Fear for Security of ECAP Members

Fear for Security of ECAP Members

December 8, 2006

NISGUA is a member organization of the Coordination for International Accompaniment in Guatemala (CAIG), the group in charge of coordinating genocide case accompaniment. CAIG has asked all of its member organizations to respond to this Urgent Action as part of a coordinated effort to raise international attention around the violent aggressions that are taking place in response to the issuing of international warrants.

ECAP, the group under threat, is a Guatemalan organization that provides psychosocial support to massacre survivors and witnesses involved in various legal cases before both Guatemalan courts and the Inter-American system. Many of these individuals belong to the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), the witness association that we accompany that has filed charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the military high commands of Efraín Ríos Montt and Romeo Lucas García before Guatemalan courts. Since mid-2006, a number of organizations, including ECAP and the AJR, have supported a legal process initiated in Spain by the Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation against Ríos Montt, Oscar Humberto Mejía Victores, German Chupina, Angel Guevara, Pedro García Arredondo, Donaldo Alvarez Ruiz, Romeo Lucas García and Benedicto Lucas García for crimes against humanity and genocide.

At the request of ECAP, NISGUA urges you to read the below details of the attacks suffered and take the requested actions to secure the safety of those who work with the mental health organization.

THREATS

Since September 2006, ECAP has been subject to acts of violence and aggression apparently related to its work with AJR members who are survivors of the massacre in Plan de Sanchez, in the municipality of Rabinal in Alta Verapaz, as well as the advances in the Spanish genocide case, namely the issuing of international arrest warrants. These acts have included written threats, attempted kidnapping and the following and monitoring of various members of the ECAP team. On September 13, an ECAP employee who works with the AJR survivors of the Plan de Sanchez massacre was assaulted and all of the documents related to ECAP’s work in that community stolen. On September 30, the same person was followed for several hours by an unmarked car. A few days later, at 3 am on October 2, a written threat was found at the ECAP office in Rabinal naming this ECAP individual as well as one other. At 9 am on November 21, on the road between Plan de Sanchez and the community of Concul, three men in military clothing with their faces covered attacked the same ECAP employee, attempting to knock him off the motorcycle he was riding. In another incident on Octbober 23, an ECAP psychologist who works in the Rabinal area was followed by an unmarked vehicle in the capital.

All of these incidents were denounced before the Ministerio Público (Attorney General’s Office). On October 20, the president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the State of Guatemala must provide protection to those working with ECAP, investigate the denounced attacks, identify those responsible and prosecute them accordingly.

ANALYSIS

It is clear that these attacks have been well planned and that their objectives are not completely known to us. The incidents have been carried out by an organization with the capacity to continuously monitor telephone calls and ECAP members. The organizations that are part of the coordinating committee "Nunca Mas" (a group of civil society human rights organization coordinating analysis and advocacy around the genocide cases) see a direct link between the attacks against the ECAP and the struggle against impunity. There are clear connections between ECAP, the Plan de Sanchez Inter-American case, and the recent request for the arrest and extradition of Ríos Montt, Benedicto Lucas García, etc. As such, the ECAP attacks are evidence of targeting the efforts to bring about justice for genocide, whether it is in Spain, Guatemala or through the Inter-American system.

SUGGESTED ACTIONS

-Request that the President of Guatemala offer protection to the workers of ECAP, as stipulated by Inter-American Human Rights Court on the 20th of October;

-Request that the President execute the arrest warrants ordered by the Spanish justice system and extradite those accused

Send your letters (sample follows below!) to:

Presidente de la República de Guatemala
Licenciado Oscar Berger Perdomo
Casa Presidencial, 6 a. Avenida, 4-41 zona 1. Ciudad de Guatemala,
GUATEMALA
Fax: +502 2239 0090

Address as: Excelentísimo Sr. Presidente

Send copy to:

Equipo de Estudios Comunitarios y Acción Psicosocial -ECAP-
2a. Avenida 1-11, zona 3 Colonia Bran
Telefax: +502 2232-1430 / 2253-6071
E-mail: ecap@itelgua.com y ecap@guate.net.gt
www.ecapguatemala.org

NISGUA (Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala)
aconisgua@nisgua.org
Coordinación del Acompaqamiento Internacional en Guatemala
acoguate@gmx.net

-------------------

[Su Direccion]

Presidente de la República de Guatemala
Licenciado Oscar Berger Perdomo
Casa Presidencial, 6 a. Avenida, 4-41 zona 1.
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA

[lugar, fecha]

Excelentísimo Sr. Presidente,

Me permito dirigirme a usted para compartirle mi gran preocupación por la seguridad de testigos en casos nacionales e internacionales por genocidio y la de los miembros de la organización Equipo de Estudios comunitarios y Acción Psicosocial (ECAP), después de diferentes actos de vigilancia, intimidaciones y agresiones en contra de ellos. Estos recientes ataques estan aparentemente vinculados al trabajo de ECAP con sobrevivientes de la masacre de Plan de Sanchez, Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, y a la llegada reciente de las órdenes de captura con fines de extradición a Espa ña contra Josi Efraín Ríos Montt, Oscar Humberto Mejía Víctores, German Chupina, Angel Anmbal Guevara, Pedro García Arredondo y Benedicto Lucas García.

