On May 10, 2013, Guatemalan ex-dictator Jose Efraín Rios Montt was sentenced to 80 years in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity in an historic case. This victory occurred after an unwarranted suspension of the trial and many other delay tactics utilized by Montt’s representation.
The following is an intervention by Alma Temaj and Alberto Recinos of Guatemala at the 13th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
By Ava Berinstein
When I first began my journey, it was 36 years ago. There, in the highlands of Guatemala, in the region of Alta Verapaz where Q’eqchi’ is spoken and traditional Maya ways are (still) practiced, and the mountains are alive...there, in the “land of the true peace,” (Jessup and Simpson, 1936); that is where my journey began.
La Buena Gobernanza y los medios de comunicación de los pueblos indígenas de Guatemala
On Saturday, May 3, 2014, our Community Radio Project team in Guatemala had the pleasure of visiting Radio San José, of San José, San Marcos, to deliver funds that we raised to help their community radio get back on the air.
As the date of the 13th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues quickly approaches, our Guatemalan team is preparing to travel to New York to participate in the event. Cesar Gomez, Tino Recinos, and Rosy Gonzalez have received their visas and are ready to represent the Guatemalan Indigenous Community Radio Movement among Indigenous peers from all over the globe.
By Ryann Dear
“Freedom of speech,” said Eduardo Laroj, a station volunteer and DJ for Fiesta en mi pueblo, a program that broadcasts marimba orchestras. Laroj’s statement started the discussion on station objectives at a meeting in Sumpango, Guatemala on Saturday, March 8, 2014.
Our Guatemalan Community Radio Project team welcomes its newest member, Ingrid Sub Cuc, to the team. Ingrid is half Kaqchikel, half Q’eqchi’ from Sololá, Guatemala. She grew up in Sololá, moving to the U.S. at age 12. Ingrid went on to pursue her passion for Indigenous rights and medicine in the U.S. She is currently finishing her degree in biology at Whitworth University in Washington.
Ak’Kutan Radio, the only Indigenous community radio station in the Toledo District of Belize, has just undergone renovations that are enabling them to reach more communities than ever before. They recently purchased a new radio antenna that is about 100 feet tall, and strategically placed it at the top of a large hill. Radio volunteer Sarah Priscie commented, “We have to climb 107 steps everyday to get up to the radio.” The strategic placing of the radio at the top of this hill has allowed the radio to reach many new communities that they were not able to reach before.
Two members of our Free, Prior and Informed Initiative (FPIC) team in Guatemala travelled to Panama and Costa Rica for three weeks this month to spread the word about the program to Indigenous communities in the two countries.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
