Today, representatives of the communities of San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc participated in a reunion called by the President of the Republic, Otto Pérez Molina. The meeting was scheduled for 10:30 in the Presidential House. The Minister of Energy and Mines, Erick Archila, the Interior Minister, Mauricio López Bonilla and representatives of the American company, Kappes, Cassiday and Associates also participated. Community members asked that the mining representatives leave, as the conversation was with the government, not the company.

The meeting with successful in the sense that the communities were able to share with the President their reasons for firmly maintaining their resistance to the mine.

Some of the communities’ concerns include:

1. In their municipalities, the presence of naturally occurring arsenic is eight times higher than international standards, and any mining will raise those levels further still.

2. The Environmental Impact Study presented by the mine had many problems. It even mentioned the possible displacement of communities, which is unacceptable. In addition, it doesn’t cover all of the risks that the mining activity could present to the health of the communities.

3. Currently, the municipalities are facing water shortages. They are on the edge of the dry corridor, and as an agricultural region, they depend on this resource.

4. There was no prior information or consultation with the communities, even though Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization requires the consultation of indigenous peoples about projects which will affect them.

5. The actions of the company toward the population have been disrespectful and illegal: verbal and written threats, flyers with slanderous messages, provocations, and aggression, etc. The subsidiary, Servicios Mineros de Centroamérica is facing judicial processes for threats made against journalists.

For his part, the President took into consideration the concerns put forth by the communities and proposed that a new environmental impact study be carried out. The topic has not been exhausted, and  meetings between the government and the communities will continue.

Even though this is a positive step, the communities are clear that they still say NO to the mine. As one leader, Yolanda Oquelí said “You don’t negotiate with life, you defend it.” The resistance in La Puya continues.

El día de hoy, representantes de las comunidades de San José del Golfo y San Pedro Ayampuc, participaron en una reunión convocada por el Presidente de la República Otto Pérez Molina. La cita fue a las 10:30, en Casa Presidencial, participaron también el ministro de energía y minas Erick Archila, el ministro de Gobernación Mauricio López Bonilla, así como representantes del la empresa estadounidense Kappes, Cassiday & Associates. Los comunitarios pidieron el retiro de los representantes de la mina, debido a que la conversación era con el gobierno de Guatemala y no con la empresa.

La reunión fue exitosa en el sentido de que las comunidades pudieron compartir con el Presidente sus razones por mantenerse firmes en su resistencia a la mina.

 Algunas de las preocupaciones de las comunidades incluyen:

1. Que en sus municipios la presencia del arsénico de forma natural está 8 veces por encima de los estándares internacionales, ante lo cual cualquier trabajo minero incrementaría esos niveles.
2. El Estudio de Impacto Ambiental, presentando por la minera presenta muchas deficiencias. Se menciona incluso de un posible desplazamiento de las comunidades, lo que consideran como algo inaceptable. Por aparte, no advierte acerca de todos los riesgos que la actividad minera representaría para la salud de las comunidades.
3. Actualmente sus municipios ya presentan niveles de escases de agua, están al borde del corredor seco y siendo una región agrícola dependen de este recurso.
4. No hubo información ni consulta previa a las comunidades y en el Convenio 169 de la OIT se establece que la consulta a los pueblos indígenas sobre proyectos que les afecten deben ser previamente consultados con ellos.
5. El actuar de la empresa hacia la población ha sido irrespetuosa e ilegal: amenazas verbales, escritas, volantes con mensajes difamatorios, provocaciones y agresiones, etc. Incluso su subsidiaria, Servicios Mineros de Centroamérica, enfrenta un proceso jurídico por amenazas en contra de periodistas.

Por su parte, el Presidente tomó en consideración las preocupaciones planteadas por las comunidades y propuso la realización de un nuevo estudio de impacto ambiental. El tema no está agotado y se continuará con las reuniones entre gobierno y las comunidades.

Aunque este sea un paso positivo, las comunidades están claras en decir NO a la minería. Como dice la lideresa Yolanda Oqueli: “la vida no se negocia, se defiende”. La resistencia en La Puya continúa.

The Organization of American States had its 43^rd General Assembly in Antigua, Guatemala. In attendance were 28 chancellors and 500 representatives from member countries, as well as 80 permanent observing countries. The main topic of discussion was drugs, though there were no major developments or changes in policy.

