/* Written 10:24 PM Nov 17, 1991 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Weekly Briefs" ---------- */ CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, NOVEMBER 10 - 16, 1991 Gramajo Defaults in Lawsuit for Human Rights Crimes Former Defense Minister Hector Gramajo (1987-1990), the leading candidate in the 1995 presidential elections, defaulted in two lawsuits filed by victims of his gross human rights violations. As a result, he will be held liable in court for murder, torture and disappearance of Guatemalan plaintiffs' family members in the El Aguacate massacre of 1988, and the rape, torture and defamation of US nun Sister Dianna Ortiz in 1989. Plaintiffs expect that a final judgment awarding them damages up to $50 million will be entered early next year. Sister Ortiz has stated that she will use any proceeds from her lawsuit to assist other victims of torture in Guatemala. Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) attorney Beth Stephens, who represents the plaintiffs, said "these historic decisions represent a finding that the Guatemalan military is responsible for the murder and gross abuse of thousands of Guatemalans...Gramajo's default is an admission of guilt. He stands before the world held responsible for some of the worse human rights abuses ever committed in the Americas." Another CCR attorney on the case, Michael Ratner said "hopefully, the judgment in this case will send a strong message to Gramajo and the Guatemalan military. The day is long past when those who are responsible for torture and murder can act with impunity." General Hector Gramajo said charges against him by the Center of Constitutional Right make him laugh and that both history and the people will judge him for his soldier's record: "the Guatemalan people know I acted correctly as a soldier and that makes me proud...I'm an honest, clean man and I have nothing to hide." Gramajo said that his only sin was to have expressed his opinions on Guatemala in international forums. Homeless Child Attacked Two gunmen attacked 16-year-old Jose Efrain Vasquez and fractured his right leg. After he was taken to the hospital for treatment, four men came looking for him "to help him," they said. Workers from street children's shelter Covenant House, known as Casa Alianza, moved him to the shelter, fearing for his safety. Director Bruce Harris said authorities have justified attacks against the street children by saying the kids break the law. Harris identified the assailants as the bodyguards of a woman who the boy alledgedly attempted to rob. "We're not saying it's OK to steal, but laws on the rights of minors say the government must protect the citizenry and minors must receive adequate rehabilitation. So if we talk about lawbreakers,the government is guilty as well," he said. Following the incident seven armed and hooded men arrived at the shelter, firing gunshots and threatening a group of kids. Government Backs Army All the Way We will not be so ungrateful or stupid as to turn our back on the institution which has defended national sovereignty, said Vice President Gustavo Espina in response to proposals by the Central American Security Commission for maximum ceilings on numbers of weapons and troops in the region's countries. "The Guatemalan army will not be reduced as long as there is an armed conflict," he said, according to the daily Prensa Libre. "The government of President Serrano is firm in its decision." The Security Commission is made up of the vice-defense ministers and vice-foreign ministers of Central American countries. The commission established a subcommittee to take inventory of troops and armaments within the regional armed forces. Guatemalan and El Salvadoran governments, which oppose limitations on military personnel and equipment, have refused to provide statistics. Union Leader Murdered After Strike A leader of the court workers union was murdered on November 13, one day after workers celebrated a successful national strike for wage increases. Rogelio Oswaldo Lopez died of gunshot wounds in the provincial capital of Jutiapa. In other violence during the strike, court official Luis Antonio Vasquez was seriously injured when he was knifed in the foyer of the national court building in Guatemala City. The strike paralyzed activities in courts across the country for four days last week. Judicial and administrative assistants won a monthly wage increase of 200 quetzales (US$40). DEA Agents Accused of Illegal Arrest A Nicaragua citizen accused of drug trafficking says he was illegally detained in the Guatemala City airport by members of the Guatemalan military intelligence and DEA agents. Nicaraguan Douglas Gadea sent a letter from Miami to the Guatemalan court system charging that he was tortured and then illegally taken to the United States for prosecution. Last week Interior Minister Fernando Hurtado confirmed that DEA agents had indeed detained Gadea in the airport and taken him to the United States. On November 15, US Ambassador Thomas Stroock denied any involvement in the affair by DEA agents. Stroock said there are five diplomats which serve as DEA agents in Guatemala,and they had nothing to do with Gadea's arrest. In reference to Gadea's attorney Irwing Lichter who arrived in Guatemala, the US diplomat said that attorneys working for drug traffickers receive good salaries to misinform the public in Guatemala. Civilians Demand Greater Role in Peace Dialogue Neither President Jorge Serrano nor his government's negotiating team has responded to requests for meetings to discuss viewpoints on the peace process said unionists, cooperativists, religious workers, politicians and professionals in a press conference at the National Reconciliation Commission (CNR) headquarters. "Despite the will demonstrated by the civilian sectors to contribute to peace, the government ignores the role of civilian society in achieving peace and democratization in our society," said Arlenne de Cabrera of the Center for Political Studies (CEDEP). On November 16, government spokesman Gonzalo Asturias rejected the request, saying