Guatemala Solidarity Network

Another great article from GSN accompanier Sam...

Implications of the findings of the UN High Commission on Guatemala.

  On Wednesday 24th of March 2010 the UN Deputy High Commissioner Kyung-wha Kang gave an analysis of the status of Guatemala’s human rights, the report did not read well, and the symptoms described sounded much like those of a failing state. The analysis described the roots of the problem as stemming from endemic structural weaknesses, weakness of public institutions, insufficient budget and resources and the prevalence of private interest over public interests. If these are the roots, then the symptoms mentioned include high rates of violent death; 6,498 (that’s almost 18 murders per day), high private security (106,700 private security officers) which is approximately 5 private security officers for every 1 police officer, 83% of violent deaths stemming from firearms, indicating high gun ownership and 119 lynching in 2009. When one takes into account the population of Guatemala is just over 13 million it makes for stark viewing.  

 

What grips me however is the growing social phenomenon of lynchings in modern Guatemala. Rural lynchings have been a feature of post-war Guatemala but are increasing at an alarming rate, rising from 56 occurrences resulting in 22 deaths in 2008 to 119 cases with a total of 47 deaths in 2009. Lynchings for me evoke images of a distant past; of a time without enforced law, security or human rights, such as the witch hunts in 16th Century Europe or those against African-Americans in the USA in the late 19th Century. These historical examples and a lack of understanding of the Mayan-Guatemalan experience of the 36 years of brutal civil-war allow for the misunderstanding of the current phenomenon.  

Two recent lynchings in December reached particular notoriety, in Panajachel, Solola, where one man was beaten to death by an angry mob for supposedly robbing a local vendor of $850, resulting in a standoff between the police and the mob who had to rescue three female accomplices to safety but having four police patrol cars torched in the process. With just days in between, Huehuetenango was the scene of another lynching where four men were burned alive for a supposed kidnapping. But as the statistics suggests there were another some 117 such incidents throughout the year. When analyzing the cases however, it is not so much about the quantity of fatalities, rather the brutality of the incident which frequently includes, burnings, being tied up in barbed wire, being dragged by cars, mob beatings etc.

  There is one statistic however that reveals much about the root causes of this social phenomenon. The department of Quiche has had a far higher rate of lynchings than any of the other departments, statistics from 2001 note, for example that Quiche totaled 51 lynchings, whilst the nearest of the other 25 departments was Petén (by far the largest geographical region) with 27.[1] The significance of this is that Quiche is also recognised as the area that suffered most brutally during the civil war with a very high proportion of the population being rural Mayan people. That’s to say that there is a distinct causal relationship between the brutality of the civil war experience in Quiche and the post-war culture of punitive justice in the department. During the most repressive years of the civil war under Lucas Garcia and Rios Montt the Maoist analogy of ‘draining the sea of its fish’ was used to signify wiping out civilian popular support of the rural guerilla. This essentially meant the Mayan population by default due to the racial nature of the war. So the war in Quiche as was the case in many other regions meant a war on racial lines, and of genocidal proportions. The aforementioned quote therefore became the justification for massacring innocent civilians.  

Given the combined facts that the Peace Accords in 1996 have been largely unfulfilled, the country is re-militarizing, that the national police force suffers from corruption and that there has been no government attempt at any fiscal or land reform, the country is dogged by the conditions that lead to civil war in the 1960’s. It is therefore, not difficult to understand why the poor in Quiche do not feel represented by those in power. Indeed the UN report states that in the department of Guatemala (the capital) there is a mean of one doctor for every 384 people, whilst the equivalent statistic in Quiche is 11, 948 persons per doctor, a staggering indicator of inequality.

It is well known that with the soaring level of impunity in Guatemala, perpetrators of crimes largely go unpunished, and in the case of theft this weighs as a heavy financial burden upon the poor who get robbed. Moreover as the UN report states that some of the lynchings are carried out in a context of the “acquiescence or tolerance of State officials. In the case of the lynching and death of police officer Pedro Rodríguez Toma in San Juan Cotzal, Quiché, in November 2009, the office received information which indicates acquiescence and instigation by some municipal authorities as well as tolerance on the part of members of the security forces.”[2]  

I am not justifying the cruel and barbaric act of such reprisals; in fact quite the opposite. Perpetrators of the crime are often driven by desperation and poverty themselves, who are subsequently denied access to their rights. The victims meanwhile are denied access to justice through judicial inefficiency or as a result of financial barriers. Lynichings therefore take on the aim of sending a message to those considering crime, as well as revenge for the crime itself. Ultimately however, both groups are being failed by the state and the message being sent out from the capital through their lack of resources and funding for police presence in regions such as Quiche is that rights and access to justice is not available for the poor, the same poor that suffered during the civil war. A testament to the enduringly racist nature of the Guatemalan power structure.

