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OEA/Ser.L/V/II.76 ANNUAL
REPORT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION GUATEMALA
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has closely monitored
events in Guatemala through most of this decade because of the serious violence
that has marked it. Year after year the Commission has reported on this state of
affairs in its annual reports to the OAS General Assembly. In addition, it has
produced these special reports on the situation of human rights in Guatemala
and, during this period, has conducted three on-site visits to the Republic of
Guatemala—in 1982, 1985, and 1988.
More recently, the Commission has continued to monitor the human rights
situation in Guatemala with assistance from the Government of President Cerezo's
which has provided the necessary facilities for it to carry out its task.
During the period covered by this report, one of the major concerns of
the Commission in terms of the observance of political rights, the protection of
freedoms, and the survival of the constitutional democracy in Guatemala has been
the number of attempts to overthrow the Government of President Marco Vinicio
Cerezo Arévalo's preceded by the events of May and August, 1988. On that
occasion, in addition to condemning the coup attempt, the Commission spoke out
in favor of strengthening the democratic and constitutional process.
On May 9, 1989, it was learned that a further attempt to overthrow the
Government and to destabilize the democratic system had been averted, again
thanks to the Armed Forces' loyalty to the democratic regime. At that time, the
Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, meeting in Washington,
adopted resolution CP/RES. 521 (774/89), entitled “Support to the democratic
process in Guatemala.” Aside from expressing its firm and categorical support
for President Marco Vinicio Cerezo in his struggle to consolidate the democratic
process and preserve the country's institutional framework, in that resolution
the Council vehemently condemned the groups that continue to destabilize
legitimate governments and urged them to participate in the strengthening of
democratic institutions through free electoral processes.
In response to the unsuccessful coup attempt, legal proceedings have been
instituted against the officers who participated in the uprising.
A problem that has been of concern to the Commission is that of exiles in
the process of repatriation. At the beginning of 1987, the Commission was
informed and in turn reported that large number of Guatemalan citizens who had
remained in Mexico and Honduras for several years because of the violence in
their home communities had decided to return to Guatemala. Subsequently it was
learned that the number of repatriated Guatemalans had gradually increased
during 1987 and had reached 974 by the end of the year. By mid-1988 it had
reached 1,928, and, on December 31, 1988, the number of repatriated Guatemalan
families was 820, or consisting of 3,885 individuals. They have settled in 102
villages belonging to 35 municipalities in 10 departments of the country, with
the majority in Huehuetenango, El Quiché, and Izabal. The Guatemalan Government
reported that the repatriates were receiving resettlement assistance in their
communities of origin and that every effort was being made to provide them with
medical care and any other assistance they might require during their
reintegration.
Another very important area is, of course, the national dialogue process.
In accordance with the procedures set forth in the Esquipulas II Agreement for
establishing a firm and lasting peace in Central America, and as mentioned in
the previous report, in September 1987 the National Reconciliation Committee (Comisión
Nacional de Reconciliación or CNR) was formed in Guatemala to take immediate
steps toward national reconciliation and to create conditions conducive to the
strengthening and development of democratization processes under the rules set
forth at that time in the agreement concluded by the Central American Heads of
State. The Committee was made up of Monsignor Rodolfo Quezada, Bishop of Zacapa,
and representing the Catholic Church (chair); Roberto Carpio, the Vice President
of Guatemala, representing the government; Jorge Serrano, former presidential
candidate of the Solidarity Action Movement (Movimiento de Acciòn Solidaria),
representing the political parties; and, Teresa de Zarco, co-owner of the daily
newspaper “Prensa Libre,” a prominent citizen. Continuing its efforts, on
November 8, 1988, the CNR issued a call for a “great national dialogue,”
which was finally held on February 20 of this year. It was attended by 200
delegates from 47 organizations representing various sectors of Guatemalan
society.
