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Subject: Guatemala: Cerigua Briefs APRIL 7, 1994

/** reg.guatemala: 123.0 **/
** Topic: Cerigua Weekly Briefs **
** Written  3:38 pm  Apr 12, 1994 by cerisea in cdp:reg.guatemala **
CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, NUMBER 11, APRIL 7, 1994

Human Rights Accord Signed

Mexico City, March 29.  Representatives of the government and
the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) today
signed a long- awaited accord on human rights.  They also
agreed on a schedule to finish negotiations aimed at a "firm
and lasting peace" by year's end.  According to both parties
and international observers, the accord is an "important
step" in the peace process, and a "historic achievement" for
Guatemala.  President De Leon Carpio, accompanied by top
brass at a post-negotiation news conference, also expressed
satisfaction with the agreement.

The document decrees immediate United Nations oversight of
its provisions, a key demand of the grassroots movement.
Army officials had refused to accept international
verification as long as the URNG continued fighting.  Under
the current agreement, the United Nations will send a team to
oversee compliance with the accords months before a cease-
fire between the URNG and the military is even discussed.

Though reactions have generally been positive, human rights
groups complain the accord contains no Truth Commission to
investigate and name those responsible for human rights
abuses over the 34 years of civil war.  The Truth Commission,
which will be discussed separately at talks in May, was a
major stumbling block in the three-year-long negotiations.
Nineth Montenegro of the Mutual Support Group for the
Families of the Disappeared (GAM) laments the recalcitrance
of the government and the army, "Never are the victims
heard."

URNG Commander Pablo Monsanto, chief of the rebel negotiating
team, conceded that the accord "does not fulfill all the
hopes of Guatemalan society."  Investigation of past abuses
is to be discussed later, "as a gesture of flexibility," he
said, but he stressed that the accord will "open new
possibilities to discuss the problems of Guatemala and to
find solutions."

In the accord, the Guatemalan government commits itself to
strengthening the power of the courts, the Attorney General,
and especially the Human Rights Ombudsman.  The accord also
says the government will "in no way impede the prosecution
and punishment of human rights abusers," an embarrassing
admission for a government led by the former Human Rights
Ombudsman.  The government is also obliged to protect human
rights workers, and to propose legislation strengthening
penalties for abuses.  It restates civil guarantees already
provided by the Constitution, and commits the government to
ending forced military recruitment and changing the laws that
governs armed service.
President Ramiro de Leon said he was "satisfied" with the
accord, but many wonder if the Guatemalan army, often singled
out as Guatemala's number one violator of human rights,
shares his sentiments.

Negotiations are to resume in April, and the stated intention
is to conclude discussion on the remaining agenda by the end
of the year.  That includes the role of the military,
indigenous rights, agrarian reform, socioeconomic issues, and
finally, in October, a cease-fire and demobilization of the
URNG.

Fear of "Gringo" Kidnappers Grips Guatemala

Guatemala City, April 4.  Widespread hysteria that U.S.
citizens are behind an international organ-trafficking ring
in Guatemala has ignited two Guatemalan towns, and nearly
killed two tourists.  The U.S. State Department issued a
warning to citizens travelling to Guatemala, after the March
29 attack against June Diane Weinstock, an editor for an
Alaskan magazine.

Angry residents of San Cristobal Verapaz, Alta Verapaz, beat
Weinstock after a mother discovered her child was missing.
Residents surrounded Weinstock, who had earlier been
photographing children. The reappearance of the child, who
had wandered off to watch a Holy Week procession, did not
calm the mob.  Townspeople set fire to the City Hall where
the tourist sought refuge.  Weinstock remains in a coma in a
Guatemala City hospital.

A similar explosion in the southern coastal town of Santa
Lucia Cotzumalguapa, Escuintla, set the stage for this
attack.  There, residents accused Melissa Carol Larson of
leading a child-napping ring.  Larson was walking through the
town's market on her way to visit nearby Mayan ruins.  At
first Larson was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping. A riot
then ensued when residents accused National Police
authorities of releasing the suspect.  More than 50 people,
including 15 police officers, were injured.  Larson had in
fact been transferred to a women's prison and was released
March 26 for lack of evidence.

