GUATEMALA: OPEN LETTER TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL REGARDING THE CASE OF BERNARDO CAAL

[Judi Lynn]

GUATEMALA: OPEN LETTER TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL REGARDING THE CASE OF BERNARDO CAAL
16 July 2020, Index number: AMR 34/2678/2020

Bernardo Caal Xol, has been wrongfully imprisoned for almost two and a half years for defending the rights of the Qeqchi' Maya communities affected by the construction of a hydroelectric project on the sacred Cahabón River in the department of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. On 16 July 2020, Amnesty International declared Bernardo a prisoner of conscience and sent this open letter to the General Attorney's Office calling on him to acknowledge the lack of evidence in Bernardo's case and to carry out a full, prompt and impartial investigation into Bernardo's trial and the people responsible for bringing the charges against him.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr34/2678/2020/en/


PDF:

OPEN LETTER TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF GUATEMALA
RE: CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER BERNARDO CAAL

Dear Attorney General,

I am writing to express Amnesty International’s concern about the misuse of the criminal
law to criminalize the human rights defender Bernardo Caal Xol.

Since 2015, Bernardo Caal has been one of the most visible faces of the peaceful
opposition of the Q’eqchi’s communities in Santa María Cahabón to the OXEC
hydroelectric project. Bernardo Caal has pursued legal actions before the highest courts
in the country, which, in 2017, recognized that the right to prior and informed
consultation of Indigenous Peoples’ regarding this case had been violated.1

For almost two and a half years, Bernardo Caal has been unjustly deprived of his liberty
and held in the preventive detention centre for men in Cobán, Alta Verapaz. Amnesty
International believes that Bernardo Caal is being detained solely because of his views
and his work in defence of Indigenous Peoples, and today, 16 July 2020, the
organization has declared him a prisoner of conscience and will initiate a global
campaign demanding his immediate and unconditional release.

Amnesty International has had access to the criminal file and was able to verify that
there had been serious irregularities and negligence in the investigation by the Public
Prosecutor’s Office into alleged acts of violence that occurred on 15 October 2015
against employees of NETZONE SA, an OXEC contractor. These irregularities are
consistent with patterns of criminalization targeting those who defend the land, or the
environment previously documented by the organization.2

In this case, it is particularly striking that the accusation is based solely on testimonies
– even though these contain significant contradictions and inconsistencies – and that
the Public Prosecutor’s Office has been unable to provide any other evidence to prove
Bernardo Call was present at the time the events took place or to link him to actions
that would constitute criminal offences. These actions are a long way from the principles
of independence, impartiality and thoroughness that should guide criminal
investigations.3


More:
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AMR3426782020ENGLISH.pdf

[McKim]

1. Link Does Not Work, JudiLynn

This link does not work. I visited Alta Vera Paz with human rights delegations with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee to support water rights survivors in the early 2000s. Please post this again so I can sign it!

[Judi Lynn]

2. Sorry about that, here's the link:

Freedom for Q'eqchi' Human Rights and Water Defender Bernardo Caal Xol




Guatemala Solidarity Project started this petition to Attorney General of Guatemala María Consuelo Porras Argueta

We the undersigned call for the immediate release from prison of human rights defender Bernardo Caal Xol. He is in prison for being an indigenous Q’eqchi’ leader who has spoken out against the illegal construction of massive hydroelectric dams in indigenous territory, especially the Oxec and Oxec II hydroelectric dams which were built without consulting the indigenous population as required by law and have resulted in the destruction of local ecosystems, clear cutting of old growth forests and decimation of mountain ridges sacred to the Q’eqchi’ people. We call for the immediate end of judicial repression against indigenous community leaders in Guatemala and respect for the legal right of indigenous people to decide on "development" projects in indigenous territory.

Bernardo was arrested on January 30, 2018, by agents of the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate (DEIC) who were not wearing uniforms and put them on only after detaining him. He was charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated illegal detention and instigating a crime. These specific fraudulent charges were clearly invented because they do not allow Bernardo to leave prison on bail. Bernardo has courageously supported nonviolent organizing in defense of the Oxec river. This river had supported thousands of indigenous peoples as well as an incredible natural biodiversity. The Oxec river is also sacred among Mayan people and is referred to in the Popul Vuh, a creation and cosmology narrative written before the Spanish conquest, as an important river in the creation of living beings. On August 27, 2017, q'eqchi' communities in the municipality of Santa María Cahabón, where the dams are located, organized a referendum as is their legal right under national and international law, in which over 26,000 people voted against the dams and only 12 people voted in favor. The turnout for the vote was greater than the turnout in the same area for any of the previous three Presidential elections, despite the fact that voters faced threats of repression from the government and large businesses. The government chose to ignore the referendum and prosecute q'eqchi' leaders like Bernardo Caal Xol.

