Take action: Tell Tahoe Resources to pack its bags and leave Guatemala!

The time has come to support community resistance to the Escobal mine by echoing their voices internationally. 

Take Action! Write Kevin McArthur, President of Tahoe Resources, to demand the company respect communities' right to self-determination and leave Guatemala!

Since communities surrounding Tahoe Resource's Escobal silver mine first organized community consultations against the project in 2011, NISGUA has closely followed and reported on ongoing resistance to the mine. During the past year, conflict around the mine site located in San Rafael las Flores in southeast Guatemala has intensified. For in-depth NISGUA analysis on community opposition to the Escobal mine and other movements in defense of territory, read our detailed report, Exercising rights: Communities defend territory.

In May 2013, a series of referenda on the future of the Escobal project in mine affected communities of San Rafael Las Flores was abruptly cut short when the government called for a state of siege in the region. The state of siege, just one step away from a state of war, undermined legitimate resistance and quashed the consultation process.

In the days following the declaration of the state of siege, former security manager for Tahoe Resources, Alberto Rotondo, was charged with ordering the April 27 attack that seriously wounded six community members. A report recently made public revealed that in mid-2012, Rotondo authored an incident report for Tahoe subsidiary, Minera San Rafael, that outlined a strategy to respond to community opposition through the criminalization of community and religious leaders. 

In addition to expressing opposition to the project through community consultations, more than 200 individuals affected by the Escobal project filed legal complaints about the project with the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM). MEM dismissed all of the community complaints, clearing the path for the granting of Tahoe's mining license. The complainants appealed MEM's dismissal, and in July, a Guatemalan court ruled in their favor, a decision that partner groups believe should effectively suspended the company's exploitation license. Despite these still unresolved questions, Tahoe has moved forward with production, reporting its first shipment of mineral concentrate on October 15.

Take action: tell Tahoe Resources to leave Guatemala!

"No Impunity! No Amnesty!": Organizations react to news of CC ruling

Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre splashed "CC brings José Efraín Ríos Montt closer to amnesty" across its front page headlines, with the corresponding article publishing excerpts of a leaked ruling issued by the Constitutional Court. Plaintiffs and lawyers still have not received notification of the decision at the time of this writing. The article states that the ruling outlines a legal path for granting amnesty to Efraín Ríos Montt for crimes of genocide. Other major news sources and a spokesperson for the Constitutional Court have since stated the decision does not grant amnesty for Ríos Montt, but directs lower courts to clarify previous rulings that denied him amnesty. The Constitutional Court utilized a similar strategy in annulling the genocide case sentence, providing legal direction towards annulment while ordering a lower court to carry it out.

In a press conference today, the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH) and representatives from other human rights organizations stressed that genocide and crimes against humanity are not eligible for amnesty as outlined in the 1996 National Reconciliation Law. They highlighted that any resolution granting amnesty for genocide and crimes against humanity would be a political decision not supported by national or international law. Read their press release below for further details.

CALDH representatives issue statement to the press

AMNESTY IS NOT APPLICABLE TO THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

The publication of the article in the [Prensa Libre] newspaper with respect to the supposed decision of the Constitutional Court (CC), has once again taken the Guatemalan people by surprise. It is seen as an attempt to justify the possible granting of amnesty for José Efraín Ríos Montt, who was already convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, crimes that are NOT ELIGIBLE FOR AMNESTY.

Article 8 of the National Reconciliation Law of 1996 foresees the application of amnesty with respect to political crimes committed during the internal armed conflict and limits the possibility for the application of amnesty in the following way: “The extinction of penal responsibility referred to in this law will not be applicable to the crimes of genocide, torture and forced disappearance, nor to those crimes that do not have a statute of limitations or that do not allow for the extinction of penal responsibility, in accordance with the internal law or the international treaties ratified by Guatemala."

The political constitution and the obligations that are derived from international law indicate that the crimes committed in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law are inadmissible [for amnesty] and cannot go unpunished.

The state of Guatemala has been internationally condemned for not investigating, trying and sanctioning the people that committed acts of torture, extrajudicial executions, forced disappearance, sexual violence and other grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights.

