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BTS Solidarity Actions Needed Amid Constitutional Crisis in Guatemala
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Guatemala is in the midst of a constitutional crisis, which has escalated since the government declared that it would not renew the mandate of the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in September 2019. Citizens are engaging in peaceful protest, calling for President Jimmy Morales to step down.
We must stand in solidarity with our partners and civil society to challenge the consolidation of power by President Morales, which undermines and attempts to reverse important gains against corruption and impunity.
In light of the current situation, we ask that the Government of Canada:
- Express unequivocal support for CICIG’s work by urging the Guatemalan government to comply with the Constitutional Court’s September 16th order to allow CICIG Commissioner Velasquez to enter the country to resume his duties
- Call on Guatemalan authorities to guarantee the safety of human rights defenders and civil society organizations engaging in peaceful protest
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Saturdays (ongoing)
Halifax Forum Farmers' Market
Buy BTS coffee and mugs to support us in fundraising
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Oct 26 - 27, 2018
Screening of "500 Years" at the Atlantic International Film Festival
Antigonish, NS
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Sat. Oct. 27, 2019 @ 7pm
Benefit Concert with Garnet Rogers
Tatamagouche, NS
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Nov 5 - 11, 2018
Speaking Tour with Marcelo Sabuc (CCDA)
Throughout the Maritimes
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May 31 - June 2, 2019
BTS Annual Gathering
Tatamagouche, NS
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June 7 - 9, 2019
Bluenose Marathon
Halifax, NS
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We encourage our members to express their concern regarding the current situation in Guatemala to the Minister of International Affairs Chrystia Freeland through letters, emails or social media, highlighting BTS’ key asks. For more info, visit us here.
You'll find coverage of recent demonstrations in Guatemala calling for President Morales' resignation by following us on Facebook and Twitter.
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November: Speaking Tour with Marcelo Sabuc, National Coordinator of the CCDA
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We are excited to announce that Marcelo Sabuc, National Coordinator of the Small Farmers Committee of the Highlands (CCDA), will be joining us for a speaking tour throughout the Maritimes from November 4 - 11, 2019! Our long-time partner, the CCDA, has been one of the organizations most targetted by the spike in attacks on human rights defenders in Guatemala. We hope you'll join us throughout the speaking tour to call for an end to attacks on the CCDA and other human rights defenders in Guatemala, as well as to call for justice in these cases.
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Marcelo will also speak about the current political context and how it impacts organizations such as the CCDA. Watch out for more details in the near future!
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Genocide retrial: Verdict against ex Chief of Military Intelligence
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For many years, BTS has accompanied the trial for genocide against the Indigenous Ixil population in Guatemala. Yesterday, the high risk court once again ruled that genocide and crimes against humanity occurred against the Ixil people in 1982-1983, the height of Guatemala’s internal armed conflict.
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However, in a 2-1 vote, they absolved former Chief of Military Intelligence Rodriguez Sanchez for responsibility in these crimes. Dissenting Judge Sara Yoc Yol says: “he should have been sentenced because he handed over all that information and as far as I’m concerned he is guilty of genocide.” Read more here.
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Criminalization of seven campesinos in Finca Washington case
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The trial against seven
campesinos from the Finca Washington in Purulha, Baja Verapaz came to a close on Wednesday, September 26th. The men were represented by long-time BTS partner, the Rabinal Legal Clinic.
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Esteban Ichich, Hermelindo Ichich and Ricardo Chun were found guilty of violent usurpation and coercion and sentenced to 3.5 years in jail or Q5 per day for 3.5 years; Thomas Choc was found guilty of violent usurpation and sentenced to 3 years in jail or Q5 per day for 3 years; Mario Iqui was found guilt of coercion and sentenced to 6 months in jail or Q5 per day for 6 months; Roberto Caal and Isaias Ayú were found not guilty on all charges.
Esteban Ichich asked, "Is it a crime to live where we always have lived? Is it a crime to work day after day to provide for our family, while we walk in rubber boots and are accused by someone with money, while we live on tortillas?"
Despite the sentence, the men are committed to continuing the struggle for the protection of their ancestral lands. Read more about the case here.