that the government cannot invite social sectors to participate since it was agreed that negotiations would be conducted directly between the two sides in the conflict. Religious workers gave a statement over radio Guatemala Flash calling on negotiators to open the dialogue to broader participation: "the small amount of information and participation of the populace is taking away from the credibility and trustworthiness of the peace process," they said. "The process for building peace is a national project," the statement said, and no one should be excluded from contributing. Last year civilians participated in talks with the insurgents on how to resolve the national conflict as a result of agreements made between the URNG and the CNR in Oslo, Norway. Capture of Guerrilla Combatant Denied Presidential Chief Aide Manuel Conde denied again this week that the army captured a wounded guerrilla combatant. The URNG charges that 22-year-old Veronica Ortiz Hernandez was captured on October 16 in the Sacatepequez province. Conde said no one was captured in combat, and if that would have been the case, the information would have been made public and the combatant prosecuted in the courts. During 30 years of civil war, a guerrilla or left-wing activist has never been tried in the courts. Guatemala is known as a country where there are no political prisoners. Army spokesman Homero Garcia accused the insurgency of secretly burying their combatants which "violates the law, because when the bodies are discovered, international organizations blame the army." In a November 14 statement the URNG said the government's and army's denial of the combatant's capture is a provocation directed against the negotiation process. The refusal to admit to the "clear fact" is an example of Guatemala's "tragic history of impunity and lies" and reflects the "dirty war our people have had to confront for so many years." Andres Giron: War on the Church Congressional Human Rights Commission Chair Andres Giron said there are powerful groups seeking to make war on the church. He made reference to threats and intimidation against Dominican nuns and a bishop from the Metropolitan archdiocese. Bishop Jose Ramiro Pellecer said five armed men threatened him at a gas station near the capital and robbed him of his car and $50. Armed men sacked the Dominican convent twice in one week on November 5 and 10 in Guatemala City (see Weekly Briefs November 3-9). Two nuns were threatened including Alba Mendez who is vice president of Conference of Religious Workers of Guatemala (CONFREGUA). Mendez works with victims of violence and impunity--families of the disappeared, the displaced, widows, refugees and resistance communities. Last week hooded armed men raided the convent seeking out Mendez and a woman identified as Vilma. While the nuns were at Sunday mass on November 10, the men sacked the convent again and left a warning message "we want Vilma and Alba Mendez." Metropolitan Archbishop Prospero Penados expressed his support for the nuns and criticized police handling of the incident when the women sought protection in the first raid on the convent. Congressman Giron, himself a priest, expressed fear that a religious worker may be killed on the pretext of pitting the church against the state, currently under control of fundamentalist evangelicals headed by President Jorge Serrano. The Vatican's representative in Guatemala Giovani Bautista said Guatemala was traversing difficult moments and that "it is not normal that people or institutions working for the good of the poor and the needy are affected" by the violence. Cotton Harvesters Infected With Cholera A week after the cotton harvest got underway in the southern coast, an average of four cases of cholera per day have been reported among workers,according to the daily Prensa Libre. 800,000 workers making up 23% of the total economically active population are expected to migrate to the south coast for the coffee, cotton and sugar harvest this season. The Panamerican Health Organization said the number of cholera cases in Guatemala doubled in just eight days, reported theMexican daily La Jornada November 14. There are now 3,000 cases reported with 28 deaths according to health officials from the international agency. Guatemalan Minister of Health Miguel Montepeque stated however that only 900 cases of cholera has been registered with 50 deaths, according to radio newscast Guatemala Flash. Mayan Elders to Hold Conference on Mayan Philosophy and Science More than 200 Mayan elders representing 3,000 indigenous communities will hold the first meeting of the Council of Mayan Priests to discuss indigenous rights to freely exercise Mayan practices of priesthood, theology, philosophy, arts and age-old sciences. The effects of the 500 years of invasion and conquest on ancestral values will be discussed as well as environmental protection and defense of indigenous beliefs, reported the daily Prensa Libre. The event will be held in Chimaltenango December 11-15. Guatemalan Civil War Enters Thirty-first Year Thirty-one years ago on November 13, 1960, Guatemalan army officers revolted against government corruption and initiated the armed struggle that continues today. Commanders Luis Augusto Turcios Lima and Marco Antonio Yon Sosa led the rebellion in 1960 when the government sought to train Cuban exiles on Guatemalan soil for an invasion against Fidel Castro. Guatemalan radios Guatemala Flash and Patrullaje Informativo commemorated the November 13th anniversary calling it "a turning point in contemporary Guatemalan history" and a day which marked "the beginning of an era which is not yet over." The rebel revolt was quashed with support from the US, however the first guerrilla contingents were then formed into the Rebel Armed Forces (FAR) which continues today under the leadership of Commander Pablo Monsanto. On the 31st anniversary, the insurgent umbrella organization, the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), says the legacy of Commander Turcios Lima continues within the struggle of the Guatemalan people today.