MichaelF's blog

Well, we've finally gone and joined the 21st century and have opened a twitter account. Hopefully the restriction on text will mean we'll find the time to 'tweet' more often than we blog, but rest assured we'll continue with our more in-depth articles here.  You can follow us on twitter by going to http://twitter.com/guatesolidarity

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.  

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.

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. 

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.

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.