/* Written 9:07 PM Jan 12, 1992 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Weekly Briefs" ---------- */ WEEKLY BRIEFS, DECEMBER 22, 1991 - JANUARY 4, 1992 Salvadoran Peace Process Not a Model for Guatemala Conciliator and Bishop Rodolfo Quezada congratulated Salvadorans on accords signed in New York City this week. He cautioned however that the Salvadoran model cannot be applied to Guatemala. He said it would be a mistake to think Guatemala must follow the same criteria and reach the same conclusions as El Salvador. Bishop Quezada expressed hope that the different sides in Guatemala will sign an agreement as soon as possible, in order to relieve the suffering of that nation's people. He indicated that with the signing of accords in El Salvador, pressure is now on the Guatemalan government and the URNG to advance their peace negotiations, stalled in October over human rights violations. The talks may begin again in January or early February though no place or date has been set. Government and Business React to Salvadoran Accord Vice President Espina said the Salvadoran President should feel proud of achieving peace for his country, which has suffered from a "meaningless" war. Defense Minister Jose Garcia Samayoa said he hopes the Guatemalan insurgency follows the example of its counterpart in El Salvador by adapting to the current reality and transferring its struggle for power to the ballet box. The defense minister is not so inclined to accept the fate of the Salvadoran army which, according to the peace agreement, will be cut in half. Garcia defended the size of the Guatemalan army, saying that it is small in relation to the country's population and operates only defensively. Vice President Carlos Vielman of the Council of Agricultural, Industrial and Financial Institutions (CACIF) praised the Salvadoran peace agreement, but urged the Guatemalan government to take its time and not rush into making broad concessions to the insurgency. Vielman represents the country's most powerful private enterprise organization. He said the Salvadoran insurgency won major concessions because it is a powerful force, characterizing the URNG as a small group that does not represent the people. Neoliberal Government Policies Criticized While the government boasts of economic achievements during Serrano's first year in office, religious and labor leaders say the majority of Guatemalans have not seen any benefits. Bank of Guatemala President Federico Linares said that even though Serrano failed to achieve "total peace" and his "social pact" dissolved, the government met all of its economic objectives for the year. The government says inflation was held at 10.5%, national reserves increased from $18 million to $550 million, the gross national product is up 3.2%, and the nation's currency is stable. Linares, a neoliberal economist, predicts a rate of growth of 4.5% for 1992. The Union Central of Guatemalan Workers (CGTG), however, warns of poverty and unemployment for the coming year. Neoliberal economic policies imposed by the Serrano government represent a new "market dictatorship," the CGTG charges. Eighty-nine percent of the population now lives in poverty, according to the labor group. The National Federation of State Workers Unions (FENASTEG) warned on December 31 that 30,000 government employees will lose their jobs. FENASTEG representative Rudy Ramirez told the daily El Grafico that workers are planning an action for January 6 to prevent the massive layoff. The Catholic Church came out strongly against government economic policies that are "making the poor poorer and the rich richer" in a press conference on January 3. Metropolitan Archbishop Prospero Penados and Interim Bishops Conference Chair Gerardo Flores said the proposed fiscal package means extreme poverty for the majority of the population. The measures include taxes on basic consumer goods. The Catholic Church urged the Serrano government to end its neoliberal policies and to work for a higher standard of living for Guatemala's poor, according to a report on Radio Patrullaje Informativo. Death Threats Surround Mack Murder Investigation A court official in charge of indictment proceedings against Noel Beteta in the murder of anthropologist Myrna Mack has been warned to stop investigating the case. Ernesto Corzantes Cruz said two armed men delivered a death threat to him in the presence of his wife and children on December 31. One of the men has been identified as Enrique Zamora Hernandez of the same Presidential Military Guard that employed Beteta at the time of the murder in September 1990. The army's press office denied Zamora is a member of the Presidential Guard or the army. In the days before