[Nota: igual que la carta anterior de Domingo Baltazar, esta carta fue dictado antes de la audiencia del día 18, que resultó en otra postergación del proceso legal.]
En primer lugar, quiero agradecer a todos los solidarios, a toda la gente que se solidarizan con nosotros, en nuestra calidad de presos políticos. Pero yo diria que, mas de presos politicos, somos secuestrados oficialmente por el estado de Guatemala. También felicito a todos los pueblos que conformamos la República de Guatemala por las manifestaciones y articulación hecha durante todo el año pasado, la que dio inicio el 26 de abril de 2015. Y que ocasionó el desmantelamiento de la red de corrupción desde el nivel mas alto del poder ejecutivo y el poder legislativo así como el poder judicial. Y por supuesto que necesita mejores esfuerzos para limpiar las estructuras del estado del mal que por siglos ha agredido a nuestros pueblos.
Un otro aspecto es que también felicitamos a las autoridades comunitarias de las distintas comunidades y pueblos originarios por su lucha incansable en la defensa de la vida y los territorios ancestrales, que han sido amenazados de nuevo por los que tienen el poder político y económico en el mundo, que son los causantes en mejor grado de la crisis ambiental que sacude el planeta en la actualidad. Y que aún con las amenazas de autoridades del gobierno y las empresas, han defendido con vigor e incluso con su propio vida lo mas sublime que es la vida.
Para el año 2016, supone superar los obstáculos para trascender la vida. Para esto se requiere que las nuevas autoridades electas popularmente no sean serviles a los que históricamente han dañada a nuestros pueblos, es decir, los alcaldes municipales, en su jurisdicción autonómica, encausar la defensa de sus territorios. A los diputados electos que ya no castigan nuestros pueblos emitiendo leyes que favorecen los de siempre. Mas bien legislar en función de las necesidades de nuestros pueblos. A los miles de autoridades comunitarias, este pasado 1ro de enero asumieron sus cargos, seguir el camino trazado por nuestros ancestros, en función de harmonizar las relaciones entre la población de su comunidad, pero sobre todo, seguir en arbolando la lucha por la defensa de la vida y el territorio para el bienestar de nuestras futuras generaciones.
Finalmente, instarlos a no claudicar en nuestras luchas ante las acciones represivas que tanto daño ya han hecho a nuestro pueblo históricamente, y que hoy estamos viviendo en carne propia en este condición de detenidos ilegalmente por el solo hecho de defender los bienes naturales de nuestro territorio que son los que nos proveen la vida. Al instarlos a no decaer en esta lucha, lo hago ante las amenazas que en el 2016 es mas que se incrementan en contra a nuestros pueblos, descabezando las mejores autoridades.
A los distintos medios de comunicación alternativos que están acompañando a nuestros pueblos en su lucha, incrementar su capacidad de investigación, para ser mas objetivos en la información que se debe trasladar a la población, para no ser presa de la información mediática generada y manipulada por los medios tradicionales al servicio del monopolio. O sea, radios por internet, radios comunitarias, prensa comunitaria, y redes sociales entre otros.
La geopolítica mundial esta en constante movimiento donde se juegan muchos intereses. Y las naciones y pueblos pequeños no estamos exentos a los efectos que se genera esa geopolítica. Crisis económica, crisis ambiental, crisis social, ante ello es fundamental la articulación de los distintos sectores de las sociedades y pueblos, para que estas catástrofes no nos golpean tan duro.
La solidaridad en esta articulación es clave. La solidaridad es doble via, no solo de los que vienen a nosotros, pero de nosotros a ellos también. Hay que anotar que la solidaridad no es solo de individuos pero tambien de gobiernos e instituciones multilaterales,hasta la ONU, hasta la OEA, entre otros.
Abrazo enorme a todos y a todas, con todo nuestro cariño y respeto.
Sábado el 2 de enero fui por tercera vez a visitar a los compañeros Rigoberto Juárez Mateo y Domingo Baltazar, presos políticos de Santa Eulalia. Yo fui la única visitante para ellos ese día -- cuesta mucho trabajo y recursos para sus familias, amigos y vecinos a viajar desde Santa Eulalia, y muchos de los capitalinos se habían salido de la ciudad para celebrar el año nuevo en otros lugares. Entonces tuve la suerte de poder compartir un tiempo solo con ellos. Ambos me dictaron cartas, pero habían pasado otras cosas que distrajeron mi atención, como la muerte de nuestro compañero Lico, un taller que tuve que dirigir, todo involucrando muchos viajes largos. Luego presté mi cuaderno a una compañera y demoró varios días en recuperarlo. Entonces, estas cartas fueron escritos hace 2 semanas, antes de la audiencia del lunes 18, pero creo que las palabras y pensamientos todavía son muy relevantes.