None of the people accused in cases for crimes of genocide, torture, sexual violence, forced disappearance and crimes against humanity committed during the internal armed conflict are subject to the application of amnesty, statute of limitations or the extinction of penal responsibility.

According to Prensa Libre, the supposed decision ordered the High Risk Crimes Court “A” Judge to SUBSTANTIATE the decision related to the decree 8-86*, a decree that Judge Carol Patricia already ruled on in the case against Héctor Mario López Fuentes. She argued that, “whilst the existence of the decree 8-86 has been proven… the content of article 46 of the political constitution of the Republic of Guatemala cannot be dismissed in that it established the general principal that human rights treaties and conventions accepted and ratified by Guatemala have preeminence over internal law…the types of crimes for which the accused were ordered to stand trial are universally prosecuted."

Neither the victims nor the plaintiffs in the case have been notified of the resolution. It is strange and inexplicable that the Constitutional Court should provide the information exclusively to one media outlet and not to the interested parties, the rest of the media and the people of Guatemala in general.

It is our opinion that there may be an erroneous interpretation of the information which could produce harmful consequences for the justice system, given that today the secretary of the same Constitutional Court gave a public declaration to the radio station, Emisoras Unidas, clarifying that the CC is not applying amnesty but rather asking the High Risk Court “A” Judge to substantiate [her previous] decision with respect to decree 8-86.

We ask that the international community observe the fulfillment of the State’s international obligations to human and humanitarian rights so that the acts of barbarism committed against the civilian population do not go unpunished.

We ask that Guatemalan society remain alert to the possible maneuvers of the CC and that it advocate for rapid prosecution based on fulfillment of and respect for the political constitution of the Republic and international law so that delinquent acts of any nature do not go unpunished.

We ask that the Human Rights Ombudsmen observe the actions of the Constitutional Court in order to guarantee the fulfillment of the international obligations of the state with regard to human rights.

The victims of genocide and the people of Guatemala ask: “Does this information respond to the interests and structures of those who have publicly demonstrated their intention to maintain impunity for these cases?" The rulings of the CC with respect to the genocide case against Ríos Montt, have proven that there are judges who continue to pave the road to impunity.

IT WAS PROVEN, THERE WAS GENOCIDE

WE SILENCE THE VOICES OF IMPUNITY

Center for Human Rights Legal Action

Guatemala, October 23, 2013

*8-86 was a wartime decree under the Mejía Victores administration granting general amnesty to all those responsible for, or accused of, political and related common crimes committed between March 23, 1982, and January 14, 1986.

Comunicado: Amnistía no es aplicable a delitos de genocidio y delitos de lesa humanidad

El día de hoy, la Prensa Libre publicó un articulo declarando que "Ríos Montt se acerca a amnistía, según Corte de Constitucionalidad". El Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos responde a la nota de prensa con el siguiente comunicado.

AMNISTÍA NO ES APLICABLE A DELITOS DE GENOCIDIO Y
  DELITOS DE LESA HUMANIDAD

La publicación de una nota de prensa en un medio de comunicación escrito, respecto a una supuesta resolución de la Corte de Constitucionalidad, nuevamente sorprende al pueblo de Guatemala, por ser un intento de justificar una posible amnistía para José Efraín Ríos Montt, quien ya fue condenado por genocidio y delitos contra los deberes de humanidad que NO SON AMNISTIABLES.

El Artículo 8 de la Ley de Reconciliación Nacional de 1996 en la cual se prevé la amnistía respecto de delitos políticos cometidos durante el conflicto armado interno, limita el alcance de la amnistía de la siguiente manera: “La extinción de la responsabilidad penal a que se refiere esta ley, no será aplicable a los delitos de genocidio, tortura y desaparición forzada, así como aquellos delitos que sean imprescriptibles o que no admitan la extinción de responsabilidad penal, de conformidad con el derecho interno o los tratados internacionales ratificados por Guatemala”.

La Constitución Política y las obligaciones que derivan del derecho internacional indican que son inadmisibles y no pueden quedar en la impunidad los hechos cometidos en violación al derecho internacional de los derechos humanos y el derecho humanitario.

