PAYMENTS TO EX-PACS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001555

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND DRL/IL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINS PHUM ELAB GT
SUBJECT: PAYMENTS TO EX-PACS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL


1. (U) Summary: The Constitutional Court (CC) ruled on June
21 that payments to the ex-civil self defense patrollers
(ex-PACs),authorized by the government of former President
Alfonso Portillo, were unconstitutional. After a week of
public threats against the Court, the reaction to the ruling
from ex-PAC groups was relatively muted. Some declared the
start of a new 30-day deadline for payment. Others will meet
this weekend. Opposition leader Otto Perez Molina introduced
legislation in Congress to authorize the payments. Although
the Court decision gave the Berger government an opportunity
to back away from its commitment, President Berger promptly
reaffirmed it, defusing threats of violent protest. End
Summary.

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


2. (U) The CC determined that Portillo's November, 2003
executive decree authorizing three payments of $218 to over
500,000 ex-PACs required Congressional approval. The
Portillo government authorized and paid the first tranche of
payments during the electoral campaign last year. During the
2003 presidential campaign, candidate Berger said that he
supported payments to the ex-PAC. The payments were legally
challenged by human rights groups in 2003 and suspended by
the court in January.


3. (U) The CC's 6-1 decision came after Court President
Cipriano Soto and Magistrate Guillermo Ruiz Wong, both FRG
allies, recused themselves from the case. The lone supporter
of the ex-PAC payments on the CC was Francisco Palomo,
another FRG magistrate allied with FRG leader Efrain Rios
Montt. The press reported that non-FRG magistrates received
intimidating phone calls before the hearing.

Government Response
--------------


4. (U) In response to the CC decision, President Berger
reaffirmed his administration's determination to make the
payments, and announced that Deputy Peace Secretary Eduardo
Aguirre will coordinate a committee to define the form of
payment. Berger said he would prefer the payments to go to
projects to support ex-PACs in their communities rather than
to individuals, but said the government would await
Congressional action before making a final determination.


5. (U) Opposition leader Otto Perez Molina introduced
legislation to Congress on June 22 which would authorize the
payments. He was accompanied by ex-PAC representatives to
the session, and had publicly called for the ex-PACs to
refrain from protest pending Congressional action, which he
predicted would be swift.

Ex-PAC Reaction
--------------


6. (U) After issuing a series of vague threats against the
court in the run-up to the negative ruling, ex-PAC reaction
to the decision was muted. (Note: the ex-PAC are divided
geographically and by no means monolithic.) A threatened
occupation of the Court did not materialize on June 22.
Instead, ex-PAC leaders from the southwestern region
announced a new 30-day deadline for payment. Groups in the
highlands announced a meeting June 26 in Panajachel, Solola
province.

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


7. (SBU) Initial fears that the CC ruling would provoke an
angry ex-PAC reaction have diminished considerably. In the
past, ex-PACs had burnt tires, blocked roads and airports and
taken hostages when disgruntled, but had generally refrained
from violence. The risk of violence subsided considerably
with the announcement of the new 30-day deadline (all past
deadlines have been extended),Perez Molina's Congressional
action, and Berger's signal of support. The Berger
government has clearly decided against using the Court
decision to renege on its commitment to compensate the
ex-PACs in some way.
HAMILTON