7/31/2019 USA GHRC Denuncia el ataque a Lolita Chvez

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GHRC Denounces Attack on Lolita Chavez

Summary

On July 4, Lolita Chavez, indigenous activist and human rights defender,

narrowly escaped being lynched as four others were beaten by a violentgroup of people allied with Estuardo Castro, the mayor of Santa Cruz delQuich and member of the ruling Patriot Party.

Although she avoided harm this time, GHRC is gravely concerned forLolitas ongoing safety and well-being. Likewise we are distressed bythe harassment and attacks against other members of the KichePeoples Council.

BackgroundLolita Chavez is a indigenous woman known for her warm smile,energetic personality, and her selfless commitment to the ruralcommunities of Guatemalas Quich department. As a leader within theKiche Peoples Council (Consejo de Pueblos Kiches CPK) Lolita hasaccompanied 87 communities in their struggles for self-determination andresistance to harmful development projects which could threaten thehealth of families and cause irreversible damage to the environment.

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This opposition to development at any cost has placedthese communities, and in particular the members of the CPK, at greatrisk. Powerful local, departmental, and national political figures closelyaligned with transnational corporations have made it perfectly clearthat they are not interested in consulting with indigenous communities or

entering into real dialogue with local organization and leaders.Guatemalan authorities have instead responded with threats,defamation, intimidation, and violence.

On June 12th of this year Jos Tavico Tzunun, a member of the CPK whohosted meetings at his home, was assassinated by armed gunmen whobroke into his house after midnight. A few days previous to the attack hehad received a phone message that threatened: If you continue to bringpeople together for meetings, you will pay the consequences

On June 26th Lolita, in representation of the CPK, presented a formalaccusation against the mayor of Quich, Estuardo Castro, for abuseof power, racial discrimination, arrogance and authoritarianism, exclusionand marginalization in his dealings with the indigenous communities. Shealso denounced a death threat against another community leader, GasparTipaz Gmez, for his participation in the protests. Lolita added: We holdthe mayor and the municipal government responsible for anything thathappens to us or our families.

The attack against Lolita

Around 4:15pm on July, 4, Lolita and other women were returning homefrom a peaceful gathering in Santa Cruz del Quich to protestMayor Castros blatant disregard for the opinions and proposals of theindigenous communities. When they arrived at the community of XatinapQuinto La Laguna their bus was intercepted by eight people armed withknives, rocks, machetes, and other sharp objects. The assailants shoutedMayor Castro is in charge here and were here to do the mayors justice.They demanded that Lolita be handed over to them. When the community

members refused, the mob threw rocks at the bus and forced threewomen and a child off the bus.

One woman, age 20, had her arms held behind her back whilebeing beaten with a piece of wood. She also received a knife cut to herright wrist. Another woman, age 40, had her left eye scratched and herblouse torn. The third woman, 52, had her lip split open and her frontteeth shattered when struck in the face by a rock. The 11 year-old girl had

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her left ankle fractured by another thrown rock.

Lolita avoided falling into the hands of the attackers because the busdriver decided to make a break for it and escape. Lolita immediatelycontacted the police, who took nearly half an hour to arrive on the scene.

Once there, the officers instantly sided with the attackers saying thatLolita and the other members of the Kiche Peoples Council weredelinquents and agitators and that the authorities were tired of havingto listen to all of their demands.

The tense situation was only diffused by the arrival of ambulances toattend to the injured women. None of the assailants was detained orarrested. In fact, in a perverse distortion of justice, the attackers claim thatthey were the victims and have filed charges against Lolita andthe others. While absurd, these bogus charges could likely result in

arrest warrants for Lolita and others.

Also troubling are reports from El Quich that Lolitas name is beingdisparaged during official news broadcasts on the local radiostation accusing her of provoking disturbances in the area, an obviousattempt to criminalize her activism.

GHRCs Concerns

GHRC laments that this incident is just the latest in a series of violentattacks against human rights defenders, particularly those defending thecollective rights of indigenous communities to self-determination andthe protection of their natural resources and the environment.

GHRC calls on the Guatemalan government to fully guarantee the safetyand security of Lolita Chavez and the other members of the Consejo dePueblos Kiche.

GHRC calls on the Public Ministry to transfer the case of the murder ofJos Tavico Tzunun to the Office of the Human Rights Prosecutor,to guarantee that the investigation take into account the relevant humanrights elements surrounding his assassination.

GHRC calls on the Interior Ministry to investigate the conduct of the policeofficers in the aftermath of the attack, in particular their refusal to arrestthose responsible for this crime.

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GHRC calls on the Mayor of Santa Cruz del Quich and his municipalgovernment to engage in honest dialogue with the participation ofindependent observers, to attend to the just demands of the communitiesand to immediately cease any and all actions designed to provoke

division, discord and violence amongst the communities.

GHRC fully supports the rights of the indigenous communities of ElQuich to determine the type of development that best respects theirrights and embodies their beliefs and world view. We reject the impositionof any external model that is based on exclusion and exploitation.

Send a postcard to Lolita and the members of the CPK!

GHRC will be delivering postcards with messages of support to thesebrave activists as they continue with the difficult and oftendangerous work of defending indigenous rights and natural resources.

You can send a postcard to the GHRC office before July 27th, and GHRCstaff will deliver it to Lolita and the Kiche Peoples Council in Guatemala.

GHRC/USA3321 12th St. NEWashington, DC 20017

Dont write in Spanish? Dont worry! You can start the postcard withEstimados miembros del Consejo de Pueblos Kiches. Below are somesample messages that you could send. Feel free to mix and match.

Estoy / _____ en solidaridad con Los Pueblos Kiches. (Or youcan fill in the name of your group to say _____stands in solidarity

with the Kiche people)

Respaldamos su lucha por sus derechos y la madre tierra. (We

support your struggle for your rights and Mother Earth)

Que sigan adelante con la lucha para la dignidad de lospueblos Kiches. (Keep up the fight for the dignity of the Kichepeople)

El pueblo de _____ presente en la lucha. (The people of ______

present in the struggle)

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El pueblo unido jams ser vencido. (The people united will never

be defeated)

Lamentamos la violencia contra de los miembros del Consejo dePueblos Kiches. (We lament the violence against the members

of the Kiche Peoples Council.)

Apoyamos los derechos colectivos de los pueblos indgenas deGuatemala. (We support the collective rights of the indigenous

people of Guatemala)

You can also write a letter to the Guatemalan Prosecutors Office and thePresidential Commission for Human Rights urging them to provideprotection to the Kiche Peoples Council and investigate the recent acts

of violence.