GUATEMALA HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE #2-2004

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUATEMALA 000479

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE #2-2004



1. (SBU) Summary: The following is an update of significant
recent developments in human rights. Topics include:

-- GOG to Re-dedicate Peace Accords (para 2)

-- President Supports Gang Rehabilitation (3-4)

-- Bruce Harris Acquitted on Slander Charges (5)

-- Escape of convicted Mack murderer (6)

-- SOUTHCOM Promotes Human Rights (7)

-- UN Envoy Highlights Violence Against Women (8)

GOG To Re-Dedicate Peace Accords
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2. (SBU) Presidential Commissioner for Human Rights Frank
LaRue told PolOff on February 12 that he had presented, and
the Cabinet had approved, a February 25 public rededication
ceremony to full implementation of the 1996 Peace Accords.
LaRue shared a copy of the presentation, which includes: the
reduction and modernization of the military, the
restructuring and strengthening of the National Civil Police,
a federal budget focused on social spending, and the creation
of a national monument commemorating victims of conflict, and
a meeting of CA governments on peace issues. LaRue said that
President Berger would announce the re-dedication on February
25, the National Day for the Dignity of Victims of Violence.
In a February 10 meeting with Ambassador Hamilton, Peace
Secretary Victor Montejo, also confirmed the February 25

SIPDIS
event, said payments to former civil self defense patrols
(ex-PACs) would no longer be handled by his secretariat, and
emphasized his priority of creating a new indigenous unit.

President Supports Rehabilitation; Gangs Mock Efforts
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3. (U) On February 16, with AID support and with the
Ambassador in attendance, President Berger inaugurated the
"Casa de Jovenes," a rehabilitation facility for ex-gang
members. The center will provide shelter and vocational
training to over 100, and will be administered by APREDE, the
Alliance for the Prevention of Crime, a coalition of civil
society organizations funded under USAID's Civil Society
Program. At the event, Berger pledged the support of his
administration towards combating gang violence and the
reintegration of ex-members into society. In public remarks,
the Ambassador praised the project as an example of
successful cooperation between communities, civil society,
government, and the private sector.


4. (U) The event was marred by the discovery, in another
part of the capital, of the murder of a re-habilitated
ex-gang member with a note attached which mocked Berger's
commitment to rehabilitate gang members and combat gang
violence. Another murdered ex-gang member was discovered in
January with a note to the President signed "Mara
Salvatrucha" (one of the largest gangs),stating, "if you
continue to persecute the gang members, we will continue
killing people."

Bruce Harris Acquitted on Slander Charges
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5. (U) On January 30, Casa Alianza (Covenant House) Regional
Director for Latin America, Bruce Harris, was acquitted by a
Guatemalan criminal court of slander, libel and defamation
charges, concluding a case based on allegations stemming from
Mr. Harris' statements at a press conference on September 11,

1997. The charges were pressed by Susana Luarca de Umana, an
adoption attorney Harris named among others involved in
irregular adoptions from Guatemala. The court also denied
her request for $123,000 in damages. She vowed to appeal the
decision. EmbOff attended all phases o the trial and the
Ambassador attended the three hour sentencing. After the
verdict was announced, he told the press that the court's
decision "sends a clear and unequivocal message that
Guatemala's jurisprudence supports the freedom expression of
human rights defenders." Harris told the press he felt
vindicated by the verdict and said the true beneficiaries
were Guatemala's exploited children. He vowed to continue
Casa Alianza's efforts to protect children from illegal
adoptions.

Army Role in Escape of Convicted Mack Murderer?
-------------- --


6. (U) The Public Ministry is currently investigating claims
that Army officials aided in the escape of Juan Valencia
Osorio, whose prior conviction and 30-year sentence for the
murder of Myrna Mack Chang were reinstated on January 19,

2004. According to major daily "El Periodico," an army
vehicle was observed parked in front of Valencia's home on
January 22, blocking the view of the security forces who were
assigned to monitor the accused. When the car left, Valencia
had disappeared. On February 16, the Public Ministry
reportedly issued a court order giving the Ministry of
Defense three days to release information regarding the
identity of the army personnel driving the vehicle and the
individual who ordered the action. Valencia remains
at-large.

SOUTHCOM Promotes Human Rights In Military
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7. (U) Leana Bresnahan, SOUTHCOM Human Rights Division, and
Daniel Baldizon, Director of the Center for the Study,
Analysis and Training of Human Rights (CECADH),a Costa Rican
NGO, visited Guatemala February 11-13 to promote GOG
implementation of its prior commitments to a
SOUTHCOM-sponsored human rights initiative consensus
document. The consensus document details an approach to
improving human rights observation in the national military
in the areas of doctrine, education and training,
international control systems and cooperation with civil
authorities. SOUTHCOM categorized Guatemala as one of four
"Tier I" countries, based on the national security interests
of the USG and interest expressed by the GOG in the project,
and will prioritize the Guatemalan implementation of the
initiative. During this visit, Bresnahan and Baldizon met
with key military leadership and human rights leaders,
including Presidential Human Rights Commissioner Frank LaRue,
to discuss next steps for implementation of the proposal.
GOG leaders and human rights groups were uniformly supportive
of the initiative.

UN Envoy Highlights Violence Against Women
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8. (U) On February 8-15, UN Rapporteur for Violence Against
Women, Karin Erturk, visited Guatemala and met with President
Berger, VP Stein, and women's NGOs around the country to
evaluate the severity of crimes against women in Guatemala.
In numerous public statements, Erturk highlighted the
widespread failure to investigate and/or successfully
prosecute crimes in Guatemala, as the key problem here. She
also found that although few incidents of domestic violence
or incest are reported and even fewer are prosecuted, both
are severe problems in the nation. Her visit to Guatemala
followed visits to El Salvador and Mexico, where she noted
analogous problems. Erturk will release a study of her
findings in Guatemala and a comparative study of violence
against women in Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala to the UN
Human Rights Commission, in April 2005.
HAMILTON