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En primer lugar, gracias a Dios, estamos empezando un año nuevo, y como nosotros somos presos políticos, entonces mas que todo somos preocupados, porque estamos en la cárcel sin ninguna causa. Entonces, mi mensaje que le doy al pueblo en general es que haya esperanza, que confiamos en Dios que la próxima audiencia, el 18 de enero, quedamos liberados. Confío en Dios que las próximas audiencias nos salga bien. Porque sabemos que el Ministero Público no tiene suficiente pruebas para seguir acusándonos. Entonces, es que todo que nuestra lucha en defensa del territorio que sea un gran ejemplo a todo el pueblo. Porque todos estos problemas no sólo existen en el territorio del norte de Huehuetenango, sino que es al nivel nacional. Entonces mas que todo saludos a toda la gente del norte de Huehuetenango, pueblo Q'anjob'al, pueblo Chuj, Akateko, y pueblo mestizo. Que sigan la lucha en defensa del territorio y estas luchas son para el bien de todos. Lastimosamente, vivimos en un país donde no hay justicia. Nos acusan solo por defender nuestro territorio de las empresas nacionales y transnacionales. Entonces se velan por sus propios intereses y no por el pueblo. Entonces, les doy gracias por la solidaridad que nos dan todas las organizaciones nacional e internacionales que velan por el derecho de la gente maya en Guatemala. Saludos a todos, feliz año
After an anxious hour waiting outside the elevators on the 14th floor of the Torre de Tribunales, the court building on the edge of Zona 9 in Guatemala City, when we were nearly certain that today's scheduled hearing would be canceled because once again the penitentiary system had failed to transport the defendants to court, the elevators opened and we saw the smiling faces of Rigoberto and Domingo -- faces smiling because the sight that greeted their eyes when the doors opened was about three dozen people, including representatives of human rights organizations, family members, alternative media people, regular journalists, and people from civil society organizations and churches in Santa Eulalia. And smiling because at least they were able to make it to court; there wouldn't be that excuse. But as soon as the proceedings started a series of actions from the MP and the plantiffs' attorneys. First accusing the journalists present of intimidation. That people with cameras and recorders were somehow threatening the prosecution and accusers. The judge dismissed that. Then the translator asked to be replaced, saying that he had a work relationship with Rigoberto and they should find a different translator. The lawyers for the defense tried to argue that the state was obligated to offer a translator but the defendants could waive their right to have one and that should not hold up the proceeding. The last straw was the absence of the former Mayor of Santa Eulalia, one of the plaintiffs. He has come to exactly one hearing in 10 months and the defense argued that his right to be present should not trump the rights of the defendants to a speedy trial so that they would not be deprived of liberty. The judge allowed Rigoberto and Domingo to speak, and they had already been uncuffed, and they addressed the court very forcefully and eloquently but the judge called for a postponement until February 26, and for the former Mayor to have 48 hours to explain his absence.
This was pretty much the kind of delaying tactic we expected, but it was still frustrating and disappointing.
One of the strategies that the Guatemalan government has used to keep the leaders of the movements for defense of life, water and territory locked up is that of endless delays and postponements. The first court hearing I attended during this trip, the day after I arrived, did not take place because the defendant was in Huehuetenango, the trial was taking place in Guatemala City, and the penitentiary system could not manage, so they said, to find a way of transporting the defendant to appear at his trial. Other scheduled hearings, in the many cases that are torturously making their way through the justice system here, have been canceled or postponed because the MP (Ministerio Público, the prosecutors) were not ready, or asked for an extension to collect more evidence or conduct investigations, or because the plaintiffs in the case could not make it, or the other side simply did not show up. Just last Friday, there was a hearing scheduled in the case of Don Chico Palás, one of the nine leaders from northern Huehuetenango who is facing criminal charges. His youngest daughter, Cesia Juárez, had traveled from Barillas, which is near the Mexican border, and about 3 hours north of Santa Eulalia -- in all, about a 12 hour trip to the capital -- to be present at his trial, and the hearing was postponed.
The strategy has several functions: first, it ensures that the defendants remain behind bars and unable to fully exercise their leadership in their communities and region. Therefore the movement(s) are weakened since the key leaders are not present. Secondly, it serves to intimidate the rest of the movement. Who wants to stick out his or her neck if it means winding up in jail for months or for years? And thirdly, it is designed to tire out the families and supporters, exhausting them both physically and financially. How many times is a wife or a colleague able to take off two or three days to travel to the capital, and spend money on buses, food and lodging? This is especially problematic for those in northern Huehuetenango when the trials are scheduled in Guatemala City as it takes 9 to12 hours to travel to the capital (not including the waiting time between buses -- that would make it more like 10 to 14 hours). Since most of the leaders come from fairly modest backgrounds and their families depend upon subsistence agriculture. At least a few have young children -- the wife of Domingo Baltazar, the co-defendant of Rigoberto Juárez, from Santa Eulalia -- has a baby who is less than a year old, born after her father was arrested. Traveling all day or all night on several different buses is hard enough for anyone, but with a toddler and an infant it must be nearly unbearable.
So, this morning there is supposed to be a hearing in the case of Rigoberto and Domingo. This has been scheduled for quite some time -- and I will soon be heading over to the courthouse where supporters are gathering in front, before the 8:30 starting time. But we don't actually know if the trial will take place, as the recent incidents of postponements and delays -- two in the last three weeks -- are not promising signs. On the other hand, two of the jailed leaders were recently released -- Saúl and Rogelio, whom I was able to visit in the jail in Huehuetenango last week, during a solidarity action in the central plaza of Huehuetenango. They had been in jail for over two years -- jailed, released, and then jailed again -- and are now free. But that is a different court and a different judge. Rigoberto and Domingo have a relatively new judge in their case-- there was a switch several months back. There are conflicting views about whether this judge is more or less objective. In Guatemalan courts there are no juries -- cases are decided by judges, either individual judges or panels of judges.
The most serious charges against them-- kidnapping and confinement (plagio y secuestro) were dropped for lack of evidence. But they still remain in jail. The lawyers have asked for alternatives to confinement for the remaining charges-- a form of parole, although that's not the term used. They would be released and would have to report to officials every so often. So let's see what today has in store.
There are things that cannot be planned, and today´s visit to see Don Ermitaño çLopez, Saul Mendez y Rogelio Velasquez was one of them. Yesterday in my retturn journey from Barillas, where I had spent the previous night and morning, I had the chance to meet Cesia Juarez, an energetic young woman whose father, Don Chico Palas, is one of the nine leaders from northern Huehuetenango who has been unjustly and, many of us would say, illegally imprisoned for months --and in the case of Saul, Rogelio and Mynor Lopez, years. We had wanted to meet up and it turned out that she was traveling to Huehuetenango, and I wanted to get back to Santa Eulalia, which is along the way, so we decided to journey together. In the course of the 2 and a half hours we spent together on the bus, she told me that there was going to be a ¨"concentration" (rally, gathering) in Huehuetenango in support of the political prisoners and demanding their freedom. This month, January, there are several hearings in some of the legal cases against these men, and so some of the indigenous rights organizations wanted to use this moment to put some pressure on the government--this is also the week that the new government is inaugurated. I hadn´t known about the event but decided to go, and so I got up at 3 and hopped on a bus that passed by my friends´home in Santa Eulalia at 3:45 a.m., heading for Huehuetenango. There were later buses but my friend Lorenzo suggested taking the early bus and arriving in time to have breakfast before the protest was supposed to start at 8.
The bus deposited me a few blocks from the Parque Central of Huehuetenango at around 6:30 and after walking around for a few minutes ahd checking out the action --at that hour, vendors arranging their wares and people lining up in front of the office where people pay their taxes, car registration fees and all other kinds of state-mandated payments -- and repaired to a nearby restaurant to eat breakfast. I then wandered back to the square after a leisurely meal but couldn´t see much sign of activity, until Cesia texted me and told me where people were gathered.
