/* Written 11:07 PM May 21, 1991 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Briefs May 12 - 18" ---------- */ CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, May 12 - 18, 1991 Political Leaders Seek Safety in Exile News in Guatemalan this week was dominated by reports of political and labor leaders seeking exile. Social Democrat Luis Zurita left the country on Monday to seek exile in Canada. After receiving death threats, his home had been attacked on Sunday. Zurita was a member of the same political organization as Dinora Perez, who was murdered two weeks ago. Both Zurita and Perez belonged to Guatemala United and were active in the Foundation for Rural Projects in Guatemala (FUNDAGUA). This organization has promoted projects like the Olaf Palme Labor Training School and Maria Chinchilla Women's Institute. Zurita was vice presidential candidate for the Social Democratic Party in 1985. In the most recent elections he ran for Congress on the Christian Democratic (DC) ticket after an alliance was made between Guatemala United and the DC party. Members of the alliance, known as the Democratic Convergence, have been a target for death threats. Seven other people reported to be Democratic Convergence leaders and members of FUNDAGUA also left Guatemala this week seeking exile. Their names as they appeared in Thursday's El Grafico are Walter Alejandro Vielman, Aida Aguirre de Vielman, Edgar Virgilio Ayala, Juan Alberto Segura, Manuel de Jesus Castro, Magdalena de Castro, and Jose Urbina Castillo. Another Democratic Convergence leader, Victor Balcarcel, said the Social Democrat-oriented group has virtually disintegrated. Balcarcel said Dinora Perez' murderers were paramilitary groups seeking to prevent the legalization of the new political party. Labor Leaders Also Go Into Exile After one kidnapping attempt, a labor leader in the Government Accounting Comptroller's Office left the country on Tuesday. A spokesman for the National Federation of State Workers' Unions (FENASTEG) confirmed that Doris Arriaza left for the United States after a group of men tried to abduct her in Guatemala City. In Wednesday's El Grafico, Archbishop Prospero Penados said a state-employed architect had requested his aid in leaving the country. The man, whose name was not revealed, was seeking exile for himself and his family after receiving numerous death threats. The following day the paper reported six members of the ad-hoc labor committee at the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) were going to leave the country. Victor Alvarado, Edgar Ovalle and four others whose names were not disclosed led a controversial strike at IGSS in February. Other union activists who reported receiving death threats this week included Byron Morales and Sergio Guzman of the Union of Syndicated Guatemalan Workers (UNSITRAGUA). They say they will remain in Guatemala to face the anti-labor violence. Morales stated that union members, along with grassroots, student, human rights and campesino groups are regularly subject to surveillance in their homes and workplaces by armed men. The Government Responds Presidential Chief Aide Manuel Conde suggested the mass exit of persons could be part of someone's strategy to hinder the peace process. He ruled out the possibility that paramilitary groups exist anymore. The government could not be backing groups that promote terror and violence at the same time it is carrying out a peace process, the presidential secretary said. The army, he added, is a professional body that has demonstrated the firm will to cooperate in reaching agreements with the armed opposition. Defense Minister Luis Mendoza would not venture to say where the threats against political and labor leaders are originating. He did say they are clearly political and aimed at hindering the peace process. Mendoza said the "self- exile" of unionists and politicians would not hurt the country's image since the international community knows the threats are not "institutional" in nature. Foreign Minister Alvaro Arzu was quoted in Wednesday's El Grafico saying Luis Zurita had left the country on a simple trip with his family, perhaps invited by the Canadian government. Response From Other Sectors Congressman Edmundo Mulet said death threats and murders of labor, political and religious leaders are clearly premediated acts to create terror and self-censorship in different sectors of the country. The National Centrist Union Party (UCN) legislator said that individuals and factions inside the security forces are trying to destabilize the government and put a stop to the peace process initiated by Serrano. Mulet said the recent incidents are neither coincidence nor common crime. He criticized efforts to minimize the situation. Congressman Edgar Tages Matus of the Popular Alliance- 5/Social Democratic Party agreed the violence is aimed at obstructing the dialogue process. Christian Democrat legislator Hermes Marroquin said recent threats and murders threaten the democratic system in Guatemala and could be announcing a return to the days of terror witnessed during the Lucas regime. Congressman Obdulio Chinchilla said the government should exhaust all efforts to find out why so many people are leaving the country to seek exile. Wednesday's Patrullaje Informativo radio broadcast reported harsh criticism by many legislators of Foreign Minister Arzu for his "irresponsible and insensitive" remarks regarding Luis Zurita's "trip." A U.N. human rights advisor to the Interior Ministry and Human Rights Ombudsman Marco Antonio Sagastume said he regrets official statements minimizing the disorder and confusion caused by the death threats and political persecution. Byron Morales of the United Labor and Popular Action (UASP) said recent statements by government officials prove that they know where the violence is coming from. This "denotes tolerance, which is a symptom of complicity," Morales said. Guerrilla Deserters or Villagers Under Threat? The legitimacy of an army presentation of 67 supposed guerrilla deserters has been challenged by popular leader Rosalina Tuyuc. Twenty Guatemalan and foreign journalists were taken by military personnel to Tecpan in Chimaltenango province on Wednesday to hear testimony from a group of alleged guerrillas who surrended to the army. Tuyuc, leader of the National Council of Widows of Guatemala (CONAVIGUA), said Saturday that villagers from Xecoxol, Xepac, Sepanil and Caquixajai were forced by the army to declare themselves guerrilla deserters or be shot. All except two of the men, women and children were identified as members