Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA
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May 17, 2011
A group of sixty committed, determined, and angry supporters of Guatemalan human rights gathered outside the Department of State on Monday, May 16th to send a clear message to the U.S. Government, as they chanted “no visas for war criminals!”
The protest addressed Guatemalan General Otto Perez Molina’s upcoming visit to Washington, D.C. to seek support for his presidential campaign in the September 2011 election. People of all ages (including a four year old girl and an 80 year old blind activist) held signs stating “No Visas for Torturers, Authors of Genocide, or War Criminals”. A thirty foot banner with photos of mass grave exhumations, victims’ families, and indigenous women served as a backdrop to the protest.
The Guatemala Human Rights Commission’s Director, Amanda Martin, introduced a powerful lineup of guest speakers included Dr. Marcia Esparza, who worked for the United Nations’ sponsored Truth Commission in Guatemala, is founder and Director of the Historical Memory Project (a forum for documenting state violence in Latin America), and associate professor at the Department of Criminal Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY). Annie Bird, co-director of Rights Action, spoke of the atrocities committed under Perez Molina’s service as military commander in El K’iche; over half of the more than 600 massacres committed during the war occurred in this region.Activist, author, and attorney Jennifer Harbury spoke of the torture and mass killings committed by state forces during the war. She played a recording of the voices of Maya K’iche women in 1982, wailing in response to yet another massacre. The crowd fell silent, overwhelmed by the emotions conveyed from these long lost voices.
Viviana Krsticevic, executive director of CEJIL (Center for Justice and International Law) reiterated that under international law, “there is no safe haven for war criminals.”
Marie Dennis, Director of the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns, led the group in reflection, invoking the memory of the more than 200,000 Guatemalan war victims. Participants shouted out names and places of victims, while the group responded, “Presente”.
GHRC’s director Amanda Martin led the group in demanding that the State Department revoke General Perez Molina’s visa. “Under international law, he should be indicted or extradited, not welcomed by the State Department. The Guatemalan people deserve better,” she said.
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