that stays on paper. Read more about the agreement here...
Maria
Gabriela Nuñez, Minister of the Presidential Secretariat for Women
(SEPREM), who introduced the country report and fielded questions from
the Committee’s experts, said: "There
were some gaps, indeed, large gaps, especially in the legislative
sphere, particularly with regard to violence against women."
...On
the criminalization of inter-family violence, she said a draft law on
that subject was just beginning to be processed. Unfortunately, it did
not include clauses to cover domestic violence, which was a difficult
subject for Congress to swallow...
(Interesting expanation
for why many members of Congress have been blocking reference to
domestic violence in proposed legislation).
...Turning to “femicide”, the delegate said the upward trend of such crimes in the last five years was alarming. In 2006, 14 men had been tried and imprisoned for murdering women,
but she admitted that problems did exist in collecting evidence that
could be used in court. Prosecutors offices and police were
currently working to ensure that statistical registers were being
harmonized, so that better data was collected. According to one
count, as many as 2,070 women had been murdered,
mostly involving 14-35 year-olds. Organized crime and drug
trafficking were seen to be contributing factors. But there were
information gaps. She also said the protection of witnesses and
families of victims was a significant weakness in the Guatemalan legal
system.
In terms of sexual health:
Ms.
AROCHA DOMINGUEZ, expert from Cuba, said the country report raised
issues about reproductive and sexual health care and rights of rural
and indigenous women. She requested a statistical breakdown by
ethnic group regarding mobility and mortality rates. On page 37, a
table of the 2004 breakdown of women’s mortality revealed that 20 per
cent of those deaths were due to bronchitis and pneumonia. However, the
cause of death was not given for almost 55 per cent of the cases.
Could more exhaustive information be provided on this? Could
statistical information also be provided on deaths due to illegal
abortions or abortions performed by unqualified people? Given the
fact that more than 45 per cent of Guatemalan girls had their first
sexual experience by the age of 12, the scope of reproductive health
statistics was rather limited. It would help the Committee to get
an idea of the priority given to access to contraceptives. While
the report noted that such access was growing particularly for women
ages 15 to 30, what was being done for sexually active girls under age
14? What kind of training was there? What kind of access
was there in remote areas and in indigenous areas?
Responding to
Ms. Arocha Dominguez’s questions on the reproductive health of women,
another delegate explained that a programme had been developed by the
Health Ministry to provide support and advice on family planning
methods and to provide post-abortion counselling. A programme to
provide sexual education to young people was also being developed.
HUGETTE
BOKPE GNACADJA, expert from Benin, said that violence against women
generally had its roots in the subordination of women. A large
number of women murdered by their husbands occurred after women lodged
complaints about poor treatment by their husbands. The younger
the women, the more vulnerable they were to abuse and violent acts
against them. The representative had acknowledged that the path
to justice was a difficult one...
...She wanted to know whether
marital law had been amended, or whether the “legal door was still open
for marriage under the age of 16” if the person exercising parental
authority or guardianship gave his/her consent. If so, that still
contravened the Convention. Twelve years had elapsed since
Guatemala had first reported to the Committee.
The Guatemalan government's response was:
"The
whole chapter on the family within the civil code had been
“reformulated”, and a provision had been made to improve the quality of
life for women in the home and provide “conjugal representation” for
minor women. Laws were still pending to change the penal code
further, but considerable progress had been made in that regard.
Reforms in the civil code with regard to the legal age of marriage
should be discussed, but there had been a failure on the part of the
Congress to do so. A commitment to have such a dialogue, however,
had been indicated." more
In other words, blame Congress. Ex-GSN member Hannah Roberts wrote a recent article for the Lancet
on the need for a coordinated approach to sexual health policy in
Guatemala.
The UN Committee considered an extensive range of issues,
far more than we can include in this blog post. So for more info: read the full report from the meeting. For more information on the issue of femicide, the International Federation of Human Rights, published (19-04-2006) an in-depth report
in Spanish on the issue in Guatemala and Mexico. The report makes a
number of key recommendations, and is another indicator or
international pressure on Guatemala to take action on violence against
women.
UPDATE: This recent investigation in Guatemalan paper El Peridico was published (5th June 2006) in the death of Claudina Velasquez.
This follows a week where international pressure was built with the Washington Office for Latin America (WOLA) succeding to get a letter
to US State Department Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere
Affairs, Thomas Shannon, with more than 100 U.S. Members of Congress
are expressing deep concern for the brutal killings of women in
Guatemala and urge the Department of State to publicly support efforts
for the protection of women and human rights defenders in that country.
Amnesty International have recently posted this urgent action (UA).
