(APG/IFEX) – The following is a 17 August 2002 APG press release: Press Release No. 12-02 The Press Freedom Committee of the Guatemalan Journalists Association (APG) condemns the recent death threats against anthropologist Victoria Sandfor and journalists David González and Wesley Boxed. González and Boxed work for the New York Times. They have published evidence […]
(APG/IFEX) – The following is a 17 August 2002 APG press release:
Press Release No. 12-02
The Press Freedom Committee of the Guatemalan Journalists Association (APG) condemns the recent death threats against anthropologist Victoria Sandfor and journalists David González and Wesley Boxed. González and Boxed work for the New York Times. They have published evidence revealing the complicity of various groups involved with crimes against humanity during the armed conflict in Guatemala. People responsible for investigating crimes against humanity and bringing them to light have been repeatedly harassed and threatened.
Dr. Sandfor and the journalists were harassed and threatened by Kaibil, a leader of the Valentin Chen Gomez Army, after they began inquiring about a mass grave being exhumed in the Rabinal region of Baja Verapaz.
The three had witnessed excavations carried out by the Association for the Integral Development of the Victims of the Maya Achí Violence (Adivima). Adivima has exhumed a clandestine cemetery situated in the Experimental Institute (Ineba) in Rabinal. Six hundred people were buried there in 1981 after a massacre was carried out by the army and paramilitary groups.
This most recent incident is part of a long list of threats, assassinations and office raids against social commentators, anthropologists and human rights workers. They work to disclose the truth about the massacres which were perpetrated during the war that plunged thousands of indigenous and farming communities towards the brink of devastation. This is a troubling trend because it demonstrates that freedom of thought and freedom of expression continue to be disregarded.
APG expresses its concern over this new incident, which directly translates into insecurity for human rights workers and journalists. It also disrespects the work of those who fight for justice in Guatemala.
APG demands that President Alfonso Portillo investigate the attacks that occurred in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, and bring those responsible to justice. Portillo has guaranteed that people who denounce human rights violations will be safe, especially anthropologists, journalists and the general public.
Guatemala, 17 August 2002