While the fear of "gringos," especially women, is tangible
throughout the nation, its roots remain unclear.  On three
consecutive nights, TV Notisiete broadcast testimony of Santa
Lucia residents who said they had seen bodies of children,
with eyes, kidneys or hearts missing, stuffed with dollar
bills, and with notes pinned to their clothes, thanking the
victims' families for the organs.  No police or human rights
officials confirmed these reports, and subsequent attempts by
reporters to locate the witnesses or alleged victims'
families were futile.

The Archbishop's Human Rights Office (ODHA) suggested a
sinister explanation for the panic.  He said the hysteria
could be designed to deflect attention away from the army's
role in illegal adoptions, and to pave the way for the
militarization of the National Police.  Citing confidential
sources, the ODHA said among the 50 people arrested in the
Santa Lucia riots were two intelligence officers.  The wife
of an army colonel was arrested in January for running an
illegal adoption ring.

The week after the Santa Lucia riots, President Ramiro de
Leon replaced National Police chief Mario Cifuentes, the
first civilian ever to head the force.  He appointed Danilo
Parrinello to replace outgoing Interior Minister Arnoldo
Ortiz, and Colonel Alfredo Merida, a former intelligence
official, as his second-in command.

Frank LaRue of the United Representation of the Guatemalan
Opposition (RUOG), thinks the targeting of North Americans
may be in retaliation for the U.S. government's pressure on
the Guatemalan army during the peace negotiations. The
presence of U.S. activists accompanying both returning
refugees and members of the Resistance Communities (CPRs)
have also irritated the army.

Guatemala City Archbishop Prospero Penados says that the
"volatility of the population sounds the alarm of discontent:
their needs are not being met, and their are no solutions in
sight."


Judicial Chief Murdered

Guatemala, April 5.   The chief of Guatemala's Constitutional
Court has been shot in the chest as he was returning to his
home in Antigua.  Epaminondas Gonzales was in the car with
his wife and son, who survived. They say the shots came from
a car carrying five passengers that had no license plates.

The assassination has brought Guatemala's embattled civilian
government to the breaking point.  After meeting with his
cabinet, President Ramiro de Leon decided against declaring a
state of emergency, but warned that he would "put
restrictions on the rights of citizens" if the current
"violence and political agitation does not cease."  Others
suspect government security forces, angry at the human rights
pact their leaders signed with the guerrillas, of playing a
part in the Constitutional Court President's murder. These
critics say limiting citizen rights plays right into their
hands.

The Good Friday killing of Epaminondas Gonzalez is a severe
blow to Guatemala's Constitutional Court, which had become
the most credible institution in Guatemala after last May's
coup attempt. The subsequent power struggle among the
President, Congress, and the Supreme Court was resolved in
part by Gonzalez.

While National Police say Gonzalez' assailants were trying to
steal his car, others say the attack was no common crime.
President Ramiro de Leon blamed unnamed "death squads" for
the attack, while Human Rights Ombudsman Jorge Garcia
Laguardia called it a "conspiracy against [State]
institutions and people who fight for democracy."  The
Mexican daily La Jornada said the attack was designed to
derail the peace process, "destabilize the government and
renew the spiral of violence [perpetrated] by those...who
will lose if real democracy is established."

OAS Serves Ultimatum

Mexico City, March 23.  The Inter-American Human Rights
Commission (IHRC) of the Organization of American States has
issued a statement condemning the practice of forced military
recruitment in Guatemala. The statement also criticizes
recent attacks and threats made against journalists.  In an
unusually strong statement, the Commission gave the
Guatemalan president 90 days to correct the situation or face
a trial date at the Inter-American Court on Human Rights.

The Commission described military recruiting practices in
Guatemala as "illegal" and "inhuman."  The majority of
conscripts are underage and serving against their will, the
report says. The IHRC cited certain cases as demonstrating
abuse of individual's rights.

