Archive for the Audio Category

Podcast: Evictions from Canadian Mining Company's Land

| February 21st, 2007

There's an interesting 15 minute interview with Dawn Paley on the Rabble Podcast Network reporting on the violent evictions that took place on land controversially owned by Canadian mining company Skye Resources. The interview gives a good overview of the current situation in Izabal, Guatemala at present.

In a recent open letter (posted on Upside Down World) to Ian Austin, Skye Resources CEO, Dawn Paley made the following two points:

“Having witnessed two days of evictions, on January 8th and 9th, 2007, I would here like to clarify two important points that I can only assume have not been properly communicated to you by your colleagues in Guatemala. The first point arises in your response to the email campaign about the evictions, dated January 17th, 2007, where you state that “the police were unarmed.” 

With all due respect, Mr. Austin, that is not true. Many members of the police were armed with guns or/and automatic weapons, all of them appeared to be carrying batons and tear gas, and some were carrying riot shields. More troubling still, and in direct contradiction of the 1996 Peace Accords in Guatemala, heavily armed members of the Guatemalan army participated in the evictions that took place on the 9th of January.

Please see attached photos shot by photographer James Rodriguez at the evictions on January 9th, 2007. 

The second point requiring clarification is your January 17th contention that with regards to the houses burned on the 9th of January “we don't know who started the fires, we do know it was not anyone who works for CGN or contracted by CGN.” Again, Mr. Austin, that is simply not true. 

CGN/Skye Resources employees were instructed by CGN/Skye Resources lawyers to burn the structures in Barrio Revolución on the 9th of January. The District Attorney responsible for reading the eviction notice, Mr. Rafael Andrade Escobar, denounced these acts of arson very clearly as acts carried out by employees of CGN/Skye Resources.”

As yet no response has been posted on the Skye Resources website to these latest open letters from Dawn Paley and Victoria Henderson.

Background

Dawn Paley, an independent journalist was in Izabal, with the photographer James Rodriguez and film maker Steven Schnoor during the forced evictions in early January. You can read more on Dawn's blog 'Reporter Zero', James' blog 'Mi Mundo' and watch Steven Schnoor's video of the evictions.

Cerigua have just (22-02-07) posted a report: “Campesinos/tierras: Narran historia de desalojo“

“Rony Méndez, líder comunitario de La Unión, El Estor, Izabal y víctima de “supuestas” órdenes de desalojo emitidas por el Juzgado de Instancia Penal, Narcoactividad y Delito Contra el Ambiente de la localidad, dijo a Cerigua que garantías ciudadanas fueron violentadas por el estado guatemalteco durante los hechos.”

You can find other related links on the mining issue in Guatemala here. Mining is an issue that we've covered on a regular basis on this blog.

Print Friendly

Posted in Audio, Guatemala, Main Page, Solidarity in Action | No Comments »

From Unjust Police Force To Police Enforcing Justice

| February 2nd, 2007
From the Project for the Recuperation of the Historic Archives of the National Police (PRAHPN). Photo: Xeni Jardin

The Guardian has just printed an article by Billy Briggs on the 'Secrets of the Dead'. It's good to see the Guardian reporting directly on Guatemala and not going through the wire services.

“Some of the finds so far have included confidential messages from the police to senior Guatemalan leaders. Hundreds of rolls of still photographs are being developed. Some show pictures of bodies and of detainees. [Gustavo] Meoño refuses to be drawn on the legal implications of the information, but he will say that investigators have given priority to the early 1980s when most of the killings took place. It seems a safe bet that this will be the focus of the first batch of documents released.”

The article pulls together many of the different justice issues that we regular touch on on this blog. It's a coincidence that this article's published the same week Xeni Jardin has been exploring these same issues on NPR, talking to similar key people such as Gustavo Meoño and Fredy Peccerelli. Her report is part of an excellent series of reports called,”Guatemala: Unearthing the Future“.

Xeni Jardin and Billy Briggs's reports pose the question of the implementation of justice in Guatemala. In the documentary “Guatemala – Duel with the Devil” by Steven Hunt and Fred Yackman, just released, the performance of the Guatemalan police today is put under the forensic microscope.

“The 1996 Peace Accords ended the bloody conflict, but there was no functional justice system to step in. Police powers are restricted because of their association with previous military regimes. Because of this, to make an immediate arrest the police must catch the murderer in the act. In this case, investigators have a suspect in mind – a family member. Even though he is still at the scene, they must convince a judge to order an arrest. Even a confession is not good enough. They'll need physical evidence. But the Guatemalan team lacks the forensic know-how.”

