Adapted by: Romina Ruiz-Goiriena
The problem with what’s going on in Guatemala is that they want to peg those demanding justice as the bad guys in the movie. To the status quo, they are nonconformists and the trial as a threat to peace.
Nearly 16 years have passed since the signing of the Peace Accords in 1996. To some, this political accord brought us peace and prosperity. But those who were poor and underprivileged continue to be poor and underprivileged. Those who were marginalized are still marginalized. If we’re doing such a good following through with our promises to reconcile swathes of the country during then where did all those chronically malnourished children appear?
Newsflash; if you haven’t noticed, indigenous children only make it to third grade in public schools. Meanwhile, arrogant members of this society are still demanding they speak fluent and perfect Spanish. Perhaps you’re going to tell me that it’s my entire fault that this country is at the bottom of all development indicators in Latin America because we are still preoccupied with demanding accountability for what Rios Montt and Sanchez did.
When we finally decided to usher peace in to Guatemala, we were finally taught to let go of the fear with which we had been indoctrinated. Yes, we lost the fear but never the silence. We should be quiet, because those who were in power would always be in power. And those in power, the guys in the suits and those whose pictures run in the papers had negotiated peace. It was their name that appeared in the dotted line. The voices of those affected had been muted. They did not belong. The cost of peace was and would forever be silence.
History is a funny little thing, of course. And, while 16 years passed by for those “peace signers”, they also passed for those women who were raped. Time passed by for those whose villages were burned to the ground and who still bear scars of beatings. They gathered evidence and even put a name to the crime. Now, those who negotiated peace are lobbying for silence. But the name of the crime starts with the letter G, shhh.
I think I am starting to get it now. Let me recap. Peace is good and we all want peace. But peace is only good if without justice. Peace is only good if we’re not responsible. Oh, please.
Meanwhile, folks are feuding over definitions. Let’s get it straight—the National Law of Reconciliation already took care of it.[1]Paid ads cannot decide on the generals’ culpability. That is for a court to decide. And, these ads that say that peace is threatened won’t allow for one minute for anyone to believe that what is really at stake is justice.
[1] “Article 8. The extinctionof criminal liabilityreferred tothis lawshall not applyto crimes ofgenocide, tortureand forced disappearance, as well as thosecrimes that areor do notallow the extinctionofcriminal liabilityin accordancewith domestic lawor international treatiesratified byGuatemala."