El Estado de Guatemala ha sido condenado internacionalmente por no investigar, juzgar y sancionar a las personas que hubieren cometido actos de tortura, ejecuciones extrajudiciales, desaparición forzada, violación sexual y otras graves violaciones al derecho internacional humanitario y de los derechos humanos.

Por lo que en ningún caso las conductas cometidas por las personas acusadas por delitos de Genocidio, Tortura, Violación Sexual, Desaparición Forzada y Delitos contra Deberes de Humanidad cometidos durante el conflicto armado interno pueden ser objeto de la aplicación de amnistía, prescripción o extinción de la responsabilidad penal

Según Prensa Libre, la supuesta resolución ordena a la Jueza de Mayor Riesgo “A”, FUNDAMENTAR lo relativo al decreto 8-86, aspecto sobre el cual la Jueza Carol Patricia ya se pronunció en el caso contra Héctor Mario López Fuentes, argumentando que: “si bien se demostró la existencia del decreto ley 8-86… no se debe olvidar que el contenido del artículo 46 de la Constitución Política de la República de Guatemala, en cuanto que se establece el principio general de que en materia de derechos humanos los tratados y convenciones aceptados y ratificados por Guatemala, tienen preeminencia sobre el derecho interno… los tipos de delitos por los que se ligó a proceso a los sindicados, son perseguidos universalmente.”

Ni las víctimas ni los querellantes del caso han sido notificados de dicha resolución, por lo que es extraño e inexplicable que la Corte de Constitucionalidad de a conocer resoluciones exclusivamente a un medio y no a las partes interesadas, al resto de medios y al pueblo de Guatemala en general.

Consideramos que puede haber una interpretación errónea de la información, que produce efectos nefastos al sistema de justicia,  ya que el mismo secretario de la Corte de Constitucionalidad, el día de hoy en declaración pública a  la radiodifusora  Emisoras Unidas, aclaró que la CC no está aplicando amnistía, sino que se le pide a la Jueza de Mayor Riesgo A que fundamente respecto al decreto 8-86.

Pedimos a la Comunidad Internacional observar el cumplimiento de las obligaciones internacionales que tiene el Estado en materia de derechos humanos y derecho humanitario para que los actos de barbarie cometidos en contra de la población civil no combatiente no sean amnistiados.

A la sociedad guatemalteca solicitamos estar alertas con las posibles maniobras de la CC. Asimismo, promover que todas las personas sean juzgadas de forma pronta y cumplida con apego y respeto a lo establecido en la Constitución Política de la República y el derecho internacional para que los hechos delictivos de cualquier naturaleza no queden impunes.

Solicitamos al Procurador de los Derechos Humanos observar las actuaciones de la Corte de Constitucionalidad para que se garantice el cumplimiento de las obligaciones internacionales del Estado en materia de Derechos Humanos.

Las víctimas del genocidio y el pueblo de Guatemala nos preguntamos ¿Si esta información responde a intereses y estructuras que han manifestado públicamente su intención de que los casos queden en la impunidad? La manera en que la CC ha venido resolviendo en torno al caso por genocidio contra Ríos Montt, ha dejado en evidencia que existen magistrados que siguen allanando el camino a la impunidad.

YA SE PROBÓ, SÍ HUBO GENOCIDIO
ACALLEMOS LAS VOCES DE LA IMPUNIDAD

¡Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos!
Guatemala, 23 de octubre 2013.

Declaration from the V Gathering of the Latin American Network against Dams and for Rivers, Communities and Water (REDLAR)

Last week, NISGUA had the honor of participating in the fifth gathering of the Latin American Network against Dams and for Rivers, Communities and Water. Before arriving at the meeting site in Retalteco, Petén, NISGUA staff accompanied an 18 person international delegation visit to communities in the Ixcán region resisting the imposition of the Xalalá hydroelectric dam. If built, the dam would be the second largest in Guatemala and would directly impact approximately 14,000 people in 58 communities.

Despite widespread community opposition, the current government has made clear its intention to push the Xalalá project forward. Read more about community mobilization and ongoing peaceful resistance to the government’s announcement to re-open bidding on the dam project here.

