/* Written 4:56 PM Jun 9, 1992 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Weekly Briefs" ---------- */ WEEKLY BRIEFS MAY 31 - JUNE 6, 1992 US To Send Assault Craft to Guatemala The National Security Council has approved a plan to send the Guatemalan government six Black Hawk attack helicopters and between 20 and 30 military personnel. The number of Drug Enforcement Agency agents will increase from six to twenty, according to th e Mexican daily La Jornada. The Washington Post reports President Bush is planning a controversial expansion of anti-drug operations in the region with an estimated cost of $30 million over two years. Harassment of Catholic Church Continues Members of the Guatemalan Congress are outraged at what they are calling a war on the church. The tenth in a series of recent attacks on Catholic churches was reported this week. Thieves robbed the San Pedro Huertas church near Antigua, carrying off a cen turies-old painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe and half of a statue of the Virgin of the Conception. Other items taken include the halo, sword, hairpiece and robes of the Virgin of Solitude and a painting dating to 1770. Papal envoy Juan Bautista Morandini told Guatemalan President Jorge Serrano the Church cannot tolerate further robberies. The President offered military support in the police investigations. Vice President Gustavo Espina says it is possible someone is s eeking open confrontation with the Church. Metropolitan Archbishop Prospero Penados, just back from Rome, says a very powerful organization is behind the thefts but declined to say more. The Culture Ministry has since reported the disappearance of an in ventory of national religious treasures. Daily Recognizes Menchu Nomination The daily +El Grafico has published an homage to Rigoberta Menchu, recognizing her candidacy for the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. Mario Alberto Carrera writes that when the king of Norway awards her the prize, "the eyes of the buried will close...the Man of R abinal will dance again with his tigers and eagles...Just as Gaspar Ilom from Men of Maize smiled down from Quiche when Miguel Angel received the [Nobel literature] prize, Tepeu and Gucumatz, the Heart of the Sky, who is called Huracan, will rejoice when you receive it, Rigoberta." Carrera went on to note that an indigenous woman from remote Quiche is heard in Geneva and Washington, in Paris and in Stockholm. Her exile, he writes, like that of her ancestors who went to Tula to hear the divine voice of Quetzalcoatl, has not been in vain, but fruitful. He bade her to take with her to Stockholm the nascent conscience of Guatemala. In Paris, participants in "Meetings on the Discovery of the Peoples of America" expressed unanimous support for Menchu's candidacy. Supporters included French First Lady Danielle Mitterand, former peace prize winner Andres Perez Esquivel, French writer R egis Debray and former Mexican president Cuauhtemoc Cardenas. Army Won't Reduce Forces The Guatemalan defense chief says the army will maintain current troop levels and its role in development projects even after a peace agreement is signed. "An adjustment, not a reduction" is in line, Jose Garcia says, because "the army is the only instit ution capable of carrying out serious projects for the good of the country." Once there is a peace accord, the army will become more involved in "road construction, the war on drugs, environmental protection and educational projects in remote areas," Gar cia says. An end to the 31-year-old war will be reached either through a coordinated rural offensive or negotiation, he says. Rolf Linkohr, vice president of the European Parliament, said on his recent visit to Guatemala: "the Guatemalan army is much too large and should be reduced because I can see no foreign enemy." A parliamentary delegation met with Defense Minister Garcia who told them only 7% of the nation's budget goes to the army. Serrano and Garcia both say the army is indispensable and reduction is out of the question. Linkohr noted also that Germany has offered eighteen million marks in economic aid to Guatemala, but it has not been released because the Guatemalan government has been unable to formulate the required project proposal. Army Bombs Indigenous Communities The Guatemalan rebel organization, the URNG, reports that the army recently conducted a five-day bombing offensive against indigenous areas in the northwestern Quiche province. From May 23-28, soldiers fired 43 mortar shells from nearby military bases in to indigenous communities around Santo Tomas and Cuarto Pueblo. Also on May 16, another base fired five shells into populated areas and fields under cultivation near Cotzal. The insurgency urges human rights organizations to condemn the attacks and come to the aid of victims of the bombing. The rebels stress that the attacks on the indigenous communities violate international humanitarian laws that protect the rights of civilians in wartime. Defense Minister Jose Garcia told TV Notisiete that the guerr illa report is false and there are no communities in that area. Protesters Keep Archaeological Piece In Guatemala Peten residents have warned the Guatemalan government that they will give their lives to prevent a Mayan stela from being sent to a June 14 "Mayan World" exhibition sponsored by the German government and UNESCO. Faced with overwhelming protest, the gover nment announced that the piece would stay at home. The stela was destined for display among 300 other Mayan pieces loaned from European and US museums. Sculpted during the early classic period, a Tikal ruler known as "Jaguar Claw II" appears on the front side. Jaguar Claw II belonged to a dynasty ruling the Mayan metropolis between 300-900 c.e. On the back are sixteen heiroglyphs, some yet undeciphered. Protesters prevented the driver of the truck that was to transport the piece from removing it from the Tikal Park museum. Instead it was taken to the Santa Elena University Center, where 3,000 people kept watch. Peten residents said they feared if the s tela left Guatemala, it would never be returned or