Friends, donations are urgently needed to support hundreds of children under 5 years old who are fighting hunger after over 1,000 of Guatemala´s US-sponsored police and soldiers burned hundreds of houses and destroyed over a thousand acres of basic grains in the Polochic Valley. Emergency food supplies are being delivered to the families, but due to the sudden lack of shelter and sanitation, many children are now infested with worms.
The GSP (GuatemalaSolidarityProject.org) is working with CUC (the Committee of Peasant Unity) to help purchase medicine and organize trainings in natural medicine.
To make a donation, write a check to UPAVIM Community Development Foundation, write the words ¨Polochic Valley¨ in the memo/notes section, and mail it to UPAVIM, c/o Amanda Legare, PO Box 63, Marshfield, VT 05658
On March 15, 2011, the Guatemalan government began a series of violent evictions of indigenous q`eqchi` communities in northeastern Guatemala. The purpose was to clear the land in order to produce biofuel.
The government says that these were nonviolent evictions, and that the military did not participate. Fortunately a friend of mine was able to videotape some of the evictions and bring the truth to light. He was choked during the filming, but still managed to hang on to the camera. He helped create an eight minute film with the video which can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Diet3aFPUI There is some Spanish in the film, but the images tell the story.
The land was primarily being used to grow corn, beans and other subsistence crops which families were dependent on for survival. Hundreds of acres of crops were chopped down. When some families returned weeks later to tend to a section corn that had not been destroyed, they were attacked by paramilitaries who shot at them and threw grenades from a helicopter. Three community leaders have been killed, including respected activist and midwife Maria Margarita Che Chub who was assassinated on June 4 in front of her children.
The IACR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) has ordered the Guatemalan government to protect the livelihood of the evicted families, including guaranteeing that they have food and shelter. Back in May I met with members of the IACR in Washington along with Aparicio Perez of CUC and representatives of Rights Action and the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission.
Now the government is claiming in courts that they are providing families with food, but I have been in the area and know that this is not true. To the contrary, the government has threatened those who are supporting the communities. Soldiers recently told one nearby community that if they continue to give food aid to the evicted families, they would be considered guerrillas.
The evicted families are living with hunger and without shelter just as Guatemala`s rainy season kicks in. CUC has mobilized emergency food aid, but living without shelter or sanitation has meant that the majority of children are infested with worms. This has worsened the problem of chronic malnutrition, and made the food aid less effective.
Community representatives have asked us to support the purchase of medicines to combat these infestations. We will also be joining them in organizing trainings about using natural medicines.
Worms contribute significantly to childhood malnutrition, anemia, stunted physical and mental development, and sometimes death. Please make a contribution in support of life. All funds will go directly to communities under attack, and none will be used for GSP salaries or administrative costs.
To make a donation, write a check to UPAVIM Community Development Foundation, write the words ¨Polochic Valley¨ in the memo/notes section, and mail it to UPAVIM, c/o Amanda Legare, PO Box 63, Marshfield, VT 05658
martes, 12 de julio de 2011
sábado, 12 de febrero de 2011
Why I’m Joining the Fast for Ramiro Choc
*To sign the petition to free Ramiro Choc and to learn more about him: http://www.change.org/petitions/free_qeqchi_leader_and_political_prisoner_ramiro_choc
*To join the fast for Ramiro Choc send an email to: solidaridadguatemala@yahoo.com
“We express ourselves through loving nature, loving life, loving humans, loving the past, loving the present, loving the future… I, like other comrades who suffer judicial persecution, try to defend humanity. In its entirety, not just the indigenous or garifuna, but all human beings. This is our ultimate goal.”
-Ramiro Choc
Anyone who knows me knows that if I am good at anything, it is eating. I am always happy to try something new and go for seconds.. and thirds.. in Guatemala or the US. So my friends know I'm serious if I say I'm planning to fast in support of the freedom of q’eqchi’ leader and political prisoner Ramiro Choc. But why stop eating when it seemingly has no direct connection to the Guatemalan justice system, and why do it for the freedom of Ramiro Choc?
The fast is part of a diversity of actions organized at an international level to pressure for Ramiro’s freedom. Fasting is directly linked to Ramiro’s struggle. The majority of q’eqchi’ children do not get enough nutrition and are in danger of starvation. There land is stolen and used to sell unnecessary luxuries to people with more money than them. Fasting in solidarity with Ramiro is a way of exposing and rejecting this system.
Some criticize fasting by saying it does not directly confront those in power, or that it is a tool of the weak. Power only concedes to power they say, and fasting doesn’t build power. The last time I participated in a fast was in 2004, after the United States overthrew Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The criticism of the fast was so strong that since then I have not employed such tactics. But Ramiro has made me realize that these criticisms are wrong. A fast, like much of Ramiro’s organizing, does more than challenge those in power. It challenges those fasting to question their very participation in systems of domination. Certainly we can not ignore power dynamics, and Ramiro is acutely aware of who the decision makers are and how to influence them. But Ramiro also refuses to play the game. He challenges us to not only confront power, but to turn the entire system on its head.
Not spending money on food during the fast can also allow that money to go to good use, such as supporting Ramiro’s legal defense – or as he has recommended, to make donations to pay a q’eqchi’ leader a minimal salary to work with indigenous communities to recuperate ancestral knowledge that has been stolen by national and international armed forces.
Fasting can also help facilitate meditation and reflection. Fasting is a part of many cultures and spiritual belief systems. Ramiro applied himself to study various cultures and religions and has emphasized the need for reflection in his organizing. Capitalism has produced culture which doesn’t value reflection, and I often find myself falling into the same habit of rushing through my days trying to accomplish what I think I need to accomplish without truly reflecting on what I’m doing. Ramiro challenges us to leave this system of mindless consumption, of allowing everything to be privatized and become a path to profit, of allowing cultures and ecosystems to be destroyed in the name of development.
Ramiro’s focus on process, on means as an ends, has helped him survive intense tragedies. His parents were born slaves, and as a child he watched countless bodies, victims of the US-supported “scorched earth policy,” float down the Polochic river. As he grew to prominence as a leader, he survived numerous assassination attempts. He still has scars on his neck showing where bullets came within inches from ending his life. He survived being “arrested” three years ago by the military, taken to a remote location, and then spending approximately six months in isolation. After this he had to hear of the brutal murders of two of his closest friends – Mario Caal Bolom, who according to government reports was tortured to death by the Guatemalan police; and Alfredo Ich, who was murdered and mutilated by the security of a multinational nickel corporation. All the while the mainstream press painted Ramiro to be an evil person, a drug trafficker, a thief. Ramiro has been able to keep his sanity, his focus and his drive throughout all of this not because of his significant power analysis, eloquence or organizational ability. He has been able to continue because of his steady emphasis on reflection, discipline, and spiritual health.
