AMBASSADOR'S INITIAL CALL ON HELEN MACK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GUATEMALA 000127

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2013
TAGS: PHUM PREL PINR KJUS GT
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S INITIAL CALL ON HELEN MACK

REF: A. 02 GUATEMALA 2605


B. 02 GUATEMALA 2970

C. 02 GUATEMALA 3275

Classified By: HR Off, Katharine Read, for reason 1.5 (d).


1. (U) Summary: The Ambassador paid an introductory call on
Helen Mack at the Myrna Mack Foundation on January 13. They
discussed the proposal to investigate clandestine groups, the
impending decertification decision, the Consultative Group
meeting, the status of the Mack case, and recent wave of
violence. After a cordial discussion, the Ambassador held a
brief question and answer session with the press in which he
reiterated support for human rights groups and concern over a
"deteriorating human rights situation." See paragraph 14 for
account of efforts we are making to support the proposal to
investigate clandestine groups. End Summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador, accompanied by PolOff and HROff,
visited the Myrna Mack Foundation on January 13 to meet with
prominent justice and human rights advocate Helen Mack. Mack
had not been able to attend the Ambassador's initial meeting
with human rights groups on December 20 (Ref C). Mack began
by thanking the Ambassador for his visit and his vocal
support of human rights workers.

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Questions about the Investigative Commission Proposal
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3. (C) Mack invited the Ambassador to attend the press
conference that the Human Rights Ombudsman, Sergio Morales,
is hosting on January 16, to present to the GOG and the
public a proposal to investigate clandestine groups. The
Ambassador asked Mack if the human rights community had
decided on a specific date range for the scope of the
investigative commission (Ref B),what the legal status of
the commission would be, and if Sergio Morales would be the
public leader of the proposal after his press conference. He
also asked why Morales chose January 16 for his public
announcement and what kind of responses the human rights
leaders had received from GOG entities so far.


4. (C) Mack said that the human rights community now agrees
that the scope of the investigative commission should be from
January of 1996 to the present. Mack said the legal status
of the commission is still negotiable, but that the
international status of the commission would guarantee its
integrity and freedom to operate in the country.


5. (C) Turning to the Ombudsman's role, Mack said it is clear
that Morales knows it is in his professional interest to ask
for this commission and to embrace the human rights
community, but he is also concerned about his personal
safety. Mack implied that, although Morales will lead the
call for a commission, the human rights community will
continue to play a major role in ensuring that the commission
is set up and can do its work.


6. (C) Mack said the Ombudsman chose January 16 to make the
proposal public because the human rights community calculated
that U.S. counter-narcotics decertification was imminent and
that the GOG might support the creation of the commission in
order to regain favor with the USG and the international
community. Mack asked the Ambassador if he would consider
negotiating a decertification waiver in exchange for
acceptance of the commission by the FRG leadership. The
Ambassador explained that decertification is a unilateral
decision of the USG and will not be negotiated with the GOG.
However, he pledged our continued support for the commission
and told Mack he will attend the Ombudsman's event launching
the proposal on January 16.


7. (C) Mack, who has a close personal relationship with Vice
President Reyes because of her past experience as a
businesswoman and Opus Dei member, told the Ambassador that
she had solicited Reyes' support for the commission, arguing
that it offers the FRG an opportunity to distance itself from
the Portillo administration. Mack said that while he did not
make any commitments, Reyes is "open" to the idea. He is the
only member of the GOG whom Mack has consulted.

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Consultative Group
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8. (SBU) Mack and the Ambassador agreed that a Consultative
Group meeting could be useful to promote further steps toward
completion of the peace accord goals. The Ambassador
mentioned the USG concern that, if the Consultative Group
meeting were held now, Portillo would try to manipulate it
for electoral ends. However, as MINUGUA and civil society
are strongly in favor of another Consultative Group meeting
during this administration, the Ambassador said the USG
accepts the idea. He added that we will push to have
opposition political parties involved so that they too will
buy into the Consultative Group's conclusions and
recommendations.

