Olintepeque celebrates preventive community referendum – Olintepeque celebra consulta comunitaria preventiva
A view of the Xequijel river, in Olintepeque, Quetzaltenango. Graham HuntUna Vista del Río Xequijel, en Olintepeque, Quetzaltenango.On February 20, 1524, Tecún Umán, last king of the K'iché nation, was killed in battle against the Spanish conquerors. 487 years later to the day, citizens of the municipality of Olintepeque, the site of Umán's death, took a stand against what many [...]
Citizens of San Juan Ostuncalco reject mining – Ciudadanos de San Jan Ostuncalco rechazan minería
San Juan Ostuncalco's central plaza on the morning of the referendum. Graham HuntLa plaza central de San Juan Ostuncalco en la mañana de la consulta.On February 18, 2011, in the 49th good faith community referendum celebrated in Guatemala, 33,428 men, women, and children rejected all mining exploration and exploitation in the municipality of San Juan Ostuncalco, Quetzaltenango. 79 individuals voted [...]
Remembering Oscar David Hernández Quiroa – Recordando a Oscar David Hernández Quiroa
Graham HuntOn February 23, 1984, at approximately 5:45 PM, Oscar David Hernández Quiroa, electromechanic at the headquarters of the Volunteer Firefighters, was ambushed in central Guatemala City by twelve armed men traveling in three vehicles. Wounded by gunfire, he was forced into one of the vehicles and never seen again, joining the ranks of the more than 40,000 men, women, [...]
Report: Making strides towards justice, chipping away at Guatemala’s wall of impunity
In 2003, members of the community of Choatalúm dared to do the unthinkable: they publicly denounced then-mayor Felipe Cusanero Coj for his responsibility as military commissioner for the forced disappearances of six family members between 1982 and 1984. Forced disappearance, a kidnapping authorized by a State that refuses to provide information as to the individual’s whereabouts in order to [...]
Comunitarios exigen captura de Maynor Padilla – Community members demand capture of Maynor Padilla
Angélica Choc. Graham HuntOn December 9, 2010, a group of community members from El Estor, Izabal, among them eye-witnesses of the September 27, 2009 assassination of Adolfo Ich Chamán, gathered before the Crimes Against Activists Unit of the Human Rights Section of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Guatemala City. Inside, one of two witnesses proposed by the defense of Chamán's [...]
ADH send statements on the murder of Emilia Quan: ADH manda comunicados sobre el asesinato de Emilia Quan
Emilia Quan The ADH delegation currently in Cancún for the climate justice activities taking place here, received sad news from back home in Huehuetenango: the murder of Emilia Quan, an investigator with CEDFOG (Center for Studies and Documentation of the Western Border of Guatemala). Emilia Quan and another CEDFOG employee, Victor López, were kidnapped while travelling by vehicle in Huehuetenango. [...]