/* Written  8:12 PM  Nov  7, 1990 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */
/* ---------- "Cerigua Briefs" ---------- */
    CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, October 29 - November 4, 1990

Tense Atmosphere Before Elections

Nearly all Guatemalan communications media reported increased
troop movement and security operations both in the capital
and in the provinces this week.  Spokesmen from both the army
and SIPROCI (a conglomerate of the National Police, Treasury
Police and Mobile Military Police under the command of the
army) announced special maneuvers aimed at "ensuring an
atmosphere of calm for the elections."

The special operations include indiscriminate searches at
roadblocks on highways entering the capital, at bus stations,
on the streets and in homes.  A SIPROCI spokesman said over
the radio broadcast Patrullaje Informativo on October 29,
"the country is practically inundated by security personnel"
in an attempt to keep to a minimum the violence anticipated
because of the elections.

Military spokesman Carlos Duran said Wednesday that the army
is carrying out its own actions in the capital and the
countryside, independent of the SIPROCI operations.

Political candidates formally complained to the Ministry of
the Interior that security agents have been seizing the arms
they carry for personal defense at a time when the
politicians feel a particular need for them.  They asked the
Interior Minister to clearly instruct SIPROCI personnel to
respect their positions as candidates.

The minister replied, however, that any non-registered weapon
would be subject to seizure and said that altogether too many
persons hold such licenses.  He also called for stepped-up
security efforts at the national level against common
criminal elements, against whom agents should act "without
hesitation."

Former Student Leader Found Dead

Former university student leader Orlando Alvarado, reported
kidnapped last week, was found dead Wednesday, his body
showing signs of torture.  With his murder the number of
extra-judicial executions in Guatemala during the month of
October totals 110, based on reports in the dailies El
Gr fico and Prensa Libre.  In response to the current rise in
political violence, National Opposition Front presidential
candidate Rene de Leon confirmed that the freedom and ease
with which death squads operate in Guatemala suggest
participation by government security forces.

Election Items

Eight political parties announced they will bring their
electoral campaigns to a close this weekend (November 3 & 4)
and Miguel Angel Lee, candidate for the Revolutionary Party
(PR) withdrew from the race just nine days before the
elections.

Press reports at the close of this issue said that Christian
Democratic presidential candidate Alfonso Cabrera is expected
to return to Guatemala on Thursday, November 8 (Saturday
morning broadcast of Guatemala Flash).  The 48-year-old
Cabrera has been undergoing treatment for an acute pancreas
condition in a hospital in Houston, Texas since last Sunday.

Jorge Carpio, candidate for the National Centrist Union
(UCN), was the first of the presidential candidates to
support the three points which emerged from the most recent
meeting between rebels and labor, popular and small business
groups: (1) government/URNG dialogue, (2) a broad-based forum
to work towards a national consensus and (3) the convocation
of a constituent assembly.

The secretary general of the Organization of American States
(OAS), Joao Baena Suarez, will arrive in Guatemala shortly as
an observer for the November 11 elections.  He will be
accompanied by other OAS officials, according to Luis Alberto
Sepulveda, the organization's director for Guatemala.

Army Worried by Dialogue's Positive Results

In apparent response to the meeting held last week between
leaders of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG)
and members of various grassroots and union organizations,
the Guatemalan army issued a bulletin warning the National
Reconcilation Commission that any decision to dialogue with
guerrillas would be made by the government, not the
Commission.  The army bulletin was aired over the television
news program Teleprensa on October 30.

At last week's meeting in Mexico, the reconciliation
commission's designated mediator for the talks said it was
trying to arrange the next meeting to take place between the
government, army and insurgents.  The government agreed to
such a meeting earlier this year, but there are factions of
the army bitterly opposed to this kind of dialogue.  Tuesday
night's statement was apparently an expression of some
officers' dissatisfaction with the momentum gained through
the discussions between the URNG and different sectors of
Guatemalan society.

