One year after the emblematic verdict in the Sepur Zarco trial, the struggle for dignified reparations continues
Yesterday marked one year since former members of the Guatemalan military were found guilty for crimes against humanity committed at a military base in the eastern community of Sepur Zarco. At great personal risk, 15 Q’eqchi' women gave preliminary testimonies in 2012 where they documented in detail the violence they survived at the hands of the military in the 1980s. Those [...]
Protect Sacred Sites – Support NISGUA local action!
NISGUA is committed to taking leadership from and acting in solidarity with indigenous peoples in Guatemala and globally. With our U.S. office based in Oakland, CA, we are also committed to taking local action alongside the Chochenyo Ohlone peoples upon whose lands we are guests. A 5,000-year-old Ohlone Shellmound and Village Sacred Site is threatened by a proposed development [...]
Solidarity Update: February 2017
Photo: Holly Sheenan. News recap: Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Sepur Zarco verdict; Civil suit continues against the Ministry of Energy and Mines, in an attempt to cancel Las Lajitas license; Hundreds respond to calls for urgent action on the murder of environmental defender Sebastián Alonso Juan; Protect sacred sites: Respond to calls for action for West Berkeley Shellmound; Annual solidarity [...]
More attempts made to suspend Las Lajitas license
On January 24, residents from the municipalities of Casillas and San Rafael las Flores filled the courtroom to hear arguments in a civil suit against the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) that seeks the cancellation of a mining concession in their communities. Casillas resident Bernabé Rivas appealed to the court, expressing concern and frustration that community opposition to [...]
Accompanier Perspectives: Ixil
While international accompaniment is at its core a response to the requests of Guatemalan communities and a tool for the protection of human rights, it is also a radical practice of showing up in solidarity and grappling with the deeper questions of structural injustice. Current accompanier Chris Shorne shares a poignant reflection from the Ixil region and highlights the disturbing parallels [...]
Júbilo de organizaciones internacionales ante avance que sienta precedente de demanda civil contra Tahoe Resources en Canadá por violencia en Guatemala
30 de enero de 2017 (Guatemala/Montreal/Ottawa/Reno/Tatamagouche/Toronto/Washington, DC) Organizaciones de la sociedad civil canadienses y estadounidenses reciben con entusiasmo la decisión del Tribunal de Apelaciones de Columbia Británica que Vancouver constituye el foro más adecuado para conocer una demanda civil contra Tahoe Resources por violencia hacia manifestantes pacíficos en contra de su mina de plata en Guatemala. La decisión fue [...]