CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, NUMBER 16, APRIL 29, 1999 This week's stories: *Gerardi Case: One Year Later, Guatemalans Demand Answers *Presidential Candidates Named *EMP Drove Legislator to Suicide, Says Ombudsman *Sexual Harassment Verdict Overturned *Final Bloc of Refugees Returns Home *Bill Seeks to Increase Access to Housing *Court Rules in Favor of Search for Disappeared *Environmental Ills Highlighted on Earth Day Gerardi Case: One Year Later, Guatemalans Demand Answers Guatemala City, April 25. More than 50,000 worshippers and spectators turned out today to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Bishop Juan Gerardi. The crowd, the majority from 40 city parishes, converged on the main cathedral from the four points of the compass, each column decked in a different color -- white, red, orange and green. Visitors from Italy, Mexico, the United States, and other Central American countries as well as parishioners from 14 provinces also participated. Overflowing the central square that fronts both the cathedral and the national palace, the public gathering constitutes the largest in Guatemala since the pope's visit in 1997. Archbishop Próspero Penados officiated Mass, accompanied by Monsignor Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, president of the Latin American Bishop's Conference (CELMA) and its secretary general, Jorge Jiménez Carbajal, while some 300 priests delivered communion to the throng. Although principally a religious ceremony, the event was also a forceful reminder to Guatemalan authorities that much of the population, including the Catholic Church, is unsatisfied with investigations into the bishop’s murder April 26 of last year. The homily, pronounced by Gerardo Flores, bishop of Alta Verapaz province, echoed the widely held belief that Gerardi, who just two days before his death launched the first comprehensive account of the atrocities committed during Guatemala's civil war, was killed to silence the truth about the country's past. The Church maintains that the crime was politically motivated, and suspects that military personnel were involved. "They killed him because he hated injustice and loved equality. They killed him for not remaining insensitive to the pain of his people, a people humiliated, impoverished, exploited and massacred," Flores told the crowd. Just last week in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II urged President Alvaro Arzú during a private meeting to solve the crime "as soon as possible." Dozens of human rights groups, both here and abroad, seconded that call during the anniversary celebrations. The Myrna Mack Foundation called the lack of progress in the case "a serious setback in the process of consolidating peace" in the country and accused authorities of conducting a whitewash. Evidence has been contaminated or destroyed, information has been concealed and manipulated and the independence of judicial officials tampered with, the foundation stated. Parishes throughout the country also held remembrance celebrations today for the slain bishop, and solidarity groups in the United States, Canada and Europe held rallies or other events to commemorate his life and death and to demand thorough investigations into the assassination. Representatives of the U.S. State Department and the European Union also publicly voiced their concerns about the slow pace of the investigations. Presidential Candidates Named Guatemala City, April 22. Guatemala's leading political parties have decided on the presidential candidates who will run on their tickets in general elections next fall. The most recent addition to the growing list of presidential hopefuls is Alvaro Colom Caballeros, candidate for the newly formed Alliance for a New Nation (ANN). The four-party coalition chose Colom today from a short list that included indigenous leader Rosalina Tuyuc, Authentic Integral Development (DIA) party founder Rolando Torres, and one time Guatemala City mayor José Angel Lee. In addition to the DIA, the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), the New Guatemala Democratic Front (FDNG) and the United Democratic Left (UNID) make up the left-leaning coalition. Although Colom's running mate has yet to be decided, both Tuyuc and human rights activist Nineth Montenegro have been mentioned in ANN ranks as possibilities. Colom, an engineer, is best known for his work in the mid-1990s as director of the National Peace Fund (FONAPAZ). In 1997, he briefly headed the Presidential Office to Resolve Land Disputes but resigned after just five months, citing the institution’s limited mandate and lack of support and direction from the government as factors in his decision. Colom's surname also has political echoes. His uncle, Manuel Colom Argueta, assassinated in 1978 by state forces, is still recalled by many as one of the best-loved politicians of that era and a pillar of civic responsibility that no politician since has approximated. The ruling National Advancement Party (PAN) settled on its candidates for president and vice president last