Press Releases
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US and Guatemala Maya Organizations Call for Fulfillment of Peace Accords, No to CAFTA, End to Land
May 4, 2004

Contact: Sarah Aird, Executive Director, Matthew Kennis, National Organizer (202) 518 7638

On May 1, 2004, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger met with Guatemalan Maya and Community organizations at the Jurys Hotel in Washington, DC. While the meeting was well attended, few Maya representatives were on hand. During the meeting, it was apparent that a pre-picked speaking order had been planned to silence the Maya representatives. The Organization of Maya People in Exile (OPME) and the Organization Maya K'iche, with support from the Guatemalan National Coordinator for Indigenous and Campesino Organizations (CONIC), had prepared a letter to present to President Berger.

As Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu finished her address, a representative of the OPME stood up to read a letter to President Berger which appears excerpted in this press release:

On behalf of Maya organizations in the US and Guatemala , we respectfully ask for your attention:

As we continue weaving our history far from our beloved nation, the Maya people in exile and the Mayas in Guatemala, as urged by our ancestors, need to talk to you about some important issues. As the highest authority in the Guatemalan State, which during the 1980's committed the most brutal massacres and genocide against our people, leaving deep scars in our minds and hearts, no president has ever served the Maya community or overcome the chasm and barriers of racism, discrimination, and death that still exists in our communities.

With that said, Mr. President, we hold you responsible:

1) The administration, that you preside over, must completely fulfill the Peace Accords. We applaud you, Mr. President, for your effort to reduce the armed forces, but we are also very concerned that your government has requested military aid for the modernization of the army... We also hold you responsible for prosecuting and punishing those who ordered the crimes against humanity and the other atrocities committed against the Maya peoples.

2) The Maya organizations in the US and Guatemala strongly oppose the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP) and the US/Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) since these projects will only benefit the rich and powerful in Guatemala. Maya peoples will be impacted the most by these projects, displacing us from our homes, as has historically been the case. Mayas in exile unite with our brothers and sisters in Guatemala in the heroic struggle to avoid tragedies like the Chixoy river dam hydroelectric project in which our communities were displaced and massacred. Therefore, we ask the Guatemalan State to conduct a deep, serious, and humane analysis of these projects to protect our Maya communities.

3) The Maya organizations in the US and Guatemala ask that you respect the promise you made publicly on March 26, 2004 to stop evicting families that have peacefully occupied our ancestral lands. Your government's actions in recent weeks have not reflected your promise, especially in regards to the violent land evictions in Baja and Alta Verapaz. It is important to maintain open dialogue and the space for peaceful negotiation to all land needs. With that said, we support our brothers and sisters of the Guatemalan National Coordinator for Indigenous and Campesino Organizations (CONIC) in their struggle for Indigenous and Campesino rights.

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