/* Written 11:38 PM Mar 9, 1992 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Weekly Briefs" ---------- */ WEEKLY BRIEFS, MARCH 1 - 7, 1992 Army Takes Over Police Duties The army plans to begin assisting the National Police in providing citizen protection, according to an announcement by army spokesman Julio Yon on March 4. He said the army has decided the Military Mobile Police will take on tasks normally assigned to police because of an increase in common crime. On an Independiente radio newscast two days later a commentator said the army has taken over the streets of Guatemala City. The commentator asked: "are we at war or what? How else can you explain the army's presence in the streets?" The army's involvement in police functions comes just weeks after UN expert Christian Tomuschat made the recommendation that a strict separation be made between the armed forces and national police. Chief Presidential Aide Manuel Conde said he agreed with Tomuschat's advice, but that protection of citizens must take priority until deficiencies in the National Police are corrected. The Independiente editorial charged that soldiers are not ensuring the safety of the public, rather they protect banks and large businesses from robberies. In yet another blending of the civilian and military, Interior Minister Fernando Hurtado announced on February 23 that one thousand positions in the National Police will be given to soldiers who have completed their military service. Hurtado explained that soldiers "are the ones best trained in the use of arms." El Grafico columnist Carlos Soto said the action would be a clear act of militarization. The Interior Minister's proposal is tantamount to creating a "highly repressive police force," Soto said. Chilean Carabineros to Return Vice Minister of the Interior Cesar Villalta has announced that experts from the Chilean Carabinero police will return to Guatemala in a few weeks to help with "public protection." Advisory services provided by the Carabineros to the Guatemalan National Police have been the source of controversy, given the Carabineros' international reputation for brutality. Amnesty International reported at the end of January that Carabinero intelligence police have tortured persons detained on both political and criminal charges. The magazine Apsi, linked to the Chilean Socialist Party, says Carabineros continue to use the same repressive methods as during the Pinochet dictatorship. According to Apsi, the Carabineros are still under the control of the Chilean army. Latin American Block Prevents UN Condemnation The UN Human Rights Commission stopped short of condemningGuatemala as a country where human rights are seriously and systematically violated. In a resolution adopted on March 5, the UN Commission recommended only that an independent expert continue to study the situation in Guatemala. The expert is to report at the next assembly whether or not the government has taken the steps recommended in the resolution. The resolution was adopted by consensus without a vote. Argentina presented the resolution on behalf of the Rio Group (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and Argentina). The United Representation of the Guatemalan Opposition (RUOG) said some Latin American representatives admitted privately that the human rights situation in Guatemala is critical, but said agreements had been struck to defend the Guatemalan government. The European Community and Canada allowed the resolution to pass by consensus on the condition that their disagreement be included in the Commission's report. Both the European Community and Canada said they believed Guatemala should be treated under article 12 of the agenda, which would place it on the list of countries where human rights are seriously and systematically violated. The resolution as approved acknowledges the Guatemalan government's commitment to guarantee respect for human rights. However, it expresses deep concern over the persistence of human rights abuses. It urges the government to intensify efforts to ensure that all authorities and security forces fully respect human rights and fundamental liberties. And, it asks the government to pay special attention to UN expert Christian Tomuschat's recommendations- -especially, the abolition of the civil patrols (PAC) and the Citizen Protection System (SIPROCI). URNG Criticizes Government Response to UN Measure The political-diplomatic team of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) says the government is ignoring the resolution and distorting its contents. Although the resolution recognizes certain efforts made by the government, the URNG says it also includes a vigorous denunciation of current human rights abuses. In addition, the resolution gives a strong message to the government that it must safeguard the rights of its citizenry. In a March 5 communique the URNG said nothing the government does can hide what is daily reality for the Guatemalan people. The insurgent representatives said the only solution is immediate, concrete action. US Senators Urge Serrano to Rectify Human Rights Situation Over half the United States Senate signed a letter onFebruary 27 to President Serrano urging him to punish violators of human rights and to end political violence in Guatemala. Fifty-five senators expressed concern over continuing disappearances, torture and murder. They mentioned in particular threats against Amilcar Mendez of the Council of Ethnic Communities Runujel Junam (CERJ) and police abuse of street chidren. The senators also called on Serrano to resolve the case of Sister Dianna Ortiz, a US nun who was tortured by security forces, and the murders of US businessman Michael Devine and Guatemalans Dr. Myrna Mack and Jose Miguel Merida Escobar, who investigated her murder. Mexican Reporter Killed by Guatemalan Army Mexican writer and reporter Ramon de la Mora was killed by the army while in Guatemala researching a radio project for the Autonomous University of Chiapas. The Guatemalan embassy in Mexico said Mora may have been mistaken as a guerrilla when caught in crossfire between insurgents and government troops. The Guatemalan army said Mora was a mercenary who died in combat between special Kaibil forces and the URNG. Official in Sikorsky Helicopter Case Attacked Court official Raul Perez says he was attacked by a group of assailants who warned him "not to get mixed up in foolishness." Perez is working on the investigation of an illegal purchase of Sikorsky helicopters, a deal allegedly linked to the BCCI scandal. His attackers, who spoke with a foreign accent, kicked and beat Perez on