US embassy cable - 04GUATEMALA1555

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001555 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND DRL/IL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, PHUM, ELAB, GT 
SUBJECT: PAYMENTS TO EX-PACS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  The Constitutional Court (CC) ruled on June 
21 that payments to the ex-civil self defense patrollers 
(ex-PACs), authorized by the government of former President 
Alfonso Portillo, were unconstitutional.  After a week of 
public threats against the Court, the reaction to the ruling 
from ex-PAC groups was relatively muted.  Some declared the 
start of a new 30-day deadline for payment.  Others will meet 
this weekend.  Opposition leader Otto Perez Molina introduced 
legislation in Congress to authorize the payments.  Although 
the Court decision gave the Berger government an opportunity 
to back away from its commitment, President Berger promptly 
reaffirmed it, defusing threats of violent protest.  End 
Summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
2.  (U) The CC determined that Portillo's November, 2003 
executive decree authorizing three payments of $218 to over 
500,000 ex-PACs required Congressional approval.  The 
Portillo government authorized and paid the first tranche of 
payments during the electoral campaign last year.  During the 
2003 presidential campaign, candidate Berger said that he 
supported payments to the ex-PAC.  The payments were legally 
challenged by human rights groups in 2003 and suspended by 
the court in January. 
 
3.  (U) The CC's 6-1 decision came after Court President 
Cipriano Soto and Magistrate Guillermo Ruiz Wong, both FRG 
allies, recused themselves from the case.  The lone supporter 
of the ex-PAC payments on the CC was Francisco Palomo, 
another FRG magistrate allied with FRG leader Efrain Rios 
Montt.  The press reported that non-FRG magistrates received 
intimidating phone calls before the hearing. 
 
Government Response 
------------------- 
 
4.  (U) In response to the CC decision, President Berger 
reaffirmed his administration's determination to make the 
payments, and announced that Deputy Peace Secretary Eduardo 
Aguirre will coordinate a committee to define the form of 
payment.  Berger said he would prefer the payments to go to 
projects to support ex-PACs in their communities rather than 
to individuals, but said the government would await 
Congressional action before making a final determination. 
 
5.  (U) Opposition leader Otto Perez Molina introduced 
legislation to Congress on June 22 which would authorize the 
payments.  He was accompanied by ex-PAC representatives to 
the session, and had publicly called for the ex-PACs to 
refrain from protest pending Congressional action, which he 
predicted would be swift. 
 
Ex-PAC Reaction 
--------------- 
 
6.  (U) After issuing a series of vague threats against the 
court in the run-up to the negative ruling, ex-PAC reaction 
to the decision was muted.  (Note: the ex-PAC are divided 
geographically and by no means monolithic.)  A threatened 
occupation of the Court did not materialize on June 22. 
Instead, ex-PAC leaders from the southwestern region 
announced a new 30-day deadline for payment.  Groups in the 
highlands announced a meeting June 26 in Panajachel, Solola 
province. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7.  (SBU) Initial fears that the CC ruling would provoke an 
angry ex-PAC reaction have diminished considerably.  In the 
past, ex-PACs had burnt tires, blocked roads and airports and 
taken hostages when disgruntled, but had generally refrained 
from violence.  The risk of violence subsided considerably 
with the announcement of the new 30-day deadline (all past 
deadlines have been extended), Perez Molina's Congressional 
action, and Berger's signal of support.  The Berger 
government has clearly decided against using the Court 
decision to renege on its commitment to compensate the 
ex-PACs in some way. 
HAMILTON