Rights Action
June 21, 2021
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- Below: Background information from The National Security Archives
- Below: Letter writing campaign from Canadian-based organizations
- Please send your own letter (sample below) to your MP
- Please share and re-post this information
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Justice for “Death Squad Dossier” (Guatemalan Military Diary)
Protection needed for prosecutors, complainants & families in Guatemala
Statement by Canadian organizations in solidarity with Guatemala, May 28, 2021
After decades of searching by the families of the disappeared and murdered in Guatemala, a light has appeared with the arrest of 11 former army officers and specialists who participated in the forced disappearances, torture, sexual violation and crimes against humanity that were documented in the Military Diary or Death Squad Dossier.
The Death Squad Dossier consists of six sections: the first five contain information on the organization of intelligence archives, with lists of searches made to various homes and human rights organizations.
The sixth section is a detailed registry of 183 people submitted to diverse forms of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, and in some cases extra-judicial execution.
Since the guilty sentence against the Guatemalan State for the crimes of forced disappearance, extra-judicial execution and torture of a minor emitted by the Interamerican Human Rights Court in 2012, it was until today that we received the good news of the arrest of several of those implicated in the abduction and forced disappearance of the 183 people by State forces between September 1983 and March 1985.
Considering the advances made in Guatemala since 2010 in terms of the professionalization of prosecutors and auxiliaries, initiatives for the safety and wellbeing of Public Ministry employees, we view with concern all attempts to reverse the advances towards transitional justice that the Guatemalan justice system confronts now, such as: the dismantling of peace accords institutions, initiatives to legalize amnesty for crimes against humanity, and attacks on prosecutors, auxiliaries and human rights defenders.
We continue to be convinced that impunity in Guatemala can only generate greater impunity.
The included Canadian organizations in solidarity with Guatemala state to the national and international communities that:
- We respect the work that has been conducted by prosecutors Hilda Pineda and Erick de Leon and their teams in the Special Cases of the Internal Armed Conflict Unit of the Attorney General's Office, as well as the work of the family members and relatives of the disappeared who are complainants in the process, and whose physical integrity and dignity must be guaranteed.
- We demand all necessary measures of protection for the lives, well-being and work of the prosecutors and their teams, of prosecutors and auxiliaries working in high impact case units in Guatemala, and of the family members and relatives of the victims who are seeking justice.
- We condemn every type of intimidation and threats made following the arrests of 11 former army officers and specialists, including the use of government vehicles without licence plates as a new form of conducting illegal arrests.
- We condemn the use of media campaigns against people struggling for peace and justice in Guatemala.
Exercising our right to the truth, we continue demanding to know the whereabouts of the disappeared of the Military Diary, and the application of full justice against the people responsible.
We express our solidarity with the elders who passed away before now, who died with the anguish of never knowing the fate of their sons and daughters, and without the opportunity of looking in the face of those responsible and asking, “Where are the disappeared?”
#HastaEncontrarles #DiarioMilitar
Canada, May 28, 2021
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SUGGESTED LETTER to your MP
by email: Your MP’s email
Your name and address
XXX
June 21, 2021
Hon. XX, MP
MP’s address
RE: Safety of Guatemalan public prosecutors and family members of the disappeared
Dear XX,
As a Canadian citizen living in your riding, I am writing to request your support for obtaining a meeting with the Canadian ambassador in Guatemala, Honourable Rita Rudaitis-Renaud regarding the safety and integrity of public prosecutors Hilda Pineda and Erick de Leon, as well as family members and complainants in the Death Squad Dossier case.
On May 27, 11 former military officials were arrested accused of crimes against humanity during the internal armed conflict. Since then, we have seen an increase in intimidations against public prosecutors of the Special Investigation Unit of the Internal Armed Conflict, and family members of the disappeared.
Among the alleged perpetrators are retired colonel Jacobo Esdras Salan Sanchez, accused of being involved in the disappearance of 12-year-old, Juan Pablo Armira Lopez; as well as retired army general, Marco Antonio Gonzalez Taracena. Due to the high profile of every one of the accused, we believe that recent acts of harassment may stem from groups committed to impunity for war crimes.
We urgently need your support in urging the Canadian ambassador in Guatemala to meet with Manolo Farfan of the Association of Family Members of the Disappeared (FAMDEGUA), and public prosecutor Hilda Pineda, to present their concerns regarding the right to seek justice without threats.
If you need further information, please contact me at xxx
Attentively
XXX
cc: Honorable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, [email protected]
cc: (Groups listed above)
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Archives: Genocide Trial: US-backed General Efrain Rios Montt
At 6:45pm, May 10, 2013, general Efrain Rios Montt was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. A courageous, precedent setting achievement, all the moreso as repression, impunity and racism continue today in Guatemala. To date, there have been no justice processes against US political or military officials for the direct role of the US in Guatemala’s genocides. In this archive, a small collection of articles and reports about this historic trial and verdict.
Other War Crimes Trials Archives
Separate from, but similar to the genocide trial against US-backed General Efrain Rios Montt, a number of other war crimes trials have been working their way through the Guatemala courts, confronting endemic racism and repression, impunity and corruption in Guatemala. In this archive, a small collection of articles and reports about this historic trial and verdict.
Rights Action (US & Canada)
Since 1995, Rights Action: funds human rights, environment and territory defense struggles in Guatemala and Honduras; funds victims of repression and human rights violations, health harms and natural disasters (Covid19, hurricanes, etc.); and works to hold accountable the U.S. and Canadian governments, multi-national companies, investors and banks (World Bank, etc.) that help cause and profit from exploitation and poverty, repression and human rights violations, environmental harms, corruption and impunity in Honduras and Guatemala.
Tax-Deductible Donations (Canada & U.S.)
To support land, human rights and environmental defender groups in Honduras and Guatemala, and COVID and hurricane relief work, make check to "Rights Action" and mail to:
- U.S.: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
- Canada: (Box 552) 351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
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