NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #16/NN_1992_16.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/5346

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Subject: Guatemala Human Rights UPDATE #29 July 20, 1
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/** reg.guatemala: 159.0 **/
** Topic: Human Rights UPDATE #29 July 20, 1 **
** Written  3:40 pm  Jul 23, 1992 by ghrc in cdp:reg.guatemala **
             GHRC/USA Human Rights Update*
                 PEACENET Version #29
                     July 20, 1992

CASE UPDATES

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES DECLARE WORK STOPPAGE A SUCCESS  On
July 14 Armando Sanchez, Secretary General of the
National Federation of Guatemalan Government Workers
Trade Union (FENASTEG) declared the first day of the
public administration workers strike a complete success,
stating that "we shall see that labor and constitutional
rights taken away from us are restored."  He outlined the
two demands of the workers: the immediate reinstallment
of the Length of Service Compensation Law [Ed note: last
week translated as Law on Economic Compensation for Time
Service] and a salary increase of 83%.  (When the
Compensation Law was in place it mandated that every
business keep a percentage of an employee's salary on
deposit until dismissal or retirement.  The funds would
gain a preferred interest rate and would be available for
loans to employees.)  He also reported that the national
strike, at that point underway 48 hours, was decided upon
because government authorities refused to renew a
dialogue which could have arrived at a negotiated
solution to the labor conflict.
     The Secretary General of the General Confederation
of Guatemalan Workers (CGTG), Jose Pinzon, affirmed that
only a serious and objective agreement which does not
humiliate workers in government service will lead to a
lifting of the strike. Otherwise, he claimed, strikes
will continue with even greater force.  Teachers and
transport workers have also joined the strike.

VILLAGERS IN EL QUICHE DETAINED ESCAPED SOLDIER AND SEEK
REWARD  Campesinos (farmers or peasants) from El Jocote,
Chicaman, El Quiche, reported that they captured corporal
Nicolas Gutierrez Cruz, who is charged with the massacre
of an indigenous family in January of this year. (SEE
Peacenet Update 28,20).  The campesinos reported that
they, not the Army, apprehended the soldier as he was
looting a local business.  The residents demanded that
Defense Minister General Jose Domingo Garcia Samayoa
follow through on his promise to reward 50 thousand
quetzals (approximately $10,000) for the detention of
Gutierrez Cruz.

EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS

Several unidentified men shot and killed farmer CATALINO
ARREDONDO (63) on July 9 while he was in a pasture at the
El Castano finca (ranch or plantation), Oratorio, Santa
Rosa.
On July 13 RONY JAVIER RODRIGUEZ MATHUS (25) died after
being shot by two men who attacked him at the El Milagro
colony (letter Q, Lot 60), in Zone 19, Guatemala City.

Armed men shot and killed TEODORO SAJOY MONROY (59) on
July 13 in San Jose Nacahuil, San Pedro Ayampuc,
Guatemala.

FRANCISCO SALGUERO GUTIERREZ (40) died from stab wounds
after being attacked on July 13 by several men in Monte
Rico, El Peten.

On July 13 CARLOS ENRIQUE SAJBIN (21) was killed and HUGO
RENE MOREIRA and MYNOR ARTURO RIOS, (both 19), suffered
shrapnel wounds when a grenade exploded at 1st Avenue in
front of Lot 24 in the "Lo de Bran I" colony, Zone 6,
Mixco, Guatemala.  The circumstances surrounding the
grenade explosion are unknown.

The body of JOSE GARCIA MENDEZ (25) was found on July 13
with multiple stab wounds in Boca del Monte, Villa
Canales, Guatemala.

UNIDENTIFIED BODIES

The tortured body of an UNIDENTIFIED GIRL about three-
years-old was found on July 10 in a garbage can at
kilometer 3 on the old road to Mixco near the San
Jeronimo finca, Department of Guatemala.  The victim's
small body was found in a sack, bruised and with burns on
both legs, lesions presumably inflicted with a cigarette.

The body of an UNIDENTIFIED MALE (25) was found on July
14 at Lot 59, Section I, El Milagro Colony, Zone 19,
Guatemala City, with multiple stab wounds.

OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

MASSACRE VICTIMS' RELATIVES THREATENED WITH DEATH   On
July 11 relatives of the victims in the August 1991
massacre of 11 people in Escuintla (SEE Peacenet Update
31, 1991), denounced to the Ministry of Public Affairs
that armed plainclothesmen have been threatening them
with death.  The armed men are pressuring the relatives
to cease accusations against six military personnel who
are imprisoned and charged with carrying out the
Escuintla massacre.  Adelina Lopez Castillo, mother of
one of those murdered, reported that the relatives
decided to denounce the threats because they feared for
their lives.  The relatives have pleaded with the
Ministry of Public Affairs to intercede in the
prosecution of the six military personnel so that the
perpetrators of the massacre are brought to justice.

TRADE UNION LEADER UNDER THREAT  LUIS HUMBERTO FUENTES
MORALES, Secretary of the union of the private company
Duralex and member of the Unity of Labor and Popular
Action (UASP), and his family, have suffered threats and
intimidation.  On July 6 and July 7 Luis Humberto Fuentes
Morales's home was visited several times by unidentified
men asking to see the trade unionist.  Not finding him at
home, the men left.
     At approximately 1:00PM on July 7, Fuentes' daughter
was reportedly followed by two unidentified men.  Her
mother, frightened by the incident, tried to make a
telephone call from a nearby public phone and was stopped
by the same unidentified men.  Mrs. Fuentes managed to
escape and sought refuge in a store.  Later that day, the
same men reportedly returned to the Fuentes home looking
for the trade unionist, and not finding him they left.
These incidents are believed to be linked to Luis
Humberto Fuentes Morales' trade union activities and his
role in the negotiations for a new work contract between
Duralex and the trade union.

BOMB AT UNION HEADQUARTERS DEACTIVATED  On July 15 a bomb
with high-powered explosives was deactivated at the
central office of the Union of Guatemalan Social Security
Workers (STIGSS), just a few meters from the San Juan de
Dios General Hospital.  Carlos Fidel Echeverria Rosales,
watchman at the office, reported that it was likely that
the attack was the result of the recent  strikes by
workers.

TRADE UNION LEADER GOES INTO EXILE  Secretary of the
Union of Guatemalan Workers in Education Services
(ESTAYSEG), CARLOS FEDERICO BATRES MENA, together with
his wife and three children, went into exile in Europe on
July 15.  Batres Mena received several anonymous
telephoned death threats in which he was told to stop
participating in the trade union movement, or be killed.
He also reported that his wife, Vanessa de Batres, and
three children had been intimidated.

DRIVE BY SHOOTING LEAVES EIGHT PEOPLE WOUNDED  On July 15
four individuals in a moving vehicle, armed with
shotguns, attacked a group of people standing in front of
a tailor's shop at 3rd Street and 9th Avenue in the
Quinta Samayoa colony, Zone 7, Guatemala City.  As a
result of the attack the following persons were wounded:
EUGENIO YAC SECUN (17), JULIO FELIX YAC (18), EDGAR
BARRIENTOS (21), LUIS SADESON AYALA (26), MARIO ANTONIO
ROMAN (27), REGINALDO CHAVAC, and two children, SANTOS
CHAVEZ (7) and HEIDI JEANNETH GARCIA (9).  All of the
victims were taken to a hospital.

POLICE RAID GOVERNMENT MUNICIPALITY ANNEX IN TOTONICAPAN
Six officials of the National Police bearing rifles
raided the government municipality annex in Rancho de
Teja, San Francisco El Alto, Totonicapan on July 14.  The
officials asked for the whereabouts of a trustee and a
council member, and not finding them, left the premises.
Local residents denounced the raid stating that the
National Police abuses its authority and fails to carry
out its responsibilities.

OTHER INFORMATION

SECTORS ORGANIZED AGAINST REPRESSION AND IMPUNITY DEMAND
PARTICIPATION IN EXHUMATIONS OF CLANDESTINE CEMETERIES
In an open letter to the President of the Judiciary, Dr.
Juan Jose Rodil Peralta, on July 14, Sectors Organized In
Response to Repression and Impunity demanded the naming
of a team of forensic doctors which would exhume bodies
buried in clandestine cemeteries.  The group also
requested an interview with Rodil Peralta to provide him
with further information and details concerning the
exhumations.
     The National Coordinating Committee of Guatemalan
Widows (CONAVIGUA) reported that a mission of forensic
anthropologists arrived in Guatemala to exhume the
remains of bodies located in clandestine cemeteries in
Tunaja and Chontala, Chichicastenango, El Quiche.  The
mission is headed by U.S. anthropologist Dr. Clyde Snow,
who will teach a team of Guatemalans how to exhume bodies
and forensically analyze remains in order to identify the
victims and determine the cause of death.

