Weekly News Roundup

August 31-Sept 13

• President Otto Pérez to attend dinner hosted by the Obamas During his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, President Otto Pérez will attend a gala dinner put on by President Obama and the First Lady on September 24th. He is also scheduled to meet with former President Bill Clinton on the 24th about the program Habre Cero. The following day he will speak at the UN General Assembly.

• Guatemalan court rules to extradite former President Portillo to the US Guatemala has announced that former President Alfonso Portillo will be extradited to the US, removing any possibility of him using the country’s notorious injunction, the “amparo”, to halt future proceedings.

• Military march in favor of Rios Montt  According to the General’s defense lawyer the purpose of the march is to demand an independent judiciary, that judges do not interfere with the proceedings and that the Law of National Reconciliation be applied and forgiveness be given. Rios Montt’s defense attorney has filed a claim of unconsitutionality  before the Constitutional Court to prevent his prosecution for the Dos Erres massacres.

• US military aid: yesterday and today Plaza Publica studies the training, military aid, and arms sales between the US and Guatemala and the legal conflicts and barriers established by both countries since 1976.

• Court authorizes Prosecutor’s Office to investigate military members for fire at Spanish Embassy The Court B of High Risk authorized the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate ten members of the military who have been accused of impeding the access of firemen to the Spanish embassy during the fire in 1980 in which 36 people, mostly indigenous Guatemalans protesting atrocities in their communities, died.

• Human rights violations in development projects The authors of the book “Public Policies, Human Rights and Popular Resistance Processes between 2003-2011” stated that since 2003 more than 1 million people have participated in community consultations, every time rejecting the installment of mining and development projects in their area.

• Guatemala approves first US-bound adoption in 5 years Guatemala has authorized the first adoption of a Guatemalan child by a US family after a five-year moratorium to investigate alleged corruption and irregularities in the process.

• Guatemala denied jurisdiction of the IACHR to rule on human right violations which occurred before 1987 With two sentences pending that could result in the payment of a Q150 million, the Government has denied the IAHRC’s jurisdiction to rule on human rights violations that occurred before 1987.