Guatemala Solidarity Network

The Interamerican Commission on Human Rights recently concluded a visit to Guatemala. As one of the American bodies charged with oversight of the respect for human rights it periodically visits member states. These visits are part of its monitoring role, and form part of the input into its reports. The delegation's primary points of interest were the progress of cases against former high command in the civil war for human rights abuses, indigenous people and the safety of human rights defenders.

The recent political turmoil in the UK had many casualties, one of whom was Michael Martin, the speaker of the House who was forced out of office, the first time this has happened in more than 300 years. After a many horse race the new speaker has been elected, and the new one is already being given short odds for a short term by some. John Bercow, a conservative who apparently got the grand total of three votes from members of his own party might well be member for Herpetology representing the Chameleon Party given the complete change in his political views over his career. Many commentaries can be found elsewhere on his merits, his faults and political manoeuvring for his election.

However, my personal reason for taking special note of his election is that he is one of the few MPs who seem to know where Guatemala is, having asked several questions about the country: Hurricane Stan, death squads, extrajudicial executions. He is also currently the chair of the Genocide Prevention All Party Parliamentary Group, which raises awareness of the issue and tries to ensure the UK government does all it can to prevent it. 

Guatemala’s murder rate is ten times the world average. The harsh streets of Guatemala City are packed with drugs, gangs and guns. Caja Lúdica is a youth arts collective, using arts and carnival activities to promote a culture of peace in communities rocked by violence.

Using activities like drama, dance, acrobatics and stilt-walking, Caja Lúdica draws youngsters - including gang members - in to a range of social and educational opportunities. It aims to help these marginalised young people discover a sense of purpose and of worth. Many go on to find work in the arts sector. 

Caja Lúdica aims to reclaim community space for enjoyment and togetherness, and to help brutalised youngsters discover a sense of purpose and of worth, so they can grow into peaceful, responsible Guatemalan citizens.  

However, in less than 60 days, three members of Colectivo Caja Lúdica have been assassinated. “When somebody dies violently their soul does not rest, for this we ask of Ajaw (the Creador) that he accompanies our compañeros”, says Julia Escobar, director of the centre. 

The victims were Juan Manuel Orozco Ambrosio, alias El Fu, killed on the 5th April, Nexo Pineda, known as El Gordo, murdered on the 23rd May and Saulo Fernando González Estrada, ‘el Chucky’, died on 30th May together with five other youths.  

There is more here in Spanish from El Periodico.

 

Something made me check out the Al Jazeera website and I saw this little video. 

“During Guatemala's 36-year civil war in which at least 200,000 people died, victims of the government's death squads were buried in unmarked graves.  Now they are being exhumed in independent efforts to identify them so that their loved ones can lay them to rest. But the scientists are facing a number of hurdles.”

Expenses, or more properly allowances, are much in the news presently. It is perhaps, though, just a coincidence that recently a question was asked in parliament about the hardship allowance paid to diplomatic service employees, the Diplomatic Service Compensation Allowance.

It has been estimated that one half of the 6000 languages spoken in the world are under threat of extinction from globalisation, greater movement of people and mass communication in the dominant language of countries which are linguistically diverse.

Peace Brigades International are an organisation you may already be aware of: they train and place accompaniers in various countries of the world. In their own words: "PBI is an international NGO that has been promoting nonviolence and protecting human rights since 1981", and after their founding the second country they had a presence in was Guatemala. Though they withdrewfor a few years after the signing of the peace accords they have returned and have a programme there again. If you are interested in becoming an accompanier  they will be holding their next orientation weekend from 4-6 September in Buckinghamshire. You can find details here, along with an application form if you are interested in attending.

A murder foretold has convulsed Guatemala’s government. Its investigation will provide a test of whether or not Central America includes a failed state.  So begins this article in The Economist. It’s interesting that the article states ‘the murder rate (of nearly 50 per 100,000 people) is higher than its average during the war. Police and courts are understaffed, underpaid and susceptible to bribes and threats. According to the United Nations, just 2% of crimes in the country are solved.’  Yet, it is only the murder of Rosenberg on which hinges the title of ‘failed state’.  An interesting take but maybe not surprising.

Last Sunday, among the now routine roll-call of violent death in Guatemala appeared one name for whom the grave would not be silent. “Good Afternoon, my name is Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano… sadly if you are watching or hearing this message it is because I was murdered by President Alvaro Colom…” His accusations have been seized on to generate the most serious political crisis seen in Guatemala for some years. Allegations are made about other people too: the president’s wife, private secretary and a major party funder.

We have just received news from ACOGUATE of death threats and attacks suffered by staff of two human rights organizations in Guatemala, SEDEM and UDEFEGUA, in the last number of days.

The messages were personal and referred to the work they are doing on the army archives and insisting that they stop or harm will come to them and their children. 

Owing to their gravity, these threats and attacks have been notified to the proper Ministry (Ministerio Público) with the relevant threatening messages. 

SEDEM AND UDEFEGUA are part of the Convergence for Human Rights, an umbrella group of human rights organisations in Guatemala.  

The Convergence for Human Rights issued a statement expressing their solidarity with SEDEM and UDEFEGUA and calling on the ministry to carry out the necessary investigations. It has called on the Government to strengthen the necessary bodies in protecting those people who work in human rights. It has also called on the international community, including diplomatic missions within Guatemala and also CICIG to continue to accompany human rights defenders and asks that social movements and human rights defenders to stand together in the face of these attacks. 