In order to facilitate the discussions, the National Reconciliation
Committee prepared a document entitled General Rules of Procedure for the
Dialogue covering procedures for presenting, discussing, and processing the
proposals and the way in which each delegate would participate. It was
established that, the approved topics would be transmitted to the Assembly of
the dialogue as recommendations for its consideration and that those that the
assembly approved would be sent by the National Reconciliation Committee to the
appropriate official agencies, which in turn would consider them with a view to
their implementation.
In the absence of official representatives of both the Guatemalan Armed
Forces and the guerrillas, the central parties to the conflict, discussions were
begun attempting to find possible solutions to the main problems slated for
consideration. The working committees, 15 in all, began on March 1 by analyzing
problems in the areas of human rights, labor relations, the situation of
Indians, peace, democratization, and other scheduled topics.
Declining to participate in the national dialogue were the National
Liberation Movement (Movimiento de Liberación Nacional), the Democratic
Institutional Party (Partido Institucional Democrático), the Committee of
Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations (Comité de Asociaciones
Comerciales, Industriales y Financieras or CACIF), and the National Agrarian
Union (Unión Nacional Agraria or UNAGRO), which belong to the most conservative
sectors of Guatemala. The Armed Forces, which, as previously stated, did not
participate directly, finally decided to attend, but only as part of the
governmental delegation.
Despite the aforementioned absences, the outcome of the national dialogue
was on balance, positive. Practically all the participating organizations left
the meeting expressing their satisfaction and acknowledging the positive way in
which the National Reconciliation Committee members encouraged the exchange of
ideas and opinions on the main economic, social, political, and cultural
problems discussed with a view to examining the proposals made by each sector on
how to resolve the problems facing the country.
Also in accordance with the Esquipulas II Agreements, the Government of
President Cerezo has remained open to a dialogue with the subversive groups
operating in Guatemala as long as they lay down their arms. In this regard it is
known that the guerrilla movement has continued its efforts toward a
rapprochement and toward a follow-up efforts undertaken throughout 1986 and
through the end of 1988, when the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfonso
Cabrera Hidalgo, said that it had not been possible to establish a dialogue with
the Guatemalan guerrillas because the political parties refused to do so.
In November 1988, the Guatemalan Revolutionary Union (Unión
Revolucionaria Guatemalteca or URNG), an umbrella organization comprised of the
four guerrilla groups, reiterated the necessity of fostering conditions that
would make the dialogue possible, and said that the Government and the Army had
as yet refused to accept its proposal even though countless sectors of society
had done so. That communiqué made reference to the call for a national dialogue
issued by the National Reconciliation Committee and lamented the fact that the
URNG had been excluded from the ranks of parties to the dialogue.
In January 1989, the Catholic Church offered to mediate in attempts at a
dialogue between the Government and the subversives, with a view to resuming the
rapprochement that was initiated in Madrid in 1987. When President Marco Vinicio
Cerezo Arévalo went to Venezuela to attend the inauguration of President Carlos
Andrés Pérez at the end of that month, it was learned that he had rejected the
guerrillas' proposal to enter into negotiations in Venezuela. According to the
press, the Guatemalan leader said at that time that it would not make sense to
speak with outlaw groups and reaffirmed that the rebels should lay down their
arms and then rejoin the lawful political process.
Although negotiations toward an understanding between the guerrilla
movement and the army have been unsuccessful to date, the Catholic Church has
continued its search for points of agreement that would pave the way toward
dialogue in the near future.
Concerning observance of the right to life during the period covered by
this report, the Commission has observed with genuine concern that, although
they have declined in number, there have continued to be a great many cases of
violations of this human right and forced disappearances of persons have
continued. In connection with this serious problem, the Commission has received
information to the effect that the forced disappearance of persons in Guatemala
has continued, accompanied by the serious and alarming characteristics of this
phenomenon.
