Rigoberto Juárez, detained in March, 2015 for his activism in opposition to a proposed dam of a sacred river in Santa Cruz Barillas, Guatemala by the Spanish corporation, Hidro Santa Cruz, remains unjustly imprisoned in Guatemala City. A recent article from the Prensa Comunitaria provides updates on the current situation:
Today from Prensa Comunitaria, July 26, 2015:
Political Prisoners: “Today with the strength in our hearts”
On July 20, 2015, five ancestral and community authorities from Santa Eulalia and Santa Cruz Barillas convened in a Tribunal Courtroom in Guatemala City, in which two hearings for detained political prisoner cases were held.
The cases were regarding Rigoberto Juárez and Domingo Baltazar, traditional leaders from the municipality of Santa Eulalia that were detained on March 24, 2015, and Arturo Pablo, Adalberto Villatoro, and Francisco Juan from Santa Cruz Barillas, detained January 23, 2015.
All are part of the Plurinational Government of the Q’anjob’al, Chuj, Akateka, Popti, and mestiza nations from the Huehuetenango region and were unjustly detained on trumped up charges for defending their land in different cases, but all related to the same issue, the presence of megaprojects on their lands.
All were imprisoned as ancestral authorities that represent the interests of the majority of people in their communities. In this case, they specifically oppose the installation of two hydroelectric projects corresponding to the companies: Ecoener Hidralia Energía S. A. Hidro Santa Cruz in Barillas and CINCO M – Hidro San Luis in Santa Eulalia.
Also detained in Huehuetenango are Ermitaño López, Saul Méndez, Rogelio Velásquez and Mynor López, neighbors and community leaders of Santa Cruz Barillas. In total, nine ancestral and community leaders have been detained for their actions and ideas.
The imprisoned men had this message to share:
“We, the political prisoners detained and imprisoned in the Men’s Preventive Detention Center in Zone 18, today with strength in our hearts send our best regards and urge that communities continue to fight in defense of their land.
Sincerely,
Rigoberto Júarez, Domingo Baltazar, Francisco Juan, Adalberto Villatoro y Arturo Pablo.”
To date, 19 men have been arrested after speaking out against the dam and have been held imprisoned for up to 8 months at a time before eventually being released due to lack of any evidence of having committed crime. Two men have been killed, one, Andres Francisco Miguel, was shot by security guards of the company in 2012, and another, teacher Daniel Pedro Mateo,was kidnapped while on his way to a community meeting training environmental defenders in 2013, and found later with signs of torture.
On a recent visit to the Torre de Tribunales prison, Anthropologist Lisa Maya Knauer met with Rigoberto Juárez and Domingo Baltazar.
“We found them in a good mental and moral state, and in general in a good state of health. We were very moved to see that they are maintaining their commitment to the people to fight for life, territory and dignity, and that they are also maintaining a very clear and profound political vision… During our visit, Rigoberto wrote a few words for us to share with everyone. These thoughts are evidence that although their bodies are captive, the state can never jail their minds. Below are photos of the pages in my notebook where Rigo wrote out this communication (we couldn't bring cameras or phones or any recording devices into the facility).”
(Translation by Lisa Maya Knauer)
The Men's Preventive Detention Center, Zone 18 Guatemala:
Brothers and sisters, From captivity, Domingo Baltazar and Rigoberto Juárez Mateoz send you greetings. We want to tell you that every time we get a visit, it fills us with a lot of emotion to see that people come to see us and greet us, but we also know that many of you would like to come, but we understand the amount of difficult that this represents. Nonetheless we have felt the presence of all of you, and your solidarity, through those who have been able to enter.
As we have said since the moment that they captured us, we are political prisoners. With the passage of days we are confirming this, and this doesn't scare us because we are only confirming that the system that was imposed upon our ancestral territories in 1524 remains intact, but what they have done is to modify the forms of repression, oppression, discrimination and racism.
In order for the struggle in defense of territory and life to continue gaining strength, while the occidental systems are in crisis, we have to take up the battle ourselves, as our ancestors and heroes during the course of the 497 years of oppression.
We embrace everyone, and we have to participate in the commissions for [electoral] reform and push so that they can be profound.
We will soon be with you again.
With love from,
Domingo and Rigo
Cultural Survival stands with the Q’anjobal community in demanding the release of human rights and environmental defenders. The continued arbitrary arrests of community leaders is deplorable and a grave violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization, and numerous other documents that establish Indigenous Peoples' rights to their lands, the right to defend their land, right to self-determination, and the right to peacefully assemble.
The community has made the following demands:
Immediate freedom for our brothers who were detained illegally
An investigation into the judge who gave this falsely issued arrest warrant
Respect for our Community Referendum
Respect for our right to self-determination as Indigenous Peoples
- The removal of trans-national companies from our country.
