Public Statement
Important note
Here is a letter from Mateo Pablo, survivor of the massacre of Petanac,
regarding our campaign against impunity in Guatemala. In his letter, he
thanks the organizations and individuals who signed the Public
Statement, and explains the next steps of his quest for justice.
The submission of the public statement planned for
March 2003 in Ottawa is posponed to a later date,
due to circumstances
independent of our will.
We are sorry of any disagreement that this cancellation could
cause.
Open letter to the Canadian public
My name is Mateo Pablo, I am a Guatemalan living in Canada with a landed
immigrant status, and I am a survivor of a massacre perpetrated by the
Guatemalan Army in my small community of Petanac, in the department of
Huehuetenango, on July 14, 1982, under the genocidal government of
general Efrain Rios Montt. I tell my story in "Haunted Land", a
documentary by Mary Ellen Davis. I hereby thank the organizations and
individuals who have demonstrated their solidarity, care and concern,
and above all their support to our collective statement against
impunity, made public at the release of this documentary on January 15,
2002.
Since then, I have been traveling to many cities of Canada to give my
testimony about those events. Thousands of signatures have been
collected in support of the Public Statement. The latter includes a
request to the Federal government of Canada for the revision of the law
concerning genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. This law
stipulates that, to be able to judge in Canada individuals accused of
genocide, as in the case of Rios Montt, it is necessary that those
accused of such crimes be in Canada and that the victim had been a
Canadian citizen when they were perpetrated, two conditions that make it
systematically impossible to prosecute such criminals and murderers.
I also inform you that on March 24th, I shall go to the Federal
Parliament, in Ottawa, to present the Public Statement along with the
thousands of signatures you gave in support of this cause, which is the
cause of Guatemala and that of a multitude of victims of State terrorism
throughout the world. In this case, it is proven that there is no
justice inside my country and therefore, that us, victims of violence
and survivors of genocide, must resort to this body and other bodies at
an international level, in order to establish judiciary precedents
allowing to punish such criminals on that ground, since such crimes
remain unpunished in our country.
I would like to thank you sincerely for your solidarity, dedication and
commitment. I will continue to fight to obtain justice, as far as I can.
Now I am no longer alone, thanks to the strength of your signatures,
that accompany me. Guatemala needs everyone's help to restore peace, and
I will ask you, at a convenient moment, to renew your solidarity support
and your commitment so that we demand JUSTICE.
As long as criminals are not prosecuted in Guatemala, there will remain
serious obstacles on the road to peace and democracy. Without justice
there can be no peace.
Montréal, March 2003
Mateo Pablo
<< Back to Public release page
|
