NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/9816

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From: [e-mail] (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Guatemala: Cerigua Briefs Dec 20 - Jan 2
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/** reg.guatemala: 134.0 **/
** Topic: Cerigua Weekly Briefs **
** Written  8:22 pm  Jan  4, 1993 by cerisea in cdp:reg.guatemala **
WEEKLY BRIEFS, DECEMBER 20, 1992 - JANUARY 2, 1993
Journalist Shot by Security Agents

Defense Minister Jose Garcia Samayoa admitted December 21
that three military specialists are responsible for shooting
journalist Alfredo Torres.  Torres was shot in the head
December 18 as he drove his vehicle in the capital, his
family told the Guatemalan Journalists Association (APG).
Torres is a professor of communications at the University of
San Carlos in Guatemala City and is also a leader of an
organization working in poor neighborhoods in the capital.

The defense minister said the three specialists are Adan
Ixcoy, Edgar Gonzalez and Oscar Salvatierra.  But government
spokesman Arturo Alvarado contradicted the defense minister,
saying the three were not in the army but are National Police
officers.  Defense Minister Garcia Samayoa called the motive
for the crime "personal," and denied it was an attack on the
press.  Family members told reporters that persons appearing
to be officers came to their home and tried to convince them
not to condemn the attack.

Journalists Attacked

Two bombs exploded in the capital on December 21, one at the
Guatemalan Journalists Association (APG) office and the other
near the city government building.  The bombings took place
as city officials reached an agreement with bus owners on a
fare increase (See "Bus Fares Increased") and as tension
between government officials and journalists continued to
rise.  There was no damage at the city building, but damages
at the APG offices are estimated at more than 20,000
quetzales (about $4,000).

The following day a bomb exploded in front of the studios of
Television Notisiete.  The news agency reported there were no
injuries or damages to the building.  The device was
apparently thrown from a passing vehicle and  landed among
nearby trees.

The Canadian Committee for the Protection of Journalists
issued a letter to President Serrano condemning recent
attacks on the press in Guatemala.  The Committee assigned
partial responsibility for the attacks to the President,
noting his recent verbal attacks. The letter warns that the
government is entering a period reminiscent of the 1980s when
over 40 journalists were assassinated or disappeared.

In an open letter in the newspaper December 30 Human Rights
Ombudsman Ramiro de Leon urged President Jorge Serrano to
consider carefully the damage caused by his ongoing conflict
with the press.  He called on the president to initiate
dialogue with journalists and bring an end to the "constant
harassment" by government officials.

The Human Rights Ombudsman has been asked by the umbrella
National Council for the Defense of Journalists' Rights to
investigate a number of recent incidents.  Ombudsman De Leon
confirmed that his office has received a number of
complaints, including the death threats that forced
journalist Axel Cocon to go into exile.

Visits to Resistance Communities

Army attacks reported by the Communities of Population in
Resistance (CPR) in Ixcan, Quiche prompted a visit to the
settlements by the Multi-Sector Commission December 29.  The
attacks were reported in early December (See Weekly Briefs,
December 6 - 19, 1992).  The 600 residents of Nuevo Cuarto
Pueblo I and II fled the attacks, which originated at the
nearby Playa Grande military base, according to residents.

Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini, who heads the Multi-Sector
Commission, says he fears repression against the communities
will increase.  Ramazzini says the CPRs are not allied with
the guerrilla organization, the Guatemalan National
Revolutionary Unity (URNG), as the army charges.  The
Communities want the army to stop stealing their crops,
dismantle their installations and leave the area.

Originally the Commission was to visit the Quiche communities
on December 15, but the army blocked the trip, CPR residents
say.  Representative Carmelita Ros says the army wouldn't let
a helicopter pilot transport the Commission.  She said
members of the Commission were ready to go and waiting at the
airport but the pilot refused to take them.  The CPR
representative accused the army of preventing the trip to
avoid having witnesses to the military actions in the Ixcan,
like the destruction of homes and crops.

Army Accuses Americas Watch

Defense Minister Jose Garcia Samayoa says the army has proof
that the Americas Watch representative for Central America,
David Holiday, has ties to the guerrilla umbrella
organization, the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity
(URNG).  The defense minister claims the evidence is in rebel
documents confiscated by the army.

A director for Americas Watch, Anne Manuel, emphatically
rejected the charges December 29, saying the accusation is
aimed at intimidating international human rights workers.

