From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Guatemala Human Rights UPDATE#41, Oct 14,1992
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Sat, 17 Oct 1992 00:12:29 GMT

/** reg.guatemala: 101.0 **/
** Topic: Human Rights UPDATE#41, Oct 14,199 **
** Written  7:21 am  Oct 16, 1992 by ghrc in cdp:reg.guatemala **

                  GHRC/USA Human Rights Update*
                      PEACENET Version #41
                        October 12, 1992


GUATEMALAN INDIGENOUS HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RIGOBERTA MENCHU WINS
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE! 

CASE UPDATES

AEU BOMB EXPLOSION DETAILED   The bombs that exploded at the
offices of the Association of University Students (AEU) in
Guatemala City (see Peacenet Update #40, 1992) slightly injured
five students.  According to Amnesty International, the bombing
followed a series of death threats received by members of the AEU
and students involved in court proceedings against members of the
Guatemalan special security Hunapu unit, responsible for killing
student Julio Cu Quim on April 10.  

TRIAL OF HUNAPU POLICEMEN STALLED   According to the Secretary
General of the AEU, the Military Prosecutor has held up the trial
of the Hunapu Unit policemen responsible for killing Julio Cu
Quin and injuring six other students on April 10 (see Peacenet
Update #15, 1992).  The AEU Secretary General said the accused
should be proclaimed guilty and receive the maximum legal
sentence.  If they do not, he said, "We will appeal.  We are not
willing to let another bloody act such as this go unpunished."

US EMBASSY DISAGREES WITH SENTENCE IN DEVINE CASE   On September
29, a military tribunal sentenced six Army specialists (low-
ranking officers) to thirty years in prison for the June 1990
murder of US citizen Michael Divine in El Peten.  The court
acquitted Captain Hugo Contreras Alvarado, claiming that the  
evidence of his participation in the kidnapping and murder was
insufficient.  Contreras Alvarado, the chief of intelligence at
the Army base near the site of the crime, had been accused of
planning the murder.  Guatemalan Attorney General Acisclo
Valladares, who said testimony indicated that Contreras Alvarado
had indeed ordered the murder, is appealing his acquittal.   
     In response to the verdict, the US State Department
expressed in a communique that "justice has in no way been
fulfilled."  The State Department noted that the sentence
constitutes only the first phase of the trial -- the
responsibility within the structure of command still has not been
resolved.
     Reacting to the State Department's criticism, Guatemalan
government spokesman Alturo Alvarado said such statements "could
be interpreted as interference in Guatemala's internal affairs."

FENASTEG CALLS FOR WORK STOPPAGE  Armando Sanchez, Secretary
General of the National Federation of Guatemalan Workers 
(FENASTEG) called for a national work stoppage on October 13 to
protest the government's failure to comply with an agreement
signed last July by unions and a high-level, executive
commission.  According to the agreement, the government would
increase civil servants' salaries by 18 percent, 20 percent, and
22 percent after July 1.  Sanchez said the stoppage could be
extended, depending on the government's response.   

GSP HEARINGS SET  Hearings on the petition to suspend Guatemala's
trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)
will be held on the afternoon of October 15 in Washington, DC. 
(GSP is a trade program that allows certain quantities of
specific goods from developing countries to enter the US without
tariffs.)  The Guatemalan labor representatives who will testify
for the petitioners are Juan Francisco Alfaro of the
Confederation of Guatemalan Trade Union Unity (CUSG), Rodolfo
Robles of the International Union of Food Workers (IUF), Julia
Amparo Lotam, from the Union of Guatemalan Workers (UNSITRAGUA),
and Adolfo Lacs from the federation of Guatemalan bank workers
(FESEBS).  Pharis Harvey, of the Labor Rights Fund, Stephen
Coats, of the US/Guatemala Labor Education Project, and Jared
Kotler, of WOLA, will also testify.

DEATH THREATS

CITIZENS OF EL QUICHE THREATENED BY PACS  Groups Responding to
Repression and Impunity reported that Army military commissioners
and commanders of the civil patrols (PACs) have assassinated,
threatened, and intimidated citizens of El Quiche.  The groups
reported that on September 3, two armed men chased and tried to
detain campesino (peasant or farmer) PEDRO PEREZ LOPEZ, as he was
walking with his wife.  One of Perez Lopez' pursuers was
identified as local PACs commander Isidro Mendoza Ixchop, from
Chitucar.  The other was wearing a mask.  
     The groups also reported that military commissioner and PACs
commander Francisco Ixcoy Lopez demands dues of Q. 30.00  ($6)
from each patroller and Q. 800.00 ($160) from businessmen who do
not want to join the PACs.  According to the groups' report, on
September 18, when a confrontation between the Army and the
guerrillas occurred, Ixcoy Lopez accused the men who had refused
to patrol of participating in the conflict (presumably on the
side of the guerrillas).  Ixcoy Lopez also accused the women of
the National Coordinating Committee of Guatemalan Widows
(CONAVIGUA) of preparing food for the guerrillas.  The groups
making the report vehemently denied the accusation.  
     The groups' report listed the names of those guilty of
threats, abductions, harassment, and assassinations: in San Pedro
Jocopilas, military commissioner and PACs commander Francisco
Ixcoy Lopez; second chief, Alberto Ixcoy Mejia; and third chief,
Pedro Morales; in Chutzalic, patrol chiefs Pedro Lopez Agiatas
and Miguel Ixcotoyac; collaborator Nicolas Lopez; and ex-chief
Ernesto Vincente; in Chitucar, patrol chief Isidro Mendoza
Ixchop; in Xoijuyup, Felipe Acabal Vaten; in San Pedro, former
canton chief Cristobal Tiu Jolomocox; in Segundo Centro de
Santabal, Cristobal Acabal Ixcoy; in San Pablo, ex-patrol chiefs
Andres Chaperon Lopez and Manuel Tzoy Castro; and in Santabal
Primero, Nicolas Perez Elias.  