The answer to the army's warning was a strongly worded
message from the entire Conference of Guatemalan Bishops,
read by Archbishop Prospero Penados in a press conference on
Wednesday. The message calls on the government "in the name
of God" to dialogue immediately with the guerrillas to find a
peaceful path toward resolving Guatemala's long conflict.  It
summons pastoral workers to read and study the accord signed
between religious leaders and guerrillas in Quito, Ecuador
last month.

The bishops' message also deplores the manner in which the
presidential campaign is being conducted, saying it has gone
beyond diatribe to physical elimination of those with
opposing points of view.

Relatives of the Disappeared Meet in Managua

There are over 90,000 persons listed as disappeared in Latin
America and more than half are Guatemalan, according to
participants at the tenth conference of the Latin American
Federation of Families of the Disappeared (FEDEFAM), which
took place this week in Nicaragua.

The goals of the conference were to shed light on the grave
human rights situation in Latin America and to analyze what
members can do to defend the rights of their disappeared
relatives.  The meeting, which included participants from the
United States, opened Sunday October 28 at the University of
Central America (UCA), a Jesuit institution.

Among the organizations present were the Mothers of the Plaza
de Mayo from Argentina and the Mutual Support Group for
Relatives of the Disappeared of Guatemala.

Renewed Threats Against Indigenous Activists

A new death squad is operating in Guatemala and has
threatened members of the Council of Ethnic Communities
Runujel Junam (CERJ), according to the Council's president
Amilcar Mendez.  The death squad has threatened to kill
members of the CERJ, and is carrying out a campaign to
discredit the organization and intimidate villagers in Santa
Cruz, where it is headquartered, to prevent their associating
with its members.

CERJ celebrated its second anniversary in early September,
affirming on that occasion that it will continue to fight
against forced civil patrol duty and forced military service.
The Council once again denounced the defective judicial
system which permits assassinations, disappearances and
kidnappings to be carried out without fear of punishment.

U.S. Will Continue to Aid Guatemala

A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Guatemala announced on
Monday that the United States will continue to give economic
aid to Guatemala, provided the new government maintains the
democratic process. Spokesman James Dickmeyer said the Bush
administration has requested $120 million in economic aid for
Guatemala for 1991.  Approximately $2 million is designated
for the "war on drugs", with more emphasis on eliminating
drug production than transportation of illegal drugs.

Dickmeyer characterized relations between the two countries
as very good, and added that during the last five years
relations have "matured", owing to the recognition by both
Bush and Reagan of the changes in the region and worldwide.

Economic aid from the United States since 1986 totals more
than $900 million, of which 90% was donated.  According to
the U.S. embassy spokesman, the aid has gone to help the
poorest Guatemalans through economic development assistance
and rural projects.  He added that there is an auditing
system in place to ensure that the money is indeed used for
the projects intended.

Possible Cut in Canadian Aid

Canada could suspend an economic aid project to Guatemala in
protest over human rights violations, according to Nineth de
Garcia, president of the Mutual Support Group for Relatives
of the Disappeared (GAM).

The human rights activist conducted a three-week tour through
Canada and reported upon her return that the Canadian
government had demanded of its Guatemalan counterpart a
special report on the progress of investigations of
disappearances and kidnappings.

Several Canadian authorities who met with the GAM leader told
her that an $8 million aid program designated for specific
government projects could be suspended or transferred to
grassroots organizations in Guatemala, given the
deterioration in respect for human rights.

Unions Demonstrate For Pension Reform

Several major Guatemalan trade union organizations (CGTG,
Federation of Guatemalan Workers; FESEBS, Federated Union of
Banking and Insurance Workers; UNSITRAGUA, the Union of
Syndicated Guatemalan Workers) demonstrated Tuesday in the
capital, according to the late edition of Teleprensa that
day. Approximately one thousand workers took part in the
march demanding that the government approve an employee
pension law.  CGTG leader Jesus Miranda said the march was to
compel the president to sign into law the bill which has been
sitting on his desk due to pressure from employers backed by
CACIF (Council of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and
Financial Associations) and advocates of company unionism.

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

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o, Ecuador
last month.

The bishops' mess