The May 28 ruling was issued in the trial for the slaughter of Black River from March 13, 1982. ACOGUATE companions have been accompanying the survivors in the audience and your community. (For more information, see previous articles in this blog) Baja Verapaz, Wednesday May 28, 2008 - After three years of being suspended and six months of debate, the case of the slaughter of Black River was resolved with a conviction of 780 years in prison for five former patrol in the village Xococ by the events of March 13, 1982. A sixth defendant, Cuxum Bonifacio Lopez, was acquitted by the trial court of Salamá for lack of evidence against him. Of the sentence of 780 years, which adds 30 years for each of the 26 victims accredited in this trial, the perpetrators will have to serve 30 years, the maximum penalty under applicable law at the time of slaughter.
Referring to the report of the Commission for Historical Clarification, the court noted the historical importance of this case within the context of armed conflict. He continued by saying that during the most violent between 1980 and 1983, the army Rabinal identified as a strategic region to combat the threat of "international communism" and eliminate the guerrillas. In this analysis, the civilian population was defined as a support base for insurgents who had to be fought through the civil defense patrols (PAC) in 1981.
In the explanation, the court said that from this moment, the army conducted a scorched-earth strategy often using the PAC to commit several massacres of civilians in the area. So the slaughter of 13 March 1982 was only one of five massacres committed against the population of Black River, in which about of 444 people were killed by the army and PACs. The judges noted that the patrols represent the perpetrators of the facts, but linked the intellectual responsibility to military superiors.
These indications of the role of army in the events of March 13, 1982 are reflected in the sentence where the court ordered the arrest of the fugitive Captain José Antonio Solares González and open process against senior military officers, middle and lower related to the facts. As for the perpetrators ordered the arrest of two other former patrol Xococ, Ambrosio Perez and Domingo Lajuj Chen.
In final hearing each of the 26 victims who were accredited was named five times by the judges before declaring the five ex-patrol-Macario Alvarado Toj, Pablo Ruiz Alvarado, Francisco Alvarado Lajuj, Thomas and Lucas came Lajuj Alvarado Alvarado "directly guilty of murder. Summarizing the statements of witnesses, the court outlined the elements of planning and premeditation in the army-led operation involving the patrol with the goal of exterminating the people of Black River and concluded that the testimony given by survivors were "more than credible."
However, representatives of ADIVIMA criticized the sentence conceals the true scale of the slaughter, because only 26 people managed to prove as victims. This despite the fact that according to the Commission for Historical Clarification, 177 women and children were killed in the slaughter.
The resolution also requires offenders to pay compensation of Q100 thousand to each family of the 26 victims accredited. But as the presiding judge recognized, due to the obvious poverty in which convicts are hardly going to be able to comply with this part of the sentence.
Survivors of the slaughter of Black River saw the ruling of the five ex-PAC with mixed feelings. Regretting the decision of the defendants, one survivor said, "We are all human beings, they are just like us: poor and indigenous. Their families will suffer as a result of their absence. "Underlining the impunity in Guatemala and the lack of scope of justice to the intellectual level a witness told the audience," Guatemala justice only comes in if one is indigenous. " Although ADIVIMA had called the defendants to disclose their knowledge of the chain of command during the period of violence in order to contribute to a case against senior officers, the ex-PAC would not comment on the chain of command in statements.
closing, the judge President acknowledged the pain and suffering caused by the process by both the accusers and the defendants, in an appeal for calm the court asked "everyone to return to their homes in peace, and Guatemala and Rabinal in particular have suffered enough" and "that the sentence does not bring more pain and violence to all concerned."
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Posted By: ACOGUATE
Photos: Josh MacLeod: 1) The defendants up to a vehicle of the Civil National Police after the sentencing, 2) Monument to the slaughter in Xococ located in Pacux, Rabinal, Baja Verapaz;
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