The so-called civil defense patrols also drew severe
criticism from the Commission.  "The IHRC is concerned that
500,000 citizens are enlisted in civil patrols that have a
military capacity but are not under the effective control of
the state," an IHRC representative said.  The Commission
underscored that the patrols exist in a structure parallel,
rather than subordinate to civilian authority.  In many
areas, PAC operations are in conflict with local governments.
"They make their own law and dictate their own justice," the
Commission said.  Although the IHRC recommended the
dissolution of the patrols, President De Leon refused to
consider any proposal to disband them until a peace accord is
signed with rebel insurgents.

The IHRC also demanded that troops withdraw from the region
where villagers who spent the last decade hiding in the
mountains have recently decided to resettle.

The Center of Investigation and Study for the Promotion of
Human Rights (CIEPRODH) reported 265 human rights violations
in the first 87 days of this year.  These figures include 100
extrajudicial executions, with 33 of the victims tortured
beforehand, 42 disappearances, and 43 death threats.
According to the Center, military intelligence agents had a
large role in these human rights violations.  Also implicated
were the PACs, the National Police, the Military High Command
and the army.

Violent Response To Indian Demand for Withdrawal

Guatemala, March 16.  A gun battle outside the Solola town of
San Lucas Toliman erupted after 4,000 indigenous residents of
the rural municipality  voted for the removal of the army
from their communities.

Residents from in and around San Lucas Toliman, located near
the shores of Lake Atitlan, decided in a public forum to
demand the withdrawal of the army and the police from their
area after uniformed men gunned down a local pastor and
baker, David Yapam, who was also a relative of the town's
mayor.   According to the Campesino Committee of the
Highlands (CCDA), "Since the arrival [of the army] this
municipality has been the victim of many human rights
violations."

In a move similar to the one made by their neighbors in
Santiago Atitlan three years ago, residents demanded the
removal of army bases located near their town. They say they
want to form their own safety patrols.

Santiago Atitlan successfully petitioned for the expulsion of
the army after the December 1990 army massacre of 13 unarmed
residents who were protesting military abuses.

In a confusing series of events after the San Lucas meeting,
fighting broke out with soldiers in the area.  While the army
claims guerrillas provoked the attack, witnesses say soldiers
surrounded the gathering preventing anyone from leaving, and
staged the violence. The army reported one soldier dead and
four people wounded.

Nineth Montenegro of the Mutual Support Group for Families of
the Disappeared (GAM), who attended the forum in San Lucas
Toliman, accused the army of planning the confrontation in
order to justify their continued presence in the area.  The
current regime in Guatemala "is incapable of sitting down and
talking with representatives of the popular movement. It's
turning the country into a powder keg," she said.

According to the news agency InterPress, the Mayor of San
Lucas, Matilde Jacinto, who originally accused the army of
killing her cousin, changed her mind after the incident and
blamed guerrillas instead.  She also said the army presence
"is necessary to defend us" and that the forum was
"incorrect" because it was "infiltrated" by rural residents
of the municipality.

Public Workers Warn of New Actions

Guatemala, April 4.  State employees, returning from the
Easter or Semana Santa holidays, are promising "drastic
measures" to force the government to negotiate an end to
their ten-week-old strike.  The striking unions suggest they
would be willing to put their pressure tactics on hold during
a dialogue.

While the government maintains it will not meet with workers
as long as they continue their "illegal" actions, public
pressure is increasing on the administration to resolve the
labor dispute that has brought a number of state services to
a halt.

Hundreds of frustrated immigration workers closed Aurora,
Guatemala's main airport March 18, causing several flights to
be re-routed to El Salvador.  State employees blocked three
border crossings into Mexico on two different occasions last
month, holding up commerce for hours.  In addition,
demonstrations by thousands of workers and supporters, and
takeovers of municipal offices continue throughout the
nation.

Five labor leaders received death threats on March 21. This
followed accusations by government officials that the unions
directing the strike are being "manipulated" by the
guerrillas.  Early in March, Adolfo Reyes, acting Interior
Minister called the labor actions part of a "plan to
sabotage" the government.  The unionists threatened are
FENASTEG's Armando Sanchez, UTQ's Nery Barrios, and Dick
Fletcher, Humberto Sanchez, and Dante Monterroso, all members
of the UASP labor federation.

