US embassy cable - 03GUATEMALA1464

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 GUATEMALA 001464 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
HARARE FOR BRUCE WHARTON 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND CA/OCS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC, ELAB, PHUM, SOCI, GT 
SUBJECT: AMCIT LAND DISPUTE IN ALTA VERAPAZ 
 
REF: GUATEMALA 884 
 
1.  Summary.  "Finca Esmeralda," a coffee farm in Alta 
Verapaz province owned by Carlos Ardebol, and AmCit, has been 
occupied since February by organized landless peasants who 
have damaged personal property and prevented the return of 
the Ardebol family.  There are of over 40 such occupations by 
peasants in the province, several of which involve the 
Ardebol family.  While Ardebol appeals to the courts to 
defend his right to property, his family has abandoned the 
property for the capital, fearing for their security.  Since 
being notified by the Ardebol family of this land dispute in 
February, the Embassy has actively pursued resolution of the 
case.  On February 12, responding to the initial occupation, 
PolOff contacted the occupying campesino group leader to 
express concern over AmCit safety and property rights; on 
March 17 EconCouns accompanied the Ardebols to a session with 
campesino lawyers at the land dispute agency (CONTIERRA); on 
March 27 ConGen met with Carlos Ardebol and the 
representative of the peasant organization in Coban, the 
provincial capital; and on March 31, the Ambassador raised 
the case with the Minister of Government (RefTel), who 
pledged to investigate property damage and to act quickly on 
any court-ordered dislodgment order.  On April 30, PolOff 
learned of ongoing Government efforts to mediate the case 
through dialogue with the squatters.  End Summary. 
 
Status of Case 
-------------- 
 
2.  PolOff spoke on April 30 with Eric Gonzalez, CONTIERRA's 
Coban representative to inquire about the status of the Finca 
Esmeralda case and to express concern about the forcible 
entry and trashing of Carlos Ardebol's house.  According to 
Gonzalez, CONTIERRA held a successful meeting on this 
conflict on April 29, in which Carlos Ardebol and CONIC 
representatives (Mario Garcia and Hector, but not Arturo 
Chok, who could not make it) agreed to the following measures: 
 
--  Ardebol will suspend demands in the criminal courts while 
pursing dialogue. 
 
--  CONIC will conduct an investigation into the damages to 
Ardebol's personal property. 
 
--  Ardebol will develop an inventory of his possessions and 
his own report on the damage. 
 
-- Both sides will next meet on May 15 at CONTIERRA for 
further mediation.  Members of the community which claims the 
right to passage through the ranch on private roads will also 
attend, and more fundamental issues about the occupation 
(which continues) will be discussed. 
 
PolOff congratulated Gonzalez for these results, expressed 
concern for the Ardebol's property rights as U.S. citizens, 
and told him the Embassy will be in touch after May 15 to 
hear how that meeting goes. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
3.  On February 11, EconCouns and LabAtt met with Mrs. 
Ardebol and her adult sons (Carlos and Roger).  EconCouns 
told them he had raised their security concerns with the Vice 
Minister of Government.  They had had no contact or other 
evidence of follow-through.  LabAtt told the Ardebols he had 
raised similar concerns with the national campesino 
coordination organization (CONIC).  The Ardebols explained 
that they had decades-old problems with which they were 
dealing satisfactorily and new, CONIC inspired problems 
involving people not originally from the area.  Violence and 
threats appeared with CONIC, they claimed.  The new problems 
date back a couple of months, no more.  They said that their 
case was similar to others in Alta Verapaz, which has 
experienced a spate of land occupations over the past year. 
They claim that they provide right of way on the road through 
their land (which we had heard was an issue for a neighboring 
town) but were increasingly being harassed when they closed 
the road for the night. 
 