February 29, according to an account in El Grafico. International Support for Refugees' Return Home Since a visit to Guatemala by Mexican president Carlos Salinas, Guatemalan refugees in Mexico have seen a positive turn in the attitude of the Guatemalan government to their return home. Legal advisor Alfonso Bauer said the refugees will renew negotiations with the Guatemalan government March 17-18. Officials will address the refugees' six demands for collective repatriation. Mexican, Canadian, French and Swedish diplomats in Guatemala announced their governments will be supporting the talks. This group will facilitate the negotiations, see that agreements made are held to, and provide accompaniment in the return and resettlement of the 45,000 refugees still living in Mexican camps. To End Discrimination Against Refugee Women Central American refugee, repatriated and displaced women are denied certain rights solely because they are women. So say 150 participants in the first regional forum on displaced,repatriated and refugee women (FOREFEM) held in Guatemala City February 19-21. Fighting against discrimination is an "immense challenge," attendees concluded. The forum was hosted by the United Nations Development Program and its High Commission on Refugees. UN refugee commissioner Sadako Ogata sent a message to forum participants saying "refugee women are particularly sensitive to physical violence and sexual exploitation and harassment." Attendees said women are put in an inferior position because they bear children. Great poverty and violence in exile likewise prevent women from exercising their rights. Sexual abuse and exclusion from decision-making also contribute to the discrimination against females who make up 80% of the uprooted Central American populations, according to the report in the daily Siglo XXI. Drug Traffic Takes on New Dimensions A network of transportation and warehouses for cocaine trafficking has been woven into Guatemalan society, resulting in a complex array of political, economic and social implications, according to journalist Haroldo Shetemul. The following glimpse at the expanding drug business in Guatemala was provided the Mexican daily Excelsior March 2. Shetemul says the growing infrastructure is involving politicians and court officials, directly or indirectly. Attorney General Acisclo Valladares has admitted that drug traffickers are paying vast amounts of money in bribes to Guatemalan authorities. A case in point is the arrest of former Zacapa mayor Arnoldo Vargas. He was arrested for cocaine trafficking in December 1990, just after his re-election for a second term as mayor of Zacapa, where he was an important leader of the National Centrist Union (UCN) party. Since then, the US embassy has demanded his extradition and accused judges of accepting bribes to help him escape from prison. In fact, two judges have been charged with illegally ordering his release. In addition to being a convenient stop-off point for cocaine en route from South America to the US, Guatemala has become an important center for laundering drug money. Shetemul quotes sources close to the US embassy that a new type of investor began to appear in Guatemala about three years ago when pressure on the Colombian Medellin Cartel was stepped up. The new investor typically puts large amounts of money into bold business ventures while fostering relations with politicians through generous gift-giving. Shetemul says few specifics are known, but signs indicate the illegal transactions are more common than authorities want to admit. Interestingly, Guatemala still has no law for confiscating property adquired with laundered money. Special Feature: Women of the Peten Resistance Communities Living on the run in the Peten jungle, women of the resistance communities play a vital role in ensuring community survival in the face of military attacks and bombing raids. These civilian populations are known as the Communities of Populations in Resistance of the Peten (CPRP) who recently openly declared their existence for the first time. Their survival in the jungle over the last decade of brutal warfare has necessitated organization of highly mobile food supply methods as well as child and medical care groups designed for fast escape should the army detect them. With these responsibilities has come a community awareness even within the traditional male leadership that women should develop their leadership capacity and assume more active roles in the directing of the community. One difficulty women experience in their political development is a fear of expressing their opinions and ideas publicly. According to one CPRP member in an interview with CERIGUA, this fear of speaking out is possibly borne of the trauma suffered by many Guatemalans who have witnessed government brutality and repression of political dissidents. Within the community itself, domestic conflicts inhibit women's participation when, for example, a wife contradicts her husband. Currently women are organized in committees which hold regular meetings to analyze the ever-changing situations created by life on the run from military persecution. Women's medical teams rely on their knowledge of natural medicines found in jungle plants and trees for treatment of snake and insect bites, childbirth pains, malaria and an array of tropical diseases. Child care groups allow mothers to perform other tasks such as clearing land for growing food, gardening, raising foul, baking, harvesting beans and corn, cutting wood, cooking, medical care and midwifery. The groups must ensure safe and quiet escape of the children if the army comes while parents are involved in other community tasks. Childbearing and women's hygiene are issues discussed within the communities' plenary assemblies attended by both sexes. Women plan how to attend the needs created by their monthly menstruation, given the difficulties of life in the jungle. When a woman is ready to give birth, the community halts its trek through the jungle for two to five days depending on conditions. A midwife assists the mother and newborn during the birth and then the community moves on its way. Military counterinsurgency strategists view these communities as guerrilla subversives or sympathizers for their refusal to submit to living in model villages under military control. The resistance communities are calling upon international organizations to pressure the Guatemalan military to stopaerial bombings and to respect their wartime rights as civilians as laid down by international convention. ***************** 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.