A page from the Military Diary. Photo credit: Centro de Medios Independientes
On May 27, 11 ex-military and police officers linked to the Military Diary Case were taken into custody to face charges of forced dissaparence, torture, rape and killings between 1983 and 1985.
Our solidarity with the relatives, the plaintiffs and the lawyers of the Military Diary Case. We hope that the right to the truth, access to justice and guarantees of non-repetition to the families of the victims and to Guatemalan society will be guarantee.
We embrace this step on the journey for justice of the families of the Military Diary
In response to the arrests of eleven military officials accused of crimes against humanity during the Internal Armed Conflict, appalling acts that are registered in the police document “Military Diary”, we from the Genocide Never Again Coalition manifest our full support for the families of the 183 individuals mentioned in the diary. This has been and is a long journey for Memory, Truth and Justice.
We know the fight that these families sustained for years to find their loved ones who were registered in the Military Diary and who are still missing. This is why we believe that the judicial process against those responsible for these crimes is an important step to discover the whereabouts of the men and women who, within various revolutionary organizations, sought a better country, and were abducted by the state’s security apparatus.
To the relatives of the Military Diary we offer our utmost support and accompaniment in this new step that they are taking as part of their decades long, tireless struggle. We admire their fight and join them in solidarity in the actions they undertake going forward for the forwarding of the case and in support for their families.
We call on the Attorney General of the Republic of Guatemala, Consuelo Porras to guarantee the safety and good work practices of the prosecutors of the UCECAI (Special Investigations Unit for the Internal Armed Conflict/ Unidad de Casos Especiales del Conflicto Armado Interno) in charge of the case. We also call on the Judicial System to guarantee the safety and integrity of Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez for the full practice of his juridical responsibilities to ensure due process and justice.
To the Guatemalan government, we demand that they guarantee the safety of all witnesses throughout this process, as well as that of the plaintiffs and their family members. The government must avoid at all costs that these individuals be the object of any type of aggression intended to curtail the free exercise of their rights to truth and justice.
This judicial process must uphold the rights of every person involved in the case. We hope that in this journey, the families of the Military Diary are also supported by Guatemalan society and the international community, and that they receive all the respect they deserve for waging such a dignified struggle.
MEMORY, TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Guatemala City, May 28, 2021
Read the full statement in Spanish here
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