Menchu Defends Her Position

Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu has denied
government charges that she defends the insurgency's position
on human rights.  Menchu was interviewed December 26 for the
radio newscast Guatemala Flash.  The chief government
negotiator for the peace talks, Manuel Conde, had accused
Menchu of defending the arguments made by the Guatemalan
National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) on the issue of human
rights.

When asked for her opinion on the now suspended talks, Menchu
said the contents of the negotiations should be made public,
saying "all of us Guatemalans are waiting to hear -- we don't
know where the negotiations stand behind closed doors."

Menchu expressed dissatisfaction over her December 21 meeting
with President Serrano.  But she says she is still not able
to work in her country without obstacles.  Menchu said she
had hoped for a presidential change of attitude, but said
President Serrano still believes she is a member of the
guerrilla forces.  With respect to her participation in the
peace negotiations, Menchu said Serrano told her that her
role is to convince the guerrillas to lay down their arms.

Bus Fares Increase

Urban transportation owners and city officials reached an
agreement on a bus fare hike December 21.  City bus owners
had halted services for five straight days to demand
permission for a fare increase after government subsidies
were suspended.  The announcement by Guatemala City mayor
Oscar Berger that bus fares will increased by 60% drew
immediate criticism from the university community, trade
unionists and human rights activists.  Jose Cifuentes,
secretary general of the court employees union, strongly
criticized Mayor Berger for giving in to bus owners'
pressure.  He declared the city mayor and President Serrano
"public enemies" for "not having the political ability to
resolve the problem in the people's favor."  Human Rights
Ombudsman Ramiro de Leon criticized the attitudes taken by
the government, city officials and bus company owners in
resolving the conflict, and said the fare hike is a violation
of human rights.

The High Council at the University of San Carlos called the
rate hike a mockery of the capital's residents.  The
university council suggested that money budgeted for the
confidential expenditures of President Serrano and his
government ministers should be used to continue subsidizing
urban transportation to avoid worsening the economic crisis
facing workers.  Victor Gudiel, general secretary of the
University Students Association (AEU), warned students will
protest.

During the five days of the stoppage that began December 17,
a few buses continued to provide services.  At least seven of
these were burned in several incidents.  Rescue workers
reported 137 persons injured in accidents involving
improvised transportation services such as pick-up trucks.

Long Wait for Land is Over

Campesinos from Cajola, Quetzaltenango say that after five
months of waiting, they have received a piece of land from
the government.  The Cajola campesinos have held vigil at a
university building in Guatemala City since July when
security forces violently suppressed their peaceful
demonstration for land.  The campesinos say their land was
taken illegally and they have been negotiating with the
government for new land ever since.

In a message broadcast over Guatemala Flash December 23, the
Cajola campesinos expressed their gratitude to religious,
grassroots and trade union groups for their support during
the long negotiation.  The government and the National
Institute for Agrarian Transformation (INTA) have agreed to
turn over a plantation in Champerico, Retalhuleu to the 500
families for the cost of 20 million quetzales (about $4
million) to be paid over a ten-year period, with a one year
grace period.

Military Aid from Israel Renewed

Defense Minister Jose Garcia Samayoa has announced a new
agreement with Israel for military assistance and arms sales.
Following a trip to Israel, Garcia Samayoa said Prime
Minister Isaak Rabin approved technical assistance and
training for the Guatemalan army and authorized sale of
infantry weapons, communications equipment and minesweeping
devices.

The Israeli government has been a primary source of foreign
military aid for the Guatemala army, especially since the
Carter years when the army's human rights record came under
closer US scrutiny.  Israel has provided assistance in
counterinsurgency strategies as well as Arava troop transport
airplanes, armored vehicles, Galil rifles, Uzi machine guns
and radio communication equipment.

Charges Made Under Threat

Campesinos Juan Ren and Armando Calvo were forced by military
personnel to make accusations against Amilcar Mendez, the
president of the Council of Ethnic Communities (CERJ),
according to the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman Office.
Eugenia Morales of the Office announced the finding on
December 12.  The statement directly charges the commander of
the Quiche military base with violating the two campesinos'
human rights.  While under detention, Ren and Calvo were
threatened so that they would accuse Mendez of participating
in guerrilla activities, the Human Rights Ombudsman Office
concluded.

Those statements by the two men were the basis of a warrant
issued for Mendez' arrest on November 13.  In addition to the
original charge, seven others have been filed against Mendez,
accusing him of threatening civil patrollers.

*****************

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