Guatemala - Today is the 10 year anniversary of the presentation of the report: "Guatemala: Memory of Silence". This report was compiled and presented by the Historical Clarification Commission (CEH, Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico). CEH was Guatemala's Truth and Reconciliation commission.
The creation of the CEH was ordered by the Oslo Accord of 1994 that sought to bring an end to Guatemala's 35 years of civil war. In this war an estimated 200,000 people lost their lives. CEH´s mandate was to investigate the numerous human rights violations perpetrated by both sides in the armed conflict; succinctly put, to inform Guatemalan society about exactly what had happened in the country between January1962 and the signing of the Agreement of a Firma and Lasting Peace on December 29, 1996. The Oslo Accord demanded:
- To clarify with all objectivity, equity and impartiality the human rights violations and acts of violence that have caused the Guatemalan population to suffer, connected with the armed conflict.
- To prepare a report that will contain the findings of the investigations carried out and provide objective information regarding events during this period covering all factors, internal as well as external.
- Formulate specific recommendations to encourage peace and national harmony in Guatemala. The Commission shall recommend, in particular, measures to preserve the memory of the victims, to foster a culture of mutual respect and observance of human rights and to strengthen the democratic process.
The Commission had three members: Christian Tomuschat, a German international lawyer, Guatemalan Alfredo Balsells Tojo, a jurist and Otilia Lux de Cotí, an expert of indigenous affairs. The CEH's members heard testimony from thousands of survivors and attended exhumations of clandestine graves; they also interviewed former heads of state and ranking members of the armed forces and pored over thousands of pages of NGO reports. All this was used in the preparation of its final report, titled Guatemala: Memory of Silence, which was published in February 199. The report identified a total of 42,275 named victims; of these, 23,671 were victims of arbitrary executions, and 6,159 were victims of forced disappearances. It found that Mayans accounted for 83% of the victims, and that 93% of the atrocities committed during the conflict had been the work of the armed forces.
Today several activities of NGO´s, civil society associations, Human Rights Organizations and the government commemorated the anniversary of the CEH report. Christian Tomuschat is in Guatemala to participate in the anniversaries activities.
Also today, the President of Guatemala, Alvaro Colom apologizes to the victims of armed conflict. A crowd of approximately 18 thousand people, mostly relatives of victims and survivors of the Guatemalan armed conflict, concentrated on the plaza central to commemorate the establishment of Dignity Day for Victims of the civil war.
During the activity the President Álvaro Colom, apologized on behalf of the state for abuses perpetrated by the repressive government systems. He said: "Today is a day to commemorate our victims. Today is a good day to tell all the relatives of victims of the armed conflict as President of the Republic, as Head of State, and as Commanding General of the Army that I ask forgiveness."
Colom said: "This day of commemoration of the victims is also a day to start a strong organization to achieve a more united Guatemala, so that forgiveness is the product of a true love and not just a compromise, and that this tragic, murderous, perverse, bloody, evil history will never again be repeated."
The president said that as part of the commitments to the victims of the internal armed conflict, next month they will deliver 878 homes in 43 different communities. He also stated that he hoped that the National Pact of Security could be signed soon and be implemented with the goal of bringing peace to the entire national territory.
For his part Michael Itzep, Coordinator of the National Movement of Victims, said "the Day of the dignity of victims, is an act of justice for all those who died during the civil war." The leader said that during this administration he has finally seen a government with the political will to compensate those affected.
"It has been 26 years since the majority of the atrocities and violence where perpetrated, in the current government we find evidence of political will to start to settle a historical debt of the State of Guatemala with its people," he said.
Representatives of the national movement of the victims also welcomed the compensation of 10 thousand 500 people during 2008, surpassing the number of victims compensated in the last two years of the previous government.
Much more needs to be done to heal the nation and to heal a generation of victims. Today is important for Guatemala, it is important to remember and to never forget.
Sources: CEH, Presidential Press Office, SEDEM
Pictures: Presidential Press Office
