The following requests come to us from the Ecumenical Task Force in
British Columbia.
On 10 August at 9.25pm, Francisco Menchú, who works as a security guard at the FRMT, was violently apprehended by two unknown men and forced at gunpoint into a white taxi in Zone 1 of the capital, Guatemala City. The men then beat him severely and demanded that he hand over his gun, though he was not carrying it. The two men continued to attack him as the taxi drove through the city. The attack lasted for 10 minutes, until the men pushed Francisco Menchú out of the vehicle close to where he was apprehended and stole his identity papers, credit cards and firearm license. His attackers were reportedly dressed in white shirts and black jackets, often worn by military intelligence agents.
Significantly, members of the Fondación Rigoberta Menchú Tum (FRMT) were informed by different sources on 26 July that a death list targeting human rights defenders existed and that the people carrying out the actions against those on the list would be driving taxis.
After the attack, Francisco Menchú went home and telephoned the FRMT's director, Gustavo Meono Brenner, to inform him about the incident. Later that night, between 9.55pm and 11.00pm, Francisco Menchú received two anonymous telephone calls. In the first, he could only hear a man laughing, while in the second, the caller threatened in Spanish, "stop causing trouble because we know who you are and where you live and soon we're going to be there with you."
This incident came two days after Rigoberta Menchú Tum, founder and President of the FRMT, was followed by an individual in a white pick–up truck as she drove to the FRMT's offices. The truck was parked outside her home when she left at 7.00am, and had been reportedly seen previously outside the offices of the FRMT. Rigoberta Menchú Tum was followed until she arrived at the FRMT offices. During the journey, her pursuant tried unsuccessfully to crash into her vehicle.
On five occasions between 26 July and 7 August, the offices of the FRMT in Zone 1 of Guatemala City were observed and staff members harassed by several individuals, one of whom wore military–issue boots and was armed with a revolver.
A second urgent action came regarding threatening letters send by mail to various human rights organizations. The letter used vulgar and inappropriate terminology threatening the following people: Rigoberta Menchú, Dionisio Gutiérrez, Nineth Montenegro, Alvaro Colom, Conchita Mazariegos, José Rubén Zamora, José Eduardo Zarco, Juan Luis Font, Arnulfo Agustín Guzmán and Roberto Castañeda. Reference is made to two more people: Anabella de León, Haroldo Sánchez and Mario Fuentes. The letter also mentions the work of journalists who, according to them, are misinforming the population and they remark that they should be careful as they could also become a target.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Rigoberta Menchú Tum has been a prominent member of the recently formed Frente Civico por la Democracia (Civic Front for Democracy), a coalition of organizations and political parties established in the wake of recent political violence to ensure that the general elections scheduled for November 2003 are transparent. The violence was precipitated by groups of supporters of Congressional President Rios Montt, who were rioting after a decision to suspend his candidacy for President. The Constitutional Court has since upheld its ruling allowing him to run as a Presidential candidate.
Despite the fact that on two previous occasions (in 1995 and 1999) Guatemalan courts ruled that Ríos Montt couldn't register as a presidential candidate, the Constitutional Court decided on 14 July of this year that he could run.
According to the Inter–American Court of Human Rights, the decision is a serious threat to the consolidation of the rule of law, to democratic stability and to the effective protection of human rights in Guatemala. "Under the de facto rule of Ríos Montt (1982–1983) serious and widespread human rights violations were carried out. During this time, in order to consolidate control of the general population, military structures such as the Civil Defense Patrols were created which were responsible for serious human rights violations. Also, the scorched earth strategy was continued, which destroyed hundreds of small villages, eliminated a large number of Maya people, and caused the massive displacement of the civilian population that lived in the conflictive zones. During the entire period of the armed conflict, in which more than 200,000 people were killed or disappeared, the spiral of violence reached its apex between 1981 and 1983, when 81% of the executions and forced disappearances happened." (Unofficial translation, Press Release 17/03, 24 July 2003)
On 20 July, the Supreme Court (CSJ) accepted for consideration an appeal which would again impede Ríos Montt's candidacy. Two days later the Constitutional Court (CC) rejected the FRG's legal complaint that the appeal in the Supreme Court should be disregarded. That same day leaders of the FRG, including Ríos Montt himself, warned that they wouldn't be able to stop violent measures taken by members of their party. The morning of 24 July, residents of Guatemala City awoke to an extraordinary number of buses entering the capital from rural areas of the country. On the buses were approximately 3000 campesinos and state workers who were forced or paid to travel to the capital. Along with them were masked people with radios, who looked to be ladino and bodyguard–like, some identified as members of the FRG, the government, or the army. They handed out sticks, clubs, gasoline, and tires that were used to besiege the Supreme Electoral Court, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, el Centro Empresarial, the offices of the daily newspaper El Periódico, the house of Constitutional Court magistrate Rodolfo Rohrmoser (who had voted against the registration of Ríos Montt) and the house of former president Alvaro Arzú (current mayoral candidate for Guatemala City with the Unionist party).