of the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP). They were said to have provided food and medicine to the rebels, passed information and carried out acts of sabotage. The other two, dressed in camouflage, were identified as combatants with the Rebel Armed Forces (FAR). One, a fifteen-year-old, said she surrended because she had not eaten for four days and had not been given wages and food as promised. The other, sixteen, said the guerrillas had not fulfilled promises of providing training to become a lieutenant with a monthly salary of 500 quetzales ($100). Defense Minister Luis Mendoza said Friday that the deserters should receive amnesty as part of the "harmonizing process" currently underway in the country. Mendoza said the "subversives" have lost all their popular support and now operate as "common criminals." Peace Negotiations Criticized by Secret Group A clandestine group calling itself the "Officers of the Mountain" released a statement on Tuesday accusing those officers engaged in negotiations with the URNG of "high treason." They say the army high command has no regard for officers and soldiers who have died in combat or the damage done to the country's infrastructure by guerrilla forces. The "Officers" warn that if negotiations continue, they reserve the right to take necessary action against the "traitors" in order to rescue the country and the "dignity of the glorious army." Tuesday's statement also asked where the millions of quetzals earmarked for the Defense Ministry are. The clandestine group said soldiers are operating without adequate equipment, ammunition, fuel or helicopter and airplane replacement parts. The Officers of the Mountain first surfaced after the government met with the URNG in October 1987. It is believed that the group supported the military uprisings in May of 1988 and 1989. This week's statement was the first one by the group in over a year. Both Defense Minister Luis Mendoza and Chief Presidential Aide Manuel Conde emphatically deny such a group exists. Government press secretary Gonzalo Asturias described the group as four or five persons who got together to write the statement to create anxiety and prevent a peace agreement. Next Step in Negotiations Delayed The next meeting between the Guatemalan government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) has been postponed until the first half of June. It was to have taken place this month. Officially, the date has been changed to allow the mediator Monsignor Rodolfo Quezada to fully recover from recent surgery. However, one report claims the delay is due to the imprudence of Foreign Minister Alvaro Arzu. An unidentified source in Saturday's edition of the Mexican daily Excelsior said Arzu announced dates for the next meeting which had not been agreed upon by both delegations. According to this source, described as reputable, the URNG objected to the date being set without consultation. The National Reconciliation Commission has reportedly proposed a new set of dates for mutual approval. The Excelsior report characterized the blunder as one in a number of conflicts between Arzu and President Serrano. Arzu has apparently clashed with Serrano over the naming of ambassadors and is accused of failing to define the nation's foreign policy. Rumors of Arzu's dismissal have been appearing in the press. Larger Army Needed Defense Minister Luis Mendoza said Friday that a significant increase in the size of the nation's army is necessary. He was responding to a question about the reduction of armed forces in the region. Mendoza did not disclose the army's current size, explaining that it is a "national security secret." The defense minister said that according to the Constitution, army troops should number 85,000. When Central American governments met in April to discuss reducing regional armed forces, both Guatemala and El Salvador refused to reveal the size of their armies. The two governments said they could not discuss the matter since there were civil wars taking place in their countries. The Guatemalan army is estimated to have 60,000 members. In the report in Friday's Prensa Libre, General Mendoza did not explain why a larger armed is needed in Guatemala. The army high command did announce a new offensive last week against guerrilla forces in Alta Verapaz province. However, army spokespersons have said the guerrillas are militarily defeated and have less than 800 combatants. Violence Affects Many Walks of Life In other reports of violence this week, sixty-four year old Salvador Navichoc was brutally murdered. He was the district secretary in San Pedro La Laguna, Solola for the Revolutionary Party, a moderate right-wing party in Guatemala. The National Council of Widows of Guatemala (CONAVIGUA) reported the kidnapping of 17-year-old Mardoqueo de la Cruz. He was violently forced off an interurban bus by heavily armed men in Chichicastenango, Quiche. A number of reactions were expressed this week to the May 2 murder of Army General Anacleto Maza. U.S. Ambassador Thomas Stroock said he was very distressed by the incident since the former air force commander had been a personal friend. The Officers of the Mountain said this week that Maza was murdered by military intelligence because of his overt opposition to negotiations with insurgents. The clandestine group predicted that other officers who oppose the talks will be victims of similar actions. Defense Minister Luis Mendoza repeated the army's position that the murder was carried out by common criminals. Ex-Military Judge Accuses Defense Minister A former military judge reported that he is being followed by armed men and will seek exile. Juan Carlos Solis had been dismissed from his post at the Jutiapa military zone by Defense Minister Luis Mendoza. According to Thursday's Prensa Libre, Solis says he was removed from his post due to his opposition to human rights violations committed by the defense minister. Solis gave examples of violations committed by Mendoza which included: increased kidnappings of young men under the age of 18 to serve in the army, harsh treatment of his subordinates and interference in the judge's duties. Solis said there were other examples but that for the moment he declined to mention them. Saturday's broadcast of Patrullaje Informativo reported that legal proceedings were initiated against the former military judge in February. Solis was charged with neglect of duties, misuse of his position and breech of trust. ***************** 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. 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