Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 8. Oktober 1995 / Time Line October 8, 1995
Version 3.57. Oktober 1995, 9. Oktober 1995
10/08/1995
Massacre in Xaman (Aurora 8 de Octubre)
Peace Brigades International - Guatemala
Special Report: October, 1995
http://www.peacebrigades.org/guatemala/cap95-02.html
A large part of our work in October revolved around the massacre at
Xaman. The wounded were moved to the capital, and our team has had
a presence in the hospital where they are recuperating. We observed
a demonstration in the Plaza Central, organized by returned
refugees demanding that justice be rendered and guilty parties in
the massacre prosecuted. We were also present at a press conference
organized by the Mutual Support Group (GAM) to denounce the
massacre. Here is a short summary of the whole episode:
Reliving the nightmare....
On the 5th of October 1995 the world suffered a setback, at least
the small world that is Guatemala, slowly advancing towards peace.
In the returned refugee community Aurora 8 de Octubre (Finca Xaman,
Alta Verapaz) seven men, two women, and two children died at the
hands of the Guatemalan army, and more than 30 people suffered
bullet or shrapnel wounds.
The massacre left a community afraid and grief-stricken, but above
all united. These people, many already survivors of the 1980's
"scorched earth policy" and the infamous Ixcan massacres, have now
relived the horror that caused them to flee their country in the
first place. Amazingly, they continue to struggle, buoyed by the
hope that brought them back to their homeland a year ago.
On the 5th of October the community was preparing a celebration for
the first anniversary of their return from exile. According to
witness reports gathered by the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation, "...
at 10:30 in the morning a number of children from the community
spotted a group of soldiers on the outskirts of the village.
...They went to advise their parents, who subsequently informed the
directive of the Maya Union cooperative. The leaders arrived at
12:30 where they found the soldiers... They noted that the military
patrol was made up of 26 soldiers, heavily armed and led by Kaibil
Sublieutenant Camilo Antonio Lacan Chaclan. They asked him to
justify the presence of the soldiers... The official replied that
they were interested in taking part in the anniversary celebration
and wished to talk with the cooperative authorities. The directive
members responded that for such matters they should have come
unarmed to the center of the cooperative and asked to speak with
the authorities instead of hiding in the woods."
Who Gave The Order?
The United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA)
states in its preliminary conclusions on the massacre that "when
the patrol entered the center of the community... it was
surrounded... A tense situation developed in which the community
members condemned the presence of the military with increasing
verbal aggression. This led the patrol, within approximately half
an hour, to try and break up the circle of people, using their
firearms to push them back.
"The population continued to prevent the departure of the soldiers.
In that moment a person took the barrel of the sergeant's gun with
the intention of seizing it. [The investigators determined that]
the sergeant ordered a member of the patrol to open fire, [which
resulted in the killing of] said person and another two in the
immediate area. Subsequently other soldiers began to shoot
indiscriminately in diverse directions, wounding numerous members
of the community.
"Six died, a few of them killed while lying wounded on the
ground... The circle broke, and the majority of the soldiers
left... taking with them three soldiers wounded by the uncontrolled
shooting of their companions. Meanwhile they continued shooting in
the direction of the community. ... At a distance of 200 metres
from where the events had taken place, while the patrol was leaving
the site, Santiago Pop Tut, an eight year old child was
deliberately attacked by a soldier, fully identified, who wounded
his hand. When the child ran towards his house, the soldier
returned, and in cold blood shot him in the chest and head, killing
him outright."
"Accidental" Slaughter?
It is still unclear how many villagers were present in the circle
surrounding the soldiers (other sources talk of a semi-circle).
Most estimations vary between 100 and 200. Nor is it known for sure
if the leader of the patrol, Antonio Lacan Chaclan, gave the order
to fire, or even if the MINUGUA account can be confirmed. As to the
question of whether orders for the attack had come from above, many
analysts agree that it was probably not a premeditated action, that
the patrol was not sent to the community with the intention of
carrying out a massacre. Government sources emphasize the
"accidental" nature of the massacre, and the army has even
presented a formal charge against community members, alleging that
they provoked and attacked the patrol. Meanwhile, non-governmental
analysts highlight the fact that the entry of soldiers into a
returned community, an act in itself which is prohibited, does
appear to fit into a supposed strategy of intimidation of the
returnees.
