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Breakthrough Accord Could Bring Reparations to Guatemala Massacre Survivors
Erin Lapham—03 December 2008
November 262008, RabinalGuatemala: After months of delaya new
agreement between the President of Guatemala and civil society has
breathed life into a long-running campaign to secure compensation for
families that lost relatives during the notorious Rio Negro massacres
in the early 1980s.
The accord was signed on November 20 between leaders of the relatives' groupknown as Coordinator of the Communities Affected by the Construction of the Chixoy Dam (COCAHICH)and President Alvaro Colom Caballerosextending the negotiations through to June 302009.
COCAHICH is part of the larger Association for the Integral Development of the Victims of Violence in the VerapacesMaya Achi (ADIVIMA)which partners with The Advocacy Project (AP).
The Rio Negro massacres occurred in the early 1980s when indigenous communities were displaced by the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam. The dam was built between 1976 and 1983 by the Guatemalan National Institute of Electrification (INDE) with funding from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
More than 440 indigenous villagers refused to abandon their land for the damand were killed by paramilitaries. Overallabout 13,000 people in 28 villages were affected by the projectaccording to COCAHICH. Most of the survivors live in extreme poverty.
In the new accordthe government acknowledges for the first time that "damages and violations" occurred during the dam's construction and accepts the obligation to offer reparations. "We now expect to see concrete results and reparations for all of the damages and violations in 2009," said a representative of COCAHICH.
The government has also agreed to work with mediators from the Organization of American States (OAS) to verify the damages to families affected by the dam and design a plan for their reparations.
"I appreciate the patience and assistance of all parties and hope that this proceeds well," President Colom stated. "We would like to move this process forward with more than simply signatures and make sure it does not slow down."
The negotiations began in December 2004after hundreds of community activists occupied the Chixoy Dam. In March 2008a political accord to negotiate reparations was signed with Dr Rafael Espadathe Vice President of Guatemalabut the process stalled.
This prompted an outpouring of criticism from COCAHICH's international alliesincluding APwhich protested to the office of the Vice President. Dr Espada replied in a letter to AP on September 29 that the government "(takes) this project very seriously."
AP has supported the Rio Negro survivors since 2000 when staff writer Peter Lippman visited Guatemala to profile their campaign. AP has since recruited five Peace Fellows (volunteers) to work with ADIVIMA. ADIVIMA's current Peace FellowHeidi McKinnon from the University of New Mexicohas followed the negotiations in her blog.
If the negotiations failCOCAHICH plans to submit a complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The accord was signed on November 20 between leaders of the relatives' groupknown as Coordinator of the Communities Affected by the Construction of the Chixoy Dam (COCAHICH)and President Alvaro Colom Caballerosextending the negotiations through to June 302009.
COCAHICH is part of the larger Association for the Integral Development of the Victims of Violence in the VerapacesMaya Achi (ADIVIMA)which partners with The Advocacy Project (AP).
The Rio Negro massacres occurred in the early 1980s when indigenous communities were displaced by the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam. The dam was built between 1976 and 1983 by the Guatemalan National Institute of Electrification (INDE) with funding from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
More than 440 indigenous villagers refused to abandon their land for the damand were killed by paramilitaries. Overallabout 13,000 people in 28 villages were affected by the projectaccording to COCAHICH. Most of the survivors live in extreme poverty.
In the new accordthe government acknowledges for the first time that "damages and violations" occurred during the dam's construction and accepts the obligation to offer reparations. "We now expect to see concrete results and reparations for all of the damages and violations in 2009," said a representative of COCAHICH.
The government has also agreed to work with mediators from the Organization of American States (OAS) to verify the damages to families affected by the dam and design a plan for their reparations.
"I appreciate the patience and assistance of all parties and hope that this proceeds well," President Colom stated. "We would like to move this process forward with more than simply signatures and make sure it does not slow down."
The negotiations began in December 2004after hundreds of community activists occupied the Chixoy Dam. In March 2008a political accord to negotiate reparations was signed with Dr Rafael Espadathe Vice President of Guatemalabut the process stalled.
This prompted an outpouring of criticism from COCAHICH's international alliesincluding APwhich protested to the office of the Vice President. Dr Espada replied in a letter to AP on September 29 that the government "(takes) this project very seriously."
AP has supported the Rio Negro survivors since 2000 when staff writer Peter Lippman visited Guatemala to profile their campaign. AP has since recruited five Peace Fellows (volunteers) to work with ADIVIMA. ADIVIMA's current Peace FellowHeidi McKinnon from the University of New Mexicohas followed the negotiations in her blog.
If the negotiations failCOCAHICH plans to submit a complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
