Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03GUATEMALA1464
2003-06-06 18:28:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Guatemala
Cable title:  

AMCIT LAND DISPUTE IN ALTA VERAPAZ

Tags:  CASC ELAB PHUM SOCI GT 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 GUATEMALA 001464 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

HARARE FOR BRUCE WHARTON
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND CA/OCS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC ELAB PHUM SOCI GT
SUBJECT: AMCIT LAND DISPUTE IN ALTA VERAPAZ

REF: GUATEMALA 884

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 GUATEMALA 001464

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

HARARE FOR BRUCE WHARTON
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND CA/OCS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC ELAB PHUM SOCI GT
SUBJECT: AMCIT LAND DISPUTE IN ALTA VERAPAZ

REF: GUATEMALA 884


1. Summary. "Finca Esmeralda," a coffee farm in Alta
Verapaz province owned by Carlos Ardebol, and AmCit, has been
occupied since February by organized landless peasants who
have damaged personal property and prevented the return of
the Ardebol family. There are of over 40 such occupations by
peasants in the province, several of which involve the
Ardebol family. While Ardebol appeals to the courts to
defend his right to property, his family has abandoned the
property for the capital, fearing for their security. Since
being notified by the Ardebol family of this land dispute in
February, the Embassy has actively pursued resolution of the
case. On February 12, responding to the initial occupation,
PolOff contacted the occupying campesino group leader to
express concern over AmCit safety and property rights; on
March 17 EconCouns accompanied the Ardebols to a session with
campesino lawyers at the land dispute agency (CONTIERRA); on
March 27 ConGen met with Carlos Ardebol and the
representative of the peasant organization in Coban, the
provincial capital; and on March 31, the Ambassador raised
the case with the Minister of Government (RefTel),who
pledged to investigate property damage and to act quickly on
any court-ordered dislodgment order. On April 30, PolOff
learned of ongoing Government efforts to mediate the case
through dialogue with the squatters. End Summary.

Status of Case
--------------


2. PolOff spoke on April 30 with Eric Gonzalez, CONTIERRA's
Coban representative to inquire about the status of the Finca
Esmeralda case and to express concern about the forcible
entry and trashing of Carlos Ardebol's house. According to
Gonzalez, CONTIERRA held a successful meeting on this
conflict on April 29, in which Carlos Ardebol and CONIC
representatives (Mario Garcia and Hector, but not Arturo
Chok, who could not make it) agreed to the following measures:

-- Ardebol will suspend demands in the criminal courts while
pursing dialogue.

-- CONIC will conduct an investigation into the damages to
Ardebol's personal property.

-- Ardebol will develop an inventory of his possessions and
his own report on the damage.


-- Both sides will next meet on May 15 at CONTIERRA for
further mediation. Members of the community which claims the
right to passage through the ranch on private roads will also
attend, and more fundamental issues about the occupation
(which continues) will be discussed.

PolOff congratulated Gonzalez for these results, expressed
concern for the Ardebol's property rights as U.S. citizens,
and told him the Embassy will be in touch after May 15 to
hear how that meeting goes.

Background
--------------


3. On February 11, EconCouns and LabAtt met with Mrs.
Ardebol and her adult sons (Carlos and Roger). EconCouns
told them he had raised their security concerns with the Vice
Minister of Government. They had had no contact or other
evidence of follow-through. LabAtt told the Ardebols he had
raised similar concerns with the national campesino
coordination organization (CONIC). The Ardebols explained
that they had decades-old problems with which they were
dealing satisfactorily and new, CONIC inspired problems
involving people not originally from the area. Violence and
threats appeared with CONIC, they claimed. The new problems
date back a couple of months, no more. They said that their
case was similar to others in Alta Verapaz, which has
experienced a spate of land occupations over the past year.
They claim that they provide right of way on the road through
their land (which we had heard was an issue for a neighboring
town) but were increasingly being harassed when they closed
the road for the night.