WORKERS CALL IMPOSITION OF A STATE OF EXCEPTION
UNDEMOCRATIC  On July 11 the General Secretary of the
Central Federation of Guatemalan Workers (FECETRAG),
Ismael Barrios, indicated that workers vehemently oppose
the declaration of a State of Exception because they feel
President Serrano Elias will use it as a pretext to
justify escalating terrorism and other violations against
workers.  Byron Morales, Secretary of the Union of
Guatemalan Workers (UNSITRAGUA) declared that the State
of Exception signifies the loss of constitutional
guarantees.  He noted that, "with the suspension of
guarantees, there is permission to kidnap, disappear,
detain and then to feign ignorance of the person's
whereabouts, permitting the security forces to act with
impunity.... What is being sought here is a means to
legally repress grassroots protests."

CTC LAMENTS ANNULMENT OF COMPENSATION LAW  On July 12
Manuel Godinez, Representative of the Central
Headquarters of Farmworkers (CTC), condemned the repeal
of the Length of Service  Compensation Law and stated
that the annulment demonstrates that the Guatemalan
Congress has no independent power and is easily
manipulated by the Executive branch. The law was repealed
by Congress at the request of President Serrano.

HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYERS SUPPORT CANDIDACY OF RIGOBERTA
MENCHU  On July 12 the Board of Directors of the
Guatemalan Association of Human Rights Lawyers expressed
its support for the candidacy of Rigoberta Menchu Tum for
the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize.  The granting of this prize,
they said, would represent a recognition of Guatemalan
women and the efforts that the majority of Guatemalans
are carrying out to achieve social justice and peace.

CHOLERA EPIDEMIC CONTINUES TO SPREAD  The Congressional
Representative for the department of Zacapa, Cesar
Augusto Paiz, reported that during the week of July 6 the
cholera epidemic spread considerably, reaching 1,469
cases in the department of Zacapa alone.  The villages
most affected are Azacualpa and Las Carretas.  The Mayor
for the municipality of Gualan, Mario Enrique Arriaza,
stated that many villages in the area have no sanitation
infrastructure, and that the central government must
therefore do all it can to implement drinking water
projects.  Elsewhere health workers reported that the
Blanco and Negro, or Chixoy, rivers in the department of
El Quiche are polluted with  "vibrio cholerae," the
bacteria which causes cholera.  The health workers say
that the contamination cannot be slowed because the
villages which the rivers run through lack resources
needed to launch prevention campaigns.

=======================================================

The Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA monitors the
human rights situation in Guatemala and provides
information to various constituencies in the United
States and to a limited extent abroad.  Information in
the Guatemala Human Rights Update is compiled from a
variety of international sources including: the Comisi"n
de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala/Mexico (Guatemalan Human
Rights Commission/Mexico), Americas Watch, Amnesty
International and Inforpress.  Information is also
gathered from reports and alerts from groups in Guatemala
including: the Archbishop's Human Rights Office, the
Council of Ethnic Communities Runujel Junam (CERJ), labor
unions, the University Students Association (AEU), the
Conference of Religious of Guatemala (CONFREGUA) and the
Mutual Support Group of Relatives of the Disappeared
(GAM).

* Every two weeks, two PEACENET Updates are combined to
form the Guatemala Human Rights Update, which is mailed
first class to organizations and individuals subscribing
to it.  That publication includes all the information in
the PEACENET versions--with infrequent addendums and
corrections--and a list of suggested actions.  To
subscribe to the Guatemala Human Rights Update send $30
(yearly subscription) to GHRC/USA at: 3321 12th Street
NE, Washington DC, 20017.  Call [phone] or fax
[phone] for more information.

** End of text from cdp:reg.guatemala **