AMBASSADOR AND LARUE DISCUSS CLANDESTINE GROUPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GUATEMALA 000220

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2013
TAGS: PHUM PREL PINR KJUS GT UN OAS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND LARUE DISCUSS CLANDESTINE GROUPS
COMMISSION AND HUMAN RIGHTS EFFORTS

REF: A. GUATEMALA 146

B. GUATEMALA 189

C. 02 GUATEMALA 3281

Classified By: Katharine Read, HROff, for reason 1.5 (d)


1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador visited the headquarters of
the Center for Legal Action in Human Rights (CALDH) on
January 22 to meet with director Frank LaRue. The Ambassador
informed LaRue of his personal efforts in support of the
commission to investigate clandestine groups with various GOG
leaders, briefed LaRue on impending decertification and the
link between combating narcotics trafficking and democracy,
and promoted CAFTA as a democratic opportunity worthy of
support from civil society. LaRue credited the government
for the naming of Human Rights Watch leader Jose Miguel
Vivanco as a "facilitator", saying "it just goes to show that
you should never underestimate the FRG," but was guardedly
optimistic about Vivianco's possible role after direct
discussions with him the day before. After discussing the
proposed commission, LaRue warned the Ambassador that the
other dangerous development on the human rights front is the
resurgence of the ex-PACs. LaRue said he participates in a
regional civil society effort to engage in CAFTA talks (at
the cost of criticism from some US NGOs) and highlighted the
effectiveness of an AID-supported project to prevent crime by
working with urban gangs. In remarks to the press, the
Ambassador praised the work of CALDH, was cautiously positive
on the Vivanco appointment, and warned about the pervasive
negative effects of narco-trafficking on corruption of
democracy and rising local drug use. End Summary.

Vivanco Appointment
--------------


2. (C) In their meeting at CALDH, held at LaRue's request,
the Ambassador began with a discussion of the Portillo
administration's decision, announced on January 21, to enlist
Human Rights Watch Executive Director Jose Miguel Vivanco to
facilitate the formation of a mixed commission to investigate
clandestine groups. LaRue said this was a reminder to all to
"never underestimate the FRG," because the FRG was prone to
capitalize on any opportunity to improve its public image.
While skeptical of Portillo and Gutierrez's motives, LaRue
remained positive about Vivanco's inclusion. (Note: HROff
spoke with human rights activists Helen Mack and Mario
Polanco on January 22, who were initially leery of Vivanco's
invitation, but now also think his leadership may be useful
in pushing their agenda.)


3. (C) LaRue said that he spoke with Vivanco on January 21,
because they also have a long personal relationship. Vivanco
told LaRue that he understood he would only be facilitating
discussions between the GOG, the NGO community, and the Human
Rights Ombudsman's Office. Vivanco promised LaRue that he
would facilitate, not mediate, participation of all three
groups to help define the mandate of the Commission. Vivanco
said he would arrive in Guatemala on February 10 to begin
these talks.

Other Commission-related Developments
--------------


4. (C) The Ambassador briefed LaRue on his efforts to pitch
the proposal from the "top-down" in the GOG. (Ref B) LaRue
mentioned that, since the release of the proposal on January
16 (Ref A),he had received a "defensive" letter from
Attorney General Carlos de Leon about the Public Ministry's
efforts to investigate threats against human rights workers.
LaRue expressed understanding for the AG's defensiveness, and
said the human rights movement does not seek, by supporting
the mixed international commission, to discredit or alienate
the Public Ministry, which has its own key role to play as an
investigative body.


5. (C) In response to the Ambassador's question about the
UN's response to the proposed commission, LaRue said that he
views the UN response as mostly positive. He cited as
evidence meetings he had in New York during the holidays with
Martha Doggett, who played an important role with the
Salvadoran commission and now handles Guatemala at UN HQ, and
more recently in Guatemala with MINUGUA Chief Koenigs. LaRue
and the Ambassador agreed that firm, public USG support may
be motivating the UN to react more and more positively to the
proposal.


