Forwarded message: >From howardtilton@igc.apc.org Tue Jun 11 15:30:01 1996 Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 08:21:36 -0700 (PDT) X-UIDL: 834509030.008 From: Howard-Tilton Memorial Library Message-Id: <199606111521.IAA27457@igc2.igc.apc.org> To: pbary@rs1.tcs.tulane.edu Subject: Cerigua Briefs /* Written 10:09 PM Jun 5, 1990 by gsleicher in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Briefs" ---------- */ CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, MAY 28 - JUNE 3, 1990 URNG and Political Parties Hold Talks The first encounter in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, between Guatemalan political parties and the insurgency ended on a note of satisfaction and sense of achievement. Yet the process to find a far-reaching solution to the 30-year internal armed conflict has only just begun. The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) delegation included three of the four members of the general command, Comandantes Gaspar Ilom and Pablo Monsanto, and Carlos Gonzalez. Luis Becker, Miguel Angel Sandoval and Francisco Villagran of the URNG political- diplomatic team were the other delegation members. The four days of talks this week between representatives from the guerrilla unity and the nine largest political parties in the country led to agreements which constitute a significant beginning for the efforts to achieve peace. Monsignor Rodolfo Quezada stated, however, that "true peace is not simply an absence of war, much less the preservation of an unjust situation in which a minority enjoy their privileges at the expense of a majority who lack even the most essential means for their development." Quezada is president of the Commission for National Reconciliation (CNR), and acted as mediator in the talks in compliance with the role given to him in the Oslo Accords signed last March by the CNR and the URNG. Both participants and observers praised the cordial and respectful atmosphere in which the meetings were conducted, as well as the signs of good will. The political parties have promised to initiate procedures to carry out the constitutional reforms demanded by the rebels, who in turn have agreed to suspend sabotage actions for the duration of the electoral process. "The insurgency is not going to lay down its weapons and will maintain its political and military strength during its participation in the changes, which hopefully will occur within an institutional context", stated Comandante Pablo Monsanto. Peace Process Will Include Constitutional Reforms The agreements reached by the Guatemalan guerrillas and political parties in El Escorial, Spain, include the total revision of the laws which support counterinsurgency, and the creation of bases for true democracy. Legal proceedings for the URNG's participation in the National Constituent Assembly, which is responsible for reforms to the Guatemalan Constitution, are to be determined. For this purpose, the parties will convene the Assembly in 1991. The rebels specifically propose the suspension of civil defense patrols, model villages, the citizen protection system, and other institutions which have been bases of support for Army counterinsurgency programs. In addition, URNG General Command member Carlos Gonzalez maintained that the nature of the Army as defined in the Constitution must be modified with respect to it being "guarantor of internal security and social peace." Gonzalez stated that these are functions proper to the Ministry of Internal Security. The insurgency also stated the need to repeal certain laws decreed during the regime of General Oscar Mejia Victores (1983-1986), through which the Army absolved itself of all human rights violations during the scorched earth campaign it carried out from 1982 on. The laws also exonerated the Army of all murders and kidnappings committed in this same period. The bases for true democracy agreed on by the rebels and politicians include civil rights of organization and expression, independent economic development, general welfare, social justice and strict independence among the branches of the State. As for the electoral process, Comandante Gaspar Ilom declared that the URNG has no intention of taking part in the elections to be held in November of this year. The rebels promised, however, to abstain from actions against the elections and to suspend acts of sabotage during the campaign period. But ceasing military offensive actions will only take place if declared bilaterally, stated the URNG representatives. Army Recruits Minors The Guatemalan Army recruits youths under legal age, and even forces women to take part in paramilitary civil defense patrols, according to a statement issued by the Southern Campesino Union (USC). In the same area of San Miguel Ixtahuacan in the western province of Huehuetenango where these abuses occured, the Army burned down five houses, the statement added. The USC further denounced the kidnappings, murders and persecution of campesino and other organization leaders and demanded the release of Luis Miguel Solis Pajarito. "We the poor and the working class are direct victims of the present economic crisis", said the USC. The campesino organization warned of a rebellion by the population which would not be stopped by "force, or by demagogical groups or politicians." URNG Denies Attacks Against Non-Military Obejctives While the talks were going on in Spain, the Army in Guatemala persisted in its campaign to obstruct the dialogue process, declared Comandante Rolando Moran of the URNG General Command. Moran rejected Army reports of an action by a supposed guerrilla column, and stated that no such encounter took place. He also refuted the army's claim that URNG guerrillas destroyed a road construction camp in the western province of Solola. The guerrilla leader emphasized that URNG officers and fighting men only act on directions from the General Command, and called on public opinion to "not be confused by these maneuvers which are part of the army's psychological war campaign." GAM Members Occupy International Red Cross Offices Twenty-five members of the Mutual Support Group for Relatives of the Detained/Disappeared (GAM) staged a non-violent occupation of the Guatemala City offices of the International Red Cross to demand the release of Luis Miguel Solis Pajarito, Rumualda Camey, and Diego Velasquez Ac. The GAM members also demanded that the government create a long- promised committee to investigate the whereabouts of thousands of missing persons. President Vinicio Cerezo promised to create such a committee during his campaign as presidential candidate, and again when he took office. GAM president Nineth de Garcia declared that nobody with any authority has taken any interest in finding Solis Pajarito, kidnapped on May 3. GAM said that they are forced to take measures such as the occupation of the International Red Cross in order to obtain support and a position from which demands will be heard. The International Red Cross delegate for Central America and the Caribbean arrived in Guatemala the following day, and conferred with the GAM members. GAM stated that the investigating committee must be composed of representatives from the government, the Human Rights Attorney Office, the Supreme Court, and one international organization accredited in Guatemala. The GAM vacated the International Red Cross premises on Friday afternoon, after receiving the word of Guatemalan Vice-President Roberto Carpio, that the committee would be formed and that by next week he would have information for them regarding their missing relatives. Carpio said that General Carlos Morales, Minister of Internal Security, and Colonel Valerio Cardenas, Chief of Police, would conduct the necessary investigations. A contrasting situation was perceived in another case involving the local office of the Guatemalan Red Cross, where labor leaders Filiberto Ramirez and Adolfo Morales took refuge with their families. They had been pursued for several days by armed men who had also attempted to kidnap Morales' ten-year-old daughter. In an attitude differing considerably from that of the International Red Cross officials, the director of the Guatemalan Red Cross, Jose Luis Penado, ordered Ramirez out of the premises and threatened to bring in the police. But the two labor leaders have insisted on their right to seek protection at the Red Cross, which is a humanitarian institution charged with protecting the citizenry. Canadian Government Under Pressure to Support Peace in Guatemala A large number of Canadian students have requested that their government condemn "the unceasing crimes against the student community in Guatemala, especially the disappearances and torture they have been subjected to." Letters addressed to Prime Minister Brian Mulrooney and Foreign Relations Minister Joe Clark urged the Canadian government to denounce the human rights violations against Guatemalan students, to demand investigations and punishment for those responsible, and, until these demands are granted, made public. rities have neither enforced the health laws which require an adequate hygene system, nor given attention to the nile Court magistrate, after receiving information regarding a foreigner ephone: 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.