So beginning on February 14, I will fast for Ramiro Choc. I will fast because I know it is one of many tools which will expose the absurdity of his imprisonment and the system he organizes against. But I will also fast for me, and because I know that it is a way to liberate myself from this disgusting system of capitalism, greed and violence which we are born into. I invite you to join me.
*To join the fast for Ramiro Choc send an email to: solidaridadguatemala@yahoo.com
“We express ourselves through loving nature, loving life, loving humans, loving the past, loving the present, loving the future… I, like other comrades who suffer judicial persecution, try to defend humanity. In its entirety, not just the indigenous or garifuna, but all human beings. This is our ultimate goal.”
-Ramiro Choc
Anyone who knows me knows that if I am good at anything, it is eating. I am always happy to try something new and go for seconds.. and thirds.. in Guatemala or the US. So my friends know I'm serious if I say I'm planning to fast in support of the freedom of q’eqchi’ leader and political prisoner Ramiro Choc. But why stop eating when it seemingly has no direct connection to the Guatemalan justice system, and why do it for the freedom of Ramiro Choc?
The fast is part of a diversity of actions organized at an international level to pressure for Ramiro’s freedom. Fasting is directly linked to Ramiro’s struggle. The majority of q’eqchi’ children do not get enough nutrition and are in danger of starvation. There land is stolen and used to sell unnecessary luxuries to people with more money than them. Fasting in solidarity with Ramiro is a way of exposing and rejecting this system.
Some criticize fasting by saying it does not directly confront those in power, or that it is a tool of the weak. Power only concedes to power they say, and fasting doesn’t build power. The last time I participated in a fast was in 2004, after the United States overthrew Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The criticism of the fast was so strong that since then I have not employed such tactics. But Ramiro has made me realize that these criticisms are wrong. A fast, like much of Ramiro’s organizing, does more than challenge those in power. It challenges those fasting to question their very participation in systems of domination. Certainly we can not ignore power dynamics, and Ramiro is acutely aware of who the decision makers are and how to influence them. But Ramiro also refuses to play the game. He challenges us to not only confront power, but to turn the entire system on its head.
Not spending money on food during the fast can also allow that money to go to good use, such as supporting Ramiro’s legal defense – or as he has recommended, to make donations to pay a q’eqchi’ leader a minimal salary to work with indigenous communities to recuperate ancestral knowledge that has been stolen by national and international armed forces.
Fasting can also help facilitate meditation and reflection. Fasting is a part of many cultures and spiritual belief systems. Ramiro applied himself to study various cultures and religions and has emphasized the need for reflection in his organizing. Capitalism has produced culture which doesn’t value reflection, and I often find myself falling into the same habit of rushing through my days trying to accomplish what I think I need to accomplish without truly reflecting on what I’m doing. Ramiro challenges us to leave this system of mindless consumption, of allowing everything to be privatized and become a path to profit, of allowing cultures and ecosystems to be destroyed in the name of development.
Ramiro’s focus on process, on means as an ends, has helped him survive intense tragedies. His parents were born slaves, and as a child he watched countless bodies, victims of the US-supported “scorched earth policy,” float down the Polochic river. As he grew to prominence as a leader, he survived numerous assassination attempts. He still has scars on his neck showing where bullets came within inches from ending his life. He survived being “arrested” three years ago by the military, taken to a remote location, and then spending approximately six months in isolation. After this he had to hear of the brutal murders of two of his closest friends – Mario Caal Bolom, who according to government reports was tortured to death by the Guatemalan police; and Alfredo Ich, who was murdered and mutilated by the security of a multinational nickel corporation. All the while the mainstream press painted Ramiro to be an evil person, a drug trafficker, a thief. Ramiro has been able to keep his sanity, his focus and his drive throughout all of this not because of his significant power analysis, eloquence or organizational ability. He has been able to continue because of his steady emphasis on reflection, discipline, and spiritual health.
So beginning on February 14, I will fast for Ramiro Choc. I will fast because I know it is one of many tools which will expose the absurdity of his imprisonment and the system he organizes against. But I will also fast for me, and because I know that it is a way to liberate myself from this disgusting system of capitalism, greed and violence which we are born into. I invite you to join me.
miércoles, 26 de mayo de 2010
Action Needed TODAY to Free Imprisoned Community Leaders in Guatemala
Action Needed TODAY to Free Imprisoned Community Leaders in Guatemala
Emails/Calls needed before hearing on Thursday, May 27
(Read the following background or skip to the bottom to take action)
May 26, 2010. Coban, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
www.guatemalasolidarityproject.org
The rural community of Saquimo Setana in Coban, Guatemala is asking for actions in solidarity to free three community leaders who have spent the past month in prison on trumped-up charges.
Oscar Manuel Xol, Jesus Yat and Alvaro Barahona Xol Pop were arrested on charges of stealing land. They have lived on the land they allegedly stole for over 20 years, and even have legal documentation proving they purchased the land communally with other families in 1989.
The authorities are supporting the recent claim to the land by a wealthy land owner who owns at least seven large estates in the area. She has no legal documents supporting her claim. She does have money to pay off government officials, which she has been accused of doing. But it might not take much. The government is already supporting multinational corporations and local elite in a systematic campaign of repression against leaders of the Committee of Peasant Unity (CUC), which the community belongs to.
“We believe that these actions are part of the criminalization and persecution of communities that struggle in defense of their legitimate rights,” CUC announced in a recent statement.
The Judge who issued the arrest warrants, as well as an order to evict the community, was himself arrested two weeks later on suspicion of corruption. This occurred after he ordered the release of several members of the Zetas, the armed branch of a leading Mexican drug cartel with strong ties to the US Army School of the Americas (www.soaw.org) and the Mexican Army. The four Zetas had been arrested after a long, violent confrontation with police that left several dead. The Judge ordered that numerous charges be dropped against the group, and released them on a minimal 5,000 quetzal (approximately $620) fine. Meanwhile the three peasant leaders continue to be in prison without bail. The government’s prosecutor is asking for a multi-year prison sentence.
“The police were wearing plain clothes and were driving unmarked vehicles,” explained Jose Acte, a regional leader with CUC. “The comrades didn’t know if they were being kidnapped or arrested. Now they are being held without bail and without any easy way to get out.”
“My grandchildren want to eat, but their father is imprisoned,” said Rosario Pop, Mother of one of the three arrested leaders. “The government is never supporting us… they are helping the same rich people, and never supporting communities like ours.”
On Friday, May 14, Guatemalan State Prosecutor Sebastian Cucul solicited an investigation into the history of the land to determine the current legal status and owner. Despite this admission of being unsure of who the real owners of the land are, he is still demanding that community leaders be arrested for “stealing” the land. The community has a well established ownership of the land, besides having legal documents they have dozens of houses, communal areas, a church, soccer field, developed land for various crops, even an official school with a government teacher.
