Violence against Trade Unionists: continued crimes from Guatemala's civil war
Violence against Trade Unionists: continued crimes from Guatemala's civil war
Posted 16 Oct 2013, 12:47pm
Death threats on the telephone, followed by an attack by armed gunmen and the murder of another trade unionist in Guatemala. A scene that could have come straight from Guatemala City in the 70s or 80s, during the peak of the Guatemalan civil war. But it's not an 80s murder. This happened earlier this year to Carlos Hernández. He is one of 58 murders of trade unionists in the last five years.
It is sometimes difficult to figure out whether the news stories we read are decades old, or days old.
The lines between the past and present become more blurred with disappearances of trade unionists. With no body to be buried, enforced disappearances cause unending agony and grief for the victims' families.
~snip~
The continued persecution trade unionists and other activists is getting worse. According to the International Trade Union Confederation, Guatemala is ‘the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist'
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina described this as ‘shameful’ in a meeting with the international trade union federation, Public Services International. Why, then, is more not being done by the Guatemalan authorities to tackle these focused crimes?
More:
http://www2.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/country-specialists/violence-against-trade-unionists-continued-crimes-guatemalas-civil-war
[center]~ ~ ~ [/center]
Also:
Guatemala Suffered for U.S. Foreign Policy
Irma Alicia Velasquez Nimatuj
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/05/19/what-guilt-does-the-us-bear-in-guatemala/guatemala-suffered-for-us-foreign-policy