Pérez Molina and Kerry’s Bilateral Meeting

US Secretary of State John Kerry and President Otto Pérez Molina met and discussed the United States’ migration reform and the situation of Guatemalans in the United States.  Molina expressed many worries; for example, how to stop deportations of Guatemalan migrants and that Guatemala should be involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Ontario Securities Commission Is Investigating Tahoe Resources

Tahoe Resources, a Canadian mining company, is being investigated by the Ontario Securities Commission in relation to the six people shot outside of the Escobal mines on April 27. It is reported that six of Tahoe’s employees have been implicated in the crime based on phone taps from the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor’s Office. As heard in court, Tahoe’s security director, Alberto Rotondo, ordered the murders of the protestors. The Justice and Corporate Accountability Project asked the Ontario Securities Commission to investigate Tahoe Resources claiming that the mining company had downplayed and hidden what their workers had done.

El Salvadoran Archbishop asks for no mine

The Archbishop of El Salvador, José Luis Escobar, is asking the company Goldcorp to not build the Cerro Blanco mine in Jutiapa, Guatemala.  Archbishop Escobar says this construction affects El Salvador, too, because it will contaminate two important rivers. El Salvador has claimed that the mine is already polluting their rivers and lakes, though Otto Pérez Molina denies their claim.

Genocide Trial Updates:

New Judges Named for Retrial of Rios Montt

Irma Yanet Valdes will replace Yassmin Barrios as the presiding judge over the trial of former dictator Rios Montt’s and former general Rodríquez Sánchez. There are 21 criminal proceedings which have to be heard before the Rios Montt case can be retried. For this reason, they have scheduled the trial of Rios Montt and Rodriguez Sanchez for March 2014.  Rios Montt will now also have to face a criminal trial for the massacre of Dos Erres.

Ríos Montt Out of Hospital and Under House Arrest

After nearly a month of being hospitalized, Ríos Montt was released late last night from the Military Medical Center. The First Tribunal B decided that instead of going to jail, he will remain under house arrest until he is retried. His defense team argued that jailing him would be illegal as his sentence had been overturned by the Constitutional Court. There will not be any guards assigned to Montt’s home.

On Saturday, we at GHRC had the pleasure of taking part in a powerful art installation in Washington, DC. After three years of preparation, the organization One Million Bones blanketed a section of the National Mall with bones made of various materials to bring attention to genocide committed around the world. The organizers of One Million Bones had extended a special invitation to GHRC and the Guatemala community to take part and commemorate Guatemala’s genocide victims.

GHRC staff, interns and volunteers, joined thousands of others in laying out the bones. Our group took the opportunity to read the names of the victims in the Ixil Triangle included in the charges against former generals Ríos Montt and Rodríguez Sánchez.

We posted a photo of the event on our Facebook page on Saturday afternoon, and were shocked to see the response. Our wall was covered by an energetic debate about genocide in Guatemala. It was heartwarming to see all the comments in support of justice for victims, but sad to see that there were also many comments full of hate, anger, and denial of the crimes committed against Guatemala’s indigenous people.

Unfortunately, many of the people who posted on our wall are the same people who have been spreading the same messages of hate and denial in the Guatemalan media and organizing protests in support of those who committed atrocities.

The courageous genocide survivors, along with their lawyers, the judges, and the organizations who support justice, have been victim to this type of attack constantly since the Ríos Montt trial began. The messages in the media in Guatemala are not just slander. They are threats of violence. For example, Ricardo Méndez Ruiz, founder of the Foundation Against Terrorism, who posted on our wall, said in an interview with Guatemalan TV station Guatevision that the civil society leaders pushing for justice could be assassinated. In his post on GHRC’s facebook page, he called us a “terrorist organization.”

We don’t want to hide this debate going on in Guatemalan society, but we adamantly condemn the use of defamation, threats and messages of hate. We would love to see our page covered with messages of support for justice and for the victims and survivors of genocide. Can you add your voice

Many of the posts are about whether or not genocide was committed in  Guatemala. The evidence presented at the genocide trial against Ríos Montt and Rodríguez Sánchez was meticulous and extensive. You can read more about the trial in our publication, El Quetzal, here. For even more detailed information about the evidence presented, you can read www.riosmontt-trial.org.

