Ríos Mott to be tried for genocide in Guatemala

Submitted by fyl on Tue, 2013/01/29 - 05:38.

Late in happening but a huge step forward in the region. From Human Rights Watch

A Guatemalan judge’s decision to try the former de facto head of state, Efraín Ríos Montt, for genocide and crimes against humanity is a major step forward for accountability in Guatemala, Human Rights Watch said today.

Another site with more information is NISGUA.

Today Guatemalan society is witness to an historic event, for the first time in our country, a judge has ordered the opening of a trial for the crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity. Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez ordered the opening of the public oral debate that allows the court to hear the respective evidence in this groundbreaking case. This step toward justice is of utmost importance for thousands of survivors of genocide in Guatemala.

Finally, for anyone who missed the external influences in what happened in the 1980s in Guatemala, Consortium News brings up Ronald Reagan.

However, while Guatemala, though beset by many serious problems including widespread poverty, takes politically difficult steps to impose some accountability on these war criminals, the U.S. politician most associated with Ríos Montt and his genocide, remains the subject of endless adoration.

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Jose?

Submitted by fyl on Tue, 2013/02/05 - 07:25.

Al Jazeera has just published a new article about this. It's a good article but did't offer any new information --- except the real name of Rios Montt.

When a judge ruled last week that former general and Guatemalan head of state Jose Efrain Rios Montt will, finally, stand trial for the crime of genocide, the news resounded profoundly at home and abroad. These events in Guatemala mark the first time a national court, anywhere, prosecutes its own former head of state for the crime of genocide.

Jose? Is there something wrong with using your first name if you happen to be a Latin American politician named Jose?

Granito: How to Nail a Dictator

Submitted by migs on Wed, 2013/01/30 - 14:47.

In a stunning milestone for justice in Central America, a Guatemalan court recently charged former dictator Efraín Rios Montt with genocide for his brutal war against the country's Mayan people in the 1980s — and Pamela Yates' 1983 documentary, When the Mountains Tremble, provided key evidence for bringing the indictment. Granito: How to Nail a Dictator tells the extraordinary story of how a film, aiding a new generation of human rights activists, became a granito — a tiny grain of sand — that helped tip the scales of justice.

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