Guatemala

Interview with Domingo Ixcoy Hernández Leader of the Coordinación y Convergencia Nacional Maya Waqib' Kej

“Those who defend the life, identity and future of the country are murdered, persecuted and kidnapped”

Bárbara Trentavizi

03/04/2013

Opinión

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On March 17th 2013 Mr. Roberto Morales, President of the Xinca Parliament, disappeared, and Marcos Exactacion who was accompanying him, died. Both were indigenous leaders, committed to denouncing attempts by the mining industry to penetrate Xinca lands with mining projects that are not accepted by the local population. This is not the first case of this kind and obviously there are serious difficulties between rural communities in Guatemala and the extraction claims of foreign companies, which at times generate violence and repression.

Ms. Barbara Trentavizi, an Italian anthropologist leaving in Guatemala and committed to the plight of the indigenous people, has interviewed the indigenous leader Domingo Hernadez Ixcoy to obtain his opinion as to the difficult situation currently being experienced in the country. Last year Mr. Hernandez has been himself the subject of death threats.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mBprRqQOPGM/UNVVdWWdDOI/AAAAAAAAADE/EL4Ewbd-4wU/s200/mingo.jpg

Domingo Hernández
Fuente: Prensa Comunitaria

Q. Domingo, could you give us your views as to the situation presently prevailing in rural areas where the local communities do not agree with the mining licenses being granted and oppose large hydroelectric plants as well as various other projects that are about to be introduced in Guatemala? Why do the communities disagree with these?

A.We wish to make known that from the beginning of this year repression has been exacerbated and violence has increased in general. Within the common violence also related to the disputes among illegal interests and influences, very prominent are acts of violence perpetrated against the social movement dedicated to the defense of the land; I refer in particular to the persecution of community leaders. A number of despicable episodes have affected the municipalities involved in the resistance: The death of Tomas Quej, of the Kalija community, Purulha, Baja Verapaz, Carlos Hernández Mendoza, member of the National Union of Health Workers, National Struggle Front, Camoteca Rural Association; the capture of German y Santiago Vargas Hernández, of the San Cristóbal de la Paz primavera community,the capture of Rubén Herrera, president of the Departmental Assembly for the defense of the Huehuetenango natural resources, the kidnapping of Roberto González on March 17th; Roberto, who has not been found to date, was President of the Xinca Parliament and one of the major leaders of the region,the death of Exactacion Marcos, Secretary and Mayordomo of the Xinka nation. All these events add to the very serious acts of violence in Totonicapan last year, and to the state of siege in Barillas.

As you can see, we are now living a spine-chilling moment of violence which is a reminder of the civil war period, when leaders were assassinated because they would demand their rights. Now we are persecuted because we do not want to hand over the natural capital of the land to national and foreign companies.

Those who defend the life, identity and future of the country are murdered, persecuted and kidnapped.

The current neoliberal policies constitute a program leading to death and division, which brings about the criminalization of social movements. As social leaders, we are very worried by these vertical policies that do not contribute an iota to democracy in Guatemala, and utilize collective terror tactics against communities.

Q. Which are the deep reasons behind these deplorable facts you are talking about? What analysis has the Indigenous Movement made?

A. In our country the groups holding economic power have developed during 36 years of civil war an ample arsenal of instruments for criminalizing the social movements. It is said that the indigenous people are opposed to development; that they are the ultra-left; that they are very small groups. The results of a survey that has however just come out show that 76% of the people in the country are opposed to mining, the rural communities in particular, since they are well aware of its negative consequences and of the deception it represents. Those of us who have had the opportunity to go abroad have seen that in no country mining has produced development for the people, but rather it has generated benefits exclusively for the big companies and the oligarchies.

One of the biggest problems is the lack of a policy of consultations. For our communities the process of consultation is important, since it is centered on dialogue, consensus building, and agreeing on issues of common relevance. The political system instead forces reforms upon everybody. Let’s have a look for instance at the education reform: although this issue touches upon interests of many sectors, no consultation occurs. Acting this way, the state harms the peoples’ rights and whoever opposes the project is in turn criminalized and persecuted.

In Guatemala more than 64 community consultations have been carried out, and the result has been was a “No” to mining and megaprojects; these consultations have been scorned by the state, in spite of the fact that they represent a remarkable exercise in citizenship and social participation.

Q. The companies reject accusations form the social movements as to their role in provoking criminal acts and repression against managers; which are your views on this?

A. Regrettably we have observed that in different places workers have often turned into small armed shock groups on the side of the companies. We have seen this in San Miguel Ixtahuacan, in San Juan Sacatepequez, and in Barillas where events have been terribly sad. Companies deceive, spread misinformation, and sue the community leaders at the first sign of opposition, thereby causing a lot of damage. The companies intend to violently and forcefully exploit the natural resources with the support of the government in power at the moment. We know that many of the lawsuits and claims against our leaders stem from their opposition to companies and projects; the lawyers are hired exclusively by the companies, which ally themselves with the powerful sectors of the country that utilize military forces and police to achieve repression. A military detachment is always present wherever there exists a natural resources project, so as to frighten the local population. Unlike what is done in the urban centers for fighting the illegal drugs trade and common crime, the military presence in the communities is used as a means to create terror.

Q. Given this scenario, what are your demands?

A. We wish that the structural problems of the country be resolved. Signature of the peace accords has regrettably stimulated a neoliberal project that has impoverished us and is taking us towards a violent state of affairs. It doesn’t matter which of the two major parties has won the election, since both are followers of the same neoliberal racist scheme that foments exclusion and tries to rob the communities of their land. The Mayan peasant will always defend the land, since without it he has no life. This is the essence of our culture that comes to us through the millennia.

We wish that the international community state its views as to these acts of violence; right now there is no guerrilla in the country, but rather a state of community resistance in defense of Mother Earth. This resistance is being criminalized and persecuted.

Q. The indigenous groups are being accused of backwardness, of not wishing to modernize and develop. What is your concept of development?

A. We believe in the development that is generated by the peoples, controlled by the peoples and managed by the peoples. A good example of development is the community turbine of Zona Reyna. The communities only pay Q.20 [about USD25] for their electricity, since they have control over energy management. We are being proposed instead to accept big foreign hydroelectric schemes that utilize the water of our lands while not providing electricity to the communities who live on those lands.

Development can be created without necessarily handing over our country to the transnationals. If these leave millions in gifts it is because they take away billions.

We can think of development as driven and run by the peoples, in full respect of Mother Nature. We the indigenous people are not driven by a capitalistic logic of accumulation of wealth at all cost, in disregard of human life and the future of the land (or the Earth?). Communities can sow and export in a balanced manner – cooperatives for instance are good alternatives, although they do not receive any support since they threaten powerful economic interests. During the civil war the cooperatives were accused of being with the guerrillas, thus they were repressed, although many of them had no link whatsoever with the rebels. Cooperatives have a great potential as a means to improving the lives of peasants and their children.

Q. To conclude, please give us some final considerations

A. We call upon the social movements, the academies, the indigenous and mixed societies, and the media to exact the cessation of all repression; we wish to create awareness on the fact that violence will never bring development to Guatemala. We the indigenous leaders are highly concerned about what’s happening and call upon the international community present in the country to raise its voice regarding these facts.

Source: Prensa Comunitaria: http://comunitariapress.blogspot.com/2013/03/los-que-defienden-la-vida-l... (Spanish version)

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