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- From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
- Subject: Guatemala: Cerigua Briefs AUGUST 16 - 22, 1992
- Message-ID: <1992Aug29.021417.866@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
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- Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 02:14:17 GMT
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-
- /** reg.guatemala: 79.0 **/
- ** Topic: Cerigua Weekly Briefs **
- ** Written 10:19 pm Aug 24, 1992 by cerisea in cdp:reg.guatemala **
- WEEKLY BRIEFS, AUGUST 16 - 22, 1992
- Serrano Tells US Attache to Leave
-
- According to the Mexican daily
- ****************************Excelsior, President Jorge
- Serrano is demanding the departure of US embassy political
- advisor George Chester. Serrano warns that if Chester does
- not leave the country, he will be declared "persona non
- grata." *******************************Excelsior on August
- 21 quoted unidentified diplomatic sources who said the
- problem is related to former guerrilla Maritza Urrutia, who
- recently left Guatemala for the United States. Chester
- apparently helped Urrutia obtain a visa to leave the country,
- and stated she had not turned herself for amnesty, as
- Guatemalan military officials claim, but was kidnapped. (See
- the last three issues of Weekly Briefs for more about
- Urrutia.)
-
- The US embassy declined to comment further on the matter,
- according to the report, but said that if the diplomat is
- expelled, there will be serious consequences.
-
- Peace Negotiations Resume
-
- Representatives from the government, army and the Guatemalan
- National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) began a new round of
- peace talks in Mexico City on August 22. Negotiators are to
- finish the human rights issue, discuss citizen participation
- and decide how to keep the talks going. Labor leader Byron
- Morales blamed both sides for trying to keep citizens on the
- sidelines, calling this unacceptable. Morales represents the
- labor committee, one of several that has organized to gain a
- place in the talks.
-
- URNG Commander Pablo Monsanto commented on the makeup of the
- government-army delegation in an interview with CERIGUA
- before the current round of talks began. Monsanto says those
- members of the negotiating team that are civilian lack
- political experience and are present to defend economic
- interests. The army generals, on the other hand, hold
- powerful positions in the army leadership. These are taking
- political stances that correspond to the army's strategic
- concerns. The URNG leader says the civilians defer to the
- generals in making decisions at the table.
-
- New Civil Patrol Formed
-
- The army has formed a new civil patrol in the Flores Costa
- Cuco municipality of Quetzaltenango province, the daily
- ******************************El Grafico reported August 19.
- Sixty civilians were sworn in by the commander of the nearby
- military base, who also issued eighteen 30-caliber rifles to
- the new patrol.
- Residents of Flores Costa Cuco told one reporter they believe
- the patrol was formed at the local mayor's request. The
- mayor is accused by residents of corruption to a degree that
- affects public service, especially availability of potable
- water.
-
- In the last round of peace talks the Guatemalan government
- agreed to stop "promoting and arming" new civil patrols "as
- long as nothing happens to motivate such actions." The
- agreement does not technically go into effect until
- negotiators reach consensus on all human rights issues, and
- as Amilcar Mendez of the Council of Ethnic Communities (CERJ)
- pointed out, it fails to specify how the army will define
- what qualifies as proper motivation.
-
- US to Investigate Labor Abuses
-
- The United States government announced August 17 that for the
- first time it will investigate labor rights abuses in
- Guatemala to determine whether US trade benefits should be
- suspended. The action comes in response to two petitions
- filed in June by US religious, human rights and labor
- organizations. The petitions document widespread violations
- of basic workers rights in Guatemala. Such petitions have
- been filed for the last six years, but none has previously
- been accepted for review. This year, 73 members of Congress
- signed letters urging US trade representative Carla Hills to
- review the petitions (See Weekly Briefs, August 9-15).
-
- Stephen Coats of the US/Guatemala Labor Education Project,
- one of the petitioners, said "We trust that over the next few
- months the Guatemalan government and business sector will
- take the steps necessary to avoid suspension of trade
- benefits. If they respect the internationally-recognized
- rights of Guatemalan workers, especially the right to freedom
- of organization and a liveable wage, a cut-off of benefits
- will not happen." Hearings will be held in Washington,
- probably in October, and by April 1, 1993 the US government
- will announce its decision, either to suspend duty-free trade
- benefits, maintain Guatemala under review for a second year,
- or reject the petitions.
-
- More Victims of Violence
-
- A man who was related to several of the campesinos killed in
- the El Aguacate massacre was himself murdered this week. The
- local press reported August 21 that the body of Lazaro
- Gutierrez Callejas was found with multiple gunshot wounds.
- The 22 people murdered in the November 1988 massacre were
- from San Andres Itzapa, Chimaltenango.
