Posts tagged guatemala
seeding change
The Lack of Human Rights IS an Issue
sarahcantthinkofanythingbetter:
Hi Everyone!! I don’t know how updated you guys are on Guatemala and the human rights violations there, but please take a little bit of time to read this (even if it’s only a paragraph). The latest update is about the newest president in office (Otto Perez Molina) who was a general during the “civil armed conflict” and was both an intellectual as well as a material author during the time. He was also the general present during the signing of the peace accords, which have done nothing for the people who are still being violently displaced and the civil rights of the people living in cities. Human rights defenders are being blacklisted and targeted by the military as criminals. It’s horrifying, but true. PLEASE READ! Also if any of you can, PLEASE send this message to as many people as possible. Not many people know about what’s been happening in Guatemala and it’s terrible that the US has and still funds many of the atrocities that have occurred there.
Not only that, but we have many human rights violators living in the US who are not being extradited back to Guatemala. Perez Molina is also trying to change Guatemalan policy on prosecuting human rights violators during the armed conflict; he wants to “forget the past” and start making Guatemala better now. I could make this post super long, so instead of me telling you more, please just read the blog and tell everyone you know about it!
Reblog this. Not because you feel pity or feel like you should, but because WE ARE ALL HUMANS AND WE ALL DESERVE OUR RIGHTS.
This is important!
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NPR All Things Considered - Guatemala’s former dictator — 85-year-old Efrain Rios Montt — is under house arrest, awaiting trial for genocide and crimes against humanity. During his 17-month rule from 1982 to 1983, the Guatemalan military carried out a scorched earth campaign in the Mayan highlands, in an effort to snuff out an insurrection by left-leaning guerrilla fighters. Prosecutors are now looking to hold him accountable for the deaths of at least 1,771 men, women and children. For years, Rios Montt was sheltered from prosecution because of legislative immunity, which expired earlier this month. Guatemala scholar Jennifer Schirmer talks with Melissa Block about the trial and its significance.
This is something Rigoberta has been campaigning for for over 20 years! It’s only one step but we are so happy it’s being taken.
(Source: NPR)
Two of my Mayan dolls. The one on the left is wearing the traditional clothing from Quetzaltenango (the state right next to mine). And the one on the right i’m not sure where she is from but I know she is from the warmer parts of Guatemala like somewhere from the coast where I’ve never been.
Upon Taking Office, “Iron Fisted” President of Guatemala Calls for Decriminalization
In a weird-but-promising turn of events, Guatemala’s new president, who campaigned on the promise of a Mexico-style crackdown against drug traffickers, has called for drug decriminalization:
The former general argued on Mexican television that a regional strategy for decriminalization should be looked into as soon as possible. “Here we are speaking from the southern area, where it occurs, through all the countries like Guatemala that are transit points to Mexico and the United States,” Pérez Molina said, according to El Nuevo Heradlo newspaper.
Pérez Molina added that Mexican President Felipe Calderón had made a great effort in combating drug trafficking, but criticized the United States for not matching Mexico’s effort and for being the world’s largest drug consumer.
Pérez Molina made no mention of decriminalization during his campaign, and less than a week ago, directly after his inauguration, he promised to send in the military to “neutralize” organized crime. So what exactly is going on?
It seems likely that Pérez is using the drug threat as a means to regain US military aid, which has been forbidden to Guatemala since 1978, when the country’s military- government, in which Pérez served as intelligence chief, was waging a genocide campaign against indigenous Mayans. Meanwhile, Pérez’ call for decriminalization signals solidarity with other Latin American countries (Columbia and Mexico’s presidents have both demanded a new approach to drug policy while remaining fully engaged in US-supported military offensives aimed at traffickers). Of course, considering that the drug war provides the only possible justification for renewed US military aid, it seems quite reasonable to doubt whether Pérez is seriously devoted to drug reform.
There is reason for optimism though. Pérez and the other heads of state who have called for decriminalization clearly do realize that a drastic change is necessary for the stability of their region; they simply lack the political capacity to implement it individually. If Latin American leaders do make a unified endorsement of an alternate strategy, as Perez is seemingly suggesting, they may well succeed in bringing it about, regardless of their individual motivations.
Related:
Latin American Countries at Risk of Collapse, US Policy Fuel on the Fire
The Nightmare Continues in Latin America
Rigoberta Menchu Tum, this year’s Nobel Peace laureate for Great Lakes PeaceJam, on indigenous rights in Guatemala.