Those who deny that genocide was committed in Guatemala do so not based on any evidence, but by making claims like “the army was simply defending the country against communists.” Or: “the guerrillas committed abuses too.” The first claim was extensively refuted in the genocide trial.

Survivor testimony, expert witnesses and forensic evidence showed that the vast majority of those killed in the Ixil triangle were not killed in combat, but executed, often in gruesome ways, and that many of the victims were either elderly, or young children.

The second claim is addressed in the report produced by the UN backed Commission for Historical Clarification, which does document that some human rights abuses were committed by guerrilla forces, but that 93% of the abuses were committed by military or paramilitary forces, and only 3% were committed by the guerrillas. In the other 4% of cases it was not clear who was the perpetrator.

There are powerful sectors in Guatemala who benefit from impunity for crimes of the past. These sectors, including Guatemala’s business elite and military, have launched an all-out offensive to ensure that they and their cronies are never held accountable and the courts can be bent to their wishes.

Help us stand with genocide survivors and their supporters in Guatemala as they work for a just and peaceful Guatemala. Post your message for justice on our Facebook wall, and we’ll print them all out and present them to Guatemalan survivors as a show of solidarity.

The City of Antigua Guatemala, was recently host to the 43^rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS). In attendance were 28 Foreign Ministers and Secretaries of State, as well as other diplomats and representatives of the Guatemalan government.

At the same time that the General Assembly was being inaugurated, the VigilAgainst Impunity was taking place in Antigua’s Central Park. Human rights activists from Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, Brasil, Canada, and Guatemala gathered to remember the victims of Guatemala’s internal armed conflict. The participants made clear their disapproval of the Constitutional Court’s annulment of the sentence in the genocide case against General Efrain Rios Montt, an act which denies justice to the Maya Ixil victims and survivors.

The activists voiced their solidarity with the men and women who survived the genocide, and who valiantly testified in the courtroom during the trial. “Your struggle is our struggle. The judgment against the dictator Rios Montt was also a triumph for justice in all of Latin America,” stated one of the participants.

Women’s organizations highlighted the strength and courage of the Ixil women who were victims of sexual violence during the conflict, and who gave their powerful and heartbreaking testimonies during the trial. They are an example for all the women who suffered under the dictatorships that devastated Latin America.

The vigil was illuminated by the memory of each one of the disappeared. The music of young artists, poems, and words of solidarity filled the park by Antigua’s cathedral.

Vigilia contra la Impunidad

Antigua Guatemala, 4 de Junio de 2013

En Antigua Guatemala se desarrolló en días pasados la 43 Asamblea General de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA). Asistieron los cancilleres de los países miembros, cuerpo diplomático acreditado en el país y ministros del Estado guatemalteco.

Mientras esta Asamblea se inauguraba, se desarrollaba la Vigilia contra la Impunidad en la plaza central de Antigua Guatemala, en ella se congregaron activistas de derechos humanos de México, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panamá, Costa Rica, Honduras, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia,  Brasil, Canadá y Guatemala, para recordar a las víctimas del conflicto armado interno en el país; para manifestar su rechazo a la resolución hecha por la Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC), que anula la sentencia por genocidio y deberes contra la humanidad, dictada en contra del general José Efraín Ríos Montt, con esta anulación se niega el derecho a Justicia a las víctimas del genocidio Ixil.

Cada uno de los activistas tomó la palabra, manifestando su solidaridad y haciendo un reconocimiento para todas las mujeres y hombres sobrevivientes, que valientemente presentaron sus testimonios ante el tribunal que conocio el caso. Un activista latinoamericano expresó: “Su lucha fue nuestra, la sentencia dictada contra el dictador Ríos Montt, fue también un triunfo para la Justicia en América Latina…”.

Así también, organizaciones de mujeres manifestaron que la  fuerza, la valentía de las mujeres víctimas de violencia sexual al dar sus desgarradores testimonios durante el juicio, son un ejemplo para muchas que también fueron víctimas durante las dictaduras que azotaron en Latinoamérica.

La vigilia estuvo iluminada con el recuerdo de cada uno de los desaparecidos. La música de jóvenes artistas, poemas y palabras de solidaridad se escucharon esa noche a un costado de la catedral de esa ciudad guatemalteca.

Our organizations have documented an alarming increase in violence and human rights violations. While we recognize that transnational crime and drug-trafficking play a role in this violence, we call on our governments to acknowledge that failed security policies that have militarized citizen security have only exacerbated the problem, and are directly contributing to increased human suffering in the region,” the letter states.

