Alert - Stop Rios Montt from running from Congress!

Tell your Representative to sign on to the letter today!

This is a rather urgent alert, as the letter below is only being circulated today and tomorrow.

As many of you know, the former dictator Rios Montt has announced that he plans to run for the Guatemalan Congress in this September's elections solely for the purpose of gaining parliamentary immunity, in a bid to avoid legal prosecution for genocide. Rios Montt is expected to formally declare his candidacy when the process begins in Guatemala on May 2.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ) is circulating the letter below for signatures from other members of the U.S. House of Representatives. We have a very limited timetable to get the letter sent before Rios Montt declares his candidacy. So please call your Representative's office right now!

Oregon Congressional office numbers are listed below. Ask for your Representative’s office, then ask to speak with the foreign policy aide (leave a voicemail if they’re not in). If you don't know who your Representative is, go to http://www.congress.org to find out. Tell them to contact Daniel Brito at Rep. Grijalva’s office to sign-on.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer......(202) 225-4811/ (503) 231-2300

Rep. Darlene Hooley......... (202) 225-5711/ (503) 557-1324

Rep. David Wu.....................(202) 225-0855/ (800) 422-4003

Rep. Peter Defazio..............(202) 225-6416/ (541) 465-6732

Rep. Greg Walden..............(202)225-6730/ (541)776-4646



If you can't get a hold of them, then leave a message

Representatives need to sign on to the letter by tomorrow afternoon (Thursday, April 26), so please call today!

Here’s a sample script of a message that you can leave or say directly to the foreign policy aide:

“Hi, my name is (your name) and I’m calling from (your town). I’m writing to urge that Representative (your representative) sign on to a letter being circulated by Rep. Grijalva support the rule of law and human rights. The letter is addressed to Guatemalan Attorney General, supporting the legal efforts to hold the former dictator Rios Montt and other Guatemalan military officials accountable for human rights abuses. The deadline is this Thursday, April 26, so please get in touch with Daniel Brito at Rep. Grijalva’s office to sign on to the letter right away. Please call me at (your number) if you have any questions.”

Please let us know if you get a reply: organizer@nisgua.org / 202-518-7638.

-------------------

NISGUA has been supporting the legal case against Rios Montt and his military high command, as well as the accompanying case against Lucas Garcia's military command, since formal charges of genocide were first filed in 2000 and 2001. You can read more about the cases in the Guatemalan legal system at:

http://www.nisgua.org/themes_campaigns/index.asp?cid=1030

And about the accompanying case in the National Court of Spain:

http://www.nisgua.org/themes_campaigns/index.asp?cid=1120

---------------

April 27, 2007

Licenciado Juan Luis Florido

Fiscal General de la República y Jefe del Ministerio Público

Edificio Ministerio Público
Tercer Nivel, 8a. Avenida 10-67, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, 01001
Guatemala


Fax: +502.221.27.18

Dear Licenciado Florido,



We are writing to urge you to take action to prevent General Jose Efrian Rios Montt and other former leaders (“the defendants”) from obtaining immunity next week for alleged serious human rights violations.

As you know, in 2000 and 2001 the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (“AJR”), consisting of numerous indigenous communities and represented by the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (“CALDH”), presented petitions to your office against the defendants. Those petitions alleged that the defendants had committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during Guatemala’s internal armed conflict from 1970 to 1996.

We are concerned that General Rios Montt has announced that he will run for Congressional elections in 2007. He will be able to formally announce his candidacy on May 2. We understand that this move will provide him with immunity from legal proceedings for alleged human rights abuses. We are particularly concerned that gaining immunity is his stated reason for standing for election.

In over six years since the petitions were filed, there has been little discernable progress in the cases. We do not believe that the delay can be adequately explained by the replacement of Special Prosecutors and procedural appeals by the defendants. We urge you to formally open proceedings against the defendants because of: the gravity of the complaint; the testimony which your office has collected from over 100 witnesses; the other forms of forensic and military evidence which exist; and the recognition by the UN Historical Clarification Commission and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that serious human rights violations were committed.

Rigoberta Menchú, amongst others, also filed petitions of genocide, murder and torture against the defendants in the Spanish National Court. As you know, arrest warrants now exist against the defendants and some have been taken into custody. However, General Rios Montt and other defendants remain free.

We applaud the recent arrest of two of the defendants, former Defense Minister, Ángel Aníbal Guevara Rodriguez, and former Director of the National Police, Colonel German Chupina Barahona. In that vein, we encourage you to prosecute alleged serious human rights violations. Such prosecution will combat impunity and therefore protect human rights defenders, such as AJR and CALDH, who face threats and attacks due to their work. It will also strengthen democratic institutions and respect for the rule of law.

We therefore urge you to prevent General Rios Montt from obtaining immunity from prosecution. We urge you to take the following actions before May 2:

1. Act on the petitions filed by the AJR and formally open proceedings by subpoenaing the defendants; or

2. Arrest all of the defendants under the arrest warrant which exists pursuant to the Spanish legal proceedings.

Sincerely,