The government reached an agreement with FENASEP (a public
employee union federation) March 18, but health, finance and
immigration ministry unions severed their ties with the
federation resolving to continue their strike.  The
government had offered FENASEP a one-time $18 bonus, and the
chance to participate on a commission to evaluate public
worker compensation.  The striking unions are calling for a
$26 a month increase, about half their previous request and
an end to privatization. They also want price controls on
basic goods, and more money budgeted for public services.

The former mediator of the peace talks, Bishop Rodolfo
Quezada, has urged the government to open a dialogue with the
workers, warning that the "government inability, public
mistrust, and the economic crisis" were bringing the nation
to the verge of serious unrest. Calls for a third-party to
mediate the conflict are growing louder. Civilian sectors,
organized in the wake of the May coup, called for third-party
mediation by the current Human Rights Ombudsman, to break the
impasse.

*****************

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.

** End of text from cdp:reg.guatemala **


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Subj: Guatemala: Cerigua Briefs APRIL 13, 1994

/** reg.guatemala: 125.0 **/
** Topic: Cerigua Weekly Briefs **
** Written  8:15 pm  Apr 13, 1994 by cerisea in cdp:reg.guatemala **
CERIGUA WEEKLY BRIEFS, NUMBER 12, APRIL 13, 1994

Rights Suspended in Crackdown on Violence

Guatemala, April 9.  Cabinet ministers in charge of security
announced special restrictions on individual liberties and
increased militarization in all parts of the country, "to
reestablish order" in Guatemala.  While some constitutional
guarantees have been suspended, President Ramiro de Leon
Carpio denied he would declare an all-out state of emergency.
"There are sectors which through acts of terrorism want to
force me to declare [one.]  But they won't succeed because we
will use other measures to stop the wave [of violence]," he
said.

"There will be no respite for delinquents," said Defense
Minister Mario Enriquez after announcing plans for street
patrols, searches of individuals and houses, and loosened
rules for arrest, among other measures which restrict civil
rights.  Minister of the Interior Danilo Parrinello added
that special "immediate response" police units will bolster
the military presence in the capital and the countryside.
The armed forces are made up of 47,000 soldiers, and there
are 800,000 members of the paramilitary civil patrols in the
countryside, according to Defense Minister Mario Enriquez.

Many say that full respect for human rights and
implementation of the law is the best way to stop the
violence.  The Myrna Mack Foundation said imposing a state of
emergency means "accept[ing] the imminent triumph of
terrorism," while the Unity of Labor and Popular Action-UASP-
federation of grassroots organizations said the move would
"strengthen repression."  Guatemala's Bar Association says
the Constitutional contains all the necessary tools "to fight
crime and impunity and to impose the necessary legal order."

The stepped-up security comes after prominent politicians
fell victim to the violence.  Paradoxically, it also occurs
as the Guatemalan government faces new pressures to end
violations of human rights.  The Canadian government said
future aid to Guatemala depends on an improved human rights
record, and increased civilian participation in political
life. Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress is debating a resolution
to ask the President to condition economic and military aid.
The Congressional proposal says the Guatemalan government
must resolve specific human rights cases and implement
recommendations by the Organization of American States,
including that the civil patrols be disbanded.  Gerhart
Rudolf Baum, head of the German delegation to the United
Nations Human Rights Commission, also condemned the level of
human rights abuses, and pressed for restrictions on the army
and the elimination of paramilitary groups.

Legislator's Shooting Prompts Call for International
Intervention

Guatemala, April 10.  Congress is calling on the United
Nations to appoint a special human rights observer after a
sniper attempted to assassinate a prominent legislator.
While Congress' strongman Obdulio Chinchilla was only
wounded, the attack comes just days after the murder of
Guatemala's respected Constitutional Court president, and has
set the stage for a state of emergency.