Declaration from the V Gathering of the Latin American Network against Dams and for Rivers, Communities and Water (REDLAR)

From October 7 to 12, 2013, 537 delegates from dam affected communities from 14 Latin American countries joined together in the community of Retalteco in the municipality of Las Cruces, Petén, Guatemala for the V REDLAR gathering.

First, the international delegates visited communities threatened by the construction of dams in Huehuetenango, Ixcán, Purulhá and Petén.

During the gathering, delegates shared information, analyzed policies and interests behind the construction of dams and discussed strategies for joint actions. The reality of each country demonstrates the existence of an extremely aggressive policy that promotes the exploitation of natural resources and deepens the extractive model. This development model, which time and again requires more energy and minerals in order to satisfy market needs, puts the interests of the economic and political elite at odds with the well-being of the majority of the population.

Due to it’s ambition, this system encourages predatory consumption, which puts the lives of all human beings at risk and threatens the subsistence of the most poor and vulnerable communities, particularly affecting women and children. The companies and governments do not hesitate to use deceit and violence in order to appropriate our common goods. We are currently living through a new era in which original people are suffering the dispossession of their lands.
 
The common denominators between our Latin American countries are: alliances between governments and corporations resulting in a lack of information and consultation with communities; the dispossession and displacement of original and traditional peoples; noncompliance in the payment of reparations for damage caused by the construction of dams; relevant national legislation at the service of the interests of big companies; partiality of judicial systems; militarization of communities and regions that defend their territory; and the legal prosecution, kidnapping, torturing, and assassinations of human rights defenders.

Once again, we confirm that the grave social and environmental damages generated by dams negatively affect the land, food, homes, health, and other human rights of millions of peoples and nature. This alliance promotes mining and oil projects that appropriate, extract, contaminate and privatize water. The promise of development is no more than an illusion used to deceive communities.

Dams are part of a discourse that proposes false solutions. They are not clean energy, they are destructive and contaminate, they cause irreversible environmental and social impacts, alter the course of rivers, provoke massive displacements, land grabs, destruction of biodiversity and division of communities.

The increase in social conflicts is provoked by the imposition of government plans on communities without considering their free, prior and informed consent. REDLAR promotes the peoples' rights, defense of nature and social justice.

After six days of sharing our knowledge and experiences: 

• We reaffirm our commitment to continue to defend rivers and life and to resist the imposition of mega-projects.
• We propose the transformation of the current energy model into one that recognizes and respects ancestral knowledge, prioritizes peoples' needs before global market interests and in which energy is not thought of as a commodity, but instead as a fundamental right of the people, within a logic of responsible consumption and forms of respectful generation of the rights of Mother Earth.
• We demand that the countries of Latin American provide payment, reparations and integral compensation for damages caused to communities displaced by dams.
• We demand respect for the rights of communities where new dams construction is being planned based on parameters defined by international conventions that: protect human and indigenous rights; respect the right to say NO: and respect the results of community consultations, plebiscites and other forms of decision making. 
• We condemn the assassinations, kidnapping, tortures, repression, criminalization, and prosecution of communities and human rights defenders.
• We declare our special solidarity with our brothers and sisters of COPINH from Honduras, of Santa Cruz Barillas and Cobán, who are being criminalized for their struggle.

We will remain firm in our resistance and struggle in defense of sacred life, Mother Earth, rivers and water.
We will strengthen our networks and local, national and regional movements against dams and in defense of territory.
We will promote strategic alliances with other land and urban movements that fight for societies based on justice and dignity.

WATER, LAND AND ENERGY ARE NOT COMMODITIES
RIVERS FOR LIFE, NOT FOR DEATH
FREE RIVERS, FREE PEOPLE
WATER IS NOT FOR SALE, IT IS LOVED AND DEFENDED

LATIN AMERICAN NETWORK AGAINST DAMS AND FOR RIVERS, COMMUNITIES AND WATER -REDLAR-
Retalteco, Petén, Guatemala October 12, 2013

Justice for Genocide campaign: Presentation to the AJR

This past spring, thousands of you participated in our international "Justice for Genocide" photo and pledge campaign in support of the brave survivors of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR).

