A Buzz in Guatemala, by Charlie Clements

UUSC President Charlie Clements is currently in Guatemala accompanying a UUSC delegation.

There is a buzz in much of Guatemala since the headlines in the newspapers on Saturday, July 8: "The Arrest of Rios Montt Ordered!"

A Spanish judge in Guatemala to investigate the burning of the Spanish Embassy in 1980 issued the equivalent of an extradition order for former general Efrain Rios Montt, who took power in a coup in 1982. Under Rios Montt's command, fully half of the 200,000 civilian victims in two decades of civil war died in the next year under his bloody but short reign. Seven of his murderous colleagues were also named along with specific allegations such as "responsible for 47 massacres of indigenous people."

The Spanish attorney general is using the legal precedent of international jurisdiction for crimes against humanity established by the court in Nuremberg, but more recently used by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon to issue an extradition warrant for the former dictator of Chile, Augusto Pinochet.

Human rights organizations we’ve visited here are all under heightened security precautions because each time something happens that draws attention to the potential cases of genocide or crimes against humanity, they begin to receive threats and intimidation.

Some think the government may ‘let go’ of Rios Montt, because he is such an embarrassment to the state and his excesses are indefensible -- that in addition to his powerful position as leader of the FRG party. Others say they would never abandon him for fear he would begin to talk about who among the oligarchy funded the genocide and the terror that led to hundreds of union leaders and thousands of others who had nothing to do with the insurgency murdered or disappeared.

Whatever the outcome, everyone feels it is an important moment in the painful postwar pursuit of justice. Not confident that the legal system will hold the military accountable for crimes against humanity and genocide, human rights activists have turned to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the theory of international jurisdiction. The Rigoberta Menchu Foundation pursued this case in Spanish courts.

Witnessing the courage and determination of our partners here is always an inspiration. Yesterday, after a briefing by at the Center for Legal Action in Human Rights (CALDH), several of their staff went to lunch with us. I had the privilege of sitting with a woman who has been blind since birth. Over lunch, she said, “I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be a human rights worker. Learning about human rights has taught me so much about how we all discriminate against people without even realizing it. Helping people see disabled people who are practically invisible in this society is a part of my work within the larger scope of our human rights agenda and it is such a privilege to work on these matters.”

Later, at the Anthropological Forensic Foundation, which exhumes mass graves and attempts to identify the victims and the causes of death, one of their workers was asked, “How do you maintain your personal equilibrium when you are constantly confronted with the darkest sides of human nature?” Without missing a beat, he replied, “We don’t deal with the dark side of human nature. That happened twenty years ago. I deal with the brightest side of human nature – constantly – with families who have the courage to confront authorities, who want to know the truth, who are seeking justice, who are determined to rebury their loved ones with dignity and religious ceremonies so their spirits will rest in peace.”

There is a lot we can learn from our colleagues here and we do – each time we conduct one of these study seminars.