/* Written 10:04 PM Jan 27, 1992 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Weekly Briefs" ---------- */ CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, JANUARY 19 - 26, 1992 Army Massacres CONDEG Members Four persons including a nine-year-old boy were massacred around midnight, January 17 outside Guatemala City in Ciudad Peronia, Villa Nueva. Leaders of the National Council for the Displaced (CONDEG) said the three adults were active members of that organization and had fled the military's counterinsurgency destruction of their communities and farmlands. CONDEG condemned the massacre saying the displaced victims had been forced to leave their homes and community in San Pedro Jocopilas, Quiche to run for their lives and were guilty of nothing more than "fighting for a piece of land to build their huts on and trying to survive." Witnesses said several soldiers pulled up in a truck, broke in the door and killed Juan Xan Calel, Francisco Guideo Yax, Juan Calel Grave and nine-year-old Marvin Calel Aju. Police determined that the soldiers used Galil assault rifles, counting 117 5.56 caliber gunshells at the site. After firmly denying any involvement, the Army's Department of Information and Dissemination (DIDE) announced January 21 that corporal Nicolas Gutierrez Cruz and soldier Eliseo Suchite Hernandez had been arrested for the crimes, and that the victims were killed following an argument caused when the two men were refused liquor at a store. Defense Minister Garcia Samayoa said the army supports the death penalty as punishment. Garcia indicated that the massacre might have had a negative impact on the upcoming United Nations Assembly on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland had authorities not acted in time. Presidential Chief Aide Manuel Conde congratulated the military on its gestures to end human rights violations and said that Guatemalans should not hold the entire army responsible for the acts of only two members of that institution. Radio El Independiente questioned the military's account saying that more than two army personnel were involved in the massacre. The radio commentary also noted that the victims died similarly to other activists from popular organizations. Congressman Diego Velasco stated that the massacre appeared to have been planned and that the soldiers' battalion chief should be held responsible. Velasco said the intellectual authors must be identified and indicated that the defense minister will be called before Congress for questioning. The massacre of the four peasants will present obstacles to both the peace process and the repatriation of Guatemalan refugees, he said. In a separate incident, three peasants were shot to death by guards at the San Sebastian plantation in the province of Sacatepequez. The victims' relatives reported that they were killed for cutting firewood and shooting slingshots on theproperty. Peace Dialog Continues Behind Closed Doors Government and insurgent representatives renewed peace negotiations in Mexico City on January 23. Mediator Bishop Rodolfo Quezada Toruno described the closed door talks as meetings with small reduced delegations during which he, in his pendular role as conciliator, communicates opinions and analyses back and forth in an effort to bring opposing positions closer together. Later, all delegates from both sides will come together in a broader meeting in which accords will be signed in the event agreements on the human rights issue are reached. At the opening of the meeting, Bishop Quezada said a political solution to the armed conflict won't happen overnight and expressed hope that progress can be made during this sixth round of talks since April 1991. To reach peace in Guatemala, he said, ethnic diversity and human rights must be considered and the government must give priority to funding for health and housing. In response to chief government negotiator Manuel Conde's remarks that peace is at hand, Quezada cautioned against creating "false hopes." And to those calling for a quick signing of a peace agreement, the prelate responded: "This process cannot be compared to any other in Central America as each has its own special characteristics. The priority is to safeguard the lives of Guatemalans...and avoid murders and kidnappings." The government delegation, headed by Manuel Conde, includes Deputy Army Chief of Staff General Mario Rene Enriquez, Military Intelligence (G-2) Chief General Marco Antonio Gonzalez Taracena, and Interior Minister Fernando Hurtado. Representing the URNG General Command are Commanders Rolando Moran and Pablo Monsanto, URNG Political-Diplomatic representative Miguel Angel Sandoval and human rights advisor Marco Vinicio Castaneda. Army Turns Over Guerrillas The army handed over six guerrillas to the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman on January 24 while private peace discussions were underway in Mexico. Among those six is Veronica Ortiz whose capture was roundly denied last fall after the URNG denounced that she had been wounded and taken prisoner October 16. Army public relations chief Alberto Yon said none were captured and that "some had turned themselves in and others were found wounded." Other persons turned over include Maria Chabajay, Gladys Perez, Oscar Ovidio Balam, Eliseo Lopez and Abraham Morales who said he had left the rebel forces two years ago. URNG Building Support for Talks in Europe URNG Commander Gaspar Ilom visited Geneva, Switzerland accompanied by Luz Mendez of the Political-Diplomatic Team. During the insurgency's European tour, the URNG seeks to build support for the Guatemalan peace talks. Commander Ilom, who leads the Revolutionary Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA), one of the four insurgent forces forming the URNG, told the Spanish news agency EFE, "we are asking the international community to demand that good faith promises be fulfilled" by ending repression and human rights violations. "Daily living continues to be filled with repression, disappearances and executions," said Ilom. The commander said Serrano's assertions of his willingness to negotiate are positive but "negotiation rhetoric" must be avoided. "We