/* Written 10:11 PM Mar 26, 1991 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Briefs Mar 17 - 23" ---------- */ CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, MARCH 17 - 23, 1991 Oslo Number Two? President Serrano announced in Sunday's edition of El Gr fico that his government is ready to sign a peace agreement with the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). In a seven-point document, Serrano expressed his desire to sign an agreement for "total peace" as soon as possible in Oslo, Norway, where the peace initiative which began the dialogue process was signed almost exactly a year ago. The president assured that through the mediation of the National Reconciliation Commission (CNR), he has been in continuous communication with the URNG during his first two months of office. An editorial in Monday's Prensa Libre commented that a government declaration is seldom as poorly written and contradictory as the one released the previous day. One can imagine, the editorial continued, that it was written in this way so as not to be taken too seriously or perhaps for publicity purposes just before Serrano's trip to Costa Rica. Hector Nuila, a URNG representative in Costa Rica, said on Tuesday that the president's plan lacks specific initiatives and avoids setting a date for the dialogue to begin. Nuila added that the Serrano government had previously turned down two CNR proposals for dialogue, to which the URNG had agreed. In response to the possibility of signing a second agreement in Oslo, Nuila emphasized that achieving peace in Guatemala is not a matter of signing a document. What the URNG is promoting, continued Nuila, is the beginning of a process toward peace. Points for negotiation proposed by the URNG include demilitarizing the country, modifying the country's Constitution, respecting human rights and punishing those responsible for crimes against humanity. Violence Against CERJ Continues Two sons of a Council of Ethnic Communities (CERJ) member were murdered, according to a report by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission. The bodies of Pablo and Manuel Ajiataz Chivalan were found in San Pedro Jocopillas, Quiche on Sunday. They had been kidnapped two days before and were "practically decapitated." According to the CERJ president, the father of the victims fears the murders were committed in reprisal for his involvement in the human rights organization. Another incident involving CERJ members occurred last week. Fifteen relatives of two murdered CERJ members left their homes in Chunima, Quiche under the protection of Assistant Human Rights Ombudsman Cesar Alvarez. Armed men had reportedly been harassing relatives of Juan Perebal Morales and Juan Perebal Morales Xirum, who were killed in February. Alvarez reported that actions against Chumima residents can be traced back to an incident in February of last year when a group of campesinos accused a civil patrol of setting fire to homes and a community meeting place and of robbing a store owned by widows in a neighboring village. The chief of the Chunima civil patrol, Manuel Perebal Ajtzalam, is accused of participating in last October's kidnapping of Sebastian Mejia Velazquez, whose body was found showing signs of torture. Perebal Ajtzalam and another patrol chief are accused of the February murder of the two CERJ members from Chunima, who had reportedly witnessed Velasquez' kidnapping. The CERJ is a grassroots organization which was formed to protest forced participation in rural paramilitary patrols. Peace Brigades Clarify Position In response to the expulsion of three of its members from Guatemala, Peace Brigades International (PBI) expressed its profound concern that the work of humanitarian organizations in Guatemala will be restricted. The international organization placed an ad in Wednesday's daily newspaper El Gr fico to clarify its position following the events which took place last week. PBI explained that after witnessing the violent eviction of campesinos occupying the Olga Maria plantation in Escuintla province on March 11, three Brigade members were ordered to go to the National Palace where they were given three options by the foreign minister's office. They could leave the country immediately under the protection of their respective embassies, be prosecuted for illegal occupation of property which resulted in one person's death or be imprisoned and later expelled from the country. In Wednesday's statement the Peace Brigades emphasized that at no time did its members instigate, direct or participate in the occupation. The organization explained that its mission is humanitarian, not political, and follows principles of non-violence and non-partisanship. PBI members had been asked by the Pro-Land Movement of the Southern Coast to be present at the plantation as international observers because of fear of violence. PBI confirmed that its members observed police forces opening fire on a group of campesinos and killing one woman. The international observers had immediately asked the Escuintla police chief to call an ambulance but he responded with a simple "no". Intermediary Commission Meets with Refugees Guatemalan refugees living in Mexico will not be returning to their homeland in the immediate future, according to a member of the commission that traveled to Mexico to meet with representatives of the refugees. In an interview granted to CERIGUA, Julio Mendizabal, secretary of the National Reconcilation Commission (CNR), said there are many factors involved in the return of more than 40,000 refugees to Guatemala. The CNR was invited to meet with more than 500 representatives of refugees living in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche and Quintana Roo. The meeting was held at the Quetzal-Edzna refugee camp in Campeche on Wednesday and Thursday. Carmen de Leon of the Guatemalan government's Special Commission to Aid Repatriates (CEAR), Roberto Rodriguez of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, and Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro de Leon attended the assembly along with Mendizabal who was representing the CNR. The refugees' representatives unanimously approved a series of recommendations which the mediation commission agreed to communicate to the Guatemalan government and army. The refugees repeated previous statements that their return should be voluntary and organized, and that the government should guarantee their safety and the return of the lands they were forced to leave behind. The refugees rejected the possibility of a visit to the camps by the army, saying this would be counterproductive for refugees who suffered the horrors of the army's scorched earth campaign. A spokesperson for a refugee youth organization said that the refugees will not return as long as boys and young men are forced to serve in the army and in army-controlled civil patrols. Labor Leader Kidnapped Aura Flores, one of the leaders of the workers union at