From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Guatemala: Cerigua Briefs SEPTEMBER 20-26, 1992
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 00:00:44 GMT

/** reg.guatemala: 89.0 **/
** Topic: Cerigua Weekly Briefs **
** Written  9:47 pm  Sep 28, 1992 by cerisea in cdp:reg.guatemala **
WEEKLY BRIEFS, SEPTEMBER 20-26, 1992
One Journalist Attacked, Another Threatened

Luis Hurtado, a columnist for the daily Prensa Libre, has
been hospitalized after an assault in downtown Guatemala City
on September 21.  A man followed Hurtado as he left his
office, approached him and then shot at point-blank range.
Prensa Libre reports that just hours before the assault
Hurtado said he was receiving death threats over his recent
articles on the country's armed conflict and government
corruption.  Hurtado's family says the crime was not
politically motivated.  They say that throughout his 30 years
as a journalist Hurtado has written both against and in favor
of many individuals and groups.

In the same week,Prensa Libre reported one of its
correspondents in Totonicapan province was threatened by four
men.  Reporter Luis Tax says the men came to his home when he
was not there and "told my family that I should watch out
because they were going to take the law into their own
hands."  Tax says the death threat is related to a report he
wrote implicating police officers in criminal acts in the
town of Totonicapan.

Business Rejects Government Measures

Conflict between neoliberal policy makers and some in the
private sector was evident this week as powerful business
leaders criticized newly announced economic measures in
Prensa Libre September 24.  Marco Garcia Noriega, president
of the Coordinating Council of Agricultural, Commercial,
Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF), charges the
government with shortsightedness.  He says the government is
shying away from medium and long-term planning in favor of
measures that treat immediate needs.  Chamber of Agriculture
president Luis Reyes was harsher in his criticism, accusing
the government of "swindling" the Guatemalan people.  He says
Monetary Board measures are intended to maintain the false
image of a healthy economy.

On September 21 the Monetary Board introduced a new package
of economic measures.  It raised the minimum private banks
must hold in reserves and required that all reserves be moved
to the central bank (BANGUAT).  It also announced an increase
in interest rates on consumer loans.  CACIF president Garcia
says the measures are aimed at maintaining the quetzal at an
artificially high rate in relation to the dollar.  Garcia
says the currency should be allowed to assume its actual
value.  The CACIF president adds the government should
establish foreign exchange offices in order to end BANGUAT's
monopoly on foreign currency.  Chamber of Agriculture
president Reyes says the Monetary Board actions could bring
on a recession.  He says production costs will rise, hurting
consumers and placing exports at a disadvantage in the worldmarket.

Electric Rate Hike Opposed

Guatemalan Electric Company manager Joel Toledo has announced
a 13% increase in electric rates between now and January.  In
the September 24 Radio Guatemalan Flash report, he said the
increase is due to a loss of government subsidies and to
rising operating costs.
Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro de Leon told Radio
Independiente that an increase in electricity rates will
cause public protest.  He said it will lead to increases in
other services and products, creating an additional burden on
people already affected by high unemployment and inadequate
public services.  Carlos Vielman, president of the Chamber of
Industry, says the increase will present yet another obstacle
for the productive sector in its effort to compete in local
and international markets.

On September 24 Radio Guatemala Flash reported blackouts in
the capital lasting as long as two hours in some
neighborhoods.  The newscast said although INDE authorities
had not yet said so, it appears that electricity is being
rationed.  Legislator Arturo Amiel accused the electric
company of "blackmailing" the public into accepting the rate
hike.

Legislator Hector Luna said earlier this month that instead
of increasing rates, authorities should pursue legal action
against corrupt members of the Lucas Garcia regime.  Millions
could thus be recuperated, he said.

Agreement on Refugee Conditions

Government and refugee negotiators have reached an agreement
on land for returning Guatemalan refugees.  The agreement
came at a meeting September 23.  Of six issues refugees
demanded be resolved before their return, the issue of land
was the one most fraught with conflict.  The Permanent
Commissions representing the refugees (CCPP) and the
government's Special Commission on Attention to Repatriates
(CEAR) signed an agreement on all six conditions, and said
they will meet again on October 7 and 8 to discuss
verification and follow-up.