The documentary makes for grim watching but seems to suggest that the situation can be improved, at least in part, by better training, increased resources for the police and perhaps even wider powers of arrest. In terms of where this film's coming from, the perspective of the documentary is undoubtedly influenced by its subtext: an exploration of how the Canadian police are supporting the Guatemalan police.

“The Canadian program is starting to make an impact. There is a dramatic increase in the amount of forensic evidence processed at the national forensic laboratory in Guatemala City. More and more crime scenes are producing forensic evidence because the investigators taught in Canada have trained 400 colleagues and established countrywide standards.”

But whatever its biases, the report certain helps to explain why so few homicides in Guatemala end in the culprit getting a criminal conviction.

“One of the primary problems with their system is that most cases tend to depend entirely on oral testimonial evidence. And they are not very good at gathering and presenting corroborative physical evidence. And witness testimony can be unreliable and you certainly wouldn't want to have to base a case entirely on witness testimony if you could avoid it.”

Background

Siglo XXI reported recently (06-01-07): “Según la PNC, en 2005 fueron asesinados 4,887 hombres, mientras que en 2006 la cifra fue de 5,530, o sea, 643 más. En cuanto a mujeres, hubo 586 muertes en 2005 y 569 en 2006, es decir, 17 crímenes menos.”

The rate of conviction for feminicide is incredibly low- again in Siglo XXI: “”En el país, las cifras son alarmantes, pero el mayor problema es la indiferencia del Estado, pues de cada 100 mujeres asesinadas, únicamente en 5 se tiene información de los criminales, de los cuales sólo un caso llega a los tribunales“, señala el procurador Sergio Morales.”

Print Friendly

Posted in Audio, Guatemala, Main Page, UK Press Review, Video | No Comments »

Digging Up and Glossing Over Buried Guatemalan History

| January 30th, 2007

A number of recent released material on Guatemalan history raises this ever present question of whether it is better to leave the tragedies of the past buried and move on, or continue to face up and confront an ugly and unjust past. NPR is broadcasting a series of five reports by Xeni Jardin on the uses of technology in Guatemala today, and starts with “Group Works to Identify Remains in Guatemala“.

An estimated 200,000 people were killed in Guatemala's decades-long civil war, and another 100,000 “disappeared.” One group of forensic anthropologists is using technology to help the country come to terms with its past.

In this report Xeni Jardin back from blogging in Guatemala, focuses on the work of the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG) that has been exhuming clandestine graves that hold victims killed in political massacres. It's worth pointing out here that for more information on this subject Kathy Reichs recent book, “Grave Secrets” is a valuable and poignant account of the issues at stake in this facing up to buried history.

“Guatemala: la tierra arrasada” directed by José Gaya
Organización and produced by Colectivo Miradas (2004) is now available online. There's also a trailer from a documentary, “Guatemala: De 11 a 3 – Histoire d'un massacre” in Spanish with French subtitles.

It's interesting to contrast these four glimpses of a violent past in Guatemala in the 70s and 80s with “Guatemala, sus cambios en los últimos 30 años“, a lecture by Dr. Francisco
Pérez de Antón at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín (17-01-07). It's to be noted that Pérez de Antón's way of describing the period 1976-86 in particular makes no mention of massacres, let alone genocide. This reflection on the past prefers, for different reasons, to avoid any discussion of the human impact of the armed conflict.

Print Friendly

Posted in Audio, Guatemala, Main Page, Video | No Comments »

Peace Accords in Guatemala 10 years on

| January 26th, 2007

Last week BBC Mundo ran a series of reports (15 mb) on its programme BBC Mundo Hoy by Margarita Rodriguez on Guatemala ten years after the Peace Accords. Rachel Sieder, Yolanda Aguilar, Dominga Vásquez and Guillermo Chen interviewed in the reports all took part in the panel discussion of the Peace Accords at Canning House in London.

On 29th December 2006 the day of the anniversary BBC Mundo ran this, “Guatemala: 10 años de los acuerdos“, on their website.

Print Friendly

Posted in Audio, Guatemala, Main Page, UK Press Review | No Comments »

Volunteering as an Accompanier with PBI in Colombia

| January 7th, 2007

This is a really interesting interview with Ann Wright on Radio 4's Saturday Live programme, who accompanied in Colombia with Peace Brigades International. She gives a really great explanation about what accompaniment is and what you can get out of it as a volunteer. She's taking in the context of Colombia, but it's equally applicable to accompaniment in Guatemala. You can listen to it here.  Here's the intro from the BBC Saturday Live blog (shame they couldn't spell Colombia :-) ).

“What makes a 60-year-old woman quit a comfortable life in London to become a human shield? For Ann Wright it meant giving her the opportunity to move in a completely different direction. Her retirement has taken her to Columbia and the West Bank where she has worked as a political protector, a kind of human shield, for groups such as Peace Brigades International.”