On 30 July, the Constitutional Court voted 4–3 in favor of a complaint by the FRG that appealed the Supreme Court's decision to prohibit Montt from Registering as a presidential candidate. The Court also ordered that no other petitions be brought on this matter – a clear violation of basic constitutional rights.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Lic. Alfonso Portillo Cabrera
Presidente de la Republica de Guatemala
6a. Avenida "A" 4-41, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax: 011 502 238 3579
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations, New York, New York 10017
Fax: 212 963 4097
Organization of American States
Attn. Inter American Human Rights Commission
Mr. Dean Claudio Grossman (President)
Mr. Santiago A. Canton (Executive Secretary)
1889 F. St. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006
Fax: 1 202 458 3992/ Phone: 202 458 6002
Email: cidhoea@oas.org
The Hon. Bill Graham
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0A6 (no postage needed)
Fax: 1 613 996 3443
Copies to:
Lic. Sergio Morales
Human Rights Procurator
Procurador de Derechos Humanos
12 avenida 12-72, zona l.
Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
Phone: 011 502 230 0874/0876/0877/0878
Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation:
Fundacion Rigoberta Menchú Tum
1a. Calle 7-45, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax: 011 502 254 4477
Thank you for your response. Your letters and messages are very important and needed.
On 10 August at 9.25pm, Francisco Menchú, who works as a security guard at the FRMT, was violently apprehended by two unknown men and forced at gunpoint into a white taxi in Zone 1 of the capital, Guatemala City. The men then beat him severely and demanded that he hand over his gun, though he was not carrying it. The two men continued to attack him as the taxi drove through the city. The attack lasted for 10 minutes, until the men pushed Francisco Menchú out of the vehicle close to where he was apprehended and stole his identity papers, credit cards and firearm license. His attackers were reportedly dressed in white shirts and black jackets, often worn by military intelligence agents.
Significantly, members of the Fondación Rigoberta Menchú Tum (FRMT) were informed by different sources on 26 July that a death list targeting human rights defenders existed and that the people carrying out the actions against those on the list would be driving taxis.
After the attack, Francisco Menchú went home and telephoned the FRMT's director, Gustavo Meono Brenner, to inform him about the incident. Later that night, between 9.55pm and 11.00pm, Francisco Menchú received two anonymous telephone calls. In the first, he could only hear a man laughing, while in the second, the caller threatened in Spanish, "stop causing trouble because we know who you are and where you live and soon we're going to be there with you."
This incident came two days after Rigoberta Menchú Tum, founder and President of the FRMT, was followed by an individual in a white pick–up truck as she drove to the FRMT's offices. The truck was parked outside her home when she left at 7.00am, and had been reportedly seen previously outside the offices of the FRMT. Rigoberta Menchú Tum was followed until she arrived at the FRMT offices. During the journey, her pursuant tried unsuccessfully to crash into her vehicle.
On five occasions between 26 July and 7 August, the offices of the FRMT in Zone 1 of Guatemala City were observed and staff members harassed by several individuals, one of whom wore military–issue boots and was armed with a revolver.
A second urgent action came regarding threatening letters send by mail to various human rights organizations. The letter used vulgar and inappropriate terminology threatening the following people: Rigoberta Menchú, Dionisio Gutiérrez, Nineth Montenegro, Alvaro Colom, Conchita Mazariegos, José Rubén Zamora, José Eduardo Zarco, Juan Luis Font, Arnulfo Agustín Guzmán and Roberto Castañeda. Reference is made to two more people: Anabella de León, Haroldo Sánchez and Mario Fuentes. The letter also mentions the work of journalists who, according to them, are misinforming the population and they remark that they should be careful as they could also become a target.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Rigoberta Menchú Tum has been a prominent member of the recently formed Frente Civico por la Democracia (Civic Front for Democracy), a coalition of organizations and political parties established in the wake of recent political violence to ensure that the general elections scheduled for November 2003 are transparent. The violence was precipitated by groups of supporters of Congressional President Rios Montt, who were rioting after a decision to suspend his candidacy for President. The Constitutional Court has since upheld its ruling allowing him to run as a Presidential candidate.
Despite the fact that on two previous occasions (in 1995 and 1999) Guatemalan courts ruled that Ríos Montt couldn't register as a presidential candidate, the Constitutional Court decided on 14 July of this year that he could run.