The accord spells out what to do in cases where refugees both
do and do not hold deeds.  It also treats former members of
agricultural cooperatives.  The other five conditions
addressed are: voluntary, collective and organized return;
freedom to organize and freedom of association; that
Guatemalan and international groups and individuals accompany
the refugees on their return; freedom of movement inside the
country and the freedom to leave and return; and the right to
life and community integrity.  (Contact CERIGUA in Mexico
City for the complete document.)

Erasmo Saenz, coordinator of the Mexican Commission to Aid
Refugees (COMAR) said September 26 that the negotiation
process was going well.  He said the return of the first
5,000 refugees (of 44,000 documented Guatemalan refugees in
Mexico) could take place "perhaps at the end of this year."

Ombudsman: Forced Conscription Continues

The army continues to illegally conscript young men into
military service, according to Human Rights Ombudsman Ramiro
de Leon.  In a Prensa Libre report September 25, De Leon says
if the abuses do not end they will continue to hurt
Guatemala's image internationally.  De Leon says some army
commanders are abiding by the law, but others continue to use
illegal practices.  He says he has received numerous
complaints from parents who say their sons have been forcibly
recruited even though they are under age, have physical
impairments, are students or are their only sons.

Grassroots Coalition Proposes Changes

A coalition of groups that has come together "because of
repression and impunity" held a conference on September 21-22
in Guatemala City.  The coalition gave its solid support to
refugees returning from Mexico, and also to the Resistance
Communities in Quiche and Peten provinces.  These communities
have recently been trying to gain recognition as civilian,
non-combatant populations.  The coalition also expressed
support for Rigoberta Menchu as a candidate for the 1992
Nobel Peace Prize.

The coalition released a 19-point proposal for negotiations
between the government and the Guatemalan National
Revolutionary Unity (URNG).  The proposal addresses
"resettlement of populations uprooted by the internal armed
conflict."  Some of the points are:  investigation and
prosecution of human rights abuses, abolition of civil
patrols and military commissioners (civilians working for the
army in intelligence gathering and army conscription),
reforms in military service laws, respect for the rights of
Mayan peoples, and special economic projects for women
affected by the repression.

The member organizations who signed the final document are:
Guatemalan Widows Association (CONAVIGUA), Mutual Support
Group of Families of the Disappeared (GAM), Ethnic Community
Council (CERJ), Permanent Commissions representing refugees
(CCPP), Resistance Communities of the Sierra and Ixcan,
National Council of Displaced (CONDEG) and the refugee
women's organization Mama Maquin.

From Coup Attempts to Political Party
A group of former military officers have formed a new
political party, according to Radio Independiente September
21.  Some of the officers in the new Patriotic Freedom
Movement (MPL) party were involved in coup attempts during
the Cerezo government.  At an event held to announce the
party's formation, members wore red handkerchiefs around
their necks, just as officers did in one of the failed coup
attempts against the previous government.

Gustavo Diaz Lopez, a member of the MPL's executive
committee, was imprisoned twice for his involvement in coup
activity, but was granted amnesty.  Diaz is also remembered
as a military intelligence officer during the Lucas Garcia
military regime.

Cerezo's Son Attacked

The son of former president Vinicio Cerezo escaped uninjured
from an armed attack on September 21.  Unidentified
assailants fired shots at the former Christian Democrat
president's son, who shares the same name as his father, as
he stepped out his vehicle near his office in Guatemala City.

The twenty-six year old is president of FUNDAECO, a non-
governmental agency involved in environmental protection.  He
describes his work as creating national parks, especially in
the Izabal region.  His mother, Christian Democrat leader
Raquel Blandon, said the attack shows how difficult it is to
work on controversial issues such as the environment in
Guatemala.  Meanwhile, another Christian Democrat leader,
Alfonso Cabrera, urged his party associates to be on alert
for other similar attacks.

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

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 **

Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive