[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 50 (Wednesday, April 29, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3744-S3745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE MURDER OF BISHOP JUAN GERARDI CONEDERA

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, in the 2 minutes I have remaining, I 
just want to bring to the attention of my colleagues that wonderful 
bishop in Guatemala, Juan Gerardi--a man of justice--who was 
assassinated on Sunday. He was the director and founder of the Human 
Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala. It has been absolutely 
devastating to the forces for democracy in Guatemala and to the forces 
for human rights.
  On the floor of the Senate today, I just want to say that I believe, 
as a Senator, that our Government should make it crystal clear to the 
Government in Guatemala that we want a full accounting. I urge the U.S. 
Ambassador to Guatemala to ask the Guatemalan government to swiftly 
investigate this crime; it is a terrible setback to the effort to shine 
a light into the dark corners of our hemisphere's history.
  What we know so far is that on Sunday, April 26, Bishop Gerardi was 
assaulted and killed as he entered his home. His attacker, whose 
identity is unknown, smashed the Bishop's head with such brutality that 
his features were obliterated and his body could only be identified by 
his ring. Nothing was stolen from Bishop Gerardi's body or his house, 
nor was his car stolen.
  When you have a courageous Catholic bishop who has been such a strong 
advocate for human rights murdered, we need to know--the people in 
Guatemala need to know--what happened. There needs to be 
accountability.
  Mr. President, this vicious crime is all the more terrible because of 
the context in which it occurred. On Friday, Bishop Gerardi had 
released the Archdiocese's report on past human rights violations in 
Guatemala entitled ``Guatemala: Never Again.'' He directed the Catholic 
Church's effort to gather information on the long, tragic history of 
massacres, killings, and torture in that country. These efforts are an 
important part of the people of Guatemala's efforts to come to terms 
with their past, through a full and accurate accounting of past human 
rights abuses.
  I do not prejudge this. I do not know who committed this brutal 
assassination. But like the Catholic Church in our country and like 
people all across the world who care so much about democracy and human 
rights, as a Senator, I do call on the Government of Guatemala to 
launch an immediate investigation into the murder of Bishop Gerardi, 
and to make sure that they bring this to closure and we find out who 
was responsible for this barbaric act. Whether or not this was a crime 
against a man who was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time or a 
carefully calculated attack against the Bishop and his work, the truth 
must be brought to light. Adding another mystery to the labyrinth of 
deaths, disappearances, and shattered lives in Guatemala would compound 
the tragedy of the loss of one of Latin America's great human rights 
leaders.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the statement from the 
Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala, as well as a copy 
of my letter to the U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, be printed in the 
Record.
  I thank my colleagues for their courtesy. I yield the floor.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                       Office of Human Rights,

                                          Archbishop of Guatemala.
       In the Face of the Abominable Assassination of Monsenor 
     Juan Jose Gerardi Conedera, The Human Rights Office of the 
     Archbishopric of Guatemala Announces:
       1. Its profound pain and indignation for the cowardly and 
     brutal assassination of Monsenor Gerardi, the founder and 
     General Coordinator of this office.
       2. On Sunday, April 26 at around 10:00 pm, when he was 
     entering his house after doing a routine family visit, 
     Monsenor Gerardi was attacked by an individual who was not 
     identified. The assassin first hit Mons. Gerardi on the back 
     of the head with a piece of cement, and later delivered blows 
     to the bishop's face, disfiguring it. The individual returned 
     to a site near the crime ten minutes later, having changed 
     his clothes since they had been soaked with the bishop's

