/* Written 10:23 PM May 21, 1990 by gsleicher in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Briefs" ---------- */ CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, MAY 14-20, 1990 New reports surfaced this week of army violence in the countryside. On Tuesday, May 15, members of the paramilitary Civil Defense Patrols fired on residents of the small village of San Sebastian in the northwestern province of Quiche, killing Miguel Per Lopez, 25 and Francisco Py Chach, 30, and wounding eight others. In Chajul district, Quiche province, the army tortured and murdered two boys, ten and fifteen years old, and two older men. The soldiers set fire to cultivated fields, planted mostly in corn, and to 180 dwellings, as well as three marimbas. The operations took place in the villages of Amachel, Xaxboc, Batzcanea, Los Cimientos, Pal and Santa Rosa Chaxa between the April 16 and 28. The information was not made known until May 14, when the CUC issued a report of the incidents. An abbreviated version appeared in a full-page statement by United Labor and Popular Action (UASP) in El Grafico on May 11. On May 1 in the province of Huehuetenango, 1500 civil patrollers and approximately 40 soldiers surrounded the village of Ical, in Colotenango district, and gathered all the men obligated to perform civil patrol duty. Women and children were left alone in their houses. At 9:00 am in the classrooms of the village school, the soldiers began to torture the young men, particularly those between 15 and 17 years old, who were accused of being guerrillas. They were told that they would be killed if they did not report for military duty. While this was taking place, the 1500 civil patrollers searched houses, stealing clothing and money. Villagers were then rounded up in front of the school and told that they would all be killed right then if they did not sign a document promising "to do no harm to commanders or the army," according to the CUC. The lieutenant in charge ordered the sweep to continue until dawn of May 2, and a similar operation was repeated two days later on May 4. Displaced Persons Present Demands at Congress Two hundred members of the Guatemalan Council of Displaced Persons (CONDEG), representing the country's more than 100,000 internal refugees, went to the Congress on Monday to demand the return of their lands, an end to the violence to which they are subject, and the release of Luis Miguel Solis Pajarito, who was disappeared on May 3. Solis, a member of CONDEG, is also a National Dialogue delegate, participating on the working committee for Victims of Violence. CONDEG is composed of campesinos who have been forced toabandon their lands and villages as a result of the army's counterinsurgent campaigns. The organization's members now live in the capital, most of them on the city's margins and in its shantytowns. Death Threats Members of Congress and the chief of the Guatemalan social security workers union (STIGSS) were the targets of death threats this week. Several Congressional representatives, whose names were not released in a report in Prensa Libre, found death notices bearing their own names and the words "Rest in Peace" in their official mailslots in the Congress. The death announcements were signed by the paramilitary organization Jaguar Justiciero. Other deputies received threats signed by the famous Mano Blanco death squad. Leader of the social security workers union, Ramon Jacome, reported that he had been receiving telephone calls beginning on Friday, May 11, in which the caller threatened him to withdraw from his union activities or he and his family would suffer the consequences. Police Officer Arrested for Attempted Rape An officer of the National Police from the Sixth Precinct station in the capital was arrested in the village of Xatina in Quiche province when he tried to rape a five-year-old girl. Miguel Rojas Tax was stopped from raping the child by neighbors who heard her screaming for help. Authorities arrived on the scene as residents were about to lynch the agent, whose identity was not established until he was turned over to the National Police. Defense Ministry Changeover Causes Discord What was announced as a routine change in the Guatemalan Presidential cabinet early last week, took on a more serious tone when commanders from the country's 23 provincial military bases unanimously rejected the officers chosen by President Cerezo to head up the Ministry of Defense. On May 14, presidential spokeswoman Claudia Arenas announced that Cerezo was naming General Juan Bolanos to succeed General Hector Gramajo, who is retiring as defense minister as of May 21. Bolanos leaves his post as chief of the military high command, the second position in the defense hierarchy, to be filled by General Juan Marroquin, presently assistant chief. This position, in turn, is to be filled by General Roberto Mata. Bolanos has played an active part in maintaining the military policy of the current administration. Marroquin and Mata are expected to preserve Gramajo's line, which embraces acapitalist-based model to modernize the country. The fact that the 23 provincial base commanders met independently and issued a rejection of the presidential appointments -- choices which were really made by Gramajo himself -- may be interpreted as a