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Tell Congress: Don't lift the ban on funding to the Guatemalan Army
- Posted to Protect Human Rights in Guatemala
To: All members of the U.S. Congress
I am very concerned about remilitarization in Guatemala and mounting evidence that members of the Guatemalan army, trained by the US military are joining drug cartels.
The army has taken over the functions of the police with new checkpoints and bases across the country, and regularly...
…1,257 people signed the petition
To send an email to your representatives, go to http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2690/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10260
As over 10,000 peaceful marchers gathered in Guatemala City's central plaza, soldiers stationed on the tops of the surrounding buildings pointed their machine guns down at the crowd. Police on the ground penned in men, women and children, leaving them nowhere to flee. The marchers had walked for nine days to meet with their elected leaders and ask for an end to the violent evictions terrorizing their communities and for the passage of a law to promote true rural development to alleviate the crushing poverty suffered by the majority of Guatemalans.
In their arms they carried only their children and in their hearts they carried a conviction that another Guatemala is possible. Yet they were met with military force in a scene horrifyingly similar to that in which their family members were gunned down by Guatemalan soldiers in the Panzós Massacre of 1978.
Today, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee released it's draft Appropriations Bill, and it does not include the ban on funding to the Guatemalan army which has been in place for three decades. The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to release it's draft Appropriations Bill any day, at which time members of the House and Senate will come together to create a final, compromise bill. Please, contact your Representatives and Senators and ask them to make sure the ban is in place in the final bill.
The government of Otto Pérez Molina claims that U.S. aid to the Guatemalan military is necessary to combat the narco-trafficking and violent crime wracking the country, but the truth is that the military is being used to intimidate and silence the Guatemalan people. Army bases are being opened not in regions where drugs are trafficked, but where indigenous communities dare to stand up to large corporations taking over their land. In addition, the Guatemalan military funds organizations such as the Association of Military Veterans (AVEMILGUA) which threaten and intimidate human rights defenders and those trying to push forward cases of grave human rights violations, such as genocide, in the Guatemalan justice system.
There are alternatives to military solutions to fight crime and violence! Instead of further funding to the military, the U.S. should support efforts to strengthen institutions such as the police and the courts, and to arrest and prosecute members of clandestine criminal networks. Committing to continue our financial support of the UN-backed Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) is a great place to start.
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Update #1
Posted by Kathryn Johnson (Campaign Leader) on May 17, 2012Take Action: If your Congressional Representative is on the Appropriations Committee, please call them immediately to ask them not to lift the ban on funding to the Guatemalan Army. Below is a list of the members of the Committee. If your Representative is on this list, even if you've already contacted them about this issue, please call or email them to ask them not to lift the ban.
The Committee is debating the Appropriations Bill now, and tomorrow an amendment will be introduced to...
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Discuss the petition
I would help to defend those people and their country.
MANY PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD, --WE SHOULD-- Temperr as best we could. THE 'Good' folk need to step forward and do what they are able to do. Lisa's "absolute" WORD/ and others here, simular is lacking in support.
Todo el amor a todos los amigos ((((((((((((Saleh))))))))))))) de Jordania amor todo el mundo.
Look at our borders... and Who is giving GUNs to the Drug lords and the rebels in other countries...Obama...Holder and KILLARY should be brought to justice.
Precisamos defender e salvar esses seres inocentes das maos desses monstros que se dizem humanos, quanto mais eu conheço as pessoas mais eu amo os animais...
Let other countries police themselves. Take care of your own America!
I smell the CIA all over this. What they say every dictator and ruler in every country complies with. If they don´t they get assassinated or a revolution breaks out. The US government is funding the drug cartels under the guise of the War On Drugs. Like in Peru the DEA trained the Peruvian Police and military to fight the drug cartels in the 1990´s. During the Fujimori rule more drugs were flown into the US than before the DEA got involved. The Federal government is so corrupt that it can...
…I smell the CIA all over this. What they say every dictator and ruler in every country complies with. If they don´t they get assassinated or a revolution breaks out. The US government is funding the drug cartels under the guise of the War On Drugs. Like in Peru the DEA trained the Peruvian Police and military to fight the drug cartels in the 1990´s. During the Fujimori rule more drugs were flown into the US than before the DEA got involved. The Federal government is so corrupt that it can only be classified as racketeering and corrupt organization engaging in organized crime ran by the mafia.
sono solidale
Fight the war B-4 it's too late.
Please do not aide ANOTHER country. We have all we can handle here at home. Check our own borders.
Take a look at the national debt.