Nothing much was happening yet - it was about 8:30 when I met up with Cesia -- and we chatted with some of the organizers, and then went off to have coffee, waiting for the invocation for the event. An aqíq (Maya priest or guia espiritual, spiritual guide) made a small altar with incense and flowers, but nothing much was happening. We were sitting at the cafe waiting for our beverages when I saw some movement and ran back across the street. Someone asked me where Cesia was because they wanted representatives of the families of the prisoners and apparently she was the only one who was able to make it. I ran back to fetch her and we asked the cafe to hold off on our coffees and then rejoined the people on the square for the invocation. I will report later on the proceedings -- there are a short press conference, announcing that people would be in the square for several days, with music, performances, collecting food and money for the prisoners and their families, and signatures to pressure the government, and then several representatives of different communities where there either have been political prisoners or resistance movements spoke, until close to midday. Francisco, one of the people coordinating the activities, explained that there were also pens for sale --pens that had been decorated by Don Taño with messages against mining and hydroelectrics, in defense of water and freedom for the prisoners. I bought two (and later a dozen at the request of friends in the Guatemalan immigrant community).
Cesia suggested that we try to make a visit to the prison where three of the prisoners are being held, and explained that it was only a few blocks away. She also suggested that we bring cameras and see if we could take photos or even record an interview with the men. Since she had press credentials and I did not I gave her my camera bag and I just carried a pad and pen. I was surprised at the difference between the prison here and the preventivo in Guatemala City. Here it´s a small jail, right in the middle of town, and you just walk in t he front door into a couryard and ask to speak to an official. No line, no multiple inspections (there are inspections for official visiting hours). Cesia explained that we were from the press, that we were at the solidarity activity in the square and wanted to bring a message from the prisoners, and mentioned that previously the prison had permitted messages to be recorded. The official who spoke with Cesia said that if we hadn´t requested offiical permission we could not record video but that we could take photographs and Cesia could take notes on the interview. We waited a short while and then the guards brought the three prisoners out -- hands secured behind their backs with handcuffs -- and allowed us to speak with them.
They all looked somewhat tired, which is understandable, but they grew more animated as they spoke. They allowed us to embrace them, although they could not embrace us back as their hands were bound. Cesia explained who I was and asked if any of them had met me before. Don Taño and I noted that we had met under different circumstances, in some of the meetings and activities in Barillas. We showed him that we had one of the pencils he had made, which we were using to take notes. The guards stood behind them, but did not make any effort to remove themselves from the range of my camera lens, or in any way interfere with my photography. Cesia first spoke, greeting them and explaining about the rally or occupation taking place in the square, saying that they were an inspiration and heroes, and emphasizing that their families needed them, that the community needed them and that she hoped that we would soon see them free.
I was surprised when she asked me if I wanted to say something, but I quickly explained that I had been following their cases and those of the other prisoners, that I had recently been to see Rigoberto and one of the things that he had said that impressed me was his statement that solidarity did not run only in one direction, from those outside the prison to those inside the prison, but also from them to us. That I knew that the struggle they were waging was not something that had started last month or last year but one that had deep historical roots, starting with the Spanish invasion, and that as a gringa I was very well aware of the part that my country had played in all of that, with the support of the coup and the support of the military regimes. I don't quite remember how I brought in Lorenzo and the repression of the radio station in Santa Eulalia (I obviously was not taking notes on myself). I also said that there was support for their plight from outside the country, from the Guatemalan immigrant community, especially some of the Q'anjob'al communities in the U.S. Afterwards, each of them spoke, starting with Rogelio, and then Saul and then Don Taño. The guards allowed us to talk with them for probably 20 minutes or more in total -- I was not watching the clock but I know we went well beyond the 5 minutes we had originally requested. Cesia took notes and when she sends them to me I will translate them. In brief, they each sent thanks to everyone who was supporting their cases, and reiterated that defending water was not criminal, that they had done nothing wrong, and that they hoped to regain their freedom.