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Mack Case Status
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9. (SBU) The Ambassador asked Mack about the status of her
cases against the GOG in the Inter-American Court on Human
Rights (IACHR) and against the three military officers in the
domestic courts (Ref A). She said that the trial in the
IACHR is set for February 18-20 and that she and her lawyers
are busy preparing for the oral debate. The sentence the
domestic courts issued in October finding Colonel Valencia
Osorio guilty and General Godoy Gaitan and Colonel Oliva
Carrera innocent is currently in the appeals court, as both
the defense and the prosecution have appealed. Mack said the
three possibilities from this appeals process are that the
court will annul the sentence, confirm the sentence, or find
all three officers guilty. Mack is hoping for the
condemnation of all three, but hopes that at the very least
the sentence will be confirmed.

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Renewed Violence
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10. (SBU) The Ambassador shared with Mack his concern over
the recent shootings of judges and threats against human
rights workers. In the past three weeks there have been a
string of murders or attempted murders against prominent
individuals, including a former Minister of Defense, former
President of Congress, and two sitting judges. He asked her
what she thought of the murder of Judge Hector Mauricio
Rodriguez, who was killed on January 12. Mack replied that
even though he was an administrative judge and the Supreme
Court President said that Rodriguez was not involved in
"conflictive cases," he was the presiding judge in the Maycom
and Telgua telecommunications corruption cases. She said
Rodriguez had received previous threats from his work in the
Criminal Court, which is why he was carrying a gun at the
time of his shooting.


11. (C) Mack believes the threats against human rights
activists Orlando Blanco and Claudia Samayoa, as well as the
blatant surveillance of Ombudsman Morales' daughters, are all
connected to the proposal to investigate clandestine groups.
She thinks members of these groups are threatened by the idea
of an international investigation and are seeking to
intimidate its proponents. The Ambassador pledged to
continue to support human rights workers publicly and to call
on the government to investigate these incidents.

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Press gets a Firm Pledge
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12. (U) At the conclusion of the meeting, Ambassador Hamilton
had a brief question-and-answer session with the press.
Leading daily Prensa Libre published the following excerpt
from his statements:

"This (human rights) situation is troubling; after years of
improvement, it is deteriorating. We want to see advances
and a situation in which there are neither threats nor
political violence. You can be sure that our support (for
human rights groups) is going to continue."

The article also mentioned that Ambassador Hamilton was
concerned about recent acts of violence in the capital and
that he has expressed confidence that the Public Ministry
would investigate the murder of Judge Rodriguez as well as
other violent crimes.

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Comment
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13. (C) The Ambassador's meeting with Helen Mack highlighted
continued USG support for human rights groups but revealed
that the human rights community does not seem to have a firm
grasp on where the money will come from (note: Mack mentioned
MINUGUA transition funds or UN Operations funds),how to
lobby the GOG (other than Mack's effective relationship with
Reyes),or who will effectively lead the proposal to its
fruition.


14. (C) Although the proposal is no panacea for the problem
of clandestine groups, we believe it has merit and are
encouraging the GOG and the FRG to support it. To that end,
the Ambassador spoke by phone with President Portillo January
14, Portillo responding that the GOG would indeed back the
proposal (we shall see). The Ambassador also pitched the
proposal to Attorney General Carlos de Leon (on whose turf
the commission would intrude) and to FRG Deputy Zury Rios
Sosa (septel). De Leon expressed qualified support, noting
that legal niceties had to be respected in giving an
international mechanism authority to investigate. Rios said
the FRG "would not oppose" but resisted being coaxed into a
more positive position pending consultation with the party.
The Ambassador will also raise the subject with the Foreign
Minister and Vice President, both of whom have been at the
Gutierrez inaugural in Quito. We are also encouraging
support from the Guatemalan private sector and from
colleagues in the Diplomatic community. In that vein,
MINUGUA Director Tom Koenigs was more positive about the
commission in a January 14 meeting with the Consultative
Group Dialogue Group than he had been in a meeting January 6
with the Ambassador. End Comment.
Hamilton