US embassy cable - 04GUATEMALA1097

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001097 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, GT 
SUBJECT: HISTORIC STEPS FORWARD IN MACK CASE 
 
 
1.  Summary: The Ambassador attended a formal ceremony at the 
National Palace on April 22, at which President Oscar Berger 
publicly apologized to the Mack family for the state's 
responsibility in the 1990 murder of anthropologist Myrna 
Mack.  The remarkable ceremony was prompted by a November 25, 
2003, ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights 
(IACHR) that the GOG should formally recognize its 
responsibility for the crime.  End Summary. 
 
2.  The highly public and well attended ceremony conveyed a 
spirit of reconciliation and highlighted warm relations 
between the Berger administration, the Mack family, and the 
Myrna Mack Foundation.  Lucrecia Hernandez, Myrna Mack's only 
child, gave the most moving speech, describing her mother's 
life and calling on the state to prevent abuses by state 
agents in the future.  Helen Mack, Myrna's sister and the 
director of the Myrna Mack Foundation, described her 14-year 
quest for justice and expressed appreciation to President 
Berger for his symbolic action.  The ceremony was also 
attended by Vice President Stein, President of Congress 
Morales, President of the Supreme Court Castillo, numerous 
members of Cabinet and Congress, and a major part of the 
diplomatic corps. 
 
3.  On April 19, the GOG also honored Jose Miguel Merida 
Escobar, the primary investigator in the Myrna Mack case, who 
was murdered in August of 2001 after presenting evidence 
against Noel de Jesus Beteta.  Following speeches by Frank 
LaRue, head of the President's Commission on Human Rights; 
Helen Mack; Arturo Soto, the Interior Minister; President 
Berger presented Merida's parents with the Golden Cross award 
marking their son's work. 
 
4.  Comment:  Despite these noteworthy steps by the GOG to 
honor Myrna Mack and comply with IACHR rulings, the progress 
is incomplete.  Juan Valencia Osorio, whose 30-year 
conviction for Myrna Mack's murder was reinstated by the 
Supreme Court on January 19, 2004, remains a fugitive from 
justice.  No one has ever been convicted or imprisoned for 
the murder of Merida Escobar.  Finally, the Berger 
administration has now complied with part of the IAHRC's 
ruling, but amid a budget crisis, have not yet allocated any 
funds to pay the $616,000 USD in monetary reparations 
recommended (the highest amount ever awarded by the IAHRC). 
HAMILTON