-
- A well-known marimba composer was also found dead. Eighty-
- eight year old Fabian Bethancourt disappeared mysteriously on
- August 15 from a street in central Quetzaltenango. His bodywas found several days later showing signs of having been
- strangled and beaten. Bethancourt served as the director of
- the Quetzaltenango Marimba School.
-
- Electrical Workers Protest Firing
-
- Workers at the Guatemalan electric company protested the
- illegal firing of a fellow worker by temporarily cutting
- electricity in the capital,
- *****************************Notisiete TV reported August 18.
- An earlier action took place on August 13 when a group of
- employees halted work. The intent was to press for the re-
- hiring of the employee they say was fired without just cause
- and without due severance pay. The workers say they intend
- to continue the interruptions because company officials are
- not responding to their demands.
-
- Hunapu Forces Threaten Street Kids
-
- Amnesty International has denounced mistreatment of two of
- Guatemala City's street kids by security forces. The human
- rights group reported August 13 that street children Byron
- Geovanni Castillo and Jose Chicajua were beaten and
- threatened by one National Police agent and one Treasury
- Police agent. According to the report, the officers beat the
- two boys and poured glue in their hair. One of the officers
- reportedly said "go to hell and don't come back, because if
- we see you again, we're going to kill you." An hour after
- the agents left them, the two boys saw the two agents in a
- Hunapu patrol. The Hunapu forces combine National Police,
- Treasury Police and Military Mobile Police and are commanded
- by the army. Amnesty International is asking the
- international community to protest the abuse and demand a
- government investigation.
-
- Stay of Execution Requested for Mass Murderer
-
- The Archbishop's Office on Human Rights sent a plea to
- President Serrano to spare the life of convicted murderer
- Nicolas Gutierrez, scheduled to be executed August 18. A
- civilian court handed down the death sentence to the
- discharged soldier for the January 17 massacre at Ciudad
- Peronia. The Church says no one has the right to take the
- life of another human being.
-
- According to the United Representation of the Guatemalan
- Opposition (RUOG), Gutierrez is a scapegoat for the military
- officers responsible for the crime. RUOG called for
- suspension of the death penalty, saying Gutierrez is the
- subject of discrimination and his military superiors have not
- been taken to task.
-
- Following the August 12 acquittal of six members of the armedforces for last year's murder of 11 persons at Taxisco,
- congressman Clodoveo Dominguez also charged discrimination
- against the soldier, saying that in Guatemala only the poor
- are sentenced to death.
-
- Workers Say Government Reneging on Agreements
-
- Labor leader Armando Sanchez says the government has failed
- to comply with agreements signed July 21 to end the state
- employees' strike for salary increases. Sanchez charges that
- the government has not paid strike benefits to non-salaried
- workers employed under state contracts or to employees of
- autonomous and decentralized state agencies.
-
- Sanchez is a leader of the FENASTEG federation of state
- workers' unions. He told the daily
- ******************************************El Grafico that
- workers will take concrete actions if the government refuses
- to respect negotiated agreements.
-
- Police Agents Protest Plan
-
- National Police agents are angry over a plan they say the
- government has to militarize the police force. A group of
- police agents filed a complaint with the Human Rights
- Ombudsman Office, according to the local press. The plan
- would involve the use of military-style sanctions and
- practices, treating the police officers as if they were
- members of the army.
-
- Presidential spokesman Arturo Alvarado denied such a plan
- exists. He said some army officials, who participated in
- security courses with Chile's carabinero police force, are
- assisting the police force in "human rights matters" in an
- effort to "professionalize" the force. Alvarado added that
- the army officers have a "perfect knowledge of human rights
- and the obligation to respect them."
-
- Update on Human Rights Abuses
-
- The Guatemalan Human Rights Commission (GHRC) reports 1,111
- serious human rights violations in 1992 through August 10.
- In its recent report on human rights abuses, GHRC reports 373
- extrajudicial executions, 72 of which showed evidence of
- torture. Fifty victims were disappeared, 321 persons were
- arbitrarily detained, and 283 persons were attacked. Also
- during the same period, 102 persons received death threats.
-
- *****************
-
- In the U.S. and Canada subscribe to Weekly Briefs by sending
- check or money order to:
-
- ANIPO Box 28481
- Seattle, WA 98118
-
- Subscription fees in the U.S. and Canada:
- $18 for 6 months, $36 for one year.
- Elsewhere, contact:
-
- CERIGUA
- Apartado Postal 74206
- CP 09080 Delegacion Itzapalapa
- Mexico, D.F.
- Telephone: 5102320 - FAX 5109061 - Telex (17) 64525
-
- Also please send us your comments and suggestions to the
- Seattle address or by email to cerisea on PeaceNet.
- *****************
-
- ** End of text from cdp:reg.guatemala **
-
-