a cheap imitation would be returned in its place. One Peten congressman warned that if Serrano sent in Hunapu forces, there could be deaths and the government would be responsible. Those present rejected Culture Minister Eunice Limas's claim that failure to send the stela to Germany would cost Guatemala assistance from both that country and the European Community. The press accused her of blackmail and critic Carlos Rafael Soto lam basted her for calling the stela a mere "rock" saying contempt for all things Guatemalan had gone too far. If the Germans want to cut aid, it's their problem, said Soto. The First World does us no favors with buying cheap and selling at high prices; th ey have the technology but the raw materials are ours, he wrote. Demonstrators said sixteen pieces went to Japan for an exhibition in 1984 and were never seen again, among them a sleeping jaguar, anthropomorphic figures and ceramic vases. The University of Pennsylvania likewise has in its possession over 2,000 pieces i ncluding a vase which appears on Guatemala's currency. Health Update: Cholera, AIDS and Hunger Ninety persons have died so far of cholera since the disease hit Guatemala last year. Of 10,000 suspected cases, 2,691 have tested positive for cholera, says new Health Minister Eusebio del Cid. Former Health Minister Miguel Montepeque reported that May laboratory studies showed that in 18 of Guatemala's 22 provinces, there are communities whose drinking water is contaminated with fecal matter, a carrier of the disease. Del Cid reported that of the 547 suspected cases of AIDS, 254 patients have tested positive for viral antibodies. Guatemala Flash radio reports that a May 30 national children's vaccination campaign was a failure. Health officials planned a day of measles, whooping cough, tetanus, polio and diphtheria vaccinations for children five and under. Less than half the exp ected 1.6 million kids received shots due to disorganization, failure to inform parents and lack of transportation to health centers. Government studies report 40% of Guatemalan children suffer chronic malnutrition and 60% are critically malnourished. Attorney General Acisclo Valladares has announced the loss of diarrhea medicines donated to Guatemala from abroad. The medicines, he says, are valued in the millions and have expired after being left abandoned in storage over a year in Santo Tomas Harbor. Amilcar Mendez Receives Supoena A military commissioner is suing Amilcar Mendez for defamation, according to the Council of Ethnic Communities Runujel Junam (CERJ). The commissioner, with support from the army, has filed a suit against Mendez for slander and threats. After preliminary questioning, a judge has determined the civil case will go to trial. During the hearing, one thousand protesters marched outside in support of Mendez. Non-Governmental Organizations Want Respect for Human Rights Forty-three national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have reported threats against them and are expressing deep concern for the series of recent threats, murders and terrorist actions in Guatemala. The besieged organizations are c hurches, cooperatives and educational organizations working with the internally displaced and returning refugees. The NGOs called on the President to enforce constitutional laws protecting Guatemalans' rights to enter the country whenever and however the y choose. They also demand the government implement accords reached at the International Conference of Central American Refugees and agreements made with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Retirees Haven't Received Benefits Some 600 retirees in Guatemala City say the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) has not come through with retirement benefits promised. Pedro Hernandez of the National Retirees Association says even after six years of retirement, the IGSS has fai led to pay benefits to the elderly and the handicapped. The government told the retirees that its debt to IGSS amounts to $30 million, making payment impossible. Serrano Criticizes European Community at Managua Summit At the twelfth summit of Central American presidents in Managua, President Serrano said the European Community's move to place duties on banana imports from the region was "condemnable and discriminatory." He said the six presidents will fight the move p lacing restrictions on the banana trade. Retired Colonel Calls for Serrano's Resignation Retired Colonel Ernesto Sosa, a leader of the ultra-right National Liberation Movement (MLN), called for Serrano's resignation within the next week. He said no coup was intended but that he and his colleagues of the military class of '46 have initiated t his move against the president since the May 24 murder of Colonel Raul Andrade, which will be avenged. Sosa says Serrano has managed the nation poorly and made too many mistakes since taking office last year. People are tired he says of corruption, impunity and more taxes. Environment Update Environmentalists report that the Guatemalan metropolitan area is among the most polluted in the region. Contributors to pollution include the 2,325 industries operating in the area and the 364,000 vehicles in circulation. Further environmental problems arise from failure to pick up 40% of the 1,339 tons of solid waste produced daily. The National Air and Space Agency (NASA) signed an accord with the Central American Commission on Development and the Environment at the Managua Summit. NASA agrees to monitor the region by satellite to prevent pillaging of natural resources in protected areas and the destruction of rainforests and wildlife. The European Community has offered Guatemala $3 million to prevent the pollution of Lake Atitlan. In the Peten, Treasury Police have impounded four trucks loaded with 25,000 feet of precious wood stolen from protected forests in the La Libertad district. Police place the value of the wood at $30,000. Authorities also arrested two persons in a truck loaded with 5,000 feet of cedar, mahogany and other valuable species of trees. ***************** 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.