This latest UA (UA 137/06) is about a very worring development where
many members of two Guatemalan organisations doing very important work
to defend Guatemalan human rights defenders have been threatened with
death. The following is part of AI's urgent action:
"Members of the Unidad de Protección de
Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos (UPDDH) and the Movimiento
Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (MNDH) have recently been intimidated
and have received death threats in what appears to be an effort to
dissuade them from their work. Both organisations are involved in the
defence of human rights and protection of human rights defenders.
Amnesty International is concerned for their safety.
On 15 May at approximately 8:45am, a telephone call was received by a
member of the MNDH. A male voice said "si siguen buscando los vamos a
matar" "if you continue looking we are going to kill you". Three days
earlier on 12 May the same caller had said "no se metan en mierda"
"don’t get involved in shit".
On 11 May, a female caller had asked for specific information regarding
who worked in the offices which MNDH and UPPDH share, their areas of
work, as well as what investigations and research they are currently
conducting. The caller was repeatedly asked her name and who she worked
for but refused to give any information. While no direct threat was
made, the tone and nature of the call was considered threatening by the
staff at MNDH and UPDDH.
The UPDDH is currently providing support to a series of cases involving
both individual human rights defenders and human rights organisations
in the capital and the regions of Petén, Zacapa, Escuintla and Jutiapa.
It is also involved in documenting cases of attacks against human
rights defenders and lobbying the Government of Guatemala to
investigate and bring to justice those responsible.
The UPDDH and MNDH are also active in briefing international governments and
organisations on the human rights situation in Guatemala. The MNDH is
active in the Frente Contra la Mineria, Front Against Mining and in
implementing the recommendations of the UN Comisión de Esclarecimiento
Historico, Commission for Historical Clarification which investigated
abuses committed during the internal armed conflict.
The MNDH in recent months has been aiding the Procuradoría de los
Derechos Humanos, Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, in surveying,
collating and organising thousands of pages of documents, uncovered in
2005, of the former National Police (replaced by the National Civilian
Police in 1997). The documents are believed to contain information
regarding numerous instances of human rights violations committed by
members of the National Police during the internal armed conflict
(1960–96), including disappearances, kidnappings and torture."
You can download the UPDDH's latest human rights report Jan-April 2006 in Spanish here. It details many of the most recent intimidation and threats received by human rights defenders in Guatemala in recent months.
With winter (our summer) approaching in Guatemala, many of the
communities affected by Hurricane Stan in October 2005 are worried that
the work of rebuilding is going too slowly. Articles are starting to appear in the Guatemalan press that reinforce this worry that communities are still all too vulnerable to winter flooding.
Recently the following video was posted on the internet by guatemalago.org of what it was
like in Panajachel when Stan struck last year. The pictures are very
sobering, and help bring home to those who were not there, what it was
like for those Guatemalans who felt the full force of the hurricane and
its consequences.
Sandy Henderson, after spending time in Guatemala, has put together
with Barbara Lowe, a brilliant exhibition on Mayan weaving at the Reading Internationcal Solidarity Centre (RISC).
Sandy has put the exhibition together with the support of GSN and the
Mayan Hands, a fair trade organisation that works with a large number of
Mayan women weavers, particularly around Solola and Lake Atitlan, but
also other parts of the highland regions.
For more information about the exhibition, contact RISC. You can see more photos of the exhibition here.
According to the Sunday Herald
in Scotland, it has been announced that Jesus Tecu Osorio, a Guatemalan
human rights campaigner, has been shortlisted for the Robert Burns
Humanitarian Award 2006. There will soon been further information on
the Burns Festival website.
This following letter was sent by the Human Rights Ombudsman in response to our letter to the Guatemalan President about the deaths of two land rights campaigners in Guatemala.
Guatemala, 12 de mayo de 2006.
Señores y Señoras:
Associació d'Amistat amb el Poble de Guatemala Barcelona, España
Associació de Solidaritat amb Amèrica Llatina, Elx-Elche Elche, España
Carea e.V. (Alemania)
Haus der Demokratie und Menschenrechte Berlin, DEUTSCHLAND - ALEMANIA
Centro de Documentación y Solidaridad con América Latina y África (CEDSALA, Valencia)
CEDSALA (Centro de Documentación y Solidaridad con América Latina y África) Valencia, España
Col.lectiu de Solidaritat d'Alacant-Alicante Alicante, España
Col.lectiu de Solidaritat La Costera, Xàtiva Xàtiva, España.
Colectivo de Solidaridad "El Sur también existe", Elda-Petrer Elda, España.