You can find more information about accompaniment in general here, and how to become an accompanier with GSN specifically here.

Print Friendly

Posted in Accompaniers' Reports, Audio, Guatemala, Main Page | No Comments »

Women as Human Shields in Guatemala

| December 18th, 2006

Just spotted this really great interview of Helen Woodcock, volunteer accompanier with Peace Brigades International and Dominga Vasquez, Mayoress of Solola. The interview (broadcast 13-12-2006) was as part of the BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour programme.

“The high profile and tragic deaths of human rights activists like Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall, have highlighted the risks taken by volunteers who chose to work as human shields. To mark the 25th anniversary of the charity Peace Brigades International, Woman's Hour explores the relationship between one volunteer Helen Woodcock who's provided protection to Dominga Vasquez, a campaigner for the rights of the indigenous Mayan Indians and the rights of women in Guatemala, where human rights abuses are an everyday occurrence.”

See more on this in a previous post on this blog.

Print Friendly

Posted in Accompaniers' Reports, Audio, Guatemala, Main Page, UK Press Review | No Comments »

Rios Montt Escapes Justice Again (and again)

| November 7th, 2006
 La jueza Morelia Ríos y completado con los vocales Isaías Figueroa y Bélgica Román  Photo: SigloXXI

In a seemingly inexplicable decision, a Guatemalan Court (Tribunal Quinto de Sentencia) has ruled that although six accused by the Spanish investigation (Audiencia Nacional de España) under judge Santiago Pedraz (7th July 2006) should be detained with a view to extraditing them, Rios Montt should not be. The Spanish investigation was into the deaths of six Spanish citizens in Guatemala in the 1980's. You can read more on this breaking story in Spanish from the Guatemalan press: [El Periodico] [Prensa Libre] [SigloXXi].

The six accused are: Benedicto Lucas García, Oscar Mejía Víctores, Ángel Guevara Rodríguez, Donaldo Álvarez Ruiz, Pedro García Arredondo y Germán Chupina Barahona.

“Nos sentimos satisfechos de la resolución emitida por el tribunal, pues no existen pruebas contra mi cliente”. – Francisco Palomo, abogado defensor de Efraín Ríos Montt.

“Estamos extrañados de que se deje fuera a Ríos Montt, y esperamos saber los argumentos”.
Eduardo de León, Asesor de la Fundación Rigoberta Menchú

From Prensa Libre today- “the black hand” and important legal documents that get “lost”- doing whatever it takes to avoid justice:

Antonio García, abogado de los querellantes adhesivos españoles, informó vía telefónica, desde Europa, que se iniciarán las acciones para determinar qué sucedió y por qué la resolución sólo se basó en el caso de la quema de la Embajada de España en 1981, cuando el juez Santiago Pedraz unificó ese caso con el de genocidio, en julio de este año.

“Empezamos a creer que hay una mano negra que no permite que el proceso sea tramitado en Guatemala; lo mismo sucedió con la carta rogatoria donde se pedían las primeras declaraciones de los sindicados, y nunca llegaba completo”, relató García.

También considera que parte de la documentación pudo haberse extraviado, por lo que se iniciaran acciones para resolver ese asunto.

The Center for Justice and Accountability in San Francisco, US, has released the following press release.

The Guatemalan press are covering the follow-up arrests (or non-arrests). [El Periodico]

Next Installment: Spain forgot to mention that Rios Montt was wanted for genocide… Are they really expecting us to believe that this can be put down to a clerical error? See the following from Prensa Libre 09-11-2006 today:

“Una fuente de la Audiencia, que pidió no ser identificada, comentó que la petición de captura que se envió a Guatemala es un documento que se redactó cuando no se había unificado el proceso de genocidio con el de la quema de la Embajada española.

En estos momentos se toman acciones para enmendar el error.

“Al parecer, fue un empleado de la Audiencia que se equivocó con los documentos, pero ya se iniciaron las acciones para enmendarlo”, comentó la fuente.

Según el tratado de extradición, suscrito entre Guatemala y España en 1985, ante cualquier riesgo de fuga del imputado, las peticiones de captura pueden hacerse incluso por telégrafo.

Antonio García, abogado de los querellantes españoles, explicó, vía telefónica desde España, que presentaron una petición a la Audiencia Nacional española, para que se subsane el error y se amplíe la petición por los delitos de genocidio, torturas, terrorismo y detención ilegal.“


Background information


powered by ODEO

Dennis Bernstein interviews atttorney Almudena Bernabeu, private prosecutor Center for Justice and Accountability, and Matt Eisenbrant, Director of the Center for Justice and Accountability, about the progress in the genocide cases in Guatemala (July 10, 2006) on San Francisco-based radio show, 'Flashpoints'.

