GOG GIVES NEW REPARATIONS COMMISSION 3.7 MILLION

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001696

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM GT
SUBJECT: GOG GIVES NEW REPARATIONS COMMISSION 3.7 MILLION



1. (U) Summary. President Oscar Berger formally installed
Rosalina Tuyuc, head of CONAVIGUA (an organization
representing widows and orphans from the civil conflict),as
President of the National Reparations Commission (CNR) on
July 6. Berger also confirmed seven Commission
representatives from the human rights community (named by
consensus after a bitter two year dispute) and GOG
representatives from, among others, the Human Rights
Ombudsman (PDH),the President's Commission on Human Rights
(COPREDEH),and the Ministry of Finance. Berger presented
Tuyuc with a check for 3.75 million USD (30 million
quetzals),the first payment of 37.5 million USD (300 million
quetzals) that the GOG has committed to distributing annually
to victims of the civil conflict for the next 13 years. End
Summary.


2. (U) In addition to Rosalina Tuyuc, the Commission's
members include: Mario Polanco (GAM); Orlando Blanco (Social
Movement on Human Rights); Miguel Sanic (CONIC); Ruth del
Valle (Alliance against Impunity); Maria Toj (DEMA); Miguel
Itzep; and Aura Elena Farfan. During the ceremony, Rosalina
Tuyuc announced that the first payment would be used to
establish CNR regional offices around the country. The
Commission will determine who qualifies for reparations based
on the reports of the Truth Commission (CEH),the Recovery of
the Historical Memory Project (REMHI, published by Bishop
Juan Gerardi in the Archbishop's Office on Human Rights two
days before his 1998 murder),and information from other
human rights groups. The members of the Commission will be
reelected in one year.


3. (U) The 3.75 million USD paid on July 6 was a small start
to the total 37.5 million that has already been approved for
the FY2004 budget, and which the GOG committed to pay for
the next 13 years (though later payments will depend on the
next government). After identifying the first victims, the
Reparations Commission plans to use the funds to develop
individual and community projects, instead of cash payments.
According to the Executive's tasking to the Commission, 90%
of the funds must go directly to victims.


4. (SBU) Comment: The selection of the civil society
representatives for the Reparations Commission took over a
year, and resulted in a bitter split between two factions of
human rights organizations -- the "Coordinadora" (which
includes more traditionally Mayan groups, such as GAM,
CONAVIGUA, CONIC, Defensoria Maya),and the "Instancia"
(which includes organizations more historically based in the
capital, such as CALDH and Alliance Against Impunity). The
two sides arrived at a last minute consensus, replacing five
individuals who were elected to the Commission during a
disputed election in May 2003 with an even split of
representatives from the two networks (Cordinadora: Tuyuc,
Polanco, Toj, Sanic; Instancia: del Valle, Blanco, Itzep,
Farfan). Now, the Commission's members are trying to set
aside personal differences to face the monumental task of
deciding who will qualify for reparations and how to
distribute funds to the families of over 200,000 war victims.



5. (U) Frank LaRue, head of COPREDEH, told HROff on July 8
that he attended the first Commission meeting earlier in the
day, and that two sides had, for the time, resolved their
dispute. LaRue also noted that COPREDEH, one of the
Commission representatives, proposes to include the
plaintiffs in 53 Guatemalan cases active in the
Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in the compensation
distributed by the