/* Written 10:06 PM Feb 5, 1991 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Briefs Jan 27 - Feb 2" ---------- */ CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, January 27 - February 2, 1991 Popular Demands on Anniversary of Spanish Embassy Massacre Labor and grassroots organizations in Guatemala presented their demands to newly-elected President Serrano this week in commemoration of the eleventh anniversary of the Spanish embassy massacre. On January 31, 1980 police forces set fire to the Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, which campesinos were peacefully occupying to protest army repression. They were burned alive, together with embassy personnel and others. In a paid statement on Thursday the United Labor and Popular Action (UASP) declared that repression has continued since the Spanish embassy tragedy, as evidenced by assassinations, disappearances, massacres and bombings of the civilian population. The UASP, which brings together unions and grassroots groups, said that seeking agreements with the populace but ignoring problems stemming from injustices is simply absurd. Declarations of good intentions are not enough, according to the umbrella organization. The group called upon President Serrano to respond concretely to the demands of people displaced, widowed or orphaned by the violence, families of the disappeared, campesinos, students and workers. Demands registered by popular organizations centered around two themes--military repression and economic conditions. The organization of Guatemalan widows, CONAVIGUA, demanded an immediate end to persecution of workers in the countryside and in the cities, and asked that human rights groups be present to witness events in conflict areas. The National Council of the Displaced (CONDEG) demanded the immediate release of young men captured for army duty by military commissioners, who are civilians working for the army. Full respect for human rights and an end to forced participation in rural defense patrols was demanded by the Committee for Campesino Unity (CUC). In a march sponsored by the UASP in the capital city on Thursday, the participants protested the lifting of price controls and unjustified layoffs of state workers. A general salary increase was demanded to recuperate lost buying power. All popular organizations were united in their call for affordable prices for basic goods and services such as education, health care, transportation and electricity. In a statement broadcast on Guatemalan Flash on Wednesday, CONDEG declared that as long as the Serrano government does not comply with these demands, a social pact with the people is impossible. Army Recruits Forcibly Captured Hundreds of young men were taken captive over the weekend to serve in the armed forces, according to the Committee for Campesino Unity (CUC). The statement released on Friday specified that the illegal captures were carried out by the army, military commissioners and civil patrol chiefs on January 25, 26 and 27 in the provinces of Quiche, Solola, Totonicapan, Huehuetenango and Zacapa. The CUC said the forced recruitments for military service were discriminatory and repressive. Those captured were indigenous and campesinos, according to the Committee. Some of the young men were beaten, and some women who protested the kidnapping of their sons and husbands were threatened with violence. In Zacapa two military commissioners killed Oscar Cante Lopez during the army operation. Monday's edition of Prensa Libre also reported incidents of illegal recruitments. Over the weekend military commissioners accompanied by heavily armed men forced adolescents from San Pedro Sacatepequez into a vehicle with tinted windows. One young man who managed to escape said they were brutally beaten. Residents of Mixco said that army trucks were picking up young men on the streets of this town on the outskirts of Guatemala City on Saturday and Sunday. If they did not have an identification card proving they were married, they were loaded into the trucks and taken away. Both of the towns in the Prensa Libre report are populated primarily by indigenous residents. Most of Guatemala's 50,000 soldiers are indigenous, and many have reportedly been captured and forced to join the army. President Serrano said he regretted the violent methods used by the military commissioners, according to Wednesday's radio broadcast of Patrullaje Informativo. After meeting with the army high command, Serrano said on Thursday that the actions were outside of the army's control and were carried out by individuals who would be punished. State Department Points Finger at Security Forces The U.S. State Department's 1990 report on human rights practices states that reliable evidence shows that the majority of human rights abuses in Guatemala are committed by government security forces and civil defense patrols, who act with almost total impunity. The report released on Friday identifies the victims of extrajudicial assassinations, disappearances and torture as human rights activists, unionists, indigenous people and children, among others, who apparently are believed to be supporters or sympathizers of the guerrillas. The number of murders in Guatemala during 1990 was at least three times higher than the 2,000 murders acknowledged by the government, according to a report on the State Department document published in the Mexican daily Uno M s Uno. Proposal for Human Rights Expert Blocked The governing United Action Movement (MAS) party and its allies blocked a proposal in the Congress to request international supervision of human rights in Guatemala. The opposition National Centrist Union (UCN) party had called for a special United Nations expert to be appointed for Guatemala because of the constant human rights violations which go uninvestigated. UCN congressman Edmundo Mulet declared that the nation cannot respond with indifference to the massacres, assassinations, disappearances, clandestine cemeteries, to the 200,000 orphans and 50,000 refugees in Mexico. He described the crimes as a "disgrace that we will pass on to generations to come." The UCN initiative was proposed just as the UN Human Rights Commission began its 47th assembly in Geneva. Last year the UN commission named Christian Toumushat as a personal representative of UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar to observe the human rights situation in Guatemala. Toumushat, a human rights specialist from Germany, is expected to arrive in Guatemala on