/* Written 10:01 PM Nov 4, 1991 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Weekly Briefs" ---------- */ Cerigua Weekly Briefs, October 27 - November 2, 1991 National Police Chief Resigns Over Torture Charges Army Colonel Mario Paiz resigned as National Police chief after he was charged with responsibility for the torture of three men in police custody. His resignation was announced on October 30, just days after the government human rights ombudsman's office reported the findings of its investigation which incriminated police officers in the torture of three men arrested in August. Human rights ombudsman Ramiro de Leon called for the police chief's resignation and the prosecution of all those directly or indirectly involved in the torture of Carlos Rosales, Francisco Castillo and Ezequiel Trujillo. The three men said they were forced to confess to crimes they did not commit, including the murders of two police officers and two university students. The chief of the police transportation department, Francisco Ramirez, and the public relations police chief, Carlos Wer, denied that Colonel Paiz had resigned, according to the October 31st edition of El Grafico. The two said 28 police chiefs had expressed their solidarity with Paiz, and warned of anarchy if he left his post. The same day Colonel Paiz confirmed over Radio Independiente that he had indeed resigned, but denied responsibility in the charges against him. Seven police chiefs resigned in solidarity with Paiz, the television broadcast Notisiete reported that evening. Civilian lawyer Carlos Enrique Samayoa, who has been a legal advisor for the Interior Ministry, was named as the new National Police Chief. Interior Minister Fernando Hurtado said Colonel Paiz resigned to avoid jeopardizing the government. The Interior Minister said he will conduct an investigation, but added that one should not forget that the arrested were implicated in serious crimes. (Note: We incorrectly reported last week that Hurtado had demanded the police chief's resignation. To the contrary, he insisted that Paiz would not be fired.) Only one member of the police force has been arrested in connection with the torture charges. On October 29 police officer Edgar Mayorga Contreras was arrested, questioned, and released on bail set at 500 quetzales ($100). Attorney General Acisclo Valladares had publicly warned Colonel Paiz that failing to administer the October 7 arrest warrant against the police officer could lead to criminal prosecution on grounds of concealing the truth. The attorney general said he will appeal the court decision to release the officer, calling the amount of bail "ridiculous." Radio broadcast Guatemala Flash commented on October 29 that torture is nothing new in Guatemala. What is unusual, it continued, is that accusations backed by reliable evidencearebeing directed at the police chief and other high-ranking officers. Victims of Violence Given Honorable Burial The remains of 27 victims of army violence during the early 1980s were buried on October 29. A mass was held in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Guatemala City followed by a procession to Chichicastenango, Quiche where the bodies were buried. As the procession passed through Los Encuentros, the coffins were displayed as an expression of protest in front of the military garrison and a national police checkpoint. The National Council of Widows of Guatemala (CONAVIGUA) said the 27 campesinos were seized from their homes in Chontala, Chichicastenango during the night of July 31, 1980 by soldiers and civil patrollers who killed some and buried others alive. Grassroots groups organized as "Victims of Repression and Impunity" say the forensics reports indicate that some were burned, some tortured, some had their hands tied and were dealt a final coup de grace. CONAVIGUA President Rosalina Tuyuc said Chontala campesinos were murdered for refusing to serve in the civil patrols, a crime viewed by the army as punishable by death. The remains of the 27 victims were exhumed from clandestine cemeteries in Chontala, Chichicastenango, Quiche between July 31 and August 15. According to CONAVIGUA President Tuyuc, foreign experts and anthropologists who have participated in the exhumations are receiving threats from army intelligence. Some sectors want to obstruct efforts to recover the remains of other campesinos murdered by soldiers and civil patrollers in the 1980s, Tuyuc contended. Partial Central American Parliament Installed Sixty-seven representatives attended the installation of the Central American Parliament in Guatemala on Sunday, October 27. There are twenty elected representatives each from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador plus ex-presidents and ex-vice presidents (2 from Guatemala, 2 from Honduras, 1 from El Salvador and 2 from Nicaragua). Guatemalan President Serrano, El Salvadoran President Alfredo Cristiani, Honduran President Rafael Leonardo Callejas, Panamanian President Guillermo Endara, and Belizean Prime Minister George Price also attended the official ceremony at the National Theater in Guatemala City. Vice Presidents of Costa Rica, whose legislative assembly has not yet ratified the Parliament, and Nicaragua, whose representatives have not yet been elected, were present as well. Salvadoran Vice President Francisco Merino expressed hopethatthrough the Parliament "our countries will once again be united, as we have been in the past." CA Parliament President Named After two rounds of voting, neither Solidarity Action Movement (MAS) candidate Guillermo Gonzalez nor National Centrist Union (UCN) candidate Danilo Roca managed to win 50% plus one vote to head the Central American Parliament. Some participants suggested that the two withdraw their candidacies and a third option be sought. Guatemala's former vice president, Roberto Carpio Nicolle, was proposed and unanimously named as the first president of the Central American Parliament. The plenary session to elect the president was described by many as a "spectacle" demonstrating a lack of experience on the part of the provisional directorate. The process was blocked by tedious procedures and discussions, according to the Siglo Veintiuno report. After the elections results were made known, assessments of the "real" winners and losers began. Prensa Libre columnist Mario Sandoval said Guatemalans were the main losers because of the political incapacity, lack of imagination, and inflexibility demonstrated by those who