TAKE ACTION
Peasant leaders are asking for calls and emails to be made to several officials. The most important is the Judge who will be presiding Thursday’s hearing. The judge’s email address is esay@oj.gov.gt IMPORTANT: PLEASE ALSO CC: solidaridadguatemala@yahoo.com,stuand_wckr@yahoo.com,gobernadoraltaverapaz@gmail.org,fdaltaverapaz@mp.gob.gt,mpcoban@hotmail.com
Below is a sample letter in Spanish, or create your own message. If you do not read Spanish you can still copy and paste the below letter into your email. You need only replace where it says “???NAME???” with your name and where it says “???LOCATION???” with your location and it is ready to send. Below the Spanish letter is the English translation so that you know what you are sending. For more information or to take further action, visit www.guatemalasolidarityproject.com/actions.htm
**
Al Juez Primero de Primera Instancia Penal, Narcoactividad y Delitos Contra el Ambiente de Alta Verapaz, Cobán,
Mi nombre es ???NAME??? y soy de ???LOCATION???. Estoy escribiendo con mucha preocupación sobre el caso de la comunidad Saquimo Setana con No. de expediente 283/2009/938. Me he enterado que los señores Jesus Yat, Álvaro Barahona Xol Pop y Oscar Manuel Xol ya tienen más de un mes en la cárcel a pesar de que las pruebas no son suficientes para seguirlos en detención.
A estos señores se les están acusando de usurpación pero es de conocimiento público que la comunidad ya tiene más de 20 años de vivir en esa localidad y que ellos compraron la tierra con su propia dinero. Hasta que hay una escuela oficial rural mixta reconocida por el estado dentro de la comunidad. El mismo fiscal Sebastian Cucul que está pidiendo la encarcelación de los miembros de la comunidad también está solicitando un estudio para aclarar quienes son realmente los dueños de la comunidad. ¿Por qué no hicieron la investigación primero, antes de detener estos tres señores?
Parece que el fiscal está colaborando con la Sra. Senora Maria Elena Garcia Ical por motivos extrajudiciales. Ella no ha mostrado ningún título ni reclamo legitimo de ese terreno. Aún más, el juez quien ordenó las detenciones ahora está suspendido por varios delitos, incluso que él liberó a un grupo de Zetas quienes son narcotraficantes, terroristas y asesinos pero ordenó la captura injusta de los tres campesinos. Es claro que el juez anterior es parte de la corrupción que muchas veces ha debilitado el sistema judicial de Guatemala. La acción siguiente en el caso, la cual corresponde a Ud. Señor Juez, mostrará ante el mundo si Ud. es honorable o no.
Exijo la libertad inmediata a los tres señores, exijo que retiren los ordenes de captura existentes, exijo que retiren el orden de desalojo y que hagan estudios con base legal y no con base corrupto para aclarar la situación. Los señores no son criminales, son líderes comunitarios que sostienen sus familias y apoyan el desarrollo de su comunidad.
Gracias por su fina atención y espero su acción puntual.
**
My name is ???NAME??? and I am from ???LOCATION???. I am writing with much worry about the cae of the community Saquimo Setana and the expedient # 283/2009/938. I understand that Jesus Yat, Álvaro Barahona Xol Pop andOscar Manuel Xol have been in prison for over a month without sufficent evidence against them.
The men are being accused of having stolen land but the community has lived in their land for over 20 years and bought the land with their own money. There is even an official school recognized by the government in the community. The same prosecutor who is asking for the imprisonment of community members is also soliciting a study to clarify who are the real owners of the community. It’s good that they do an investigation, but why did the capture the men first and do the investigation after?
It appears to me that the prosecutor is colaborating with Mrs. Maria Elena Garcia Ical for reasons that are not legal. She has not demonstrated any land title with her name. Even the same judge who ordered the arrests is now suspended for various crimes. It is clear that the judge is corrupt. He freed a group of Zetas that are drug traffickers, terrorists and murderers but he ordered the capture of the three who are not criminals. Your action, Mr. Judge, will show us if you also are corrupt.
I demand that the three men be freed immidiately, that the arrest warrants be canceled, that the eviction order be cencalled and that legal studies and not corrupt studies be done to clarify the situation. The men are not criminals, they are comunity leaders that want to feed their children and support their neighbors.
Thank you for your attention.
Emails/Calls needed before hearing on Thursday, May 27
(Read the following background or skip to the bottom to take action)
May 26, 2010. Coban, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
www.guatemalasolidarityproject.org
The rural community of Saquimo Setana in Coban, Guatemala is asking for actions in solidarity to free three community leaders who have spent the past month in prison on trumped-up charges.
Oscar Manuel Xol, Jesus Yat and Alvaro Barahona Xol Pop were arrested on charges of stealing land. They have lived on the land they allegedly stole for over 20 years, and even have legal documentation proving they purchased the land communally with other families in 1989.
The authorities are supporting the recent claim to the land by a wealthy land owner who owns at least seven large estates in the area. She has no legal documents supporting her claim. She does have money to pay off government officials, which she has been accused of doing. But it might not take much. The government is already supporting multinational corporations and local elite in a systematic campaign of repression against leaders of the Committee of Peasant Unity (CUC), which the community belongs to.
“We believe that these actions are part of the criminalization and persecution of communities that struggle in defense of their legitimate rights,” CUC announced in a recent statement.
The Judge who issued the arrest warrants, as well as an order to evict the community, was himself arrested two weeks later on suspicion of corruption. This occurred after he ordered the release of several members of the Zetas, the armed branch of a leading Mexican drug cartel with strong ties to the US Army School of the Americas (www.soaw.org) and the Mexican Army. The four Zetas had been arrested after a long, violent confrontation with police that left several dead. The Judge ordered that numerous charges be dropped against the group, and released them on a minimal 5,000 quetzal (approximately $620) fine. Meanwhile the three peasant leaders continue to be in prison without bail. The government’s prosecutor is asking for a multi-year prison sentence.
“The police were wearing plain clothes and were driving unmarked vehicles,” explained Jose Acte, a regional leader with CUC. “The comrades didn’t know if they were being kidnapped or arrested. Now they are being held without bail and without any easy way to get out.”
“My grandchildren want to eat, but their father is imprisoned,” said Rosario Pop, Mother of one of the three arrested leaders. “The government is never supporting us… they are helping the same rich people, and never supporting communities like ours.”
On Friday, May 14, Guatemalan State Prosecutor Sebastian Cucul solicited an investigation into the history of the land to determine the current legal status and owner. Despite this admission of being unsure of who the real owners of the land are, he is still demanding that community leaders be arrested for “stealing” the land. The community has a well established ownership of the land, besides having legal documents they have dozens of houses, communal areas, a church, soccer field, developed land for various crops, even an official school with a government teacher.