An incident that has caused great concern is the massacre that took place
on November 25 in the village of “El Aguacate” in the Department of
Chimaltenango. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights received the first
confirmation from the Guatemalan Mission to the Organization of American States
on November 29, 1988. It told of the murder of a group of 21 Guatemalan peasants
in “El Aguacate,” located four kilometers from the Municipality of San Andrés
Itzapa, in the Department of Chimaltenango. This was a community of 34 related
families with a total population of 168: 38 men, 40 women, and 90 children.
In that report, Dr. Eduardo Meyer Maldonado, the Ambassador of Guatemala
to the OAS, said that on November 22, Carlos Humberto Guerra Callejas, Adjutant
to the Military Commissioner, disappeared on his way to work in the fields. The
following day, the villagers organized a search for him, which was unsuccessful.
On the 24th a more intensive search was conducted by 30 peasants.
They made contact and tried to enter into discussions with the terrorist group,
but were taken at gunpoint. A few of the peasants managed to escape but 20 were
captured, including the community's evangelical minister. Those who escaped
reported the events to the military unit headquarter in Chimaltenango. Carlos
Humberto Guerra Callejas was found dead, and on November 26 three mass graves
containing the tortured and lifeless bodies of the 20 peasants, were located.
In response to this act of genocide that wiped out over one fourth of the
village's adult population, tragically leaving behind 21 widows and 72
fatherless children, on November 30, 1988, the Permanent Council of the
Organization of American States vehemently condemned the aforementioned acts and
expressed its solidarity with the Government and people of Guatemala.
For its part, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is closely
following the investigation being conducted by the appropriate Guatemalan
authorities and by nongovernmental human rights organizations in the hope that
they will throw more light on what actually occurred.
Another problem that has been of ongoing concern to the Commission is the
death campaign. At a press conference called by the Armed Forces on January 19
of this year, Angel Reyes Melgar came forward and identified himself as a former
member of one of the armed insurgent groups, named the Revolutionary
Organization of the People up in Arms (Organización Revolucionaria del Pueblo
en Armas or ORPA). During his presentation, he stated that he had been a
founding member of the Mutual Support Group (Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo or GAM), which
he had joined to locate a brother of his who had disappeared in 1982, and in
which he had served until 1985. At that point, when two of the group's founding
members were murdered, he decided to flee from Guatemala, fearful that he would
meet the same fate. He also said he had continued to represent the GAM abroad
and had received orders directly from the opposition leaders in Mexico, until
finally in January 1989 he turned himself in to the Guatemalan Embassy in Spain
and requested amnesty. He then accused the present of the GAM, Nineth Montenegro
de García, and the founder of the “Runujel Junam” (Council of Indigenous
Communities (Consejo de Comunidades Étnicas “Runujel Junam” or CERJ), Amílcar
Méndez Urizar, of being members of the armed opposition and having been paid
and instructed by opposition leaders to found human rights groups for the
purpose of discrediting Guatemala abroad. He also said the organized labor and
university groups were fronts for guerrilla and other underground groups with
which they maintained contacts, all of which were financed by foreign Marxist
organizations.
Both Nineth de García and Amilcar Méndez replied immediately,
categorically denying the accusations leveled against them and challenging Mr.
Reyes to present evidence to corroborate his claims. The GAM also denied that
Mr. Reyes had been a founding member of the group and that he had been asked to
represent it abroad.
