AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

FACTS OF THE CASE:

AAAS continues to be concerned about the safety of anthropologist Carlos Federico Reyes Lopez and other members of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo de Antropologia Forense de Guatamala (E.A.F.G.)). On 2 August, a telephone call was made to the EAFG requesting Eduardo Gonzalez. Reyes Lopez, who answered the call, responded that no such person worked at the EAFG. He was then told to inform the nonexistent Gonzalez that this was the last time he would be threatened and that now it was a matter of life or death. The threat was repeated ten minutes later.

This is the third time that Team members have been threatened. On 12 June, in Guatemala City, while Mr. Reyes Lopez was the sole passenger on a bus travelling to the office, a man standing with two others who seemed to point out Reyes Lopez, hailed and boarded the bus. The man sat down next to Mr. Reyes Lopez, and then held a gun to his ribs and told him that he ought to "stop being [working] with those friends, because it's dangerous and you ought to think about it..." The assailant pushed the gun into Mr. Reyes Lopez's ribs again, and then got off the bus and rejoined the two other men. In another incident, on Wednesday, 19 June, Mr. Reyes Lopez was surrounded by four unknown men outside a restaurant in Zone 1 in Guatemala City, one of whom was the man who had threatened Mr. Reyes Lopez the previous week. One man drew a gun and pushed it into his back and said, "we already know where you live, you have got one month to change your job because it's dangerous... Oh and of course your father is very ill." The assailant also implied that something could happen to Mr. Reyes Lopez's father or the two young girls who live in the same house.

Although these incidents have been reported to the appropriate government authorities, no one has yet to be arrested in connection with the crimes.

The E.A.F.G. is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that works to document, analyze and identify human remains in mass burials and clandestine cemeteries, a consequence of the violence suffered in Guatemala in the 1970s and 1980s. The EAFG was formed with the support of AAAS in 1992. Since then, the AAAS has maintained a close working relationship with the E.A.F.G. Although the peace process in Guatemala is progressing, with final accords expected to signed by the government and the Guatemala National Revolutionary Unit (URNG) in November, serious human rights violations continue with impunity. Although reduced in recent years, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and "disappearances" continue. These abuses are carried out by the URNG, the military, the police forces, the military commissioners, and the rural "voluntary" civil self defense committees called Civil Defense Patrols (PACS). The work of the E.A.F.G. in uncovering and documenting violations places its members in particular danger.

The government of Guatemala is obligated to provide protection for Mr. Reyes Lopez and other team members. Principle 15 of the United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, states that, "Complainants, witnesses, those conducting the investigations and their families shall be protected from violence, threats of violence or any other form of intimidation." Under Article 19 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Guatemala, "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression..."

[Sources of information on this case are: Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Team and Amnesty International]

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send faxes, telegrams or airmail letters:

• expressing concern at the threats against EAFG team members, Carlos Federico Reyes Lopez, and his family members, and urging the authorities to take immediate steps to guarantee their safety;
• urging the authorities to initiate investigations into the threats against the EAFG and Carlos Federico Reyes Lopez and to ensure that the findings are made public and that those responsible are brought to justice;
• requesting to be kept informed of what measures the government intends to take to protect those at risk because of their involvement in the exhumation of clandestine cemeteries;
• urging the Guatemalan government to ensure the implementation of Principle 15 of the United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions stating that,"Complainants, witnesses, those conducting the investigations and their families shall be protected from violence, threats of violence or any other form of intimidation".

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

S.E. Alvaro Arz Irigoyen
Presidente de la Repblica de Guatemala
Palacio Nacional, Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Faxes: +502 287 4537
Telegrams:Presidente, Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Salutation: Sr. Presidente/Dear President

Excmo. Sr.Rodolfo Mendoza
Minister of Interior
Ministro de Gobernacin, Ministerio de Gobernacin
Palacio Nacional, Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Faxes: + 502 251 5368
Telegrams: Ministro de Gobernacin, Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Salutation: Sr. Ministro/Dear Minister

Gral. Julio Arnoldo Balconi Turcios
Minister of Defence
Ministro de Defensa, Ministerio de Defensa
Palacio Nacional, Guatemala,GUATEMALA
Telegrams: Ministro de Defensa, Guatemala, Guatemala
Faxes: +502 2 609909 (if voice, ask "me puede dar tono de fax,
por favor")
Salutation: Sr. Ministro / Dear Minister

Hector Hugo Perez Aguilar
Attorney General
Fiscal General de la Nacin, Ministerio Pblico
18 Calle 10-36 Zona 1, Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Telefax: + 502 2 317 066


Marilyn McAfee
American Embassy
7-01 Avenida de la Reforma
Zone 10; APO AA 34024
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Fax: +502 231-88-85
Salutation: Ambassador (full name)

Edmund Mulet
Embassy of Guatemala
2220 R St., NW
Washington, DC 20008
Fax: +202 745-1908
Salutation: Your Excellency (full name)

COPIES SENT TO:

Lic. Jorge Garca Laguardia
Human Rights Procurator
Procurador de los Derechos Humanos
12 Avenida 12-72, Zona 1, Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Faxes: +502 2 81734
Equipo de Antropologia Forense de Guatemala
3a. Calle 3-18, Apto.B, Edificio Packard, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, CP 01001, GUATEMALA


Col. Guillermo Leopoldo Pimentel Recinos
Commander of El Petén
Comandante de la Zona Militar No 23
Santa Elena de la Cruz, Flores, Petn, GUATEMALA
Tel: + 502 9 500364 / 500493

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