TAKE ACTION
Peasant leaders are asking for calls and emails to be made to several officials. The most important is the Judge who will be presiding Thursday’s hearing. The judge’s email address is esay@oj.gov.gt IMPORTANT: PLEASE ALSO CC: solidaridadguatemala@yahoo.com,stuand_wckr@yahoo.com,gobernadoraltaverapaz@gmail.org,fdaltaverapaz@mp.gob.gt,mpcoban@hotmail.com
Below is a sample letter in Spanish, or create your own message. If you do not read Spanish you can still copy and paste the below letter into your email. You need only replace where it says “???NAME???” with your name and where it says “???LOCATION???” with your location and it is ready to send. Below the Spanish letter is the English translation so that you know what you are sending. For more information or to take further action, visit www.guatemalasolidarityproject.com/actions.htm
**
Al Juez Primero de Primera Instancia Penal, Narcoactividad y Delitos Contra el Ambiente de Alta Verapaz, Cobán,
Mi nombre es ???NAME??? y soy de ???LOCATION???. Estoy escribiendo con mucha preocupación sobre el caso de la comunidad Saquimo Setana con No. de expediente 283/2009/938. Me he enterado que los señores Jesus Yat, Álvaro Barahona Xol Pop y Oscar Manuel Xol ya tienen más de un mes en la cárcel a pesar de que las pruebas no son suficientes para seguirlos en detención.
A estos señores se les están acusando de usurpación pero es de conocimiento público que la comunidad ya tiene más de 20 años de vivir en esa localidad y que ellos compraron la tierra con su propia dinero. Hasta que hay una escuela oficial rural mixta reconocida por el estado dentro de la comunidad. El mismo fiscal Sebastian Cucul que está pidiendo la encarcelación de los miembros de la comunidad también está solicitando un estudio para aclarar quienes son realmente los dueños de la comunidad. ¿Por qué no hicieron la investigación primero, antes de detener estos tres señores?
Parece que el fiscal está colaborando con la Sra. Senora Maria Elena Garcia Ical por motivos extrajudiciales. Ella no ha mostrado ningún título ni reclamo legitimo de ese terreno. Aún más, el juez quien ordenó las detenciones ahora está suspendido por varios delitos, incluso que él liberó a un grupo de Zetas quienes son narcotraficantes, terroristas y asesinos pero ordenó la captura injusta de los tres campesinos. Es claro que el juez anterior es parte de la corrupción que muchas veces ha debilitado el sistema judicial de Guatemala. La acción siguiente en el caso, la cual corresponde a Ud. Señor Juez, mostrará ante el mundo si Ud. es honorable o no.
Exijo la libertad inmediata a los tres señores, exijo que retiren los ordenes de captura existentes, exijo que retiren el orden de desalojo y que hagan estudios con base legal y no con base corrupto para aclarar la situación. Los señores no son criminales, son líderes comunitarios que sostienen sus familias y apoyan el desarrollo de su comunidad.
Gracias por su fina atención y espero su acción puntual.
**
My name is ???NAME??? and I am from ???LOCATION???. I am writing with much worry about the cae of the community Saquimo Setana and the expedient # 283/2009/938. I understand that Jesus Yat, Álvaro Barahona Xol Pop andOscar Manuel Xol have been in prison for over a month without sufficent evidence against them.
The men are being accused of having stolen land but the community has lived in their land for over 20 years and bought the land with their own money. There is even an official school recognized by the government in the community. The same prosecutor who is asking for the imprisonment of community members is also soliciting a study to clarify who are the real owners of the community. It’s good that they do an investigation, but why did the capture the men first and do the investigation after?
It appears to me that the prosecutor is colaborating with Mrs. Maria Elena Garcia Ical for reasons that are not legal. She has not demonstrated any land title with her name. Even the same judge who ordered the arrests is now suspended for various crimes. It is clear that the judge is corrupt. He freed a group of Zetas that are drug traffickers, terrorists and murderers but he ordered the capture of the three who are not criminals. Your action, Mr. Judge, will show us if you also are corrupt.
I demand that the three men be freed immidiately, that the arrest warrants be canceled, that the eviction order be cencalled and that legal studies and not corrupt studies be done to clarify the situation. The men are not criminals, they are comunity leaders that want to feed their children and support their neighbors.
Thank you for your attention.
lunes, 14 de diciembre de 2009
URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Hypocritical arrest warrant issued against Guatemalan peasant leader
(Read the following background or skip to the bottom for sample letters in English and Spanish)
My reaction upon first meeting Herculano Luc was similar to that of so many others who have met him. It became immediately clear that he was an articulate leader who was not afraid to speak truth to power. If the government of Guatemala supported its own people, he could play a key role in changing the fact that the majority of Mayan children are undernourished. Instead, he is seen as a threat for being an intelligent Mayan man working in support of the people. For this reason he has been targeted by the government, which last week issued an arrest warrant against him for supposedly organizing his community to invade and steal the land they live on – even though they did not invade it but in fact have lived their for generations.
While repression against Mayan leaders is increasingly common in Guatemala, there is something that makes this arrest warrant unusual and gives me the hope that if you take a few minutes to take the below action we might help cancel the arrest warrant. The reason is that two major institutions of the Guatemalan government, CONAP (National Council of Protected Areas) and INAB (Forest Service of Guatemala), have recognized the community´s historic right to their land. In fact Herculano was in Guatemala City negotiating with government representatives the same day that the arrest order went out.
Herculano Luc was born in and continues to live in the small community of Michbilrixpu, north of Coban, Guatemala. The community was located outside of the Lake Lechua National Park until the 1990s when the state amplified the size of the park and annexed the community. While the Guatemalan Constitution requires the government to find another property for the community before evicting them, they did not do this. Instead they sent police to violently evict families from the community on numerous occasions. For example on May 22, 2004, over 150 police entered the community and destroyed houses and crops. They used machetes to destroy basic tin roofs to render them forever unusable. They burned the community´s harvest of nearly 2,000 pounds of dried beans. They cut down acres of cardamom. Because the community is a difficult four hour walk from the nearest road, it was easy for them to return to their land. They had to start over each time they did, but they had no other place to go.
Finally the government ceased the evictions, recognized the community´s right to exist, and entered negotiations with the community to find a new territory. In November the government took community leaders to see a nearby vacant estate that they were considering offering the community. Last Thursday they met with community leaders in Guatemala City to continue negotiations.
That´s why last week´s arrest warrant came as such a surprise. Some have suggested it is evidence of the ineptitude of the Guatemalan government and the fact that the PGN (Attorney General) and MP (similar to the FBI), which issued the arrest warrant, are not in contact with CONAP and INAB. Much more likely Herculano is simply being targeted as part of the government`s systematic repression against Mayan leaders.
