Armed Confrontation on the Moca Finca Leaves One Dead and Many Injured
GHRC/USA | URGENT ACTION | July 14, 2006
Miguel Chen, seventy-five years old, died as a result of bullet wounds, and a number of others were injured during an armed conflict between groups of campesinos on Saturday July 8 on the Moca finca (estate) located between municipalities of La Tinta and Senahú, Alta Verapaz.
There was some confusion about the number of people that had been killed and the source of the confrontation, as the press, the police, and the hospital in La Tinta had differing reports. The National Civil Police (PNC) reported one dead and forty-three injured. A PNC representative said that the finca's distance from La Tinta made it difficult to verify reports on the number of deaths and injuries.
Carlos Morales, a leader from the Union of Campesino Organizations of the Verapaces (UVOC), said that the confrontation arose between two groups of campesinos after an attempt to evict families that were occupying the area. According to the National Coordinating Committee of Campesino Organizations (CNOC), a confrontation between 100 families that had occupied part of the estate and 600 armed members of the finca's private security forces left one dead and thirty-eight people wounded. A third version alleges that the finqueros (estate owners) gave land and money to one group of campesinos in order to provoke a conflict among the campesino families. PNC agents and representatives of the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office (PDH) arrived only after it was all over.
The Public Prosecutor's Office (MP), the PDH, the PNC, and campesino organizations formally requested that the coffee finca determine what had happened. The PDH said that the Miguel Chen was living on the land where approximately 500 armed men had entered with pistols and shotguns in order to evict the inhabitants, who are presumed to be employees of the finca. Guillermo Tadín, regional coordinator for the PDH, said that he had received reports that the MP had opened an investigation but had not yet arrested anyone because no one was caught in the act.
This latest confrontation occurs within a context of an increase in violent evictions in the past few years. During the month of June and the first week of July, a number of evictions have been carried out in Alta and Baja Verapaz, some of them peacefully. Hugo Herculano Pop Bac, the regional representative of the PDH in Cobán, said that thirty-five families were peacefully evicted from the Rubén-Tzul finca in Cubilgüitz. Separate evictions were also carried out in Santa Inés in Santa Cruz Verapaz; Sexan, Chisec; and Playa Grande, Ixcán, Quiché.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
In a press release, CNOC recommended sending appeals:
- demanding the immediate formation of an investigative team to identify those responsible for the death of Miguel Chen;
- urging the government to compensate for the harm caused to the families at the Moca and Cabañas fincas, who have become victims of violent evictions in recent months, resulting in a loss of their belongings and the death of one campesino;
- calling for a solution to the agrarian problems that afflict the inhabitants of the Moca finca so that the confrontations and violent evictions do not continue;
- stipulating that if an eviction is to proceed, the authorities ensure that international standards are adhered to'in particular that no excessive force is used and that law enforcement officials protect evictees from acts of violence from third parties.
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Presidente de la República de Guatemala
Licenciado Óscar Berger Perdomo
Casa Presidencial, 6 a. Avenida, 4-18 zona 1
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GUATEMALA
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Attorney General
Juan Luis Florido
Fiscal General Fiscalia General del Ministerio Publico
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Ciudad Guatemala
GUATEMALA
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Minister of the Interior
Ministro de Gobernacion
Carlos Vielman
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Guatemala
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Email: ministromingob.gob.gt
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Embassy of Guatemala
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Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 745 1908
email: ambassadorguatemala-embassy.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Guatemala Human Rights Commission- USA
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