/* Written 10:51 PM May 18, 1992 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Weekly Briefs" ---------- */ CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, MAY 10-16, 1992 No End to Bomb Threats At least four bombs were deactivated in the capital this week. Emergency personnel received as many as 300 false alarms a day. By Friday, May 15, emergency teams announced they would no longer respond to anonymous phone calls, saying it takes too much gas to check out every call. The bomb threats, which have created a climate of terror in the capital, extended to the provinces of Suchitepequez, Jutiapa, Retalhuleu and Zacapa. Amid heavy criticism, the government says it is doing everything it can. President Serrano and army intelligence chief Perez Molina blamed the URNG and drug traffickers for the bombs and false alarms. He offered as proof that one of the bombs deactivated last week is the same type the URNG uses on electric towers. Radio Independiente commented that linking the terrorist acts to guerrillas and drug smugglers shows security forces are not taking the situation seriously. Authorities will have to do more than give theories in order to restore the people's confidence, the editorial added. In contrast to the intelligence chief's statement, National Police Chief Carlos Samayoa said it's not known who is responsible for the actions, adding "what we have is speculation and anonymous reports." Interior Minister Hurtado said clearly what the terrorists want is to create a climate of terror, not cause injury or damage. Bomb Threats Target Wide Spectrum Of the four bombs deactivated, two were at the Rafael Landivar University, one in a downtown shopping mall and another in the Computer Technical Institute in zone 1. Bomb threats targeted a wide range of locations including government offices of the federal court, Attorney General, housing bank, national electric company, tourism office, and the Guatemala City municipal offices. Schools and universities included the University of San Carlos, Mariano Galvez University, Adolfo Hall Military Institute, and other youth institutes. Communication media included the dailies Prensa Libre and Siglo XXI, TGW National Radio, and Radio Mundial. In an unusual incident on May 11 two men grabbed a 27-year- old man, strapped a bomb to his chest and shoved him inside the popular fast food restaurant Pollo Campero. Soldiers were called to deactivate the bomb, and the victim was briefly hospitalized for shock. The victim's family told the Human Rights Ombudsman that the police later charged him withpossessing explosives and were detaining him. Private Sector Worried Carlos Vielman, president of the Chamber of Industry, says security forces should put a stop to the terror, which he predicts will seriously affect investment and tourism. Rodolfo Perez Arrivillaga, president of the General Agricultural Association (AGA), urged government authorities to take action to do away with unlawful attitudes. He also asked political, religious, labor, grassroots and academic groups, but especially journalists, "to stop their systematic criticism and misrepresentation which is undermining our fragile democracy." Zacapa Cartel Claims Responsibility Persons identifying themselves as members of the Zacapa Cartel say they are responsible for the spate of recent bombs. Alleged members of the cartel called a news conference to say that bombings will continue until Zacapa's ex-mayor Arnoldo Vargas is freed. Vargas was arrested on drug trafficking charges in a DEA operation in December 1990. A Siglo XXI special report on drugs describes how smugglers in Zacapa have earned the label "cartel". Zacapa is an ideal place to refuel planes carrying drugs from Columbia to the US. It has many unmonitored landing strips and is reportedly used by the Medellin Cartel. Ricardo Espinosa, the Medellin Cartel's man in Guatemala who was arrested in New York, said he was told the Columbian cartel had recruited important people in Zacapa. Convicted Soldiers Escape Army Headquarters Two soldiers sentenced to death for a multiple murder in Ciudad Peronia in January have escaped from Guatemala's most important military base. Soldiers Nicolas Gutierrez and Eliseo Suchite escaped from the Army General Headquarters in Guatemala City May 9. Cesar Alvarez of the human rights prosecutor's office discarded the possibility that staff negligence allowed the two soldiers to slip past base security. Human Rights Chief Ramiro de Leon's response was: "I hope they don't turn up dead." The soldiers should have been transferred to prison, according to Eduardo Rottmann, a legislator. The Interior Minister said in the future, servicemen who are in custody will not be held at Army HQ, but will be taken to a detention center in zone 18. Neighbors of the victims say the escape "clearly demonstrates that a member of the army can commit a crime and not receive due punishment." Although witnesses have said severalsoldiers were involved in the January murders, only two have been charged. They were recently given death sentences after having filed appeals. Commander Removed from Post General Marco Antonio Gonzalez Taracena, commander of Army General Headquarters, was removed from his post on May 12 "to avoid any obstruction of the investigation" of the soldiers' escape. Gonzalez was previously chief of the Military Mobile Police and then chief of military intelligence before his transfer to Headquarters earlier this year. He was also on the government peace negotiating team. As headquarters commander, he was one of the highest officials in the army. Gonzalez has been temporarily replaced by Colonel Angel de la Vega. Young Campesino Leaders Killed Two campesino leaders at the La Blanca settlement in the San Marcos province have been murdered. The two were on their way home from a soccer game. Juan Carlos Diaz and Ezequiel Noriega, both 25 years old, were killed by machine gun fire from a moving vehicle. The Southern Campesino Union (UCS) denounced the murders, saying the army abuses citizens instead of protecting them. UCS said the army sexually abuses