[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 149 (Friday, September 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S14129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FOREIGN OPERATIONS APPROPRIATIONS--AMENDMENT NO. 2743

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, an amendment that was adopted yesterday 
which I cosponsored with Senator Dodd and which was also cosponsored by 
Senators Kerry and Murray, aims to address the travesty that has been 
going on in Guatemala for as long as most of us can remember.
  Guatemala is now the only country in Central America still plagued by 
civil war. It is winding down, but it continues to claim innocent 
lives, and it is an excuse for continuing human rights atrocities by 
the Guatemalan Armed Forces, as well as the URNG guerrillas.
  But it is the Guatemalan Armed Forces, and their armed supporters, 
that are guilty of the majority of these crimes. Their victims are 
students, nuns, journalists, human rights lawyers, union organizers--
anyone who dares speak out about Government corruption or Government-
sponsored violence.
  The estimate of the number of killed and disappeared ranges from 40-
70,000, over the past three decades. In any given week, the toll is 
staggering. Death threats, disappearances, and extrajudicial executions 
are routine in human rights reports on Guatemala.
  Let me describe some recent incidents. In May of this year, nearly 
100 bodies were found with signs of torture--an increase in 
extrajudicial executions by 40 percent, with 195 violent deaths 
reported.
  In June, a teacher was abducted, 21 judges were threatened with 
death, a 17-year-old street youth was shot to death by a member of the 
National Police, several bodies of disappeared persons were found, a 
union leader was abducted, beaten, and raped, a former judge was 
attacked for the third time with a bomb, high school student leaders 
were harassed by armed men--who reportedly tried to abduct them, a 
Congressman was attacked, and the remains of hundreds of people in mass 
graves were exhumed.
  On June 14, several religious organizations and human rights 
advocates signed a letter to President Clinton, asking that an 
independent human rights expert be appointed to undertake a full 
investigation into human rights violations in Guatemala. On Father's 
Day, a march was organized for children of disappeared parents. ``The 
father who took care of us was taken away,'' said one of the children 
at a press conference. ``He did not come back and we never heard from 
him again.''
  For years, the Congress has passed resolutions, written letters, cut 
off aid. We have tried to get the Guatemalan Army's attention, to no 
avail. There has been virtually no progress in bringing to justice 
those responsible for any of the thousands of human rights abuses.
  Jennifer Harbury, a U.S. lawyer, lost her husband 3 years ago and has 
been searching for him ever since. His name is Efrain Bamaca Velasquez. 
He was murdered after being tortured. There is evidence that a 
Guatemalan colonel, paid by the CIA, may have been involved in Bamaca's 
torture and death, as well as the death of American Michael DeVine.
  A Guatemalan officer who was convicted in the DeVine case 
mysteriously escaped from prison the next day, and has not been seen 
since. Efrain Bamaca's fate remains unknown, and the Guatemalan army 
has obstructed justice every step of the way. Despite a court order, 
they have refused to permit a special prosecutor to excavate where 
Bamaca's body, and the bodies of many others, are believed to be 
buried.
  Mr. President, I am not going to take the time to repeat the details. 
I have spoken before about the Harbury case, the DeVine case, about 
numerous other human rights cases in Guatemala over the years.
  Guatemala's President de Leon Carpio is doing his best, and he 
deserves credit for keeping the peace negotiations moving forward, 
enabling U.N. human rights monitors to take up residence in Guatemala, 
supporting democratic elections, and taking some steps to improve human 
rights. But impunity among the army and civil patrols remains the 
central problem. There is no justice when a member of the armed forces 
is involved.
  This amendment makes it clear who is the problem. It praises 
President de Leon Carpio, who deserves our support. But it prohibits 
any assistance to the armed forces and the URNG, any sales of military 
equipment, and cuts off visas for any member of the armed forces and 
URNG who are suspected of involvement in human rights violations, or of 
covering up such crimes.
  These restrictions will end when the President certifies that the 
Guatemalan armed forces are fully cooperating in solving these crimes, 
and in carrying out the recommendations of the U.N. monitors.
  I am not among those who believes that everyone in the Guatemalan 
army is corrupt, or guilty of crimes. Far from it. I know some 
honorable, honest Guatemalan officers who are disgusted by what some of 
their fellow officers do. I also know that there are honorable members 
of the URNG who are fighting because for years they were excluded from 
the political process, but that is changing. This amendment is aimed at 
the bad apples. It is time for all Guatemalans who believe in 
respecting human rights, in justice, to stand up for it, and to end the 
impunity once and for all.

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