NISGUA staff recently shared your photos and messages with the members of the AJR during their national assembly, in which participants from dozens of rural communities gathered to celebrate the victories of this past year and look to the road ahead.

Our display of over 200 pictures and messages of solidarity was enthusiastically received, with hundreds filing past the photos to see the messages sent from across the world.

Photos from the campaign lined the hall in which the AJR held their conference, representing the international network of supporters who stand with the survivors.

Witnesses and survivors with decades of experience receiving international human rights accompaniment searched the photos to find familiar faces, sharing stories and memories of the hundreds of volunteers who have visited their communities over the years.

Leaders from the organization thanked the international network for their ongoing solidarity and asked international observers on the ground in Guatemala and abroad to remain committed and attentive to the work of the AJR as they continue forward in the ongoing search for justice.

As plaintiffs in the historic Guatemalan genocide trial, the AJR has been at the forefront of the fight to achieve justice for crimes committed over 30 years ago. 13 years after their first complaint was filed before the Guatemalan courts, the AJR succeeded in obtaining a conviction against former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt in April of this year. The historic sentence of genocide dictated by the court highlights the eyewitness accounts the AJR has personally shared with international accompaniers for decades and now stands as testimony to the years of struggle undertaken by the organization.

In addition to the 215 photos and 1,767 pledges we gathered during our Justice for Genocide campaign, we also shared the results of our broader media work, which included:

• Over 40 articles, interviews and press releases
• Over 1,500 Tweets during our live English language coverage from inside the courtroom
• Nearly 30,000 visits to our blog and website during the trial
• Speaking events with the Association for Justice and Reconciliations in New York City and Washington, D.C.

NISGUA has provided human rights accompaniment to the witness organization, the Association for Justice and Reconciliation, and their lawyers, the Center for Human Rights Legal Action since 2000. Applications to become a human rights observer with NISGUA are now being accepted, learn more here.

Read "Letters for Justice" to find out more about NISGUA's more than 13 years of accompaniment to the AJR. To receive ongoing updates, follow our Twitter feed @NISGUA_Guate, like our Facebook page and sign up for email updates.

Report reveals company strategy to criminalize opposition to Escobal mine

 “In order to suffer what we have suffered, we must be committed. We have to imagine ourselves like pencils; if we aren't worn down, then we aren't doing our part” - Community leader from Jalapa arrested in September for protesting against Tahoe Resources' Escobal silver mine

Just over one year ago, on September 17, 2012, 31 people were arrested during a peaceful protest against Tahoe Resources' Escobal project in San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa. 26 community members, many active in the local Catholic parishes, were charged with terrorism and arson, accusations that were finally thrown out more than six months later when a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to proceed to trial.

While the use of the justice system to stymie popular opposition to large-scale development projects has become increasingly common throughout Guatemala, the role of the companies in promoting the criminalization of community leaders has been less well understood. However, an incident report authored by Alberto Rotondo, former security manager for Tahoe Resources currently facing trial for an armed attack against protesters, offers a glimpse at the internal policies of the wholly-owned Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael, and insight into their strategy to address community opposition. 

The report outlines the company's investigation of local institutions and communities it believes are responsible for mobilizing the population against the mine. The intelligence gathered by Rotondo and his team includes names, individual cell phones numbers and family relationships. The July 2012 report highlights the Catholic Church as the key institution responsible for communities' “anti-mining” agenda and was presented to the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor as evidence in a separate investigation of explosives stolen in November 2012.

In the report Rotondo recommends, “The initiation of legal actions as these events warrant against all people named in the above paragraphs and others involved.” He goes on to urge the implementation of “a strategic legal and public media communications campaign to prove the involvement of the groups responsible for these actions, especially the involvement of the Catholic Church so that the authorities are forced to take legal action against them.”

Since Rotondo wrote the report in mid 2012, there have been more than 60 legal processes initiated against community members in connection with their opposition to Tahoe's Escobal silver mine. The majority of the charges have been dismissed due to a lack of evidence and the remaining accusations, while still outstanding, have failed to move past the investigation stage. The impacts of criminalization on communities, families and individuals, however, have left their mark. In late September 2013, victims of criminalization and violence stemming from the presence of the mine gathered to share their experiences and seek out resources to confront ongoing persecution.