young women and forces men to serve in civil patrols in communities along the southern coast. The campesino organization also described army abuse of school children: soldiers arrive at schools, remove teachers from the classrooms, and then ask the children questions such as who their enemies are. University Professor and Student Murdered An economics professor and a student at the University of San Carlos (USAC) were murdered this week. Several men were waiting for Professor Andres Ramirez Lara when he arrived home May 14. They gunned him down in front of his wife and children as he stepped out of his car to open the garage door. He had reportedly received threatening phone calls just before the murder. In a separate incident the same night, psychology student Juan Jose Aranda Paz died after he was shot one block from his home. Ramirez was the second USAC professor murdered this year. History professor Manuel Estuardo Pena was killed on February 10 under similar circumstances. Gunmen waited for him to arrive home, and anonymous callers phoned his home in the days leading up to the murder. The day after Pena was murdered, medical student Luis Solares Argueta was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. CERJ Headquarters Attacked On May 10 a bomb exploded outside the offices of the Council of Ethnic Communities (CERJ) in Santa Cruz del Quiche. The explosion damaged the premises, where CERJ President Amilcar Mendez also lives. Mendez has rejected the army's suggestion that CERJ members threw the bomb themselves. Mendez said the army makes this kind of accusation to justify not investigating crimes. Mendez believes government-related groups are responsible for the attack. In a smear campaign against Mendez Serrano has publicly accused him of having links with guerrillas. The United Labor and Popular Action (UASP) agreed the bomb attack is related to Serrano's statements, pointing out that the words used by the President amount to a death sentence in Guatemala. Teenage Students Tortured and Threatened Students from the Normal and Central Institutes who were arrested during recent protests over insufficient teachers say they were tortured and threatened while detained. Jorge Garcia of the National Association of Middle School Teachers (ANEEM) said some of the students say they were burned with a kind of powder, and others were removed to isolated locations where authorities then threatened to kill them. Thousands of students and teachers from 32 capital schools demonstrated in front of the Presidential Palace on May 13. They demanded investigations of security actions during the student uprisings the last week of April, in which 188 students were arrested. ANEEM President Jorge Garcia demanded that the Interior Minister and two police chiefs be prosecuted for the attacks on Normal and Central students. Protesting students and teachers also demanded the release of the 28 students over 18 years old who are still in detention, and the resignation of the Education Minister. Garcia added that teachers support the students in demanding solutions to the educational crisis. Special Prosecutor Discredits Dianna Ortiz Special prosecutor Fernando Linares continues to try to cast doubt on Sister Dianna Ortiz's testimony that she was kidnapped and tortured by Guatemalan security forces. Linares said this week that Sister Dianna has refused to cooperate with judicial authorities, even though she returned to Guatemala in April to testify in court. In a statement to the press Ortiz said the special prosecutor made her feel like she was facing her torturers..Linares retaliated by saying she should undergo psychological testing because her comment raises doubts about her mental health condition. His response was broadcast over the Guatemala Flash newscastbased on his "right to respond" to a paid ad by the board of directors of the Mothers Superior of Religious Orders in the US. Family of Key Witness Receiving Threats The husband of the key witness in the Nahaman Carmona murder case and a Casa Alianza worker were harassed by two men traveling in a new Toyota truck with Florida license plates. Manuel Martinez, husband of police officer Vilma Arevalo who testified against the four policemen for killing street child Nahaman, and children's shelter worker Mariano Giron were traveling in a Casa Alianza vehicle in Guatemala City. The Toyota truck pulled up next to their vehicle and one of the men pointed a machine gun at them twice before they managed to lose them. As previously reported in the Weekly Briefs, two other family members of Arevalo have been kidnapped in recent weeks. Government Recognizes Fujimori Foreign Minister Gonzalo Menendez said the Serrano government officially recognizes the Alberto Fujimori government. The reason, he said, is that Peruvian President Fujimori was elected by the people. Menendez will attend the Organization of American States (OAS) meeting of foreign ministers beginning May 17. The crises in Haiti and Peru are on the agenda for the meeting in the Bahamas. New US Ambassador to Guatemala The Bush administration named Marilyn McAfee as ambassador to Guatemala beginning this November. McAfee will replace Thomas Stroock, who will complete his third year as ambassador this fall. McAfee is currently an advisor at the US embassy in Bolivia, and previously held foreign service posts in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Chile and Iran. She also served as assistant cultural attache for Guatemala in 1969. On A Lighter Note... The manager of the public water utility (EMPAGUA) has denied he was forced to resign because he cut off service to the home of Guatemalan Vice President Gustavo Espina. Ex-manager Alejandro Giammatei said he treated the vice president the same as he does anyone who fails to pay his bill. He said he resigned last month because the board of directors, and government officials in particular, blocked every attempt he made to improve utility service. ***************** In the U.S. and Canada subscribe to Weekly Briefs by sendingcheck 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.