Police Evict Elderly Strikers

On June 19, at about 4:00 A.M., a National Civil Police contingent violently evicted seven elderly people from the entranceway to the Presidential House. The elderly individuals had been on a hunger strike to pressure the Berger administration to respond to their demands for pensions.

According to Telediario [June 21], the eviction was carried out violently. Demonstrator Juventina Morales (77 years old) said the elderly protesters were pressured to get into ambulances sent by the Ministry of Health, which would take them to San Juan de Dios hospital for medical monitoring. Some of those refusing to go were beaten. Ramiro Ortiz (84) said police clubbed him on the back. Delegates of the Human Rights Procurator’s Office who are assisting the hunger strikers stated that Ortiz would be taken to see the Red Cross, to assess injuries to his back. Héctor Montenegro, President of the Association of People of the Third Age without Social Support, explained that the hunger strikers had been carrying out a demonstration for three days in front of the Presidential House in support of a group that for has been on a hunger strike for weeks in front of the Constitutional Court.

According to Montenegro, around eighty police officer dragged away the seven protesters and forced them into ambulances. Montenegro said some eighty elderly people are continuing to protest outside the Constitutional Court.

According to information received from the National Indigenous and Campesino Coordinating Committee (CONIC), the police were following direct orders from President Oscar Berger. According to CONIC, Oscar Berger said of the eviction, “We comply with the Constitution, and it was an order by everyone.” The Human Rights Procurator’s Office stated, “It was an eviction carried out with treachery and advantage. What they did was violate [the protesters’] rights to free assembly and demonstration.”

Released from the hospital, the protesters have returned to their hunger strike. This time they plan to expand their demonstration space. Rather than staying on the steps to leading to the Presidential House, they plan to occupy and block 6 th Avenue and 5 th Street, in Zone 1 of Guatemala City.

Representatives of the Association of People of the Third Age have presented a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court against President Oscar Berger, Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann, and National Civil Police Chief Erwin Sperisen for the eviction.

The hunger strike currently underway represents the first mass hunger strike by Guatemala’s elderly citizens. Dozens of elderly people, 60 to 95 years old, began a hunger strike on June 4 outside the Constitutional Court to protest the possible abrogation of a law approved by Congress last November. By June 13, thirty-two elderly people were on hunger strike, and twenty-five had been taken to hospitals with respiratory problems, stomach problems, and diabetes. The legislation in question, the Law of the Older Adult, guarantees a minimum pension for some 100,000 persons older than 65 who lack social coverage and family support. Congress passed the law at the end of last year after months of debate, but almost immediately, President Oscar Berger vetoed it and the Constitutional Court on his request suspended the law. The Court later ordered it valid, but the ruling was then appealed by two lawyers, who purport to be acting on their own. The Court has provisionally accepted the lawyers’ appeal, putting the law once again in danger. President Berger says his government lacks the funds to disburse $35,000 dollars a year to elderly with the right to a pension. According the United Nations Development Program, average life expectancy in Guatemala is sixty-five years of age, but ninety-seven percent of those who survive this age live in poverty.

Demand an investigation of the violent eviction of elderly from the entrance to the Presidential House on June 19.
Urge the authorities to guarantee the rights and safety of all the elderly protesters and the organizations supporting them.

Please send copies of your letters, emails, or faxes to GHRC, CONIC, and the Guatemalan Ambassador in Washington.

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	Police Violently Evict Elderly Hunger Strikers June 23, 2006 On June 19, at about 4:00 A.M., a National Civil Police contingent violently evicted seven elderly people from the entranceway to the Presidential House. The elderly individuals had been on a hunger strike to pressure the Berger administration to respond to their demands for pensions. According to Telediario [June 21], the eviction was carried out violently. Demonstrator Juventina Morales (77 years old) said the elderly protesters were pressured to get into ambulances sent by the Ministry of Health, which would take them to San Juan de Dios hospital for medical monitoring. Some of those refusing to go were beaten. Ramiro Ortiz (84) said police clubbed him on the back. Delegates of the Human Rights Procurator’s Office who are assisting the hunger strikers stated that Ortiz would be taken to see the Red Cross, to assess injuries to his back. Héctor Montenegro, President of the Association of People of the Third Age without Social Support, explained that the hunger strikers had been carrying out a demonstration for three days in front of the Presidential House in support of a group that for has been on a hunger strike for weeks in front of the Constitutional Court. According to Montenegro, around eighty police officer dragged away the seven protesters and forced them into ambulances. Montenegro said some eighty elderly people are continuing to protest outside the Constitutional Court. According to information received from the National Indigenous and Campesino Coordinating Committee (CONIC), the police were following direct orders from President Oscar Berger. According to CONIC, Oscar Berger said of the eviction, “We comply with the Constitution, and it was an order by everyone.” The Human Rights Procurator’s Office stated, “It was an eviction carried out with treachery and advantage. What they did was violate [the protesters’] rights to free assembly and demonstration.” Released from the hospital, the protesters have returned to their hunger strike. This time they plan to expand their demonstration space. Rather than staying on the steps to leading to the Presidential House, they plan to occupy and block 6 th Avenue and 5 th Street, in Zone 1 of Guatemala City. Representatives of the Association of People of the Third Age have presented a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court against President Oscar Berger, Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann, and National Civil Police Chief Erwin Sperisen for the eviction. Background Information The hunger strike currently underway represents the first mass hunger strike by Guatemala’s elderly citizens. Dozens of elderly people, 60 to 95 years old, began a hunger strike on June 4 outside the Constitutional Court to protest the possible abrogation of a law approved by Congress last November. By June 13, thirty-two elderly people were on hunger strike, and twenty-five had been taken to hospitals with respiratory problems, stomach problems, and diabetes. The legislation in question, the Law of the Older Adult, guarantees a minimum pension for some 100,000 persons older than 65 who lack social coverage and family support. Congress passed the law at the end of last year after months of debate, but almost immediately, President Oscar Berger vetoed it and the Constitutional Court on his request suspended the law. The Court later ordered it valid, but the ruling was then appealed by two lawyers, who purport to be acting on their own. The Court has provisionally accepted the lawyers’ appeal, putting the law once again in danger. President Berger says his government lacks the funds to disburse $35,000 dollars a year to elderly with the right to a pension. According the United Nations Development Program, average life expectancy in Guatemala is sixty-five years of age, but ninety-seven percent of those who survive this age live in poverty. Requested Action Contact the Guatemalan authorities listed below. Demand an investigation of the violent eviction of elderly from the entrance to the Presidential House on June 19. Urge the authorities to guarantee the rights and safety of all the elderly protesters and the organizations supporting them. Send appeals to: President Oscar Berger Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann Please send copies of your letters, emails, or faxes to GHRC, CONIC, and the Guatemalan Ambassador in Washington.





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