/* Written 10:54 PM Oct 9, 1990 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Briefs" ---------- */ CERIGUA Weekly Briefs: October 1 - 7, 1990 UN Expert Completes Visit in Guatemala In a conversation with representatives of the religious sector in Guatemala, United Nations expert Christian Tomuschat said that regrettably the Guatemalan government is not concerned with guaranteeing respect for human rights. Tomuschat was in Guatemala for 13 days, meeting with various government officials and citizen groups. The UN representative said that the human rights situation in Guatemala continues to be very serious and, in fact, seems to be worsening. He confirmed that certain sectors in Guatemala have the political will to search for a solution to the grave violations of human rights, but unfortunately these intentions do not bring any results. During his stay in Guatemala Tomuschat visited areas of armed conflict, including the Nebaj region of the Quiche province where he documented reports of army actions against the civilian population. He also visited the Panachel district of the Solola province where he witnessed the level of poverty endured by orphans who have lost their parents to the violence in that region. According to Assistant Human Rights Attorney Fernando Hurtado, the number of orphans nationwide exceeds 200,000. The UN representative from Germany left Guatemalan on Wednesday and said that he will prepare a report to present at the next UN Commission on Human Rights assembly in January. Congressman Oliverio Garcia said that Guatemala is a country of "perfect crimes" because the guilty are never exposed; but he added that this may result in reducied economic assistance for Guatemala after the UN Commission meets in January. Unprecedented Protest by Police Officers Two hundred and fifty National Police officers participated in an uprising in Guatemalan City on Thursday evening to protest their transfer to remote areas of the countryside. Officers from the third police corps of Zone 5 in the capital city took over the precinct station peacefully in an action unprecedented in Guatemala's history. The officers were being transferred to remote areas such as Quiche, Peten and Huehuetenango. They said that it would be impossible to support their families in the capital city and pay their own expenses in the areas they would be moved to with nothing more than the already insufficient salary of 400 quetzales (approximately $72) per month that they receive. One officer interviewed said that they had gone to the police administration to request that they not be transferred, and the first thing they were told is that they would have to pay 200 quetzales. The officers occupied the precinct Thursday evening, refusing to turn over their weapons or leave the building. They requested that the Special Human Rights Attorney mediate the matter, which they claimed was a maneuver by the police chiefs to replace them with "their own people." Later the same evening the uprising was suppressed and the officers disarmed. The seven leaders of the protest were arrested and 28 officers were discharged. The remaining are subject to punishment according to the law, a police spokesperson said. A delegation from the Office of the Special Human Rights Attorney arrived at the National Police headquarters to establish the whereabouts of officers who had issued a denouncement that they were going to be disappeared. This was the first police protest of its kind in Guatemala. Government Inquiry into Oqueli-Flores Murders: A Cover-Up Leaders of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in Guatemala said in a press conference on Friday that the government's report on the January assassinations of Hector Oqueli and Gilda Flores covers up the truth and demonstrates the lack of will to capture those responsible. PSD Secretary General Mario Solorzano said that the official inquiry into the murder of the two Social Democrats is extremely deficient and full of contradictions. Oqueli, a Salvadoran who was vice-president of the Socialist International (IS) for Latin America, and Flores, a member of the PSD in Guatemala, were kidnapped and killed in January of this year on their way to the international airport in Guatemala City. The government has not made public its report on the investigation. Guillermo Ungo, IS vice-president, requested an investigation by Professor Tom Farer, director of the international relations program at the American University in Washington, D.C. Farer will present a report on his investigation at the annual socialist meeting in New York next week. His investigation revealed that a group of Guatemalans and Salvadorans was responsible for the assassinations, and that Oqueli was detained for over an hour at the airport when he arrived in Guatemala was then followed by armed men until his kidnapping and murder. Cerezo Opposes Radar System Drug trafficking could be under control if President Cerezowas not opposing the installation of radar towers in Guatemala, the only way to detect landings of aircraft that are transporting drugs, declared Rene de Leon, presidential candidate for the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Popular Alliance (AP-5). De Leon said that Cerezo has opposed receiving a donation of the radar towers, knowing full well that this is not in the best interest of the Guatemalan people. He added that plantation owners, especially on the southern coast, are Cerezo's accomplices in this matter. A project to install a radar system, valued at $34 million, in Central America is to be financed by the European Community and is being promoted by the Central American Council of Aerial Navigation. De Leon's statements were made on his campaign trail during the last weekend of September. Religious Groups Respond to Quito Meeting On Thursday the Evangelical Alliance of Guatemala, an organizatin of two million Protestants, ratified the Quito declaration signed by Guatemalan religious leaders and the armed insurgency. The declaration was the end result of a meeting between representatives of diverse religious groups and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) on September 24-26 in Quito, Ecuador. The declaration calls for immediate and direct conversations between the government, the army and the guerrillas. Miguel Palacios, a priest with the Episcopal Church of Guatemala and one of the participants at the Quito meeting, said in a press conference on Friday that the insurgency is interested in pursuing a far-reaching solution to the crisis in Guatemala and advocates the participation of all social sectors in the search for alternatives. Quezada Comments on Progress of Talks with URNG Monsignor Rodolfo Quezada, president of the Commission for National Reconciliation, characterized the recent talks between religious leaders and the URNG leadership as satisfactory. He said that the meeting was one more step toward direct dialogue between the government, army and the insurgency. Upon his return from Quito, Monsignor Quezada said that it is still unknown when a government- army-insurgency meeting will take place. He said that it would depend on the naming of a mediator, and may take place during the current government, the next government, or begin with the current and continue with the next. He added that representatives from medium-sized businesses and professional organizations will also participate in the talks scheduled for October 22 in Mexico City between the URNG leadership and labor unions, human rights groups, refugees and other grassroots organizations. Delegation of German Students in Guatemala Students for five universities in Germany visited Guatemala this week, on invitation by the Association of University Students (AEU) of Guatemala. Their purpose is to investigate the increasing number of kidnappings and assassinations of Guatemalan students, union members, politicians and others. Their itinerary includes visits to the Quiche province as well as Quezaltenango, where a number of students were assassinted two years ago by police officers, who were sentenced to prison but later freed. The German students will be in Guatemala until the 14th of October. Two University Students Killed A 26-year-old student was murdered on the campus of the University of San Carlos in Guatemala City (USAC) on Monday evening. Armando Reyes Lopez died of bullet wounds from an attack by four armed men. Only three days before, another student at USAC, Enrique Lemus, was shot and killed on his way home. Lemus was a nephew of Danilo Roca, who is running as a candidate for Congress. During the month of September a total of 136 extrajudicial g the minimum daily salary for farmworkers at ten quetzales (apptween the armies of the United States and Guatemala." Padial exe address or by email to cerisea on PeaceNet.