  By Sam Pearse  

 

http://www.lahora.com.gt/notas.php?key=41136&fch=2008-12-11  

 

http://www.lahora.com.gt/notas.php?key=64457&fch=2010-03-24  

 

http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/fellows/papers/2003-04/fernandez.pdf  

 

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A-HRC-13-26-Add1.pdf

[1] http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/fellows/papers/2003-04/fernandez.pdf  

[2] http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A-HRC-13-26-Add1.pdf 

GSN volunteer Sam, who is currently in Guatemala working as an international accompanier recently sent us this report from a symbolic trial of those accused of perpetrating mass rape as a weapon of war during the armed conflict.

 

On the days of the 4th and 5th of March 2010 I was lucky enough to be inside Paraninfo University to see the accumulation of more than 300 proud Mayan women in a panorama of colourful ‘trajes’. The women from the departments of Quiche, HueHuetenango, Alta Verapaz, and Chimaltenango arrived for the symbolic trial of those responsible for the mass rapes carried out on women as a weapon of war during the 36 year civil war from 1960-1996. Represented were women from the four departments, all symbolising distinctive dialects, ‘trajes’ (traditional Mayan clothing) and regions but united by similar experiences and the desire to testify these experiences to gain recognition and dignification for the 1465 registered rapes, unpunished during the civil war.

The event was hosted and coordinated by a number of non-governmental organizations including ECAP, (Organization for Community Studies and Psychosocial Support) UNAMG, (National Organization of Guatemalan Women), CONAVIGUA, (National Organisation of Guatemalan Widows) La Cuerda (The Association of Feminists) and MTM (Women Transforming the World) as well as the touching support of a delegation of men; survivors of the Panzos massacre there supporting the women through their journey and representing ACOGUATE we were also present.

It was a powerful and thought-provoking ceremony aimed at invigorating the ‘memoria historica’, the historic memory of the collective experiences of the war (lest they be forgotten) and indeed was a touching ceremony, but as my title suggests was not an all together satisfying affair. My opinion of the ceremony was divisively split into two because that’s indeed all that it was, a ceremony. I believe such steps have great significance for those involved; a recognition that what these women suffered was not only a crime but part of a state-sponsored, pre-meditated strategy, a valid aspect of the grieving process and the important recognition that past crimes are not forgotten (‘ni olvido ni silencio’ neither forgotten, nor in silence ran the slogan), all crucial aspects of the post war reconciliation process in Guatemala.

But here is the problem, can you skip justice and onto reconciliation as if it were a ‘miss a go’ step on a monopoly board? My question is rhetorical because one still feels the anger and pain of Guatemalan war crimes boiling underneath the surface.

My point is that while these types of ceremony serve the valid functions I mentioned, the more cynical part of me also believes that venting these grievances on a quasi-state platform like this one, releases the pressure valve on the crucial step that was missed out, that’s to say that this process makes people feel better while both the perpetrators and the architects of these most disgraceful crimes remain in impunity.

Mass rape is one of the many lasting legacies of the Guatemalan civil war along with massacres, mass disappearances, land degradation and dispossession, cultural repression, high criminal violence, arms proliferation, impunity and a fear leading to a culture of self censorship, among other things.  It is very difficult to assess which of these is more or less damaging than one another but one characteristic of the crime of mass rape is its lack of recognition, that is, recognition in the true sense of the word; that this was not just a sad part of the war but a centralised, premeditated strategy at silencing, degrading and repressing the rural, reproductive element of indigenous Guatemalan society.  Part of a militarized counterinsurgency tactic of feminicide carried out by the state on innocent civilians for which there has never been recognition, let alone a promise of any element of justice. Furthermore it is clear from the figures that just like the war itself, the crimes were committed on racial lines, 87% (according to the UN CEH report) of the reported rapes were committed against indigenous women, a further testament to the crimes meeting the goals of the counterinsurgency strategy.

Furthermore, as foreseen by the architects of this strategy, rape has also caused community level strife and division in large part due to the patriarchal nature of Guatemalan society. The psychological damage is lasting, it has had lasting problems on reproduction, interfamilial relationships, and particularly the isolation and shame of the victims of the crimes as a result of the internalization and community isolation on top of suffering the crime itself.

A formidable reason for the lack of recognition of the women’s cause on both the national level as well as community level, where the victim is often met with isolation, is the maintenance of myths of the women’s role in the crime which once again is rooted in the patriarchal culture of Guatemalan society. The idea of some level of female provocation or complicity in the crime on some level is subtly deferred to in culture leading to the acquiesce of the crime.