There is an opportunity here for us to call out the government for its hypocrisy and perhaps force them to cancel the arrest warrant. Leaders in Guatemala are organizing in defense of Herculano, and international pressure will give this struggle a boost. Last night Herculano called me, fighting back tears, and asking how he is going to feed his children. Herculano Luc should be supported as a dynamic leader who can create an alternative Guatemala where all people have enough to eat and all cultures are respected. He should not be hiding in a remote village away from home, wondering how his children are.
Please take a few minutes to send the below letter to Guatemalan authorities. You can send it as is or, better yet, make it more personal. It is very easy and we have seen this strategy work in the past.
Send to: licsaullopez@hotmail.com,nslopez@mp.gob.gt
Asunto: Orden de captura para Herculano Luc debe ser retirado
Estimado Licenciado Lopez,
Me he enterado que la semana pasada se instituyó una orden de captura en contra del ciudadano guatemalteco Herculano Luc en relación al conflicto de tierras de la comunidad de Michibilrixpu, municipalidad de Cobán, departamento de Alta Verapaz. Según mi propio conocimiento del caso y del señor Luc considero que este hecho es un error grave y le solicito respetuosamente que investigue y que retire la orden.
El señor Luc ha trabajado durante años en busca de una solución al conflicto de tierras en su comunidad. Como resultado de su trabajo, la comunidad está actualmente negociando con CONAP y INAB para buscar nuevos terrenos en donde pueda vivir la comunidad. Las familias de Michbilrixpu llevan generaciones en sus terrenos actuales pero estos terrenos fueron anexados como parte de la expansión del parque nacional Laguna La Chua. Por cumplir con su deber de ubicarlos en otros terrenos antes de desalojarlos, el gobierno nacional está negociando con la comunidad.
No se debe permitir la hipocresía del gobierno que de un lado reconoce los derechos del pueblo para existir y negociar una solución, y de otro lado los califica como "invasores" y emite orden de captura en contra de uno de sus líderes. ¿Será que el MP y la PGN no comunican con los del CONAP y INAB? Herculano Luc no es un criminal, el es un hombre quien trabaja para mejorar la vida de su pueblo. ¿Acaso eso es la meta del MP y PGN?
Voy a mantenerme al día con este caso y espero que Ud. pueda trabajar para corregir esta equivocación seria lo más pronto posible.
Atentamente,
Please take a few minutes to send the below letter to Guatemalan authorities. You can send it as is or, better yet, make it more personal. It is very easy and we have seen this strategy work in the past.
Send to: licsaullopez@hotmail.com,nslopez@mp.gob.gt
Subject: Arrest warrant against Herculano Luc needs to be cancelled
Dear Licensiado Lopez,
It has come to my attention that last week an arrest warrant was ordered against Herculano Luc in relation to the land conflict of the community Michbilrixpu of Coban. I consider this arrest warrant to be a grave error and ask that you work to immediately have it canceled.
Luc has worked hard for years to bring a solution to the land conflict in his community. As a result of his work, the community is negotiating with CONAP and INAB to find a new terrain for community members to live in. The families living in Michbilrixpu had resided there for decades before the government expanded the Lake Lechua National Park. The government is required to find them other land to live in before evicting them, and that is why the community is in negotiation with the government.
It is completely unacceptable and hypocritical that the government of Guatemala on the one hand recognizes the community´s right to exist and negotiates an end to the land conflict with them and on the other hand issues an arrest warrant against one of its leaders as an ¨invader.¨ Does the MP and PGN communicate with CONAP and INAB? Herculano Luc is not a criminal, he is a man who is working to improve the quality of life for people in his community. Shouldn’t this also be the goal of the MP and PGN?
I will be closely monitoring this case and hope that you will work to correct this horrible mistake as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
My reaction upon first meeting Herculano Luc was similar to that of so many others who have met him. It became immediately clear that he was an articulate leader who was not afraid to speak truth to power. If the government of Guatemala supported its own people, he could play a key role in changing the fact that the majority of Mayan children are undernourished. Instead, he is seen as a threat for being an intelligent Mayan man working in support of the people. For this reason he has been targeted by the government, which last week issued an arrest warrant against him for supposedly organizing his community to invade and steal the land they live on – even though they did not invade it but in fact have lived their for generations.
While repression against Mayan leaders is increasingly common in Guatemala, there is something that makes this arrest warrant unusual and gives me the hope that if you take a few minutes to take the below action we might help cancel the arrest warrant. The reason is that two major institutions of the Guatemalan government, CONAP (National Council of Protected Areas) and INAB (Forest Service of Guatemala), have recognized the community´s historic right to their land. In fact Herculano was in Guatemala City negotiating with government representatives the same day that the arrest order went out.
Herculano Luc was born in and continues to live in the small community of Michbilrixpu, north of Coban, Guatemala. The community was located outside of the Lake Lechua National Park until the 1990s when the state amplified the size of the park and annexed the community. While the Guatemalan Constitution requires the government to find another property for the community before evicting them, they did not do this. Instead they sent police to violently evict families from the community on numerous occasions. For example on May 22, 2004, over 150 police entered the community and destroyed houses and crops. They used machetes to destroy basic tin roofs to render them forever unusable. They burned the community´s harvest of nearly 2,000 pounds of dried beans. They cut down acres of cardamom. Because the community is a difficult four hour walk from the nearest road, it was easy for them to return to their land. They had to start over each time they did, but they had no other place to go.
Finally the government ceased the evictions, recognized the community´s right to exist, and entered negotiations with the community to find a new territory. In November the government took community leaders to see a nearby vacant estate that they were considering offering the community. Last Thursday they met with community leaders in Guatemala City to continue negotiations.
That´s why last week´s arrest warrant came as such a surprise. Some have suggested it is evidence of the ineptitude of the Guatemalan government and the fact that the PGN (Attorney General) and MP (similar to the FBI), which issued the arrest warrant, are not in contact with CONAP and INAB. Much more likely Herculano is simply being targeted as part of the government`s systematic repression against Mayan leaders.
There is an opportunity here for us to call out the government for its hypocrisy and perhaps force them to cancel the arrest warrant. Leaders in Guatemala are organizing in defense of Herculano, and international pressure will give this struggle a boost. Last night Herculano called me, fighting back tears, and asking how he is going to feed his children. Herculano Luc should be supported as a dynamic leader who can create an alternative Guatemala where all people have enough to eat and all cultures are respected. He should not be hiding in a remote village away from home, wondering how his children are.
Please take a few minutes to send the below letter to Guatemalan authorities. You can send it as is or, better yet, make it more personal. It is very easy and we have seen this strategy work in the past.