6. (C) LaRue asked the Ambassador if there was any
possibility of the USG declassifying pertinent documents for
the Commission. The Ambassador said that the USG had not
decided on that, but that the Commission should not pin all
their hopes on evidence collected by USG agencies. The
Ambassador explained that declassification of documents from
the post-1996 period the commission would potentially cover
could be difficult because the issues are current and sources
need to be protected.
Twin Dangers: Clandestine Groups and Ex-PACs
--------------


7. (C) LaRue said that, although he was thrilled that the
threat of clandestine groups to human rights groups and the
general population was finally being addressed, he felt
increasingly worried about the resurgence of former civil
defense patrols (ex-PACs). LaRue heard that the military
veteran's association (AVEMILGUA) was looking to include the
ex-PACs as associate members. This would swell AVEMILGUA's
membership from its current 76,000 members to over 200,000,
making it a very powerful lobbying group in the upcoming
elections. The Ambassador asked if the former URNG
combatants had any sort of collective structure. LaRue shook
his head and said that, sadly, the political left is
fractured and weak. The majority of the former URNG members
feel abandoned by their leaders because since demobilization,
the leaders have been well compensated but the troops were
financially "left behind."

Opportunities: Decertification and CAFTA
--------------


8. (C) The Ambassador told LaRue that decertification was
coming soon, but that it will serve more as a moral statement
against the GOG and not financially affect average
Guatemalans due its probable waiver. The Ambassador said
that if the GOG earns back their certification, then the USG
will give it to them, because the USG wants to be clear that
this is not an attempt to influence 2003 elections. LaRue
said that he was pleased with the USG decision to decertify
and that he hoped it would prompt real, serious convictions
of criminals and steps towards improvement.


9. (C) The Ambassador and LaRue then turned the discussion
to the coincidental timing of decertification and CAFTA
negotiations. While some in civil society question how we
can engage the GOG on CAFTA and decertify them on
counternarcotics cooperation at the same time, the Ambassador
explained that at this stage there is no linkage. He
cautioned, however, that anti-drug cooperation would have to
be on track if CAFTA is to be approved by Congress.


10. (C) LaRue briefed that Ambassador on his involvement
with the Center for Integration and Development (CID),a
Central American civil society consortium that would like to
represent democratic and human rights concerns in the CAFTA
negotiations. LaRue explained that all the other Central
American governments have been open to including NGOs in the
informal process, while the FRG has ruled out any private
sector or civil society participation. The Ambassador said
that he was pleased that civil society groups recognize that
CAFTA not only promises lowered tariffs, but also good
governance, and that the USG is fully supportive of a process
that involves full consultation with a variety of
non-governmental actors.

Bright Spot: AID-supported CALDH Gang Project
-------------- -


11. (U) LaRue asked the Ambassador if he would lend
political support to a crime prevention program of CALDH that
is funded by AID for approximately 18 more months. LaRue
said that CALDH was very successful so far, but that recently
they had run into difficulties with the new police chief (who
refuses to meet with them) and the they were concerned about
the pre-Christmas preventative detention plan that triggered
the Pavoncito prison riot (Ref C). LaRue said that, during
the Pavoncito riots, the CALDH mentees refrained from
engaging in the violence and protected the art supplies that
were part of their rehabilitative program. The Ambassador
pledged to raise the project with the new police chief and
lobby for a meeting with project leaders.

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


12. (C) LaRue is an articulate and able human rights
activist, open to working cooperatively with other sectors of
society, and is the leader of Guatemala's largest human
rights NGO. He himself noted differences within the human
rights community over engagement with the GOG (he is in favor
of it, despite visceral dislike for Portillo, and CALDH's
open genocide case against Rios Montt),engagement in CAFTA
talks (again, he supports),and, frankly, his openness to
engagement with the USG in support of the human rights
agenda. We will follow up this meeting by continuing to
collaborate with the human rights community on the formation
of the commission, on CAFTA talks, monitoring the resurgence
of ex-PACs, and enlisting the support of civil society for
more serious counter-narcotics efforts.
Hamilton