El 13 de septiembre, un miembro de ECAP fue asaltado en la Ciudad de Guatemala, donde le robaron todas las memorias de su trabajo en la comunidad de Plan de Sanchez. El 30 de septiembre, fue vigilado durante varias horas en Rabinal por un carro con vidrios polarizados y sin matrícula. En la madrugada del 2 de octubre, encontró en la sede de ECAP en Rabinal, una amenaza escrita, en la cual se mencionaron a él y otra integrante de ECAP. El cuarto incidente contra la misma persona ocurrió el 21 de noviembre, cuando tres hombres no identificados, vestidos de militar, con pasamonta ñas, le atacaron de forma consecutiva, intentando bajarlo de su moto en el camino entre la comunidad de Plan de Sanchez y la comunidad de Concul, Rabinal. En otro incidente, el 23 de octubre, una psicóloga de ECAP del area de Rabinal fue perseguida por un vehículo con vidrios polarizados y sin matrícula en la Ciudad de Guatemala. Todos estos hechos fueron denunciados al Ministerio Público.

El Señor Vicepresidente reconoció públicamente, el 18 de julio de 2005, la responsabilidad del estado en la masacre de Plan de Sanchez, cometida en julio de 1982 por el ejército guatemalteco; sin embargo, estoy consternado de la inseguridad en la estas personas desarrollan su importante labor en defensa de los derechos humanos. El 20 de octubre, el presidente de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos requirió al estado de Guatemala dar protección a los miembros de ECAP, investigar los hechos, identificar a los responsables y, en su caso, imponerles las sanciones correspondientes.

Me agradó sumamente el rapido procesamiento de las órdenes internacionales de arresto en los casos de German Chupina y Angel Anmbal Guevara. Sin embargo, estoy observando con gran preocupación el retraso del tramite de las órdenes de captura contra los generales Efraín Ríos Montt y Benedicto Lucas García. En última instancia, Usted como Presidente de la República debera decidir si los imputados por la justicia española seran extraditados. Confío en que Usted podra honrar la dignidad de las víctimas y los sobrevivientes del genocidio cometido en Guatemala y que no habra trato preferencial para uno u otro de los imputados. Por este medio también le pido que haga todo lo posible para que se agilicen los procesos por los crímenes de genocidio y crímenes de lesa humanidad al nivel nacional e internacional, como cualquier proceso que lleve a la condena de los responsables de los crímenes cometidos durante el conflicto armado.

Atentamente,

[Su firma]

	Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA

	. . . Working for human rights in Guatemala since 1982
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	Fear for Security of ECAP Members December 8, 2006 NISGUA is a member organization of the Coordination for International Accompaniment in Guatemala (CAIG), the group in charge of coordinating genocide case accompaniment. CAIG has asked all of its member organizations to respond to this Urgent Action as part of a coordinated effort to raise international attention around the violent aggressions that are taking place in response to the issuing of international warrants. ECAP, the group under threat, is a Guatemalan organization that provides psychosocial support to massacre survivors and witnesses involved in various legal cases before both Guatemalan courts and the Inter-American system. Many of these individuals belong to the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), the witness association that we accompany that has filed charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the military high commands of Efraín Ríos Montt and Romeo Lucas García before Guatemalan courts. Since mid-2006, a number of organizations, including ECAP and the AJR, have supported a legal process initiated in Spain by the Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation against Ríos Montt, Oscar Humberto Mejía Victores, German Chupina, Angel Guevara, Pedro García Arredondo, Donaldo Alvarez Ruiz, Romeo Lucas García and Benedicto Lucas García for crimes against humanity and genocide. At the request of ECAP, NISGUA urges you to read the below details of the attacks suffered and take the requested actions to secure the safety of those who work with the mental health organization. THREATS Since September 2006, ECAP has been subject to acts of violence and aggression apparently related to its work with AJR members who are survivors of the massacre in Plan de Sanchez, in the municipality of Rabinal in Alta Verapaz, as well as the advances in the Spanish genocide case, namely the issuing of international arrest warrants. These acts have included written threats, attempted kidnapping and the following and monitoring of various members of the ECAP team. On September 13, an ECAP employee who works with the AJR survivors of the Plan de Sanchez massacre was assaulted and all of the documents related to ECAP’s work in that community stolen. On September 30, the same person was followed for several hours by an unmarked car. A few days later, at 3 am on October 2, a written threat was found at the ECAP office in Rabinal naming this ECAP individual as well as one other. At 9 am on November 21, on the road between Plan de Sanchez and the community of Concul, three men in military clothing with their faces covered attacked the same ECAP employee, attempting to knock him off the motorcycle he was riding. In another incident on Octbober 23, an ECAP psychologist who works in the Rabinal area was followed by an unmarked vehicle in the capital. All of these incidents were denounced before the Ministerio Público (Attorney General’s Office). On October 20, the president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the State of Guatemala must provide protection to those working with ECAP, investigate the denounced attacks, identify those responsible and prosecute them accordingly. ANALYSIS It is clear that these attacks have been well planned and that their objectives are not completely known to us. The incidents have been carried out by an organization with the capacity to continuously monitor telephone calls and ECAP members. The organizations that are part of the coordinating committee "Nunca Mas" (a group of civil society human rights organization coordinating analysis and advocacy around the genocide cases) see a direct link between the attacks against the ECAP and the struggle against impunity. There are clear connections between ECAP, the Plan de Sanchez Inter-American case, and the recent request for the arrest and extradition of Ríos Montt, Benedicto Lucas García, etc. As such, the ECAP attacks are evidence of targeting the efforts to bring about justice for genocide, whether it is in Spain, Guatemala or through the Inter-American system. SUGGESTED ACTIONS -Request that the President of Guatemala offer protection to the workers of ECAP, as stipulated by Inter-American Human Rights Court on the 20th of October; -Request that the President execute the arrest warrants ordered by the Spanish justice system and extradite those accused Send your letters (sample follows below!) to: Presidente de la República de Guatemala Licenciado Oscar Berger Perdomo Casa Presidencial, 6 a. Avenida, 4-41 zona 1. Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA Fax: +502 2239 0090 Address as: Excelentísimo Sr. Presidente Send copy to: Equipo de Estudios Comunitarios y Acción Psicosocial -ECAP- 2a. Avenida 1-11, zona 3 Colonia Bran Telefax: +502 2232-1430 / 2253-6071 E-mail: ecap@itelgua.com y ecap@guate.net.gt www.ecapguatemala.org NISGUA (Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala) aconisgua@nisgua.org Coordinación del Acompaqamiento Internacional en Guatemala acoguate@gmx.net ------------------- [Su Direccion] Presidente de la República de Guatemala Licenciado Oscar Berger Perdomo Casa Presidencial, 6 a. Avenida, 4-41 zona 1. Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA [lugar, fecha] Excelentísimo Sr. Presidente, Me permito dirigirme a usted para compartirle mi gran preocupación por la seguridad de testigos en casos nacionales e internacionales por genocidio y la de los miembros de la organización Equipo de Estudios comunitarios y Acción Psicosocial (ECAP), después de diferentes actos de vigilancia, intimidaciones y agresiones en contra de ellos. Estos recientes ataques estan aparentemente vinculados al trabajo de ECAP con sobrevivientes de la masacre de Plan de Sanchez, Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, y a la llegada reciente de las órdenes de captura con fines de extradición a Espa ña contra Josi Efraín Ríos Montt, Oscar Humberto Mejía Víctores, German Chupina, Angel Anmbal Guevara, Pedro García Arredondo y Benedicto Lucas García. El 13 de septiembre, un miembro de ECAP fue asaltado en la Ciudad de Guatemala, donde le robaron todas las memorias de su trabajo en la comunidad de Plan de Sanchez. El 30 de septiembre, fue vigilado durante varias horas en Rabinal por un carro con vidrios polarizados y sin matrícula. En la madrugada del 2 de octubre, encontró en la sede de ECAP en Rabinal, una amenaza escrita, en la cual se mencionaron a él y otra integrante de ECAP. El cuarto incidente contra la misma persona ocurrió el 21 de noviembre, cuando tres hombres no identificados, vestidos de militar, con pasamonta ñas, le atacaron de forma consecutiva, intentando bajarlo de su moto en el camino entre la comunidad de Plan de Sanchez y la comunidad de Concul, Rabinal. En otro incidente, el 23 de octubre, una psicóloga de ECAP del area de Rabinal fue perseguida por un vehículo con vidrios polarizados y sin matrícula en la Ciudad de Guatemala. Todos estos hechos fueron denunciados al Ministerio Público. El Señor Vicepresidente reconoció públicamente, el 18 de julio de 2005, la responsabilidad del estado en la masacre de Plan de Sanchez, cometida en julio de 1982 por el ejército guatemalteco; sin embargo, estoy consternado de la inseguridad en la estas personas desarrollan su importante labor en defensa de los derechos humanos. El 20 de octubre, el presidente de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos requirió al estado de Guatemala dar protección a los miembros de ECAP, investigar los hechos, identificar a los responsables y, en su caso, imponerles las sanciones correspondientes. Me agradó sumamente el rapido procesamiento de las órdenes internacionales de arresto en los casos de German Chupina y Angel Anmbal Guevara. Sin embargo, estoy observando con gran preocupación el retraso del tramite de las órdenes de captura contra los generales Efraín Ríos Montt y Benedicto Lucas García. En última instancia, Usted como Presidente de la República debera decidir si los imputados por la justicia española seran extraditados. Confío en que Usted podra honrar la dignidad de las víctimas y los sobrevivientes del genocidio cometido en Guatemala y que no habra trato preferencial para uno u otro de los imputados. Por este medio también le pido que haga todo lo posible para que se agilicen los procesos por los crímenes de genocidio y crímenes de lesa humanidad al nivel nacional e internacional, como cualquier proceso que lleve a la condena de los responsables de los crímenes cometidos durante el conflicto armado. Atentamente, [Su firma]





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