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Jorge Armando Lopez Cuc, Nine Months Old, was Asleep in his Parents House when it was Set on Fire.

A brief video describing the attack:
"Home Burned Down in an Attempt to Illegally Evict Maya Q'eqchi Community" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A79UO0c7TlE (aprox. 6 minutes)

Please also watch the new video Women of Saquimo Setaña: Pain and Courage (aprox. 15 minutes)


Previous videos:
 
A Call to Action in Solidarity with the Community Saquimo Setana in Guatemala
May 27, 2010: Video focusing on the recent arrest of three community leaders and the struggle to end repression against the community.

Jesus Yat hearing, June 22, 2010June 22, 2010: Video about the hearing scheduled for June 22 for political prisoner Jesus Yat.

Jesus Yat hearing, June 23
June 23, 2010: Hearing for Jesus Yat, a political prisoner in Guatemala

Sept. 15 Update:

Urgent: Community Leaders, SOAW Activist Being Charged Despite Being Victims of Attacks

Solidarity needed: See below for actions

Two weeks after armed members of the wealthy family of Maria Ilena Garcia Ical violently attacked unarmed members of the community Saquimo Setaña and School of the Americas Watch activist Palmer Legare, the public prosecutor’s office has declared that they will seek jail time – for the victims of the attack.

Legare, as volunteer coordinator of the Guatemala Solidarity Project (GSP), was in the community on August 31 when the most recent violence began. He filmed Ms. Garcia and members of her family as they burned a latrine and shouted threats at unarmed members of the community. He was then assaulted by the family, his camera was stolen, and he was threatened at gunpoint along with other members of the community.

The following day, five members of the community and Legare traveled several hours to Cobán to file a complaint. They asked to speak with public prosecutor Sebastian Cucul, and were told to wait. Ms. Garcia then entered the building and went directly to meet privately with the public prosecutor. Shortly after the group was told that they would not be able to meet with Mr. Cucul.

On September 2, the family of Ms. Garcia attacked again. This time they came by horseback, dumping gasoline on a house and then igniting it while 9-month old Jorge Armando Lopez Cuc slept inside. His parents were barely able to get him out alive, but lost everything except their grinding stone. The family of Ms. Garcia later attacked with dogs, prevented community members from harvesting their corn, and threatened that “if anyone tells we will kill them and throw their bodies in the river.”

Now Cucul is saying he will obtain an arrest warrant not for Ms. Garcia and her family, but for Legare. Ms. Garcia and two of her employees filed a complaint against Legare on September 4, accusing him of being the leader of “invaders” of her land. It goes on to accuse him, another unnamed “northamerican,” and at least eight community leaders of taking several women hostage and telling them that if they didn’t permanently leave their houses they would be “physically eliminated.” Legare is also accused of “training invaders of other lands.”

Legare and leaders of the Committee of Peasant Unity had already accused Cucul of corruption, and say that the latest charges against them are a result of Ms. Garcia’s bribing of government officials, as well as attempts by the national government to repress the peasant movement. At least seven community leaders already had arrest warrants on baseless charges. Fifty-five year old Jesus Yat is well into his sixth month in the Cobán prison, where they have recently had food shortages because of overcrowding.

Legare has a long documented record of commitment to nonviolent organizing, and strongly denies and is horrified by the charges of taking hostages and threatening to kill employees of Ms. Garcia.

As long as the attacks against the community of Saquimo Setaña remain in impunity, the family of Ms. Garcia is likely to attack again soon. The assumption is that they want to “disappear” the community in time to harvest their cardamom. The cardamom harvest begins this week.

ACTION NEEDED URGENTLY (Already responded to previous alerts about the community Saquimo Setaña? Please respond again with your concern about the continued negligence of the authorities.)

*Please immediately call the governor of the department of Altaverapaz at 011 (502) 7951 4311

* Please immediately email President Alvaro Colom at cbarrientos@presidencia.gob.gt It is very important to please also cc: goberaltaverapaz@gmail.com, esay@oj.gob.gt, solidaridadguatemala@yahoo.com, stuand_wckr@yahoo.com, fdaltaverapaz@mp.gob.gt, mpCobán@hotmail.com If possible please also cc your members of congress.

The demands of the members of Saquimo Setaña and CUC are that:

1. The Attorney General examines and evaluates the actions of Prosecutor Sebastian Cucul concerning this case.

2. The President of the Supreme Court of Justice evaluates the role of the Judge of the First Instance of Penal Cases with office in Cobán Alta Verapaz.

3. The Human Rights Ombudsman and COPREDEH (Presidential human rights commission) closely monitor the situation in the community.

4. The Secretary of Agrarian Affairs uses all tools available to find a solution to the land conflict that is injuring this Q’eqchi community of Cobán.

5. The Governor of the Department of Alta Verapaz guarantees the safety of the members of the community.

6. Jesus Yat is immediately released from prison and all outstanding arrest warrants against members of the community are dismissed until a thorough investigation is completed regarding the charges against them and the possibility of corruption in the case.

7. Ms. Garcia is investigated for defamation for her recent accusations against Saquimo Setaña leaders and Legare.

8. The Attorney General’s office should immediately and thoroughly investigate and prosecute those responsible for case numbers 2010-7367 and 2010-7443, filed in Cobán. These are the formal complaints made by community leaders and Legare regarding the violent attacks by the family of Ms. Garcia. The public prosecutor’s office in Cobán has thus far refused to investigate the attacks.