PAC CHIEF THREATENS GAM MEMBERS  The Mutual Support Group for
Families of the Disappeared (GAM) has accused PAC chief Santos
Coj Rodriguez of threatening GAM member TERESA GUTIERREZ, as well
as MARIA TOJ, BACILIO CASTRO, MANUEL SIMAJ, and MACARIO MORENTE. 
According to GAM, Coj Rodriguez, accused of committing numerous
crimes, is hiding out in a house in El Quiche.  He has reportedly
threatened to have members of the G-2 Army Intelligence Unit kill
GAM activists.
     GAM stated that on October 4, two men dressed as civilians
arrived at the home of PABLO DE LA CRUZ CASTRO, in Tunaja,
Zacualpa, El Quiche.  The men said they had a warrant for de la
Cruz Castro's arrest and accused him of having ties to the
guerrillas.  GAM is holding Santos Coj responsible for whatever
might happen to the people who have been threatened.

EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS   

The body of NICOLAS VASQUEZ (22) was found with two bullet wounds
on a street in the El Tamarindo neighborhood, San Augustine
Acasaguastlan, El Progreso.

Brother and sister MARCO ANTONIO CHINCHILLA GUERRA (23) and MARIA
ISABEL CHINCHILLA GUERRA (30) were shot to death by five men who
broke into their home in El Quequesque, Agua Blanca, Jutiapa. 
Relatives who witnessed the incident said the assassins fled in a
vehicle.

HECTOR GABRIEL AMBROSIO GONZALEZ (43) and CARMELINA ANDRADE 
ANDREU (37) died of injuries sustained when four men who entered
the Andrade cafeteria on 19-07 Calzada Milla y Vidaurre, Zone 6
of Guatemala City opened fire on the couple.  Witnesses said the
assassins were members of the security forces.  A third,
unidentified person was injured and taken to the social security
hospital.   

UNIDENTIFIED BODIES

The body of ONE UNIDENTIFIED MALE (25) was found on October 1 in
a gully near the highway approaching San Augustin Acasaguastlan,
El Progreso.  The victim had large-caliber bullet wounds in his
throat and face.  

On October 1, the body of ONE UNIDENTIFIED MALE (30) was found
with stab wounds in Ciudad Tecun Uman, San Marcos.

On October 5, the body of ONE UNIDENTIFIED MALE (20) was found on
the banks of the Ajaxa river, in Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa,
Escuintla.  The victim's left hand had been amputated, his throat
had been slit, and he had burn wounds all over his body.

The body of ONE UNIDENTIFIED MALE (36) was found with two bullet
wounds on October 5 near kilometer 44, beneath the Aguacapa
bridge in Barberena, Santa Rosa.

On October 7, TWO UNIDENTIFIED MEN, who were walking on a street
in La Virgen, Oratorio, Santa Rosa, were shot to death by several
men in a vehicle.

OTHER HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS

GAM OFFICE BOMBED  On October 12 at 7:50 P.M., a bomb planted in
the GAM headquarters by unknown individuals exploded, damaging
the windows and entrance to the house.  One woman was in the
office at the time, and she was not hurt. 
     After the incident, probably to further intimidate GAM
members, an unidentified person arrived at the house to remind
members that GAM had also been bombed three years ago.  An hour
later four armed people in civilian dress entered the house. 
They did not identify themselves but asked for the names and
positions of GAM leaders and for information about upcoming GAM
activities.  After a few minutes, they left in a red car.  The
leaders of GAM fear for members' safety.
  
BOMB EXPLODES AT MAGAZINE OFFICE  On October 5, a bomb damaged
the offices of Tinamit magazine, located at 14 14-05 Street, Zone
5 of Guatemala City.  Journalist Hugo Arce, a columnist for the
weekly magazine, said that eight days earlier he had received
death threats from anonymous callers.  Arce said the bomb
incident was part of an intimidation campaign against free
expression.  According to the magazine's administrative director,
Oswaldo Marquez, Tinamit denounces the injustice that occurs
daily in Guatemala.  The director of the magazine, journalist
Carlos Rafael Soto, said the attack could have been prompted by
the publication of a report on freedom of the press, written by
German journalism students.

