US embassy cable - 05GUATEMALA595

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000595 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/PDA, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KPAO, PREL, GT 
SUBJECT: PUBLIC DIPLOMACY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 
PRODUCES MIXED REACTION 
 
 
1.Summary:  The Ambassador spoke on background to 
senior columnists and editorial writers on Feb. 28 to 
highlight salient aspects of Guatemala's human rights 
report, traditionally an intensively scrutinized 
document. PAS arranged to have translated copies 
available at the end of the briefing and posted both 
English and Spanish texts on the Embassy website to 
guarantee thorough coverage. As a result of our 
efforts, the story was front page news in most major 
dailies on March 1, as well as fodder for editorials 
and op-eds. Less evident was any consensus among media 
about the tenor of the report. End summary 
 
2. The idea behind the briefing was to ensure that the 
report got widespread attention and a fair reading. 
By way of context, the Ambassador explained the 
importance of human rights to our National Security 
Strategy and the emphasis that President Bush gave in 
his second inaugural address to freedom and liberty. 
The Ambassador drew attention to the Human Rights 
Report's bottom-line assessment that "the Government 
generally respected the human rights of its citizens; 
however, very serious problems remained in some 
areas."  The Ambassador reviewed in detail our 
justification for this evaluation, a significant 
change from the previous year's conclusion that "the 
Government's human rights record was poor." 
Guatemalan journalism, however, suffers from a knee 
jerk tendency toward pessimism, an almost perverse 
satisfaction in reporting the negative, and a deep 
skepticism about human rights improvements. Our hope 
was that a roundtable effort would result in measured 
headlines and some honest analysis. The press coverage 
shows that we achieved our goal only partially. 
 
3. With two exceptions, all front page news stories 
were negative. Leading daily Prensa Libre ran a banner 
headline: "U.S. Imputes Assassinations to National 
Police Agents."  Leading business daily Siglo 21's 
front page banner headline said "U.S. Signals Social 
Cleansing," and "Credible Reports of Summary 
Executions in 2004."  Tabloid daily Al Dia, also in a 
front page headline, stated "Police Violate Human 
Rights; U.S. says Police torture and Kill." Mass 
circulation daily Nuestro Diario ran an inside story, 
using man-on-the street interviews to discuss the 
social cleansing theme. 
 
4. Investigative daily El Periodico, however, ran a 
page 3 story, "Human Rights in this Country Improved, 
According to the U.S," and unsurprisingly, government 
daily Diario de Centroamerica's stories and editorial 
reiterated that " U.S. Sees Improvement in Respect to 
Human Rights. 
 
5. Our background briefing had visible impact on 
editorialists and columnists.  Prensa Libre's 
editorial, headlined "Initial Advance in Human 
Rights," concluded "this should be considered an 
important step forward in the recuperation of 
Guatemala's image as a country in which the state no 
longer violates human rights, as it once did."  Prensa 
Libre columnist Haroldo Shetemul noted that the report 
cited major improvements, but he devoted the bulk of 
his column to negative areas of the report.  Siglo 
21's Carmen Rosa de Leon-Escribano thought the HRR 
laid out a useful agenda for the government. 
 
6.  Official GOG reaction was restrained.  President 
Berger was quoted in official Diario de Centroamerica 
saying the HRR was "positive for Guatemala.  As 
President, I am very proud to have advanced so much in 
one year." Interior Minister Vielmann and Police Chief 
Sperissen stressed that the HRR recognized that the 
state no longer had a policy of disregard for human 
rights.  They both acknowledged that the GOG needed to 
do more to investigate and prosecute individual cases 
of police abuse and corruption.  MFA U/S Marta 
Altolaguirre told us privately she appreciated the 
report's overall balance. 
 
Hamilton