Please write in English or Spanish your concern about the situation. Your email can be brief or long but it is important that government officials know they are being monitored. If possible, please write an email in your own words. Please include your location in the email.

*Financial contributions are also greatly needed for the legal defense and emergency relief of the community. Donations of any size small or large are extremely helpful. Checks should be made out to “UPAVIM Community Development Foundation” and mailed to UPAVIM, c/o Laurie Levinger, 28 McKenna Rd, Norwich, VT 05055. If you want your funds to be used as emergency relief and support in case of an eviction, write the word “eviction” in the memo/note section of the check. If you wish the donation to be used for any purpose determined by the community Saquimo Setana, write “Saquimo Setaña” in the notes/memo section. Or leave the notes/memo section blank and with leaders from various communities we will determine the most urgent need for the funds. The GSP is completely volunteer driven, and all funds received will go directly to support the communities. We are also hoping to purchase another camera to help document similar cases. Write the word “media” in the notes section of your check if you would like to support this fund.

***

Recent Events:

*On August 31, 2010, at approximately 11:00 am, armed members of the wealthy family of Maria Elena Garcia Ical began burning houses of the Q’eqchi Maya peasant community of Saquimo Setaño.

*SOAQ activist and GSP coordinator Palmer Legare began recording a video of the arson. He was then attacked and briefly detained by the family, beaten with a pistol and his life was threatened. The camera was stolen and he was barely able to escape.

*Approximately 7 hours later, Guatemalan police and army arrived in the community. They stayed until 2:00 am, but refused to receive a complaint from the community or Legare or disarm the wealthy family.

*On September 1, five members of the community and Legare traveled one hour by foot and three hours by truck to the city of Cobán to file a complaint. They asked to speak with public prosecutor Sebastian Cucul, and were told to wait in the lobby. While they were waiting, Ms. Garcia entered the building and went to the second floor. Shortly after, Legare and another community leader went up to the second floor and waited outside the attorney’s closed office until a custodian opened the door to take out the trash. At this time Legare saw that the wealthy attacker was meeting with the public prosecutor. Shortly after, public prosecutor Cucul sent a message that he would not meet with community members or with Legare.

*The group then went to the police to file the complaint. Shortly after they entered, a police officer said that the police would arrest the husbands of two of the women who were present if they saw them. They also said that they are waiting for the weather to improve and at which time they would go to the community to destroy the houses and evict the residents---this despite a recent judge’s order that the police are not to execute such an eviction.

*At approximately 6:30 in the morning on September 2 community members were walking towards their cornfield to harvest corn needed to sustain their families. They were met by armed members of the wealthy family, who refused to allow them to go to their fields. They threatened that if they informed anyone of this, they would be killed and their bodies would be thrown in the river.

*Shortly after this, family members and supporters of the family used horses, dogs and pistols to attack community members. Children, women and men in the community huddled together in an attempt to defend themselves.

*Legare and leaders of other communities affiliated with the Committee of Peasant Unity arrived at the community later to find that supporters of the wealthy family had set fire to a peasant family's house while their 9-month baby was inside. Fortunately, the baby was saved, but the house and all of the family’s possessions were destroyed.

*As supports of the family realized that others were arriving, they stopped their attack on the community and retreated. However, as Legare interviewed the peasant family he was forced to hide because the wealthy family was pointing guns at the community from afar.

*Later in the afternoon the police and army arrived in the community saying the wealthy family had called for help, accusing the community of attacking them. They did not arrive to protect members of the community and took no action against members of the wealthy family or their supporters.

*Prosecutor Sebastian Cucul has refused to receive formal complaints against Ms. Garcia or her family members and is clearly in support of the family.

*Below is a brief history of the land struggle of the community of Saquimo Setaño.

History of the Community of Saquimo Setaño

23 years ago, a group of peasant families bought land in the region of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. They have documentation to prove the sale. Since this time, the community has lived on the land, cultivating food for their families as well as cardamom to sell.

15 years ago, a wealthy land owner, Maria Elena Garcia Ical, who claims to own the land the community bought, forced the community to move to the other side of a river running next to their land. The community, not wanting violence, moved across the river, abandoning their cardamom plants to Ms. Garcia. She harvested the cardamom that had been planted by the community and with the profit, she built a large vacation home for herself on the shores of the river. When the cardamom was no longer productive, she cut down the plants, clear-cut the small forest the community had protected, and began to use the land to graze cattle.

In April of 2010, Ms. Garcia once again began trying to force the community from the land that they moved to fifteen years ago and planted with cardamom. She has produced no documents showing that the land belongs to her. Nonetheless, she managed to convince the police of Cobán to charge various community members with stealing land and three members were arrested. Two have since been released, after paying over $10,000 and renouncing their claim to the land. The third has now entered his sixth month in jail.

A table of dialogue was initiated with various governmental departments as Ms. Garcia tried to have the community of Saquimo Setaño legally evicted. Due to legal efforts on the part of the Committee of Peasant Unity (CUC), two weeks ago the government put on hold the eviction of the community. As Ms. Garcia was unable to remove the community through legal means, she has in recent days resorted to extrajudicial eviction.