Collectif Guatemala - Comité de solidaridad francés con Guatemala Paris, FRANCE – FRANCIA
Comité de Solidaridad Internacionalista de Zaragoza Zaragoza, España
Comité de Solidaridad con América Latina de Murcia Murcia, España
Comité de Solidaritat COSPALLA, Alcoi Alcoi, España
Coordinadora de Comités de Solidaridad del País Valenciano Valencia, España
Coordinadora del Estado Español de Solidaridad con Guatemala Valencia, España
Guatemala Solidarity Network – GSN (INGLATERRA)
Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala de EE.UU. (NISGUA) Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Solidaridad con Guatemala de Austria Guatemala Solidarität Österreich Wien, ÖSTERREICH – AUSTRIA
Welthaus Dioezese Graz-Seckau (Austria) Graz, ÖSTERREICH – AUSTRIA
Grupo Belga de Apoyo a la Justicia y la Paz en Guatemala Red europea de Comités Oscar Romero
Presente:
Por este medio, atentamente me dirijo a ustedes, en nombre del Procurador de los Derechos Humanos, Dr. Sergio Fernando Morales, para acusar recibo de la copia en formato electrónico/digital, fechada París, Francia 18.4.2006, de la carta dirigida al Presidente de la República de Guatemala, Licenciado Óscar Berger Perdomo, con referencia a los asesinatos de activistas de derechos humanos en Guatemala.
Aprovecho la ocasión para remitirles por esta misma vía la documentación más reciente elaborada por la Institución del Procurador, en referencia al tema de la labor de los defensores y defensoras de derechos humanos en Guatemala.
Con saludos cordiales,
Conrado Martínez Jefe de la Unidad de Mecanismos e Instrumentos Internacionales de la IPDH. cmartinez@pdh.org.gt
The Independent has written about what Glamis is doing in Honduras as well as in Guatemala in San Marcos. We have written about the Marlin mine many times, most recently about an online petition that you can sign to protest against it. The petition is organised by Rights Action. They are quoted in the Independent piece:
"The Canada-based group Rights Action, which works to support Guatemalan and Honduran activists, said the problem was not Glamis itself, but rather a development model that allowed international companies to exploit resources with few obvious benefits to the population. "I don't think there are any discernable benefits but I think there are discernable harms and violations of human rights when these mines operate in these sorts of places," said Grahame Russell, a spokesman."
This article seems to be based heavily on the CAFOD report, 'Counting the Cost of Gold' published in May 2006. The 68 page report chose two case studies, DRC Congo and Honduras, and unfortunately only makes a few passing references to the situation in Guatemala.
We don't usually include go off-country on this blog- but it isn't often that there is a chance to hear a Latin American president speak in London. So we'll make an exception...
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will now be speaking at a public meeting organised by the Greater London Authority in central London on Sunday 14th May at 3-7pm at the Camden Centre, 38-50 Bidborough St, London WC1.
President Hugo Chavez will address the meeting hosted by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. President Chavez Frias will address the meeting on current social and economic policies issues in Venezuela that are relevant to London.
People are required to register their names with the GLA or they will not be admitted. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis and there is no charge for entry. To register you must contact anna.roberts@london.gov.uk or sandeep.sra@london.gov.uk.
Oscar Berger, Guatemala's President was quoted yesterday by EFE (10-05-06) as saying that Chavez is increasingly trying to influence politics in Central America. Berger is also in Europe at the moment for negotiations over the trade pact between Central America, South America and the European Union. The event is referred to as the 'Business Summit'
For those that don't already know, on the 5th October 2005 the
Constitutional Court in Spain accepted the principal of Universal
Jurisdiction for the case presented to them by Rigoberta Menchú,
against the goverments of Guatemala between 1962 and 1996, citing acts
of genocide, terriorism and torture.
On 3rd April 2006, Guatemalan judge Saul Alvarez announced
that both witnesses and those implicated in these cases have been
summoned to give evidence, with a view to the commissions (la
comisión rogatoria) visit in June/July 2006. Ex-presidents
Efrain Rios Montt and Humberto Mejía Victores are scheduled to give
evidence on 28th June 2006.
The Coordination for International Accompaniment in Guatemala
(CAIG), which includes ACOGUATE, consider that witnesses giving
testimony will be greatly at risk at during this time and
therefore wish to increase the presence of accompaniers in the
communities where we already accompany witnesses. They also
anticipate an increase in demand for accompaniment by organisations who
are involved in supporting this process.
More accompaniers are urgently needed as soon as
possible. CAIG would particularly like to see experienced
accompaniers return, if possible. There will still be a
requirement to attend refresher training and stay for a minimum of
3 months. However, for anyone that would be able to do
this, this will be a very interesting and important time in the
struggle for justice in Guatemala and in the development of the
genocide cases.
For more information about becoming an international accompanier: click here.