the Ministry of Culture and Sports, was allegedly kidnapped from her home early Thursday morning. According to Saturday morning's Guatemala Flash radio broadcast, Flores claims she was held for 36 hours by four government employees. She reported being taken to Santa Lucia Cotz, Escuintla, where she was coerced to give the names and addresses of fellow unionists. Education Minister Maria Beltranena, who is currently overseeing the Ministry of Culture and Sports, denied that the government was involved in the supposed kidnapping. Saturday's edition of Prensa Libre reported that Beltranena has asked the Interior Ministry to investigate the case in order to verify whether Flores was actually kidnapped or simply took the trip she had requested a few days before. On the same day that Flores was reportedly kidnapped, shots were fired at the vehicle in which two fellow union members were traveling. Fernando Lucero and Luis Ramirez reported receiving death threats by phone shortly before the attack, which they escaped without injury. The Ministry of Culture and Sports has been embroiled in labor conflicts during the two months of the new government. Workers have been demanding job security since the closure of the Ministry was threatened days before Serrano took office. Education Minister Beltranena stated that an evaluation was still in progress to determine whether the Ministry of Culture and Sports will be maintained as such or incorporated under another ministry. Campesinos Refuse to Join Patrols Two hundred campesinos from the village of Ixtahuacan, Huehuetenango, have been pressured by the local military garrison to join civil patrols to guard the region's bridges. The National Council of the Displaced in Guatemala (CONDEG) reported that an army officer assembled the campesinos to form patrols and hand out weapons, but the campesinos refused to participate. They were told by the officer that if anything happened to the bridges, they would be held responsible. In a paid statement over the radio broadcast Guatemalan Flash on Thursday, CONDEG appealed to the national and international community to demand an end to the threats and request protection for the villagers. Privatization of Electricity Company Protested Members of the workers union at the National Electricity Institute are protesting plans to privatize electricity production in Guatemala. Approximately a thousand STINDE union members demonstrated in the capital city on Monday. The workers said that privatization is being justified by the government's lack of capital to maintain production, but they warned that electricity rates will triple if the company goes into private hands. The STINDE unionists reported that negotiations with Japanese and Mexican entrepreneurs are underway. In Saturday's edition of Prensa Libre, Energy Minister Carlos Hurtarte acknowledged that a study has recommended that the electricity company be privatized, but he insisted that the recommendation was rejected. Hurtarte said that the only way to solve the company's financial difficulties would be to raise electricity rates, but added that such a decision had not been made. Human Rights Ombudsman Responds to CPRs Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro de Leon said this week that he would withdraw his plan for peace in northern Quiche in response to criticism that it could divert efforts away from the national peace process which is currently being mediated by the National Reconciliation Commission (CNR). Last week the Communities of Population in Resistance (CPR)emphatically rejected the ombudsman's plan to resolve the crisis being endured by the communities living in the northern mountains of Quiche. The CPRs charged De Leon with manipulating the information they gave him in order to promote his own ideas. They also accused him of trying to compete with the peace process being facilitated by the CNR. In a statement over Guatemala Flash on Wednesday, De Leon explained his proposal, which he said the CPRs rejected before it had been presented. He gave his full support to the CNR and expressed his willingness to incorporate his proposal into the plan for national peace. Canada Questions Economic Assistance The Canadian ambassador to Guatemala said this week that his government is concerned about the human rights situation in Guatemala and is considering a reduction in economic aid to the Guatemalan government. The comments by Ambassador Brian Dickson were made during a visit with the Mutual Support Group of Relatives of the Disappeared (GAM) and were reported in Monday's El Gr fico. Dickson said that 22,000 Guatemalans have asked for permission to travel to Canada, some seeking employment and others seeking refuge from political violence. The Canadian embassy in Guatemala City was the target of an apparent intimidation attempt on March 1. Shots were fired from a passing vehicle only days after the Canadian government had voted to place Guatemala on the United Nations list of the worst human rights offenders. Serrrano Receives Good Marks Joseph Sullivan, the U.S. State Department representative in charge of Central American affairs, arrived in Guatemala on Friday. He reportedly met with Foreign Minister Alvaro Arzu, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Thomas Stroock. Sullivan told Prensa Libre that he believed that "things are improving in Guatemala" and confirmed that President Serrano is making efforts to ensure respect for human rights. Serrano has good intentions and is doing a good job, concluded the State Department representative. Clarification on Last Week's Edition In "Former Military Officers Freed" in the last edition of the Weekly Briefs, we reported that, according to Prensa Libre, extradition of the three military officers to the United States had been requested by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. This information did not appear in the March 16 edition, rather it was reported in the December 29, 1990 edition of Prensa Libre. On that day then Interior Minister Carlos Morales was quoted as saying that U.S. authorities were demanding the extradition of three members of the military and three civilians within 48 hours. The six had been arrested for drug trafficking and included the three military officers mentioned in our report last week. However, on January 3, the radio broadcast Guatemala Flash reported that then Foreign Minister Ariel Rivera had only confirmed receiving requests for extradition of three civilians, not mentioning the three military officers. At press time for this edition of the Weekly Briefs, it remains unclear whether extradition of the military officers was requested or not. Note: The Weekly Briefs will not be published next week (Holy Week); however, next week's events will be covered in the following edition. ***************** 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. sting plans to privatize electricity production in Guatemala. Approximately a thousand STINDE unio