Sunday to finish his report for the current assembly. During his stay until February 9 he will reportedly visit Santiago Atitlan, where army soldiers murdered 15 indigenous residents. The naming of a special expert, which was opposed by the Christian Democratic party, National Advancement Party (PAN) and the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) in addition to the governing party, would mean that Guatemala would be placed on the list of countries with severe human rights violations. A spokesman for the foreign ministry office said on Wednesday that the action is unnecessary since President Serrano has repeatedly said his government will respect human rights. Wednesday's editorial in the daily El Gr fico, which is owned by losing UCN presidential candidate Jorge Carpio, suggested that the new government would show more "guts" if it would collaborate with efforts to investigate the abuses and punish those responsible. Communities in Resistance Respond to Army Accusation Guatemalans who have sought refuge in the mountains to escape army repression denied this week that they are linked to the country's guerrilla forces. The Communities of Population in Resistance (CPR) were accused by army spokesman Colonel Edgar Ortega of being the insurgency's political arm. The communities are made up of thousands of civilians who live in hiding to resist being subjected to military control. They refuse to be relocated in model villages run by the army and to serve in mandatory civil defense patrols illegallyimposed by the army. The communities were recently recognized by the Guatemalan Bishops Conference as "our Christian brothers and sisters" who survive in the most dreadful conditions of poverty, neglect and malnutrition. According to CPR representatives, it is the army who is operating outside of national and international law. They accuse the army of brutal massacres and bombings, and say that the people live literally day by day because of constant army raids. The CPR representatives called the army's accusation "irresponsible and reckless." They added that President Serrano, as commander-in-chief of the army, should order an end to the repression against the communities and prohibit the army from making statements which endanger their lives. Price Controls Lifted As had been widely feared, price controls on basic goods were lifted by the new government. Instead, on Saturday, the Minister of the Economy announced a policy of "suggested prices" to "protect the consumer," and at the same time authorized a 32% increase in the price of sugar. Minister Richard Aitkenhead said that it will be up to the business sector to demonstrate their good will and understanding by not raising prices. The outgoing Vice Minister of the Economy had said on Thursday that it would be a mistake to eliminate price controls, because without them, prices would undoubtedly rise dramatically. An editorial on radio broadcast Guatemalan Flash on Wednesday contended that the measure would place the people of Guatemala at the mercy of monopolies and price speculation. Economic Growth in 1990 Benefited Few In spite of the economic crisis during 1990, Guatemala experienced a growth rate of 3.7% in the gross national product, according to former Vice Minister of the Economy Luis Cifuentes. Unfortunately, the majority of the population didn't reap any benefits, commented Cifuentes. The economic growth was visible only in increased business, which benefited only a few. The economic plight of workers and campesinos worsened during 1990 because of spiraling inflation which Cifuentes cited at 77%, a rate even higher than previous estimates. Government-URNG Dialogue Urged The Guatemalan government and the armed opposition should meet as soon as possible, according to Monsignor Rodolfo Quezada, president of the National Reconciliation Commission (CNR). Quezada emphasized on Friday that the next step in the dialogue process is the most important--direct dialogue between the government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). In statements made the day before, President Serrano committed only to meeting with the URNG leadership sometime during the next six months. The National Reconciliation Commission met with Serrano for the first time on Thursday. Under the new government, Monsignor Quezada will remain as the Commission's president, Monsignor Juan Gerardi as vice-president, and Tere Bolanos de Zarco and Mario Permuth as notable citizens on the commission. Representatives from the Serrano government will be Vice President Gustavo Espina and presidential advisor Amilcar Burgos. Political parties will name new representatives to serve on the commission. Monsignor Quezada announced that the sectors which have already participated in the dialogue with the insurgency will soon be convened to formulate points of agreement and promote the accords reached with the URNG thus far. The religious groups which met with the URNG in September publicized a statement on Wednesday in which they asked President Serrano to arrange a "true dialogue" between the government, army and the insurgency. The Bishops Conference, Episcopal Church, Catholic Religious Conference, Protestant churches and the Jewish community urged other sectors which met with the URNG to work towards the realization of this final step outlined in the Oslo Accords. Serrano's Helicopter Attacked The military helicopter in which President Serrano was traveling was damaged by machinegun fire during a trip to Peten province on Wednesday, according to official reports. Serrano and the other occupants were unhurt, but the helicopter was seriously damaged and forced to make an emergency landing. Defense Minister Luis Mendoza, head of the army chiefs of staff Colonel Francisco Ortega, and other military officials were also traveling in the helicopter. Government spokesman Manuel Conde said that guerrilla forces were responsible for the attack which occurred in a zone of intense military activity. Conde admitted that the trip through this region was ill-advised, and that the attack occurred even though the helicopter was being monitored. The army spokesman denied that members of the armed forces could have been involved. No group has claimed responsibility. ***************** 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 Also please send us your comments and suggestions to the Seattle address or by email to cerisea on PeaceNet. g outside of national and international law. They accuse the army of brut