[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 131 (Friday, September 20, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S11069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            GUATEMALA ACCORD

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I want to call attention to a very 
encouraging development that was announced in Mexico City, yesterday.
  For 35 years, the conflict in Guatemala between the insurgents there 
and the government has produced more than 100,000 deaths, many millions 
have been maimed and seriously injured, and there has been scant hope 
that the guerrilla warfare in that country might end.
  Yesterday, in the offices of the Mexican Foreign Ministry, Gustavo 
Porras Catejon, who is the head of the Guatemalan Government 
delegation, broke into a bear hug with the senior commander of the 
Guatemalan rebels, Rolando Moran. Although no cease-fire was signed 
yesterday, the warring parties--which have produced the longest 
conflict in this hemisphere--reached a historic agreement that finally 
holds out hope for a more hopeful future and a return of civil society 
to Guatemala.
  According to the New York Times this morning, Guatemalan military 
leaders agreed to reduce their 46,000 troops by one-third next year. 
They agreed to cut the military's budget by one-third by the year 1999. 
Military leaders also consented to an alteration of their mission from 
one that did include domestic security control enforcement--that is, 
security threats within Guatemala--to a mission limited to dealing with 
external threats, from outside Guatemala.
  In 35 years of fighting, this is the most significant action we have 
seen that could lead to long-term peace. There are still many risks 
ahead, particularly how to reincorporate insurgents into the Guatemalan 
society. The progress made yesterday, however, lays important 
groundwork so that progress can be made in future weeks.
  I commend the U.N. negotiators who helped to mediate between the 
Guatemalan Government and the rebel leaders. Yesterday's accord is the 
fifth that has emerged from these United Nations-mediated talks. The 
other agreements dealt with human rights, Indian rights, poverty and 
land tenure, and also to set up a commission to review some of the 
crimes committed during the war.
  The military's agreement to downsize its forces and its budget and 
its mission was coupled with a commitment by the government to create a 
new police force with new recruits and retrain former officers to take 
over the army's domestic security functions.
  Mr. President, there certainly will be skeptics who will not believe 
the military will carry through with these commitments. I, too, have 
concerns about how this transition may occur, but this is, 
nevertheless, an important turning point in Guatemalan history, given 
the long history and troubling encounters that our own Government has 
had with the Guatemalan Government.
  American interests need to be encouraged with this move away from the 
extreme undue influence the military has previously exerted in affairs 
of state in that country.
  I do welcome this news. I want my colleagues to know about it. I wish 
both sides of this negotiation well in carrying out the agreement that 
they announced in Mexico City yesterday.

  Mr. LOTT addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the majority leader.

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