Bush touches down in Guatemala

With President Bush arriving in Guatemala later tonight, the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) has this coverage to share...

With President Bush arriving in Guatemala later tonight, the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) has this coverage to share:


Bush in Guatemala: Time to Tackle Impunity
by Buddy Rutzke (NISGUA)
Dissident Voice
March 11, 2007

President Bush will be touching down for a visit to Guatemala about two weeks before the twenty-fifth anniversary of the coup d’état that brought to power General Efraín Ríos Montt, one of the most murderous US-backed dictators of the Cold War era. While Guatemalans are engaged in a struggle to bring that man to justice, a White House press release says Bush will be visiting “to experience the rich cultural diversity of this Central American nation, meet with President Oscar Berger, and emphasize the close relationship between our two countries.”

Full article:
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Mar07/Rutzke11.htm

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

MR. BUSH, MI CASA NO ES SU CASA
The Guatemalan Organizations and People reject George Bush’s Visit.

Early this morning, Guatemalan organizations took to the streets of Guatemala City and Cobán, Alta Verapaz to demonstrate their indignation at the economic and war policies of President Bush during his tour of Latin America.
The march was made up of over 2000 people belongin to various social, campesino, women, youth, student and human rights organizations and NGOs; calling for the participation of the Guatemalan population in this symbolic act of the love of life, people, sovereignty and self determination of the people.

NO TO THE WAR IN IRAQ, US MILITARY OUT OF GUATEMALA, YES TO IMMIGRANT RIGHTS, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND FAIR TRADE BETWEEN ALL PEOPLES!

Full article:
http://www.chiapas.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=143399

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


Maya to 'cleanse' sacred site after Bush visit
By Mica Rosenberg

GUATEMALA CITY, March 9 (Reuters) - Mayan leaders will spiritually "cleanse" ancient ruins in Guatemala after a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, unpopular here because of foreign policies going back to Central America's civil wars.

The leaders said they would hold a spiritual ceremony to restore "peace and harmony" at the Mayan ruins of Iximche after Bush tours the site on Monday.

"No, Mr. Bush, you cannot trample and degrade the memory of our ancestors," said indigenous leader Rodolfo Pocop during a press conference. "This is not your ranch in Texas."

Full article:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N09208099.htm
-------------


Bush’s visit to Guatemala: A big waste of money.

By Edgar Ayala

Oakland, California, March 11, 2007. —George W. Bush arrived to Guatemala today. For some this represents a joyful moment, an important political or commercial event. But for the majority of Guatemalans who won’t benefit from hosting Bush’s visit to our country, for millions of regular citizens of Guatemala, this simply amounts to just another costly waste of money by the government of Guatemalan president, Oscar Berger.

The media buzz about thousands of secret service personnel sent forward in preparation for the visit, conveniently serves to display the extraordinary security measures being taken. But so far press coverage has failed to mention a very important issue. How much will all of this cost? How much will Guatemala and the other countries have to spend because Bush is “blessing” them with his physical presence? In the case of Guatemala, the cost will be ever more expensive given that the country is in the middle of one of its worst security crisis, since the end of the civil war in 1996, and the government has to save face.

It is rather ironic that when the president of the richest and most powerful country in the world visits any city on the planet, the honor doesn’t come free for the hosting nation, or for US tax payers either. Surely any country could benefit from bilateral relations with the United States, but not so much when the visitor is none else than George W. Bush!

All nations, as part of international etiquette, are obliged to host presidents and dignitaries. But in the case of Guatemala, it is outright unfair that the Bush administration is imposing itself on our country, at the same time his immigration police are terrorizing our families in the United States, with a rash of raids against undocumented workers.

Just a couple of days ago, 138 Guatemalan workers were arrested in Massachusetts, including many mothers that are being separated from their small US-born children. Paradoxically, the workers raided in New Bedford, Massachusetts, were manufacturing body armor for soldiers in Iraq. And sadly for immigrants, Bush’s sweet talk about immigration reform is rendered insincere by the persecution and raids that ICE is perpetrating against immigrants across the US.

It is also morally wrong that the Government of Guatemala is willing to spend so much to take care of Mr. Bush, when it can’t provide basic security to its own people. How many school lunches and how many hospital beds could be provided with the money? How many emergency rooms could be equipped with those dollars? How many thousands of homicides—especially of women—that have been committed while Oscar Berger has been in office, could promptly be investigated?

Guatemalan president, Oscar Berger, should tell us how much his government is being forced to cough-up because George W. Bush chooses to visit our country. He should stop spending so much in keeping a “friendly” relationship with the Bush White House, and realize that bilateral cooperation with Washington shouldn’t only benefit big business in the US or Guatemala.

Berger needs to recognize the gravity of the crisis that Guatemala is facing, and, try to convince Bush to put an end to the raids and deportations as a key element towards helping his failing State, from getting even worst-off. Guatemala needs our “remesas,” our money transfers, to subsist. Raids and deportations are jeopardizing the life line of the Guatemalan economy.

The last US president to come to Guatemala was Bill Clinton in 1999. His visit was marked by an unprecedented apology issued by a president of the United States, offered to one of the countries in Latin America where the Cold War was invented. Clinton said, "It is important that I state clearly that support for military forces or intelligence units which engaged in violent and widespread repression was wrong," He also said. "And the United States must not repeat that mistake. We must, and we will, instead continue to support the peace and reconciliation process in Guatemala." How is George W. Bush planning to top that up? That remains yet to be seen.

Bush now has the chance of taking concrete action—beyond president Clinton’s diplomatic gesture—by granting Temporary Protective Status, (TPS), for all Guatemalan undocumented immigrants currently living in the US. That would be in my opinion, a TRUE foreign policy success for the Guatemalan government, and an opportunity not wasted by the Bush Administration.