US embassy cable - 04GUATEMALA1696

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001696 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, GT 
SUBJECT: GOG GIVES NEW REPARATIONS COMMISSION 3.7 MILLION 
 
 
1.  (U)  Summary. President Oscar Berger formally installed 
Rosalina Tuyuc, head of CONAVIGUA (an organization 
representing widows and orphans from the civil conflict), as 
President of the National Reparations Commission (CNR) on 
July 6.  Berger also confirmed seven Commission 
representatives from the human rights community (named by 
consensus after a bitter two year dispute) and GOG 
representatives from, among others, the Human Rights 
Ombudsman (PDH), the President's Commission on Human Rights 
(COPREDEH), and the Ministry of Finance.  Berger presented 
Tuyuc with a check for 3.75 million USD (30 million 
quetzals), the first payment of 37.5 million USD (300 million 
quetzals) that the GOG has committed to distributing annually 
to victims of the civil conflict for the next 13 years.  End 
Summary. 
 
2.  (U) In addition to Rosalina Tuyuc, the Commission's 
members include:  Mario Polanco (GAM); Orlando Blanco (Social 
Movement on Human Rights); Miguel Sanic (CONIC); Ruth del 
Valle (Alliance against Impunity); Maria Toj (DEMA); Miguel 
Itzep; and Aura Elena Farfan.  During the ceremony, Rosalina 
Tuyuc announced that the first payment would be used to 
establish CNR regional offices around the country.  The 
Commission will determine who qualifies for reparations based 
on the reports of the Truth Commission (CEH), the Recovery of 
the Historical Memory Project (REMHI, published by Bishop 
Juan Gerardi in the Archbishop's Office on Human Rights two 
days before his 1998 murder), and information from other 
human rights groups.  The members of the Commission will be 
reelected in one year. 
 
3.  (U) The 3.75 million USD paid on July 6 was a small start 
to the total 37.5 million that has already been approved for 
the FY2004 budget, and which the GOG  committed to pay for 
the next 13 years (though later payments will depend on the 
next government).  After identifying the first victims, the 
Reparations Commission plans to use the funds to develop 
individual and community projects, instead of cash payments. 
According to the Executive's tasking to the Commission, 90% 
of the funds must go directly to victims. 
 
4.  (SBU) Comment: The selection of the civil society 
representatives for the Reparations Commission took over a 
year, and resulted in a bitter split between two factions of 
human rights organizations -- the "Coordinadora" (which 
includes more traditionally Mayan groups, such as GAM, 
CONAVIGUA, CONIC, Defensoria Maya), and the "Instancia" 
(which includes organizations more historically based in the 
capital, such as CALDH and Alliance Against Impunity).  The 
two sides arrived at a last minute consensus, replacing five 
individuals who were elected to the Commission during a 
disputed election in May 2003 with an even split of 
representatives from the two networks (Cordinadora: Tuyuc, 
Polanco, Toj, Sanic; Instancia: del Valle, Blanco, Itzep, 
Farfan).  Now, the Commission's members are trying to set 
aside personal differences to face the monumental task of 
deciding who will qualify for reparations and how to 
distribute funds to the families of over 200,000 war victims. 
 
 
5.  (U) Frank LaRue, head of COPREDEH, told HROff on July 8 
that he attended the first Commission meeting earlier in the 
day, and that two sides had, for the time, resolved their 
dispute.  LaRue also noted that COPREDEH, one of the 
Commission representatives, proposes to include the 
plaintiffs in 53 Guatemalan cases active in the 
Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in the compensation 
distributed by the