[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 111 (Thursday, July 12, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9126-S9127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               GUATEMALA

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, with the Congress's attention on Iraq and 
the Middle East, I want to take a moment to alert other Senators to an 
important issue in Guatemala, a country that rarely makes the news in 
Washington.
  Many of us remember the decades of civil conflict that caused the 
deaths of an estimated 200,000 Guatemalans, many of them indigenous 
Mayan civilians. Since those dark days, most Guatemalans have tried to 
put that tragic period behind them and to build the institutions of 
democracy that can provide economic development, stability and justice.
  While the Guatemalan Army has shrunk to half its size, the peace 
accords that ended the fighting have yet to be fully realized. Most 
troubling is the rampant violent crime, organized crime and corruption, 
much of it perpetrated by illegal armed groups, some of which are 
comprised of former members of the security forces and their 
supporters.
  During the tenure of President Berger, the Guatemalan Government, 
with the assistance of the United Nations, has sought to establish a 
commission to investigate and prosecute these clandestine groups. The 
first attempt was rejected by Guatemala's Constitutional Court, but 
recently the Court approved the establishment of an International 
Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, CICIG. The CICIG is widely 
regarded as an essential mechanism for combating the cancer of human 
rights violations and organized crime that are threatening to destroy 
the foundations of Guatemala's democracy.
  It is important to note that the Constitutional Court confirmed that 
CICIG would work alongside the Attorney-General's office in 
investigating illegal groups. Far from weakening national sovereignty, 
CICIG will support Guatemala by helping to strengthen the capacity of 
the country's weak judicial system.

[[Page S9127]]

  Not only could CICIG go a long way in fulfilling the government's 
commitment under the peace accords to combat illegal armed groups, it 
could also help to uncover the full extent of these groups and 
dismantle their underlying structure. Most importantly, it would be an 
unprecedented step in ending the impunity that has been the greatest 
impediment to establishing the rule of law in Guatemala.
  At this point, the future of CICIG is in the hands of the Guatemalan 
Congress, and with new elections approaching time is running out. It 
would be a terrible waste of years of hard work by the Guatemalan 
Government and the United Nations if the CICIG is not approved. Whether 
for prospective foreign investors or the surviving families of victims 
of political violence, nothing is more important than knowing the truth 
and seeing that justice is finally possible.
  On June 28, the Senate Appropriations Committee, like the House of 
Representatives last month, unanimously reported the fiscal year 2008 
foreign aid appropriations bill. That legislation would authorize the 
resumption of assistance for the Guatemalan Air Force, Navy and Army 
Corps of Engineers, if they are respecting human rights and the 
Guatemalan Congress ratifies the CICIG agreement.
  I urge the Guatemalan Congress to seize this historic opportunity. 
The alternative, which is almost unthinkable, of rejecting this 
essential step to uphold the rule of law, would send a chilling message 
that it is the forces of crime and violence who will determine 
Guatemala's future. That is not an outcome that Guatemala or its people 
can afford.

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