are in a static situation. Statements of good will coexist with State terrorist actions against various sectors," he said. The Catholic Church indicates that the number of violations including disappearances and executions last year exceeded one thousand by November while in recent weeks, six persons have gone into exile. Asturias said the URNG advocates "an integral solution to end impunity, clandestine repression, oppressive structures, to ensure protection for human rights defenders and to enforce international humanitarian law...So far the dialog has progressed on general points but in nothing concrete. We hope that the international community helps to soften hardline opinions held in different sectors of the army and that this be reflected in the negotiation." Forensic Anthropologist to Participate in UN Human Rights Session Forensics expert Dr. Clyde Snow will go to Geneva, Switzerland as a non-governmental delegate of the official United States delegation to the 48th United Nations General Assembly on Human Rights. Snow has participated in the exhumation of several clandestine cemeteries in Argentina, Chile and Guatemala and will testify before the assembly on the Guatemalan human rights situation. Snow told Lee Hockstader of the Washington Post that he had never worked in a country like Guatemala where "people get killed as if they were some sort of noxious agricultural pest." The anthropologist, who also investigated the case of Milwaukee mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer, commented in disgust that "it's too bad Jeffrey Dahmer didn't come to Guatemala 'cause he'd be a general by now." US Defense Secretary to Visit Guatemala United States Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney will visit Guatemala February 17 on the invitation of US Ambassador Thomas Stroock, according to informed sources in Washington, DC. Cheney is expected to meet with Defense Minister JoseGarcia and Army Chief of Staff Jorge Perussina as well as other Central American military leaders during his visit to Latin America. United States to Donate $140,000 The Attorney General's Office will receive $140,000 from the United States through the Agency for International Development (AID) according to an agreement signed between Ambassador Thomas Stroock and Attorney General Acisclo Valladares. The monies will be used toward training attorneys in the fight against impunity according to TV Notisiete. Valladares said the US had already donated eight computers with training assistance and an armed car for the Attorney General's Office. The government of Spain has offered aid to the National Police mainly for the purchase of modern communications equipment, according to police spokesman Rodolfo Valverde. Warrant Issued in Devine Murder Case A military court determined that sufficient evidence existed for the arrest of army Captain Hugo Contreras Alvarado who has been implicated in the murder of US businessman Michael Devine. Contreras was released last year for lack of evidence, however, widow Caroline Devine has continued to pressure officials into action. Captain Contreras was chief of intelligence at the Peten military base when Devine was tortured and murdered in June 1990. Contreras' superiors Colonels Roberto Catalan and Guillermo Portillo who were also freed for lack of evidence remain unaffected by the new turn of events. Destruction of Forests Forest exploitation is carried out like mining operations in that forests have been exploited as a non-renewable resource without considering that they are capable of producing goods and services on a perpetual basis, according to a report by the Forestry Action Plan for Guatemala. The environmental entity says that 60,000 hectares (148,200 acres) are destroyed every year while official figures indicate that only 62,000 hectares (153,140 acres) have been reforested in the last thirteen years, reported the daily El Grafico. Investigation Requested in Murder of French Citizens French ambassador to Guatemala Paul Boudade asked the government to investigate the murder of a French couple in December 1991. Marie Antoinette Perriard and Bernard Bereaud were kidnapped on their way to the Guatemala City airport and their bodies found December 29. The victims' bodies had been burned and tortured and showed stabbing and gunshot wounds.The French government has issued a travel advisory to French citizens cautioning against travel to Guatemala. Defense Minister: Army Lost Only 27 in Combat in 1991 In a report by Enfoprensa aired on TV Notisiete, the URNG's 1991 army casualty report indicated that the army had suffered 1,778 casualities as a result of 243 rebel operations in the different provinces. Defense Minister Garcia Samayoa called the report false and indicated that the army had nothing to hide and there was no reason why the number of army casualities should not be public. Garcia said five government officers and 22 soldiers died last year in the conflict while an even greater number of casualties was inflicted on the guerrillas. RFK Human Rights Center Condemns Threats Against Amilcar Mendez In the wake of increasing threats against the life of Amilcar Mendez, leader of the Council of Ethnic Communities Runujel Junam (CERJ), the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Center has announced that it will hold the Serrano government responsible for any harm done to the human rights advocate. At least 25 CERJ members have been murdered and others disappeared since 1988 when the organization was formed to fight against forced participation in the civil patrols. EGP Celebrates 20th Anniversary On January 19, 1992, the insurgent organization Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) celebrated its twentieth anniversary. The EGP is one of the four rebel forces forming the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) and is led by Commander Rolando Moran. A package delivered to radio Independiente caused quite a stir but when the fire department came, it found only a T-shirt commemorating the EGP's twenty years of armed struggle. Radio Independiente said its employees were disappointed that there was only one shirt for everybody. *****************