Many of those gathered shared personal stories of violence suffered at the hands of national police and private security guards during violent evictions of peaceful protests against the mine.  Immediately following these evictions, they indicated that the trauma continued. Many community members were transferred to a Guatemala City prison where they suffered intimidation and fear, in addition to hunger and physical injury. In the case of those arrested in September 2012, their hearing was canceled three times before the process was officially closed, aggravating the considerable psychological trauma already suffered by the accused.

“During the eviction and in prison, I suffered beatings, insults and humiliation, but I am here with my head held high. I am not facing this with fear, but with courage. I am committed to this struggle and it doesn't end here. It is just beginning.” - Community leader from Jalapa arrested in September, who shared her traumatizing experience in one of Guatemala City's maximum security prisons.

During the gathering, community members expressed the joys and sorrows of their struggle in defense of territory and the right to self-determination. Leaders from Nueva Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa de Lima and Mataquescuintla shared a sense of accomplishment felt after successfully organizing community referenda in all three municipalities, in which the populations resoundingly rejected mining in their territories. As a result, even while criminal prosecution for their opposition to Tahoe's project is an ongoing threat, community leaders remain committed to their struggle against the mine.

“I am leaving here feeling better than when I came. I know that I am not alone.” - Community leader and victim of violence from San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa reflects on the outcome of the September gathering.

NISGUA has accompanied communities in opposition to the Tahoe Resources Escobal mine since 2011. 

Communiqué denouncing recent repression in Northern Huehuetenango

On September 28, conflict erupted again in Northern Huehuetenango in response to the imposition of Spanish-owned Cambalam hydro-electric project in Santa Cruz Barillas. Despite ongoing criminalization and repression, community members continue to demand respect for the 2007 community consultation rejecting large-scale development projects in their territory.


During his September 3 visit to Barillas, President Otto Pérez Molina hailed hydro-electric projects as the future of development in the region and announced the establishment of a dialogue round table, supposedly to address ongoing community opposition to the projects. In the end, the promise of dialogue remained unfulfilled; the conversation did not take place, as the president failed to attend the meeting scheduled for September 19. While the public discourse has advocated for negotiation with communities, in practice, the government has consistently responded to popular opposition with militarization, repression and criminalization.

In the communique below, the Western Peoples' Council and the Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango denounce this new wave of violence and militarization and call for international solidarity, the cancellation of licenses for controversial mega-projects and respect for community right to consultation.

We denounce before the international and national community: The current aggression against the Q'anjob'al, Akateko, Chuj and mestizo peoples in Northern Huehuetenango by the President and Commander of Chief of the national army, General Otto Fernando Pérez Molina, who in a recent press conference highlighted the importance of water, mineral, oil and forest resources.

These aggressions are part of a new process of transnational invasion, protected by the government in power, who take turns implementing projects of plunder in the name of false development. These actions are framed within a strategy of counterinsurgency and make us remember and relive the internal armed conflict of the 1980s during which the army orchestrated plans of aggression and violated civil society's fundamental human rights.

On September 28-30 of this year, the government used low flying helicopters, armored vehicles, army troops and National Civil Police (PNC) special forces units to terrorize the population. This strategy of invasion, which disproportionately uses police and military forces characteristic of a state of war, resulted in one civilian death and many injured.  This result is the unforgivable responsibility of the government.

This repressive and terrorist behavior attempts to paralyze communities' pacific and legitimate struggle in defense of territory. The licenses [for mega-projects] have been granted to companies in territories where we exist and live, and that we have been caring for during thousands of years. We will not allow our territories to be destroyed.

THEREFORE: We call on the international and national community to speak out and show solidarity with the people of Guatemala. We will remain vigilant and in permanent observation of the human and collective rights of the people, as attacks against the civilian population of Barillas continue.