The accusations leveled by Mr. Reyes triggered a dreadful series of grim
death threats in Guatemala, which has not yet come to an end. Among the
individuals targeted by this constant and menacing campaign of threats and
intimidation are Nineth de García of the GAM, the women on the board of
directors of the National Coordinating Group of Guatemalan Widows (Coordinadora
Nacional de Viudas de Guatemala or CONAVIGUA); Amilcar Méndez of the CERJ;
Factor Méndez of the Research and Investigation Center for Human Rights (Centro
de Investigación y Estudios Pro Derechos Humanos or CIEPRODH); father Andrés
Girón, leader of the National Peasant Association for the Land (Asociación
Nacional de Campesinos Pro Tierra or ANC); the Archbishop of Guatemala,
Monsignor Próspero Penados; delegates of the Peace Brigades (Brigadas de Paz)
that work with human rights organizations; many other prominent figures;
practically all the leaders of the country's principal labor organizations,
including the United Workers' and People's Action Unit (Unidad de Acción
Sindical y Popular or UASP), and the Union of Workers of Guatemala (Unión
Sindical de Trabajadores de Guatemala or UNSITRAGUA); the Student Solidarity
Action Unit (Unidad de Acción de Solidaridad Estudiantil or UNASE) of the
University of San Carlos of Guatemala; and several student leaders belonging to
the Executive Student Coordination group (Coordinadora Estudiantil Ejecutiva).
In most of these cases, the threats were made by paramilitary groups or death
squads named “The Faithful One” (“La Dolorosa”), “Wildcat
Executioner” (“Jaguar Justiciero”), and the “Secret Anticommunist
Army” (Ejército Secreto Anticomunista” or ESA): Naturally, this campaign
generated protests from almost all the human rights organizations, which joined
with the threatened individuals in requesting guarantees from the Government and
judicial authorities.
In response to the intimidation campaign, to the steps taken by the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which sent a number of cables
expressing its concern for the lives and safety of those targeted, and to the
widespread protest over the continuation of the campaign, the Government of
President Cerezo has stated that “it is the policy of this government to
investigate any reported incident that might constitute a crime; for that
reason, when it is learned that people are being threatened, even by telephone,
an investigation of the threats begins; and even though the person reporting the
incident usually does not take legal action, the state does so automatically
through the Office of the Public Prosecutor. Thus the agency with jurisdiction
hears the case and orders the investigation according to law. This is the
procedure followed in the cases of Frank La Rue et al., who received protection,
and for whom a lawsuit was filed based on their charges, even though they had
not requested it. The same procedure was followed in the case of the USAC
students and in one other.”
In addition, with regard to the right to life, it is worth mentioning
that at the beginning of the month of August an uncontrollable wave of violence
was unleashed in Guatemala City. The headquarters of the Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo (GAM)
and the peace Brigades were partially destroyed as a result of terrorist attacks
carried out by unidentified persons. University students were kidnapped and the
corpses of two of them were found with marks of torture and evidence of
amputations. The campaign of terror has continued without the possibility of
stopping or controlling it until the time of the adoption of this report.
With regard to the right to personal safety and humane treatment, the
Commission reiterates what was said in its previous report: that it is clearly
not the policy of the Government of Guatemala to encourage, defend, or allow the
torture of detainees. However, during the same period, many detainees stressed
that their captors used extreme police brutality and that detainees are also
psychologically tortured to exact statements from them. But, it cannot be stated
with certainty that the security forces or the army systematically employs
torture, although the treatment of detainees is quite rough and inconsiderate.
Isolated yet repeated cases of torture have been reported to this Commission,
but the use of these methods would seem to be more in response to orders from
military authorities than to general government policy guidelines.
Another reported incident of mistreatment and torture resulted from the
uprising at the “Pavón” prison farm. On March 26, 1989, at 1:00 p.m., a
group of over 200 of the 1,500 common prisoners held there seized control of the
facility. Because it was a Sunday, friends and relatives of prisoners were there
visiting. This incident assumed serious dimensions when the prisoners occupied
the armory and seized over 300 rifles, ammunitions, and other arms. The rioters
burned and destroyed a number of installations at the penal farm and, according
to initial reports, took as hostages several guards and almost 1,000 men, women,
and children who were there to visit prisoners. The rioters asked for better
overall conditions for prisoners, assurances that no reprisals would be taken
against those who participated in the rebellion, removal of the prison's general
manager, a general pardon and reduction of sentences for everyone, among other
concessions.
