Why not welcome the Armenians, you wonder?
Consider the words of Gabriel, one of the Guatemalan freedom fighters interviewed in 1994 by Jennifer Harbury: "In my country, child malnutrition is close to 85 percent. Ten percent of all children will be dead before the age of five, and this is only the number actually reported to government agencies. Close to 70 percent of our people are functionally illiterate. There is almost no industry in our country-you need land to survive. Less than 3 percent of our landowners own over 65 percent of our lands. In the last fifteen years or so, there have been over 150,000 political murders and disappearances. Don't talk to me about Gandhi; he wouldn't have survived a week here."
Mickey Z/Counterpunch Jul.07.04
Jennifer Harbury and human rights in Guatemala
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The IBA has been informed that Ms. Thelma de Lam was followed by two men on a white Honda Motorcycle in Guatemala City, at around 5:30 pm on 11 March 2004. Her bodyguards stopped the two men, who identified themselves as being members of the Guatemalan Army and advised her to desist from further investigations.
Later the same day, at around 9pm, she was followed in her car for over an hour by an olive green pick-up truck with dark windows and no licence plates. We are concerned that these threats are in connection to the investigations being carried on by Ms. de Lam, into the events of 24 and 25 July 2003, involving the death of journalist H�ctor Ramirez; in which former Head of State, General Rios Montt, and former President Alfonso Portillo have been implicated.
Human Rights Interventions
International Bar Association
Amnesty International is concerned that Thelma de Lam is being threatened in
order to stop her from continuing her investigations. There are also concerns
at reports that due to lack of funds, the Public Ministry has reduced security
measures and resources for the Special Prosecutor's Human Rights Defenders
Office, as this may have serious consequences for the security of those who
work there and may also restrict their capacity to carry out investigations in
cases of abuses against human rights defenders.