According to the Inter–American Court of Human Rights, the decision is a serious threat to the consolidation of the rule of law, to democratic stability and to the effective protection of human rights in Guatemala. "Under the de facto rule of Ríos Montt (1982–1983) serious and widespread human rights violations were carried out. During this time, in order to consolidate control of the general population, military structures such as the Civil Defense Patrols were created which were responsible for serious human rights violations. Also, the scorched earth strategy was continued, which destroyed hundreds of small villages, eliminated a large number of Maya people, and caused the massive displacement of the civilian population that lived in the conflictive zones. During the entire period of the armed conflict, in which more than 200,000 people were killed or disappeared, the spiral of violence reached its apex between 1981 and 1983, when 81% of the executions and forced disappearances happened." (Unofficial translation, Press Release 17/03, 24 July 2003)
On 20 July, the Supreme Court (CSJ) accepted for consideration an appeal which would again impede Ríos Montt's candidacy. Two days later the Constitutional Court (CC) rejected the FRG's legal complaint that the appeal in the Supreme Court should be disregarded. That same day leaders of the FRG, including Ríos Montt himself, warned that they wouldn't be able to stop violent measures taken by members of their party. The morning of 24 July, residents of Guatemala City awoke to an extraordinary number of buses entering the capital from rural areas of the country. On the buses were approximately 3000 campesinos and state workers who were forced or paid to travel to the capital. Along with them were masked people with radios, who looked to be ladino and bodyguard–like, some identified as members of the FRG, the government, or the army. They handed out sticks, clubs, gasoline, and tires that were used to besiege the Supreme Electoral Court, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, el Centro Empresarial, the offices of the daily newspaper El Periódico, the house of Constitutional Court magistrate Rodolfo Rohrmoser (who had voted against the registration of Ríos Montt) and the house of former president Alvaro Arzú (current mayoral candidate for Guatemala City with the Unionist party).
On 30 July, the Constitutional Court voted 4–3 in favor of a complaint by the FRG that appealed the Supreme Court's decision to prohibit Montt from Registering as a presidential candidate. The Court also ordered that no other petitions be brought on this matter – a clear violation of basic constitutional rights.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
- Please send appeals to Guatemalan authorities by mail, email or fax
- Expressing concern for the safety of: Gustavo Meono Brenner, Francisco Menchú, Rigoberta Menchú Tum and other staff at the FRMT and the people whose names appear in the threatening letter send to the different human–rights organizations: Dionisio Gutiérrez, Nineth Montenegro, Alvaro Colom, Conchita Mazariegos, José Rubén Zamora, José Eduardo Zarco, Juan Luis Font, Arnulfo Agustín Guzmán and Roberto Castañeda, Anabella de León, Haroldo Sánchez and Mario Fuentes and the employees of the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH), Doctor Román Carlos and Guillermo Roldán.
- Asking the authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure their safety and urging them:
- to carry out an immediate, impartial and exhaustive investigation into these incidents of intimidation, attacks, kidnapping;
- to make the results public;
- to bring those responsible to justice in order to break the cycle of impunity prevailing in the
country;
- Urging respect for constitutionally guaranteed rights and holding the government and the FRG responsible for any threat to the safety of human rights defenders;
- Mentioning your concern regarding the use of violence against journalists and human rights defenders by the FRG and other parallel and clandestine forces.
- Reminding the authorities of their obligations to human rights defenders, as laid out in the UN
Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and
Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted in December 1998, and in
resolutions by the Organization of American States.
- Write Canadian government authorities expressing:
- your concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Guatemala.
- your request that Canada express these concerns to the Government of Guatemala.
Lic. Alfonso Portillo Cabrera
Presidente de la Republica de Guatemala
6a. Avenida "A" 4-41, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax: 011 502 238 3579
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations, New York, New York 10017
Fax: 212 963 4097
Organization of American States
Attn. Inter American Human Rights Commission
Mr. Dean Claudio Grossman (President)
Mr. Santiago A. Canton (Executive Secretary)
1889 F. St. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006
Fax: 1 202 458 3992/ Phone: 202 458 6002
Email: cidhoea@oas.org
The Hon. Bill Graham
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0A6 (no postage needed)
Fax: 1 613 996 3443
Copies to:
Lic. Sergio Morales
Human Rights Procurator
Procurador de Derechos Humanos
12 avenida 12-72, zona l.
Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
Phone: 011 502 230 0874/0876/0877/0878
Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation:
Fundacion Rigoberta Menchú Tum
1a. Calle 7-45, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax: 011 502 254 4477
Thank you for your response. Your letters and messages are very important and needed.