Chinchilla, who served as Congressional president for three
terms, was shot in the lung by one of four people in a
vehicle with polarized windows.  His six bodyguards drove him
to the hospital, where he was able to walk himself into the
emergency room.  Chinchilla says he knew that congressional
and government officials were plotting to murder him.  Army
Chief of Staff Jose Fernandez Ligorria says that he had
offered protection to Chinchilla.

Chinchilla was an obvious suspect in the April 1 murder of
Congressional Court president Epaminondas Gonzalez.  He was
the primary author of an electoral reform package which
Gonzalez' court refused to approve.  Most analysts, however,
doubt Chinchilla ordered the judge's murder.  They say the
mere suggestion that Chinchilla was implicated in Gonzalez'
murder left the door open for one of his many enemies to
eliminate him. Chinchilla has been linked to mafia-style
dealings in his home province of Chiquimula, and lost an eye
in an assassination attempt last May.  His problems with
former president Jorge Serrano led to speculation that the
Presidential Military Guard was responsible for last year's
attack, while others thought it stemmed from his "business"
connections.

Congress took the unusual step of interrogating the Defense
and Interior Ministers regarding the attack.  The Police say
they have several "likely suspects" in the case.  But the
Legislature's call for a United Nations rapporteur suggests
they doubt the Police will resolve this case, or any of the
other political murders since the July killing of National
Center Union leader, Jorge Carpio, who was also the
President's cousin.

Former president Vinicio Cerezo blamed "politicians and
retired military officers" for fomenting the wave of
violence.  "Groups are taking advantage of the lack of
government authority to promote instability" and prepare for
a coup, he said.  Human Rights Ombudsman said both the
judge's murder and the attempt on Chinchilla's life are aimed
at derailing implementation of the human rights accord signed
by the government, army and the URNG in March.

Baby-napping Fear Continues; Causes Unclear
Guatemala, April 10.  The U.S. State Department has extended
its warning to citizens travelling to any part of Guatemala,
as panic that foreigners are involved in organ trafficking
shows no signs of abating.  The State Department now says
even large cities are not safe for tourists, after two U.S.
women, in separate incidents, incurred the wrath of angry
residents of two rural towns who mistakenly thought they were
trying to kidnap children.  Human Rights Ombudsman Jorge
Garcia LaGuardia has opened an investigation into the causes
of the "hysteria" gripping the nation.  "It raises questions
as to why there is so much talk of kidnapping and organ
stealing when there is no clear evidence," Garcia said.

Police and soldiers intervened to protect a Swiss geologist
working with Guatemalan researchers on the Acatenango volcano
in Sacatepequez April 7, when a mother thought the geologist
was about to steal her child.  Prensa Libre reported that a
Salvadoran family was nearly lynched near the Mexican border
the day before, and the Patrullaje Informativo newscast
conveyed the frustration in San Pedro Jocopilas, Quiche,
because National Police released a "gringo" allegedly
involved in kidnapping, "for reasons of insanity."

While the fear of foreigners continues, police yesterday
arrested a Guatemalan woman, Maria Angela Guerra for running
an illegal nursery. Guerra said that a Guatemalan lawyer,
Yolanda Godoy de Najarro, paid her to care for three infants,
all children of prostitutes, until they could be adopted by
North Americans.  The Attorney General says 75 children have
disappeared in 1994, but there is no evidence that any were
kidnapped for adoption or organ trafficking.

Whatever the cause of the panic, it has serious political
implications for Guatemala.  The Mutual Support Group for the
Families of the Disappeared (GAM) points out that the
xenophobia may interfere with the work of perhaps hundreds of
United Nations employees arriving shortly to justify the
newly-signed human rights accord between the government and
the rebels.  Interior Minister Danilo Parrinello announced
that 15 members of the then-striking public road workers'
union will be prosecuted for alleged involvement in the March
29 lynching of Alaskan journalist Diane Weinstock in San
Cristobal Verapaz.  Videos show 130 people participated in
the attack, which left Weinstock in a coma. Parrinello was
ushered in to "clean-up" the National Police force
discredited by the first baby-snatching riot in Santa Lucia
Cotzumalguapa.