Somehow it's been over a week since I arrived here on December 28 and I haven't yet had a chance to sit down and write a blog entry. My departure was more hectic than usual as I couldn't find my passport. I started looking for it two days before my departure -- when I am not using it for identification or travel, I generally keep it in the same place, in the drawer of a small end table. I often take it with me when I travel by air domestically as a form of identification but the last two times I traveled within the U.S. I decided to use my driver's license instead. So the last time I am certain that I used it was on September 11 when I returned from my trip to Mexico: I know that I had to present it at the airport when I arrived in the U.S. but I am not aware of using it since then. In any case, by Sunday night I knew that I had to find a way to replace the passport on short notice, so I spent part of the night reading some travelers' blogs and the State Department website. I tried to make an appointment but the soonest the online system would give me was January 10, which wasn't going to do me any good, but one of the bloggers recommended just showing up before the passport office opened and waiting on line. I won't go into all the details now but let it be known that it is possible to get a passport in 2 hours in New York City during the Christmas holidays. In between submitting my application and returning for the passport I went back to Brooklyn, finished packing, made a sandwich to eat on the plane, and then drove myself back to Manhattan, found parking right in front of the passport office, retrieved my passport and then drove to Queens to pick up the friend who lives 5 minutes from LGA who was going to deal with my car while I am away.
The second leg of my flight, from Houston to Guatemala, was delayed 3 hours and so I had time to sample some quite good food in the airport and drink a glass of wine (I asked United and was told there was only food for sale on the flight, no hot meal served in economy). Free wifi (why can't all airports have that?) allowed me to contact the guesthouse and tell them I was going to be quite late; the owner, Luciano (actually Lucien, as he is Belgian, but everyone in Guatemala except a few of his Francophone friends calls him Luciano) told me to have the taxi driver call so as not to ring the doorbell and wake other guests.
I toppled into bed (I'd been up most of the night figuring out the passport situation)and then headed out in the morning for a run, and then decided to treat myself to the guesthouse's breakfast, prepared by Luciano's wife. Although it's included, I have never eaten it before, generally preferring to cook oatmeal, since a "desayuno chapín" (Guatemalan breakfast) is more food than I usually want in the morning -- eggs, some black beans, some slices of fried sweet plantains, and tortillas. Sometimes a slice of queso fresco (fresh cheese) or crema (literally, cream, but something much thicker and slightly tart). But I decided to indulge and then set off to take care of reactivating my phone and then going to the courthouse (los tribunales) where there was to be a hearing in the case of one of the leaders from Barillas in northern Huehuetenango, Don Ermitaño López, better known as "Don Taño." I do not know him well, but he is part of the group of 9 political prisoners from northern Huehuetango -- all leaders in the movement "in defense of territory and life". Which is to say, in opposition to mining and mega-projects. He is imprisoned in Huehuetenango, and I learned early in the morning that the prison administration had not been able to (had not wanted to?) arrange to transport him to Guatemala City for the hearing. However, I knew that the lawyers, families and "solidarios" (people in solidarity) would be there so I decided to continue with my plan.
On my way across the Parque Central heading towards the Sexta Avenida, the pedestrian thoroughfare that is the "main drag" of the Historic Center (centro histórico) of Guatemala City, I ran into an acquaintance, which was a nice start to my visit. Then on to Tigo, the phone company, and from there to the Torres de Tribunales, where I found the wife of Don Taño, Doña Ana, who is the wife of another prisoner Don Tello (they own a hotel where I have often stayed), several representatives of the United Nations, Acoguate (an international group of "accompaniers" for human rights defenders in Guatemala), and a few other people from the Consejo de los Pueblos del Occidente (Council of Western Peoples) - one of the organizations that has promoted the consultas comunitarias and the movements against mining and megaprojects.
When the judge arrived and called the hearing to session, it was clear that she was annoyed at the prison administration for not bringing Don Taño. She noted that this was the fourth postponement and that he remained deprived of liberty while the hearing kept on being postponed (most because of the government's failures) and said there should be closer coordination between the prison system and the judicial system. She asked for an inquiry into what had happened, and also (in response to a request from the defendant's attorneys) asked the Ministerio Público to look into whether it was technically feasible to hold the hearing via videoconference so that they wouldn't have to worry about transporting the prisoner. The hearing was postponed until January 22.
Don Taño's wife spoke after the hearing was over -- there were a few reporters and so she spoke and one of the lawyers spoke. Then people gathered outside and apparently there is some talk about planning protests around the next series of hearings. There is a hearing for Don Chico Palas, another of the leaders from Barillas, on January 15, and another hearing in the case of Rigoberto Juárez and Domingo Baltazar, on January 18, so a busy month (and the inauguration of the new president is January 14, and there are already some protests planned around that).