After a long negotiation process, in which Gonzalo Menéndez de la Riva,
the Attorney General for Human Rights, played a very important and effective
role, this crisis was overcome. It left in its wake serious damage to the
penitentiary, 12 persons dead, and some 20 wounded.
Following these events, the IACHR has received allegations, mostly from
European human rights organizations, denouncing mistreatment, torture, and acts
of reprisal against the protesters. The Government of Guatemala has promised to
investigate these accusations, to take appropriate measures to prevent and
punish abuses, and to issue a report on its findings.
As far as the right to personal liberty is concerned, during the period
covered by this report the first noteworthy case of a curtailment of this right
in Guatemala occurred in November 1988. In response to the recent increase in
Guatemala of common crime, illicit drugs trafficking and bands or gangs of
criminals who attack, abduct, steal from, and perpetrate other criminal acts
against the population, the Government mounted an operation in which the
National Police, the Military Police Patrol, and the Treasury Guard jointly
began to carry out raids and roundups at various public night spots. Despite
avowed good intentions, it seems that these operations have been characterized
by serious abuse, police brutality, and violations of the right to personal
liberty of some of the citizens arrested.
In response, the presidents of the Supreme Court and the Bar Association
of Guatemala, Edmundo Vásquez Martínez and John Schwank, reacted by lodging
vehement protests, which were apparently unsuccessful. The police persisted in
their course of action and police authorities and the Minister of the Interior,
Roberto Valle Valdizán, publicly defended and supported the measures, alleging
that they were necessary and were being used to maintain law and order for the
benefit of the Guatemalan people, as part of the war on crime, in performance of
the duties of those institutions, and in strict compliance with the law and the
Constitution.
Considering that these incidents were obviously eroding the image of
lawfulness and authority of the judicial institutions, the President of the
Supreme Court and of the Judiciary in Guatemala, Dr. Edmundo Vásquez Martínez,
took advantage of a seminar on human rights in Guatemala City to publicly air
his uneasiness, his criticism, and his protest. “Human rights can be an
aspiration, an ideology, a dead letter, a reality, or simple demagoguery,” he
said. “Here in this country, we are slipping into dead legislation and
demagoguery; I say this fully aware of the situation, and I say it with regret,
not to say shame.” “Regretfully, but vehemently, I wish to state for the
record my uneasiness, hear me well, my uneasiness about the actions taken by
some of the government forces, and to promise to focus my efforts on bringing
about a change in that situation. Under no circumstances, understand me, under
no circumstances would it make sense to remain in a situation in which, removed
from reality, we get wrapped up in that very dangerous game where, on the
pretext of providing the people with security, fundamental human rights are lost
and, above all, the right to personal liberty and dignity is violated.”
The Government of Guatemala immediately suspended the raids and issued
the following conciliatory public statement: “When activities were initiated
by the SIPROCI (Civil Protection System, in which the Army, the National Police,
and the National Guard participate in effective joint action against all
criminal activity, whether it be of a common nature or provoked by the
subversive groups that take advantage of the democratic climate of absolute
freedom and respect for human rights), some errors were made in interpreting the
procedures. But those mistakes were corrected and they have been instrumental in
efforts to achieve effective coordination between the security forces and the
judiciary to allow proper vigilance by judicial authorities, with due respect
for the separation of powers that must be maintained in any democratic system,
in order to prevent any future mistakes on the part of the security forces.”
In a separate incident, but also in connection with the same right to
personal liberty, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has been
informed of the detention of several people who, although all constitutional
guarantees are fully in force, claim to have been the victims of arbitrary
arrests by members of the security forces, in plain clothes but heavily armed,
who broke into their homes, detained them, and took them to police stations in
vehicles with tinted glass, without license plates to identify them, where the
individuals were held longer than allowed under the Constitution and the law.
As far as the administration of justice is concerned, it should be noted
that a coordination effort between the Executive and the Judiciary has resulted
in a circular being sent to all police units, effective as of this August,
instructing them of their obligation to report to the Central Detainee Control
Registry, by either telephone or cable, the detention of any person, even if
that individual is turned over to the competent judicial authorities within the
time limit prescribed by law.