The mayor of San Cristobal Verapaz, together with a group of
residents, offered an apology to U.S. Ambassador Marilyn
McAffee, and said they were convinced of her innocence.
Embassy officials also asked international volunteers working
with Peace Brigades, a non-governmental organization which
accompanies threatened human rights workers, to return to the
capital and Antigua for their safety.

Government Signs Pact with Striking Workers

Guatemala, April 10.  The Guatemalan government and 180,000
public employees have reached an agreement to end their ten-
week-long labor dispute.  While the government had refused to
meet with the workers until they ended their "illegal"
actions, failure to resolve the strike partially paralyzed
health, education, court, and mail services, and caused an
estimated $30 million in lost revenues.

FENASTEG (National Federation of State Employees) and the
recently-formed umbrella group IUTE (Coalition of United
State Employees) negotiated an "emergency bonus" of between
100 and 120 quetzales (US$16-20) to each month's pay
beginning in May.  Both unions and high-level officials will
participate in a "State Restructuring Committee" to review
public pay scales, and raise base wages by at least 75Q
(US$13).  Government officials also agreed to drop charges
against the strikers, take no retaliatory action, and to pay
workers their full salaries for March. The more conservative
FENASEP union had ended its labor actions last month, in
exchange for a one-time emergency bonus, but was included in
signing of the April 8 pact.

Employees at the Roosevelt public hospital say they would
like to resume providing full services, but reminded citizens
that hospitals are still without crucial supplies, like
medicine.  The Human Rights Ombudsman reiterated his
declaration that the hospital strike violated the
population's rights.

Judicial workers, however, have not reached an agreement with
the court administrators and continue their strike.  The
Association of Litigators blamed the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, Juan Rodil, and Judicial branch leaders for
the strike, saying "there is no longer justice in the
country."

Norway to Host Negotiations

Mexico, April 9.  Norway will host the next round of peace
talks, which will take up the sensitive issue of a truth
commission to investigate human rights abuses committed
during the 33-year civil war.  Negotiations between the
government and the URNG rebels are scheduled to begin the
third week of May.

President de Leon Carpio is thinking of declaring a general
amnesty for members of the guerrilla "to incorporate them,
farther in the future, into the political life of the
country." Representatives of the Guatemalan National
Revolutionary Unity (URNG) criticized the president's
suggestion, saying the proposal undermined the agenda and the
spirit of the negotiation process already underway.  The
President made his announcement the day after the government,
army and the rebels signed the Global Accord on Human Rights.

Tourism and Non-traditional Exports Down

Mexico, April 9.  A competitive non-traditional export market
and attacks against tourists are driving down Guatemala's
prospects for increased foreign exchange earnings.  Tourism
and non-traditional exports, mostly assembled clothing and
luxury farm products, rank only behind coffee and sugar in
bringing foreign currency into the economy.

Economic Minister Eduardo Gonzalez said low prices on the
world market, increased supply, and hopes for a lower
exchange rate contributed to the expected decline in non-
traditional export revenues in late 1993 and early 1994.  The
Economic Minister also complained about non-tariff barriers
that block Guatemala's entrance into new markets.  Sudden
changes in health regulations in France, for example,
prevented shrimp imports from Guatemala, Gonzalez said.  Low
market prices have also taken their toll on Guatemalan craft
exports, which dropped 9% in 1993, and an additional 10% in
the first months of 1994.

There are no official estimates of damage to the nation's
tourism industry since the U.S. State Department issued a
travel advisory when two U.S. citizens were attacked for
suspected involvement in child- napping.  But Guatemala's
Tourist Chamber said the warning killed "with a bullet to the
head" hopes that tourism would bring in US$65 million over
last year's $300 million.  The Regent Sea cruise line
cancelled three stops planned for April, and may not resume
service until the U.S. retracts its travel advisory,
according to the Kim'Arrin travel agency. Producers of the
movie "Rough Magic" also cancelled plans to film scenes in
Antigua Guatemala, due to the instability.

