Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04GUATEMALA1097
2004-05-05 13:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Guatemala
Cable title:  

HISTORIC STEPS FORWARD IN MACK CASE

Tags:  PHUM PGOV GT 
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051329Z May 04
UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001097 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV GT
SUBJECT: 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