It doesn't have much to do with us in the States, but I thought it was an interesting story. There seems to still be a pretty serious class rift in Guatemala. Rosenberg's animosity to the populist government is apparent and he seems to take shortcuts in his Youtube case (like "we all know this already"). At the same time, it's pretty damning that he made a video predicting he'd be murdered by the president, and he's murdered a couple of days later. The working class doesn't want the Right to take away their president now that they have one "on their side" but I don't see how you overlook that he's killing people. I also think it's pretty incredible that Youtube is the medium for political change now. How do you make a statement from beyond the grave when the government will do anything to suppress your voice? Put it on Youtube. http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0520/p90s04-woam.html [rquoter]Guatemala murder scandal could threaten the presidency Accusations that President Alvaro Colom helped orchestrate the murder of a prominent lawyer continue to intensify – deepening divisions in a country still recovering from a 36-year civil war. By Ezra Fieser | Contributor and Sara Miller Llana | Staff writer from the May 20, 2009 edition Guatemala City and Mexico City - The scandal surrounding accusations that Guatemala's president orchestrated the murder of a prominent lawyer is intensifying – deepening divisions in a country still recovering from a 36-year civil war. It is also, according to some analysts, handing the country its greatest threat to democracy since that war ended in 1996. Tens of thousands of Guatemalans have taken to the streets since a video emerged in which Rodrigo Rosenberg, the lawyer, accused Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and three others of murder and corruption. Mr. Rosenberg, who was shot dead while riding his bike on May 10, recorded the video days earlier, saying in it that: "If you are watching this, it is because I was murdered by President Alvaro Colom, with the help of Gustavo Alejos," the president's secretary. Mr. Colom denies any involvement and says the protests are politically motivated. His critics maintain that they are not out to topple any president but merely are seeking the truth. On Monday, they presented a petition to Congress signed by more than 35,000 Guatemalans that calls for Congress to strip Colom of his prosecutorial immunity. The scandal comes as Guatemala is threatened by rising levels of lawlessness, with street gangs terrorizing residents and drug traffickers taking over wide swaths of the country. "This is a crisis. When the people lose confidence in the authorities, what comes next is ungovernability and with it more corruption and violence," says Mario Polanco, director of the human rights organization Mutual Support Group in Guatemala City. Vast right-wing conspiracy? Colom, the nation's first leftist president in 50 years, says the scandal is a right-wing political conspiracy designed to bring down his government. His administration has challenged the traditional power brokers, including former military officials. Earlier this year, he agreed to open a police archive that details information on left-leaning dissidents abducted and killed during the country's civil war. Guatemala's past has been marred by a series of military coups. When the war ended, politically motivated murder did not. Eleven years ago, for example, Catholic Bishop Juan Gerardi was bludgeoned to death after delivering a damning report on abuses committed by the state during the war. Today's accusations "have created the greatest political crisis for this democracy, because never before has a democratically elected president been accused of murder," the Prensa Libre newspaper said in an editorial. Video details money-laundering scheme In the video, Rosenberg says that Colom, the first lady, and two others were involved in a money-laundering scheme that diverted public funds to dummy organizations that could be accessed for personal gain and by drug traffickers. Rosenberg also alleged in the video that a powerful businessman, Khalil Musa, was killed with his daughter in April because he refused to take part in the scheme. Rosenberg represented him. Although Rosenberg mentions documents to support his claims, they have not surfaced. "We know nothing about any documents that he was talking about," says Rosenberg's nephew Andres Rodas. "He kept the family out of it because he did not want to put us in danger." Colom – as well as the three others named in the video – has repeatedly denied the accusations and said that he has no reason to step down, even temporarily. But, if the scandal escalates, it could threaten to undermine his presidency, says Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a left-leaning think tank in Washington. "He is in real trouble right now," says Mr. Birns. "The case against him is very formidable, and he hasn't attempted to come forth with an explanation that fair-minded people could see as a possibility. There is no explanation for why someone would commit suicide to get back at him." Dueling protests reveal 'two Guatemalas' Demonstrators took to the street daily last week to call for Colom to step down. They dressed in white and carried signs calling Colom an "assassin." The protests were organized by wealthy and middle-class Guatemalans and students from the city's right-leaning private universities. One of the organizers, Javier Ogarrio, says that Rosenberg was acting in the interest of the country. "We have lived with so much violence and corruption here," Mr. Ogarrio says. "We have to continue what he started." The poor and mostly indigenous rural population forms the base of Colom's political support – and many have come out in protest to support him. "He is the only president that has given us anything, and they don't like that," said local resident Julieta Espinoza at a rally last week. "These are all lies against him." Allegations threaten to further polarize the country. "What you see are the two classes in distinctly different demonstrations," says Anita Isaacs, a professor of political science at Haverford College in Pennsylvania who was in Guatemala City to observe the protests. "This has exposed the rift between the two Guatemalas." The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a United Nations-backed body formed to probe the country's growing organized crime problem, has been asked to investigate. The FBI will also investigate. [/rquoter] Here's part 1 of Rosenberg's accusation: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mC_ODpxMA10&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mC_ODpxMA10&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
One must take this story with a grain of salt. The murderous government that we installed and trained did things for many years like deliberately keep Indians illiterate and in the 60's when I lived in Central America they had a policy of killing Indians who wore glasses as that might mean that they were literate and therefore trouble makers. Hundreds of thousands of Mayans and others were killed. I wouldn't put it past these people to kill one more person, a lawyer, to help their cause. On the otherhand we might have a president who is doing what Guatemalan presidents have always done in his life time.
When the right wing was responsible for delivering their own version of the "final solution", there is going to be a lot of hatred towards the right, deep cuts that never healed will resurface. Ronsenberg had been receiving death threats from random people for quite some time.(according to primer impacto) I don't get it though. These are men that looked up to the fuhrer, even quoted him; yet they were not able to pick up a few pointers like... leave a meeting early, arrive to a meeting late, never walk your dog at the same time..etc..etc As I type, Hugito has probably just finished making his own video, just in case another Bush runs for office in the future. "Eleven years ago, for example, Catholic Bishop Juan Gerardi was bludgeoned to death after delivering a damning report on abuses committed by the state during the war." So many devout catholics suffered the same fate throughout the americas. It's disgusting that a certain political party will view them as commies and act like it never happened, all while continuing to wage war in other parts of the world.
This is somewhat tangential, but this is a video made by a Canadian, lefty, peacenik after he visited Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico in the 80s. I think he’s basically a peacenik again now, but the emotion of the situation got the best of him at the time. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/N7vCww3j2-w&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/N7vCww3j2-w&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Back to the question at hand, I think a proper, independent, investigation should be done to find out what really happened. Doing that puts the rule of law and the principle of justice first, ahead of any person. If the government is innocent they should do this asap, but it’s important to make sure that whoever is picked to do the investigation is independent and is perceived as competent and independent by the average citizen.
It vaguely reminds me of the corruption charges being brought against an Iraqi minister right now. Everybody does it and no one is prosecuted, until it is suddenly politically expedient to prosecute. But really, assassinations in Guatemala and corruption in Iraq (and Guatemala) are serious political problems and even if the charges are politically motivated, it's still best to get corrupt, murdering officials out of office.
