From: hrcoord@igc.apc.org (Human Rights Coordinator)
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Subject: REFUGEE RETURN UPDATE/SYNTHESIS
Date: 20 Jan 93 21:01:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476701003:000:7040
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Jan 20 13:01:00 1993


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: REFUGEE RETURN UPDATE/SYNTHESIS

/* Written 11:54 am  Jan 20, 1993 by jesuitctr@web.apc.org in igc:reg.guatemala */
THE FIRST RETURN OF THE GUATEMALAN REFUGEES
MONITORING UPDATE #11    -   19 January 1993

Information:
     -    Arriving at the city of Comitan, Chiapas on the 18th of
January, Alfredo Witschi Cestari, the regional representative of
the UNHCR for Mexico, Belize and Cuba, said that the UNHCR has
budgeted $2.3 million dollars to repatriate 14,000 Guatemalan
refugees this year from the camps in Campeche, Chiapas and
Quintana Roo. He came to Comitan "to understand the situation" of
the 2764 refugees who are going to cross the border on the 20th of
January. Speaking about the permission given to the United States
to conduct military maneuvers inside Guatemala, he said that it
would not affect the repatriation. "I don't see how that will cause
any problem," he said.
     Witschi said that in Poligono 14 there is land assured for 250
families. The rest of the refugees will stay there
temporarily until the land question is resolved. During this time
he said that the refugees would subsist on help from the NGO's, who
would be providing food and economic assistance.

     -    The authorities of IMSS (Mexican Institute for Social
Security) stated that the outbreak of chicken pox in the La Feria
shelter in Comitan had been controlled. It was not clear if this
was also true in the Gracias a Dios shelter, where unofficially six
cases were detected on 18 January. Doctor Javier Jacobo Ayon stated
that treatment continued for six adults with tuberculosis, three
with  ?  and ten with respiratory problems.

     -    A spokesman for the Guatemalan army, Captain Alberto Yon
Rivera, accused the URNG of blowing up part of a bridge which is on
the route that the refugees will take on the return to Guatemala. 

     -    The Permanent Commissions have invited the
International Agencies to participate in the "Goodbye
Celebration" which will be celebrated on 19 January. It will take
place at 4:00 pm in the Teatro del Pueblo in the Campo de Feria in
Comitan, Chiapas. The objective of the celebration is to give
thanks for all of the help, hospitality and solidarity which the
people and government of Mexico have extended to the refugees
during their 10 years of exile. 
          The Commissions have also clarified that there have been
some cases of flu, diarrhea, etc., due to fatigue, the climate, the
food, the travel and the lack of medical attention. But no one has
been gravely ill nor has needed hospitalization. They dispute the
information sent out by some press agencies that there are
illnesses which could set back the date of the return. They have
also asked the UNHCR for sufficient medical attention, since up to
now it has been deficient. They have also asked international
doctors who are in solidarity with the refugees to lend their
talent and perhaps donate medicine for the refugees' medical
attention. According to the Commissions, during a meeting on
January 18, it was accepted by the Guatemalan government that the
internationals accompanying the refugees could travel with them on
the same buses. They will be the same buses which will travel from
Comitan, Mexico all the way to Coban, Guatemala and will not be
"1st class buses" as had been rumored. 

Analysis:
     On the evening before the first return of the Guatemalan
refugees, it is clear that despite many difficulties, including
public accusations against the refugees and their representatives
in the Permanent Commissions by the Guatemalan army, that the
return is going ahead tomorrow. This is primarily due to the
efforts of the refugees themselves. It could be asked why the
Guatemalan government finally acceded in the negotiations
concerning the route, the date, the presence of international
accompaniment, etc. For example, the Permanent Commissions
commented that earlier in the month they themselves, and even
Rigoberta Menchu, felt a great deal of pressure to delay the date
of the return to after the 13th of January. The Commissions
admitted that the government had a certain amount of success in
their campaign to damage the image of the Commissions with their
public accusations and intransigence. Nevertheless, according to
the Commissions, it was the refugee population who insisted in
their general assemblies and meetings that they were not going to
wait any longer.  It was the refugees who stimulated their
representatives in the Commissions to redouble their efforts and
keep moving forward, even when things were quite tense and
delicate. The Commissions also give great credit to the Church, and
especially Don Samuel Ruiz, the bishop of San Cristobal Las Casas
in Chiapas, for being the first to support the refugees' right to
return on the date they wanted. 
     It is probably no mere coincidence either that Guatemalan
President Jorge Serrano is presently in the United States meeting
with the Secretary General of the U.N. Boutros Boutros-Ghali and
presenting him his 90 day peace plan. While the eyes of the world
are focused on the refugee return (and the supposed welcome with
open arms by the Guatemalan government, for example, by their
concessions in the negotiations), Serrano wants to take advantage
of the moment in order to undo the isolation his government has
received from the international community. He insists that things
inside Guatemala have changed, and that is why the refugees are
returning. But the refugees, especially after such a long and
difficult struggle simply for their right to return to their
country when and where they choose, certainly do not believe that
things have changed in Guatemala. 

Recommendations:

     1. That the NGOs stay very alert during these days of the
first return. It will be very important that any human rights
violation be rapidly and strongly denounced.

     2. That the NGOs firmly maintain support for their
counterparts inside Guatemala, be they national NGO's, or
organizations in the popular movement, etc. 

      3.  If possible, that they send more international
colleagues  to accompany the future returns. It seems, for
example, that only about 60-70 of the 125 or so internationals
present at the moment are going on to Poligono 14 to actually work
with the people - and then perhaps for only a short period of time.


Lobbying Recommendations:
     4. That the government of Guatemala take responsibility for
the safety of the refugees through CIVILIAN institutions in
Guatemala, and not through the Guatemalan army. The army should
play no role at all in the return, given that the refugees are
civilians.

     5. The government of Guatemala should be asked to publicly
guarantee the civil and human rights of the refugee population.  
     6. The UNHCR should be pressured to comply with its mandate
and give the logistical support needed in the future returns.  
     7. The Church should be supported for its humanitarian
response to the situation of the refugees.