Guatemala's prospects for resolving its cash flow and budget
problems aren't rosy, either.  Private industry is opposing
serious tax reform. The nation's most powerful business
association, CACIF, called key measures of a proposed package
to raise 1.3 billion quetzales (US$220 million) in revenues
"unconstitutional."  While the plan contains some positive
measures, provisions to prosecute tax evaders and confiscate
their property are illegal, according to CACIF president
Adolfo Mendez Castejon.

Finance Minister Ana de Molina announced a plan to raise
liquor taxes 30 to 35% and double the airport departure tax
to Q100 or US$20.  Still, Molina says the Finance Ministry
will not be able to release Q50 million owed to the court
system, since government coffers are low.

Refugee Returns Continue

April 7, Mexico.  Despite the current instability and
violence in Guatemala, refugees continue to return from
Mexico to reclaim their place in society.  Under the
protection of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees,
700 Guatemalans left Mexico headed for Nenton, Huehuetenango
and communities in Quetzaltenango.

The government refugee agency CEAR also reported that more
than 26,000 families are waiting to establish themselves in
16 different communities. Approximately half this number hope
to cross the border in four massive well-organized caravans
this year.  The refugees will be returning to Mayaland and
Los Angeles in Quiche, and Chancolin and Santa Ana Huista in
Huehuetenango.

Constitutional Reforms Implemented

April 8, Guatemala.  The 43 constitutional reforms approved
in a January's referendum to clean up government take effect
today.  Whether the mandated changes will be carried out, in
particular the call for early congressional elections,
however, remains in question.

The reforms stipulate elections for Congress within months,
perhaps as soon as August.  The new Congress will in turn
elect a new Supreme Court, and the President will name the
Attorney General and Comptroller General. According to the
Supreme Court, the election schedule will be determined next
week.  The reforms also reduce the presidential term from 5
to 4 years, meaning President De Leon will hand over power in
1995.

Despite agreement from all sectors that a congressional purge
is necessary, Congress may not be willing to comply.  The
magazine Critica, with close ties to the Christian Democratic
Party, reported this week that the legislators will give up
their seats at the same time the President steps down, and
not before.  It also claimed that elections will be too
expensive to conduct this summer, both for the government and
for the parties fielding new candidates. Finally, according
to Critica, at least one sector of the army does not support
the reforms, since they signal "manipulation" of the
constitution.

Human Rights Ombudsman Jorge Garcia said the reforms were a
"complete mistake" on the part of the political class, the
President and the Supreme Court.


Corrections:  The name of the U.S. tourist attacked is Diane
Weinstock, not June Diane Werntock as reported last week.



*****************

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.
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Subject: Guatemala: URNG Speech Re: HR Accord

/** reg.guatemala: 131.0 **/
** Topic: URNG Speech RE: HR Accord (E/T) **
** Written  7:22 am  Apr 14, 1994 by greview@igc.apc.org
   in cdp:reg.guatemala **
SPEECH  BY COMMANDER PABLO MONSANTO IN
REPRESENTATION OF THE GENERAL COMMAND OF THE URNG,
DURING THE SIGNING OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACCORD
IN MEXICO CITY ON MARCH 29, 1994

At this historic moment our thoughts are with the people of
Guatemala, and we honor them for their heroism and arduous
struggle, which have made today's signing of the Human Rights
Accord possible.

The demands and outcries of the popular sectors, and the insistence
by the majority of Guatemalans for Human Rights to be respected,
laid the path that the negotiations were to follow.  This accord
concludes three years of discussions on an issue of such widespread
impact for our countrymen as are the fundamental rights of
humankind.

The contributions made by deeply concerned democratic and
progressive forces both within Guatemala and abroad have helped lay
the bases for reaching a political solution to the Guatemalan
crisis and a resolution of our country's armed internal conflict,
and have been decisive.

Today, we express our gratitude to the United Nations for its
effective moderation of these talks.  The generous, ongoing
hospitality of the Mexican government and Mexican people have
created the best possible setting to further this accord.  The
involvement of the Group of Countries of Friendly Nations for the
Negotiations in Guatemala, which includes Colombia, Spain, the
United States, Mexico, Norway and Venezuela, has been most
valuable.