week. Guatemala City mayor Oscar Berger, after declaring three months ago that nothing would persuade him to run in the elections, bowed to the wishes of his party and let his name stand as presidential candidate. He presented as his running mate education minister and two times congressional president Arabella Castro. For its part, the far-right Republican Front (FRG) decided to go again with its candidate in the last general elections in 1995, Alfonso Portillo. In that race, Portillo narrowly lost the presidency to the PAN's Alvaro Arzú. The former Christian Democrat will be joined on the ticket by the FRG's deputy secretary general Francisco Reyes López. A constitutional provision that bars former coup leaders from seeking either the presidency or the vice presidency has kept the FRG's secretary general, Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt, from seeking office. Ten other political parties are registered to participate in the November elections, but most have not yet posted candidates. Candidates may register up until three months before the event and are barred from campaigning until that time. EMP Drove Legislator to Suicide, Says Ombudsman Guatemala City, April 28. The Presidential Military Guard (EMP) is responsible for driving an outspoken congressional representative to his death, according to a resolution of the human rights ombudsman. Ombudsman Julio Arango charged yesterday that threats and harassment against independent legislator Héctor Klée Orellana and his family induced the legislator to commit suicide last September 15. These threats intensified after Klée tried to use his congressional authority to enter the premises of the EMP in order to investigate whether the institution was tapping congressional telephone lines, Arango notes. "The three years of threats... constitute the psychological influence which motivated the affected (man) to the compulsive decision to commit suicide," reads the resolution, which describes the threats he received as a kind of psychological torture. Arango also levied a portion of blame for Klée's death on President Alvaro Arzú "on whom rests the responsibility of putting an end to these practices of the past." The ombudsman observes that the legislator left a suicide note indicating the reasons for his state of mind. "I've taken this decision because of the pressure the executive branch has exercised with death threats and implicating my children in drug trafficking as a way of applying pressure," the note states. Guatemala's penal code recognizes induction to suicide as a crime. In the last years of his life, Klée, elected to Congress on the United National Center (UCN) party ticket but later leaving that party, became increasingly active in championing human rights and social causes. In addition to trying to search the EMP grounds, he defended the attempt by two high schools to save their schools from demolition and battled moves to privatize the public health system. Sexual Harassment Verdict Overturned Guatemala City, April 23. An appeals court overturned yesterday a landmark verdict in the first case of sexual harassment ever heard by a Guatemalan court. The Tenth Court of Appeals repealed the guilty verdict handed down last January against state functionary Julio Domingo González, the first Guatemalan ever convicted for sexual harassment. The appeals judges also ordered a retrial. Women's groups say that the new ruling demonstrates the vacuum that exists in Guatemalan law on the issue. "I think this shows once again the need for a specific law on sexual harassment, like the one proposed by the National Office on Women," said Sandra Morán of the Women's Sector of the Assembly of Civil Sectors (ASC). "These cases occur with great frequency at a levels and in all walks of life." Feminists had called the lower court decision an important victory for women here. Although the crime of sexual harassment does not exist in the Guatemala's penal code, the judges had upheld the charges of coercion presented by state prosecutors and sentenced González to two years in prison commutable to five quetzales (US$0.70) a day for the same period. The defendant, who is head of the data processing department of the Social Security Institute (IGSS), was accused of pressuring one of his staff for months to have sexual relations with him and, on December 13, 1997, of trying to molest her. When his victim resisted his overtures, González allegedly downgraded her to warehouse messenger. Guatemala has signed international conventions that call for punishing workplace sexual harassment, but to date Congress has shelved all draft legislation to penalize the offense. Final Bloc of Refugees Returns Home Colomba Costa Cuca, Quetzaltenango, April 22. The return of 57 families who had fled to Mexico during the country's civil war marks the close of a chapter in the history of Guatemalan refugees. The families, who total 297 individuals, crossed the border early today from Chiapas, Mexico, where they had sought refuge more than 17 years ago from the Guatemalan state's brutal counterinsurgency