Urging the Release of Don Carlos Chen & Protection for Citizens

Date: 
Tuesday, May 3, 2005

President of the Republic of Guatemala
Licenciado Oscar Berger Perdomo
Casa Presidencial, 6 a. Avenida, 4–18 zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
Fax: +502–221–4423

Your Excellency,

We are very concerned about the unjustified detention of Don Carlos Chen Osorio, member of the Negotiation Comité of the Coordinating Committee of the Communities Affected by the Chixoy Dam (COCAICH), which occurred on January 20 of this year at the municipality of Salamá.

We understand that the following members of the COCAICH: Antonio Vásquez Xitumul, Julio Santiago, Domingo Sic, Rafael Santiago Fernández, Félix Alfonso Raymundo, Víctor Lem Colorado y Juan de Dios García also have pending warrants for their arrest.

Representatives of the affected communities signed an agreement with representatives of the National Institute of Electrification (INDE) on September 8 of last year to establish a negotiation table to address the legacy of the construction of the dam.

It is our knowledge that the affected communities acted legitimately according to Article 28 of the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, which says that Guatemalans have a "right to address individually or collectively petitions to the authorities, which are obliged to process and resolve them according to the law".

Don Carlos Chen’s detention is the result of his search for justice and dignity for the communities that in the process of building the dam lost their lives violently, lands, sacred sites, and cultural values. We believe that the penal charges are a product of political interest to preclude justice taking place.

Therefore we request that:

  • All penal and detention charges against Don Carlos Chen and the seven representatives of the affected communities are dropped.

  • With all the powers bestowed to you, you help facilitate the high level platform to address the social and economic legacy of the construction of the Chixoy dam.

  • Help to provide protection for all people involved in this process.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Monti Aguirre
International Rivers – USA

Grahame Russell
Rights Action – Canada

Jaroslava Colajacomo
Reforma per la Reforma della Banca per Campagna Mondiale – Italia

Endorsed by:

Alemania

Knud Vöcking
Urgewald e.V.

Argentina

Elba Stancich
Taller Ecologista

Fundación PROTEGER – Amigos de la Tierra

Ecuador

Soberanía Acción Ecológica

Estados Unidos

Soren Ambrose
50 Years Is Enough: U.S. Network for Global Economic Justice

Dana Clark / Mojgone Azemun
International Accountability Project

Dwight Hulse
Member of the UU Church

Guatemala News and Information Bureau (GNIB)

Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA)

Martha Pierce
Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance (CRLN)

Guatemala

Mario Godinez
Ceiba

Honduras

Bertha Cáceres
Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras

The Netherlands

Tamara Mohr
Both Ends

Mexico

Gustavo Castro Soto
Centro de Investigaciones Economicas y Politicas de Accion Comunitaria – CIEPAC, A.C.

Centro de Derechos Humanos Tepeyac del Istmo de Tehuantepec, A. C.

Consejo de Ejidos y Comunidades Opositores a la Presa La Parota

C. Jose Garcia
Edupaz A.C.

María González
Campo Incidencia
IMDEC, A.C.

Aviezer González Aguilar
Colectivo Cortamortaja

Instituto Mexicano para el Desarrollo Comunitario, A.C. (IMDEC)

Movimiento Mexicano de Afectados por las Presas y en Defensa de los Rios – MAPDER

Dr. Francisco Valdés Perezgasga
En Defensa del Ambiente, A.C.

Paraguay

Jorge Urusoff
Tayi y la Asociación de Afectados por Represas de Itapúa

El Salvador

Ricardo Navarro
CESTA

Juan N. Rojas
El Instituto de Permacultura

Reino Unido

Nick Hildyard
The Corner House

Organización Internacional
Red Latinoamericana contra Represas y por los Ríos, sus Comunidades y el Agua.