HELEN MACK'S TAKE ON JUSTICE, POLITICS, AND CICIACS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GUATEMALA 001535

SIPDIS

LIMA FOR WILL SMITH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2013
TAGS: PHUM PREL KJUS GT UN OAS
SUBJECT: HELEN MACK'S TAKE ON JUSTICE, POLITICS, AND CICIACS

REF: GUATEMALA 1191

Classified By: Human Rights Officer Katharine Read, reasons 1.5 (b & d)
.


1. (C) Summary: On June 13, Helen Mack had breakfast at the
residence with the Ambassador and Human Rights Officer to
discuss the Supreme Court appeal in her case set for June 19,
the latest political alliance between Oscar Berger and
Eduardo Stein, the mixed commission to investigate
clandestine groups (CICIACS),and other reform-minded
proposals. End Summary.

Mack Appeal Hits Supreme Court
--------------

2. (C) Helen Mack informed us that on June 19 the Supreme
Court will hear her appeal of the Fourth Appeals Court's May
7, 2003, decision to annul the October 3, 2002 conviction of
Juan Valencia Osorio for ordering the murder of Helen's
sister Myrna Mack (reftel). The Ambassador asked Mack if she
would like him to attend the appeal, and she answered that
she always appreciates his presence and support. The
Ambassador promised to attend the oral appeal on June 19, and
to rally the international community's support by calling his
Ambassadorial-level colleagues. (Initial results of these
calls indicate we can get a good turnout.)


3. (C) Mack told the Ambassador that ret. General Rios Montt
told her directly that her case would not result in a
conviction, but that the Gerardi murder case would,
ultimately. Mack opined that this was because her sister's
murder was part of the GOG's counterinsurgency policies
during the internal conflict, while Bishop Gerardi was
allegedly murdered by renegade Presidential Military Staff
(EMP) officers in 1998, after the signature of the Peace
Accords. Comment: It seems strange that Rios Montt would
speak so boldly about outcomes that imply FRG/Army influence,
but Mack says he did.

Political Shuffling
--------------

4. (C) Mack told the Ambassador that she favored the
incorporation of Eduardo Stein into the Alianza GANA with
Presidential hopeful Oscar Berger. She also said that the
presence of retired General Otto Perez Molina in a Berger
government might be an important inside ally in the cleansing
of corrupt GOG institutions and clandestine structures.

CICIACS
--------------

5. (C) Mack said that Peruvian prosecutor Jose Ugaz, who
visited here in May, offered three thoughts as to what's
needed to make the CICIACS successful: political buy-in; able
investigators and sources; and adequate anticorruption laws
on which to base investigations and prosecutions. The humans
rights NGOs have pitched the idea to many of the opposition
parties effectively, and believe that they will be able to
obtain political support from the new GOG. The technical
team from the UN is slated to come to Guatemala in late June
or early July, and the NGOs hope that they will recommend
able experts.


6. (C) Mack said Ugaz recommended that the Guatemalans should
look at the new Peruvian anticorruption laws as potential
models for the laws that would be necessary to support the
CICIACS. The Ambassador pledged to coordinate with Embassy
Lima to obtain the legal texts and share them with the human
rights community. (See Hamilton email to WSmith.)

Other Reforms
--------------

7. (C) Concerned with what she believes is Attorney General
De Leon's corruption, Mack said the human rights community is
considering mounting a case against him. She said that in
the case of De Leon, Guatemala is responsible for
"prosecuting the prosecutor." In a separate project, Mack
also wants to work with the National Endowment for Democracy
(NED) to study how to incorporate reforms into the long-term
planning of judicial institutions and how to create oversight
mechanisms that can monitor the budgets of the Public
Ministry, Police, and Courts.

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

8. (C) We continue to believe that showing public support for
justice in the Mack case is crucial to the respect of human
rights in Guatemala, and the Ambassador will attend the June
19 hearing. We also believe Mack's proposal for establishing
mechanisms to monitor implementation of the judicial sector
budget could represent a major advance in promoting judicial
integrity. We will look for additional ways to assist local
NGO's and the GOG in getting CICIACS up and running.
HAMILTON