Corzantes received the death threat, the court had announced it had sufficient evidence to begin trial against Beteta. Attorney General Acisclo Valladares said over TV Notisiete on December 30 that judges and lawyers working on the Mack case have been threatened. They include Prison Director Mynor Guzman and Chief Prosecutor Jose Antonio Mendoza. Guzman said that a death squad had issued a warning against at least thirty Guatemalan and foreign journalists covering the trial. He said he received inside information that a death squad calling itself "Commando Double M" would execute all reporters who continued to cover the case, but declined to reveal his sources. Guzman also reported that a vehicle driven by an Asian man followed the vehicle in which he transported Beteta on December 18. Mack's father called the claim "ridiculous" and a clear provocation to try to involve the Mack family, of Asian origin, in an attempt against Beteta. The prison director was criticized for the unusual individual care he was giving the suspect and for refusing to take him to a court proceeding. Interior Minister Hurtado announced on December 30 that Guzman had been fired for excessive protection of the suspect. Death Squad Warns Unionists Two members of the Quetzaltenango Workers Union (UTQ) and a former union activist have received death threats signed by the Secret Anti- Communist Army (ESA) death squad. UTQ members Roberto Yancor and Jorge Ramirez say they have received numerous threatening phone calls, but the threat on December 22 was the first signed by the ESA. Days later, retired unionist Mercedes Sotz Cate was accused by the ESA of criticizing the government and given 48 hours to leave the country. The threats were denounced by the Guatemalan Labor Federation of Food and Allied Workers (FESTRAS) on December 30. The Secret Anti-Communist Army, which first appeared in the 1970s and reappeared occasionally during the 1980s, is known for its anti-union stance. When questioned about the announcement, Vice President Espina denied that death squads operate in Guatemala, characterizing them as a thing of the past. Anyone can say they are from a given group in order to create uncertainty, the vice president insisted. 838 Army Casualties June-December 1991 The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), reported that between June and December 26, 1991 the Guatemalan army suffered 838 casualties in 292 guerrilla operations carried out in the provinces of Escuintla, Quiche, Peten, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Alta Verapaz and Huehuetenango. Between September and December alone, the army suffered a total of 500 casualties in guerrilla actions in the provinces of Escuintla, Santa Rosa, Sacatepequez and Guatemala. The URNG reports that during the last seven months of 1991 its forces attacked army installations 33 times, destroyed thirteen small tanks and damaged five, destroyed two helicopters and damaged eight. Defense Minister Jose Garcia Samayoa said five or six army officers were killed in combat and ambushes during 1991, but when asked for the number of soldiers wounded or killed, he said he did not have the figures. He emphasized, however, that they are not as high as indicated by the URNG. More Shuffling in Army Leadership With less than one full year in office the Serrano government has seen a near complete turnover in army leadership. Following the December replacements of the Defense Minister and head of the Chiefs of Staff, other top-level changes took effect on January 1. General Jose Luis Quilo Ayuso became the new Vice-Minister of Defense. Quilo was commander of the Chimaltenango army base when 22 campesinos from El Aguacate were tortured and killed there in November 1988, according to the victims' relatives. New commanders were named for the Mariscal Zavala Brigade, Honor Guard, Mobile Military Police, and Playa Grande military base in Quiche, plus a new army inspector general and new chiefs for the Politechnical School, Center for Military Studies and public relations department were designated. In other changes, six colonels were promoted to general. Police Officer Arrested 17 Months Later Interior Minister Fernando Hurtado announced over television Notisiete on December 26 that police officer Armando Lopez Sarceno was arrested for physically abusing street children. Hurtado said the arrest proves the government is not trying to cover up or minimize violence against Guatemala City's street children. He said that Casa Alianza, a shelter for street kids, has criticized the National Police for its slowness in moving against accused police officers, but that Lopez was the only one that had not yet been arrested. Casa Alianza director