From: hrcoord@igc.apc.org (Human Rights Coordinator)
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Subject: Rapid Response Alert, 10-2-92
Date: 3 Oct 92 00:46:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700579:000:8095
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Oct  2 17:46:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: Rapid Response Alert, 10-2-92

/* Written  5:00 pm  Oct  2, 1992 by nisgua in cdp:reg.guatemala */



NISGUA
The National Network In Solidarity With The People of Guatemala 
1314 14th St., NW
Washington, DC 20005
202-483-0050
202-234-1656 (fax)


                      RAPID RESPONSE ALERT
                         OCTOBER 2, 1992
                    1.  STREET CHILDREN SHOT 
                  BY POLICE AND UNKNOWN GUNMEN
              2.  FAMILY OF MARITZA URRUTIA AT RISK


     According to Amnesty International a uniformed member of the
National Police shot and then beat street child Daniel Estuardo
Galan on September 20.  The incident occurred when Galan and four
other street children boarded a bus in Zone 1 of Guatemala City. 
Two police officers followed them onto the bus and began shouting
at them.  When the children tried to get off the bus one of the
officers shouted, "Stop, because I'm going to take you as
prisoners to the First Precinct if you don't give me the money
you have stolen."  When the children continued to get off of the
bus the same officer shot at Galan, wounding him on the left
buttock.  Although Galan was wounded, the officer grabbed him and
beat him several times over the head with the butt of his gun.
The officers left Galan in the street and made no attempt to
arrest him or summon emergency medical treatment.

     When the other children said they would report the incident
at the Casa Alianza Legal Aid Office, the officer who had shot
Galan replied, "I'm not afraid of anything or anyone.  Do what
you want."  The children took Galan to a hospital.  He had a
wound where his left buttock had been grazed by a bullet, as well
as a wound and a bruise on his head caused by the beating.

     In a separate incident four days later four street children
were sleeping in front of the casa Alianza refuge when two men
driving past in a white Volkswagen shot at them with a pellet
gun.  The shots wounded Luis Fernando Ortiz Pineda in the head
and Luis Ger"nimo Calder"n in the left leg.  The incident was
witnessed by the security guard at the refuge, but he was unable
to identify the occupants of the vehicle because of the speed at
which it was travelling.  A few days earlier shots were fired at
another facility of Casa Alianza, the San Francisco group home,
located in Zone 7.  No one was injured in the incident. 

Background:

     Abuses against street children continue to take place in the
context of police claims of a spiralling crime rate, particularly
in the capital.  Street educators and others working with street
children have also been targeted by the security forces, either
because of their work protecting street children from abuse,
because they have denounced human rights violations against the
street children or because they have provided evidence as
witnesses in court proceedings against members of the security
forces charged with human rights violations against street
children.  



Activate Your Rapid Response Network To:

     Denounce the ill-treatment and shooting of street children
by the security forces and urge that those responsible be brought
to justice.

Send Messages To:

Ingeniero Jorge Serrano Elias  
Presidente de la Republica     
Palacio Nacional               
Guatemala, Guatemala           
Telex:  305-5331 CAPRES GU     
Fax:  502 2 537472             
      or 502 2 519702          
Telephone:  502 2 21212
      or 502 2 22266   

Lic. Jose Maria Melendez
Director General de la Policia
Nacional
6a. Avenida 13-71  Zona 1
Guatemala, Guatemala
Telephone:  502 2 20221; 502 2
515158 
FAX:  502 2 27521

Francisco Rolando Perdomo
Ministro de Gobernacion
Despacho Ministerial
Of. No. 8, Palacio Nacional
Guatemala, Guatemala
Telex:  305-5085 MINGOB GU
Fax:  502 2 518105
Telephone:  502 2 21212,
ext. 500; 502 2 518105-6
(direct); 502 2 518105     Note:  Pre-arranged telex messages can be sent via FAXNET at
(800) 831-2202.  Send message "NISGUA #27."    