4.  The Ardebols say that they have clear title to most of 
the land they claim, some if it going back within the family 
for over one hundred years.  Some dual-title land was 
reportedly cleared in their favor by CONTIERRA, with whom 
they have been in continuing contact.  The Ardebols claim 
several properties in San Miguel Tucuru, Alta Verapaz 
province, including finca Esmeralda, Finca Bella Vista, and 
Finca Coyocte. 
Embassy Expresses Concern About AmCit Safety 
------------------------------------------- 
 
5.  On February 12 PolOff spoke with Juan Tiney, CONIC's 
national leader, and again expressed Embassy concern for the 
safety of the Ardebol family as American citizens.  PolOff 
explained the Embassy's responsibility to protect U.S. 
citizen property rights.  Threats to the Ardebol's security 
came from campesinos blocking a road on Finca Coycote 
approximately a month ago.  The Ardebols are committed to 
dialogue and negotiation as a means to resolve campesino 
claims to their land.  PolOff urged CONIC to attend a meeting 
to be held in Coban to discuss the dispute, hosted by the 
authorities.  The Ardebol's are alarmed by reports that 
campesinos organized by CONIC have recently occupied Finca 
Bella Vista, and claim that tension and threats have 
increased since CONIC appeared in the area, mentioning 
specifically CONIC regional organizer Miguel Perez Chiquin. 
The land and labor courts are the proper venues for land and 
labor claims.  Political dialogue is possible through the 
National Roundtable on Agrarian Conflict to be conducted on 
February 13 by the Presidential Secretary for Agrarian Issues. 
 
6.  Tiney responded that he understood Embassy concerns, and 
that he gave similar priority to security of members of 
CONIC.  He repeated assurances that CONIC does not and will 
not threaten the security of anyone, but said that "properly 
announced" measures such as road blockades must be respected. 
 He expressed appreciation that the Embassy was involving 
itself in this issue, and urged us to tell American citizens 
to respect Guatemalan law and labor obligations.  He claimed 
that the occupation of Finca Bella Vista involves former 
workers there who had not been paid mandatory severance by 
the Ardebols.  After the GOG refused to take responsibility 
by accepting CONIC's Agrarian Platform proposal, campesinos 
occupied the finca to demand land in lieu of what they are 
legally owed.  CONIC would be pleased to attend the meeting 
in Coban on February 21 if invited, he said; the National 
Roundtable meeting is "just a show" and CONIC was undecided 
whether to attend. 
 
EconCouns Meets with CONTIERRA on Dispute 
----------------------------------------- 
 
7.  On March 17, EconCouns arranged a call on the Director 
General of CONTIERRA, Gustavo Ciraiz, and arrived to find 
himself in a meeting including the Ardebols and lawyers from 
CONIC.  CONTIERRA (somewhat reluctantly) supported the 
Ardebol's allegation that CONIC-associated campesinos were 
acting outside the law, destroying property, and "torpedoing" 
(CONTIERRA's word) a peaceful resolution.  CONIC lawyers 
backed off their original position and admitted that excesses 
had occurred and undertook to look into matters.  CONIC's 
lawyers asked the Ardebol's for information on any 
destruction or other problems caused by the campesinos.  They 
made some surprisingly condescending statements about 
campesinos' ability to understand the legal points and the 
ease with which they could be whipped up by politically 
motivated leaders who did not necessarily have their best 
interest at heart.  CONIC lawyers also admitted (at the end) 
that Ardebols had made good faith efforts to resolve old 
problems and may have good points with current ones. 
 
8.  CONIC's lawyers stated that they were part of a pressure 
group that sought solutions, when necessary, "outside of 
normal legal means."  EconCouns laid a polite but firm marker 
that the U.S. Constitution and Guatemala's gave no quarter to 
"pressure" for deciding issues of private property ownership. 
 He questioned the need to "negotiate" property ownership 
when it was likely that administrative and/or legal processes 
would determine, without doubt, who had legal title. 
EconCouns applauded CONTIERRA's efforts to finish its land 
registry research quickly and conduct a "mini-cadaster" of 
the area to back it up.  Perhaps negotiations would be useful 
once the research was finished and areas of legitimate 
uncertainty were identified, he said. 
 
Ambassador's Meeting with Minister of Government 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
9.  RefTel reports the Ambassador's request to Minister of 
Government Reyes Calderon in a meeting on March 31 to 
investigate the forcible entry and property destruction on 
the Ardebol property, and the Minister's pledge to act as 
soon as a court rules authorizes it. 
 
