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News :: Miscellaneous |
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CONCERT & ACTION WEEK FOR PEACE & JUSTICE IN GUATEMALA & BEYOND |
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by Jessica Pupovac via ML
(No verified email address) |
21 Feb 2002
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The situation in Guatemala encompasses many international peace and justice issues, all of which are deserving of support and attention. You have an opportunity soon to make a difference. |
CONCERT & ACTION WEEK FOR PEACE & JUSTICE IN GUATEMALA & BEYOND
The situation in Guatemala encompasses many international peace and justice issues, all of which are deserving of support and attention.
Among them are:
The School of the Americas (or WHISP, as it now goes by)
Unfair Trade in the Americas
US Foreign Policy that assists undemocratic governments for financial gain
The plight of all Indigenous populations in the face of Globalization
Non-violent Strategies for Peace-Building
Racism, poverty, classism, you name it.
What we hope to do is highlight many of these issues in one multi-media, multi-organization, action packed week, culminating in a benefit festival at the Canopy Club (possibly May Day? date TBA). While all of these issues w ill have the opportunity represent at the fest, the money raised at the show will go to The Guatemala Accompaniment Project, which is currently at risk of shutting down operations at a time when true peace initiatives should be top priority.
If you (or an organization that you are involved in) have any inspiration or actions that you would like to contribute, or if you'd like to simply volunteer some energy,
PLEASE contact Jessica Pupovac at pupovac (at) bust.com.
SO, WHAT'S THE STORY WITH GUATEMALA?
The Armed Conflict and the Guatemala Accompaniment Project
In the early 1980s, the Guatemalan military swept through rural communities in a counter-insurgency campaign that uprooted more than a million people (mostly indigenous Mayan peasants) and led to an estimated 200,000 dead and disappeared. According to the independent Historical Clarification Commission, these actions constituted a campaign of genocide against Guatemalans indigenous population. In the face of such violence, thousands of families fled across the border into Mexico, where they lived in refugee camps for more than 10 years.
In 1993, organized groups of refugees began returning home from Mexico, and internally displaced groups started to come out of hiding. In 1995, The Guatemala Accompaniment Project (http://www.nisgua.org) began to respond to requests for international observers to accompany these communities as they rebuilt their country and communities. In December 1996 the Guatemalan Government and rebels of the National Revolutionary Unity of Guatemala (URNG) signed "firm and lasting" peace accords.
Human Rights in Guatemala Today
Although the human rights situation improved with the signing of the peace accords, violations continue. Threats, intimidation and disappearances have increased over the past year. Many of the poor fear the changes that new trade initiatives will instigate.
At the same time that fears are heightening, so are the efforts towards peace and justice. In the spring of 2000, several Mayan villages joined together to bring legal charges of genocide in the Guatemalan courts against former dictators and high-level army officers, many of whom remain in office. Because of the high level of risk involved in their effort, they requested accompaniment, and G.A.P. responded. We currently have four accompaniers in those communities witnessing in the genocide case and are seeking to expand our program. The community of Xaman also has an upcoming trial for a massacre that happened there only 7 years ago.
What the money goes to:
Accompaniment of Victims seeking Peace through Justice
Right now is a crucial time in the Guatemalan peace process. Only with international support and attention can those struggling for justice be enable d to carry out their work and maintain their hope that one day they will se e the fruits of this long and arduous struggle. Threats, attacks and even murder of those involved in the cases are more the rule than the exception. We are working to provide a degree of security to those willing to fight for justice.
Accompaniment is also a new experiment in peacemaking and is in itself de serving of support for the sake of future efforts in building and maintaining peace.
This is all, of course, a very abbreviated version.
For more information o r to get involved, please contact:
Jessica Pupovac
pupovac (at) bust.com
"I only ask of God that I not be indifferent to injustice. I only ask of God that I not be indifferent to war. I only ask of God that I not be indifferent to the future." - Le Gieco, "Solo Le Pido a Dios"
"Some day, when everyone understands that nearly all of us truly want the same kind of world, it will take surprisingly little time or effort to have it." - Donella H. Meadows
The website below carries links to documentation about the human rights situation in Guatemala. ML |
See also:
http://hrdata.aaas.org/
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