Bruce Harris told CERIGUA the following day, however, that Lopez is one of eight policemen (three National Police and five private police) who have had arrest warrants pending for almost a year. Six arrest warrants are still pending. In all, Casa Alianza has documented more than 60 cases of police abuse against street children, including 16 murders. According to Casa Alianza, Lopez was one of two National Policemen who kidnapped 14-year-old Johnathon Ortiz on July 5, 1990. Lopez beat Johnathon with a wire cable, shouting "you are a friend of Nahaman and we are friends of the policemen in jail," referring to the murder of 13-year-old Nahaman Carmona Lopez by four National Policemen on March 4, 1990. (The four policemen were convicted and sentenced to 15 years, but their convictions were vacated in August 1991.) Johnathon was also forced to drink sewage from an open drain. Casa Alianza Director Harris asked "it has taken one year and five months for the policeman to be arrested. How much longer will it take for him to be prosecuted? And the other 60 cases pending?" Mexican Government Wants Peace in Central America With an eye to the economic future and plans for a free-trade zone between Mexico and Central America in 1996, the Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary expressed Mexico's commitment to supporting peace talks in 1992 for the Central American region, according to the Mexican daily Uno Mas Uno. Central America needs peace, said Secretary Fernando Solana Morales, in order to consolidate regional development and to join the new free market associations Mexico is developing. Peace is also necessary to guarantee Mexican borders, said Solana Morales. That is why Mexico backs the Guatemalan peace process, providing logistical support for the talks and security for insurgent representatives. Twenty-one Popular Movement Leaders Murdered in 1991 During the first year of the Serrano government, 21 leaders of the popular and labor movement were murdered, including Social Democratic labor consultant Dinora Perez, shot down in April. Organizations most affected by the violence were the Council of Ethnic Communities (CERJ), the National Council of Widows of Guatemala (CONAVIGUA), and Mutual Support Group for Relatives of the Disappeared (GAM). Security forces raided labor headquarters, kidnapped fourteen persons and threatened 191 others. Of the fourteen kidnapped, eight were released under threat of death. Those whose whereabouts are still unknown include two members of CERJ, a teacher and organizer, a member of the Southern Pro-Land Committee, a grandson of a CONAVIGUA leader, and Committee for Campesino Unity (CUC) leader, Diego Domingo. DEA Fumigations Threaten Human Lives Four children are battling between life and death after drinking water from rivers contaminated by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration fumigations in Peten, a local doctor reported on December 27. Doctor Julio Cesar Garcia told Radio Patrullaje Informativo that Peten residents "frequently" suffer intoxications resulting from DEA chemical sprayings. Cholera Still Spreading Doctors at the San Juan de Dios and Roosevelt Hospitals in Guatemala City are worried by an increase in reports of cholera, according to Radio Patrullaje Informativo on January 2. More than eight persons are treated each day in each of the two hospitals, according to the doctors. The Health Ministry reported on the same day that the disease has spread to Peten province, where the first three cases were reported. Health Minister Montepeque predicted in November that the epidemic would be over by the beginning of 1992, leaving behind only isolated cases. He emphasized that the number of victims has been small, and those who died were campesinos who were brought to health centers too late. While legislators and local health officials have indicated figures much higher, the Health Ministry reports a nation-wide total of 1,500 cases and 50 deaths, with 2,000 other possible cases. CORRECTION: Please take note of an error printed in the last edition of the Weekly Briefs in the note on violence against women. The last sentence should read: "The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman collects only a small number of the actual cases of rape and abuse against women, though hundreds of cases are filed by women denouncing violations AGAINST their husbands, sons, and loved ones." ********************** Subscribe to the Weekly Briefs by sending check or money order to ANI, P.O. Box 28481, Seattle, WA 98118. Subscription fees: $18 for 6 months, $36 for one year. Also please send us your comments, suggestions and any changes of address to the same post office box listed above. Thanks.