NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #26/NN_1992_26.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/8185

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From: [e-mail] (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Guatemala: CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, OCTOBER 25 - 31, 1992
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/** reg.guatemala: 120.0 **/
** Topic: Cerigua Weekly Briefs **
** Written  8:47 pm  Nov  3, 1992 by cerisea in cdp:reg.guatemala **

CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, OCTOBER 25 - 31, 1992

Responses to US Inquiry into Labor Abuses

Guatemalan President Jorge Serrano said the US Trade
Representative's investigation into labor abuses in Guatemala
is aimed at protecting US industries.  "It's not a judicial
or legal trial," Serrano said over the October 28 Notisiete
newscast.  Rather, he described it as a "staged" inquiry that
goes against the interests of Guatemalan workers.  "There's
little or nothing we can do about it," the president said,
saying the government will wait for the decision, and then
decide how to respond.  The Trade Representative's
investigation was petitioned by US labor and human rights
groups, and will determine whether Guatemala will continue to
receive duty-free treatment on some of its exports.

Labor Minister Mario Solorzano said October 29 that he is
taking a series of actions to investigate the charges of
labor abuses.  He said over the Guatemala Flash newscast that
conditions in the maquiladoras have improved, but there are
still a few problems, such as the lack of chairs for workers
who stand for the more than 10-hour shifts.  Guatemala Flash
reported the previous day that workers at the Maquiladora
Internacional de Exportaciones in Guatemala City registered a
number of complaints with Solorzano when he visited their
workplace.  The workers said they are forced to work extra
hours without pay and lose pay if they seek medical care at
state clinics.

Ombudsman Under Fire for Backing Guerrilla's Testimony

Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro de Leon says guerrilla Maritza
Urrutia told him she had several reasons to believe
government security forces were the ones who kidnapped her on
July 23.  De Leon said over the Teleprensa newscast October
27:  "She told me that because of the type of interrogation,
the type of questions, the place where she was held, and
other reasons, she believed they were members of the security
forces."  De Leon added that she made him see that the
security forces would logically be the only ones who would
question her about supposed guerrillas, including her child's
father.

After leaving Guatemala under the protection of the
Archbishop and US and Canadian embassies, Urrutia said she
was kidnapped and coerced into saying she had willingly
sought amnesty.  Human Rights Ombudsman De Leon testified
October 26 at judicial proceedings looking into the case.
His statements have led to a confrontation with the Serrano
government, in part since he did not disclose what she had
told him until she had left Guatemala and denounced thekidnapping before the Organization of American States.

De Leon said over the Notisiete newscast that President
Serrano has accused him of pointing the finger at the
security forces.  The human rights ombudsman insisted,
however, that he has only related what Urrutia told him.  "I
do think that instead of defending the undefensible, instead
of attacking institutions and trying to create a smokescreen,
the government should purge the security forces.  Every
Guatemalan knows that there are many--not all, but many--
members of the security forces who act outside of the law."

Government spokesman Arturo Alvarado responded that the
security forces, specifically the National Police and
Treasury Police, are continually purged.  Even the army
discharges those who fail to honorably perform their duties,
added Alvarado.  He accused De Leon of lacking objectivity in
the Urrutia case.

Renewal of Peace Talks Not in Sight

Peace mediator Bishop Rodolfo Quezada said October 29 that
not even the minimal prerequisites for a new round of
government-insurgency talks have been met.  But he added
"that doesn't mean the negotiations are deadlocked."  Bishop
Quezada said progress has been made through the "pendulum"
process in which he shuttles back and forth between the
government-army and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary
Unity (URNG).  The peace mediator said the government has
conceded to reaching a bilateral agreement on international
humanitarian law in wartime, although it previously agreed
only to a unilateral one.  The URNG continues to insist,
however, that the Truth Commission for investigating past
human rights abuses begin its work as soon as a human rights
agreement is reached.  Government-army negotiators, on the
other hand, say all agreements will go into effect only after
a final peace accord is signed.

The negotiations still represent hope for the future and "we
shouldn't let them die out," Bishop Quezada emphasized in a
Prensa Libre article October 22.  He said "those who only
want to see an end to the armed conflict think, of course,
that the process has failed."  The peace mediator said it is
important to clarify that the objective is not merely to end
the civil war.  It has been repeated more than enough times,
said Bishop Quezada, that Guatemala's peace process is "very
complex and has its own characteristics that distinguish it
from other similar processes."