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#NiUnaMenos: Assassination of Juana Ramirez Santiago
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BTS joins Guatemalan and international human rights organizations in denouncing the assassination of Juana Ramirez Santiago, a midwife and member of the Red de Mujeres Ixiles, from the department of Quiche. She is the 21st human rights activist to be murdered in Guatemala in 2018.
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Overwhelming international support for Guatemalan communities resisting Tahoe's Escobal mine
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Thank you for participating in a recent action in support of Guatemalan communities right to say “No” to Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine. In total, over 3,700 individuals from Canada and the US participated!
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The action re-sent a letter written by the Peaceful Resistance of Santa Rosa, Jalapa and Jutiapa and the Xinka Parliament, which demands the permanent closure of the mine given the environmental harms, community division, militarization and repression that the project has brought into their lives. It reiterates the fact that communities have already carried out referenda processes that overwhelmingly rejected the project.
The online action was supported by BTS and the following organizations: Earthworks; MiningWatch Canada; and Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala. You can read more here.
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Guatemala’s Highest Court Orders Tahoe’s Escobal Mine to Remain Suspended
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On September 3rd, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court ruled that US-Canadian owned Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine will remain suspended while the Ministry of Energy and Mines consults with the Xinka indigenous population in four municipalities, including San Rafael Las Flores, where the mine is located.
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This decision reaffirms a lower court decision from July 2017 to halt work at Escobal and the neighbouring Juan Bosco exploration license over discrimination and failure to consult with Xinka people. The decision cannot be appealed. To read more, visit us here.
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APG calls for action from Canada on Constitutional Crisis in Guatemala
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On September 21st, BTS, as a member of the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network, joined the Americas Policy Group (APG) in sending a letter of concern to Minister Freeland regarding attacks on CICIG and the current constitutional crisis in Guatemala. You'll find the letter here.
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The APG is a working group of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation focused on development and social justice issues in the Americas. It brings together approximately 40 international development and humanitarian NGOs, human rights groups, labour unions, research institutions, church and solidarity groups.
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AJODER and Topacio Award Keep Her Dreams Alive
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On Sunday, September 2nd, the Reynoso Pacheco family accompanied by BTS staff Lisa Rankin, traveled to Coban, Alta Verapaz to present the 2018 Topacio Reynoso Pacheco Award to AJODER (the Association for Development and Social Recovery).
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As always, the presentation of the award was a bitter-sweet moment, remembering Topacio and the dreams which she herself was not able to see to fulfillment, but also the continuation of her work through other youth groups throughout Guatemala. Read more here.
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Youth & adults from Tatamagouche have an eye opening visit to Guatemala
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A group of 18 young people and adults spent 10 days in Guatemala at the end of August for the BTS North Shore Guatemala-Tatamagouche Schools Project. The group visited with BTS partner the New Hope Foundation and travelled to Rio Negro Historical and Educational Centre, where they heard from survivors of the 1983 genocide that killed 170 women and children.
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BTS member and university student Hannah Martin, who joined the group, says: “It was really important to me to provide my mentorship with the youth. To see them taking a leadership role in the community – it’s really important for me this time around,”
Kudos to the BTS North Shore committee and all those involved in making this a reality! Read more about the visit in an article in the local newspaper The Light.
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Janette Fecteau shares her delegation experience in St. FXAUT's The Beacon
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Janette Fecteau, a BTS member from the Antigonish Committee and a Fine Arts Instructor, writes about her experience on our last delegation to Guatemala in The Beacon.
Janette writes: "As we learned about [Guatemalans'] struggles for land rights affirmed by the 1996 Peace Accords, their efforts to recover culture, language, and land after a genocidal civil war, the constant underlying racism pervading the country, and the courage, imagination, and resilience of people in the grassroots movements, we were reminded again and again of parallel struggles in Canada."
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Thanks to the St. Francis Xavier Association of University Teachers (St. FXAUT) for their ongoing support and most recent contribution, which will go towards enabling the participation of an Indigenous or Guatemalan person living in Canada on the next delegation!
You can read the full article here.
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