Text of Telex Message "NISGUA # 27":

     Denuncio el fusilamiento del nino Daniel Estuardo Galan por
un miembro de la Policia Nacional.  Condeno ataques en contra de
los refugios de la Casa Alianza que han dejado heridos algunos
ni$os.  Exijo que se castigue a los responsables y que se tome
medidas para asegurar la integridad f!sica de los ni$os.

English Translation (note:  please send Spanish version):

     I denounce the shooting of child Daniel Estuardo Galan by a
member of the National Police.  I condemn attacks against the
refuges of Casa Alianza that have left injured several children. 
I urge that those responsible be punished and that measures be
taken to assure the physical integrity of the children.  

Copies of all messages should be sent as solidarity to:

Casa Alianza
Apartado Postal 2704
Guatemala, Guatemala 



2.  FAMILY OF MARITZA URRUTIA AT RISK  

     On July 23 Maritza Urrutia, a private teacher and
psychologist's assistant, was abducted by three men in Guatemala
City.  She was forced into a white car with polarized windows and
driven away.  Circumstances strongly suggested official
involvement, and   several US Senators appealed to President
Serrano for her release.  

     Six days later a videotape was delivered to a TV station in
which Urrutia, in an apparently drugged and traumatized state,
admitted to belonging to "subversive organizations."  She named
several others as people working with the armed opposition,
including her brother Edmundo Urrutia Ru!z.   

     On July 31 the Guatemalan Revolutionary Unity (URNG)
acknowledged that she was a member of one of the insurgent
organizations and demanded that she receive protection from the
Human Rights Procurator.  That same day she was released.  On
August 7 she left the country for the United States.  It is now
clear that she left the country because of death threats by her
captors who told her not to reveal what had happened to her.

     Though Urrutia had requested when she left Guatemala that
nothing be said about her abduction, on September 30 she reported
her abduction to the Human Rights Commission of the Organization
of American States (OAS), naming the Army as her abductors and
making public the details of her case.

     There is considerable concern for the safety of Urrutia's
family, including her mother, father, and sister.  Those at risk
are:  EDMUNDO RENE URRUTIA CASTELLANOS (her father), PILAR GARCIA
DE URRUTIA (her mother), CAROLINA URRUTIA DE ESCOBAR (her
sister), JULIO ESCOBAR, GABRIEL ESCOBAR URRUTIA, and EDUARDO
ESCOBAR URRUTIA.
   
Please Activate Your Response Network to:

Express concern for the safety of the above-named members of
Maritza Urrutia's family and ask that authorities guarantee their
safety.

Direct Appeals To:  

President Serrano , Minister of the Interior Perdomo (telex
information above), and 

Gral. Jose Garcia Samayoa, Ministro de Defensa
Ministerio de Defensa, Palacio Nacional
Guatemala, Guatemala
Telex:  305-5361 COMGUA GU
Fax:  502 2 537472
Telephone:  502 2 21212, ext. 743, 744, 745, or 747; 502 2 21904

Note:  Prepared telex messages can be sent via FAXNET.  Ask for
message "NISGUA #28."  

Text of Message NISGUA #28:

Estoy muy preocupado por la integridad fisica de la familia de
Maritza Urrutia, inclusos EDMUNDO RENE URRUTIA CASTELLANOS, PILAR
GARCIA DE URRUTIA, CAROLINA URRUTIA DE ESCOBAR, JULIO ESCOBAR,
GABRIEL ESCOBAR URRUTIA, y EDUARDO ESCOBAR URRUTIA.  Ruego que se
tome medidas para protejer sus vidas.

English Translation:

I am very concerned about the security of the family of Maritza
Urrutia, including EDMUNDO RENE URRUTIA CASTELLANOS, PILAR GARCIA
DE URRUTIA, CAROLINA URRUTIA DE ESCOBAR, JULIO ESCOBAR, GABRIEL
ESCOBAR URRUTIA, and EDUARDO ESCOBAR URRUTIA. I urgently request
that measures be taken to protect their lives.   

Copies Should be Sent as Solidarity To:

Oficina de Derechos Humanos
Arzobispado de Guatemala
7av 6-21 Zona 1
Guatemala, Guatemala 

SOURCES:  Information for these alerts is drawn from Amnesty
International Urgent Action Appeals received 10-2-92.