/* Written 12:42 AM Mar 4, 1992 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Weekly Briefs 2-22-92" ---------- */ WEEKLY BRIEFS, FEBRUARY 16-22, 1992 US Secretary of Defense: Military Aid Could Be Renewed On a rare visit to Guatemala, US Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney told officials military aid could be renewed. It was suspended following the Santiago Atitlan massacre in December 1990. He admitted, however, that some members of the US Congress oppose such an action. After the State Department's harsh report last month attributing human rights violations to the army and its paramilitary groups, Cheney's announcement now indicates a more conciliatory position toward Guatemala. Guatemalan lawyer Frank LaRue says US pressuring has brought few results thus leading to a rethinking of US strategy. LaRue says the US is considering a friendlier approach. Cheney met with the president, defense minister and human rights ombudsman. Minister of Defense Jose Garcia said Cheney's visit strengthened the "friendly ties" between the two countries' armies in that "there are often no borders between men in uniform who defend the same principles." President Serrano said the meeting marked a turning point in US-Guatemala relations and indicated that both countries will cooperate more directly in anti-drug trafficking projects. EC Supports UN Censure of Guatemala Representing the President of the European Community, Portuguese ambassador Goncalo de Santa Clara Gomes expressed concern over human rights in Guatemala to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland. Ambassador Santa Clara said President Serrano's efforts to stop death squad violence and paramilitary groups have been "insufficient." He said "while the number of grave violations has somewhat diminished, there are still reports of disappearances, summary and arbitrary executions and the murder of street children." The EC condemned intimidation of indigenous people and repression aimed at labor activists. The UN will vote on whether to condemn Guatemala on February 24 when it decides whether to reinstate Guatemala under Item 12. This heading is reserved for countries which gravely and systematically abuse human rights. If it is approved, a special rapporteur will be named for closer monitoring and regular reporting on abuses. Fifteen University Professors Threatened San Carlos University President Alfonso Fuentes denounced that fifteen professors from several different departments have been threatened. He expressed concern that they may leave the country. Intimidation against theuniversitycommunity has been on the increase recently with the bombing of the University Student Association (AEU) office and the army's threatened lawsuit against AEU President Otto Peralta. A San Carlos student, Antonio Valdizon, was kidnapped by four hooded men who stopped him in his car in downtown Guatemala City while several people looked on. The Rural Workers Central (CTC) said "the violence seen today recalls the time of General Romeo Lucas [Garcia]," a military president (1978- 1982) whose policies are remembered as reaching the level of state terrorism. Negotiation Update: Discussions Continue in Private Peace conciliator Bishop Quezada continued his back-and-forth "pendulum" meetings with the government and insurgents February 20-22 in Mexico City. During these small, closed meetings, Quezada seeks to move the peace talks forward after becoming deadlocked over human rights. Negotiators are addressing the question for the sixth time since July. After serious differences lead to an impasse in October, negotiators agreed on the "pendulum" method as a means to unblock the talks. In Strasbourg, France the European Parliament said the Guatemalan peace process is not advancing because of the Serrano government's "inflexibility and lack of will" to make a "firm commitment to improving respect for human rights." The European Parliament likewise called for an end to bombing of civilian areas and for civil defense patrols (PAC) to be dismantled. Towns Occupied by Guerrillas Guerrilla forces temporarily occupied three towns this week, holding meetings with residents, according to local press reports. Flores Costa Cuca in Quetzaltenango, Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa in Escuintla, and San Felipe in Retalhuleu were occupied in separate actions. In San Felipe guerrillas occupied the government telecommunications office and broadcast a message over the Independiente newscast, heard nation-wide. The guerrillas called for the army to end its brutal methods of forced recruitment, dismantle civil patrols, eliminate the military intelligence apparatus, and respect the rights of indigenous persons in rural areas. The guerrillas said there is unanimous support within their forces for the negotiations between the URNG and the government. Radio Independiente said telephone and road communication to San Felipe was interrupted for three hours, but no one was hurt. A resident said over Notisiete television that the SanFelipetake-over was peaceful, but army troops attacked guerrillas as they left the town. Soldiers killed one guerrilla, the resident reported, delivering a final coup de grace. The URNG reported that two army soldiers were killed in the fighting, and 25 army casualties resulted when rebel forces attacked a convoy of three army trucks on their way to San Felipe. Court Approves Extradition of Accused Cocaine Trafficker A Guatemalan court says former Zacapa mayor Arnoldo Vargas can be extradited to the United States. The