From: Andrew Lang <lang@igc.apc.org>
Subject: VILLAGES BURNED IN IXCAN
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: daemon@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: ?
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 00:09:07 GMT

/* Written  5:28 pm  Dec 17, 1992 by nisgua@igc.apc.org in igc:carnet.alerts */
/* ---------- "VILLAGES BURNED IN IXCAN" ---------- */



NISGUA -- National Network In Solidarity with the People Of
Guatemala
1314 14th St., NW
Washington, DC  20005
202-483-0050
e-mail:  nisgua

RAPID RESPONSE ALERT
DECEMBER 17, 1992
COMBAT AND DESTRUCTION OF VILLAGES IN IXCAN
THREATENS RETURNING REFUGEES

Seventy Guatemalan families were forced to flee their homes in
Cuarto Pueblo, Los Angeles, and the village of the CPR-Ixcan,
Ixcan, El Quiche, due to the bombing and destruction of their
communities by the Army.  The families took refuge in Mexico, in
the area of Marques de Comillas, Chiapas, during the night of
November 27 and the following morning.  The UN High Commissioner
on Refugees and COMAR (Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance) 
sent representatives and humanitarian assistance to the area.

The Army actions were part of a military operation that began on
November 21 involving hundreds of soldiers.  Offensive operations
were directed at three communities, Cuarto Pueblo, Los Angeles,
and the encampment of the CPR-Ixcan (Communities of Populations
in Resistance).  When the Army columns arrived at the village of
Cuarto Pueblo on November 29 they found the villages empty, the
residents having already fled.  The Army then proceeded to steal
all objects of value from the houses, slaughtered the animals,
and then set fire to the houses -- actions that were repeated in
the other nearby communities.  The Army arrived at the village of
Los Angeles on December 1 and burned the houses that had remained
after Army bombardments in July and August, 1992. 

Among the goods destroyed by the soldiers were corn, beans, and
numerous other agricultural products, as well as more than 100
domestic animals (mainly chickens), tools and school and church
supplies.  In total, the Army burned down two chapels, a literacy
school for women, an elementary school, two health clinics, a day
care center, as well as over 90 houses.

Army actions continued in the area in the following weeks.  On
December 15 two officers and four soldiers were killed in combat
in the area of Cuarto Pueblo and Los Angeles and an unspecified
number of others were wounded.  This incident led to the
cancellation of the planned Multi- Party Commission visit to CPR
villages in the area the area.  The Multi-Party Commission is
urgently seeking a meeting with the Minister of Defense to
discuss the situation in the area.

The combat, the destruction of the villages and the consequent
displacement of the population calls into question the safety of
the zones to which refugees now living in Mexico are to return,
located near the destroyed villages.  The Army's actions
contradict commitments made on October 8, 1992 in the accords
regarding the return of the refugees.  The agreement states that
the return must take place under conditions of safety and dignity
and that the government must "create and utilize all mechanisms
necessary to ensure the protection, security, freedom from
physical harm, and liberty of the returnees and their
communities."  Already 87 refugees who have returned from Mexico
are in the relocation site, known as Poligono 14, building
temporary shelters and clearing the area for settlement.  They
are accompanied by some officials from the UN High Commission on
Refugees and some NGO's.  

ACTIVATE YOUR RAPID RESPONSE NETWORK TO:

Denounce the attacks on the communities, call for respect for the
humanitarian laws of war, and call for the observance of the
accords regarding the safety of the returning refugees.

SEND APPEALS TO:

Ingeniero Jorge Serrano Elias  
Presidente de la Rep#blica     
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     

   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

Lic. Ramiro de Leon Carpio
Procurador de los Derechos Humanos
Avenida Simeon Canas 10-61 Zona 2
Guatemala, Guatemala
FAX:  502 2 512026

Messages can be sent via FAXNET.  Call 800-831-2202 and ask for
NISGUA message #35.  Other companies also have copies of the
message.  Note:  please send some of your messages to each of the
individuals listed above.  

The following is the text of the prepared message:

Denuncio la politica de tierra arrasada en contra de las
comunidades del Ixcan, Cuarto Pueblo, Los Angeles, y la del
CPR-Ixcan, como una violacion flagrante a los derechos de civiles
por el Ejercito.  Exijo que se cese estos ataques que perjudican
la seguridad de refugiados que regresan de Mexico.      

Translation:  I denounce the scorched earth policy used against
the Ixcan communities, Cuarto Pueblo, Los Angeles, and that of
the CPR- Ixcan, as a flagrant violation of the rights of
civilians by the Army.  I demand that these attacks, which place
in jeopardy the safety of refugees that are returning from
Mexico, cease. 

COPIES OF ALL MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT AS SOLIDARITY TO:

Comision Permanente de los
Refugiados
108 Durango, Dept. 101
Colonia Roma
Mexico City, Mexico
CONFREGUA
10 Calle 1-40, Zona 1
Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism