Dear Friends of GHRC,
The April 1, 2018 death of ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt marks a milestone in the decades long struggle to prosecute military commanders for the Guatemalan genocide. GHRC remains committed to supporting victims of crimes against humanity and the efforts of Guatemalan human rights organizations to acheive justice, today attending the close of the Ixil genocide trial today. We report on that hearing below, followed by the GHRC translation of the official statement of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation, comprised of the genocide survivors who are plantiffs in the case.
After trial of ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt closes, victims remind the world he died convicted of genocide
Jackie McVicar, Guatemala City with
Ayla Bailey and Annie Bird, Washington, DC
April 6, 2018
This morning in the High Risk “B” Courtroom, presiding judge Maria Eugenia Castellanos officially terminated the Ixil genocide trial against former military dictator general, Efrain Ríos Montt following his death Sunday from a heart attack. A separate proceeding against Ríos Montt for the 1982 massacre at Las Dos Erres was in pretrial hearings and will also be terminated.
“As survivors of genocide, we want the world to know, Guatemalans and new generations to know, what happened in this country, so that the same history we lived is not repeated,” said Maya Ixil survivor Antonio Caba Caba outside the courtroom.
Ríos Montt was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity on May 10, 2013. Due to a Constitutional Court (CC) ruling accepting a procedural challenge related to pretrial motions, a repeat trial was underway when Ríos Montt, 91, died under house arrest. Ixil plaintiffs and legal experts contend that the 2013 ruling was never overturned and the original conviction still stands.
In a recent comment, current President Jimmy Morales praised Ríos Montt’s service to the country. Genocide survivor Miguel de Leon Ceto responded: “He’s not the President of the Guatemalan people. He’s the President for a sector of the country and it doesn’t surprise us that he has made these kinds of declarations...We are the ones who survived genocide. For us massacring and killing is not ‘service’.”
Maya Ixil survivors, members of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) and plaintiffs in the case were present to hear the trial end. In a press conference outside the courtroom, they assured the public that they would continue the struggle for justice against the other members of the military high command responsible for the genocide. “We reject the declarations that affirm that Ríos Montt died unpunished and free, he died convicted and was facing a second trial.” Maya Ixil survivors also reiterated their solidarity with other indigenous communities who suffered genocide in Guatemala. In 2000, the AJR filed charges of crimes of genocide against Efrain Ríos Montt and other members of the military high command in the Ixil region of the Quiche department, but other cases, like the Maya Achi genocide, have not yet been tried.
Following the hearing, Jaime Hernandez, Ríos Montt’s lawyer, denied there was genocide in Guatemala. “We should consider Jose Efrain Ríos Montt a national hero, a person who didn’t allow communism and the left to take power because if not, Guatemala today would be like a Venezuela or Cuba. Thanks to God, General Ríos Montt had the courage to be strong and not allow the counter-insurgency to take power.” Hernandez previously said that the Maya Ixil people who were killed during Ríos Montt’s dictatorship were members of the guerilla.
International human rights organizations that have closely accompanied the case, including GHRC, put out a public declaration which states, “We are deeply concerned about the slow pace and negligence of the Guatemalan judicial system to investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible of serious crimes committed during the armed conflict.” The statement calls on the Guatemalan congress to “reject legislative proposal 5377, which aims to reform the National Reconciliation Law and ensure impunity for those responsible for the crimes of the past.”
As the selection process for the new Attorney General comes to a close, the AJR asked the nomination committee to withdraw Judge Roberto Molina Barreto from the list of candidates for “obstructing justice for the victims of human rights violations.” They accuse Molina Barreto of abusing his power when he was a Constitutional Court Judge and making an illegal ruling to protect Ríos Montt with the 2013 ruling. In a written statement, the UN High Commission for Human Rights in Geneva reiterated, “It’s important that the newly elected Attorney General shows a strong commitment to continue the struggle against impunity for crimes of the past.”
The trial against ex-head of military intelligence, Jose Rodriguez Sanchez for genocide and crimes against humanity will continue this afternoon in Guatemala City. The AJR is demanding that the Guatemala Public Prosecutor’s Office charge and prosecute other members of the military high command responsible for serious human rights violations, many now fugitives. “The victims have waited more than 30 years for justice...This is another debt the judicial system has for the victims of this country. We hope that there is prompt justice for the other cases of transitional justice that are being litigated in Guatemala,” said Francisco Soto, Director of the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH), co-plaintiffs in the Ixil genocide case.
The Ixil People Will Continue to Seek Justice
Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) and the survivors of the Ixil Massacre
For the last 18 years, we’ve been seeking justice for the genocide committed against our communities by the Guatemalan Army. That demand for justice will not end with the death of Ríos Montt. The trial against Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, ex- Director of Military Intelligence under Ríos Montt will continue, as will other cases against those responsible for the genocide and the crimes committed during the armed conflict.
On May 10th, 2013, the ‘High Risk Court “A”’ sentenced Ríos Montt to 80 years in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity, which is why he died with a guilty sentence and under house arrest. We reject claims that he died a free man and is acts went unpunished. In fact, he died condemned and facing a second conviction.
We regret that the victims and perpetrators of the genocide are dying before justice is served. As of now, 5 witnesses and 3 senior military officers who were responsible for the military crimes of 1982 and 1983 have died. This shows the State’s lack of political willpower to guarantee justice for the survivors of genocide and the crimes of the armed conflict.
By signing the Peace Accords, the State committed to prosecuting those responsible for crimes against the civilian population, especially crimes against children, women and campesinos. Nevertheless, the State continues to deny the truth and delay justice for these victims and for the Ixil people in particular.
Thus, We Demand:
1. That the ‘High Risk Court “B”’ speed up the case against Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez. It is difficult for the victims to have to travel every 8 days to the capitol to take part in the hearings. We demand that the case be resolved quickly and that Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez be sentenced.
2. That the Public Prosecutor investigate all of the high and mid- ranking army officers responsible for the Ixil genocide and those responsible for the genocide against the Achí, Kaqchikel, Chuj and Q’anjob’al people.
3. That the Appointments Committee exclude Mr. Roberto Molina Barreto from consideration for Attorney General, because he has denied justice to victims of human rights violations. After Rios Montt was convicted, Roberto Molina Barreto illegally ordered a repeat trial in order to protect the ex-dictator from his rightful sentence.
4. That the government of Guatemala recognize the truth of our history and stop denying the past. The truth is important value for the Mayan people and we demand that the victim testimonies and the genocide sentence be respected. Reconciliation can only be built upon the foundations of truth and justice and we will forever honor the memory of our parents and grandparents.
Kab’laval “e”
Nebaj, Quiché, April 6, 2018
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