Print Friendly

Posted in Accompaniers' Reports, Audio, Guatemala, Main Page, UK Press Review | No Comments »

Unreported World: "Guatemala: City of the Dead" Documentary

| October 29th, 2006

Unreported World will be showing a documentary called “Guatemala: City of the Dead” this Friday 3 November 7.35pm. This is how it is trailed on the Channel 4 website:

“Unreported World presents a shocking exposé of how areas of Guatemala City have degenerated into violent lawlessness in a three-way battle between gangs, vigilante groups and the security forces, and where disappearances, torture and bloody death have become a daily occurrence. Reporter Ramita Navai and director Sam Farmar visit a world of unimaginable lawlessness.” [see more]

We were contacted by researchers for this programme over a year ago. It's great to see that the programme is going to be broadcast. Let's hope though, it's balanced and shows the incredible of work of those fighting for justice in Guatemala, and goes beyond solely recounting the countless examples of impunity and injustice. It's got to be said that from the way it's being trailed- I'm not overly hopeful.

UPDATE: Well, having seen it I wasn't surprised- but I was bitterly disappointed. Not wanting to flatter a piece of television with the description of 'documentary' this was surely little more than shocking images of a 'foreign' land, wrapped up with a sensationalist narrative in which the 'reporter' was the central character.

Exposing the violent and unjust reality that many Guatemalans live with is of course a totally valid subject for press coverage, and worthy of much more attention than it currently gets from outside media. But parachuting in (it seemed that Ramita Navia, Unreported's reporter was in Guatemala for a matter of days) and parachuting out is not the ideal way of information gathering on a complex issue.

Of many criticisms that could be leveled at this programme, I guess my biggest is that it completely ignored, failed to cover or was just not interested in the work of the many Guatemalans fighting for justice in peaceful dignified ways (just look at this blog for examples).

What this type of television does at a stroke, is rip out the dignity of a whole country, by branding an unknown land with ugly, violent and seeming unredeeming awfulness. If you could assume the UK had a fairly rounded idea of Guatemala, then such extreme angled journalism would matter less. But the reality is that average understanding of life and the battle for justice is low in the UK. For this reason, there is a responsibility upon the reporter, attracted to the shock and awe aspects of this kind of story that dehumanises Guatemala, to equally tease out the 'force for good' that in effect puts Guatemala's humanity back in the picture.

It's disappointing that a series specialising in reporting the unreported- is so woefully lacking in any awareness of this weighty responsibility. The ultimate result is that the world continues to go as unreported as ever.

-You can read a written version of Ramita Navia's report (03-11-2006) in The Times here.
-You can see another of Unreported World's documentaries looking at gang violence in Brazil in a very similar vein here.
-And you can go to Channel 4 Radio and hear Ramita Navia's report on for Unreported World as a podcast (if you can be bothered to go through Channel 4's painful registration process- why don't they just make the RSS openly available like everyone else?)


powered by
ODEO

- Unreported World was produced by Mentorn – it's now made by Quicksilver Media-  why not let them know what you think of this programme?
- If you want to watch something that achieves reporting the 'forces for good' in Guatemala as well as covering the vital issues such as justice and security in Guatemala- check out “Entremosle a Guate” (in Spanish)

Print Friendly

Posted in Audio, Guatemala, Main Page, UK Press Review, Video | 1 Comment »

International Accompaniment in Guatemala: A Journey #2

| April 29th, 2006

You can now hear Rosemary Burnett's interview that was broadcast on
Radio Scotland a few weeks ago as part of the 'A Journey' series.
Rosemary talks about her experiences as an accompanier in Guatemala
supporting human rights defenders.


powered by ODEO

GSN member Rosemary Burnett, talks her about
her work as an international accompanier in Guatemala on Radio
Scotland.
She describes how she got involved, the plight of the witnesses to the
genocide in Guatemala in the 1980s and everyday life volunteering in
ACOGUATE, the Guatemala Accompaniment Programme. Rosemary has written
about her experiences in a book Disent angling the Knots, you can get
a copy from here.

“Mark Stephen talks to people about
personal journeys which have had a
profound effect on their lives.
This week Mark meets Rosemary Burnett,
the Programme Director for
Amnesty
International in Scotland. In October 2003, Rosemary left
Edinburgh, and her life there, to travel
to Guatemala where she lived
and worked for a year as an International
Accompanier.”
Print Friendly

Posted in Accompaniers' Reports, Audio, Guatemala, Main Page, Solidarity in Action | No Comments »