Massacre and State of Exception in San Juan Sacatepéquez, Guatemala
Massacre and State of Exception in San Juan Sacatepéquez, Guatemala PDF Print E-mail
Written by International Committee in Solidarity with San Juan Sacatepéquez
Wednesday, 01 October 2014 23:20
Dispossession by Terror
Translation provided by The Media Co-op
The International Committee in Solidarity with San Juan Sacatepéquez has prepared this document to explain what is currently taking place in Guatemala. Men and women of 12 Kaqchikel communities have been organizing for more than 10 years in struggle against the dispossession that would be imposed by the construction of the San Gabriel cement plant (owned by Cementos Progreso), and against the construction of a ring road that would serve as a highway for the extractive needs of the cement company.
On Monday, September 22nd 2014, journalist Norma Sancir was released; she had been detained for covering the eviction of Chorti communities at Puente de Jupilingo, Camotán, Chiquimula on Thursday September 18th. Her liberation was the result of the efforts of thousands of men and women who protested via various means: by sending letters, making demands at embassies, writing columns in newspapers, through the efforts of committed lawyers, and thanks to the help of hundreds of people who reject and who protest against the infamy the government of Guatemala is committing against human rights. The first judge in Chiquimula had no choice but to rule in favor of Sancir, freeing her. It was a collective victory.
That same day it was rumored that there were preparations underway to declare a state of exception in the municipality of San Juan Sacatepéquez. Faced with these rumors, members of the communities began to denounce the situation and began a campaign to seek support and solidarity. With information from Prensa Comunitaria we learned that what was decreed was the State of Prevention #6-2014 (a state of exception under another name).
When we reviewed the legal criteria for declaring a state of exception, according to the Law of Public Order and Articles 139 and 151 of the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, in order to establish a state of exception and suspend constitutional guarantees, there requires notification 48 hours beforehand, published in the official newspaper and the newspapers with the highest circulation. What happened was the opposite, as on Monday September 22nd at 6am the army was already in the villages of San Juan, the declaration was only published afterwards.
In a statement by the Minister of Government, which was broadcast in the media, it was said that the imposition of this measure was an attempt to resolve and guarantee security following the massacre of nine people in the village of Pajoques, which is part of San Juan Sacatepéquez. The question we need answered is: Why did they establish a state of exception, violating norms and procedures in such an accelerated way?
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