As we noted in December, Rigoberta Menchu's genocide case was brought to a halt by a decision in the Guatemalan Constitutional Court. Judge Santiago Pedraz, who seems to have infinite reserves of patience and persistence, has decided on a new tactic: a direct appeal for anyone with evidence about the Guatemalan genocide to place it before his court.

He made the call in a writ or auto issued on 16 January, which, besides this call, makes a number of withering attacks on the Guatemalan legal system and its compliance with international law. He complains in his writ about a "clear dilatory attitude" to all his requests for collaboration, culminating in the Constitutional Court decision. He also comments that all this "does no more than reiterate what has been long established, that Guatemala has done nothing to punish this crime" and that "Guatemala as a state is violating the commitment of all civilised nations to prevent and punish such a crime as established in the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide". In the face of this he says it is therefore imperative that investigations continue in Spain and he has no choice but to look to other means. He calls on the media in Guatemala, the countries bordering it and the United States to publish his call for information.

In a spirit of solidarity we also reproduce Judge Pedraz' call for information in its entirety here, and hope that any of our readers who might have information of the kind required will feel able to collaborate:


La Hora has already published dates for three groups of witnesses to appear.

The whole of Judge Pedraz' auto (four pages) is available as an attachment to this item.