US embassy cable - 04GUATEMALA1959

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001959 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, GT 
SUBJECT: OAS SPECIAL ENVOY PRAISES GOG PROGRESS ON HUMAN 
RIGHTS 
 
REF: GUATEMALA 1696 
 
1.  HROff attended a forum on August 3 co-sponsored by the 
President's Commission on Human Rights (COPREDEH) and 
Landivar University to discuss the GOG's impressive new 
acceptance of accountability in cases before the 
Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).  In the front 
of the room, Frank LaRue, head of COPREDEH and GOG 
representative before the IACHR, and Susana Villagran, 
Special Envoy from the Inter-American Commission of Human 
Rights, symbolically sat side-by-side, both praising the 
progress that the GOG has made on human rights during the 
Berger administration.  In three IACHR cases against 
Guatemala during 2004, the state of Guatemala accepted 
responsibility for its failure to protect the lives of those 
involved and to fully investigate the crimes. 
 
2.  According to Villagran, Guatemala should be recognized 
for its compliance with the decisions of the IACHR.  Since 
January 2004, Guatemala has recognized responsibility before 
the IACHR in the 1982 massacre of Plan de Sanchez, the 1984 
disappearance of Luis de Leon, and the 1993 murder of 
Congressman Jorge Carpio Nicolle and three companions, and 
accepted the rulings made by the court.  Even more 
encouraging, the government has begun to act on those 
decisions.  Former President Alfonso Portillo agreed in 
November 2003 to hold a public ceremony recognizing the 
state's responsibility in the 1990 murder of Myrna Mack, and 
President Berger followed through on April 22, 2004.  On 
August 3, Villagran openly supported a COPREDEH proposal to 
include 73 cases against Guatemala, which are still being 
arbitrated by the Inter-American Commission, in the National 
Reparations Program. 
 
3.  Comment:  Frank LaRue has told the Ambassador and HROff 
on multiple occasions that he joined the Berger 
administration on the contingency that they would prioritize 
human rights.  Through his position at COPREDEH, LaRue has 
guided the change in the GOG's IACHR position, which has 
received praise from the OAS, the UN, and the European Union. 
 President Oscar Berger fully approves and supports 
COPREDEH's actions.  In addition, on July 7, Berger approved 
a 37.5 million USD budget allocation for the National 
Commission of Reparations, which civil society has sought 
since the signing of the 1996 Peace Accords (reftel). 
Serious problems remain, but the Berger government has begun 
to deliver on its promises for human rights. 
HAMILTON