HISTORIC STEPS FORWARD IN MACK CASE

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001097 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV GT SUBJECT: HISTORIC STEPS FORWARD IN MACK CASE ¶1. Summary: The Ambassador attended a formal ceremony at the National Palace on April 22, at which President Oscar Berger publicly apologized to the Mack family for the state's responsibility in the 1990 murder of anthropologist Myrna Mack. The remarkable ceremony was prompted by a November 25, 2003, ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) that the GOG should formally recognize its responsibility for the crime. End Summary. ¶2. The highly public and well attended ceremony conveyed a spirit of reconciliation and highlighted warm relations between the Berger administration, the Mack family, and the Myrna Mack Foundation. Lucrecia Hernandez, Myrna Mack's only child, gave the most moving speech, describing her mother's life and calling on the state to prevent abuses by state agents in the future. Helen Mack, Myrna's sister and the director of the Myrna Mack Foundation, described her 14-year quest for justice and expressed appreciation to President Berger for his symbolic action. The ceremony was also attended by Vice President Stein, President of Congress Morales, President of the Supreme Court Castillo, numerous members of Cabinet and Congress, and a major part of the diplomatic corps. ¶3. On April 19, the GOG also honored Jose Miguel Merida Escobar, the primary investigator in the Myrna Mack case, who was murdered in August of 2001 after presenting evidence against Noel de Jesus Beteta. Following speeches by Frank LaRue, head of the President's Commission on Human Rights; Helen Mack; Arturo Soto, the Interior Minister; President Berger presented Merida's parents with the Golden Cross award marking their son's work. ¶4. Comment: Despite these noteworthy steps by the GOG to honor Myrna Mack and comply with IACHR rulings, the progress is incomplete. Juan Valencia Osorio, whose 30-year conviction for Myrna Mack's murder was reinstated by the Supreme Court on January 19, 2004, remains a fugitive from justice. No one has ever been convicted or imprisoned for the murder of Merida Escobar. Finally, the Berger administration has now complied with part of the IAHRC's ruling, but amid a budget crisis, have not yet allocated any funds to pay the $616,000 USD in monetary reparations recommended (the highest amount ever awarded by the IAHRC). HAMILTON