All of this is indelibly inscribed in this first peace effort.

We express our fullest, most heartfelt recognition to Monsignor
Rodolfo Quezada Toruno, a historic conciliator, for his efforts,
dedication, tenacity and objectivity, which have blossomed into
this accord.

Such concern and such contributions now motivate us to reiterate
our will to seek and establish the conditions indispensable to
reaching a political, negotiated solution to the armed internal
conflict, based upon political accords developed in these
negotiations, at the core of which is the welfare of the majority
of Guatemalans.

The long road travelled in our talks with the government and Army
of the Republic of Guatemala on the issue of Human Rights is a true
reflection of the differences which had to be overcome in order to
reach this accord.

We of the URNG base our views on the universally accepted principle
that human rights are not negotiable, and that observance of and
respect for human rights are fundamental obligations of the
government and the State.

Respect for Human Rights cannot be considered a concession on the
part of those governing.  To the contrary, it constitutes the
minimum basis by which they may legitimately govern.

Systematic violations of these rights is one of the reasons which
have given the people of Guatemala the legitimate right to rebel,
because putting an end to these repressive policies of the State is
a historic step on the road we are travelling to build a real,
participatory democracy in our country.

In order to avoid greater bloodshed for our people, we proposed
that an immediate international verification process go into effect
to verify full respect for human rights, and we obtained that at
the negotiating table.  We have agreed to request that this action
be carried out by the United Nations through its Secretary General.

Similarly, as a sign of flexibility, we accepted that the issue of
thoroughly investigating past human rights violations be addressed
at a special meeting set for May, at which this most urgent of
items shall be concluded.

It is clear that the accord reached does not meet all the
expectations of Guatemalan Civilian society.  This, above all, is
due to the fact that Human Rights is a vital, deeply painful issue
for Guatemala's civilian population, who have been tormented by
institutionalized terror, which has  resulted in death and
disappearances on an unprecedented scale of horror.

It should be clear that this accord was reached between politically
and militarily hostile parties, for which reason its signing opens
up new avenues for a discussion of the nation's problems and a
search for viable solutions of benefit to the people of Guatemala.

This accord is a fundamental document for all of those who long for
a just, democratic society.

Compliance with this accord will be possible if society as a whole,
and its representative organizations, do their part to be firmly
and increasingly vigilant.

The accord is also a challenge for the institutions of the State,
and a public summons to the government.  The only actions that are
of value are real ones.  There is no longer any room for casuistic
justifications or rhetorical declarations.

This accord, above all, marks the commencement of the journey to be
taken in the peace negotiations.  Other fundamental issues
addressing the interests of the exceedingly impoverished majority
in our country are yet to be negotiated.

Still to be discussed on the agenda agreed to with the government
and the army are the strengthening of civilian authority, the role
of the military institution in democratic society, and economic,
social and agrarian issues addressing the unjust distribution of
wealth.  A discussion of the resettlement of populations displaced
by repression also remains, and, of special importance, the rights
of the majority population in Guatemala, the Maya, heirs to a
culture dating back thousands of years.

All of the above leads us to state that the process for reaching a
peaceful solution to the armed internal conflict and to its root
causes has barely taken its first step.

Our commitment in these negotiations is made to all of Guatemala,
to the six million indigenous Maya who have been discriminated
against and oppressed for five centuries; to workers in the city
and in the countryside and to the thousands of unemployed who have
been victimized by selective, indiscriminate terror; to students
and teachers at all levels of education; to religious workers and
professionals who have seen intellect beheaded through the
application of the most sinister forms of repression.  Our
commitment is also made to those Guatemalan businessmen whose
outlook on economic development is aimed at attaining social
justice.

We are committed to all men and women of our homeland.

We are optimistic towards the future because we are on the side of
our people.

LONG LIVE THE PEOPLE OF GUATEMALA.

Thank you.

March 29, 1994
** End of text from cdp:reg.guatemala **


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