Today regional leaders will close the XLIII General Assembly of the Organization of American States with a call to “seek improved policies in the fight against the drug problem in the Americas.”

The discussion follows the recent OAS report on the issue that notes that the current military/police strategies have not been sufficiently flexible to take into account new situations and calls for evaluating the legalization of marijuana.

The letter, originally sent to regional leaders gathering at the Central American meeting last month, calls on the U.S. government, the major proponent of the military/police model in the region through its security aid, to end military foreign aid for the drug war and focus on domestic efforts, including cracking down on money-laundering and arms smuggling and ending prohibitionist policies.

The civil society organizations of human rights defenders, women, farmers and professionals asked their governments to:

“Propose a new model for security cooperation that provides alternatives to the ongoing war on drugs, such as regulation rather than prohibition, strong regional anti-money laundering efforts, and withdrawal of the armed forces from domestic law enforcement.”

You can see the whole letter with all the signers here.

On May 10, 2013, the Guatemalan tribunals found General Ríos Montt guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. We urge that this verdict be honored and upheld. Reopening the process will only re-victimize witnesses. We express our concern for the safety of the witnesses, lawyers, and judges. As people who have worked for many years in Guatemala, including researching the histories of racism and exploitation, we affirm that these are the causes of the violence—not the recovery of truth.

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

31 mayo 2013

La Red de Investigadores y Estudioso/as de Guatemala (Guatemala Scholars Network) en el XXXI Congreso Internacional de la Asociación de Estudios Latinoamericanos votó para expresar su solidaridad y preocupación sobre los procesos judiciales contra los Generales Efraín Ríos Montt y Rodríguez Sánchez.  Fundada en 1983, la Red es una asociación con mas de 400 personas que representan mas de 100 organizaciones académicas, religiosas y no gubernamentales (ONGs).

En mayo 10, 2013, los tribunales de Guatemala declararon al General Ríos Montt culpable de genocidio y crímenes contra la humanidad.  Demandamos que este veredicto sea respetado y cumplido.  Reabrir el proceso solamente re victimizará a los testigos.  Expresamos nuestra preocupación por la seguridad de los testigos, abogados y jueces.  Por tratarse de personas que hemos trabajado investigaciones sobre Guatemala, incluyendo el racismo, la violencia, y la  explotación, entendemos que estas son las historias que han producido hechos deplorables, y no la recuperación de la verdad.

Portillo is facing charges of conspiracy to launder $70,000. Defense lawyers insist  that “our position has been that it is an illegal extradition, and still is.” Meanwhile, Portillo himself continues to deny the allegations, saying that it is a revenge scheme of conservative Americans to get back at him for refusing to support the US’s invasion of Iraq. The embezzlement schemes include one which involved $1.5 million intended for Guatemalan school children.

Abuses of Women in San Rafael Las Flores Denounced by the Alliance of Women

In its initial report on the state of siege in San Rafael las Flores, the Alliance of Women’s Policy Branch denounced the challenges facing wives of Xinca parliament leaders, and soldiers’ harassment of women and young girls in the region. Lorena Cabal of the Association of Indigenous Women of Santa María Xalapán says the women have no access to medical care, and must struggle with tremendous workloads while the men negotiate in meetings all day. A complaint filed in Mataquesculinta states that soldiers stationed outside a primary school had been sexually harassing young girls.

High rates of Unwanted Pregnancies Point to Increased Sexual Violence Against Women

In the first 2 months of 2013, the Ministry of Health registered 223 reports of unwanted pregnancies of girls between the ages of 10 and 14. Last year, of the 3,000 reported pregnancies of girls 10-14, 1,800 complaints were filed.  Only 50 were investigated and resulted in convictions. Officials cite higher incidents of rape, particularly in the regions Petén, Jutiapa, Huehuetenango, and Alta Verapaz. The Ministry of Health has announced plans to strengthen its office of women to combat the violence, and calls on international donors to support the new policies.

Maya Mam Council Demand a Hault on Mining Projects

Leaders and members of the Maya Mam Saqtx’otx’ Chinab’jul Council, formed by residents of the 13 municipalities of Huehuetenango, have demanded that the government stop forcing mining projects on their communities. The request, which states that unwanted mining projects threaten and undermine their territory and its natural resources, was made during the third anniversary of the declaration of a mining-free region. The Council also demanded that the persecution against people who oppose these projects stop immediately.

