[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 21, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   THE STRANGE CASE OF EFRAIN BAMACA

                                 ______


                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 21, 1995
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the democratic Government of 
Guatemala has been put under a great deal of pressure to resolve the 
case of Efrain Bamaca, a commander of the URNG, a Marxist terrorist 
group that has been fighting for power in Guatemala for 34 years.
  The Government says Mr. Bamaca was killed in combat in 1992. Jennifer 
Harbury, an American citizen who says she is Mr. Bamaca's widow, claims 
he is being held in a clandestine military prison.
  As we weigh Ms. Harbury's claims, I urge my colleagues to take the 
following into account.
  First, Ms. Harbury is a strong partisan of the URNG. In the press, 
this is seldom mentioned. But she makes it no secret. In fact she 
published a book, ``Bridge of Courage,'' portraying the struggle of 
this Marxist movement in glowing, heroic terms. On the back cover, the 
top endorsement comes from one of the worst violators of human rights 
in the hemisphere, Daniel Ortega. In one chapter, entitled ``How You 
Can Make A Difference,'' she points out that Americans are legally 
barred from aiding the military efforts of the URNG, but strictly 
humanitarian aid is legal. Given her intense commitment to the URNG 
cause, it is plausible that her campaign on behalf of Mr. Bamaca is, 
like the URNG's military and political actions, designed first and 
foremost to weaken the democratically elected Government of Guatemala.
  Second, Ms. Harbury is seeking far better treatment than Guatemalans 
in her position.
  Ms. Harbury demands that the government of President Ramiro de Leon 
Carpio--which took office over a year after the fateful military 
engagement involving Comandante Bamaca--produce her husband or his 
remains. This is in the context of a guerrilla war with countless human 
rights violations on both sides and no record of prisoner exchanges. 
Bamaca is one of thousands whose fate is unknown.
  In fact, there have been so many abuses that the Guatemalan 
Government and the URNG agreed last June on a way to address them all. 
A special Historical Commission will conduct a sweeping investigation 
and issue a public report, as Chile's Government did after the Pinochet 
era.
  So, even though her case received special attention last year, Ms. 
Harbury continues to demand higher priority than the thousands of 
Guatemalan widows of soldiers and guerrillas, who will await the 
Historical Commission.
  Out of all this, a few things are clear.
  First, Ms. Harbury will be back in the headlines next month with her 
second hunger strike, pressuring President Clinton to take action 
against Guatemala.
  Second, she is hoping for a second free ride in the media. Human 
interest coverage brings few hard political questions. Her marriage 
alone provides a wealth of questions for a good political reporter. 
There are no photos of her with her husband, and records of her 
marriage in Texas can only be described as bizarre. When the URNG 
sought investigators' help locating Bamaca in 1992, their documents 
didn't mention that he was married. When Harbury has travelled to 
Guatemala, Bamaca's parents have declined to meet her.
  Third, Harbury's campaign helps the URNG at a critical time. The 
rebels are in the process of abandoning U.N.-mediated peace talks, 
after those talks made major progress in 1994. The URNG doesn't want to 
face the next major issue--ceasefire and demobilization--so it is 
walking away from the table. Its futile military struggle, with the 
suffering it brings to the Guatemalan people, will continue.
  That is the real crime in Guatemala--the trashing of a peace process 
that is close to ending a 34-year conflict. If U.S. media attention 
stays on a guerrilla commander lost in combat 3 years ago, it's a crime 
that won't get the attention it deserves.


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