campaign. The group's arrival marks the last organized large-scale repatriation of Guatemalan refugees. Refugees may still return on an individual basis or in small groups, but without many of the benefits available while the official return process lasted. "We returned because Guatemala is our land, whereas in Mexico we were only given shelter," expressed a jubilant Andrea Ramos, a Mam indigenous woman who brought her 10 grandchildren - all born in Mexico - with her to show them the land of their ancestors. The group will settle on a 350-acre estate in Colomba Costa Cuca called Magnolia Miramar. They join 10 other families who settled on the property after an earlier return. According to returning refugee Venancio Chávez, who helped coordinate the journey along with the Dispersed Refugees Association (ARDIGUA) and the government refugee agency CEAR, the group decided to come back after "determining that it was more important to contribute to the growth of our own country than to continue to remain illegally in Mexico." Nevertheless, Chávez said that the former refugees were grateful to Mexico for having provided them with education, healthcare and a place to live. Back in Guatemala, they are anxious to start rebuilding their lives and hope to turn their land into a productive and profitable agricultural cooperative. "This is something we have always longed for... We won't settle for just a plot of land and a house," Chávez said. Magnolia Miramar is suitable for growing coffee, bananas, plantains, avocado, oranges and peaches. For ARDIGUA and CEAR, this day marks the end of an era. ARDIGUA representative Santos Luciano Arriaga said that the organization would now turn its attention to advancing the process of adaptation and integration that the returnees will face and to developing the returned communities. As for CEAR, the state agency will close its doors next June 30, after more than 13 years in operation. Director Hugo Rivera Castañeda called the conclusion of CEAR's work a "mission accomplished," adding that the government would continue to work with returnees through the joint technical commission CTEAR, created under the 1996 peace accords. CEAR has overseen the return of 41,633 Guatemalans exiles since the agency began its work in 1986. Bill Seeks to Increase Access to Housing Guatemala City, April 28. Proposed legislation that would reform Guatemala's housing law was presented in a public forum yesterday. The bill, co-sponsored by the Guatemalan Neighborhood Front (FREPOGUA) and the Institute for Political, Economic and Social Studies (IPES), seeks to ensure greater and easier access to housing. According to the draft law, the housing deficit in Guatemala, including substandard housing, reaches almost 1.4 million units, leaving approximately half the population without adequate shelter. This figure grows at a rate of 43,000 units a year. Although, in keeping with the 1996 peace accords, the government created the Housing Fund (FOGUAVI) to address the problem, little headway has been made, the bill's sponsors argue. Neighborhood groups complain of limited access to the program, that the downpayments demanded are too high for the people most in need, that neighborhood representatives have no seats on FOGUAVI's board of directors and that the fund has insufficient resources to meet the growing demand. According to William Mazariegos of FREPOGUA, the government fund provided only 6,000 subsidies to families last year. To improve these deficiencies, the draft reforms propose not only a state subsidy on the price of the house but subsidized mortgage rates as well. This measure would protect beneficiaries from market fluctuation and reduce the risk of foreclosure for families who have difficulty meeting their mortgage payments, the bill states. The proposed ammendments also allow a variety of ways to make the initial downpayment and to lower costs, such as staggared payments and participation by the beneficiaries in the construction of their homes. In order to guarantee sufficient funding for the subsidies, the revised law would earmark a minimum of 1.5 percent of state tax revenues for FOGUAVI, as laid down in the peace accords, and allow donations from a variety of sources. The bill also aims to increase access to housing for female heads of households, who, it notes, are often discriminated against. The proposed legislation calls on authorities "to define a policy and promote programs to facilitate women's access to credit for procuring housing." The bill further proposes appointing two representatives from FREPOGUA and one from the national university to FOGUAVI's board, which currently includes only government and private sector representatives. The bill also calls for an annual internal audit of the fund and an impact evaluation every three years. According to Mazariegos, FREPOGUA will lobby all parties in Congress to get the reforms passed so as to avoid politicizing the bill during an election year. Court Rules in Favor of Search for Disappeared Guatemala City, April 20. A Supreme Court decision has given hope