Over the past few weeks, Guatemala has witnessed some of the worst violence against journalists in recent times. Election years are the most dangerous times for journalists in Guatemala, regardless of their political leanings. So far in 2015, three journalists have been killed, many have received threats and been assaulted, and over 10 Indigenous community leaders have been jailed.
On March 19, 2015, members of Radio Snuq Jolom Konob, alongside ancestral leaders, community elders, and various human rights organizations, took to the streets demanding that the town’s mayor re-open the radio premises in Santa Eulalia, Guatemala. Supporters and radio members gathered in front of the municipal building demanding to speak with the mayor to resolve this issues.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of those interviewed
On February 26th, 2015, three community leaders who oppose the building of a hydroelectric dam in Santa Cruz Barillas, Guatemala, were arrested under what community members insist are false charges.
The legalization of community radio stations has been an on-going struggle for Indigenous communities in Guatemala for almost 20 years. Community radio stations operate in the fear of being raided by the Guatemalan Public Ministry because the current telecommunications law does not allow for non-profit community radio—despite its guarantee in the 1996 Peace Accords, the Guatemalan Constitution, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Reconocimiento de tierra
Reconocemos que nuestra sede está en la tierra de Massachusetts, en Cambridge, MA, y agradecemos a los administradores Indígenas pasados, actuales y futuros de este territorio.
