Letter to President Colom Urging him to Sign the Government Agreement on Reparations

President Alvaro Colom
6a. Avenida 4-19 zona 1
Casa Presidencial
Guatemala City
Guatemala
Tel. (502) 2383-8383
info@scep.gob.gt

Mr. President Alvaro Colom,

We respectfully urge you to sign the Reparations Agreement that was negotiated between the government and the communities affected by the Chixoy Dam. We understand that the planned ceremony to sign the agreement on May 11, 2010 was cancelled by the government, and that your office has remained silent about the issue since then.

Since the late 1990s we have closely followed the tremendous effort that these communities have made to have their voices heard and to obtain reparations for the damages caused by the construction of the Chixoy Dam. We have been encouraged by the commitment of the government of Guatemala to this issue, and especially the great commitment by the office of the President to reach a fair negotiation with these communities.

The international community is anxious for you to sign the Government Agreement about the Reparations Plan, over which you have already reach consensus, and to finally start the process to restore the lives of the affected people.

There is no doubt that the Chixoy Dam has been of great benefit to Guatemala, but we also regret the tragic events associated with its construction, which have seriously affected the lives of many families. We urge you to take this last step to help restore the livelihoods of thousands of families of the 33 communities that comprise the Coordinating Committee of Communities Affected by the Chixoy Dam - COCAHICH.

We appeal to your reason and commitment to serve the people of Guatemala, Mr. President. Please sign Governmental Agreement on the Reparations Plans for communities affected by the Chixoy Dam soon.
Thank you.

Sincerely,

Monti Aguirre
Latin America Program Coordinator

Alemania
Regine Richter
Urgewald

Heike Drillisch
CounterCurrent (GegenStroemung)

Canadá
Diana Potes
Comité pour les Droits Humains en Amérique Latine

Colombia
Manuela Diaz Ballestero
Asociacion de Productores Campesinos y Pescadores del Rio Sinu

Costa Rica
Isaac Rojas
COECOCEIBA-Amigos de la Tierra

España
Antonio Mila/Pedro Brufao
Ríos con Vida

Estados Unidos
Alberto Saldamando
International Indian Treaty Council

Barbara Rose Johnston
Center for Political Ecology

David Pentecost
Rios Mayas

Deborah Moore
Former Commissioner
World Commission on Dams

Jonathan Fox
University of California, Santa Cruz

Lewis Gordon
Environmental Defender Law Center

Paula Palmer
Cultural Survival, Inc.

Ted Downing
International Network on Displacement and Resettlement

Ghana
Richard Twum
Volta Basin Development Foundation

Hungaria
András Lukács
Clean Air Action Group -

India
Ravindranath
River Basin Friends

Rural Volunteers Centre,Po+Vill-Akajan.
Salam Rajesh
Citizens' Concern for Dams & Development

Indonesia
Riko Kurniawan
Perkumpulan Elang

Mia Wastui
West Java Peasant Union

Italia
Antonio Tricarico
Campana para la Reforma del Banco Mundial

México
Gustavo Castro
Otros Mundos -Amigos de la Tierra

María Silvia Emanuelli
Coalición Internacional para el Hábitat

Movimiento Mexicano de Afectados por las Represas
MAPDER

Scott S. Robinson
Universidad Metropolitana

Nepal
Anuj Sitoula
Himalayan and Peninsular Hydro-Ecological Network

Ratan Bhandari
Water and Energy Users' Federation

Nigeria
Aliyu Noma Usman
Coalition of Dam Affected

Pakistan
Zubeda Birwani
Trust for Conservation of Coastal Resources.

Panamá
Brigido Hernandez
Movimiento Campesino en Defensa del Rio Cobre

Osvaldo Jordan
Asociacion para la Conservacion y el Desarrollo

Rusia
Alexander Kolotov
Plotina.Net!

Sierra Leona
Abubakar Sesay.
Friends Of the Earth

Sudáfrica
Liane Greeff
EcoDoc

Regional
Convergencia de Movimientos de los Pueblos de las Américas (COMPA)

CC. Sr. Juan José Daboub, Director Gerente Banco Mundial
Sra. Pamela Cox. Vice-Presidenta América Latina, Banco Mundial
Sr. Luis Alberto Moreno, Presidente, Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
Sr. Juan de Dios García, Director ADIVIMA
Dr. Roberto Menéndez, Mediador caso Chixoy OEA Guatemala
Dr. Sergio Fernando Morales, Procurador de los Derechos Humanos
Sr. James Anaya, Relator Derechos Pueblos Indígenas, Naciones Unidas