Send to: licsaullopez@hotmail.com,nslopez@mp.gob.gt
Asunto: Orden de captura para Herculano Luc debe ser retirado
Estimado Licenciado Lopez,
Me he enterado que la semana pasada se instituyó una orden de captura en contra del ciudadano guatemalteco Herculano Luc en relación al conflicto de tierras de la comunidad de Michibilrixpu, municipalidad de Cobán, departamento de Alta Verapaz. Según mi propio conocimiento del caso y del señor Luc considero que este hecho es un error grave y le solicito respetuosamente que investigue y que retire la orden.
El señor Luc ha trabajado durante años en busca de una solución al conflicto de tierras en su comunidad. Como resultado de su trabajo, la comunidad está actualmente negociando con CONAP y INAB para buscar nuevos terrenos en donde pueda vivir la comunidad. Las familias de Michbilrixpu llevan generaciones en sus terrenos actuales pero estos terrenos fueron anexados como parte de la expansión del parque nacional Laguna La Chua. Por cumplir con su deber de ubicarlos en otros terrenos antes de desalojarlos, el gobierno nacional está negociando con la comunidad.
No se debe permitir la hipocresía del gobierno que de un lado reconoce los derechos del pueblo para existir y negociar una solución, y de otro lado los califica como "invasores" y emite orden de captura en contra de uno de sus líderes. ¿Será que el MP y la PGN no comunican con los del CONAP y INAB? Herculano Luc no es un criminal, el es un hombre quien trabaja para mejorar la vida de su pueblo. ¿Acaso eso es la meta del MP y PGN?
Voy a mantenerme al día con este caso y espero que Ud. pueda trabajar para corregir esta equivocación seria lo más pronto posible.
Atentamente,
Please take a few minutes to send the below letter to Guatemalan authorities. You can send it as is or, better yet, make it more personal. It is very easy and we have seen this strategy work in the past.
Send to: licsaullopez@hotmail.com,nslopez@mp.gob.gt
Subject: Arrest warrant against Herculano Luc needs to be cancelled
Dear Licensiado Lopez,
It has come to my attention that last week an arrest warrant was ordered against Herculano Luc in relation to the land conflict of the community Michbilrixpu of Coban. I consider this arrest warrant to be a grave error and ask that you work to immediately have it canceled.
Luc has worked hard for years to bring a solution to the land conflict in his community. As a result of his work, the community is negotiating with CONAP and INAB to find a new terrain for community members to live in. The families living in Michbilrixpu had resided there for decades before the government expanded the Lake Lechua National Park. The government is required to find them other land to live in before evicting them, and that is why the community is in negotiation with the government.
It is completely unacceptable and hypocritical that the government of Guatemala on the one hand recognizes the community´s right to exist and negotiates an end to the land conflict with them and on the other hand issues an arrest warrant against one of its leaders as an ¨invader.¨ Does the MP and PGN communicate with CONAP and INAB? Herculano Luc is not a criminal, he is a man who is working to improve the quality of life for people in his community. Shouldn’t this also be the goal of the MP and PGN?
I will be closely monitoring this case and hope that you will work to correct this horrible mistake as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
martes, 27 de octubre de 2009
Juana Sanchez
Juana Sanchez was a survivor. Originally from Nebaj, she was forced to flee her community when the army began to impliment the US-backed ¨scorched earth policy¨ in the early 1980s. Refusing to leave the country, she went to Chajul and joined a CPR, or Community of Populations in Resistance. As part of the mobile community she often slept in caves and tunnels dug in the earth to stay safe from bombing raids. She was always ready to carry her few possesions on her back when the army came too close to the community.
She survived the massacres but was left in abject poverty because of the massive theft of land by the military. After the final Peace Accords were signed in 1996, she would frequently travel with her children to the south coast to work on sugar cane and other plantations for a minimal salary. She took a leadership role in organizing Maya Ixil families to demand the government recompensate them for their losses during the war. After years of being ignored by the government, she joined hundreds of other leaders and occupied part of a military base in Nebaj on June 30, 2006. The date had great significance - it was both the government`s ¨Army Day¨ and it was the day before CAFTA (a devastating free trade agreement with the United States) took effect. Juana helped the community stay organized (for more information on the community check http://guatemalasolidarityproject.org/30dejunio.htm), planted corn on her small plot and started sending her kids to school.
Juana could not survive forever. Recently, unknown assailants murdered her. No arrests have been made, and community leaders expect that the military was behind the attack. Juana`s five children were left orphaned.
Seventeen year old Juan suddenly finds himself acting as father of four. He has found a job working as a brick layer for a small wage. He is determined to continue his studies. Because he has spent most of his short life escaping poverty and violence he has the additional challenge of only being in 6th grade. The community has found a small apartment for the children to stay at for free in Nebaj. But the community is extremely poor and not able to help with other needs of the family. For this reason we are asking for donations to help the family. To send a donation, write a check out to ¨UPAVIM Community Development Foundation¨ and send it to Upavim, c/o Laurie Levinger, 28 McKenna Rd, Norwich, VT 05055. Write ¨martyrs¨ in the memo line so that we make sure the funds go to the family of Juana and to support other children of recently murdered community leaders in Guatemala.
Seventeen year old Juan suddenly finds himself acting as father of four. He has found a job working as a brick layer for a small wage. He is determined to continue his studies. Because he has spent most of his short life escaping poverty and violence he has the additional challenge of only being in 6th grade. The community has found a small apartment for the children to stay at for free in Nebaj. But the community is extremely poor and not able to help with other needs of the family. For this reason we are asking for donations to help the family. To send a donation, write a check out to ¨UPAVIM Community Development Foundation¨ and send it to Upavim, c/o Laurie Levinger, 28 McKenna Rd, Norwich, VT 05055. Write ¨martyrs¨ in the memo line so that we make sure the funds go to the family of Juana and to support other children of recently murdered community leaders in Guatemala.
viernes, 23 de octubre de 2009
October 20 marked the 65th anniversary of Guatemala`s 1944 revolution. Organized peasants, students and workers used various nonviolent tactics to overthrow Guatemalan dictator Jorge Ubico. Known as ¨the Hitler of Central America,¨ Ubico was a key ally of the US government. He gave the United Fruit Company (which later divided into several companies, primarily Chiquita Banana) huge tracks of land, a monopoly on the country`s rail system, and control over Guatemala`s Pacific and Atlantic ports. He also enacted ¨the Fire Law,¨ making it legal for European descendants to murder Mayans without needing to prove motive. Perhaps the action that most garnered support from the US was the enactment of a new forced labor system in which all Mayans needed to carry an identification card with them proving that they had worked over 150 days for pay on plantations. If they hadn`t, they would be forced to do hard labor clearing and building roads through the country`s forests and mountains to make it easier for the elite to rob natural resources.