If we hear more, we will provide updates.

 

This is from a new photomontage from James Rodríguez and MiMundo.

Next month, it will be 10 years since HIJOS Guatemala began their struggle in search of memory, truth and justice with reference to crimes against humanity committed by the Guatemalan state during the armed conflict. HIJOS is the acronym, in Spanish, for Sons and Daughters for Identity and Justice and against Forgetfulness and Silence.

The title is Jornadas de Empapeladas, or Days of Papering, which sums the article up. Interestingly, empapelar, as a verb, also means to create or open a file in a criminal process against someone.

Flickr: photos.robert 

Although the right to bear firearms is enshrined in the Guatemalan constitution, it is also a right that the Peace Accords agreed to limit. But over the past 12 years it has been impossible to approve a law to limit, at least partially, the use of firearms. Until March 31 when after a series of heated debates the Arms Law was finally ratified. Although the law is not as strict as many social organizations would have wished, it is an important step towards tackling violent crime. The challenge will now be to ensure that the new legislation is approved. 

This article is from INFORPRESS Centroamericana.

A decade after the Arms Law was first put forward, Congress finally approved the legislation that will curb the right to bear firearms and munitions. Under the new law, the prison sentence for many arms-related offences will be increased to eight years and offences that were not previously included in the Penal Code have been included. For the first time in the country's history, there is a limit on the number of firearms that can be owned by an individual. The control of firearms has also been transferred from the Ministry of Defense to the Interior Ministry, a change that will come into effect over the next two years. The new law replaces a previous version approved in 1989 when the country was still in the midst of the armed conflict. The fact that the army is still in charge of controlling the use of firearms remains part of this wartime legacy. The 1996 Peace Accords thus stated the need for a new Arms Law. "The government pledges to promote a reform of the Arms and Munitions Law in order to (a) impose restrictions on the possession and right to bear firearms by individuals, according to Article 38 of the Constitution and (b) Hand over responsibility for arms control to the Interior Ministry," state the Peace Accords. However, the bills proposed after the Peace Accords never got very far. According to Carmen Rosa de León Escribano, of the Institute for the Teaching of Sustainable Development (IEPADES), a civil society organization that has campaigned for a reform of the arms law, this is occurred due to pressure exerted by the arms lobby in Congress. "Members of Congress did not actively hinder the passage of the law. They simply chose to do nothing," says the activist.   

A Shift in Public Opinion. 

Sandino Asturias, director of the Center for Guatemalan Studies (CEG), adds that the media and public opinion tended to side with the arms lobby. But as time went by a change occurred. Crime rates soared and public opinion changed regarding the availability of firearms. "The Peace Accords predicted what could happen if private security companies and firearms were not regulated. Now, 12 years later, this is just what has happened," says Asturias. Asturias points to a highly significant figure. Whereas during the late 1990s, 40% of homicides were committed with firearms, by 2008 this percentage had risen to 83%. Another IEPADES analyst, Mayda de León, adds that last year, for the first time, the number of people killed with firearms surpassed the number of those injured. Generally speaking, the homicide rate in Guatemala has soared, reaching an average of 18 murders a year in 2009. In 1999, when the Arms Law was first put forward, there were 2,655 murders; in 2008 there were over 6,200. According to analysts, the bloodshed led society to realize the importance of approving the Arms Law. "The media began to understand that the availability of firearms was at the root of the problem and that they shouldn't defend the arms lobby, but rather the State and the people," says Asturias. Meanwhile, stresses Asturias, civil society, which was largely behind the effort to curb the use of firearms, began to gain ground. Another key factor, according to Asturias, has been the influence of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which has demanded a reform of the Arms Law for over a year. All of these factors were influential in terms of securing the approval of a new law. But for the civil society groups that lobbied for the approval of this law for so many years, the delay has come at a heavy price. "If this legislation had been approved at the right historical moment - that is to say after the Peace Accords - surely the crime and homicide rates wouldn't have reached the levels we have witnessed today," says Asturias.   

A Step Forward. 

According to Asturias, the law that has just been approved is a huge step forward in comparison to the previous version. However, he adds that "we didn't go as far as we could have because the interests of the arms lobby still prevail in Congress." Analysts have emphasized that the most important step forward lies in the fact that arms trafficking is now considered a criminal offence, a serious omission in the previous version of the law. This offence now carries a 10 to 12 year prison sentence, in the case of civil or sports arms and 12 to 18 years in the case of war weapons. It is expected that this will help to reduce the huge amount of weapons illegally circulating in the country, which estimated to be around 300 thousand. Another important detail is the fact that in order to obtain a license to bear firearms it will be necessary to undergo a psychological test as well as a test that demonstrates due knowledge of arms and how to use them responsibly. Previously, there were no limits on who was allowed to carry arms. The number of arms that a person can have in his or her possession has also been reduced to three whereas before there was no limit. The purchase of munitions has been reduced to 250 a month per licensed arm. Previously, one could legally purchase up to 500 bullets a day.    

Flickr: Surizar 

"Uno de los tres murales pintados en la parroquia de San Sebastián, en conmemoración del undécimo aniversario de la muerte de monseñor Juan Gerardi. 
Los murales son obra de la artista italiana Alessandra Vecci y el pintor guatemalteco Máximo Curruchich."