[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19190-19191]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               GUATEMALA

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to speak about 
Guatemala, a country that receives too little attention by the 
Congress, where we have seen both progress and disturbing trends in 
recent years.
  Guatemala is struggling to emerge from more than three decades of 
civil war in which tens of thousands of civilians, mostly Mayan 
Indians, were disappeared, tortured and killed. The majority of those 
atrocities were committed by the army.
  A year and a half ago, Guatemala elected a new President, Oscar 
Berger, who pledged to support the implementation of the 1996 Peace 
Accords which his predecessors had largely ignored. President Berger's 
election offered hope for change, beginning with the downsizing of the 
military, his appointment of Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu as a 
Goodwill Ambassador, and his pursuit of corruption charges against 
former President Alfonso Portillo. I was among those who praised 
President Berger for those important and courageous initiatives.
  However, I am concerned that after a promising beginning, corruption, 
organized crime, and human rights violations are getting worse.
  In 2004, President Berger reduced the size of the Guatemalan military 
by 50 percent. However, to the consternation of many civil society 
organizations, the Interior Ministry announced that the Guatemalan 
military would continue to participate in joint law enforcement 
operations with the National Civil Police, in violation of the Peace 
Accords. This is also a concern because, according to the State 
Department, there are credible allegations of involvement by police 
officers in rapes, killings and kidnappings. Rather than prosecute 
these officers, they are often transferred to different parts of the 
country. Impunity remains a serious problem.
  Organized crime is thriving in Guatemala, and the government faces an 
uncertain future if it is perceived as powerless against these wealthy 
criminal networks. In one day this year, 17 people were reportedly 
murdered in Guatemala City. Our Ambassador is reportedly confident that 
organized crime has not infiltrated the Berger administration, and 
President Berger deserves credit for removing Attorney General Carlos 
de Leon who was suspected of corruption. But he also needs to crack 
down on these violent gangs.
  President Berger also deserves praise for his support of the proposed 
Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Armed Groups and 
Clandestine Security Organizations, CICIACS. His initial efforts ran 
into problems with the judiciary and continue to face opposition in the 
Guatemalan Congress. But the establishment of CICIACS would assist in 
the consolidation of democracy as well as in combating clandestine 
groups.
  Reports of intimidation, kidnappings, and death threats remain all 
too frequent. In January and February of this year alone, Amnesty 
International documented that 26 human rights activists were threatened 
or attacked in Guatemala. More recently, on July 7, Mario Antonio 
Godinez Lopez, head of the Association for the Promotion and 
Development of the Community, an organization that opposes CAFTA, 
received a death threat. The next day, Alvaro Juarez, a human rights 
leader who worked with Alliance for Life and Peace and with the 
Association of the Displaced of the Peten, was assassinated. On July 
11, five journalists were attacked with machetes by ex-civil patrol 
members. Ileana Alamilla, the President of the Association of 
Journalists of Guatemala, has warned that journalists are in increasing 
danger and that the government needs to take steps to protect them. 
These are only a few examples of the types of incidents that are common 
in Guatemala today.
  A recent report indicates that the number of women murdered and 
sexually abused in Guatemala has also increased. As of mid-July, 326 
women have been murdered this year in Guatemala, a country of only 14 
million people. While the report suggests causes such as clandestine 
groups, ultimately it concludes that the lack of investigations and 
convictions, in other words, impunity, are at the root of the problem.
  The Guatemalan Government also needs to more effectively address the 
agrarian conflicts by seeking greater input from indigenous and 
campesino organizations. I have been concerned with the government's 
support for land

[[Page 19191]]

evictions, and the national police's role in the destruction of crops 
and houses of members campesino organizations. This explosive issue may 
worsen if President Berger does not find more effective ways to address 
the legitimate needs of landless people.
  We should all be encouraged by the recent announcement that Anders 
Kompass will be heading the newly established office of the United 
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala. Having gained 
wide respect for his work in OHCHR offices in Colombia and Mexico, Mr. 
Kompass brings a wealth of expertise to Guatemala. I would hope that 
the State Department provides funds to help support this office.
  Since 1990, the Congress has prohibited foreign military financing 
assistance for Guatemala because of the military's involvement in gross 
violations of human rights, and the lack of accountability for heinous 
crimes. The Senate continued that prohibition recently due to ongoing 
concerns with the inadequate pace of military reform. It is all too 
apparent that despite the downsizing of the military, the attitude that 
the military remains above the law has yet to change.
  However, we do provide the Guatemalan military with expanded 
international military education and training assistance. In addition, 
we continue to provide counter-narcotics assistance. And this year we 
released prior year military assistance funds to address urgent 
equipment needs for drug interdiction, such as spare parts for 
aircraft.
  Guatemala is at a crossroads. No one should be under any illusions 
about the difficulties of the many political, economic and social 
challenges it faces. Reform of Guatemala's corrupt and dysfunctional 
judicial system alone will take many years. But while President Berger 
has made progress, the culture of violence and impunity continues to 
thrive in Guatemala. And until there is clear evidence that he is more 
vigorously and effectively confronting the powerful interests that are 
responsible for these problems, it will be difficult if not impossible 
for the United States to support the Guatemalan Government as strongly 
as we would like to.

                          ____________________