move to check the general's plan. It is believed that Gramajo is attempting to place in line officers who may share his insistence on preserving apparent "constitutional order," which has included keeping Cerezo in office. "Hard liners," on the other hand, have staged several military uprisings, or so- called attempted coups, in which they have won a number of concessions since the beginning of the "civilian" administration. Although it is possible to speak of the two different positions taken by the army, it should be noted that they do not disagree on counterinsurgency methods. The reasons given by the commanders for rejecting the three officers are that both Bolanos and Marroquin will retire in 1991, fulfilling less than one year in office, and that Mata has neither the necessary leadership ability nor support from the officers. Another reason could be that Mata's appointment does not respect the traditional order of promotion, and may put him in line for the Ministry ahead of other generals who have greater seniority. The 23 commanders' show of discontent could also be due to the proposed bill sent by President Cerezo to Congress which would change both the military promotional system and rules regarding term of service, presumably to retain both Bolanos and Marroquin. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Fernando Minera, currently on trial for drug trafficking, warned Cerezo that, "one does not fool with the young officers, Mister President". Minera was formerly a member of the Presidential Security Guard. He alsosaid that "if it were not for the work of General Hector Gramajo, he (Cerezo) would no longer be in power". Attack on Air Force Base On Wednesday night, a URNG unit launched three explosive devices against the main air force base in Guatemala City resulting in damages to the installations, admitted army spokesman Colonel Luis Isaacs. Security measures were redoubled at all the bases in the city, and a sweep was carried out in the area surrounding the base where the explosion occurred, with the support of small tanks. No arrests were made, according to Defense Minister General Hector Gramajo. Bus Owners Strike A strike by public transport owners begun on Tuesday -- the second in less than six months -- was the cause of increasingly serious disturbances as the week wore on. Bus company owners are demanding that both government subsidies and passenger fares be doubled. Municipal authorities in Guatemala City decided to take control of public transport on Wednesday, sending inspectors to the 20 bus companies involved in the action, but the inspectors were not able to locate either the owners or the buses, which apparently had been taken out of the city. On Thursday, Guatemala City mayor Alvaro Heredia requested that the government provide a military presence to assure regular service to the city's more than two million riders. Members of the cabinet met on Friday to discuss this request, but radio reports on Saturday quoted the Guatemalan vice secretary of Public Relations as saying that this measure would not be taken because all other avenues have not been exhausted. The owners have not changed their position since the beginning of the week. The strike is estimated to be affecting 2.5 million Guatemalans in the area of the capital and in Quetzaltenango, the most important city in the western part of the country, where owners are also pressuring for a fare increase. In Guatemala City, people have been injured by police during protests over the owners' demands for increases in fares, which were raised by 100% in December as a result of the last owners' strike. Julio Porras, speaking for the bus drivers, opposed further subsidies, saying that although the transport owners have made large profits, they have failed to raise wages as promised. Nine Political Parties Will Meet With URNG in Madrid The Guatemalan Commission for National Reconciliation (CNR) announced the political parties which have been chosen to attend the upcoming meeting with the Guatemalan rebels to be held in Madrid, between May 28 and 31. The meeting, set during peace talks between the CNR and the rebel organization, the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), in Oslo last March, has received wide support both inside and outside Guatemala, as the first open meeting between the rebels and politicians. The nine parties selected by the CNR to be part of the political delegation are: the ruling Christian Democratic Party, the National Centrist Union Party, the Party for National Advancement, the Front for National Advancement, the Revolutionary Party, the United Action Party, the Party forNational Renewal, the Social Democratic Party, and the National Liberation Movement Party. This last, a long- standing extreme right wing party, was the only one to attach conditions to its participation in the talks. The content of those conditions was not revealed. ***************** In the U.S. and Canada subscribe to Weekly Briefs by sending check or money order to: ANI PO Box 28481 Seattle, WA 98118 Subscription fees in the U.S. and Canada: $9 for 3 months, $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 PeaceNet address: ni!cerinic Also please send us your comments and suggestions to the Seattle address or by email to gsleicher on PeaceNet.