represented them in the elections. President Serrano suffered a clear defeat, the columnist added, which demonstrated that "presidential support turns into a boomerang when imposition is suspected." Serrano was strongly criticized by UCN candidate Danilo Roca for pressuring representatives to support the governing MAS party candidate. El Grafico columnist Carlos Soto said the real winner was Roca, a politician heavily questioned in the past but because he acted with integrity has new momentum in his political career. Honduran former president Jose Azcona Hoyo, and Salvadoran representative Jose Francisco Guerrero were elected as Parliament vice presidents. Neighboring Countries State Positions Sergio Ramirez, who has delegate status as former vice president of Nicaragua, emphasized the importance of integration efforts due to the profound economic crisis experienced by each of the Central American countries. "Each country acting alone will not be able to resolve its serious problems of poverty and underdevelopment," Ramirez contended. Nicaragua will hold elections in early 1994, announced Ramirez; meanwhile, in addition to Ramirez and ex-president Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua will send a delegation to participate as observers. Costa Rica continues to maintain scepticism in regardtoregional economic integration and the potential capacity of the Central American region to compete with other economic blocs around the world. The legislative assembly of Costa Rica has yet to ratify the agreement to participate in the Parliament. Costa Rica's legislative assembly demonstrates marked apathy, at best, and sometimes open opposition to the idea, according to a report from the ACAN-EFE news agency. "No one has convinced us of any advantages in joining the Central American Parliament," commented an influential Social Christian legislator. Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister Roberto Rojas said it would be difficult for a Central American economic bloc to negotiate a trade agreement with the United States because of differing criteria and levels of development within the region. The Costa Rican government prefers to continue to negotiate independently with the U.S. government, according to Guatemala's daily newspaper Siglo Veintiuno on October 28. Panamanian President Endara said over radio broadcast Guatemala Flash that his country's participation will be determined by the end of the century--"first, difficulties of a constitutional nature must be overcome." Belizean Prime Minister Price said his country is leaving the door open to participate in Central American activities, and one day will participate in the Parliament. Price said the Belizean people identify with both the Caribbean and Central America. Bishop Quezada: Peace is Not Around the Corner "Guatemalans were given false hope," said Bishop Rodolfo Quezada in an interview with El Grafico, October 31. Quezada, the mediator for negotiations between the Guatemalan government, army, and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) was asked about the status of the talks after the last round ended in an impasse. Reaching a peace agreement is not as easy as some would have wished, Quezada continued. Some wanted only to end the war, he said, but we have a serious national crisis, a great deal of social injustice, and many peasants lack a small piece of land to work and live on--these are the reasons the civil war continues. Guatemalan were told that peace is around the corner, but it is not true--it is not easy to negotiate when Guatemala has no plan for social justice, Quezada added. In regard to the rebel's position, Quezada said the URNG is not willing to sign a final peace agreement before radical changes in the human rights situation are verified. Serrano: No More Talks Until Differences Reconciled President Serrano rejected the possibility of a new round of talks with the insurgency "as long as there is not a coming together of their position and ours." In an interview with Reuters news service printed in the October 27 ElGrafico,Serrano said Mediator Rodolfo Quezada will go back and forth between the two sides to work to lessen the gap. The Guatemalan president said he did not want the last round (October 21-23) to be held because he did not believe the positions were close enough. In the previous round in September the URNG presented us with inadmissible and unconstitutional demands, Serrano charged. (The URNG's eleven-point proposal on human rights as printed in Prensa Libre was included in the September 22-28 edition of the Weekly Briefs.) U.S. Congress Sends Message to Serrano More than a hundred members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to President Serrano, asking him to put an end to the impunity with which human rights violations are committed in Guatemala. The letter dated October 21 stressed the importance of investigating violations, and particularly mentioned the cases of the murders of Myrna Mack and U.S. citizen Michael Devine, the torture of U.S. nun Dianna Ortiz and threats against human rights activists. The representatives expressed concern that despite Serrano's "efforts to bring an end to Guatemala's tragic legacy of political violence," the human rights situation continues to deteriorate. DEA Report on Cocaine Trade in Guatemala The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administation (DEA) says drug smugglers have turned Guatemalan territory into a warehouse for cocaine. Six tons of cocaine are temporarily stored in Guatemala every week, according to the DEA. The cocaine is on its way from Columbia to the United States, reports the DEA, and is primarily from the Columbian Medellin Cartel. A DEA agent quoted in the Mexican daily Financiero on October 28 said a land-based radar network will be installed in Guatemala and U.S. AWAC airplanes will also be used to detect drug planes passing through Guatemala. Guatemala's Attorney General filed a legal complaint against DEA agents and authorities at Guatemala City's international airport for illegally arresting Nicaraguan Douglas Gadea for drug trafficking. Attorney General Acisclo Valladares said his office is against the illegal trade but also against those who disregard correct legal procedures. ***************** In the U.S. and Canada subscribe to Weekly Briefs by sending check or money order to: ANI PO Box 28481Seattle, WA 98118 Subscription fees in the U.S. and Canada: $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.