Consul General Finds Common Ground 
---------------------------------- 
 
10.  ConGen Jacobsen and PolOff met with Carlos Ardebol, 
CONIC and CONTIERRA/Coban on March 27 to discuss the Finca 
Esmeralda case.  ConGen received assurances from all parties 
of their willingness to meet to discuss peaceful resolution 
of this land dispute. 
 
11.  Carlos Ardebol told ConGen that he remains cut off from 
access to his farm, located an hour from Coban, and that he 
and his family have relocated temporarily to Guatemala City. 
He filed a complaint with the local office of the Public 
Ministry about the damage to his household goods by squatters 
(he showed us pictures of the inside of his farmhouse, which 
had ransacked).  Though he is seeking intervention by the MP, 
Ardebol is realistic about prospects for police action, and 
was also meeting with MINUGUA and local representatives of 
the Human Rights Ombudsman's office.  He said he would be 
willing to meet with CONIC's local organizers if CONTIERRA 
calls a new meeting.  He agreed to permit ConGen to share his 
cell phone number with CONIC to facilitate direct 
communication. 
 
12.  ConGen and PolOff then met at CONTIERRA's Coban offices 
with Arturo Chok, CONIC's local organizer responsible for the 
Finca Esmeralda dispute.  EmbOffs expressed USG concern about 
the security of U.S. citizens, the violation by squatters of 
his right to property, and the needless destruction of his 
personal effects.  Chok admitted with bowed head that he was 
"aware of what happened at the Ardebol's house" and that 
"this is not what CONIC stands for."  Later, Chok said he was 
not sure who had trashed the house and put up the CONIC 
banner now hanging on the Ardebol's property warning people 
to stay out, saying "outsiders" may have been responsible. 
CONIC does not support such measures, he said.  CONIC does 
support the claims of the squatters to land, which involves 
"historic" rights to free passage, which he distinguished 
from the "legal" rights asserted by the Ardebols.  ConGen 
told Chok that the USG and the Embassy are involved in many 
initiatives in support of human and labor rights in 
Guatemala, including US visas, so CONIC's aggression against 
an AmCit could have repercussions far beyond Coban. 
 
13.  Asked by PolOff if he would be willing to meet with 
Ardebol, Chok said he would do so, under CONTIERRA's 
auspices, as long as the right of free access (to a road the 
Ardebol's built through their property) is also up for 
discussion.  We passed him Ardebol's contact information.  In 
Chok's presence, we thanked CONTIERRA (Carlos Echeverria) for 
its recent efforts to bring the parties to this dispute 
together and requested that a new attempt be made. 
Echeverria agreed to raise this request with his boss, 
Eduardo Gonzalez.  PolOff then called Carlos Ardebol and 
conveyed Chok's offer to meet under CONTIERRA's auspices, and 
suggested he contact Gonzalez. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
14.  The issue of AmCit safety is covered for the moment: 
the Ardebol family is in Guatemala City, far from Coban, and 
Ardebol said only he makes forays into Coban as he pursues 
this issue. 
 
15.  The land title issue is complicated, but not as 
complicated as CONTIERRA is making it.  The documents show 
that the family bought a number of adjacent parcels of land 
one-by-one and then consolidated them into two different 
farms.  However, a poorly delineated land grant from the 
1800s forms the basis for 59 small plots occupied by 
non-Ardebols, and the plots are not now adjacent to one 
another.  These plots have migrated and grown over time and, 
together, account for substantially more than the original 
land grant.  Issues of adverse possession (squatters rights) 
probably apply.  The Ardebols accept that some negotiation 
will be necessary to resolve this once CONTIERRA establishes 
who is on what plot where.  They would like to clarify title 
to what is and isn't theirs and, probably, sell to others the 
portions in the area that are still theirs. 
 
16.  The good news is that the GOG has not overreacted to the 
growing land occupation movement by resorting to the use of 
force, which could inflame the situation.  The bad news is 
that the GOG has not acted at all, from the Ardebol's 
perspective.  CONTIERRA's machinations to determine title 
issues have moved at a snail's pace, while the Ardebol's 
property rights continue to be violated by squatters as 
efforts to enforce eviction orders come to naught.  In this 
situation, dialogue and negotiation still offer an 
alternative means of dispute resolution, but the Ardebol's 
patience could soon run out.  We will continue to monitor and 
advocate progress in this case. 
MCFARLAND