Ixil survivors remain committed to search for justice, as trial moves to Nebaj
The Ixil genocide case retrial was moved to Santa María Nebaj for this week, following plaintiffs' request for the judges to hear testimony in the region against former de facto dictator Ríos Montt and former head of military intelligence, José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez. Antonio Caba Caba, a survivor and member of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), highlighted [...]
Plaintiffs in the Military Zone 21 case appeal to the Constitutional Court, fighting to include important witness testimonies
Today, plaintiff organizations went to Guatemala’s Constitutional Court to ask that the Court include testimonies from 35 key witnesses in the Military Zone 21 case – the largest case of forced disappearance to date in Latin America’s history. The plaintiff organizations and public prosecutor claim that during the intermediary phase (fase intermediaria), the presiding judge Claudette Domínguez entered [...]
Solidarity Update: January 2018
News recap: We're ready for 2018 with a new cohort of GAP volunteers; NISGUA Local: Building connections between global movements to defend life and territory; Members of the AJR denounce ongoing racism as they continue their search for justice for genocide; plaintiff organizations to take Military Zone 21 case to Constitutional Court; One year later - Community in Huehuetenango [...]
Environmental defenders from Huehuetenango denounce threats to their land and water
In the face of the ongoing threat by mega-development projects and extractive industries to indigenous and campesino peoples' natural resources, and in particular to their water sources, the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) held a day-long meeting to discuss strategies for their protection. The ADH, a grassroots organization that coordinates with community members in defense of [...]
NISGUA Local: Building connections between global movements to defend life and territory
"We oppose any desecration of our sacred site. Our sacred sites are not for sale. We will not allow our ancestors to be disturbed. This sacred site represents more than 5,000 years of our history and it also currently represents our living culture. We will not permit the desecration of a site that is sacred to our families, our culture, and our ancestors." [...]
San Mateo Ixtatán: Don Sebastián Alonzo Juan, martyr in the defense of rivers
Photo Credit: Francisco Simón Original article posted in Spanish on Prensa Comunitaria. Translation by NISGUA. By: Francisco Simón. January 6, 2018, San Mateo Ixtatán The communal authorities of Yulch'en Frontera paid tribute to the martyr and defender of rivers Don Sebastián Alonzo Juan, who was murdered on January 17, 2017 by private security forces for the company, [...]