The revolution of 1944 had the potential of building a new model for governance. The newly elected government outlawed numerous forms of discrimination, enacted minimum wage and labor conditions laws, and provided land to hundreds of thousands of landless peasants. This was far too much for the US government to allow in a country that had basically been viewed by politicians and major stockholders as a giant plantation. After numerous attempts by the CIA to overthrow the government, President Eisenhower authorized the bombing of the capitol city in 1954. The government quickly collapsed, and the US named a military junta to take its place. Minimum wage laws were scrapped, land was taken back from peasants, voting rights were severed and the majority of accomplishments of the 10 years of democracy (or 10 Years of Spring as they are known in Guatemala) were reversed. The CIA gave the new government a list of tens of thousands of Guatemalans to be ¨neutralized,¨ the School of the Americas (soaw.org) began arming and training the Guatemalan military to torture and kill its own people, and to this day the country has not been able to break free from the grip of the US-backed military.
Meanwhile in the countryside...
I went to plant corn with leaders from the community Papalja. I had only been to the community one other time and it was a brief stop on the way to a hearing in the nearby municipal center of La Tinta. I left with a good impression of the leadership of the community and beauty of the area, so I was very happy when the Committee of Peasant Unity (CUC) asked that one of our upcoming delegations visit Papalja.
Papalja is located in a valley in eastern Guatemala, just north of Lake Izabal. Multinational corporations are targeting this region to clear cut forests and plant African Palm to be used for biodiesel to fuel cars in the US and other wealthy nations. With the help of the government, they are violently evicting Maya Qeqchi communities that have been in the area for generations. Papalja has the rare distinction of possessing a government-recognized title to their land.
After a prayer for the success of the harvest, we began planting as a group. Community members have private plots, but many work them collectively. Each day they work on a different person`s plot. It was a bittersweet experience for me. I love this manner of sharing work, but my mind kept going back to the last time I participated in a collective corn planting. It was also in the department of Izabal in eastern Guatemala, in the community Suiche III (http://guatemalasolidarityproject.org/suicheiii.htm). The government did not fully recognize Suiche III`s land title. Soon a group of police and private security from the neighboring African Palm plantation came threatening to destroy the corn we had just planted. When I started flashing pictures, their attitude changed somewhat. They said that they really didn`t want to destroy the crops, and that they were going to be nice and wait to get a court order. Months earlier the palm corporation had agreed to recognize the community`s existence, but apparently greed had gotten the better of them. The security personnel asked for Vitelio Mendez, a community leader at Suiche III. Another member of the community raised his hand and said ¨I am Vitelio Mendez.¨ It was an impressive show of solidarity. But the next time I visited the community, Vitelio Mendez was dead. He had been shot by the palm plantation`s private security.
We took a break to snack on some tomales made of corn and beans. Community members know they are in a minority for having won recognition from the government of their right to their own land. But this hardly makes them wealthy. Each family has a plot of three acres, enough for their most basic necessities and that`s about it. They had lots of questions about my experience growing fruits and vegetables in the US. When they asked how much land my parents have, I was more than a little embarrassed. ¨Over 200 acres...¨ I said, and tried to change the topic.
We went back to Federico`s house and ate a hardy meal. We had worked his plot so he was feeding us, as is the custom. The people of Papalja are not starving. They are not wealthy... but they have gone nearly 10 years without being violently removed from their homes. This has allowed them to build sustainability.
The majority of Mayan children in Guatemala are malnourished. They are not malnourished because Mayan people are uncivilized, backwards or unintelligent. They are not malnourished because, as many politicians in the US like to claim, they are simply going through the same growing pains that the US went through on the way to development. The majority of Mayan children are malnourished because the US government is arming and training thugs to kill, torture, terrorize and rob from Mayan communities.
This year Papalja opened a new ¨basico¨ school, for the first time giving children access to 7th grade. The community is very proud of this achievement, although numerous challenges remain in their struggle to continue the program and expand it to 9th grade. In the majority of communities that I visit, the cost of attending 7th grade and beyond is prohibitive. (To donate to our education fund, make a check out to ¨UPAVIM Community Development Fund¨ and send it to UPAVIM, c/o Laurie Levinger, 28 McKenna Rd, Norwich, VT 05055. Be sure to write ¨education¨ in the memo section of the check. 100% of funds will be used for school construction, scholarships and purchase of school materials)
The leadership committee of Papalja approved our idea of visiting the community for several days in January. We worked out a draft schedule for the days, focusing on social, cultural and political exchanges between solidarity delegation participants and members of the community. There will be workshops on the importance of organizing, organic agriculture, the School of the Americas and other topics. Workshops will be in Qeqchi, Spanish and English and we will have basic Qeqchi and English language classes. Participants will be able to stay with families in the community or in the school house. If you or someone you know is interested in participating, visit http://guatemalasolidarityproject.org/delegations.htm or email info@guatemalasolidarityproject.org for more info or an application.
The revolution of 1944 had the potential of building a new model for governance. The newly elected government outlawed numerous forms of discrimination, enacted minimum wage and labor conditions laws, and provided land to hundreds of thousands of landless peasants. This was far too much for the US government to allow in a country that had basically been viewed by politicians and major stockholders as a giant plantation. After numerous attempts by the CIA to overthrow the government, President Eisenhower authorized the bombing of the capitol city in 1954. The government quickly collapsed, and the US named a military junta to take its place. Minimum wage laws were scrapped, land was taken back from peasants, voting rights were severed and the majority of accomplishments of the 10 years of democracy (or 10 Years of Spring as they are known in Guatemala) were reversed. The CIA gave the new government a list of tens of thousands of Guatemalans to be ¨neutralized,¨ the School of the Americas (soaw.org) began arming and training the Guatemalan military to torture and kill its own people, and to this day the country has not been able to break free from the grip of the US-backed military.
Meanwhile in the countryside...
I went to plant corn with leaders from the community Papalja. I had only been to the community one other time and it was a brief stop on the way to a hearing in the nearby municipal center of La Tinta. I left with a good impression of the leadership of the community and beauty of the area, so I was very happy when the Committee of Peasant Unity (CUC) asked that one of our upcoming delegations visit Papalja.
Papalja is located in a valley in eastern Guatemala, just north of Lake Izabal. Multinational corporations are targeting this region to clear cut forests and plant African Palm to be used for biodiesel to fuel cars in the US and other wealthy nations. With the help of the government, they are violently evicting Maya Qeqchi communities that have been in the area for generations. Papalja has the rare distinction of possessing a government-recognized title to their land.
