USAID and the Criminalization of Social Movements in Paraguay
USAID and the Criminalization of Social Movements in Paraguay
Written by Armando Carmona
Thursday, 17 September 2015 08:09
The #somosobservadores campaign, organized by community organizations and social movements in Paraguay, is moving forward with its campaign to bring attention to the victims of the Curuguaty massacre, a violent attack on farmworkers by special operations police forces that occurred three year ago.
The massacre took place on June 15, 2012, when more than 300 special operations police officers within the Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO) attempted to forcibly displace 60 campesinos (farmworkers or peasants) who were occupying a highly contested piece of land. Long-distance shots were fired and a battle ensued leaving 11 campesinos and six officers dead. This moment, which shocked the country with violence unheard of since Paraguay's military dictatorship ended in 1989, was used by the Congress of Paraguay as a primary excuse to impeach center-left president Fernando Lugo. Three years later, 13 of the campesinos are on trial facing criminal charges. However, the #somosobservadores campaign has highlighted the fact that as of this date no police officers or officials have been investigated for the killings of the 11 campesinos.
On July 31, 2015, 10 members of the Congress of Paraguay sent a signed letter to Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes saying that a "complete and impartial investigation has not yet taken place ... and international human rights organizations have pointed out that the investigations carried out to date have skewed heavily in favor of police."
According to Coordinator of Human Rights in Paraguay, a nongovernmental organization based in the capital of Asunción, there has been a systematic level of impunity for those who have committed arbitrary executions and forced disappearances against those who struggle for land and land reform. The organization sent a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights denouncing the 115 cases of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances of social movement and peasant leaders, the continued impunity over these cases, and the increased levels of violence and threats to those involved in social movements. While not directly linked to these cases, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has played an influential role in advising Paraguayan government institutions and facilitating a military presence in areas where social movements and conflicts over land have been growing.
Eyewitness Testimonies on the Curuguaty Massacre
Nestor Castro is one of 13 campesinos currently on trial, facing criminal charges for the events that unfolded in 2012 when elite police officers descended on Curuguaty to violently evict the campesinos who were occupying nearly 5,000 acres of contested land.
More:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32731-usaid-and-the-criminalization-of-social-movements-in-paraguay