court announced on February 17 that all requirements have been met for Vargas' extradition. He was arrested in December 1990 in possession of nearly 300 kilos of cocaine. The decision was announced the same day that Defense Secretary Dick Cheney met with Guatemalan officials. Two days earlier, members of Vargas' family had tried to get him out of prison using an invalid court order. Police arrested Vargas' lawyer and his brother, who is also a member of Congress, and a third person at the scene. Judge Harold Nuila of Zacapa said he was tricked by a court official into issuing the order for Vargas' release. The daily El Grafico said the judge is now under protection because of fear of an attempt on his life. Customs Workers On Strike A strike by the custom workers union began on February 18 and was still in effect on February 22. Labor leader Yolanda Figueroa said the unionists insist the Director of Customs and other customs officials be removed and replaced with honorable officials. Unionists say Director Ruben Alvarez and his assistants are violating workers' rights. The workers report abuse of power and corruption since Alvarez took over the department. Figueroa said there are customs officials who are making themselves millionaires. Figueroa, secretary general of the custom workers union, is still leading the strike despite her announcement last week that she had been told that someone was going to kill her. Human Rights Complaints Hurt Clothing Industry US labor leaders are hurting the growth of Guatemala's clothing industry, according to a charge from the Non- Traditional Exporters Guild. Director Carlos Arias told Prensa Libre that US companies are not buying Guatemalan exports because US labor leaders repeatedly criticize human rights violations in Guatemala. Arias discounted any "bad intentions to violate human rights" in Guatemala's maquiladora factories. (Maquiladoras are foreign-ownedassembly plants for export. In Guatemala they are almostexclusively clothing-assembly plants.) Arias said labor problems in the maquiladoras have been caused by the collision of two very different cultures. Stephen Coats, director of the US/Guatemala Labor Education Project, says a boom in maquiladora factories has made clothing Guatemala's second leading export. In the November 1991 issue of the Multinational Monitor, Coats rates working conditions from poor to abysmal for the 40,000 workers, 80 percent of whom are women, employed in the maquiladoras. Workers are paid between $1 and $2 a day for as many as 16 hours of work. Worker complaints include forced overtime, poor ventilation, unsafe exposure to chemicals, and physical and sexual abuse. Defense Minister: Myrna Mack's Murderer Made a Mistake Defense Minister Jose Garcia Samayoa called Sargent Noel Beteta's murder of anthropologist Myrna Mack a "human error." During the murder investigation, Garcia was asked to explain the relationship between Beteta and the military. Garcia confirmed that at the time Beteta stabbed the anthropologist to death in 1990, he was a sargent major specialist in the Presidential Military Guard. Nevertheless, Garcia said Beteta had acted independently and had made a mistake. Just because he was in the army at the time does not mean the army was linked to the murder, he said. Beteta acted "out of our control," the defense minister explained. Former Costa Rican President Encourages Peace for Guatemala The Arias Foundation headed by 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias will host former Central American presidents at an April forum in Costa Rica to discuss how to bring peace to Guatemala. The focus will include an analysis of the successes and failures of the Esquipulas II Agreement signed in Guatemala in August 1987. Signers of the accord have been invited to participate. These are: Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua; Vinicio Cerezo, Guatemala; Jose Azcona, Honduras. Also invited are Jimmy Carter, United Nations Executive Director of Development Programs Mahabud Ul Haq and UNICEF Swedish Committee Director Lisbet Palme. Soto: No Improvements in Human Rights Political analyst Carlos Soto harshly criticized those defending the Guatemalan government before the UN Human Rights Commission. In his February 15 column in El Grafico, Soto said far from improving the human rights climate, the Serrano government has brought about its deterioration. He suggested that the Bush administration opposes the naming of a UN special rapporteur to Guatemala because it has re-election on its mind. Condemning Guatemala as one of the worst human rights violators would mean accepting its failureat promoting democracy in Central America. Soto charged that the "significant progress in human rights" reported by UN expert Christian Tomuschat last week is nothing more than last minute government efforts to avoid being condemned by the UN Commission. He criticized government statements that those who denounce human rights violations are anti-patriotic and are discrediting Guatemala. He said it is the government that is discredited, not the country. Soto said the government is responsible for its own isolation from the international community--it has done nothing to fight impunity and has increased the poverty level with its economic policies. He concluded that if the UN Commission decides to give the government another chance, it will cost the lives of more than a thousand Guatemalans. ***************** 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: $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.