The Rigoberta Menchu Foundation, which sustains various development
projects in Aurora, estimates that "to present the massacre as an
isolated or coincidental act is a posture which covers up the
background causes. The visit of the Independent Expert in Human
Rights of the United Nations, Monica Pinto, the proximity of the
theme of demilitarization on the negotiating table, the fact that
the return process represents the most dynamic aspect of [the
peace] negotiations, and the nearness of the general elections, are
all factors which establish a basis for reconciliation and peace."
In his report, Human Rights Ombudsman Jorge Mario Garcia Laguardia
abstained from such political judgements, but clearly placed the
material responsibility for the massacre in the hands of the
members and leader of the military patrol and institutionally in
the whole line of command, from the President of the Republic to
the commander of the Rubelsanto military base. The Episcopal
Conference of Guatemala demanded that the relevant authorities
"discover, judge and sanction those intellectually and materially
responsible for this horrendous crime, inferring responsibility to
those in general command... of the armed forces".
Meanwhile the first direct repercussions of the massacre are being
seen in Guatemala. Defense Minister General Mario Enriquez
renounced his position and was dismissed with "all the honors that
a military chief deserves" (La Cronica, October 13). The Commander
of Military Zone 21 in Coban, Colonel Sammy Noe Vasquez, was
dismissed by the President. In military terms, however, Vasquez did
not receive punishment for having jurisdictional responsibility for
the patrol (La Cronica, October 13), and "the judgement will be
brought only against the material authors of the crime"
(Inforpress, October 12).
However, the legal case will be handled under special
circumstances. First, Rigoberta Menchu will represent the community
in the judicial process. Second, it was proved that one of the
members of the patrol was a minor, only 15 when he entered the army
last year. The military attempted to cover up this fact by altering
a document sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office (Prensa Libre,
October 27). With few advances in the judicial process against
patrol members, the Special Prosecutor from the Public Prosecutor's
Office, Alcides Sagastume, resigned publicly two weeks after the
massacre. The impartiality of Sagastume had been seriously
questioned, given that he was implicated in the case of the
assassinated anthropologist Myrna Mack and that he ordered the
detention of Rigoberta Menchu when she returned to Guatemala for
the first time after exile in Mexico. Also criticism has arisen
over the level of professionalism with which the formalities of the
case are being treated.
The efficiency of the high level commission investigating the case,
made up of the director of the Presidential Commission of Human
Rights (COPREDEH), the Minister of the Interior, and the Attorney
General, is reportedly in serious doubt. Rumors circulate about the
possible disappearance of important evidence in the trial, such as
the clothes of the dead and wounded. During the following days two
groups of foreign investigators will arrive in the country, one
invited by the Public Prosecutors Office and the other by the
Archbishops Human Rights Office (ODHA). the ODHA has refused to
work together with the Public Prosecutor and prefers to carry out
its work independently (Prensa Libre, October 27).
Returned Refugees Still Face Great Obstacles
While Ramiro de Leon Carpio hinted at possibility of revising the
refugee return process _ including waiting for the signing of the
final peace accord before continuing the returns (Siglo Veintiuno,
October 11) _ the director of the National Commission for the
Attention to Returnees, Refugees and Displaced Peoples (CEAR)
announced that from October to December of this year 6918 refugees
will return to Guatemala (La Hora, October 11). Guatemalan refugees
in Mexico reiterated their decision to return home, despite the
massacre and the non-fulfillment of governmental commitments (Siglo
Veintiuno, October 11). In this same context, the Consultative
Assembly of Uprooted Populations (ACPD) temporarily suspended its
participation in a Technical Commission whose role is to assist in
the implementation of the accord on Resettlement of the Population
Uprooted by the Armed Conflict. A short time after the massacre,
the Head of the Governmental Peace Commission (COPAZ), Hector
Rosada, asked for a state of exception to be imposed in the return
zones. Political analysts fear that certain "government statements
_ strongly aligned with the doctrine of national security that
certain sectors seek to revive in Guatemala _ are trying to delay
the systematic return of the refugees to their old communities or
to regions freely selected by them" (Inforpress, October 19).
The above text may freely be reproduced, copied, or translated, in
whole or in part, and without prior consent, as long as the source
is stated as: Peace Brigades International
(http://www.igc.apc.org/pbi/).
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