Guatemala Rejected for UN Council

For the third consecutive year, Guatemala failed to win a
seat on the UN Economic and Social Council.  The Guatemalan
government campaigned for one of three seats designated forLatin American countries.  On October 28 the UN General
Assembly elected Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas to serve on the
Council.  It oversees the Human Rights Commission and other
UN bodies dealing with economic and social issues.

CERJ Leader Accused of Aiding Rebels

Amilcar Mendez, president of the Council of Ethnic
Communities (CERJ), says two members of his organization were
detained and coerced into accusing him of terrorism.  Vice
Minister of the Interior Renan Roca said October 28 that CERJ
members Juan Rene Gonzalez and Alberto Calvo Gonzalez had
implicated Mendez in spreading rebel propaganda.  The two
were carrying explosive devices which release URNG fliers
when they were detained, according to the Vice Minister, who
said Mendez could be arrested as a result of their
statements.

The CERJ president left Guatemala October 26 to participate
in a university event in the United States, but said over the
Teleprensa newscast that he was not fleeing prosecution.
"I'm willing to return tomorrow if necessary, and if I have
to go to jail because of these false accusations, I'll do so
gladly.  I will be proud to be held prisioner for defending
human rights--not for kidnapping, torturing and pressuring
innocent campesinos into making false statements."

Defense Minister Jose Garcia Samayoa says Mendez tries to
"cover up the fact that he's a criminal and is responsible
for terrorist actions, while he accuses the government of
trying to intimidate him."

Area Governments Quiet on Possible Plutonium Shipment

Greenpeace representative Erwin Garzona says Central American
governments are doing nothing to prevent a shipment of
plutonium from passing through the Panama Canal.  The canal
is one of three possible routes for a shipment of plutonium
from Europe to Japan.  The Magellan Straits and an ocean
route near South Africa are the two other options.  South
Africa, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Southern Cone
countries have said they will oppose the shipment in their
region, according to the Greenpeace rep.  Garzona says
participants in a recent session of the Central American
Commission on the Environment and Development chose to deal
with other issues instead of confronting the possible danger.
Garzona says an explosion of the radioactive material would
have grave consequences for the region.

Latin American Left Meets in Uruguay

The Sao Paulo Forum's working group which met in Montevideo,
Uruguay on October 17 expressed its support for a negotiated
solution to Guatemala's civil war.  The Forum is made up ofmore than 70 leftist political parties, movements and
organizations in Latin America.  Delegates from the
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), the
Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), the Mexican
Democratic Revolution Party, the Communist Party of Cuba, the
Workers Party of Brazil, and others participated in the
Montevideo meeting.

The Forum's working group declared its opposition to the
Torricelli amendment intensifying the economic blockade
against Cuba.  It condemned the US occupation of Panama and
demanded the reinstatement of Haitian President Bertrand
Aristide.  It also urged Latin American governments to
discard neoliberal economic policies, defend human rights and
support Latin American integration.

Attorney General Loses Immunity

Attorney General Acisclo Valladares was temporarily removed
from his office this week in response to accusations of
trying to steal his two aunt's fortunes.  After four hours in
private session, the Guatemalan Congress overwhelmingly
supported the action.  Only two legislators were opposed.
Removed from his post, Valladares will no longer enjoy
immunity to prosecution granted to some government officials.
The attorney general said he was pleased by the "temporary"
removal because he supports setting a precedent for taking
officials to court and doing away with privileges that have
been misused in the past.  President Serrano told Notisiete
television, however, that he is considering making the
removal permanent.

Serrano Offers to Mediate US-Cuba Conflict

When asked for his response to the Torricelli amendment
passed by the US Congress, Guatemalan President Serrano said
October 28 "I respect each country's foreign policy.  Each
country is free to do as it wishes."  He said, however, that
he made an offer to Cuban President Fidel Castro to serve as
mediator in the conflict with the United States.  Serrano
said Cuban authorities have not demonstrated a willingness to
become more flexible, adding "I would be willing to do
anything to prevent bloodshed in Cuba and resolve the
island's problems."

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

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