4. The Ardebols say that they have clear title to most of
the land they claim, some if it going back within the family
for over one hundred years. Some dual-title land was
reportedly cleared in their favor by CONTIERRA, with whom
they have been in continuing contact. The Ardebols claim
several properties in San Miguel Tucuru, Alta Verapaz
province, including finca Esmeralda, Finca Bella Vista, and
Finca Coyocte.
Embassy Expresses Concern About AmCit Safety
--------------


5. On February 12 PolOff spoke with Juan Tiney, CONIC's
national leader, and again expressed Embassy concern for the
safety of the Ardebol family as American citizens. PolOff
explained the Embassy's responsibility to protect U.S.
citizen property rights. Threats to the Ardebol's security
came from campesinos blocking a road on Finca Coycote
approximately a month ago. The Ardebols are committed to
dialogue and negotiation as a means to resolve campesino
claims to their land. PolOff urged CONIC to attend a meeting
to be held in Coban to discuss the dispute, hosted by the
authorities. The Ardebol's are alarmed by reports that
campesinos organized by CONIC have recently occupied Finca
Bella Vista, and claim that tension and threats have
increased since CONIC appeared in the area, mentioning
specifically CONIC regional organizer Miguel Perez Chiquin.
The land and labor courts are the proper venues for land and
labor claims. Political dialogue is possible through the
National Roundtable on Agrarian Conflict to be conducted on
February 13 by the Presidential Secretary for Agrarian Issues.


6. Tiney responded that he understood Embassy concerns, and
that he gave similar priority to security of members of
CONIC. He repeated assurances that CONIC does not and will
not threaten the security of anyone, but said that "properly
announced" measures such as road blockades must be respected.
He expressed appreciation that the Embassy was involving
itself in this issue, and urged us to tell American citizens
to respect Guatemalan law and labor obligations. He claimed
that the occupation of Finca Bella Vista involves former
workers there who had not been paid mandatory severance by
the Ardebols. After the GOG refused to take responsibility
by accepting CONIC's Agrarian Platform proposal, campesinos
occupied the finca to demand land in lieu of what they are
legally owed. CONIC would be pleased to attend the meeting
in Coban on February 21 if invited, he said; the National
Roundtable meeting is "just a show" and CONIC was undecided
whether to attend.

EconCouns Meets with CONTIERRA on Dispute
--------------


7. On March 17, EconCouns arranged a call on the Director
General of CONTIERRA, Gustavo Ciraiz, and arrived to find
himself in a meeting including the Ardebols and lawyers from
CONIC. CONTIERRA (somewhat reluctantly) supported the
Ardebol's allegation that CONIC-associated campesinos were
acting outside the law, destroying property, and "torpedoing"
(CONTIERRA's word) a peaceful resolution. CONIC lawyers
backed off their original position and admitted that excesses
had occurred and undertook to look into matters. CONIC's
lawyers asked the Ardebol's for information on any
destruction or other problems caused by the campesinos. They
made some surprisingly condescending statements about
campesinos' ability to understand the legal points and the
ease with which they could be whipped up by politically
motivated leaders who did not necessarily have their best
interest at heart. CONIC lawyers also admitted (at the end)
that Ardebols had made good faith efforts to resolve old
problems and may have good points with current ones.


8. CONIC's lawyers stated that they were part of a pressure
group that sought solutions, when necessary, "outside of
normal legal means." EconCouns laid a polite but firm marker
that the U.S. Constitution and Guatemala's gave no quarter to
"pressure" for deciding issues of private property ownership.
He questioned the need to "negotiate" property ownership
when it was likely that administrative and/or legal processes
would determine, without doubt, who had legal title.
EconCouns applauded CONTIERRA's efforts to finish its land
registry research quickly and conduct a "mini-cadaster" of
the area to back it up. Perhaps negotiations would be useful
once the research was finished and areas of legitimate
uncertainty were identified, he said.

Ambassador's Meeting with Minister of Government
-------------- ---


9. RefTel reports the Ambassador's request to Minister of
Government Reyes Calderon in a meeting on March 31 to
investigate the forcible entry and property destruction on
the Ardebol property, and the Minister's pledge to act as
soon as a court rules authorizes it.