Amnesty International’s 2013 Human Rights Report Released

Amnesty International released their annual report rights for 2013, detailing the state of human rights in Guatemala. Overall, the report brought attention to the topics of corporate accountability, impunity, indigenous peoples’ rights, and the continued persecution of human rights defenders in the country.

Perez Molina’s Approval Rate Falls

President Otto Pérez Molina’s approval rating has fallen 20% since May 2012. In a survey taken by Gallup, citizens listed unemployment and violence as the country’s two most pressing problems.  When asked if they believed Guatemala was on the right track, 70% of respondents answered unfavorably.  However, regardless of these results, the President currently holds a 58% approval rating as a public figure.

Trial Update: Following the overturning of Ríos Montt’s conviction, protesters marched throughout Latin America to denounce the decision to annul the genocide trial. Protests occurred Argentina, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala, among others. Ríos Montt’s defense team has since come up with a new strategy for challenging the verdict, alleging Article 8 of the 1996 National Reconciliation Act is unconstitutional and should therefore terminate criminal prosecution against him. The defense also claim that the international conventions that previously signed to punish human rights violations went into effect after Rios Montt served as head of state, and that furthermore, the convention does not specify genocide as crime that is legally punishable.

Plaza Publica interviewd Alan Narin about the trial, US intervention in the armed conflict, implications against Pérez Molína. Two letters to the editor appeared regarding recent NY Times op-eds on the genocide trial. Meanwhile, conversations among international press abound as La Hora covers the NY Times coverage of the genocide trial.

La marcha contra la impunidad, terminó frente a la CC, en donde los manifestantes, entre ellos varios líderes comunitarios, lanzaron varios mensajes al máximo órgano constitucional, la demanda de Justicia fue el llamado más fuerte.

The Guatemala’s highest court, the Constitutional Court (CC), recently snatched justice from the hands of the victims and survivors of General Efraín Rios Montt’s bloody dictatorship. On May 10^th Montt was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, and sentenced to 80 years in prison. The CC voted 3-2 to annul that sentence. Most analysts agree that the court was under severe pressure form the economic elite organized in CACIF (Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations), itself accused of playing a nefarious role during the internal armed conflict.

Despite the CC’s highly questionable decision to annul the sentence and repeat part of the trial, the verdict was handed down and RíosMontt was found guilty. Neither the CC nor Montt’s defense attorneys can erase the historic truth: in Guatemala there was genocide!

Following the “route of impunity”, the march began at the CACIF offices, continued on the Supreme Court where Montt had been tried, and ended at the Constitutional Court.

Thousands of men and women took to the streets, shouting slogans demanding justice and respect for the victims and survivors.

Some of the refrains: “the struggle for life is the struggle for justice”, “a people without justice are a people without peace”, “the three justices of the CC are a shame to the nation”.

Marcha contra la Impunidad

El máximo órgano de Justicia de Guatemala, la Corte de Constitucionalidad, CC, arrebata la Justicia a las víctimas y sobrevivientes de la dictadura del general Efraín Ríos Montt. Tres de los cinco magistrados votaron para anular la sentencia. Para que la CC tomara dicha decisión, se dice, hubo fuertes presiones de algunos sectores, entre ellos, el Comité Coordinador de Asociaciones Agrícolas, Comerciales, Industriales y Financieras, CACIF, señalados también de jugar un papel nefasto durante todo el conflicto armado interno en el país.

Aunque la CC, haya tomado la cuestionada decisión de anular la condena contra Ríos Montt, la sentencia ya fue dicha, ni la CC ni la defensa  del general podrá borrar la verdad histórica: en Guatemala, Sí hubo genocidio.

Este fue el camino de la impunidad en Guatemala, la marcha partió de la Cámara de la Industria de Guatemala, pasando por la Corte Suprema de Justicia y terminando en la Corte de Constitucionalidad.

Miles de hombres y mujeres al ritmo de las consignas, recorrieron las calles de la ciudad de Guatemala.

La voces de la marcha: La lucha por la vida es la lucha por la Justicia; Un pueblo sin Justicia es un Pueblo sin Paz; Por la Justicia y la Verdad no más impunidad; y Tres magistrados de la CC Vergüenza nacional