WE DEMAND:
1. The government and its ministries respect the human and collective rights of the people, and that they stop lying to and confusing the national and international community.
2. The withdrawal of all army and PNC special forces troops in Northern Huehuetenango in order to guarantee the protection of human rights and not to serve transnational companies.
3. The cancellation of mining, hydroelectric, oil and other mega-project licenses that have been granted in Huehuetenango and which are responsible for undermining peace and liberty.
4. Respect for community consultations carried out   from 2006 to the present.

The Q'anjob'al, Chuj, Akateko and mestizo people have historically cared for territory for the benefit of everyone, including future generations. We only want to be treated as people and to be allowed to live freely in peace and harmony with Mother Nature.

Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH)
Members of the Western Peoples' Council (CPO)

Huehuetenango, September 30, 2013

Comunicado denunciando agresiones en el Norte de Huehuetenango

A LA COMUNIDAD NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL EXPRESAMOS:

La agresión actual a los pueblos Q’anjob’al, Akateko, Chuj y mestizo de la Región Norte del departamento de Huehuetenango, de parte del Presidente y comandante en Jefe del Ejército Nacional, General Otto Fernando Pérez Molina, quien en conferencia de prensa resaltó la importancia rica de los recursos hídricos, minerales, petrolero y forestales. Estas agresiones, son parte del nuevo proceso de invasión transnacional tutelado por los gobiernos que se turnan en el poder e implantan proyectos de saqueo en nombre de un Falso Desarrollo. Estas acciones, se enmarcan dentro de una estrategia de carácter contrainsurgente que hacen recordar y revivir el conflicto armado interno de los años ochenta, donde los militares orquestaban planes de agresión y violentaban derechos humanos fundamentales de la sociedad civil; los días 28, 29 y 30 de septiembre del presente año, han usado helicópteros a vuelo rasante, vehículos artillados, tropas del ejército y elementos de fuerzas especiales de la Policía Nacional Civil, para aterrorizar a la población. Toda la estrategia de invasión ha utilizado desproporcionadamente a los elementos policiales y militares con características de estado de Guerra, en la cual se ha ocasionado la muerte de ciudadanos y varios heridos; ésta, es una responsabilidad imperdonable del Estado. Estas conductas represivas y terroristas, pretenden paralizar las luchas pacíficas y legítimas en defensa del territorio de los pueblos. Las licencias han sido otorgadas a las empresas en territorios donde existimos, vivimos y que hemos cuidado por miles de años.y no permitiremos que nos destruyan.

POR LO TANTO: Hacemos un llamado a la comunidad nacional e internacional para que se pronuncie y se solidarice con los pueblos que conviven en Guatemala. Mantendremos una vigilancia y observancia permanente de los derechos humanos y derechos colectivos de los pueblos, porque los ataques continúan en contra de la población civil de Barillas.

EXIGIMOS:
1. Al Gobierno y sus Ministros que respeten los derechos humanos y colectivos de los pueblos así como dejar de mentir y confundir a la comunidad nacional e internacional.
2. El retiro de todas las tropas del ejército y fuerzas especiales de la PNC del Norte de Huehuetenango, garantizando la protección de los derechos humanos y no al servicio de las empresas transnacionales.
3. La cancelación de las licencias mineras, hidroeléctricas, petroleras y otros mega-proyectos otorgados en el departamento, que son las causas del socavamiento de la paz y la libertad de los pueblos.
4. El respeto a las consultas comunitarias expresadas desde el año 2,006 hasta la fecha.

LOS PUEBLOS Q'ANJOB'AL, CHUJ, AKATEKO Y MESTIZO HAN CUIDADO HISTORICAMENTE EL TERRITORIO PARA QUE TODOS Y LAS FUTURAS GENERACIONES. LOS PUEBLOS SOLO QUEREMOS QUE NOS TRATEN COMO PERSONAS Y QUE NOS DEJEN VIVIR EN PAZ Y EN ARMONÍA CON LA MADRE NATURALEZA.

ASAMBLEA DEPARTAMENTAL DE LOS PUEBLOS DE HUEHUETENANGO ADH. MIEMBROS DEL CONSEJO DE LOS PUEBLOS DE OCCIDENTE, CPO.

Huehuetenango, 30 de Septiembre del año 2,013.