Consul General Finds Common Ground
--------------


10. ConGen Jacobsen and PolOff met with Carlos Ardebol,
CONIC and CONTIERRA/Coban on March 27 to discuss the Finca
Esmeralda case. ConGen received assurances from all parties
of their willingness to meet to discuss peaceful resolution
of this land dispute.


11. Carlos Ardebol told ConGen that he remains cut off from
access to his farm, located an hour from Coban, and that he
and his family have relocated temporarily to Guatemala City.
He filed a complaint with the local office of the Public
Ministry about the damage to his household goods by squatters
(he showed us pictures of the inside of his farmhouse, which
had ransacked). Though he is seeking intervention by the MP,
Ardebol is realistic about prospects for police action, and
was also meeting with MINUGUA and local representatives of
the Human Rights Ombudsman's office. He said he would be
willing to meet with CONIC's local organizers if CONTIERRA
calls a new meeting. He agreed to permit ConGen to share his
cell phone number with CONIC to facilitate direct
communication.


12. ConGen and PolOff then met at CONTIERRA's Coban offices
with Arturo Chok, CONIC's local organizer responsible for the
Finca Esmeralda dispute. EmbOffs expressed USG concern about
the security of U.S. citizens, the violation by squatters of
his right to property, and the needless destruction of his
personal effects. Chok admitted with bowed head that he was
"aware of what happened at the Ardebol's house" and that
"this is not what CONIC stands for." Later, Chok said he was
not sure who had trashed the house and put up the CONIC
banner now hanging on the Ardebol's property warning people
to stay out, saying "outsiders" may have been responsible.
CONIC does not support such measures, he said. CONIC does
support the claims of the squatters to land, which involves
"historic" rights to free passage, which he distinguished
from the "legal" rights asserted by the Ardebols. ConGen
told Chok that the USG and the Embassy are involved in many
initiatives in support of human and labor rights in
Guatemala, including US visas, so CONIC's aggression against
an AmCit could have repercussions far beyond Coban.


13. Asked by PolOff if he would be willing to meet with
Ardebol, Chok said he would do so, under CONTIERRA's
auspices, as long as the right of free access (to a road the
Ardebol's built through their property) is also up for
discussion. We passed him Ardebol's contact information. In
Chok's presence, we thanked CONTIERRA (Carlos Echeverria) for
its recent efforts to bring the parties to this dispute
together and requested that a new attempt be made.
Echeverria agreed to raise this request with his boss,
Eduardo Gonzalez. PolOff then called Carlos Ardebol and
conveyed Chok's offer to meet under CONTIERRA's auspices, and
suggested he contact Gonzalez.

Comment
--------------


14. The issue of AmCit safety is covered for the moment:
the Ardebol family is in Guatemala City, far from Coban, and
Ardebol said only he makes forays into Coban as he pursues
this issue.


15. The land title issue is complicated, but not as
complicated as CONTIERRA is making it. The documents show
that the family bought a number of adjacent parcels of land
one-by-one and then consolidated them into two different
farms. However, a poorly delineated land grant from the
1800s forms the basis for 59 small plots occupied by
non-Ardebols, and the plots are not now adjacent to one
another. These plots have migrated and grown over time and,
together, account for substantially more than the original
land grant. Issues of adverse possession (squatters rights)
probably apply. The Ardebols accept that some negotiation
will be necessary to resolve this once CONTIERRA establishes
who is on what plot where. They would like to clarify title
to what is and isn't theirs and, probably, sell to others the
portions in the area that are still theirs.


16. The good news is that the GOG has not overreacted to the
growing land occupation movement by resorting to the use of
force, which could inflame the situation. The bad news is
that the GOG has not acted at all, from the Ardebol's
perspective. CONTIERRA's machinations to determine title
issues have moved at a snail's pace, while the Ardebol's
property rights continue to be violated by squatters as
efforts to enforce eviction orders come to naught. In this
situation, dialogue and negotiation still offer an
alternative means of dispute resolution, but the Ardebol's
patience could soon run out. We will continue to monitor and
advocate progress in this case.
MCFARLAND