Guatemala: Update of GTM22622.E of 16 January 1996 regarding the current status of military commissioners and their demobilization; the threat that they pose to returnees who were sympathizers and supporters of the guerrillas prior to the signing of the peace accords; the recourse to the law available to an individual who has been threatened or harassed by a person who previously held the post of military commissioner

In a 27 November 1998 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Washington-based Guatemala Human Rights Commission, a well-respected non-governmental organization which monitors the human rights situation in Guatemala, stated that "without being 100 per cent positive it is the Commission's understanding that the demobilization of military commissioners has been completed."

A UPI article states that "the demobilization of the rural patrols was announced in late June [1996] and is scheduled to be completed by mid-November [1996] (14 Aug. 1996). However, no written reports on whether or not the military commissioners' total demobilization has been completed could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In a 27 November 1998 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, an official of verification at the human rights section of MINUGUA in Guatemala City stated that the demobilization of civil patrols and military commissioners was made mandatory through a governmental decree enacted in 1996 before the formal signature of the Peace Accords in December. She reported that civil patrols are formally deactivated and no longer enjoy a formal and institutional relationship with the armed forces. However, military commissioners in the regions most ravaged by the civil war (Quiché, Huehuetenango, San Marcos for example) are individuals who still have considerable power in their locality. Some former military commissioners have been elected mayors. Others are known to have taken part in public lynchings of alleged criminals. "Threats and pressures by former military commissioners against certain individuals still exist but are generally less violent than in the past."

The official stated that to provide a general assessment of the potential dangers which may be faced by a returnee, even if he/she was a supporter or a sympathizer of the guerrilla before the Peace Accords, is almost impossible to do unless additional information is provided. "These are very complex cases that need to be analyzed one by one taking into account the claimant's exact location in Guatemala (village, municipality, city, department) prior to his/her departure, the current social and political dynamic of that region and the specifics of his/her story."

In February 1998, Guatemala Human Rights Update (GHRU), a bi-monthly publication on human rights violations in Guatemala produced by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission, reports that the Guillermo Toriello Foundation [a special foundation specifically designed to assist former guerrilla members in reintegrating into civil society] denounced an attack against Beatriz Yac Atzac, a former guerrilla and member of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). Her assailants "allegedly threatened her, saying they were going to kill each former guerrilla, one by one, and that next time, she would not be left alive. This is the second attack recently made on former guerrillas" (6 Feb. 1998, 2). However, the report does not reveal the identity of the assailants and whether they are former military commissioners.

The same GHRU issue reports an assault against Walter Lopez, the URNG's northern representative which occurred in the Limones community of Dolores, the Peten. It is also mentioned that "the assailants reportedly took fifty invitations from Lopez's bag which were designed for a URNG political event to be held in Coban" (14 Feb. 1998). 

The MINUGUA official added that an individual who has been threatened or harassed by a former military commissioner can register a complaint to a MINUGUA regional office. The office will investigate the matter and if the case is supported by solid evidence, it will refer it to the appropriate national human rights defense authority (27 Nov. 1998).

Various 1998 GHRU issues mention the releases, detentions and sentences of former civil patrols members and leaders during the course of 1998. A 21 August 1997 Cerigua article reported the threats allegedly made by former PAC members and military commissioners to witnesses during their trial. However, a AAP Newspeed article reports that

Guatemala has thus far avoided the problems of neighbouring El Salvador and Nicaragua, which emerged from civil wars a few years earlier but have seen sporadic bloodshed between former foes. In Nicaragua, killings went on for years between ex-Contra rebels and the formerly governing leftist Sandinistas, while in El Salvador the murders of former rebels prompted a UN inquiry into rightist death squads. But Guatemala's demobilised guerrillas have not been targeted by their rightist enemies. "It has helped that there is no policy of harassment by the government," says Enrique Corral, president of a foundation serving the guerrilla veterans. Former guerrillas also haven't been implicated, as they were in El Salvador and Nicaragua, in a crime wave that has engulfed the country since the war. Rather, dozens of former government soldiers have been arrested on charges of robbery, kidnapping, and drug trafficking. (14 May 1998)

Please note that various responses deal with the issue of civil patrols and military commissioners in Guatemala and contain numerous attachments that provide useful information on the subject. This information can be found in GTM22171.F of 2 November 1995, GTM21692.E of 8 September 1995, GTM17785.E of 4 July 1994.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

AAP Newspeed. 14 May 1998. Jared Kotler. "CAM: Last of Guatemala's Rebels Take Steps To Civilian Life." (NEXIS)

Cerigua Weekly Briefs [Guatemala City]. 21 August 1997. No. 32. "Witnesses Terrorized in Trial Against PAC Member." [Internet] [Accessed on 24 November 1998]

Guatemala Human Rights Commission, Washington, DC. 27 November 1998. Telephone interview with a representative.

Guatemala Human Rights Update (GHRU). 6 February 1998. No. 4. "Toriello Foundation Denounces Attack on URNG Member."

_____. 14 February 1998. No. 4. " URNG Member Assaulted in the Peten."

MINUGUA, Guatemala City. 27 November 1998. Telephone interview with an official of verification at the human rights section.

UPI. 14 August 1996. BC Cycle. "Guatemalan Patrols To Disarm in North." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 1996-1998.

Central America Report [Toronto]. 1996-1998.

Centroamerica [Minneapolis]. 1996-1998.

Latin America Regional Reports: Caribbean and Central America Report [London]. 1996-1998.

Latin America Weekly Report [London]. 1996-1998.

Electronic Sources: IRB Databases, Global News Bank,  Internet, REFWORLD, World News Connection (WNC).