After a prayer for the success of the harvest, we began planting as a group. Community members have private plots, but many work them collectively. Each day they work on a different person`s plot. It was a bittersweet experience for me. I love this manner of sharing work, but my mind kept going back to the last time I participated in a collective corn planting. It was also in the department of Izabal in eastern Guatemala, in the community Suiche III (http://guatemalasolidarityproject.org/suicheiii.htm). The government did not fully recognize Suiche III`s land title. Soon a group of police and private security from the neighboring African Palm plantation came threatening to destroy the corn we had just planted. When I started flashing pictures, their attitude changed somewhat. They said that they really didn`t want to destroy the crops, and that they were going to be nice and wait to get a court order. Months earlier the palm corporation had agreed to recognize the community`s existence, but apparently greed had gotten the better of them. The security personnel asked for Vitelio Mendez, a community leader at Suiche III. Another member of the community raised his hand and said ¨I am Vitelio Mendez.¨ It was an impressive show of solidarity. But the next time I visited the community, Vitelio Mendez was dead. He had been shot by the palm plantation`s private security.
We took a break to snack on some tomales made of corn and beans. Community members know they are in a minority for having won recognition from the government of their right to their own land. But this hardly makes them wealthy. Each family has a plot of three acres, enough for their most basic necessities and that`s about it. They had lots of questions about my experience growing fruits and vegetables in the US. When they asked how much land my parents have, I was more than a little embarrassed. ¨Over 200 acres...¨ I said, and tried to change the topic.
We went back to Federico`s house and ate a hardy meal. We had worked his plot so he was feeding us, as is the custom. The people of Papalja are not starving. They are not wealthy... but they have gone nearly 10 years without being violently removed from their homes. This has allowed them to build sustainability.The majority of Mayan children in Guatemala are malnourished. They are not malnourished because Mayan people are uncivilized, backwards or unintelligent. They are not malnourished because, as many politicians in the US like to claim, they are simply going through the same growing pains that the US went through on the way to development. The majority of Mayan children are malnourished because the US government is arming and training thugs to kill, torture, terrorize and rob from Mayan communities.
This year Papalja opened a new ¨basico¨ school, for the first time giving children access to 7th grade. The community is very proud of this achievement, although numerous challenges remain in their struggle to continue the program and expand it to 9th grade. In the majority of communities that I visit, the cost of attending 7th grade and beyond is prohibitive. (To donate to our education fund, make a check out to ¨UPAVIM Community Development Fund¨ and send it to UPAVIM, c/o Laurie Levinger, 28 McKenna Rd, Norwich, VT 05055. Be sure to write ¨education¨ in the memo section of the check. 100% of funds will be used for school construction, scholarships and purchase of school materials)
The leadership committee of Papalja approved our idea of visiting the community for several days in January. We worked out a draft schedule for the days, focusing on social, cultural and political exchanges between solidarity delegation participants and members of the community. There will be workshops on the importance of organizing, organic agriculture, the School of the Americas and other topics. Workshops will be in Qeqchi, Spanish and English and we will have basic Qeqchi and English language classes. Participants will be able to stay with families in the community or in the school house. If you or someone you know is interested in participating, visit http://guatemalasolidarityproject.org/delegations.htm or email info@guatemalasolidarityproject.org for more info or an application.
viernes, 16 de octubre de 2009
President Refuses to Free Ramiro Choc; Conceeds to Some Peasant Demands
Waiting in line at one of the charrasco stands (delicious grilled meat ... sorry to my vegan friends) at the central park in Coban, north eastern Guatemala, I overheard an interesting conversation.
¨The government will never release Ramiro Choc,¨ said one of the people in line.
¨You´re right,¨ another responded. ¨They know he will unite the people in defense of their families and human rights. The businesses won´t be able to steal their lands.¨
Their words proved prophetic during yesterday´s meeting between peasant leaders and President Alvaro Colom. Colom agreed to meet with them after the Committee of Peasant Unity (CUC) blocked 14 major roadways throughout the country on Monday, demanding that the government take action on eight issues (see previous blog entry).
Colom was unequivocal in his refusal to support the release of Choc. He also refused to remove from the country corporations which are blatantly violating human rights.
Using classic excuses, Colom said the corporations are bringing much needed jobs to the country. As if violently evicting thousands of people from their homes, polluting their rivers and clear cutting their forests, and then giving a few dozen of them jobs could honestly be called ¨development.¨
CUC did successfully push the President to move forward on some issues. The military will withdraw from the property of Cementos Progreso in San Juan Sacatepequez, where they have been acting as private mercenaries and terrorists for the corporation. Local leaders who have organized against the theft and environmental destruction that the factory brings have faced false imprisonment, torture and assassination. The President´s decision to withdraw troops from the private property is a victory for the movement, but he announced the soldiers will remain at another location in the town.
The President also announced that he will bow down to the demand to cooperate with CICIG (the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala) in investigations into clandestine armed groups which are targeting indigenous and peasant community leaders. A follow-up meeting was planned between CUC and representatives of the President on December 10 to continue negotiations.
CUC is not willing to accept such limited cooperation from the government. ¨We made the government tremble when we brought our force to the streets on Monday,¨ said CUC National Committee member Daniel Pascual. ¨We will do it again if they don´t side with the people over the multinational corporations.¨
¨The government will never release Ramiro Choc,¨ said one of the people in line.
¨You´re right,¨ another responded. ¨They know he will unite the people in defense of their families and human rights. The businesses won´t be able to steal their lands.¨
Their words proved prophetic during yesterday´s meeting between peasant leaders and President Alvaro Colom. Colom agreed to meet with them after the Committee of Peasant Unity (CUC) blocked 14 major roadways throughout the country on Monday, demanding that the government take action on eight issues (see previous blog entry).
Colom was unequivocal in his refusal to support the release of Choc. He also refused to remove from the country corporations which are blatantly violating human rights.
Using classic excuses, Colom said the corporations are bringing much needed jobs to the country. As if violently evicting thousands of people from their homes, polluting their rivers and clear cutting their forests, and then giving a few dozen of them jobs could honestly be called ¨development.¨
CUC did successfully push the President to move forward on some issues. The military will withdraw from the property of Cementos Progreso in San Juan Sacatepequez, where they have been acting as private mercenaries and terrorists for the corporation. Local leaders who have organized against the theft and environmental destruction that the factory brings have faced false imprisonment, torture and assassination. The President´s decision to withdraw troops from the private property is a victory for the movement, but he announced the soldiers will remain at another location in the town.
The President also announced that he will bow down to the demand to cooperate with CICIG (the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala) in investigations into clandestine armed groups which are targeting indigenous and peasant community leaders. A follow-up meeting was planned between CUC and representatives of the President on December 10 to continue negotiations.
CUC is not willing to accept such limited cooperation from the government. ¨We made the government tremble when we brought our force to the streets on Monday,¨ said CUC National Committee member Daniel Pascual. ¨We will do it again if they don´t side with the people over the multinational corporations.¨
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