Guatemala: Wave Of Persecution And Assassination Of Social Leaders
Guatemala: Wave Of Persecution And Assassination Of Social Leaders
By Rocizela Pérez Gómez
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
In the first three months of 2013, a number of social leaders, defenders of the rights of their communities, have been assassinated or kidnapped, even as a policy of criminalization, defamation and repression has been mounted.
The struggle of men, women, youth and children in defence of individual and collective rights has intensified in Guatemala during recent years; various communities have organized to demand the fulfilment of national and international agreements, respect for mother earth, an end to the looting and contamination on the part of hydroelectric enterprises, mining and cement factories, as well as the struggle to defend the rights of the working classes.
The collective demand and the resistance in defence of life has become evident in a number of areas; community organization is intensified in order to reject once again the works of mining exploration and exploitation in several regions of the country, since these contaminate the environment, destroy mother earth, contaminate and steal water, and deprive communities of their land.
Men and women from various regions of the country demand that the State comply with national and international agreements and that the so-called "fathers of the fatherland" (parliamentarians) legislate in favour of the majority of the population. The people of San José del Golfo, Santa Cruz Barillas, San Juan Sacatepéquez, Santa María Xalapán, amongst others, resist and demonstrate in defence of the very life of their lands, even as they demand the approval of the initiative of Law 4084 for Integral Rural Development.
More:
http://www.zcommunications.org/guatemala-wave-of-persecution-and-assassination-of-social-leaders-by-rocizela-p-rez-g-mez
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