Other myths include the idea that the crime is a sexual one, necessary by men in the army, or that it was the result of mentally ill soldiers, both of which again negate from the fundamentals of the crime as a premeditated, strategised and purposeful counterinsurgency strategy for a long term vision of fear, which has maintained the current power structure using the vehicle of impunity as an aid. Indeed the destruction of social fabric on the community level, strategized on a number of visible levels, in combination with the high level of impunity has been one of the most successful counterinsurgency strategies permeating the culture of fear and inferiority which has existed beyond the war and into the supposed era of democracy and peace.

One has to recognize that punitive trials against those responsible for these crimes are unlikely in the foreseeable future in Guatemala, however there are signs coming from precedents being set in ongoing war crimes trials and international legal statues that provide cause for optimism at least in the legal framework. Investigation has been carried out in the TPIY and TPIR (the war crimes trials for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda) for prosecuting policies of mass rape as have there been notable milestones in the Rome statute of 1998 and declaration of Vienna in 1993 which have been ratified and have entered into force. Whilst proof of intent of a premeditated strategy would be very difficult to obtain, the existence of legal framework for jurisdiction is hopeful.

So for the indigenous women of Guatemala precious recognition of their plight is what they must savour for the meanwhile, but as demonstrated in the recent CICIG report that impunity in Guatemala rests at 97%, justice is for the precious few, and rarely for the poor, indigenous, female.

As multinational companies continue to seek licences for mineral exploitation in Guatemala, time and again local communities reject these initiatives in popular consultas comunitarias. Not only do they site the environmental damage that will be done to their lands, and the lack of any real economic benefit to the local community (with subsistence level wages paid, while profits are taken straight out the country, with minimal tax paid on them), but more fundamentally, they reject the very idea that the government can sell off what they deem as their land.

The most recent rejection of multinational mining took place in the municipality of Cunén, in the department of Quiché. For more, please see the press bulletin below:

CUNEN REJECTS MINING IN LOCAL TERRITORY

 Press Bulletin

Waqib’ Kej

29 October 2009 

Seventy-one communities [out of seventy-two] in the municipality of Cunén, department of Quiché, gathered in the center of each community to define the immediate future of the population now facing mineral exploration and exploitation licenses granted within their territory.  

Both urban and rural communities were summoned for October 27 to define their official position regarding four mining exploration and exploitation licenses granted within the municipality. Projects approved for the area include “La Abundante” mine, as well as mineral extraction projects Yexub, ADD Minera and Chepenal.    

The referendum was organized by the Cunén Community Council, the Community Development Councils, community and religious leaders, and local mayors, acting with the backing of a municipal agreement issued on September 23, 2009.   

Community members started gathering in the center of each town early on [October 27] to declare their position before local authorities… national and international observers, social organizations and representatives of various indigenous communities in the country. 

After the vote in rural areas, the urban population gathered in the central park for the announcement: 18,924 people [57.5% of the population] voted ‘No’ to the presence of national and transnational companies seeking to appropriate and extract the natural resources of the communities of Cunén. 

Diego Us, president of the Community Development Council of Llano Largo, a community located 13 km from the urban center, described the community vote as an excellent affirmation that the people, not governments, own the territory.  Us also said that the referendum was a blessing in providing protection for the communities resisting the government and congressional representatives that, when they assume power, sell off the people and all human beings, using the population as a political toy.  

Osmundo Oxlaj, member of the Cunén Community Council, announced the results and pointed out that, “the number of participants [in the referendum] has surpassed the number of voters in the last municipal elections…”   

Domingo Hernández, of the Board of the National Maya Waqib’ Kej Coordinating Committee and Convergence, said, “The referendum is the first phase of organizing communities in defense of Mother Earth, the woods, water, fields; everything in danger due to the presence of transnational companies.”  Hernández emphasized, “The communities are the direct actors in a positive exercise of their rights as citizens to show that the population rejects the presence of transnational companies, the destruction of Mother Earth and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few who own indigenous territories”… 

Pablo Zeto, of FUNDAMAYA, participated, along with the indigenous authorities of the Ixil region, as an observer…[he] mentioned that the process in Cunén and other communities throughout the country represents the application of their rights under Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  “This exercise is to recuperate and protect natural resources, for the good of all humanity, so that policies are not applied by the political parties that have become workers for the transnational companies.”  

Members of the Xinka communities from Santa María Xalapán, Jalapa also observed the referendum process.  Juan Antonio Jiménez, one of the spokespersons, underlined the unity demonstrated during the referendum, the wide participation, and the resounding ‘No’ emitted by the population facing mining activity in the municipality.  

