/* Written 10:55 PM Jul 20, 1992 by cerisea in igc:reg.guatemala */ /* ---------- "Cerigua Weekly Briefs" ---------- */ WEEKLY BRIEFS JULY 12 - 18, 1992 Peace Talks Resume in August Peace conciliator Bishop Rodolfo Quezada says Guatemalan negotiators will renew talks on human rights August 6-8. The last public meeting between the URNG, government and army broke down in October. This was followed by a series of private meetings to resolve the impasse. Quezada says negotiators will now address the remaining human rights issues. They will also discuss greater citizen participation in the process. Present at the talks will be the government team of six civilians and four generals, the guerrilla commanders and political advisors, one United Nations observer and members of the National Reconciliation Commission. Leading to the breakdown of talks in October was the rebel demand for abolition of the hated civilian patrols known as PAC. The United Nations has endorsed dissolution of these patrols for their human rights abuses. The URNG also wants protection for refugees returning from outside Guatemala and from areas to which they have fled within the country. International law protects such civilians caught in a conflict, but the army rejects this, claiming the communities are made up of guerrillas. The army has also refused the formation of a commission to investigate military atrocities. Quezada says three URNG members have met with him, together with newly named United Nations observer Jean Arnault, to discuss the upcoming round of talks. Dr. Arnault, of France, is political chief of Central American affairs for the United Nations in New York. The bishop says the guerrillas have repeated to him they will not disarm without agreements to resolve the conditions which gave rise to the armed conflict. Quezada says peace is not simply a matter of a treaty or a rebel amnesty. Rebel Commander: Peace Is Not Just a Cease-fire "We have not decided to negotiate with the government and the army because we are tired, because we're worn out or because the international situation has imposed it on us," Commander Rolando Moran of the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) told Latin American party leaders at a recent meeting in Managua. The EGP is one of four rebel forces that make up the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). "We consider that political conditions [now] exist to solve the problems particular to our people," Moran told representatives of 40 Latin American leftist parties. "Peace in Guatemala cannot be founded on a cease-fire, on demobilization of revolutionary forces or the signing of a peace treaty," Moran said. "It must be built on political accords that resolve the problems that lead to the armedstruggle. Failing this, war would soon begin again." The guerrilla leader added that no Latin America people can achieve sovereignty or freedom without the support of other Latin American nations. The Managua meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum on Political Movements and Parties declared unanimous support for the URNG's peace proposal titled ust and Democratic Peace for Guatemala: Contents of the Negotiation. Menchu Forced to Change Plans Few details are available about an apparent attack on the car in which Rigoberta Menchu was travelling in Quetzaltenango shortly after her arrival in Guatemala. Reports indicate a car may have tried to hit the one in which Menchu was riding, and at one location her caravan found the highway littered with nails and other sharp objects. Menchu was forced to cancel all activities outside the capital. A crowd of supporters was present to greet the Nobel Prize candidate when she arrived at the Guatemala City airport. "This earth gave us life, it belongs to us and the future of our homeland is ours," she told supporters. Following her aborted trip to the highlands the activist said democracy in Guatemala is superficial. The indigenous leader told Congress that a mixed parliament of ladinos and indigenous peoples must be formed as expression of national unity. Congressional President Edmond Mulet said the country is honored by her nomination and the Congressional Indigenous Committee expressed unanimous support. Indigenous leaders say Menchu has broken the silence over what the 500 years since the arrival of Columbus have meant for the people. Church Backs Menchu Candidacy Archbishop Prospero Penados has declared the support of the Catholic Church in Guatemala for Rigoberta Menchu's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. "Rigoberta is both a symbol and a reality because she represents the indigenous race and because she is heard and is raising consciousness in Guatemala." Penados repeated the words of Pope John Paul on his visit to Guatemala that the indigenous are the "original Guatemalans," and that they must be the protagonists of their own history. Also nominated for the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize are former United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar and Nelson Mandela. Two Peace Prize winners, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Argentine Adolfo Perez Esquivel, support Menchu nomination for her human rights work for Guatemala. Guatemalan Press Divided Over Nomination Guatemala's largest daily newspaper, Prensa Libre, has voiced disagreement with Rigoberta Menchu's "thinking and way of seeing and understanding life." Columnist Mario Sandoval says Menchu has lost her "authenticity" living abroad and staying in fancy hotels. Sandoval says Guatemalan Nobel laureate Miguel Angel Asturias would not have received the award if it had been up to Guatemalans. Carlos Soto of El Grafico accused Sandoval of sounding like the army. Soto said it was racism when Sandoval expressed outrage that an indigenous person travels to Europe and earns respect both nationally and abroad. He said Prensa Libre's call that Menchu return to stay in Guatemala in order to reacquire her indigenous ways was a call to stay and await the murderers to burn her house and kill her. Soto criticized those who tried to sabotage the indigenous leader's political activities during her week-long visit. He said some in power evidently find it "intolerable" that a survivor of the massacres of the last decade achieves the stature of Mahatma Ghandi or Nelson Mandela. Radio El Independiente said Menchu represents the bitter experiences of a people living in a culture of pain and, as a symbol of the nation's fight for respect for human rights, her candidacy is an honor for all Guatemalans. Refugees Plan to Return This Year The Permanent Commissions (CCPP) of Guatemalan refugees in Mexico have told officials they will go home this year but refrained from specifying a date. The refugees say one thing necessary before they return is that verification mechanisms be in place to ensure signed agreements are fulfilled. Refugees met July 11-13 with non-governmental organizations, the Guatemalan governmental refugee commission (CEAR), an international consultative and support group (GRICAR) and mediators from the United Nations (UNHCR), the Catholic Church, the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office and the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission (CDHG). Bishops Say Conditions Unfavorable for Return Bishop Gerardo Flores, president of the Guatemalan Bishops Conference says refugees returning now will face overwhelming poverty and uncontrolled violence if they go back. The bishops agree the land problem will directly affect the refugees and is still the main point of conflict. Nationwide Protests Continue Activity in government offices came to a halt July 13 during a 24 hour work stoppage in which unionists say 90% of state workers participated. Activist Jose Pinzon of the Guatemalan Workers Central (CGTG) says there was unanimous participation from health, highway and public works employees and teachers in Guatemala City. Communications, banking, customs and electrical workers stopped work for a half day. Workers held up traffic along three major highways in the interior of the country. At noon others demonstrated in the capital for finance ministry, Supreme Court, social security and central bank workers. Police and army troops mobilized throughout the capital and the government threatened to fire strikers and withhold annual bonuses. These bonuses were to serve as a substitute for a law repealed by Congress July 2, the Compensation Law for Length of Service. The repeal of this hard won law has given further impetus to the state workers' fight for salary increases. The government broke off talks with labor July 16 after some 200,000 strikers refused to accept 18% to 22% wage increases. State employees are holding out for an 83% increase. They say they have the backing of 75% of the public workers unions. Workers are also demanding the reinstatement of the compensation law. The Guatemalan Constitutional Court has ruled that the Congressional act repealing the law was legal. State workers in 15 of the nation's 22 provinces held work stoppages while over 15,000 in San Marcos held a demonstration echoing the demands of grass roots and labor protests underway in the capital. Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini addressed San Marcos protesters calling on workers to unite and defend their rights. On July 16-17, workers continued work stoppages for 48 hours following unsatisfactory negotiations with ranking labor and finance officials. The protest culminated in a 15,000 strong demonstration in front of the National Palace. Eleven independent unions have joined forces with the 34 unions for the National Federation of State Employees (FENASTEG) and 15 organizations forming the National Federation of Public Servants (FENSASEB). Labor leaders say the strike will continue next week and called on the government to renew negotiations. Professional state employees, workers with university degrees, ended their strike after accepting a 75% salary increase. Anthropologists to Explore More Mass Graves The National Council of Widows (CONAVIGUA) has announced that more digging will be done at several clandestine cemeteries in the Quiche highlands. Clyde Snow is leading the international team of pathologists, odontologists and physical anthropologists in a joint effort with Guatemalanforensic experts to identify bodies buried in mass graves in the 1980s. Human rights organizations calculate that over 100 such graves exist in the Guatemalan highlands. Cholera Epidemic Continues to Claim Lives A health official in the province of Chiquimula says there are 2,900 persons infected with cholera in his province and 77 have died. He attributes the growing contagion to extreme poverty and illiteracy. Authorities in Jutiapa and Alta Verapaz have reported 13 deaths and 40 patients being treated for cholera. Businesses Worried Over Loss of Trade Benefits Public officials and private employees are seeing the US move to restrict Guatemalan imports as a serious threat. Business owners estimate losses of up to $200 million if the US Trade Office cuts off trade benefits for Guatemalan exports to the United States. US labor activists have denounced human rights violations of Guatemalan workers and called on the United States to cut trade benefits. The restrictions would principally affect the export of clothing assembled in the maquila but some are afraid agricultural exports will suffer as well. ***************** 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.