The Silence of Neto trailer in English has just been posted on the net (seemingly by none other than Luis Argueta). It's one of the most acclaimed Guatemalan film (1994) and it's produced and directed by Luis Argueta. The screenplay was written by Justo Chang and Luis Argueta. According to 'Rotten Tomatoes':
"The Guatemalan film
EL SILENCIO DE NETO chronicles one boy's coming-of-age against the
backdrop of one of the most contentious periods in the country's
history. Neto is a young teenager in 1950s Guatemala, just beginning to
grow into manhood and experiencing the simultaneously thrilling and
confusing emotions of adolescence.
Although his strict, traditional
family represses his development, even more threatening is the
revolutionary movement sweeping Guatemala, spurred on by CIA-funded
propaganda, that will eventually plunge the country into a long and
bloody civil war. EL SILENCIO DE NETO utilizes the effective device of
having an adolescent's rise to adulthood mirror the troubled social
climate of his land."
It was interesting to read about the recent (all too rare) debate on
Latin America and recent political changes across the continent. You
can read the debate in full here.
Guatemala was mentioned. In particular by Jeremy Corbyn MP who was
in Guatemala a few months ago. In his speech in the debate, he said this in relation to Guatemala:
"The issues also relate to land ownership and access to land. Early this year, I visited Guatemala. I was travelling by bus, and the main road to Guatemala City
from the Mexican border was closed for about a week, with gaps on and
off when it was opened, because of a peasant demonstration about land
ownership which had occupied the main highway.
The reaction of the travellers on the bus and at the bus station was
interesting. They were all greatly inconvenienced, because they had to
wait 24, 36 or 48 hours to travel, but they showed great sympathy for
the peasants who had occupied the road to stop the traffic going
through.
Guatemala has come through
the most horrific civil war. In its aftermath, the levels of crime are
unbelievably high, as many demobilised fighters from both sides have
kept their weapons and turned to crime instead. That brings up
questions about structures of government, human rights and all the
accompanying issues in the region."
After the Guatemalan army burned and killed the peasants of their village, Mateo and his family took refuge in the mountains of El Quiché. There they found thousands of refugees escaped from another massacres.
Friday, 5th May 2006 at 7:20pm at Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, London (UK)
Post by Morven Gregor- Artistic Director- Mouth of Silence- Birds of Paradise Theatre Company
Readers of reports such as REMHI (Recovery of Historical Memory 1998) or CEH (Historical Clarification Commission 1999) are probably all too familiar with the catalogue of atrocities visited on the people of Guatemala during the 36 years of conflict. Unfortunately, both then and now, most folk in the UK know nothing about it.
Ten years on from the signing of peace in December 1996 – how much media coverage will that anniversary get here in the UK?
That’s why as the touring production for 2006, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company are creating Mouth of Silence a new play inspired by the struggle for justice in Guatemala.
In some ways, the process started a long time ago, before I became an Artistic Director and volunteered with the Guatemalan Accompaniment Group living with a community of returned refugees in the Department of Huehuetenango. That experience in some ways inspired this year’s production.
However, theatre is a collaborative process and everyone involved in the workshopping (pre-rehearsal) period brought something to the process.
Writer, Gerry Loose has worked on many projects connected with peace and conflict resolution. One of the actors, Rachel Amey, had passed through the country, travelling. Designer Claire Halleran visited Guatemala in January this year. So, with a sense of creative enquiry, the help of others who had worked and volunteered there and lots of research materials we spent several days together exploring what we wanted the production to be.
Large issues demand a large canvass and for this reason we decided the performance will combine scenes in promenade and outdoor stations as well as in more traditional indoor theatre spaces. The audience and performers will mingle in market and return scenes, heightening their involvement in the piece. Working with deaf actor, EJ Raymond, we also decided to make the production inclusively signed – using the relationship between sign language and English as a parallel to the power relations between indigenous languages and Spanish in Guatemala.
With all these decisions made, we went our separate ways: Gerry to produce the script, Claire the model box and me to wait for the results!
So far, so good – rehearsals start on the 22nd May and we open at the Tramway Theatre, Glasgow on 22nd June as part of Refugee Week, before touring across Scotland.
Come and see the show, if you can. We’ll also tour a small exhibition and information stall, encouraging people to take action related to Guatemala.
And if you can’t join us we plan to have a tour weblog, so you can see how the production progresses across the country.
Production opens at the Tramway Theatre, Glasgow 22nd – 24th June 7.30pm And then tours throughout Scotland; including Edinburgh, Taynuilt, Ballachulish, Banchory, Drumnadrochit, Isles of Gigha, Harris and North and South Uist.
Welcome, Guatemala Solidarity Network (GSN) based in the United Kingdom supports the people of Guatemala who continue to struggle for change after centuries of oppression, violence, racism and exploitation.
You can keep in touch with all the news and views on Guatemala in many, many blogs and sources of information here via Pageflakes.
