Firing squad justice back in Guatemala

Press, 15 July 1982, Page 16

Firing squad justice back in Guatemala

By

PAUL ELLMAN,

in Guatemala City

The fragile hope that Guatemala’s vicious circle of terror and counter-terror could be. broken by conciliation appeared to . have been shattered with the imposition of martial law by the Government of General Efrain Rios; Montt. ' • . * General Rios Montt, a bornagain Christian who . has preached conciliation since he seized power in a coup on March 23, has vowed that his • countrymen will live through a “black July” as he carries out his, threat to wipe out the guerrillas.of the Left. The . immediate pretext for declaring martial law was the refusal of significant numbers of the guerrillas to accept the Government’s offer of an amn'esty. Barely 120 of the 6000 guerrillas estimated to be _ fighting in the four armies of,. Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity had given themselves up when , the amnesty • offer expired on June 30. The guerrillas have denounced the exercise as a ' manoeuvre by ruling groups to commit “genocide.” To General Rios Montt siich a refusal to rejoin the “Guatemalan family” was treason and he has ordered the army to take all necessary measures to-eradi-cate “subversion." He has imposed death by firing squad, for those found guilty of a whole range of offences, particularly attacks on the transport system and on public installations. The press has been placed firmly under the control of the .presidential

palace and the population warned that they must follow any orders issued to them by the military. ■ : The tough. stand taken by General Rios Montt, is almbst a complete reversal of the direction the country had taken since he assumed power, replacing General Romeo Lucas Garcia, who was held responsible for massive violations of human rights and whose activities prompted a suspension of all United States aid by the Carter administration. One of the first steps of General Rios Montt was to disband the “death squads” . which operated from an annex of the presidential palace. He also ordered the police to carry only side arms in areas unaffected by guerrilla activity. ' Although he has stressed that martial, law under his" Govern-ment-will not mean a return to, . the .official terror of the past, his actions have prompted widespread nervousness. He was criticised promptly by the Christian Democrats, who paid a terrible price in lives to the gunmen of Lucas Garcia. Mr Vinicio Cerezo, the . Christian Democrat leader who once co-operated closely with General Rios Montt, earned that he would have to accept the consequences of the martial law decision and urged him to consider that only a pluralist political system could extricate Guatemala from its problems. The decision to impose martial law came amid signs ’that,

whatever. General Rios Montfs personal intentions, political .violence was escalating rapidly... According to conservative estimates, the number of civilians being killed is close to the level of 400 a month which prevailed before the coup of March 23, having fallen to 200 immediately after General Rios Montt seized power. The rising death toll is attributed in part to the growing tendency of military commanders in rural areas to ignore orders to treat civilians gently. It is also blamed on a greater harshness by the guerrillas towards the civilian population. Unlike ■ in neighbouring El Salvador the guerrillas of Guatemala tend to act ruthlessly towards civilians they accuse of collaborating with the security forces, often executing ' them in public as a warning to others. ,'i Harsh treatment by both sides has brought terror to the Indian villagers .who make up more than 50 per cent of the, population, resulting in a growing tendency for the country to split along racial lines. For the United States, which has long regarded Guatemala, with its mineral and agricultural wealth, as a more important target for leftist subversion than El Salvador, the imposition. of martial law is expected to cause the suspension for the time being of efforts by the Reagan adminis- ■ tration to resume economic and ’ military aid.—Copyright, London Obse’rver Service.