…the Cunén Community Council also announced that the next step is to hand the results in to the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government, including each political party, the Energy and Mines Commission.  The Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (PDH), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Ministry of Energy and Mines will also receive official copies of the results… 

Spokesperson Pedro Sica also mentioned that community referenda will be held in the neighboring municipalities of Sacapulas and Uspantán, in the department of Quiché, where there are also megaprojects and mining licenses under way that pose risks for the life and security of the population of Quiché… 

LAMMP (Latin American Mining Monitoring Programme), a member group of London Mining Network, is hosting a public meeting on Tuesday 13th
October with rural and indigenous women activists from Latin America.

The meeting will be at Amnesty International UK's Human Rights Action
Centre,17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA, between 2.30 and 5 pm.

Women from Ecuador, Peru and Guatemala will be speaking at the meeting, which is part of a EUROPEAN SPEAKERS’ TOUR for rural and indigenous women affected by mining projects.

A common thread among women participating in the tour is that as a
result of their peaceful work in defence of the environment and human
rights they face multiple and complex criminal investigations which
their governments are using to set examples. As a result of their
environmental work they fear imprisonment for themselves, and the
intimidation of their families.

At this critical moment when - for the first time - the women's
newly-formed groups are able to voice their concerns about the vision of sustainable development put forward by mining corporations, their
governments' response is to single them out for “crimes against the
state”. Anti-mining activism is an emerging area for rural and
indigenous women, and little is known about  the multiple levels of
discrimination they experience. Their newly formed groups (with LAMMP
support) have little political weight. They need the support of the
international community.

Organised by LAMMP, the tour is the first international opportunity for
these rural and indigenous women defenders living in communities
affected by mining developments to raise awareness of gender issues such as the severe impact of mining on the social structure of the community which - among others - manifests itself through an increase in violence against women who speak against mining. Women often feel that life in the community is so transformed by the mining conflict that  "peace is gone, there is no more happiness".  Another worrying development for women is that abuses against them become "normal" and unworthy of police attention.

Finally, their stories illustrate the (undocumented) rise of poverty
among rural and indigenous women who find themselves in a dire
situation: unable to carry on with traditional income-generating work
due to loss of land to mining and access to natural resources , and
simultaneously unable to find work in the mine.

The objectives of the tour are:

(1) To help reduce women defenders' vulnerability and fear of
imprisonment through greater mobilisation of international support and
encouragement of political support

(2) To lobby European governments and civil society to ensure a deeper, shared understanding into the extent and impact of persecution on women activists, as well as the specific safety issues which the women in the tour face.

(3) To raise the profile and legitimacy of the work women activists do,
and facilitate effective alliances and links between them and European
organisations.

(4) To expose a range of corporate and state practices that are gaining
ground across Latin America, and their impact on women activists and
their families.

On the 31st August, 2009, former military commissioner Felipe Cusanero Coj was sentenced to 150 years of prison for the forced disappearance of six members of the community of Choatalum in the department of Chimaltenango, between 1982 and 1984. Although the crime of forced disappearance was defined in Guatemala in 1996, this case is the first to be sentenced in the courts in the country for this crime. The sentence therefore sets a vital precedent in a country in which over 45,000 people were forcibly disappeared during the 36-year internal armed conflict.

As an international accompanier in Guatemala, Nathalie attended the recent hearings for the trial and was in the audience as the sentence was read. She has written an article on the case and on being present at the hearings, which can be found on her blog (natyenguate.blogspot.com).

While we do our best to keep abreast of the situation in Guatemala and keep people informed via this blog, nothing quite beats the insight provided by those who can report back on what is actually happening "on the ground" (as wonderfully demonstrated by Kevin's article below).

Well, we now have a fantastic new source of information provided by one of our volunteer international accompaniers who has been blogging about her experiences, and her take on the issues currently being faced by Guatemala. You can access her blog here.

Reading this blog is especially useful for all those  who are considering volunteering in Guatemala as an international accompanier, as well as anyone who is interested in finding out a bit more about the work of international accompaniers.

As reported recently by NISGUA Guatemala's war survivors have, once again, been thwarted in their struggle to achieve justice. The Defense Ministry, in violation of an official court order, has neglected to hand over two military documents that would serve as evidence in the genocide case. Read on here. The Association for Justice and Reconciliation has filed a case against the Defense Minister for obstruction of justice. The Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation and Congresswoman Otilia Lux have publicly expressed their suspicions that General Otto Pérez Molina played a role in suppressing the documents. One of the undelivered documents relates particularly to the Ixil region where Pérez Molina commanded during the war. Another dates to the period of the scorched-earth policy in which genocide-case defendant and current Congressman Efraín Ríos Montt presided over the country.  NISGUA are collecting signatures for a petition to be sent to President Colom, demanding justice for war crimes.  For your letter to be included in the collective delivery to the Presidential office, you must sign on by, FRIDAY, March 6th, 8pm UK time.