For more information visit www.GuatemalaSolidarityProject.org and http://madreselva.org.gt

Petition:
https://www.change.org/p/guatemala-attorney-general-freedom-for-q-eqchi-human-rights-and-water-defender-bernardo-caal-xol?signed=true

~ ~ ~


The Amnesty Open Letter was directed to the Attorney General of Guatemala, which has been controlled, as you know, continually since 1954, when Eisenhower overthrew the democratically elected President, resulting in well over 250,000 human beings, most of them indigenous human beings in the aftermath.

So repulsive seeing William Barr took time out from his busy dirty work for Trump to meet with the Attorney General:





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 27, 2020
Readout of U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr’s Meeting with Guatemala Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras Argueta
Earlier today, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr met with the Attorney General of Guatemala Maria Consuelo Porras Argueta in Washington, DC. They discussed ways to strengthen efforts to combat transnational organized crime and reduce illegal migration to the United States through increased cooperation and capacity building of law enforcement partners. They discussed their shared commitment to protecting the security and safety of the citizens of both the United States and Guatemala from transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and gangs. Today’s meeting was a follow-up dialogue to the May 2019 Third Ministerial of the Northern Triangle Attorneys General in El Salvador.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/readout-us-attorney-general-william-p-barr-s-meeting-guatemala-attorney-general-maria

[Judi Lynn]

3. I looked for images of Alta Vera Paz to look the area, it looked as I imagined it would . . .

Was thinking of the struggle for water in Honduras which had focused on the river the courageous activist, Berta Cáceres, sought to protect in Honduras, who was assassinated not too long ago.

Alta Vera Paz is beautiful, and sure enough, the same kind of river flows there as it did where Berta lived. Foreign interests absolutely intend to suck every last usable molecule out of every country unable to fight them off. It's such a beautiful place, it shouldn't be touched. That greed still can't be kept in check is destroying everything, everywhere, the human toll is unforgivable.

It was good to learn, so very late in the game, Alvaro Colom was as cruel as the others. I have been kept entirely in the dark about that President, actually believed he was one of the "good ones." Just read about what happend in the area you visited during Colom's Presidency, and it's horrific:

END THE STATE OF SIEGE IN ALTA VERAPAZ, GUATEMALA

John Ahni Schertow
January 24, 2011

On December 19, 2010, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a State of Siege in the department of Alta Verapaz under the pretence of fighting drug traffickers.

Officials claim that, since Mexico increased its own “war on drugs”, the hardline organization known as “Los Zetas” has moved its operation from Mexico to Alta Verapaz which is located in north central Guatemala. Los Zetas is now allegedly in control of much of the region.

Since the siege began, notes Al Jazeera, “Police have arrested at least 22 ‘traffickers’ and confiscated five small planes, 239 assault weapons, 28 vehicles and explosives in a series of raids.” However, with the suspension of basic human rights in Alta Verapaz–and the extensive powers given to the police and military–drug traffickers aren’t the only ones being targeted.

According to Coordinadora Nacional Indigena Y Campesina (CONIC), the Q’eqchi Maya community of Se’ Job’ Che’–which has absolutely no connection to drug trafficking–was raided on January 10, 2011. The community fled the area when the soldiers arrived; and when they returned, their food crops and property had been destroyed.


CONIC states:

On Monday, January 10, 2011 at 10:00 am, 40 soldiers, 2 members of the National Civilian Police, and 20 park rangers [INAB guardarecursos] entered the area where the community tends their cardamom, corn, and bean crops. Without engaging in any dialogue, the military troops began shooting their weapons, and the campesinos had to run and hide away from the crop area. The military then began to destroy the community’s crops, cutting 300 cuerdas of cardamom [around 15 hectares], 300 cuerdas of beans, and 50 cuerdas of corn.

Héctor Arnulfo Ruiz, who was present as a representative of the FONTIERRAS government land institution, assaulted and attempted to rape Mrs. Adelina Yaxcal as she was hiding among the cardamom crops, ripping her traditional güipil blouse in the process. Fermín Ayala, head of the National Forestry Institute (INAB) park rangers, attempted to bribe various community members, offering to spare their crops in exchange for Q50,000 [over $6,000].

The families were able to reunite in the afternoon, and then realized that during the raid they had lost 20 turkeys and 20 chickens, as well as other personal property such as work tools. By 5:00 pm that day rumors were circulating that the same actions were to be carried out in other Indigenous communities.

According to the Guatemala Solidarity Project (GSP), wealthy landowners and international corporations have also been taking advantage of the ongoing military offensive to do a little “land clearing” of their own.

On January 20, 2011, the community of Saquimo Setano was violently attacked by the family of wealthy landowners Benjamin Soto and his wife Maria Elena Garcia Ical. This family has violently attacked numerous unarmed peasants, burned houses with children inside, and attacked and threatened US citizens. Numerous complaints have been filed, but the only response by the authorities has been to threaten community leaders and US volunteers who are working with them.

More:
https://intercontinentalcry.org/end-the-state-of-siege-in-alta-verapaz-guatemala/