[[Page S3745]]

     blood. No object of value was stolen from the house, nor was 
     his vehicle taken (which he was getting out of when 
     attacked), nor was any personal item touched by the assassin.
       3. Forty-eight hours earlier, Monsenor Gerardi had presided 
     at the Metropolitan Cathedral, along with other bishops from 
     the Guatemalan Episcopal Conference, for the public 
     presentation of the report entitled, ``Guatemala: Nunca 
     Mas.'' The report documents and analyzes tens of thousands of 
     cases of human rights violations that occurred during the 
     armed conflict. Mons. Gerardi was the coordinating bishop for 
     the Interdiocesan Project ``The Recuperation of Historic 
     Memory'' which produced the report.
       4. Mons. Gerardi was Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of 
     Guatemala since 1984. From 1967 to 1976 he was bishop of Las 
     Verapaces, where he laid the groundwork for the Indigenous 
     Pastoral. Later he was named bishop of El Quiche, where he 
     had to confront the time of the worst violence against the 
     population. The assassination of various priests and 
     catechists and the harassment of the Church by the military 
     obliged him to close down the diocese of El Quiche in June of 
     1980. Weeks before that, Mons. Gerardi had escaped an ambush. 
     When he was president of the Episcopal Conference, the 
     authorities denied him entry into his own country and he was 
     forced to remain in exile for two years until he was able to 
     return in 1984.
       5. The assassination of Monsenor Gerardi is a ruthless 
     aggression against the Church of Guatemala--which for the 
     first time has lost a bishop in a violent manner--and against 
     the Catholic people, and represents a heavy blow to the peace 
     process.
       6. We demand that the authorities clarify this tragedy 
     within a period of time not to exceed 72 hours, because if 
     impunity is allowed to extend to this case it will bring 
     grave cost to the Republic of Guatemala.
       7. To the people of Guatemala and the international 
     community we ask your resolute support and solidarity in this 
     difficult moment for the Catholic Church. This treacherous 
     crime has shocked everyone, but in this time of trial we 
     should remain firm and united in order to keep the violence 
     and terror that the Guatemala people have suffered from 
     taking possession of Guatamala and make us lose the political 
     space which has been won at such great sacrifice.
       As Monsenor Gerardi said, in his April 24th address at the 
     presentation of the REHMI report, ``We want to contribute to 
     the building of a country different than the one we have now. 
     For that reason we are recovering the memory of our people. 
     This path has been and continues to be full of risks, but the 
     construction of the Reign of God has risks and can only be 
     built by those that have the strength to confront those 
     risks.''
                                  ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                   Washington, DC, April 29, 1998.
     Hon. Donald Planty,
     U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, Embassy of the United States, 
         Guatemala City, Guatemala.
       Dear Ambassador Planty: I was profoundly shocked and 
     saddened when I received the news of the murder of Bishop 
     Juan Gerardi, Coordinator of the Human Rights Office of the 
     Archbishop of Guatemala.
       The circumstances, as I understand it, still remain 
     unclear. However, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of 
     Guatemala City suggested that this murder could be related to 
     the public release of the REHMI Report on Friday, April 24th, 
     just 48 hours before this deplorable killing.
       It appears that many believe that this case does not fall 
     into the category of ``common crime.'' Former President 
     Ramiro de Leon Carplo, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, and 
     others have voiced their concerns about the possible 
     political nature of this incident and I am sure this question 
     is on the mind of many other Guatemalans.
       I urge you, Ambassador Planty, to let the officials of the 
     Guatemalan government know that Members of Congress 
     anticipate a full and thorough investigation of this tragic 
     event. We hope to learn not only who the perpetrators were, 
     but whatever other factors and motivations, if any, were 
     involved in this terrible crime.
       Thank you for your attention to my concerns.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Paul Wellstone,
                                                     U.S. Senator.

  Mr. GRAMS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. GRAMS. I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to speak for up 
to 5 minutes in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRAMS. I also ask unanimous consent that the Senator from 
Georgia, Senator Cleland, be allowed to speak following my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRAMS. Thank you very much.
  (The remarks of Mr. Grams pertaining to the introduction of S. 2004 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. GRAMS. I yield the floor.
  Mr. CLELAND addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia is recognized.
  Mr. CLELAND. I thank the Senator from Minnesota.

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