Scientists and Human Rights in Guatemala Report of a Delegation (1992) / Chapter Skim
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The 1992 Mission
The 1992 Mission
Pages 15-36
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From page 15... ...
The following terms of reference were submitted to Ambassador CasoFanjul and to all of the individuals with whom the delegation met during the course of its stay in Guatemala City: 15
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The delegation did not meet with President Serrano, who was in Costa Rica during part of the delegation's visit and was reportedly involved with the Guatemalan Congress on a taxreform bill thereafter. The delegation met with the following officials: rior)
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, and staff member Colonel Letona; Carlos Enrique Samayoa Cifuentes, Director General de la Polic~a Nacional (Director General of the National Police) , and an aide, Mr.
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The Mack Case According to Carlos Enrique Samayoa Cifuentes, the director general of the National Police, when a case is transferred to the courts in Guatemala, contrary to the practice in many other countries, the police have nothing further to do with it; the judge is responsible for the investigation. Helen Mack, Myrna Mack's sister, is acting as the "acusadora particular," or private prosecutor in the case.
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From page 19... ...
Former judge, Roberto Lemus Garza, who worked as a lawyer on human rights cases, reported receiving repeated anonymous death threats, as did other judicial officers and lawyers in various parts of the country. The Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala told the delegation that the presiding judge at the time of the delegation's visit, Victor Hugo Navarro Solares, had asked that the local military court assume jurisdiction over the case and that it be tried in a military tribunal.
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From page 20... ...
The delegation learned subsequently from human rights sources that Merida had expressed fear for his physical safety to them and had requested that they help him and his family to leave Guatemala. (In late May the CHR also learned that on April 22 a Guatemalan court found the men accused of Merida's murder, Gonzalo Cifuentes Estrada and Alfredo Guerra Galindo, not guilty because of lack of evidence.
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From page 21... ...
For example, the following factors are sometimes thought to indicate security force involvement: the use of automatic weapons, because they are available to members of the military; heavily armed individuals; a single gunshot to the back of the victim's head (a coup de grace) ; surveillance prior to the crime; receipt of death threats; inquiries about a victim before the crime is committed by individuals dressed in civilian clothes, showing a photograph of the potential victim and asking about the victim's whereabouts; use of unmarked vehicles; use of vehicles with opaque windows.
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From page 22... ...
, the air force chief, and the commander of the Guatemala City Garrison.28 While not denying the responsibility of the Guatemalan government to end human rights abuses, most of the officials with whom the delegates spoke mentioned progress in the ongoing peace talks as a key to diminishing the violence in Guatemala. They also spoke of war-related kidnappings, assassinations, and abuses of alleged right-wing or left-wing sympathizers as major sources of human rights violations by both the military and the insurgents.
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From page 23... ...
(Hurtado resigned his position on July 23, 1992, following widespread criticism of alleged arbitrary use of excessive force by the National Police against individuals demonstrating for land rights who had gathered in front of the National Palace in Guatemala City.) Hurtado is an attorney who formerly held the post of deputy ombudsman for human rights and was credited with efforts to demilitarize the interior ministry.
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He went on to say that the delegation deserved praise for undertaking the mission, although not all information on human rights abuses reported by other countries has been accurate. With regard to the relation between the Treasury Police and the National Police, the delegation was told that their areas of responsibility are well defined and that their training is different.
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From page 25... ...
Gramajo spoke of the need to reform the judiciary but also spoke of the judiciary system being at the mercy of the investigations by the National Police, who must provide information and follow-up on cases in order to present information to the judges. 29 The following data come from Regional Surveys of the World: South America, Central America and the Caribbean 1991, 3rd ed.
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From page 26... ...
He was in the United States during the delegation's mission to Guatemala. The delegates met with his deputy, Julio Cesar Rivera Claver~a, and Victor Manuel Rivera Woltke, another member of the staff, to ask for information on disappeared colleagues.
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Ministry of Public Health In a meeting with the then minister of public health, Dr. Miguel Angel Montepeque, the delegation expressed its concern about human rights abuses directed against health professionals, particularly those working in areas of conflict in the interior of the country and in the poor areas of Guatemala City.
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From page 28... ...
The delegation met with the deputy ombudsman for human rights, Maria Eugenia Morales de Sierra, a lawyer, and Lionel Gomez, a medical doctor, at the offices of the ombudsman for human rights. outside the country at the time of the delegation's visit.)
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From page 29... ...
Presidential Coordinating Committee on Human Rights Policies The Comision Presidencial Coordinadora de la Politick del Ejecutivo en Materia de Derechos Humanos (Presidential Coordinating Commission on Human Rights Policies) , COPREDEH, coordinates the human rights efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, and the office of the ombudsman.
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From page 30... ...
, where research is largely supported by grants from non-Guatemalan foundations. University of San Carlos Because human rights abuses and repression of colleagues in the sciences are directed primarily at those affiliated with the University of San Carlos, rather than those at the four private universities, and because it is the largest-and most important university in Guatemala, the delegation focused its attention on the situation at USAC.
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From page 31... ...
Almost all were the same age, between 28 and 29 years of age, when killed or disappeared; they lived in areas or neighborhoods of the lower or middle class; all were involved in political activities not related to their studies; several had printing presses in their homes; they received death threats followed by a period of calm and then were abducted and made to disappear or were found murdered. When the delegation expressed concern that USAC may now be facing the beginning of a similar cycle, this possibility was acknowledged, but it was stressed that now groups like the ombudsman's office, the Archdiocese, and others are keeping a watchful eye on the situation and that they, as well as outside groups like the CHR and CHHR, must make people aware of the situation in the hope of breaking the cycle.
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From page 32... ...
Pena was killed in front of his apartment, on February 10, 2 weeks before the delegation's visit, as he arrived home for the evening, by at least two unidentified assailants using automatic weapons. Pena worked with underprivileged and internally displaced people in Guatemala City.
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From page 33... ...
To express support and sympathy to her friends and colleagues and to learn more about her work and that of the association, the delegation spent a morning at the AVANCSO offices. The AVANCSO staff told the delegation of the work of Myrna Mack and its importance to Guatemalan society.
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From page 34... ...
The legal defense section provides legal advice and assistance to victims of political violence. This work is coordinated among the victims, their families, and professional organizations, as well as with international human rights organizations, in order to be most effective while, it is hoped, minimizing the risks involved.
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From page 35... ...
(The delegation assumes that the many medical doctors prefer the hardships of unemployment to the physical dangers of working in many of the rural areas in Guatemala that are subject to violence.) There is a severe shortage of health care providers in the countryside; many private practitioners have left the country because of the violence, and most of the others have remained in Guatemala City.
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From page 36... ...
In the past two years, the war has subsided and the army has ceded power to an elected civilian president; these changes offer hope for the future, but lasting peace will come only with social justice, land reform, and an end to the exploitation of the poor. In a sense, these are the most urgent medical priorities.
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