CONVENT BURNED  At 1:00 A.M. on October 13, the Army burned down
the parish convent near its barracks in Joyabaj, El Quiche.     

PAC MEMBERS INVOLVED IN THREE DEATHS  According to the newspaper
Prensa Libre, on October 1 three members of a family were killed
and four more were injured during an attack by civil defense
patrols in San Rafael la Independencia, Huehuetenango.  The
victims were MIGUEL MANUEL FELIPE PABLO (67); his wife, MARIA
ISABEL FRANCISCO GOMEZ (58); and his son MANUEL MIGUEL FELIPE
FRANCISCO (28).  Francisco Miguel Gomez, another child of the
victims', said the commander of the local PACs ordered the
massacre out of envy (the family owns Alicia Transports.)  Prensa
Libre reported that soldiers from the Huehuetenango military base
have arrested six patrollers as suspects in the massacre. 

ARMED MEN HARASS RIGOBERTA MENCHU  On October 9, armed men
surrounded and tried to break into the headquarters of the
National Commission of Guatemalan Widows (CONAVIGUA), where
indigenous leader and Nobel Peace Prize candidate Rigoberta
Menchu is staying.  Menchu reported that she has been harassed
and threatened by "unknown" individuals.

VILLAGERS IN ESCUINTLA PRESSURED TO JOIN PACS  Escuintla deputy
Joel Cualio Soto reported that military commissioners in El
Milagro, Masagua, Escuintla are pressuring citizens of the town
to join the PACs.  According to Cualio Soto, the military
commissioners say they are carrying out orders from above. Cualio
Soto pointed out that the constitution prohibits obligatory
membership in the PACs and added that those who refuse to join
are branded guerrillas.  Congressman Cualio Soto asked the
Ministry of Defense for a thorough investigation of the
situation.
 
OTHER INFORMATION

GUATEMALAN GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES PHILLIPS VAN HEUSEN UNION   At
the end of September Guatemalan President Jorge Serrano signed
papers granting legal recognition of the Phillips Van Heusen
union.  This action, along with last-minute efforts to reform the
labor code, is presumably an attempt to demonstrate some advance
in labor rights before the GSP hearings (see Case Updates).

FIVE HUNDRED YEARS MOVEMENT DEMANDS END TO FORCED RECRUITMENT 
Juana Vasquez, representative of the national Five Hundred Years
of Indigenous, Black, and Popular Resistance Movement, requested
before Guatemalan Congress that forced recruitment into the
military be abolished.  She said that if Congress cannot pass
concrete laws to that effect, they should consider constitutional
reforms so that young men and minors are not sent to the barracks
or the civil patrols by force.  

REFUGEES REQUEST UN INTERVENTION   The Permanent Commissions of
Refugees, in a report to Special Advisor to the United Nations
(UN) Professor Christian Tomuschat, suggested that Tomuschat take 
measures to encourage the Guatemalan government to accept the
application of international verification procedures to refugee
repatriation agreements.

TOMUSCHAT SAYS ONLY INDIGENOUS ARE FORCED INTO MILITARY  United
Nations (UN) independent human rights expert Professor Christian
Tomuschat said that military recruitment and the civil defense
patrols have been very serious problems.  He said he had received
reports that "military recruitment is an unjust system because
only the indigenous are required to serve."  He also said that
many people are coerced and pressured into joining the PACs and
that the Army should correct these problems.
     The Expert also said that the Communities of Population in
Resistance (CPRs) are civilian populations and should not be
caught in the middle of the armed conflict.  The Guatemalan
government must respect the human rights of the people in the
CPRs and not consider them an arm of the URNG.

CPRS ARE CIVILIAN POPULATIONS   Cesar Alvarez Guadamuz, Assistant
Human Rights Attorney and a member of the Multiparty Commission
investigating the problems of CPRs said that, in his last
conversation with General Jose Garcia Samayoa, he tried to get
the government to recognize that the CPRs consist of unarmed,
noncombatant civilian populations.  

The Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA monitors the human
rights situation in Guatemala and provides information to various
constituencies in the United States and to a limited extent
abroad.  Information in the Guatemala Human Rights Update is
compiled from a variety of international sources including: the
Comisi"n de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala/Mexico (Guatemalan
Human Rights Commission/Mexico), Americas Watch, Amnesty
International and Inforpress.  Information is also gathered from
reports and alerts from groups in Guatemala including: the
Archbishop's Human Rights Office, the Council of Ethnic
Communities Runujel Junam (CERJ), labor unions, the University
Students Association (AEU), the Conference of Religious of
Guatemala (CONFREGUA) and the Mutual Support Group of Relatives
of the Disappeared (GAM).  

* Every two weeks, two PEACENET Updates are combined to form the
Guatemala Human Rights Update, which is mailed first class to
hundreds of organizations and individuals.  That publication
includes all the information in the PEACENET versions--with
infrequent addenda and corrections--and a list of suggested
actions.  To subscribe to the Guatemala Human Rights Update send
$30 (yearly subscription) to GHRC/USA at: 3321 12th Street NE,
Washington DC, 20017.  Or call (202) 529-6599 or fax (202) 526-
4611 for more information.

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

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