to thousands of Guatemalans who are trying to determine the whereabouts of loved ones who were disappeared during the country's civil war. Yesterday, the court ruled in favor of a petition by the Mutual Support Group for Relatives of the Disappeared (GAM) for a special investigation into the disappearance of student leader Luis Fernando de la Roca Elías, allegedly abducted by state security forces in the mid-1980s. The court assigned the case to the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman and, significantly, gave it the go-ahead to enter military installations as part of its investigation. According to GAM, armed men aboard two vehicles with military license plates abducted de la Roca September 9, 1985. The organization claims that one of the plates belonged to the Justo Rufino Barrios military barracks in Guatemala City, and the other to the Ministry of Defense. GAM director Mario Polanco said he was pleased with the ruling, and that it could open the way to investigating the whereabouts of other disappeared Guatemalans as well. GAM is already preparing the cases of other missing students and union leaders, such as Edgar Fernando García, Marco Antonio Molina and Carlos Cuevas, for presentation to the courts, he added. The Ombudsman's Office will have until May 30 to complete its report, which it will then hand over to the Justice Department so that legal action against those accused can begin. In their respective reports, both the Catholic Church's Recuperation of Historical Memory (REMHI) project and the Historical Clarification Commission (CEH) concluded that the state maintained secret prisons in various locations in Guatemala City, including the Justo Rufino Barrios barracks. Environmental Ills Highlighted on Earth Day Guatemala City, April 25. There was little to celebrate here during Earth Day festivities April 22. Groups that monitor Guatemala's environment had grim news to report and used the day to speak out against the major problems facing the country in this regard. Deforestation remains at the forefront of environmental problems, the groups report. According to Mario Paiz of the National Forestry Institute (INAB), Guatemala could lose more than two thirds of its forests in the next three decades. The country's forest reserve currently covers 16,000 square miles, almost 40 percent of the nation's territory, but at the present pace of deforestation, would drop to 5,200 square miles in that time, he said. Paiz pointed to change in soil use, particularly the introduction of agriculture and cattle, as by far the number one cause of deforestation. Forest fires and commercial logging account for about five percent each, he said. But the environmental lobby group Madre Selva also blamed much of the recent depletion on government-approved oil exploration in Petén province, the home of most of the country's large forests. Access to water, aggravated by deforestation, also remains a pressing concern for many Guatemalans. The daily supply of water in Guatemala City falls 30 percent short of the demand, reported Madre Selva. According to the government National Environment Commission (CONAMA), only 40 percent of the population in rural areas has running water, and it is not always drinkable. In urban centers, particularly Guatemala City, air pollution is a growing risk for residents' health. Exhaust from vehicles and smoke and lead from factories have filled the capital's skies with smog and lead to a variety of respiratory illnesses, particularly among children, Madre Selva states. Last May conditions were so poor in the capital that the rate of suspended particles in the air reached 600 micrograms per cubic meter, more than twice what is considered tolerable by the World Health Organization. Despite the emergency, months later the government repealed the new emissions law. In addition, Madre Selva charges that in general the environment has lost ground in terms of government priorities and that protective legislation and policies have been diluted. **************************************************************** Cerigua Weekly Briefs are published 48 times a year by the Centro de Reportes Informativos de Guatemala Publisher: Ileana Alamilla Editor: Ruth Taylor Cerigua 2a Calle 1-42, Zona 1, Guatemala, Guatemala Tel/FAX: 502 238 1456 502 221 2521 E-mail: cerigua@guate.net ************************************************************** SUBSCRIBE TO CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS! US$ 50/ 1 year individual ---- US$ 80/ 2 years individual US$ 75/ 1 year institutional -- US$ 120/ 2 years institutional US$ 100/ 1 year amigo --------- US$ 160/ 2 years amigo Send check or money order in US Dollars made payable to: ANI, PO Box 578191, Chicago, IL 60657-8191 (indicate regular or e-mail) For information not related to subscriptions, please contact our Guatemala office: Cerigua English Section; 2a Calle 1-42, Zona 1; Ciudad de Guatemala; Guatemala, Centro America. Email: cerigua@guate.net; Phone/fax: (502) 2212521 or 2381456. *****************************************************************