/* Written 9:36 PM Aug 27, 1990 by gsleicher in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Briefs" ---------- */ CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS: August 20-26, 1990 Electoral Registry Denies Rios Montt Bid Retired General Efrain Rios Montt's registration as candidate for President in the November elections was rejected Wednesday by the Guatemalan Civil Registry. Felix Castillo, director of the Registry, announced the denial, citing Article 186 of the Guatemalan Constitution which prohibits those who have participated in military takeovers from seeking presidential office. Addressing this point before the most recent decision, Congressman Hector Aguilar had said that if Rios Montt were to be registered further along in the process he would be stopped. "We wrote the Constitution, and we wanted to punish those who had participated in acts which destabilize the country," said Congressman Aguilar. Rios Montt is widely remembered for the brutal counterinsurgency campaign he carried out in the Guatemalan highlands in 1982-83 as self-declared president. He claims that it was during his term of power that the violence in the capital was brought under control. When questioned directly about the dozens of massacres in the countryside during the 18 months of his reign, he says merely that everything done during his presidency was legal. Rios Montt's supporters plan to take the case to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and then to the Supreme Court if necessary. Guatemala's highest court, the Court of the Constitution, however, has already issued a ruling generally interpreted as a rejection of Rios Montt's candidacy. In the days following the decision, Rios Montt told his followers through radio and television that they were being denied the opportunity to vote for their chosen candidate, and that it would be up to them to take action. He has called for a mass gathering on Sunday August 26, in Guatemala City's Central Plaza. The General warns that although he plans to appeal his case through the established procedures, "if the people reach the end of their patience, it can't be predicted what might occur." Funds Continue for Guatemala U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, Thomas Stroock, announced on Monday that the United States would temporarily suspend funds used to train Guatemalan judicial and police personnel. The announcement comes after the recent release of a report by Phillip Heymann, Director of the Harvard University Center for Criminal Justice. The report details the reasons for Harvard's decision not to renew its program to train Guatemalan judges, prosecutors and police, which it had been doing since 1988. In a section entitled "Why We Are Leaving," the Heymann report states, "we did not want to help create a criminal justice system that left broad areas of immunity for some powerful perpetrators of political violence. Such violence, if accepted by high-level government officials, would make any broad-based democracy impossible." The report recommends against the use of U.S. monies to provide training or advice to police, prosecutors or judges in any country whose political and military leaders do not actively oppose political violence committed by their own agents. On Friday Prensa Libre carried statements by Stroock making it clear that the only funds to actually dry up are those of the Harvard program--news that was reported over a month ago. Despite the fact that Stroock cited Dr. Heymann's report and referred to the Harvard Program as "our efforts," it appears the State Department is not going to follow the document's recommendations. The inconsistency of Stroock's statements with U.S. policy did not escape National Police Director Julio Caballeros. Commenting on the initial announcement to suspend funds, Caballeros pointed out that on Wednesday an agreement for $357,000 in additional drug enforcement funds would be signed with the United States. Entire Rebel Command to Attend Talks The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) announced on Tuesday that it plans to send all four members of its General Command to talks with representatives of Guatemala's private sector, to be held August 31 - September l in Canada. The location of the meeting has still not been announced. Sources linked to the URNG said that Commanders Pablo Monsanto, Gaspar Ilom, and Rolando Moran, along with Carlos Gonzalez (Chair of the Guatemalan Workers Party) will attend the talks. This round of discussions between Guatemalan private enterprise and the country's armed opposition is the second in a series outlined in agreements signed between rebels and the Commission for National Reconciliation in March in Oslo, Norway. At the end of May the insurgency met with delegates from nine mainstream Guatemalan political parties. Plans for meetings with both religious leaders and social groups are currently being made. The decision to send all four members of its highest leadership is a sign of the seriousness with which the URNG takes this round of discussions, the first of its kind with Guatemalan business leaders. AEU Renews Demand for Murder Investigation On Thursday August 23, five persons were reported disappeared, one of whom is a student from the University of San Carlos (USAC); eight others were reported murdered. The USAC Law Students Association demanded an investigation into the disappearance of 30-year-old Eleodoro Palma, and his immediate release. Palma was kidnapped by a group of armed men on his way to the university August 1. This month marks one year since the decimation of the USAC student leadership. In late July and August 1989, eleven members of the Guatemalan university student leadership were kidnapped. The bodies of four student leaders were found in early September on the outskirts of the university campus, showing multiple knife wounds and indications of having received injections. To date seven of the university leaders remain missing. Yet another three were forced into exile. Of these three, Marco Tulio Montenegro later returned to Guatemala on personal guarantees from President Cerezo for his safety. He was kidnapped and murdered shortly after his return in December 1989. Last year's disappearances and murders constituted the second time in five years that the directorate of the Guatemalan University Students Association (AEU) was the target of severe repression. In repeated radio announcements early in the week, the AEU called for the results of the investigation promised last year by Vinicio Cerezo. In the words of Phillip Heymann in the Harvard report cited above, "to the best of my knowledge nothing was done, not the slightest effort was made to mount a vigorous and determined investigation of the student killings." Guatemalan Troops Threaten Refugees in Mexico The Mexican biweekly magazine Proceso reported this week that elite members of the Guatemalan army, known as Kaibil troops, have recently crossed into Mexico on more than one occasion. Once there they entered Guatemalan refugee camps in the Mexican border state of Chiapas, and threatened to force the refugees to return to Guatemala. Jorge Santiesteban of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) told Proceso that the institution is aware of the incidents and the message has been sent through the proper channels so that the "tranquility of the refugees in the region is not disturbed." The Guatemalan refugees themselves are demanding guarantees from UNHCR authorities and an investigation of the incidents. They have restated their desire to return to Guatemala in an organized and collective manner, as soon as the conditions for their safety and dignity are provided. The Mexican government categorically denied recent statements by Guatemalan Defense Minister Juan Bolanos that guerrilla training is taking place in the refugee camps. A press release on Wednesday from the Mexican foreign relations secretary stated that Mexico "has not, does not and will not permit the use of its national territory for persons or groups" engaged in armed opposition to a foreign government. The document points out that the camps in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche and Quintana Roo are inhabited mostly by children, women and elderly people who make a living by working in agriculture and crafts production. The delegate to the Mexican Commission on Aid to Refugees (COMAR) for the state of Campeche, Hector Navarrete, said "the only weapons in those camps are the machetes they use for work," referring to the Guatemalan defense minister's accusations. The exchange caused some ill feelings at the diplomatic level, and on Friday Defense Minister Bolanos was apparently obligated to retract the statements. In a bulletin from the Ministry of Public Relations broadcast over both Patrullaje Informativo and Guatemala Flash, Bolanos denied having said the refugee camps are being used to train subversives. Rather he claimed to be referring to events in 1982, when the guerrillas supposedly caused the original displacement of the refugees. Currently no questionable situation exists in the camps, the defense minister said, stressing the good relations which exist with Mexico. ***************** 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.