The Commission has also been informed that special instructions have been
issued to the respective military bases in Guatemala to ensure that record
maintenance in the Registry is effective and efficient. This puts an end to the
restrictions that limited the records exclusively to those persons who were
turned over to the courts, and not to those detained by police, security, or
armed forces. Henceforth, the name of anyone detained in Guatemalan territory,
regardless of the authority that carries out the arrest, must be immediately
reported to the Registry. This will allow the families to investigate and obtain
information on the place, motives, and circumstances of the arrest.
In relation to the processing of petitions for habeas corpus, the
Commission is also heartened to report on yet another letter circulated by the
Supreme Court whereby, in response to IACHR recommendations, judges throughout
the republic are instructed that when a petition for habeas corpus is denied
because the person presumed to be missing cannot be located or is not found in
detention, an investigation of the disappearance of that person must be
initiated immediately; that is, a procedure must be set in motion to determine
the whereabouts of the missing individual. This means that even though a
petition for habeas corpus is denied, the case is not closed at that point, but
rather a judicial investigation of the matter is initiated.
Noteworthy among educational activities to promote human rights is the
outreach and instruction campaign aimed at the children and youth of Guatemala,
in the form of a children's edition of the new Constitution of Guatemala. It was
prepared by Dr. Eduardo Meyer Maldonado during his term of office as Minister of
Education, and is a veritable model in the field. Also, the Guatemalan army has
incorporated into its military studies curricula courses on human rights and
seminars of the International Committee of the Red Cross on humanitarian law and
related subjects. The government has also promoted programs to institute the
observance of human rights in all its ministries and other departments.
Concerning the right to freedom of thought and expression, the Government
of Guatemala has reported that this point, which was under question last year,
is no longer at issue, inasmuch as no complaints have been received so far this
year in regard to this matter.
Another positive development observed during the period covered by this
report concerns the prosecution and punishment of members of the security forces
responsible for abductions, disappearances, and other violations of human
rights. In fact, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has been informed
that in response to the abduction, subsequent disappearance, and murder of
Danilo Sergio Alvarado Mejía, who was found dead on October 17, 1987, at 7th
Street and 13th Avenue, Zona 3, in Quetzeltenango, and of René
Aroldo Leiva Cayax, who was found dead on October 19, 1987, at 12th
Avenue 7-49, Zone 1, also in Quetzaltenango, investigations were conducted by
agents of the Narcotics Brigade of the National Police and, with the aid of
eyewitnesses and scientific evidence, the perpetrators of the crime were
identified. They were all agents of the National Police of Quetzaltenango:
Catalino Esteban Valiente Alonso, Cristóbal Antonio Martínez Flores, Eulalio
Cabrera Cabrera, José Luis Ordóñez de León, Daniel Flores Téllez, and
Braulio Ervilio Velásquez Rodas. Based on the results of the investigation,
these individuals were arrested on December 3, 1987, at 10:00 a.m. inside the
building occupied by the General Directorate of the National Police, fired from
that institution, and turned over to the Thirteenth Criminal Court of Justice by
means of document number 3174/EGG of December 3, 1987, for prosecution and
punishment commensurate to their actions.
In short, in the opinion of the Commission, progress has been made in the
promotion of human rights and some advances have been made in the legal area,
however, in practice, these advances did not produce the expected results. The
forced disappearances of persons have continued, and the disappearance of 13
student leaders last August has caused a great deal of concern.
Notwithstanding the efforts undertaken by the civilian authorities, in
order for human rights to be adequately protected in Guatemala the military and
police must be subordinated to the judicial authorities. The Judicial branch
must be strengthened in Guatemala for human rights to be strengthened. In the
opinion of the Commission, one should not fail in the trap of combating violence
with violence. Only the correct application of law by judicial tribunals can be
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